Who should own a smartphone? I ask this question because some of us wonder if everyone wielding a smartphone really knows how to operate one. Why have a smartphone if you don’t utilize the full potential of the device? Some come with a basic operator’s manual. Did you read it? I never read mine, but I can usually figure things out pretty quickly and I’ve owned smartphones before my Berry.
For a few years, I carried the all important Day Planner everywhere I went. I once left it behind in a store and thought my life was over. I frantically called every place I ever went to find it. After I got my first Palm Treo, the planner days were so over. I now carry everything in my smartphone. Sure enough, I did leave my smartphone at a bungalow when out house shopping one day, but my realtor picked it up and returned it to me.
I know people who own BlackBerries that have never backed it up and never used the memo feature. When I ask why, they simply say they either saw no need or didn’t know how. We’ve all seen forums plagued with people asking redundant questions hoping for an immediate answer to their issue. I wonder how many look their issue up online before submitting a question. Granted, it may be tough at times to find your exact issue in a forums search.
I told my buddy Newshutr that I understand the many questions from people changing out their OS for the first time… it can seem daunting even with directions. I was there once too. The word BRICK remains in the forefront of your brain until that final reboot and you see all your contacts again.
But others? Why own a smartphone if you don’t want to add apps, themes or change out the operating system? Go get yourself a nice little Nokia or something. They always have cute ringtones anyway. I think my first phone was a Nokia. I loved it and thought it was so cool. Now, I can’t function without a smartphone. It’s my shopping list, my to-do list (birthdays and Christmas too), it’s my calendar, my alarm, my navigation, my BBM and SMS contact to the world and at times, my music player. Lastly, it’s a phone. I actually make an occasional call on it from time to time, but not often really. If you hadn’t noticed, I prefer to type even though I’m told I have a great voice for radio work. BBM, email and SMS are my primary communication methods. I always tell people I know to email or SMS me… they will almost always get my voice mail if they call.
I’ve seen people on forums asking a lot of stupid questions. These are the very people I wonder about. Are they smart enough to own a smartphone? I’m sure you’ve all heard that the only stupid question is the one not asked. Nope. I don’t agree with that one bit. Trust me, I can find some pretty stupid questions out there. How about the person who asks “What’s the number beside the yellow envelope icon mean?” Really? If most humans don’t really know the answer to that, then we’re in serious trouble. If I never owned a smartphone, I think I could figure that one out.
If you don’t need appointment reminders, GPS, notes, applications or tweaking out the operating system, then don’t get a smartphone. The phone may outsmart you. Don’t get it because it’s a status symbol. Smartphones are not necessarily a status symbol anymore because manufacturers have really downsized these beasts over the past few years. Today, they're sleek and blend in with most other devices. My first Palm Treo was the 700W. I loved it. After a doctor saw it in my hand, he said “that looks like a lot more than a phone”. The phone was big and impressively scary looking. It was more than a phone. I was hooked.
If you’re not familiar with smartphones but still want one, do your homework first. Google the differences in operating systems, available applications, etc. Find one that impresses you, not your friends. Be prepared to do a lot of reading. Read lots of other forum questions to prepare yourself in the good versus bad. If you can’t figure something out with your smartphone, Google the problem. Chances are, the answer is out there somewhere. If not, then post your question. Forums are managed and frequented by knowledgeable people. They’ve been playing with smartphones for a long time. Try not to pester them with questions that are repeated by other users. If you can’t find your answer, I then encourage you to ask. These guys love helping, but I’m sure they get a little frustrated when people ask stupid questions… that common sense should answer.
If you can’t answer the “number beside the yellow envelope icon” question above, I would not suggest buying a smartphone.
Originally published on 04/16/2011 at www.driphter.com.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
BBM Pin Postings
For this addition of BBM and Me, I thought I’d touch on the BBM invites people post on BBM sites like MyBlackBerry. This article is a tad longer than normal, so grab a coffee or beer, kick back, relax for a few and read on.
Some of you post your pins on Twitter and Facebook, looking for others to “chat” with. Others rely on BlackBerry related sites where they offer forums just for pin posts.
Many sites now offer up sub-forums under pin posting forums that allow you to find specific types of BBM users. Whether you’re looking for BBM-ers from Toronto or African-American users, there’s probably a sub-forum for you. Maybe you’re looking for other hip hop music lovers. You can find a sub-forum for that too. You can also find the over 30 crowd and senior groups. Isn’t BlackBerry Messenger amazing? Even Twitter has their own BB pin section.
