Handy apps to assist with my mobile BlackBerry productivity

It is no secret that I am working towards being able to do everything I need to from my BlackBerry.

For social/networking I use the following:
• SocialScope for twitter and Facebook (http://SocialScope.net or @SocialScope on twitter)
• Facebook application for BlackBerry
• Viigo for all my RSS feeds (http://getviigo.com or @Viigo on twitter)
• Bit.lify (URL shortener for BlackBerry directly from your menu)
• Snap2twitter
• Xing application for BlackBerry (http://xing.com or @xing on twitter)
• BrightBerry
• GyPSii (http://GyPSii.com or @GyPSii on twitter)

For blogging:
• WordPress Wicked App from ScreamingToaster (http://screamingtoaster.com or @Izabel_Idris_ST on twitter)
• Tumblr for BlackBerry
• Email for blogger (although ScreamingToaster are working on integrating blogger & Typepad blogs with their awesome application)
• SnapScreen or ZonaSnap (screen capturing)

Helpful business/productivity applications:
• Anagram (captures data from email signatures and adds into your contacts)
• Action Pad (currently in beta) replacing your original Memo Pad (not to be deleted though)
• Copy All: able to copy a complete email simply & quickly
• Save Number as: instead of the default saving number as work number, this one provides you with home, mobile or work options.
• Forward with edit: allows you to edit an email prior to forwarding onto someone else.
• Onto task: turns a received email into a task, which then in turn, synchronises with Outlook.
• Onto calendar: turns a received email into a calendar entry, which in turn, synchronises with Outlook.
• Remind Me Later: a simple added menu option to remind you of a call, SMS, email, appointment at a later time.
• Send Timely SMS: never forget an important anniversary ever again. Program in a message and time its delivery...set and forget.
• QuickLaunch: assign a hot key to quickly access the myriad of applications installed on your BlackBerry
• IntelliLaunch: a search function for anything that is stored in your BlackBerry whether it is the internal memory or on the SD Card. Also shows battery life and BlackBerry PIN
• MindBerry: mind mapping on your BlackBerry and exportable to your laptop/PC
• QuickPull: quickly and easily do a soft reset of your BlackBerry without having to complete a battery pull.
• WhatsApp: allows other who are connected to you to see if you are available, without having to ask (@WhatsAppInc on twitter).
• Google Maps: self explanatory.
• Vlingo: voice activation. You can create emails, SMS others, create tasks, remind yourself, call people, search for things, as well as post to twitter and Facebook, all of which activated by one hot key.

Inbuilt applications in the BlackBerry that may not be commonly used:
• AutoText: a simple way of creating words/phrases/signature panels/whole sentences simply by keying a couple of letters into an SMS, email, SocialScope, BlackBerry Messenger etc, and hitting the space bar (eg. "pif" becomes #payingitforward from my AutoText list)
• Tasks: anyone who practices the 4D's (delete, delegate, do it, & date activate) with time and workload management, would welcome the Task folder, which synchronises perfectly with Outlook.
• BlackBerry Messenger: a BlackBerry to BlackBerry (or PIN to PIN) messenging service: quick, simple and free. Like Instant Messaging, it requires other users to accept you as a contact.

This is the list of applications that I use on a daily basis... I haven't provided links to everything here, but as they say in the classics... google is your friend.

I hope it helps you also.

Having worldwide friends on twitter, and using twitter to revive a dead BlackBerry

The other night I was routinely doing a clean out of my BlackBerry Bold via the DeskTop Manager, removing a couple of applications that I no longer required, and loading one that I wanted to use again (you see some applications run hot and cold with me, and others, like Socialscope, Viigo, Google Maps, Wicked App and Tumblr, I never tire of).

The process seemed to go well, but I realised something must have gone awry when my Bold got stuck in a never ceasing reboot cycle...not a pleasant sight to behold...and this was at 9pm, on a week night.

So jumped straight into trusty google and conducted a search, as this has never happened to me with any of my previous 3 BlackBerry devices, and I really didn't know what to do.

