The BlackBerry 850

How does a company fall from grace so quickly?

Jonathan S. Geller of Boy Genius Report (www.bgr.com) has an idea. In a recent article titled “Inside RIM: An exclusive look at the rise and fall of the company that made smartphones smart,” Geller takes a look at RIM’s history, including its personas and politics.

It’s an interesting inside look at how the iconic company evolved — and didn’t evolve when it missed product features and device trends like adding MP3 players and cameras to its phones.

Read the full article here.

Are you the type who steps away from the grill for a sec to check your e-mail?

So why would work stop on a holiday like the Fourth of July? (It doesn’t.) If you are the type who steps away from the grill for a sec to check your e-mail, here are a few of our most popular tips that promise to make your holiday a little less work-infused:

iPhone

Easy punctuation

Inserting a period from the symbols box can become tedious. You want to send messages with proper punctuation, but deadlines get in the way. Here’s a quicker way: Double-tap the spacebar. Problem solved. Reputation saved.

Copy Web images

Do you often come across images in your Web travels that you’d like to save for later use? Try this shortcut: Press and hold your finger on the photo and you’ll be prompted to “Save Image.” Now it’s in your Camera Roll.

Making sense of time zones and meetings

Sometimes technology’s intuitive functionality can get the better of you, especially when traveling across time zones. Case in point: the Time Zone Support feature, which shows event dates and times in the zone you selected for your calendar. For example, if you scheduled a 10 a.m. conference call while at the home office in Philadelphia, and you are currently visiting Los Angeles, your meeting will still show up as scheduled for 10 a.m. Turning off the Time Zone Support feature can make your schedule a little clearer by automatically adjusting your calendar to the time zone you are in. To do so, go to Settings | Mail | Contacts | Calendar and toggle off Time Zone Support.

Easy Scrolling

Mobile devices are practical, yes, but not when it comes to screen size. Scrolling, in particular, can become tiresome on an iPhone, or any smart phone for that matter. Whichever screen you are on – your contacts, a Web site – you can quickly return to the top by tapping the status bar (at the very top of every iPhone screen).

For the BlackBerry

Filter incoming mail

Say, for example, you receive a daily report that you will not read or deal with on your phone and would prefer to just handle it back at the office. Can you create a filter for that?

Of course you can. Here’s how:

1. Click on the Messages icon to open your messages, then click the trackwheel or Menu button and select Options.

2. Select E-mail Filters.

3. Click your trackwheel or Menu button, select New and then type a filter name.

4. You have several fields you can filter on: From; Sent To; Subject; Message; Sent directly to me; CC to me; BCC to me; Importance; Sensitivity. You can choose more than one option here. For example, to take care of your daily report problem, create the following filter:

From: coworker@domain.com
Subject: Daily Report
Action: Do not forward

This will affect any e-mails from colleagues with “daily report” in the subject.

5. Click your trackwheel or Menu button and save the filter. By default, it is enabled and will function immediately with any new incoming messages.

If you want to temporarily allow filtered messages, simply click on the filter name to uncheck in the filter list. Take note, however, that filtering works only if your BlackBerry is activated on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server; to access filters with BlackBerry Internet Service you must check with your wireless carrier.

High-priority e-mail notifications

You want to make sure you know when high-priority e-mails come in, and the standard notification doesn’t quite command your attention. To set up special notices, start at the home screen, go to Profiles, then Advanced. Here you can create a new profile or modify your current one. Set the desired notification for Level 1 Messages and save. Note: High-priority message notices will work even if you have disabled those for other types of messages.

Shortcuts

BlackBerry offers ample useful shortcut keys, most of which are only available on a device that has a full keyboard. They are performed by simply pressing the key or combination of keys listed below.

Open a message that was sent to you and try the following shortcuts:

R: Reply to message

L: Reply to all

F: Forward message

I: File highlighted message into a folder

Q: Toggle the display name and full e-mail address of a contact in an e-mail address field

G: Move to the last cursor position in a received message after closing and re-opening it

But as with every upheaval, there’s some pain to be had. In the same study, researchers note that while employees are using their iPads, iPhones, Androids and netbooks at work, their employers are unaware of the extent, and have not put solid plans in place to regulate the use of employee-owned devices.