While you’re looking for that perfect sub-forum out there to post your pin in, you need to compose a short blurb about yourself to attract other BBM users. Depending on the type of BBM-er you’re looking to chat with may impact what you want to say in your BBM blurb.
While the gamut of pin postings run from non-descript to the obscene, I’ll include a few I’ve seen over the past year, along with my very own commentary. Names and pins have been removed to protect the dopes who posted these. If any of these were from Dcom members, I’m so sorry… there’s nothing wrong your posting at all and I have no idea how it made this list. Oh and any grammatical errors from this point forward is not my fault. These are copied directly from various forums and some are just priceless. I’ve actually corrected a couple, believe it or not.
Add me ladies… you’ll definitely like what you see on my end.
Really? I'll refrain from any comment on this one. It's just so perfect.
Am young n sexy, add me up ladies.
Also no comment.
22 WF, single, sexy and not afraid to be a little naughty.
If this isn’t the jackpot for most BBM guys, I don’t know what is.
Whaddup ladies, you want II have a good chat? Holla @ ur man.
Last I checked, I didn’t have a man.
Male and yes 24/7 I love giving and receiving. I do have pictures.
This dude’s blurb was in caps no less. The best part? Someone’s comment to his post… “Oh yeah, all of us ladies can’t wait to have another perv on our BBM.”
19 male Glasgow .. no guys . girls only! fun girls ..
These guys are a dime a dozen.
21 male from Peru. - Looking to meet new people around the world.
This guy definitely sounds like a newbie to BBM.
29 male London - first blackberry so add me please girls.
You expect us girls to believe this? Yeah, right.
29 male USA - Hey ladies add me if u want some fun.
Hmm, I’m always looking for fun and trouble. How much fun can this guy be on a BlackBerry?
all sexy ladies hit me up asap.
Here’s one posted on a social networking site. No location or anything else listed, just a short, sweet message along with a pin. You heard him ladies, go get him (I would presume this is a guy anyway).
single looking for cute guys and girl that r from cali or los angeles to pin me.
Ok, is this one looking for guys and one girl specifically? I don’t know if the person posting this was male or female, but Los Angeles IS in California, in case they didn’t know.
yoo peeps...wos gwanin?? m a laid back n chilld out boii..love makng frnds hit me up!!
Wow, spelling is really important you know… watch those typos.
add me girls only, any kinda of chat, friends, dirty, pic swat voice not swap, its all fine with me but girls only and good looking.
What can I say, another classic. How would they know if I was good looking or not if I submitted a VS model photo? I’m not even sure I clearly understand all of this guy’s blurb.
Wass Gud Yo .. I Talk About Anything From Sex To What I Like .. Hmu I Add All . Bi, Gays, Lesbians . Just Add Me Cause I Will Talk About Anything To You So Add Me. Will Accept . Sn I Love To Swap Clean And Dirty Pics.
Wow, where shall I begin? At least you get honesty here. I especially like the fact that the person clearly states they like talking about sex and what THEY like… apparently not what you like.
girls aged 13-16 add me.
Isn’t this illegal somewhere? I should probably hit this person up just for laughs.
(I'm seventeen, and really curious about this pin thing O.o haha) Anyway, feel free to add me, I'm Dorothy and I'm really nice!
Um, yeah… I bet this chic gets a lot of invites, don’t you?
looking to meet females only i live in georgia usa im a black male 6'0 shaved head.
Do you get more invites because you shave your head or because you’re 6 feet tall?
Aha.. Typebored crapt.. So ineed new friends amigos to hitmeuppp on bbm keep the convo interesting. If yur some oldass creeper dude don't bother cause I def don't wanna talk to yo.
Ok, how would this person know if I was a creeper dude or a hot 20 year old, huh? I can slap any picture up on my profile. I’m not sure what the person was smoking either when they typed the blurb… it’s a bit slurred don’tcha think?
Many of the above blurbs show the BBM contact in the proverbial half naked bathroom shot of course. You know the one. If not, I suggest you read the following article soon and think about re-doing your profile picture.