Hmmm, this was going to take a while going through the search results. Hang on, it must be coming into the morning for the UK and Europe, so hunting through twitter, I wanted to find a couple of good experienced BlackBerry friends (thank goodness I follow as many BlackBerry users on twitter as I can) who may be able to assist, and sure enough Fabian (@FabianMH) and Rob (@evilbladeUK) had come online.

Trying a hard start (full battery pull for half an hour) didn't cut the mustard, but Fabian had quickly found the relevant links to both JL Commander (a Windows program to nuke your BlackBerry) and what to do with a continually cycling/rebooting BlackBerry, while Rob promptly found me instructions on how to push through the replacement OS via Windows DOS commands.

Now Fabian and Rob are very busy guys on twitter and elsewhere, but I was still able to get advice and encouragement staggered from both of them, which was just like having one person on call, just for you.

So then the process started at approximately 11pm that night, sitting in an office by myself, frustrated and bewildered, but with the comfort of knowing both Fabian and Rob not too far away (even though they were on the other side of the world)...the value of twitter being a real time communication and networking tool.

I came to a grinding halt with entering of the DOS commands, until I remembered something, an extra move required...on a Vista laptop, don't forget to right click and "run as administrator"...I lost half an hour, and almost lost what hair I have left.

It was a great sense of relief when the OS was pushed through to my crippled BlackBerry via Windows and not the DeskTop Manager, and then the Bold came to life...that in itself was a wait that seemed to last an eternity.

Yes I lost everything: data, contacts, 3rd party applications, settings...BUT I did something one day earlier which saved me a lot of time. Let me explain...

Nan Palmero (@NanPalmero) posted a blog about how to back up specific data etc via your DeskTop Manager, over and above what you would normally do with the standard automated back up...and I paid attention. More to the point, I acted on his suggestions. So I was able to retrieve I would suggest about 95% of what I lost.

Rob gave me one further piece of excellent information...a link to the BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 which I could not seem to locate.

So at 1am I headed to the apartment with a functional BlackBerry, SocialScope, Viigo and BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 added.

No dinner that night, but amazing lessons learnt. A big heartfelt thank you to Fabian, Rob and Nan...if you are a BlackBerry user and are on twitter...friend these three.

Now to pay it forward... If anyone wants more information as to the steps I used, the links that came in handy etc, let me know. I have learnt, and now in a position to share the love.

twitter: @TferThomas' rules ... Setting up your account

One of the main things that keeps me constantly drawn to twitter, over most other social / business online sites, is the wide diversity of my friends on twitter, and the different approaches these people implement, to run their twitter lives.

That said, the following is an overview of my initial twitter rules of engagement... how I believe a twitter account should be set up.

SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNT:

1. HAVING A SIMPLE USERNAME: I have used TferThomas for a number of reasons; it includes my first name, I believe it is a little catchy, it is not embarrassing, it doesn't make you believe I am something I am not, and I believe it is relatively easy to remember... all good networking positives.



2. HAVE A GOOD PROFILE PHOTO: I use the photo above for basically everything I do online, for the following reasons; it is a happy photo, it display all of my face relatively close up, it represents a professional side of me (yet not coldly), it is a friendly photo... all good networking positives. The photo remains a constant for me, which makes it easy for my friends to find me in their twitter stream, especially my BlackBerry friends who are using one of the many BlackBerry twitter applications (SocialScope, yatca, Ubertwitter, twitterberry, etc) and as such the avatars are smaller.


3. HAVE A BIO: A small summary of what you are about as your bio is probably one of the easiest, yet most effective way of convincing others to follow you. and it needs to be stated here, that your bio needs to actually reflect you... be yourself. If you are here to market, then say so. 140 characters per tweet does not leave any room for deceptive marketing. If you don't have a bio, what are you actually hiding?
4. INCLUDE A FULL LENGTH URL IN YOU BIO: nothing flags more as potential spam as a tinyurl or bit.ly URL in your bio. Including a full length URL will help encourage others to actually click on it, and get to know you that much more intimately.
5. LOCATION: I believe it is more effective to have your actual location listed, and I am not talking micro-details. I show Brisbane, Australia as my location enabling my followers to know exactly where I am geographically, allowing them another choice.
6. BACKGROUND: I use @twitbacks as the source of my backgrounds and happy to promote their services here. I believe having a non standard background is important from an attention grabbing perspective... ie. making your account stand out from the crowd. Remember twitter is all about rapid fire 140 character tweets, and the twitterverse moves quickly.

