BBHub

Greg Gebhardt: the 75xx's were the best-built BlackBerrys ever

Russell Shaw — 2006-10-30T09:30:00+00:00

With more than 3,700 authoritative posts on Howard Forums, Greg Gebhardt is one of the online world's best-known BlackBerry authorities.

In today's new BlackBerry 8700 to BlackBerry Pearl thread (linked below), Greg makes an interesting comment.

He's tried the Pearl 8100 but it wasn't exactly his thing.

Why?

Greg writes that in his opinion, "the build quality on the 8100 is worst than the 8700. Nothing is as good as the old 75XX series."

That's a BlackBerry 7520 over there on the right.

Then Greg adds that he believes the Pearl is made of a cheap-enough quality that, in his judgement, "the cosmetics.. will not last long at all."

Readers, would you disagree or agree with Greg about either of his points: the Pearl 8100 is fragile and the 75xx's were/are the sturdiest BlackBerrys ever made?

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Consultants release two BlackBerry how-to e-books

Russell Shaw — 2005-08-30T10:48:38+00:00

Filed under: Support, Tips, 7100, 7100t, 7100g, 7100r, 7100x, 7100v, 7700, 7730, 7750, 7780, 7500, 7510, 7520, 7200, 7230, 7280, 6700, 6710, 6720, 6750, 6200, 6220, 6230, 6280, 5800, 5820, 7250, BlackBerry OS 4.x, 7270, BlackBerry Enterprise Server

Ned Johnson and Martin Trautschold are consultants with more than eight years of combined experience working with BlackBerry using corporate and individual clients. Trautschold, in fact, has presented at the Annual RIM BlackBerry Wireless Enterprise Symposium.

Now, Trautschold and Johnson have combined to write two BlackBerry Made Simple 150-plus page PDF formatted e-books for BlackBerry users.

BlackBerry Made Simple covers 6500, 6700, 7200, 7500, 7700 and 7100 series BlackBerrys.

BlackBerry Made Simple- The Definitive Guide for 7100 Series covers all BlackBerry 71xx models.

Both books are $19.95 apiece.

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Consultants release two BlackBerry how-to e-books

Russell Shaw — 2005-08-29T09:48:38+00:00

Lately it occurs to me what a long-range trip its been

Russell Shaw — 2005-06-22T10:49:01+00:00

Filed under: Software, Nextel, 7500, 7510, 7520, BlackBerry OS 4.x, International
Sorry, folks, that adaptation of a line from that old Grateful Dead classic "Truckin'" dates me chronologically and culturally. Back in the day, "Truckin' meant that you were getting ready to hit the road.

But what if you actually are, well, "truckin'"? As in, being on a long business trip, or even vacation? If your trip involves driving, you'll want to keep accurate records of stuff such as the dates of your trip, odometer readings when you started, as well as mileage reimbursement rates your employer or client may offer.

You could tote around a legal pad or even a notebook, but there's a better way. If you have BlackBerry OS 3.8 or above, MileageManager 1.0 will let you keep your trip records on your BlackBerry. The $5.50 ($4.95 for Club Handango members) solution saves your trip records in HTML format. Then, when you get home, you can export your data to Microsoft Excel.

You may even be able to email your records back to your company, or your own landline email account. For this to happen, either your organization will need to run a BlackBerry Enterprise Server with Mobile Data Service, or you'll be a Nextel or Telus (Canada) customer with a BlackBerry 7500 series handheld.

Click the Read link below this post to reach the MileageManager page on Handango.com.

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Got BlackBerry 7xxx? This service offers more than 1,000 ringtones for one price

Russell Shaw — 2005-06-06T06:57:18+00:00

Filed under: Software, 7100, 7100t, 7100g, 7100r, 7100x, 7100v, 7700, 7730, 7750, 7780, 7500, 7510, 7520, 7200, 7230, 7280, 7290, 7250, 7270, Fun
I've just noticed that BlackBerry Ring Tone Megaplex has just passed 23,000 downloads on Handango.com.

Given that many other fun and useful utilities do well with amassing 100 downloads, the popularity of the Ring Tone Megaplex is that much more amazing.

For that one price, you get unlimited download access to the more than 1,000 tones in the Ring Tone Megaplex library. The library inventory is updated at least once a week, sometimes more.

Ring Tone Megaplex is compatible with most 7xxx series BlackBerry devices. Once you purchase, download and install Ring Tone Megaplex, you access the service via their proprietary interface, not through an open Web site.

RingTone Megaplex' list price is $19.95, but I found it listed on mobile software site Handango.com for $17.96. That's 10% off.

As you might suspect, the Read link below this post takes you to the main BlackBerry Ring Tone Megaplex page on Handango.

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Extreme Makeover Home Edition and a BlackBerry-compliant construction app

Russell Shaw — 2005-04-13T08:28:35+00:00

Filed under: Software, 7700, 7500, 7200
Sendia Corporation's Hardhat application is a customized flavor of its BlackBerry-compliant wireless business application platform.

Hardhat enables home construction and home improvement contractors to collaborate on projects with administrators and field personnel.

When you talk about home improvement projects with major exposure, it would be inexcusable to overlook ABC-TV's hit series, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." The show's title defines its mission.