The Perfect BBM Profile Pic
If you do take a picture of yourself in the bedroom, just remember to look behind you first. We don’t need to see any more busted-up or dog-chewed mini blinds or Power Puff Girls bed sheets used as curtains. Did you even make your bed?
I’ve seen countless requests in posts stating “no pervs please”. It doesn’t work ladies… I really know this all too well. If you don’t want the perverts, don’t mention the fact that you’re a female… its just that easy. As soon as you say female, you are guaranteed to get perverts. Here’s an example of what not to do…
19/f/IL - just looking for cool people to have conversations with. no pervs!!!
How about not listing your age at all? You are looking for trouble by doing so. BBM is so intangible. You can be anything and everything. Who’s going to know otherwise? I could chat with a 60 year old just as easily as a 15 year old. If you are really looking to just chat, how about not showing your age or gender at all? What a novel idea! Further, how about just listing a nice little blurb…
Kalyhan… into rock music, sci-fi and comedy & anything techie. Looking for people with similar interests in the U.S. and around the planet. Hit me up! Pin 12345678.
(Oh come on, you didn’t really think I’d post my pin did you?)
If you’re into different lifestyles or want people interested in specific hobbies, then find the right sub-forum and post your blurb. Surprisingly, Twitter’s BBMPinShare looks pretty cool. Many people simply post their pin and nothing else. I found very few ridiculous blubs, just pins. Then again, you never know what you’re getting either.
A good BBM friend of mine and a member of Driphter, Newshutr told me about this next gem. Newshutr helps out on BlackBerry forums if you don’t know him already. He’s posted countless answers to other user’s repetitive questions. He often posts his pin so he can help other BlackBerry people in trouble. He typically accepts the invites he gets, assuming people are hitting him up for solutions.
Some idiot took advantage of his pin and began asking him all kinds of questions unrelated to BlackBerry… was he a big guy, a chubby guy, a hairy guy and then asked if he was into chubby, hairy guys?
Um, this is rude people!
If you see a pin posted for someone that offers their BlackBerry expertise to assist others, don’t take advantage of it! They’re not there to be friends with everyone. They’re not there for sex chats.
Newshutr also reminded me of the people who post their pin 40 or 50 times in the course of a week or so. If you don’t get any invites after the first posting of your blurb, may I suggest re-wording it a little better and posting at another site? If you don’t get any invites at the first site, why on earth are you posting your pin 40 to 50 times? I would say that something is either wrong with your profile picture or your blurb wording. Re-think it or get some assistance, but don’t continually re-post it. That can be a tad annoying.
I will always find stuff wrong with how some people use BBM and foolishness often makes great comedy. So for those that do idiotic things, keep it coming… I can always use the material. Original kalyhan article 04/09/2011
Originally published 04/10/2011 at www.driphter.com.
Some of you post your pins on Twitter and Facebook, looking for others to “chat” with. Others rely on BlackBerry related sites where they offer forums just for pin posts.
Many sites now offer up sub-forums under pin posting forums that allow you to find specific types of BBM users. Whether you’re looking for BBM-ers from Toronto or African-American users, there’s probably a sub-forum for you. Maybe you’re looking for other hip hop music lovers. You can find a sub-forum for that too. You can also find the over 30 crowd and senior groups. Isn’t BlackBerry Messenger amazing? Even Twitter has their own BB pin section.
While you’re looking for that perfect sub-forum out there to post your pin in, you need to compose a short blurb about yourself to attract other BBM users. Depending on the type of BBM-er you’re looking to chat with may impact what you want to say in your BBM blurb.
While the gamut of pin postings run from non-descript to the obscene, I’ll include a few I’ve seen over the past year, along with my very own commentary. Names and pins have been removed to protect the dopes who posted these. If any of these were from Dcom members, I’m so sorry… there’s nothing wrong your posting at all and I have no idea how it made this list. Oh and any grammatical errors from this point forward is not my fault. These are copied directly from various forums and some are just priceless. I’ve actually corrected a couple, believe it or not.
Add me ladies… you’ll definitely like what you see on my end.
Really? I'll refrain from any comment on this one. It's just so perfect.
Am young n sexy, add me up ladies.
Also no comment.
22 WF, single, sexy and not afraid to be a little naughty.
If this isn’t the jackpot for most BBM guys, I don’t know what is.
Whaddup ladies, you want II have a good chat? Holla @ ur man.