Anyway, that's my thoughts on setting up a twitter account. Later, I shall pass on my thoughts about how to tweet, how to interact, and maintain your little part of the greater twitterverse.

Until then, be safe,

TferThomas

twittering from the BlackBerry Bold

Most of my tweets come via my BlackBerry Bold, and as of today I have most of the popular BlackBerry twitter clients installed and in use. So starting from left to right:

Socialscope (@SocialScope):
• This is still my favourite twitter application
• Really effective twitter and facebook integration
• Good search and follow functionality
• Easily move from Replies, Direct Messages, Timeline, and Facebook via top menu tabs
• Quite quick with updates & low battery life usage
• Post photos into your twitter timeline
• The rarest of all twitter applications (alpha testing)

Ubertwitter (@Ubertwiter):
• The newcomer for me, given they both have BIS support
• Location notification
• A little slower in responsiveness compared to Socialscope
• Includes separate timeline of your own tweets
• Locational search function

Viigo (@Viigo http://getviigo.com/alpha):
• Basically one of the most useful applications available for a BlackBerry
• Tweet interesting stuff directly from your RSS feeds (afterall Viigo is first and foremost a RSS reader)
• It is also a twitter client as well, though more responsive than twitterberry, but less than SocialScope and Ubertwitter

Pinwall (we shall leave this one for another time)

twitterberry (http://www.orangatame.com/twitterberry/):
• I guess from my perspective, the original twitter client for my BlackBerry devices, and ever dependable
• Slow compared to SocialScope and Ubertwitter
• Has a separate screen for your own timeline

yatca (yet another twitter client application: yatca.wordpress.com/):
• I cannot get this one to work well for me due to the integration of it into the native BlackBerry Messages folder (when you have 4,000 + followers tweeting, your Messages folder gets a little out of control). So for me, updates have been switched off
• Good simple application for posting a photo (whether taking a photo and posting at the same time, or extracting a saved photo) into your twitter timeline, and can be done from the menu function of any application you are working in at the time
• The above also applies to tweeting.

So overall, SocialScope remains my favourite, with Ubertwitter keeping it honest. Note, I have not tried tweetgenius yet, as at the time of writing, it does not have BIS support (update... now it does, but it is a pay for application).

Hope this helps someone out there.

Enjoy,
TferThomas

Customising your BlackBerry's home screen: the icons

One of the many overlooked features of a BlackBerry, is the ability to customise the home screen.



Previously I explained how to change your home screen's wallpaper or picture. Now, let's talk about the icons, more specifically, moving them around to suit you!



Included in any new or newish BlackBerry are many icons, covering a wide range of applications. Some of these are already on your home screen, and you may not want access to these. Others, are stored/filed in a number of folders found on the home screen (eg. Applications, Instant Messaging, Games & Set Up), and you may want access to some of these. Any new applications you download on your BlackBerry (eg. SocialScope Lite , twitterberry, Viigo, yatca, SplashID, ActionPad, etc) will be initially placed into your Downloads folder, and no doubt, you will definitely want most of these on your home screen.



So how do you go about moving your icons to customise your home screen?



The pictures here (taken directly from my BlackBerry Bold using an application called SnapScreen) outline the full way of moving an icon, in this case SocialScope Lite.



A similar method is used to move an icon from a folder to the home screen, but instead of selecting "move", you simply select "move to folder", then select "home".



To hide an icon, highlight the icon, from the menu select "hide". To retrieve a hidden icon, from the home screen, using the menu option, select "show all", highlight the icon, using the menu option, uncheck 'hide", using the menu, uncheck "show all".



Now you have the ability to:

• Move an icon

• Move an icon from a folder to the home screen (and vice versa)

• Hide an icon (or retrieve a hidden icon)



Have fun.



TferThomas

BlackBerrys and battery life

For anyone who didn't know the BlackBerry has an almost unequalled ability to run multiple appplications in the background, meaning you can actually multitask on a BlackBerry (unlike other smart phones, which require you to close an application, prior to running another).

