As nice as of an operating system as BlackBerry 7 is it is still based on a BlackBerry OS that has been around for years, and, unfortunately, like its predecessors requires rebooting after the installation and updating of many popular applications.  Having to reboot your BlackBerry just because you installed an app is annoying, but, having to pull the battery out of your device to do so, makes the process irritating.

With today’s Quick Tip we wanted to remind BlackBerry users that if you simply need to reboot your device pulling the battery is overkill.  You can perform a “soft reset”, or, reboot your BlackBerry by pressing the Alt, right Shift, and Delete buttons simultaneously.  So long as your device isn’t locked up this keyboard shortcut for rebooting your BlackBerry is lot less hassle than physically pulling the battery…

Quick Tip: How to Reboot a BlackBerry Without Removing the Battery is a post from: RIMarkable, the Unofficial BlackBerry Weblog...

I received the following question in our contact form:

My boyfriend bought a used BlackBerry and does not have a manual for it.  He
does not know the series number.  Is there something to push on the phone that
tells him the exact series number so I can order him the appropriate manual?

If you have a BlackBerry but aren’t quite sure what model number it is, all you have to do is go to Options –> About…  You will see not only your exact model number, but, the OS version that currently running on the your device.  Once you know your device model, head over to http://us.blackberry.com/support/devices/.  You should be able to find and download any device specific documentation that you may need as well as any updated software for your device.

Quick Tip: How To Find Out What Model BlackBerry You Have is a post from: RIMarkable, the Unofficial BlackBerry Weblog...

A question that we get asked frequently, especially by first time BlackBerry users that are new to smartphones, is how to transfer contacts from a SIM card to a BlackBerry.  The process is pretty straight forward one you know where to look.  All you have to do is…

1. Launch Setup Wizard
2. Select Import SIM Card Contacts
3. Select Yes

That’s all there is to it.

Quick Tip: Transfer Contacts From Your SIM To Your BlackBerry is a post from: RIMarkable, the Unofficial BlackBerry Weblog...

As many trackball bearing users know, especially BlackBerry Tour 9630 users, the BlackBerry trackball is a magnet for lent and dust and tends to get gummed up from time to time preventing you from scrolling in all directions freely.  This video shows you the quickest and easiest way to fix your BlackBerry Trackball, that from what I’ve heard, works most of the time.

If this doesn’t work, you can always replace your BlackBerry trackball, however, I would give this shot first as it may definitely save you time and ten bucks.

Thanks to William for sending this in…
[Via unsharpTech]

Video: How To Fix A Gummed Up BlackBerry TrackBall… The Quick And Easy Way is a post from: RIMarkable, the Unofficial BlackBerry Weblog...

We all know that the current BlackBerry Browser leaves much to be desired. Until the release of the new Webkit browser we’re stuck with this lackluster one. One gripe that BlackBerry users have with respect to the browser is its speed. Fortunately with a few setting tweaks in browser options you’ll notice a significant increase in your browsing speed.

1. Launch BlackBerry Browser and select Options from the BlackBerry menu.
2. Select Browser Configuration from the Browser Options screen.
   
3. Deselect Support JavaScript and Save Options from the BlackBerry menu and click Save Options on the BlackBerry menu.
   
4. On  the Browser Options page select General Properties.
   
5. On the General Properties page scroll down to Image Quality and change that option to Low (faster).
   
6. Select Animations and change that value down to either 10 times or Once, then, click  Save Options from the BlackBerry Menu.
   

It may not seem like much, but these alterations will make a dramatic difference in your browsing experience even while browsing on EDGE (at least it did for me). Now, the caveats to making these changes are that images will be of poor quality. I’d rather take a shorter loading time than pretty pictures. Also, since we disabled JavaScript, certain pages won’t load properly. Usually there’ll be a popup messages asking if you’d like to reload with Java enabled (just for that page), if not, simply click the ‘J’ key and the page will refresh with Java enabled.

Make these changes and report back on the differences you notice, if any, in your BlackBerry Browser speed?

Quick Tip: Increase Your BlackBerry Browser Speed! is a post from: RIMarkable, the Unofficial BlackBerry Weblog...

Think predictive text is a feature only available on touch screen virtual keyboards?  Think again!  Last night while rummaging through my phone’s settings I came across the option to enable predictive text on my Blackberry Bold 9700. To enable this feature, go to Options, Language and Text Input, Show Text Input Options. There it is! Predictive Text Input!

Once enable this option and save the changes, create a message. You’ll now notice that when typing text your BlackBerry will offer suggestions based on what you’ve typed.  To select the suggested word, simply hit enter, or, to select a suggested word that isn’t highlighted, scroll to the desired word and hit enter.  Pretty cool!

Quick Tip: Enable Predictive Text On Your QWERTY BlackBerry is a post from: RIMarkable, the Unofficial BlackBerry Weblog...

I don’t know why questions often seem to come in bunches, however, over the last week or two, I’ve been asked how to wipe a BlackBerry and restore it back to factory defaults at least half a dozen times.  The process is pretty straight forward, but not something that many BlackBerry users do, so we’ve put together a little tutorial to walk you through it.

How To Security Wipe Your BlackBerry

1. Go to your devices Options screen

   

2. Select Security Options

   

3. Select Security Wipe

   

4. Check each of the options that you would like to be wiped from your device

   

5. Enter “blackberry” to confirm device wipe

6. Click the “Wipe” button

Be Careful!!! This process does exactly what it says it does.  Absolutely make sure that you want to do this before you actually do it.  Even if you are sure I recommend getting a good backup of your device before running through this process.