Last I checked, I didn’t have a man.
Male and yes 24/7 I love giving and receiving. I do have pictures.
This dude’s blurb was in caps no less. The best part? Someone’s comment to his post… “Oh yeah, all of us ladies can’t wait to have another perv on our BBM.”
19 male Glasgow .. no guys . girls only! fun girls ..
These guys are a dime a dozen.
21 male from Peru. - Looking to meet new people around the world.
This guy definitely sounds like a newbie to BBM.
29 male London - first blackberry so add me please girls.
You expect us girls to believe this? Yeah, right.
29 male USA - Hey ladies add me if u want some fun.
Hmm, I’m always looking for fun and trouble. How much fun can this guy be on a BlackBerry?
all sexy ladies hit me up asap.
Here’s one posted on a social networking site. No location or anything else listed, just a short, sweet message along with a pin. You heard him ladies, go get him (I would presume this is a guy anyway).
single looking for cute guys and girl that r from cali or los angeles to pin me.
Ok, is this one looking for guys and one girl specifically? I don’t know if the person posting this was male or female, but Los Angeles IS in California, in case they didn’t know.
yoo peeps...wos gwanin?? m a laid back n chilld out boii..love makng frnds hit me up!!
Wow, spelling is really important you know… watch those typos.
add me girls only, any kinda of chat, friends, dirty, pic swat voice not swap, its all fine with me but girls only and good looking.
What can I say, another classic. How would they know if I was good looking or not if I submitted a VS model photo? I’m not even sure I clearly understand all of this guy’s blurb.
Wass Gud Yo .. I Talk About Anything From Sex To What I Like .. Hmu I Add All . Bi, Gays, Lesbians . Just Add Me Cause I Will Talk About Anything To You So Add Me. Will Accept . Sn I Love To Swap Clean And Dirty Pics.
Wow, where shall I begin? At least you get honesty here. I especially like the fact that the person clearly states they like talking about sex and what THEY like… apparently not what you like.
girls aged 13-16 add me.
Isn’t this illegal somewhere? I should probably hit this person up just for laughs.
(I'm seventeen, and really curious about this pin thing O.o haha) Anyway, feel free to add me, I'm Dorothy and I'm really nice!
Um, yeah… I bet this chic gets a lot of invites, don’t you?
looking to meet females only i live in georgia usa im a black male 6'0 shaved head.
Do you get more invites because you shave your head or because you’re 6 feet tall?
Aha.. Typebored crapt.. So ineed new friends amigos to hitmeuppp on bbm keep the convo interesting. If yur some oldass creeper dude don't bother cause I def don't wanna talk to yo.
Ok, how would this person know if I was a creeper dude or a hot 20 year old, huh? I can slap any picture up on my profile. I’m not sure what the person was smoking either when they typed the blurb… it’s a bit slurred don’tcha think?
Many of the above blurbs show the BBM contact in the proverbial half naked bathroom shot of course. You know the one. If not, I suggest you read the following article soon and think about re-doing your profile picture.
The Perfect BBM Profile Pic
If you do take a picture of yourself in the bedroom, just remember to look behind you first. We don’t need to see any more busted-up or dog-chewed mini blinds or Power Puff Girls bed sheets used as curtains. Did you even make your bed?
I’ve seen countless requests in posts stating “no pervs please”. It doesn’t work ladies… I really know this all too well. If you don’t want the perverts, don’t mention the fact that you’re a female… its just that easy. As soon as you say female, you are guaranteed to get perverts. Here’s an example of what not to do…
19/f/IL - just looking for cool people to have conversations with. no pervs!!!
How about not listing your age at all? You are looking for trouble by doing so. BBM is so intangible. You can be anything and everything. Who’s going to know otherwise? I could chat with a 60 year old just as easily as a 15 year old. If you are really looking to just chat, how about not showing your age or gender at all? What a novel idea! Further, how about just listing a nice little blurb…
Kalyhan… into rock music, sci-fi and comedy & anything techie. Looking for people with similar interests in the U.S. and around the planet. Hit me up! Pin 12345678.
(Oh come on, you didn’t really think I’d post my pin did you?)
If you’re into different lifestyles or want people interested in specific hobbies, then find the right sub-forum and post your blurb. Surprisingly, Twitter’s BBMPinShare looks pretty cool. Many people simply post their pin and nothing else. I found very few ridiculous blubs, just pins. Then again, you never know what you’re getting either.
