Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with blackberry

I want to get an iPhone, but how do I travel across carriers?

Knigel — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:47:58 -0800

Hello, I'm wanting to get iPhone (or use my Blackberry Worldphone) in Korea and other countries; however, I do not know the best way to do this. From my understanding I would likely have to buy an unlocked phone and then get hooked up with a carrier on a pay-as-I-go plan or something? What do most nomads do for phones besides things like Skype?

Lost Blackbery info, help!

Unnecessarily Sarcastic Bitch — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:25:25 -0800

Help, I've lost all my address book and appointment calender from my Blackberry! I have a Blackberry Curve, either an 8300 or 8500. Last week it started acting up, the roller ball wouldn't work, so I got a replacement BB sent to me via RIM. Once I got the new BB, I took my SD cards out and put them in the new BB, packaged up the defective one and sent it on its way.

However, after it was already sent off, I realized that NONE of my contacts, phone numbers or appointments were on the new BB! My pictures and music were, but nothing else! I do not synce the BB with anything, just enter the data directly on the phone.

My entire list of contacts, over 500 people and all my appointments are gone! What can I do to get them back?

NPR radio on blackberry

justlooking — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:37:51 -0800

What is the best option for listening to NPR on blackberry (Tour)? I have a blackberry tour which I have to use for work (office e-mail). I had a Samsung smartphone before this on which it was pretty easy to listen to NPR. I am struggling to find an option to do the same on the blackberry. There seems to a number of apps out there which will apparently allow you to listen to internet based radio on Blackberry. I would like to find out what works best for NPR.

Bitte helf mir!

miss lynnster — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:41:27 -0800

I'm on my way to Austria for a few weeks. Looking for a handy German language app for my Blackberry Tour to help me as I struggle to remember the language. Is there one? While we're here, any other good world travel apps you recommend? I'll be in Paris for two days, then Vienna and points beyond.

I'm new to this Blackberry thang really, so I'm not familiar with many of the apps yet... please hook me up, you young hipster people.

Thanks! :D

Blackberry/smartphone idiot.

ebesan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:22:29 -0800

Blackberry/smartphone idiot... a smart move? For the complete idiot, tell me what a smartphone can really do. Wiki says alot, but I don't understand much. I'm attracted to more and better access/apps, but need to watch my budget. $$$$$ How to find a reasonable plan in NYC, for someone who does not need the phone by my side 24 hrs.

Help me find the blackberry delicousness, please.

lorrer — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:23:12 -0800

Help me get Seattle-quality blackberries in the NYC area. Is there anywhere in Manhattan, the outer boroughs, or even Long Island where I can get really great blackberries? I have never found them, in the last ten years, at any store (not even Kirkland and Issaquah-based Costco!). Nothing has come close to the taste off the vine - not tart at all, almost overripe tasting compared to most fruits, somewhat sweet, and very rich & earthy.

I was back in Seattle a couple of months ago and gorged myself on them off the vine, and for the first time made pie with them on my own - and the pies were incredible. I'm hoping to find a source so that I can share the joy of ripe blackberries with my friends and family, and so that I can make delicious pies for fall and winter festivities.

How to get RSS feeds off of a Blackberry onto a PC

quaisi — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:45:53 -0800

I have a Blackberry Curve running Opera Mini. I have a long list of rss feeds I read in Opera whilst out and about. How can I get them out of the phone and into a desktop rss reader? There should be an opml file right? But I can't get into the system files when I connect it to the computer. Any ideas?

Please help me narrow down my phone selection - Blackberry or other? Thanks!

TrueVox — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:58:12 -0800

I'm getting a cellphone! Currently, I'm looking at a refurb'd Blackberry Curve from AT&T. I want to spend less then $100 (preferably as little as possible) but still have a 'geek' phone. There are a few caveats in place, though, due to the family plan I'm joining: It must be AT&T, no data plan option (so good by iPhone, jail-broken or otherwise), less then $100, but I'll have unlimited texting. I do want the Wifi, but will the Blackberry be clunky to use at home without a data plan, or can I just always make it default to wifi or nothing? Is the Blackberry the best choice (given my constraints) for someone who'd prefer an Android but can't afford one?

Also, if the Blackberry IS a good choice, what's a good resource for a new Blackberry owner who is familiar with hacking their hardware (I've got a modded Wii, an XBMC, and I flexed my old Razor before I stopped having a cellphone for a while)?

And last (sorry for the three part question, I know they're frowned on, but they kind of lead to each other)... are there any "Must Have" Blackberry Apps that aren't default?