How To Wipe Your BlackBerry And Restore It Back To Factory Defaults is a post from: RIMarkable, the Unofficial BlackBerry Weblog...

I am going to go out on a limb and assume that many BlackBerry users have no clue you can reprogram the side buttons on their BlackBerry devices.  RIM has provided this little known feature for some time now. The reason I say this is because, far too frequently, I hear the classic statement, Say a command. I have been in meetings, elevators, planes, bathrooms, and even the movies and heard this break the silence of the room.

Maybe Buttons Are Bad?

I’ve personally hit the voice dialing or camera button on my BlackBerry Storm so often that I’ve just disabled them both. I am sure some iPhone fan will explain that this is exactly why Steve Jobs hates buttons.  I don’t believe that the side buttons on a BlackBerry are a design flaw because they are very actually very useful.  It is just that most BlackBerry users forget to lock their device before they put it into their pocket.

Change The Defaults

I, myself, don’t need dedicated buttons for the BlackBerry camera or voice dialing as they both have prime spots on my home screen on opposite sides of the screen, so, if your like me and you want to disable or reprogram the buttons dedicated to camera or voice dialing on  your device, do the following:

Got Options –> Screen/Keboard and scroll down until you see Right Side Convenience Key Options and Left Side Convenience  Key Options.  You can set them to nothing, as, I have, or to something less annoying than the voice command prompt or your BlackBerry camera for those times that you accidentally hit the button.

Say A Command… Does Voice Command Activate At The Wrong Moment? is a post from: RIMarkable, the Unofficial BlackBerry Weblog...

After writing detailed instructions for Windows Phone users to convert DVD’s and watch them on their phones I have decided to help out the BlackBerry community.

The key to getting into converting movies is simplicity. It has to be easy. I have been doing it for a long time and have suffered through a lot, and,  now I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, the process is made easier by using DVDFab. DVDFab “DVD to DVD” has a lot of options for you to convert DVD’s.  It runs fast and is updated regularly.

I use the DVD to DVD version of the software as it provides the most options.  This version allows me to take the DVD content and put it in a Video_TS format on my hard drive.  This may sound technical but essentially it allows me to queue up for a bulk conversion.  Once I decided I wanted to put movies on my mobile device I purchased the DVD to Mobile component of DVDFab.  If you only want to put content on your mobile device, you can bypass the DVD to DVD version and just get  DVDFab “DVD to Mobile” version. DVDFab has different pricing options for both components. 1 year of the mobile version is $50.00 while a lifetime key will cost you 75.60. I have the lifetime and it is worth every penny.

• If you looking for the most flexibility buy DVDFab “DVD to DVD”
• If you want to convert movies for you mobile but going DVD to DVD is not needed save a couple bucks and buy DVDFab “DVD to Mobile”
• I have gone through several products and this one is my favorite.

Straight from the DVD

After you install DVDFab you simply need to drop a disc into the DVD tray. Once you close the tray DVDFab will begin to recognize your disc.

1. Once this disc is recognized it is time to set your options. Here you will notice that DVDFab is capable of converting your movie for the iPod, iPhone  and the rest of the I’s, Zune, Zune HD, Xbox, Playstation, and much more. For this we will choose the Cell Phone option on the left. ( it may be under the more option )

2. In the middle of the screen, the main movie should already be selected for you, if not select it. (It is usually the longest playtime. For multi episode disks you will have to select each one or run the process multiple times.)

3. Next on the right hand side choose the proper audio. (even if you choose 5.1, if the profile you select does not support it then the final result will be a two channel movie not 6. Be patient, Profiles are next!)

4. Under the audio section, choose if you want subtitles (of course not but I had to add it)

5. Browse to the location where you want the final output file saved.

Profiles

Profiles are basically different video conversion settings that have been predetermined based on the device you select. Some of the devices will have multiple “Profiles”, but usually the default one is good enough. And in this case use the BlackBerry.Storm Profile. (This should work on most Blackberries. We tested the Storm and the Tour and they both looked great.

Now, there is one thing you may want to change in the profile and that is the name of the output file and the title of the movie. This step is optional, but just click the edit button next the the Profile drop down and type in the information at the top. When you are done click “ok”

Now click the big “Start” button at the bottom right hand corner to start the conversion.

Once you click “Start” DVDFab will begin the conversion. Depending on the speed of your computer, it can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours, so go have some coffee or something.

1. After the conversion is complete go to the directory you selected for the output file

2. There will be a Zune folder that was created, and in that folder will be another folder with the name of the disc.

3. Grab the movie and copy it to your phone.

DONE!

From the Hard Drive

Earlier I mentioned that you can queue up the movies you are going to convert. To queue up movies instead of entering a disc, you just browse to the folder that contains the VIDEO_TS folder from the DVD located on your hard drive.

To do this just click the folder icon next to the source field.

Browse to the folder and select it.

After the movie is analyzed follow the instructions from Straight from the DVD. DO NOT CLICK START YET!!

Repeat these steps until all the movies are loaded.. ( Hit the “Queue” button in the bottom right corner to see all the movies that are loaded. You can also adjust the video settings on each movie in the queue. )

Now click start.

Done.

How To Convert DVDs For Your BlackBerry is a post from: RIMarkable, the Unofficial BlackBerry Weblog...