Three Basic Blackberry Tips for Beginners

Posted on January 11, 2010 at 5:24 am

Purchasing your first Blackberry is both exciting and intimidating at the same time. It is a life-altering device, and it will allow you to reach new levels of productivity and organization, but there is a slight learning curve. Here are some basic tips that will help you configure your Blackberry and protect the information you put on the device.

Password Protect Your Blackberry

The Blackberry platform is known for its security features, but if you do not use them, you’re essentially giving away your personal information if your device is stolen. The easiest way to secure your device is to password protect it, but finding the option is not obvious for a new user. To password protect your device:

1. From the main screen, click on the Settings icon, and when the folder opens, click on Options.

2. Choose Password from the menu.

3. Choose Enabled from the drop-down menu at the top of the screen.

4. Click the Set Password button, and enter a password. Re-enter the password when you are prompted.

5. Configure the remaining settings to your liking. When you are satisfied, click the Blackberry button (which has the RIM logo on it), and choose Save from the menu.

Your Blackberry will automatically lock itself when it is not in use, which helps to protect your data.

Reorganize the Main Screen

Everyone uses different applications frequently. After you’ve had your device for a while, you may need to reorganize your home screen so the applications you use most frequently are near the top. To move icons:

1. Choose the icon you want to move, then click the Blackberry button and choose Move from the menu.

2. In this example, the screen indicates that we are Moving AT&T Maps.

3. Move the icon to where you would like it to be on the screen, and then click the Blackberry button and choose Complete Move from the menu.

Conserve Battery Power

The Blackberry is ubiquitous with productivity, and in order to stay productive, the device needs to stay powered on. The most obvious battery saving technique would be to turn off the device, but turning your device on and off several times a day is inconvenient.

When you are in an area with a weak signal, turning the device off is the best option, because the Blackberry (or any wireless device) will continue to search for a signal, which drains your battery.

You can also set your device to shut itself off automatically and turn itself back on automatically. If you click on Settings, choose Options and choose Auto On/Off you can adjust these settings for both weekdays and weekends.

These three simple steps will help smooth your transition to the Blackberry, help you use the device more efficiently, and ensure that your data is secure and available when you need it.

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Comments

7 Responses to “Three Basic Blackberry Tips for Beginners”

Wayne S said on : January 11th, 2010 at 1:24 pm

Hi, this might sound like a stupid question, but how does one turn on the radio for a BlackBerry? My battery died and now it says the radio is disabled and I can’t figure out how to turn it back on! Thanks

Newbie said on : January 11th, 2010 at 1:25 pm

Here’s a newbie question…how do I setup email on my BlackBerry? I want to set it up so that it automatically notifies me of new emails.

sarimin said on : January 11th, 2010 at 7:51 pm

thanks a lot… nice post…good Blackberry tips.

Elise said on : January 12th, 2010 at 6:58 pm

@Wayne S and Newbie:

I will be answering both of your questions in an upcoming post. Thanks for submitting them!

West said on : January 15th, 2010 at 9:31 am

Since we’re talking about newbie stuff, you might want to write about changing ringtones and deleting applications in your follow-up post! I could not figure out how to do that when I first got my Blackberry.

Ali said on : January 17th, 2010 at 4:14 am

It would be great to know how to change my weekend days in calendar !!! … well, I never got answer to that

Blackberry Tips – Turn on Radio and Setup Email Says:

[...] have received a few Blackberry-related questions as a result of our first post on Blackberry Tips for Beginners. We wanted to make sure we took the time to address these questions, because they are common [...]
January 25th, 2010 at 5:36 am