Not only are they on a different page as their employers, they’re in another bookstore.

Here are some of the highlights from the study:

• Employers don’t have an accurate understanding of what and how many consumer technologies their employees are using in the workplace. For example, workers in the survey reported that they are using smart phones, laptops and mobile phones in the workplace at nearly twice the rate reported by employers.
• Workers are using consumer technologies and applications for business, but give their employers poor grades for the internal IT support they provide for these technologies. The researchers found that more than 40 percent of workers surveyed are using text and instant messaging, online communities and blogs for work. Also, industry analysts predict that the number of workers using smart phones for work will double between 2009 and 2014. Yet not even half of employers allow workers to access enterprise applications via smart phones.
• Employees say their employers are more permissive about use of consumer technologies than is reported to be case by organizations. Sixty-seven percent of workers say they can access non-work-related websites, but only 44 percent of employers say their employees can access non-work-related sites. Likewise, 52 percent of workers say that can store personal data on the company network, but only 37 percent of employers say this is the case.
• Employers expect to increase business use of social networking applications significantly in the next year, yet they are not integrating those applications with their enterprise apps and often lack basic guidelines and policies governing the use of social media in the workplace. Forty-six percent of workers surveyed are dissatisfied with their employers’ integration of consumer devices and social networks with enterprise applications. What’s more, 40 percent of organizations surveyed say that don’t have guidelines for social media use in the workplace.

Researchers conclude that, “While [information workers] are intimately familiar and facile with technology, they have little understanding of the security risks, management issues, and policy and governance implications that arise from mass introduction of consumer devices and applications into the workplace.”

In other words, preparedness — that’s IT’s job. And here are some suggestions from the study authors:

• Manage and support these popular consumer technologies;
• Secure critical data and assets against hackers, viruses, identity thieves, and other widespread consumer IT threats;
• Offer the interactive “app” experiences that consumers are looking for when transacting with their suppliers;
• Handle the expected increase in transaction load that these new interactive experiences will impose on the IT infrastructure;
• Attract and retain the new generation of workers entering the workforce.

In a recent post here and on Forbes.com, our CEO Brian Madocks offered his own suggestions. Read what he had to say.

“The iPad is becoming, in effect, a jumbo BlackBerry.”

If there were three main themes this year in tech, they were this:

• The consumerization of IT/BYO tech
• Enterprise domination by iPads and tablets
• The increasing use of mobile devices for business and the growing need for specialized mobile IT support

Here’s a look at some recent bookmark-worthy articles that touch upon these topics:

Consumerization or BYOT

Not so long ago, the idea of using your own tech devices for work was just a silly notion. What of security? Software updates? Today, it’s almost standard, thanks to the flood of neat devices that are on the market, and much to the chagrin of underprepared IT departments. Here’s one recent article that outlines bring-your-own-technology’s perils and possibilities.

“Bring Your Own Technology: The Legal Perspective,” by Dawinderpal Sahota, Computing magazine (Dec. 21, 2010)

“Businesses are increasingly encouraging employees to bring their own devices for use in the workplace,” writes Sahota, “but these ‘bring your own technology’ schemes throw up a number of legal issues. A major stumbling block for bring your own technology is the issue of security.” Read more…

Tablets

There is so much being written about the iPad and other tablets these days, it’s hard not to want one. I recently had a chance to test out the iPad and, although I honestly do not need one for my profession, I nevertheless want one (said in whiny, 5-year-old voice). Tablets promise a lot — portability, power and style —but they also have a little maturing to do in terms of being secure enough for business use. Here’s what the industry rags are saying:

“Apple’s iPad Finds a Place in the Enterprise,” by Mikael Ricknas, PC World (Dec. 22, 2010)

Enterprise adoption of the iPad is part of a larger trend in which companies are allowing employees to choose which laptop, smart phone or tablet they want to use, irrespective of the operating system,” writes PC World’s Ricknas. He says the negative consequences of prohibiting users from choosing the products they want to use aren’t worth it. Read more…

“An Enterprise without Desktops?” by Arthur Cole, IT Business Edge (Dec. 22, 2010)

Chatter about the Cloud is nothing new, but it seems to be getting louder with every passing month. In this article, Arthur Cole posits that IT is losing its position as the gatekeeper of all things digital. Says Cole: “It all adds up to a sea change in the working environment that will make today’s enterprise barely recognizable in 10 years’ time.” Read more…