A good BBM friend of mine and a member of Driphter, Newshutr told me about this next gem. Newshutr helps out on BlackBerry forums if you don’t know him already. He’s posted countless answers to other user’s repetitive questions. He often posts his pin so he can help other BlackBerry people in trouble. He typically accepts the invites he gets, assuming people are hitting him up for solutions.
Some idiot took advantage of his pin and began asking him all kinds of questions unrelated to BlackBerry… was he a big guy, a chubby guy, a hairy guy and then asked if he was into chubby, hairy guys?
Um, this is rude people!
If you see a pin posted for someone that offers their BlackBerry expertise to assist others, don’t take advantage of it! They’re not there to be friends with everyone. They’re not there for sex chats.
Newshutr also reminded me of the people who post their pin 40 or 50 times in the course of a week or so. If you don’t get any invites after the first posting of your blurb, may I suggest re-wording it a little better and posting at another site? If you don’t get any invites at the first site, why on earth are you posting your pin 40 to 50 times? I would say that something is either wrong with your profile picture or your blurb wording. Re-think it or get some assistance, but don’t continually re-post it. That can be a tad annoying.
I will always find stuff wrong with how some people use BBM and foolishness often makes great comedy. So for those that do idiotic things, keep it coming… I can always use the material. Original kalyhan article 04/09/2011
Originally published 04/10/2011 at www.driphter.com.
The Perfect BBM Profile Picture, Part Deux
I wrote a huge article for posting today on pin posting sites but it ended up being three pages in MS Word. So until I figure out how to break it into two articles, I will try to humor you by offering more advice on how to take a better BBM profile picture, or any profile picture really. I pick on BBM users because the ridiculous pictures are just so prevalent and I spend a fair amount of time on BlackBerry related sites. I could have a field day writing about profile pictures posted at Twitter and Facebook. I covered the bad bathroom shots here…
The Perfect BBM Profile Pic
So if you’re still taking pictures of yourself with your BlackBerry, Android or iPhone in the bathroom… stop it! It’s far better to take self portraits with your back against a wall or outside even. I’ve seen some great profile shots taken where the contact is simply sitting outside in the grass or at a bistro.
If you do take a picture of yourself in the bedroom, just remember to look behind you first. We don’t need to see any more busted-up or dog-chewed mini blinds in the background. For that matter, no more Power Puff Girls or any other sheet used as drapery either.
Did you even make your bed?
Some people just heave the comforter up over everything. This is their version of making the bed. It doesn’t make it look like you really made the bed you know. It just looks like you’re trying to cover embarrassing or grungy sheets. You’re not fooling anybody. So if you’re trying to find fellow BBM-ers of the opposite sex that live nearby, I highly suggest the room behind your profile shot be as inviting as possible.
I had a BBM contact who took his profile picture in a bedroom with a bed just as I described. The room was hideous (he never looked at the scenery behind him of course). I suggested he take another profile picture and smile because I didn’t want to offend him by suggesting he had poor housekeeping skills (it helped that he was frowning anyway). When he soon changed his profile picture, it showed him in a nice shirt standing in front of a mirror of a nice bathroom. The bathroom was obviously in an office building or restaurant because it showed the big bank of sinks in front of him. I guess he was learning in little steps. Needless to say, it was an improvement to his original picture.
I completely understand people wanting to stand in front of a mirror to take their picture. It’s often tough to get your whole face in the viewfinder when you have nothing to look at but the back of your phone, unless of course you have one of the few that have a front-facing camera.
If you must use a mirror, invest six to eight bucks in a tall door mirror from Walmart. Stand the mirror in the best spot of your house and take your picture there. Stop taking pictures in the bathroom! I’ve been in some breathtaking bathrooms, but I wouldn’t want to take my profile picture there.
Take it from the teen generation on Facebook. They take hundreds of pictures of themselves to post on Facebook. Many of them simply point their phone or camera at their heads and shoot away. Through trial and error, you will capture a decent profile shot. I can almost promise you. You can always delete the other 130 that come out horrible. But I can’t stress enough, look at the scenery behind you - whether before or after the picture is taken. This is important whether you’re in your own home or out in public.