Thanks to everyone! Go go gadget Hive Mind!

Starting out with a Blackberry

Mons Veneris — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:02:12 -0800

Attention all seasoned Blackberry users: I just purchased a Blackberry 8220 (The Pearl Flip), and I have a few questions about UMA access I'm with Rogers Wireless in Canada, and I used to have a Motorola RAZR. Basically, I bought the Blackberry, slipped by SIM card in, and configured my Wi-fi. I discovered, to my surprise, that apparently the phone can make calls over Wi-fi under something called "UMA", which is a blessing, because my appartment has horrible cellphone reception.

My questions are as follows:

My phone automatically got on UMA and started using it, whereas apparently one needs a plan for this sort of thing. Will I suddenly lose access, or will I have a nice surprise on my bill at the end of the month?

Can I use the wifi access on this phone for things other than making calls? E.g. browsing the web, getting my email, etc. I tried to use the browser, but it consistently comes up with a page threatening a $0.03/kb charge if I go any further.

As a bonus question, if I setup email over wifi, can I get it to appear in the regular Blackberry interface, or will I have to go through some sort of third-party email app?

Thanks in advance!

How can I force a microSD card into my broken blackberry slot?

frenetic — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:16:34 -0800

What's the best way to brute-force a microSD card into my new Blackberry (that apparently has a defective slot.) microSD cards no longer click into place in the microSD slot on my Blackberry Flip 8130. I've tried multiple cards, taken it to my cell phone store, checked various forums and with RIM with no results. I've also tried using an exacto knife to enlarge the notch on the microsd card, no luck. Here's a picture of the slot:

http://www.bradsucks.net/misc/bb-microsd-slot.jpg

The card works fine if I hold it in place, but since it's not latching, the spring mechanism pushes it out and disconnects it once I let go. The slot cap isn't strong enough to keep the card in place.

Since it'd cost $200 to get it repaired, I'd be happy just forcing the card to stay in there (potentially forever). Can anyone suggest the best way? Can I break the spring mechanism? Glue the cap shut? Help!

Configurations of Blackberry Desktop Manager

nelak — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:34:30 -0800

Is it possible to setup BlackBerry Desktop Manager to sync between outlook and the blackberry device, continue to receive mail from personal email accounts via IMAP and POP3 via BIS, and also run the BB Desktop Redirector on my work PC in order to receive corporate email to my device? I use a personal blackberry to sync my calendar, tasks and memo's between my BB and corporate Outlook.

I would like to continue to sync those items, but would also like to setup the BB Desktop Redirector to push mail to my device. Is that possible?

I also have 3 personal email accounts setup via IMAP and POP3. This is also very important because I run a business (separate from my 9 to 5), so I would like to keep these email accounts setup as they are.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of configuration?

stalemate?

Oddly — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:10:36 -0800

Gameknot chess on a Blackberry? Addicted to Gameknot chess, but unable to get boards to render on my Blackberry 8820. Are there adjustments to settings that make it possible?

Keeping the phone charged on the go

crapples — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:53:25 -0800

Will a Verizon brand car charger ruin the battery on my new Blackberry Curve? I have read and heard in various places that car chargers are bad for batteries for various reasons. However, the Verizon folks say that the cheap Walmart chargers are bad because they never stop pumping the juice even after the phone is fully charged. They say that their chargers, purchased from their stores, are "smart" enough to lay-off once the phone is charged. They say that using them won't hurt my battery at all.

Are they feeding me a line?

On Monday I'm headed out on a week long camping trip and would really love to have a charged phone during the drive and whenever we're near the car. Thanks.

Please to be buying my contract thanks.

By The Grace of God — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:39:25 -0800

What's the best way to transfer my Vodafone contract so I can go get me a nice shiney iPhone 3GS? So I have been bit by OO SHINEY and I want to get out of my Vodafone contract. I have a Blackberry Curve (not the wireless sort, the grey no-wifi sort) and 9 months remaining on my contract. I pay 40 quid a month all inclusive and that includes my phone, text, 500MB of internets and free email/facebook from Blackberry. I also have a Vodafone Satnav free subscrip that expires in September this year.

I would like to transfer this to someone else. Is there a depot or clearinghouse for this? I've posted to my facebook advertising the contract (and offering 50 quid thanks for taking it) but maybe there is somewhere good online to do this with a low possibility of being cheated? Voda credit checks the new recipient so identity fraud would be the only risk, yes?