“A Demography of the iPad,” by David Zax, Fast Company (Dec. 22, 2010)

If you are a statistics geek, read this piece by David Zax, which highlights the findings from a recent study conducted by market research firm Harris Interactive. Among the nuggets:

• One out of every five Americans plans to own a tablet by 2014

• Nine million Americans currently own tablets —only about 3 percent of the current U.S. population

• 17 percent more Americans intend to buy one in the next three years

• Of those who own or plan to own tablets, 40 percent of them intend to use it for business

Says Zax: “The iPad is becoming, in effect, a jumbo Blackberry.” Read more…

Mobility

I remember a few years back, my aunt was grumbling that her company wanted her to get a BlackBerry. She’s a smart woman, and knew what it meant: That if she had a BlackBerry, she would be on the clock 24-7, with no place to hide.

Today, she can’t avoid it. She, like many of her management peers, is required to carry some sort of company mobile device. What a difference a few years makes.

The tech media has had quite a bit to say about mobility in the past year, and most of it centers on the issue of securing mobile devices. Here are a few of the recent standouts:

“Critical Thinking about Mobility,” by Irwin Lazar in Network World (Dec. 20, 2010)

In this piece, Lazar touches upon the two key questions he says IT and business leaders are asking about mobility: Can business save money by allowing employee-owned devices? And, how can a company use emerging mobile devices and platforms to improve business processes, deliver new services, or transform the company?

Those are big questions, and Lazar says the first step to answering them is formulating a solid strategy. Read more…

“10 Steps to Mobile Worker Support,” by Kurt Marko, InformationWeek (Dec. 22, 1010)

In this article, InformationWeek’s Marko is convincing: “Put in place a strong telework program, and even the smallest company has access to a multinational talent pool. Blizzards, flu pandemics, traffic gridlock, general pestilence? No problem.”

But once you get a strategy in place, Marko asks, what does a company do to maintain mobile worker productivity? In this article, he offers 10 tips. Among them: build a robust remote network; hone remote system admin skills; create a true virtual workplace; and develop online self-help tools. Read more…

“Your Office, Your Smartphone?” by Giovanni Forte, Montreal Gazette (Dec. 22, 2010)

In this article, Forte looks at the problems IT admins will face when it comes to setting policies around data costs and access points for each employee’s device. “With all the smart phones and mobile devices that inevitably show up in offices in the new year,” he warns, “IT administrators will experience a post-holiday hangover trying to manage costs and security and when they have to tell employees they are unable to use their new mobile devices because they don’t have the enterprise applications to support it.” Read more…

Here are a few BlackBerry and iPhone tips from PC Helps staff to help you get more done in this notoriously unproductive time of year.

How to Attach vCards to Messages

If you meet someone while on the road, you may want to give them your contact information. In the not-so-distant past, you would simply exchange business cards. Today, however, you can easily swap contact information electronically.

BlackBerry

While composing an e-mail message:

• Press the menu button, select Attach, and choose Contact.
• Select the contact.

From within Contacts/Address Book:

• Select the contact and press the menu button.
• Choose Send Contact Card, then the method of sending it (as an e-mail attachment or as a PIN message). A new message opens up, with the contact already inserted.

iPhone

• Open your Contacts folder by tapping Contacts (or tapping Phone and choosing Contacts in the bottom tabs).
• Tap the contact that you want to send.
• Tap the Share Contact button.
• Choose Email to send the contact via e-mail, or MMS to send it via a text message. A new mail or text message will open up. Address the message and click Send.