Recently, Sendia teamed up with homebuilder Pardee Homes and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to enable construction of a new, energy efficient home in Santa Fe Springs, Calif.

With Sendia's Hardhat application running on the BlackBerrys of Pardee Homes project managers, the whole undertaking took 7 days.

Yes, you read that right. Not 7 weeks. 7 days.

That's got to be shorter than it would have been if - as in so many other construction process - paper memos, lengthy hard-copy printouts, faxes, phone calls and email were the primary means of coordination.

Sendia's platform is compliant with the BlackBerry 7200, BlackBerry 7700, and BlackBerry 7500.

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IBBUG offers Favorite Shortcut tips

Russell Shaw — 2005-03-25T14:43:40+00:00

Filed under: Tips, 7100, 7100t, 7100g, 7100r, 7100x, 7100v, 7700, 7730, 7750, 7780, 7500, 7510, 7520, 7200, 7230, 7280, 7290, 6700, 6710, 6720, 6750, 6200, 6220, 6280, 7250, 7270
Every once in awhile, I like to check the Tips & Tricks area of the International BlackBerry User Group site to see what questions and answers IBBUG members seem the most interested in.

When I went there today, the second-most viewed item was a collection of "Favorite Shortcuts" tips.

There are tips for various keys and key combinations that allow for quick switching between apps, assigning a Speed Dial to a letter, applying bookmarks, as well as multiply or divide two numbers.

You probably already know some of these shortcuts. But could it be that you"don't know what you don't know?"

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Letting your BlackBerry go to your head

Russell Shaw — 2005-03-16T20:22:38+00:00

Filed under: Tips, 7100, 7100t, 7100g, 7100r, 7100v, 7700, 7730, 7750, 7780, 7500, 7510, 7520, 7200, 7230, 7280, 7290, 6700, 6710, 6720, 6750, 6200, 6220, 6230, 6280, 5800, 5820, 7250, 7270
I've been spending some quality time looking for bargains on the relatively new BlackBerry Accessories Store.

As one who is big on headsets for all my mobile devices, I was curious to see what was being offered. Curiously, there's only one headset - a lightweight $13.99 branded BlackBerry Headset with a miniature clip that keeps the cord in place.

If you've ever dangled headphone cords, you'll want such a clip.

Much more important, this Headset works with just about every BlackBerry on the market.

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Find your way around the subway with PocketMetro 2.1

Russell Shaw — 2005-03-14T17:36:45+00:00

Filed under: Software, 7100, 7100t, 7100g, 7100r, 7100x, 7100v, 7700, 7730, 7750, 7780, 7500, 7510, 7520, 7200, 7230, 7280, 7290, 6700, 6710, 6720, 6750, 6200, 6220, 6230, 6280, 5800, 5820, 7250, 7270
Taking a subway ride in New York, London, Paris or Berlin?

You might want to try out ClockLabs' brand new PocketMetro 2.1. It has a built-in mapping function and trip-time calculator for the subway system in each of these cities.

The coolest thing about PocketMetro: when you install it on your BlackBerry, its entire database for the city you purchase "lives" on your device. That way, you don't have to hope for a signal before you access the function. That in-device capability is especially welcome considering that acquiring a wireless signal can be somewhat problematic in the subway.

PocketMetro 2.1 is compatible with most BlackBerry models. It costs $19.99 per city, and is available via download right here.

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"Charging up" at the new BlackBerry Accessories Store

Russell Shaw — 2005-03-11T08:03:13+00:00

Filed under: Tips, 7100, 7100t, 7100g, 7100r, 7100x, 7100v, 7700, 7730, 7750, 7780, 7500, 7510, 7520, 7200, 7230, 7280, 7290, 6200, 6220, 6230, 6280, 7250
I've been spending time at the BlackBerry Accessories store. It opened for business earlier this week.

Here, you can shop for BB accessories by device or by accessory type.

In the Batteries & Battery Accessories area, for example, you can find battery covers, battery doors, and well, duh - replacement batteries. Need a new battery? There's a $29.99 battery for the 7700, 7500, 7200, 6500 and 6200. What about a real robust battery for your 7510 or 6510? Costs 'cha $43.49. And, if you need mobile power for your 7100, that's a separate $29.99 product.

Tomorrow, we'll look at the selection in the Carrying Solutions section.

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Finally: InHand for BlackBerry download is on hand

Russell Shaw — 2005-02-14T15:23:59+00:00

Filed under: Software, 7100, 7100t, 7100g, 7100r, 7100x, 7100v, 7700, 7730, 7750, 7780, 7500, 7510, 7520, 7200, 7230, 7280, 7290, 7250
Mobile software and applications provider Handango has a product called InHand. When the software program is downloaded and installed on a portable device, it can facilitate software, games, ringtones, and all sorts of cool stuff.

InHand was not available for the BlackBerry. But as a friend of mine steeped in East Asian spirituality says, "that was Zen. This is Tao."

Which is a way of saying that yes, InHand for BlackBerry is now available. It's compliant with all 3.8 OS Berries and above - including the 7100, 7200, 7500 and 7700 series.

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