So, by now, I think I've over-killed the issue of taking profile pictures at home. If you should take your picture out in public, you have other things to worry about. How about photobombers? For those that don’t know, these are the people behind you that will purposely ruin your photo. How about the random dog in the background who’s lifting his leg on the tree behind you? Just be sure to check out more than yourself before you post your profile picture.
BBM pin sites will be a better place because of you and your contacts will appreciate the effort. Well, most of them anyway.
Originally published 04/12/2011 at www.driphter.com.
The Perfect BBM Profile Pic
So if you’re still taking pictures of yourself with your BlackBerry, Android or iPhone in the bathroom… stop it! It’s far better to take self portraits with your back against a wall or outside even. I’ve seen some great profile shots taken where the contact is simply sitting outside in the grass or at a bistro.
If you do take a picture of yourself in the bedroom, just remember to look behind you first. We don’t need to see any more busted-up or dog-chewed mini blinds in the background. For that matter, no more Power Puff Girls or any other sheet used as drapery either.
Did you even make your bed?
Some people just heave the comforter up over everything. This is their version of making the bed. It doesn’t make it look like you really made the bed you know. It just looks like you’re trying to cover embarrassing or grungy sheets. You’re not fooling anybody. So if you’re trying to find fellow BBM-ers of the opposite sex that live nearby, I highly suggest the room behind your profile shot be as inviting as possible.
I had a BBM contact who took his profile picture in a bedroom with a bed just as I described. The room was hideous (he never looked at the scenery behind him of course). I suggested he take another profile picture and smile because I didn’t want to offend him by suggesting he had poor housekeeping skills (it helped that he was frowning anyway). When he soon changed his profile picture, it showed him in a nice shirt standing in front of a mirror of a nice bathroom. The bathroom was obviously in an office building or restaurant because it showed the big bank of sinks in front of him. I guess he was learning in little steps. Needless to say, it was an improvement to his original picture.
I completely understand people wanting to stand in front of a mirror to take their picture. It’s often tough to get your whole face in the viewfinder when you have nothing to look at but the back of your phone, unless of course you have one of the few that have a front-facing camera.
If you must use a mirror, invest six to eight bucks in a tall door mirror from Walmart. Stand the mirror in the best spot of your house and take your picture there. Stop taking pictures in the bathroom! I’ve been in some breathtaking bathrooms, but I wouldn’t want to take my profile picture there.
Take it from the teen generation on Facebook. They take hundreds of pictures of themselves to post on Facebook. Many of them simply point their phone or camera at their heads and shoot away. Through trial and error, you will capture a decent profile shot. I can almost promise you. You can always delete the other 130 that come out horrible. But I can’t stress enough, look at the scenery behind you - whether before or after the picture is taken. This is important whether you’re in your own home or out in public.
So, by now, I think I've over-killed the issue of taking profile pictures at home. If you should take your picture out in public, you have other things to worry about. How about photobombers? For those that don’t know, these are the people behind you that will purposely ruin your photo. How about the random dog in the background who’s lifting his leg on the tree behind you? Just be sure to check out more than yourself before you post your profile picture.
BBM pin sites will be a better place because of you and your contacts will appreciate the effort. Well, most of them anyway.
Originally published 04/12/2011 at www.driphter.com.
The Perfect BBM Profile Picture
No, I could not leave well enough alone when it comes to BlackBerry Messenger. I still love BBM above and beyond any other text platform. It may simply be due to the “uniqueness” factor of BBM. It’s exclusive. It’s BlackBerry. It’s just cool.
In this installment, I have to revert back to the subject of throwing your pin out there for the world to see. While I will admit I did this once, without realizing what the heck I was doing, many of you just keep releasing your pin, over and over again. Why? I’m curious how many BBM friends you actually keep after you weed through the hundreds that initially hit you up. Once was more than enough for me. I am far more selective on who I give my pin to these days.
But for those of you that freely give out your pin, I have a few tips for you when it comes to using a profile picture. For starters, I’m doing this in an effort to help you. Who knows, maybe you’ll keep better contacts… maybe you can escape the “BBM Wall” I’m considering putting together. It’s kind of like the “People of Walmart” site… but it’s based purely on hilarious BBM profile pics. Trust me, for a good laugh sometime, head over to any BlackBerry pin site and view a few posts.