How to Make a Voice Recording

When you are out and about, having a device that can record sound can be more efficient than pen and paper. Here’s how:

BlackBerry

• Click the Media icon on the home screen, and then click the Voice Notes Recorder icon.
• Click the Record button at the bottom of the screen to begin recording.
• Click the Pause button at the bottom to pause the recording; once paused, you can continue, stop, or play back the recording. You can also choose to send the recording via Bluetooth, SMS, e-mail, or messenger, or delete it.
• Click the Stop Recording option when you are done.
• To view, edit, or rename existing recordings, open the Voice Notes Recorder, press the Menu button, and choose View Voice Notes.

iPhone (3.0, 4.0)

• Tap the Voice Memos app on the home screen.
• To begin recording, tap the bottom left button (the red and silver dot). While recording, you will see a status bar at the top that shows the elapsed time. The Record button will change to a Pause button that you can tap to pause and resume recording.
• When you are done recording, tap the Stop button at the bottom right of the screen.
• When not recording, the Stop button becomes the List button; tap this to view a list of recorded memos.
• Tap any memo to play it back; you can use the slider at the bottom to move forward and backward within the memo, and tap a memo while it is playing to pause it.
• Tap the Speaker button at the top left to listen to a recording over the iPhone’s speakers.
• Tap the Delete button in the bottom right to delete the selected memo.
• To share a memo, select it and tap the Share button. You can choose to send the memo via e-mail or MMS.
• To return to the voice recorder from the memo list, tap Done.

Got any tips? Share them with us. For a full list of PC Helps’ tips, visit our eTips Library.

Are you the type to check your e-mail in between bites of Granny’s green bean casserole?

So why would work stop on a holiday like Thanksgiving? (It doesn’t.) If you are the type to check your e-mail in between bites of Granny’s green bean casserole, here are a few of our most popular tips that promise to make your holiday a little less work-infused:

iPhone

Easy punctuation

Inserting a period from the symbols box can become tedious. You want to send messages with proper punctuation, but deadlines get in the way. Here’s a quicker way: Double-tap the spacebar. Problem solved. Reputation saved.

Copy Web images

Do you often come across images in your Web travels that you’d like to save for later use? Try this shortcut: Press and hold your finger on the photo and you’ll be prompted to “Save Image.” Now it’s in your Camera Roll.

Making sense of time zones and meetings

Sometimes technology’s intuitive functionality can get the better of you, especially when traveling across time zones. Case in point: the Time Zone Support feature, which shows event dates and times in the zone you selected for your calendar. For example, if you scheduled a 10 a.m. conference call while at the home office in Philadelphia, and you are currently visiting Los Angeles, your meeting will still show up as scheduled for 10 a.m. Turning off the Time Zone Support feature can make your schedule a little clearer by automatically adjusting your calendar to the time zone you are in. To do so, go to Settings | Mail | Contacts | Calendar and toggle off Time Zone Support.

That’s how we scroll

Mobile devices are practical, yes, but not when it comes to screen size. Scrolling, in particular, can become tiresome on an iPhone, or any smart phone for that matter. Whichever screen you are on – your contacts, a Web site – you can quickly return to the top by tapping the status bar (at the very top of every iPhone screen).

For the BlackBerry

Filter incoming mail

Say, for example, you receive a daily report that you will not read or deal with on your phone and would prefer to just handle it back at the office. Can you create a filter for that?

Of course you can. Here’s how:

1. Click on the Messages icon to open your messages, then click the trackwheel or Menu button and select Options.

2. Select E-mail Filters.

3. Click your trackwheel or Menu button, select New and then type a filter name.

4. You have several fields you can filter on: From; Sent To; Subject; Message; Sent directly to me; CC to me; BCC to me; Importance; Sensitivity. You can choose more than one option here. For example, to take care of your daily report problem, create the following filter:

From: coworker@domain.com
Subject: Daily Report
Action: Do not forward

This will affect any e-mails from colleagues with “daily report” in the subject.

5. Click your trackwheel or Menu button and save the filter. By default, it is enabled and will function immediately with any new incoming messages.

If you want to temporarily allow filtered messages, simply click on the filter name to uncheck in the filter list. Take note, however, that filtering works only if your BlackBerry is activated on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server; to access filters with BlackBerry Internet Service you must check with your wireless carrier.

High-priority e-mail notifications

You want to make sure you know when high-priority e-mails come in, and the standard notification doesn’t quite command your attention. To set up special notices, start at the home screen, go to Profiles, then Advanced. Here you can create a new profile or modify your current one. Set the desired notification for Level 1 Messages and save. Note: High-priority message notices will work even if you have disabled those for other types of messages.

Shortcuts

BlackBerry offers ample useful shortcut keys, most of which are only available on a device that has a full keyboard. They are performed by simply pressing the key or combination of keys listed below.