You can also run media in the background as well, and many a time have I had my tunes playing in the background whilst using twitter, reading my RSS feeds on Viigo, or even composing an email or text message.

There is a downside to this multitasking though.... it does put a strain on the normal battery. But I do have a couple of suggestions for you, plus the little gadget shown above.

Here are a couple of setting changes you can make which will improve battery life:

• If you have Wi-Fi and don't use it regularly, switch it off
• If you don't use BlueTooth, switch it off
• Check any applications that auto refresh (twitterberry, Google, SocialScope, Viigo, yatca and similar), and only have the ones you need to auto refresh set that way... the other's switch to manual updates
• If you are listening to music, when finished listening, turn the music off (otherwise it will run in the background and use battery power)
• But the biggest killer of battery time is low reception levels. The BlackBerry will hunt for better signal strength, and therefore use more power.

If all else fails, and you don't want to lash out for another battery, there is a stop gap solution:

• The Energizer portable charger

It takes 2 x AA batteries and has almost enough grunt to fully charge my BlackBerry Bold from almost empty to full, and has saved me at a number of airports over the past few months. and for Australian readers, Coles is currently selling these at AUD $15 (roughly half price).

I hope this helps out with prolonging your battery life on your BlackBerrys.

Enjoy,

TferThomas

Why I choose BlackBerry as my communication device

If you didn't already know, I am @TferThomas on twitter, and it is crystal clear from my tweets I am very passionate about BlackBerrys and mobilised technology, and yes, I will fess up, I am biased.

Having said that though, I will NEVER EVER rubbish a person's mobile/smart phone choice. It is a basic fundamental right, as individuals, to be just that, an individual, and choose your weapon... oops, I mean phone, of choice.

As a result of my passionate tweeting of all things BlackBerry, a number of people have actually taken the time to ask me .... well, why? So the point of this blog post, is to try to explain why I choose BlackBerry as my weapon for communication (ha ha).

For the purpose of this blog post, I will use specifically my 9000 Bold as the example (I also have an 8100 Pearl and an 8300 Curve), and cover off what features and add on's that I use (this is NOT an exhaustive list).

Standard capabilities, staying in touch:
The BlackBerry Bold has a number of standard inbuilt features to enhance and make easier your day to day communication with others:​

• It is a phone....
do I really need to explain this any further, apart from a lot of people don't realise you can make conference calls, straight out of the box.​

•It has an email function...
apart from linking your web based email addresses to your BlackBerry (which can be done with basically any phone these days), by utilising a BlackBerry BIS plan (Business Internet Service, and no I am not going near BES, Business Enterprise Service, in this blog), you can have up to 10 email addresses pushed to your BlackBerry. Currently I am running 8 email addresses, neatly and tidily. Under most BlackBerry plans that I have seen, for a monthly BlackBerry plan fee, the number of emails per month is unlimited.​

• It can SMS...
Or as a colleague of mine calls it "Short Message System". Again, I don't need to waste time here.​

• It has MMS...
Multi-Media Messaging Service. Basically like a text message but for multi-media.​

• For BlackBerry owners across the world, we are spoiled with PIN messaging...
A messaging service between BlackBerry devices, using their individual PINs that are unique to each BlackBerry device (consisting of alpha and numeric characters). It is included in your BlackBerry Plan, and to talk to someone else, you must first introduce yourself and ask they accept you (sort of instant messaging, but only between consenting BlackBerrys)​

• IM...
Instant Messaging. This is the same service you can access and use on your PC, lap top or Mac etc, but is a mobilised, cut down version. A good example of this is the third party applications from MSN, Google and Yahoo. I must say, as a result of twitter, I very rarely use Google Talk these days, but it is still on the BlackBerry... just in case.

So, yes, you say, most of these are available (apart from PIN messaging) on my phone or smart phone. That's true, but then we start adding to the communication (both social and business) ability of the BlackBerry with dedicated specifically designed third party applications:

twitter...
Who hasn't heard of twitter? Basically twitter is a social and business networking tool, where you start by answering a simple question... "what are you doing?" which needs to be provided in 140 characters or less. You find people to follow, and people follow you. Yes, I know you know what it's all about, and there are a heap of twitterers out there who blog about using twitter every moment of every day, so I don't need to reinvent the wheel here.