Surprisingly, lots of people choose not to show a photo in their BBM profile. I HATE my picture being taken and never like my photos, so I am constantly changing it. Maybe I should post some random photo of a brunette or blonde chick in her Victoria Secrets… no one would ever know, would they? How often do you people actually meet someone that you BBM anyway? Others have absolutely no qualms displaying photos of themselves in a half-dressed state. More still, are bent on flaunting it. These by far, crack me up to no end.
I’ve put together a list of a few things to watch for when taking that perfect BBM profile shot. If you follow these simple steps, you could just avoid having your face or body in some cases, being plastered on some BBM wall of shame out there in cyberspace.
You’re all familiar with the proverbial bathroom shot. We’ve probably all taken a picture of ourselves here at some point. Some of us actually wise up and delete the photos… a photo in the bathroom? Really?
If you must take your picture in the bathroom, please keep the following in mind:
1. Make sure you have ample lighting. Many bathrooms are equipped with over-head as well as vanity mirror lighting. You might have to experiment to make sure you capture yourself in the best light.
2. Check the view “beyond the mirror”. This simply means, stop looking at yourself for just a minute and try to see what else is visible in the mirror with you.
* Did you close the under-the-sea-fish-print shower curtain? We don’t need to see the 14 bottles of shampoos and body washes or the grungy shower stall behind your head. Yeah, many of us probably don’t clean the shower but every few months, but we don’t need to see your grunge. It doesn’t make a great shot when trying to pick up potential dates.
* Any Ninja Turtles towels hanging over the shower curtain rod? If so, remove them! No one wants to see that you don’t have the ability to match your bath towels with the shower curtain. Worse, if you’re 35 years old and still using Ninja Turtle towels, you may want to analyze more than just your bath towels.
* Any rolls of toilet paper in view? Get rid of them! Especially if there are 3 or 4 of them visible, while an empty roll sits on the holder. I kid you not… someone who BBM’d me had 3 rolls stacked on the toilet plunger sitting in the middle of the bathroom floor. Very attractive! He also didn’t check the shower curtain or towels. I guess he was too obsessed with taking the perfect half-naked upper body shot to notice. Hey, I’m here for you people! I won’t steer you wrong.
* Any dirty clothes on the floor or slung over towel bars? Remove them! You really don’t want to tell others what a slob you are in the first 20 seconds of meeting on BBM do you?
3. Check the view “in the mirror”. No, I’m not talking about you here. I’m talking about the mirror itself.
Is the mirror clean? Free from toothpaste splatters and who knows what else? Make sure it’s sparkling clean before taking your photo…please.
The Car Shot… also very popular, but probably loses out to the number of bathroom shots posted as profile pics. Here’s what to watch for in the car:
1. As in the bathroom shot, check the view in your rear view mirror. What’s behind your head? Headliner falling down? Grungy, sticky baby car seat in view? Three month old French fries littering your back deck along with other trash? Fix, remove, remove and remove.
2. If you must take your picture with your sunglasses on, please be sure your sunglasses aren’t dorky! Ask a friend. Perhaps borrow a cool pair from someone else. While lots of people like to hide behind shades (I just happen to be one), make sure your shades reek coolness. Even a generic pair of Wayfarers look better than some of the dorky sunglasses I’ve seen. What’s cool versus what’s dorky is certainly a matter of opinion, although I’ve never failed anyone in coolness counseling. When in doubt, check with your friends or co-workers.
Some people are so obsessed with taking the perfect “me” shot, they don’t notice their surroundings. Well those surroundings scream loudly about the person in that shot…so look behind you and around you. Clean up the room, or car… wherever you may be. Stop trying to look tough… put on a smile… forget about showing off your tattoo, nobody but you thinks it’s cool in a photo… you get the idea. Take several pictures then choose your best one. Let’s see some better profile pictures people!
Originally published 03/30/2011 at www.Driphter.com.
In this installment, I have to revert back to the subject of throwing your pin out there for the world to see. While I will admit I did this once, without realizing what the heck I was doing, many of you just keep releasing your pin, over and over again. Why? I’m curious how many BBM friends you actually keep after you weed through the hundreds that initially hit you up. Once was more than enough for me. I am far more selective on who I give my pin to these days.