Open a message that was sent to you and try the following shortcuts:

R: Reply to message

L: Reply to all

F: Forward message

I: File highlighted message into a folder

Q: Toggle the display name and full e-mail address of a contact in an e-mail address field

G: Move to the last cursor position in a received message after closing and re-opening it

If IT continues to let fear get in the way of change, it will face obstacles.

But It Looks Cool

As early as February of this year, the CBS Interactive Business Network (BNET.com) posed the question of whether iPads would be next in the bring-your-own-technology-to-work trend. The iPad was about a month away from release to the US market.

In the piece “iPads Next? Office Workers Bring Own Technology to Work,” writer Sean Silverthorne discusses a yet-to-be published book by Forrester Research’s Ted Schadler and Josh Bernoff that looks at the phenomena of “self-provisioning” and “technology populism.” In the book, which is set to be called “Groundswell Heroes,” Schadler and Bernoff trace the history of bring-your-own-tech trends and offer opinions about why they took off in business, despite IT’s resistance.

Although Silverthorne takes issue with the iPad as a legitimate business tool (“I don’t see how a device that lacks Office, has no ability to multitask and can’t run Flash becomes a serious productivity tool,” he writes), he nevertheless offers reasons why he thinks mobile professionals will embrace it:

• Messaging and collaboration.
• Full Web experience on a big screen.
• Business media.
• Full-size document and presentation tools.
• The beginnings of anytime-anyplace secure wireless connectivity.
• It looks cool.

Read Silverthorne’s article here.

Read Schadler and Bernoff’s blog here.

An Era of Transformative Change

In a piece published on Sept. 1, Fortune magazine makes a salient point: If IT continues to let fear get in the way of change, it will face two huge obstacles: “First, the consumerization of IT means that new innovations hit the consumer sphere first before entering the enterprise. Second is the emergence of mobile-centric enterprises that are adopting rather than preventing these new ways of working.”

In “Bring Your Own Device to Work is Finally Here,” writer Gary Kovacs scolds companies that resist change. He writes: “Embracing a ‘bring your own’ policy can help accelerate the process of IT transforming itself from ‘The Cost Center That Says No’ to ‘The Business Partner That Helps Drive New Revenue.’”

Read the piece here.

Bye Bye BlackBerry?

On Sept. 10, Bloomberg News reported that JP Morgan, the second-largest bank in the U.S., may soon let employees use iPhones for corporate e-mail. JP Morgan will be running security tests and will make a final decision late this year, the article stated.

Interestingly, the bank will not be purchasing iPhones or Android phones for its workers as it did with BlackBerrys; rather, employees will purchase the new devices themselves.

Expect this trend to grow.

Read the piece here.

For Outlook 

2007′s Improved Out of Office Assistant

The Out of Office Assistant has changed significantly in Outlook 2007. If you click on the tools menu and select Out of Office Assistant, you will see a dialog box that is somewhat different from previous versions. Now, when you select the option to “Send Out of Office Replies,” you can click the check box that says “Only send during this time range.” Checking this box activates boxes to set the start and end dates and specify times during which you need replies sent. Kind of handy.

Four ways to keep on top of your e-mail while you’re on vacation.

Another change to this feature is two tabs, one for handling replies to be sent “Inside My Organization” and the other for handling replies to be sent “Outside My Organization.” In earlier versions of Outlook, replies were not sent to external contacts at all.

In order to enable the “Outside My Organization” reply, click on the tab and enable “auto-reply to people outside my organization” by placing a check in the box. Once you enable this option, you can select a radio button indicating whether the reply should be sent to “my contacts only” or “anyone outside my organization.” Handy, indeed. (Melissa Adams)

Autoreply with Custom Subject Line
Sometimes you need to mix it up and modify the autoreply subject. Follow these steps:

1. In the Out of Office Assistant dialog, click the Add Rule button.
2. For the reply to go to “all messages that arrive,” leave all the criteria fields blank.
3. Check the “Reply with” box and click Template.
4. Specify the subject AND the body of the message in the email form that opens. Leave the other fields blank, save and close the form.