I am aware that lots of folk get MUCH shinier Blackberries for about ten quid cheaper per month than I do now but maybe someone wants a 9 month contract? I could offer up to 100 quid thanks-money I suppose..

Vodafone cancellation crew said they would be able to take 5 quid a month off my tariff, plus the bolt-ons (500MB internet and the RIM subscription) can be cancelled at any time, although one would need to keep the RIM I think.

Any other suggestions on getting out would be great - I am told they charge £230 cancellation fee on top of the 9 months' charges to get out at Voda, so transfer far superior to cancel..

how do I syncronize my contacts and calendar between BlackBerry and Google without using Outlook?

esolo — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:11:46 -0800

After using Outlook + PDA as my organization tools for at least 5 years, I got sick of all the bugs, and decided to fully migrate to Google Apps and BlackBerry. I have imported my Outlook contacts and calendar into Google. My email has been in Gmail for a while now. Now how do I maintain that on my BlackBerry, given that the BlackBerry uses Outlook. For example, if I need to add a new contact on my BlackBerry, I want it to be synchronized with Google Contacts, not Outlook. Any suggestions?

What is this cool Blackberry Curve theme?

ishotjr — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:07:42 -0800

Blackberry newbie filter: Can you ID the theme on the Curve shown on this review clip from Attack of the Show? I got a Blackberry Curve [even though I know I don't need it for law school ;-)]and I'm not a huge fan of the themes that come on the phone. I really like the theme on the phone shown in this clip where they review the Curve. The phone in the clip is T-Mobile and so is mine. It's not one of the themes that comes on the (my) phone, but I have no clue where I might be able to download such a theme. Any leads are much appreciated!

more for my money in cell phones - sprint

mdn — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:07:25 -0800

cheapest blackberry-esque phone & plan, either thru Sprint or taking into account the cost of leaving Sprint... I lost my regular cell phone and finished my paper datebook. I haven't got the replacement phone yet, and I'm having trouble finding a replacement datebook that starts in June. I'll be very busy starting next week and need to be well organized, so am considering the electronic option. On the other hand, I'm pretty broke.

My old/ current Sprint plan ended up coming to about $70 per month, even though it was supposed to be more like $39... There seemed to always be a lot of fees or forgotten changes to the bill. I either want to really go cheap, spend like $25 a month and have the bare bones, or get something actually life-improving, that will help me keep track of things, have a useful and usable calendar, etc.

I don't talk all that much on the phone so limited minutes (within reason) is fine, and since one insane bill due to text messages I've kept that to a minimum without trouble. I think I renewed my Sprint plan last August. Any advice? Thanks.

Can I use my Blackberry Bold AT&T SIM Card in an iPhone?

thankyoumuchly — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:34:38 -0800

Can I use my Blackberry Bold AT&T SIM Card in an iPhone? My internet research has left me with the following impression: If the SIM card is linked to a blackberry data plan, when I put it in the iPhone I will not have data, only voice. I have a Blackberry Bold with AT&T in the United States and I am curious if I can remove my Bold's SIM card on the weekends and use it in an iPhone. I'll have to buy an iPhone used / refurbished, but I'm willing to do that as long as my AT&T plan doesn't automatically have iPhone charges added.

The reason I want to do this? I have a Bold and an iPod touch (and love the touch) but I hate carrying both with me (I am required to have the blackberry for work, but hate the email after hours, and I'm an iPod touch fiend!). If this is possible, I'll leave my blackberry at work and put the SIM card in the Bold from 9AM-5PM.

On the nights and weekends, I'll put the SIM card and put it in my iPhone (I normally leave my iPod touch in the car when I go to work anyway and use my laptop for iTunes/music).

I've searched AskMeFi but haven't found an answer.

The internet has lots of answers, most of which are not for AT&T / United States plans (lots of European solutions but these won't help as it appears the answer depends on AT&T's servers realizing that my SIM is now in an iPhone).

Thus far, my internet research has left me with the following impression:

If my Bold's SIM card is linked to a blackberry data plan, when I put it in the iPhone I will not have data, only voice.

- - -

Will an iPhone data plan *automatically* be added to my AT&T bill (this would cause me not to execute my plan). Can I turn off the AT&T network data and only use AT&T's network for voice and the iPhone's WiFi for data (this would be ok with me on the nights and weekends since I get enough email from 9-5 on my blackberry that I don't want to see any email it after work).

Will I get charged any extra by AT&T once they realize my SIM is in an iPhone and not a Blackberry (aside from the data plan, any strange charges)?

