No matter how much you love your Blackberry — and how often you keep checking it — there’s a good chance you’re not using the controls or available apps to their full value.
“I’ve found most people have no idea what they can do with their Blackberrys,” says Kevin Cork a financial planner with the Absolute Group in Calgary.
Cork offers these suggestions to help you get the more from your Blackberry:
Know the shortcuts
These keyboard shortcuts will help you save time and reduce keying errors when you are in the email list:
> hit “r” to reply
> hit “c” to compose
> hit “f” to forward
> hit “s” to search through all emails.
Instead of scrolling, these keys will help you navigate within messages more quickly and easily:
> hit “b” to go to the end of the message
> hit “t” to go to the top of the message
> hit space-bar to jump down one screen.
Use your space-bar to help you save time when writing out an email address. Hitting the space-bar at the appropriate point when typing an email address, and it will insert an “@” or a “dot,” depending on the position in the email address. For example, if you type: “yourname [space-bar] email [space-bar] com,” your Blackberry will record “yourname@email.com.”
To capitalize a letter when writing an email, simply hold the key down for an extra second or two.
Take advantage of apps
Many apps are available to enhance the value of your Blackberry.
The app Vlingo, for example, is dictation software that makes your Blackberry responsive to voice commands. Use it to call up a contact from your email list, dictate a message and then send it — all without hitting a single key. If you want to take notes after a client meeting simply say “note to self” or “memo” and start dictating.
> Vlingo can work with bluetooth for hands-free use. “It allows me to send emails and texts in the car,” Cork says, “I can even dictate messages.”
Vlingo costs US$19.99.
> RepliGo will make it easier to read PDFs on your Blackberry. The app, which costs US$14.95, converts PDFs to fit the Blackberry screen as a single column, making it easy to read and scroll through.
“It’s more readable,” Cork says. “It allows you to use the Blackberry more as an eReader.”
If you travel a lot or take clients out for lunch, apps such as Poynt can help you pinpoint the perfect restaurant.
Poynt is a free app that works with your Blackberry’s GPS feature to and help you find restaurants, businesses, movie theatres and other points of interest.
IE