Note: Be sure to remove the text from the “Autoreply only once…” box where you would normally specify your Out of Office message. If you don’t, senders will get both the custom subject response and the standard response. (Brian Choplick)

For the BlackBerry

Filter Incoming Mail
Say, for example, you receive a daily report that you will not read or deal with on your phone and would prefer to just handle it back at the office. Can you create a filter for that?
Of course you can. Here’s how:

1. Click on the Messages icon to open your messages, then click the trackwheel or Menu button and select Options.
2. Select Email Filters.
3. Click your trackwheel or Menu button, select New and then type a filter name.
4. You have several fields you can filter on: From; Sent To; Subject; Message; Sent directly to me; CC to me; BCC to me; Importance; Sensitivity. You can choose more than one option here. For example, to take care of your daily report problem, create the following filter:From: coworker@domain.com
   Subject: Daily Report
   Action: Do not forwardThis will affect any emails from colleagues with “daily report” in the subject.
5. Click your trackwheel or Menu button and save the filter. By default, it is enabled and will function immediately with any new incoming messages.

If you want to temporarily allow filtered messages, simply click on the filter name to uncheck in the filter list. Take note, however, that filtering works only if your BlackBerry is activated on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server; to access filters with BlackBerry Internet Service you must check with your wireless carrier.

High-Priority E-Mail Notifications
You want to make sure you know when high-priority e-mails come in, and the standard notification doesn’t quite command your attention. To set up special notices, start at the home screen, go to Profiles, then Advanced. Here you can create a new profile or modify your current one. Set the desired notification for Level 1 Messages and save. Note: High-priority message notices will work even if you have disabled those for other types of messages. (Nkoli Ukpabi)

Have any tips for handling e-mail while you’re away? Send them my way: jen.darr@pchelps.com.

MORE INFO IN: BlackBerry + Mobile Support | Desktop Application Support | PC Helps eTraining | Contact PC Helps

Frozen Treat: Three tips on resetting your smart phone.

How to Thaw a Frozen BlackBerry (all versions)

The first step to take if your BlackBerry is misbehaving is to reset it. Doing this will clear the internal memory and solve many issues. There are three ways to reset a BlackBerry: soft, double-soft, and hard.

Soft Reset
Press ALT+RIGHT SHIFT(CAP)+DELETE to perform a soft reset.

Use this reset method when you want to stop all applications on a BlackBerry while leaving the device powered on.

Double-Soft Reset
Start by performing a soft reset (ALT+RIGHT SHIFT(CAP)+DELETE). The screen will turn off. When it turns back on, press ALT+RIGHT SHIFT(CAP)+DELETE again. You should then see another blank screen, followed by an hourglass.

Performing a double-soft reset stops all applications on the BlackBerry and is nearly the equivalent of a hard reset. Timing is the key to performing this manuever. This is something to try if you are having difficulty removing the battery to perform a hard reset.

Hard Reset
Starting with the device powered ON, remove the battery for 30-60 seconds. After you put the battery back in, the device will reboot. This usually takes between one and three minutes.

NOTE: The BlackBerry Pearl, Curve and Storm only have the ability to perform a hard reset. However, there are third-party applications that you can download that provide the ability to perform a soft reset. (by Joel Reeves)

How to Thaw a Frozen Windows Mobile Device (Pocket PC Edition 5, 6)

Resets on Windows Mobile devices can be can be classified into two types: hard and soft.

Soft Reset
With this type of reset, memory stays intact, so it is fairly harmless to your device. Two benefits of a soft reset are that it unfreezes a slow or non-responsive device, and it closes all running applications. Most Windows Mobile phones have a “soft reset” button in a hole that you can press to reset the device. The location varies, so consult your device’s manual to find the button on your particular phone.

Hard Reset
This type of reset is a bit more extreme and should be used only if you have backed up your device or if you are intentionally trying to erase all data. Just like the soft reset, the method to hard reset your device will vary by model. Consult your user manual for further details. (by PC Helps Staff)

Backing up Your BlackBerry, Just In Case

Before making any significant configuration changes, you will want to make sure that all the data on your device is backed up. In the event of any problems, this will ensure that the data can be restored.

1. Connect your BlackBerry to your computer with a USB cable.
2. Open Desktop Manager and double-click Backup and Restore.
3. Select Backup to perform a full backup, or select Advanced to perform a backup of specific databases.
4. If you are using the Advanced options, select each database you want to back up, and then click the arrow to move it to the list of things to back up.
5. Select a location and file name for the backup data.
6. Click Save.