Can anyone elaborate, share their own stories, have any of you done this? (AT&T employees, can you tell me what the policy on your end is? Will a black suburban show up outside my house in the middle of the night!?).

I'm looking to you, hive mind! Pour forth your knowledge!

Thanks in advance,

TYM

Should I put in time for when I check my blackberry?

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:57:07 -0800

Is it ethical to submit an extra 15 minutes of work per day because I got a blackberry? I work for a large corporation and for about 5 years, I've gotten away with not having a blackberry. When I'm needed during off hours, my boss called me on my cell phone and it's been fine.

Recently, I missed an e-mail sent on a Sunday night asking to come in early Monday. (We have the ability to access e-mail through a website but we have to go through about 4 pages of security logins so it's a bit of a pain. Additionally, I am not online much on the weekends.) I came in my usual time and when I logged in, I saw the e-mail and felt awful. I spoke with my boss and applied for a blackberry.

Now, every morning and evening, I spend a few minutes checking it and replying to messages, etc. I get paid hourly and consider checking the blackberry work. Therefore, I have been adding an extra 15 minutes each day to my time sheet.

Is this ethical? Is this something that could get me into trouble?

(I am in my late 20s and this is my first real job. Within the past 6 months, there has been a lot of "restructuring" within the company. Other people with my title do not have a blackberry, but I work for a small, specialized unit and do a lot more than what I was initially hired for.)

Lower my monthly bill...

likeapen — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:49:37 -0800

I plan on upgrading to a Blackberry Curve with Verizon and going on their emailing and messaging plan (450 min unlimited). On their website it comes to $99.99 an month. I'm an avid texter, want voice, be able to email, go online and use vzn navigator. I want to lower that monthly bill... What can I disable (that I'll be charged for) on the Blackberry so I won't have to pay $100 a month?

How to sync Blackberry with Google Calendar

backwards guitar — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:25:46 -0800

Can I sync a blackberry curve 8300 with Mozilla Thunderbird (+ Lightning) or Google Calendar without Outlook and with no data plan on my blackberry? I've got a Blackberry Curve 8300 with no data plan. I get push email and that is all. No web browsing, etc. I'd like to sync my blackberry calendar with Google Calendar.

I've currently got Google Calendar syncing with Thunderbird (and Lightning) on my Windows Vista machine. Is there software out there that will let me sync the blackberry to my Thunderbird calendar when the phone is connected via USB? Or even an app that will sync the blackberry directly with Google Calendar.

I found a few things that allow syncing with Outlook's calendar, but unfortunately I don't have Outlook.

A Yankee needs an Eastern European Blackberry

ps6000 — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:18:12 -0800

How can I (an American) get a Blackberry with an Eastern European number with unlimited data. My company is going to have a new employee working in Eastern Europe. I have been tasked with getting him a Blackberry. Due to the nature of his work we would like to get him a Blackberry with a phone number local to him. This would be Slovakia, Czech Republic, or Austria. I have no idea on how to go about this. I have asked this individual to look at plans, but all he finds are plans with limited data, and prepaid options. Not being versed in European cell phone customs, is this the norm?

Do you have any similar experience that would be applicable and could help?

What do other people/companies do in similar situations?

Blackberry Storm Downloads/App's

Direwolf — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:17:07 -0800

What are some cool downloads/applications for Blackberry Storm? I would prefer that they are free, but if they cost a little thats ok too. I don't have very many app's on my Blackberry yet and would like to get some good ones. I guess I would like to get good app's that provide music streaming, connections to resourceful news contacts like NPR, maybe some games, maybe some cool art, etc... Any ideas or suggestions would be great. Thanks!

Cheapest way to get a blackberry?

roundrock — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:33:52 -0800

I bought a Verizon Dare about 6 months ago and I've got phone envy. I'm stuck with Verizon (and my wife prefers it) for the next two years. How can I get a Blackberry on the cheap? Should I try and pick it up on eBay, barter on Craigslist, just suck it up and pay full retail, or is there some better fourth way? What Blackberry is best for a law student soon to be a practicing lawyer (I don't use a laptop in class)? Thanks!

Endless Chatter

Fupped Duck — Wed, 20 May 2009 06:43:05 -0800

Talking on my Blackberry while it was plugged into the charger did weird and horrible things to the battery (battery started bulging a bit and voltage changes made my phone crash a lot), and so I bought a new battery and refrain from doing that. Must I avoid doing this with my iPhone as well or is this problem a quirk related to how Blackberries operate while in charging mode? I have unlimited minutes on my cell plan, other than battery talk-time limits...