Currently, I have access to 5 twitter tools:
1. twitterberry (twitter for BlackBerry) via a dedicated icon on your home screen (or wherever you decide to place it)
2. SocialScope (tool which integrates with twitter and facebook, via a dedicated icon)
3. yatca (yet another twitter client application, which works not only from a dedicated icon on your home screen, as well as from your option menus from any program's menu (very handy)
4. Viigo (as it is in beta testing, cannot say anything else here), but has a dedicated icon, and one of my used third party applications, and
5. Another one that is even more secretive from an existing webmail provider (and is integrated within the menu options). ;)

And as you only have 140 characters, you need to be able to shorten any posted url s, and sure you can use tinyurl.com (a web based url shortening site) or you can download bit.lify by Ubiquitous Systems onto your BlackBerry, which then adds a further option in your BlackBerry menu within any BlackBerry program.... very handy. Again, unlike tinyurl, this is a third party application that has been designed to integrate into the BlackBerry's menus.

Facebook:
Yep, I still have the "L Plates" on here as only a very recent, albeit unconvinced, Facebook participant. Via Facebook for BlackBerry 1.5 I can converse with my friends, view comments, send messages, upload photos, write on walls, etc.

I also use Socialscope which enables me to do some of these things, including uploading photos. And from the other "secret" web based application, again similar functions. Further, I can send a tweet (including photos, using twitpic.com as the bridge) to twitter, & it also updates my Facebook page... pretty cool hey?

Vlingo:
Voice activation is hear to stay with the BlackBerry, and with every application designed, it keeps getting more and more refined. Vlingo allows you to:
• Complete searches on the internet
• Compose and send updates to twitter and Facebook
• Compose and send SMS'
• Compose and send emails
All by using your voice (Google has recently introduced a voice activated search function as well for BlackBerrys (and no doubt almost every other phone operating system type). Furthermore, Vlingo again, like yatca and bit.lify is integrated into the BlackBerry's menu options.

Flickr:
I am sure most people have heard of Flickr, and the BlackBerry version, from a dedicated icon on your home screen, allows you to upload your photos to your Flickr account, which people can view etc. Why have I included Flickr as a communication tool?

Have a read of this....

"You've been sent a Flickr Mail from Emma J. Williams:

------------------------------------------------------------

:: Schmap Melbourne Seventh Edition: Photo Inclusion

Hi Thomas,

I am delighted to let you know that your submitted photo
has been selected for inclusion in the newly released
seventh edition of our Schmap Melbourne Guide:

Flinders Street Station
http://www.schmap.com/melbourne/sights_historic/p=70689/i=70689_76.jpg

On a desktop computer, you can see exactly how your photo is displayed and credited in the our guide at:

Flinders Street Station
http://www.schmap.com/?m=iphone#uid=melbourne&sid=sights_historic&p=70689&i=70689_76

Finally, if you have a blog, you might also like to check
out the customizable widgetized version of our Schmap
Melbourne Guide, complete with your published photo:

http://www.schmap.com/guidewidgets/p=32020117N05/c=SK50024930

Thanks so much for letting us include your photo - please enjoy the guide!

Best regards,

Emma Williams,
Managing Editor, Schmap Guides
www.schmap.me/emma.williams

------------------------------------------------------------"

By uploading this picture onto Flickr, via my Flickr account, Emma and I were able to connect.

In essence...
What I really like about all of these applications (some more so than others) is that they all integrate really rather seamlessly in with the BlackBerry OS (Operating System), which makes it dead easy for me to communicate with others, quickly and very efficiently.

Originally, the BlackBerry was a business tool for the high flyers, large corporates, or key government departments. Now, it's a totally different story... building on the second to none email efficiency and ability, the BlackBerry now appeals to a much wider audience (hey, I even know of a 16 year old girl who has one).

Finally...
The BlackBerry allows me to stay in touch, without the need for a laptop, desk, or even office. And that my friends, the very essence of flexibility and availability, is why I choose BlackBerry as my communication device, my phone.