If you want to perform a periodic automatic backup of your device’s data, you can do that, too:

1. Connect your BlackBerry to your computer with a USB cable.
2. Open Desktop Manager.
3. Double-click Backup and Restore.
4. In the Configuration section, select Options.
5. Check the option “Back up my device automatically every X days.”
6. Type your desired interval in the field.
7. Choose whether you want to back up all device data, or exclude messages and synched data.
8. Click OK.

Note that the backup can occur only when your BlackBerry is connected to the computer, not wirelessly. (by Joel Reeves)

MORE INFO IN: Desktop Application Support | Contact PC Helps

Indeed, we get hundreds of BlackBerry calls a week, and most aren’t from the guy who cannot find the on/off button. Rather, it’s the managers on their way to meetings or hopping on flights who want to know the handy tricks and tips that will save them time and make their smart phones smarter.

Here are a few of the notables:

Tip No. 1: How to Filter Incoming Mail
Say, for example, you receive a daily report that you will not read or deal with on your phone and would prefer to just handle it back at the office. Can you create a filter for that?
Of course you can. Here’s how:

1. Click on the Messages icon to open your messages, then click the trackwheel or Menu button and select Options.
2. Select Email Filters.
3. Click your trackwheel or Menu button, select New and then type a filter name.
4. You have several fields you can filter on: From; Sent To; Subject; Message; Sent directly to me; CC to me; BCC to me; Importance; Sensitivity.You can choose more than one option here. For example, to take care of your daily report problem, create the following filter:

From: coworker@domain.com
Subject: Daily Report
Action: Do not forward

This will affect any emails from colleagues with “daily report” in the subject.

5. Click your trackwheel or Menu button and save the filter. By default, it is enabled and will function immediately with any new incoming messages.

If you want to temporarily allow filtered messages, simply click on the filter name to uncheck in the filter list. Take note, however, that filtering works only if your BlackBerry is activated on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server; to access filters with BlackBerry Internet Service you must check with your wireless carrier. (PC Helps E-Tip #9, Vol. 97.)

“Calendar views are often a source of frustration, no matter what device or software you use. “

Tip No. 2: Change Calendar Views in a Snap
Calendar views are often a source of frustration, no matter what device or software you use. Here are some quick and easy ways to navigate your BlackBerry calendar:
While in the calendar, click your trackball, and select from the following views:

“View Day”: summary for the day, showing appointments by their times.
“View Week”: seven-day summary view, showing appointments by their times.
“View Month”: shows every day of month, showing appointments by day.
“View Agenda”: Lists your upcoming appointments in detail view.

You can also use the following shortcut keys:

“D” switches to day view.

“W” switches to week view.

“M” switches to month view.

“A” switches to agenda view.

“C” creates a new appointment in detailed mode.

“T” goes to today (keeping the current view).

“G” goes to a specific date.

Press any of these keys to switch between the views. Note that shortcut keys will work only if you have “Enable Quick Entry” in Calendar Options set to “No.” (Researched by Joel Reeves)

Tip No. 3: Conference Me In
You’re on the road, on the line with a client, and you need to patch in your assistant. Here’s how you use conference calling with your BlackBerry:

1. Call the first person from your BlackBerry.
2. During the call click the trackwheel or Menu Key and select New Call (sometimes listed as 3-Way Call or Conference Call).
3. Type a phone number or select a contact to call and press the Send key.
4. Finally, when both parties are on the phone, you click the trackwheel or press the Menu key and “join” the two callers from the menu.

You can repeat the process to add multiple people, depending on your wireless plan. Check with your carrier to see if it’s available. (JR)

Tip No. 4: High-Priority E-Mail Notifications

You want to make sure you know when high-priority e-mails come in, and the standard notification doesn’t quite command your attention. To set up special notices, start at the home screen, go to Profiles, then Advanced. Here you can create a new profile or modify your current one. Set the desired notification for Level 1 Messages and save. Note: High-priority message notices will work even if you have disabled those for other types of messages. (Researched by Nkoli Ukpabi)

Got any BlackBerry tips to share? Send them my way, and I’ll be sure to give you props if we publish them.

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