But for those of you that freely give out your pin, I have a few tips for you when it comes to using a profile picture. For starters, I’m doing this in an effort to help you. Who knows, maybe you’ll keep better contacts… maybe you can escape the “BBM Wall” I’m considering putting together. It’s kind of like the “People of Walmart” site… but it’s based purely on hilarious BBM profile pics. Trust me, for a good laugh sometime, head over to any BlackBerry pin site and view a few posts.
Surprisingly, lots of people choose not to show a photo in their BBM profile. I HATE my picture being taken and never like my photos, so I am constantly changing it. Maybe I should post some random photo of a brunette or blonde chick in her Victoria Secrets… no one would ever know, would they? How often do you people actually meet someone that you BBM anyway? Others have absolutely no qualms displaying photos of themselves in a half-dressed state. More still, are bent on flaunting it. These by far, crack me up to no end.
I’ve put together a list of a few things to watch for when taking that perfect BBM profile shot. If you follow these simple steps, you could just avoid having your face or body in some cases, being plastered on some BBM wall of shame out there in cyberspace.
You’re all familiar with the proverbial bathroom shot. We’ve probably all taken a picture of ourselves here at some point. Some of us actually wise up and delete the photos… a photo in the bathroom? Really?
If you must take your picture in the bathroom, please keep the following in mind:
1. Make sure you have ample lighting. Many bathrooms are equipped with over-head as well as vanity mirror lighting. You might have to experiment to make sure you capture yourself in the best light.
2. Check the view “beyond the mirror”. This simply means, stop looking at yourself for just a minute and try to see what else is visible in the mirror with you.
* Did you close the under-the-sea-fish-print shower curtain? We don’t need to see the 14 bottles of shampoos and body washes or the grungy shower stall behind your head. Yeah, many of us probably don’t clean the shower but every few months, but we don’t need to see your grunge. It doesn’t make a great shot when trying to pick up potential dates.
* Any Ninja Turtles towels hanging over the shower curtain rod? If so, remove them! No one wants to see that you don’t have the ability to match your bath towels with the shower curtain. Worse, if you’re 35 years old and still using Ninja Turtle towels, you may want to analyze more than just your bath towels.
* Any rolls of toilet paper in view? Get rid of them! Especially if there are 3 or 4 of them visible, while an empty roll sits on the holder. I kid you not… someone who BBM’d me had 3 rolls stacked on the toilet plunger sitting in the middle of the bathroom floor. Very attractive! He also didn’t check the shower curtain or towels. I guess he was too obsessed with taking the perfect half-naked upper body shot to notice. Hey, I’m here for you people! I won’t steer you wrong.
* Any dirty clothes on the floor or slung over towel bars? Remove them! You really don’t want to tell others what a slob you are in the first 20 seconds of meeting on BBM do you?
3. Check the view “in the mirror”. No, I’m not talking about you here. I’m talking about the mirror itself.
Is the mirror clean? Free from toothpaste splatters and who knows what else? Make sure it’s sparkling clean before taking your photo…please.
The Car Shot… also very popular, but probably loses out to the number of bathroom shots posted as profile pics. Here’s what to watch for in the car:
1. As in the bathroom shot, check the view in your rear view mirror. What’s behind your head? Headliner falling down? Grungy, sticky baby car seat in view? Three month old French fries littering your back deck along with other trash? Fix, remove, remove and remove.
2. If you must take your picture with your sunglasses on, please be sure your sunglasses aren’t dorky! Ask a friend. Perhaps borrow a cool pair from someone else. While lots of people like to hide behind shades (I just happen to be one), make sure your shades reek coolness. Even a generic pair of Wayfarers look better than some of the dorky sunglasses I’ve seen. What’s cool versus what’s dorky is certainly a matter of opinion, although I’ve never failed anyone in coolness counseling. When in doubt, check with your friends or co-workers.
Some people are so obsessed with taking the perfect “me” shot, they don’t notice their surroundings. Well those surroundings scream loudly about the person in that shot…so look behind you and around you. Clean up the room, or car… wherever you may be. Stop trying to look tough… put on a smile… forget about showing off your tattoo, nobody but you thinks it’s cool in a photo… you get the idea. Take several pictures then choose your best one. Let’s see some better profile pictures people!
Originally published 03/30/2011 at www.Driphter.com.
BBM Flirt
Anybody that has known me for a little while, knows I have a lot to say about BlackBerry Messenger. Don’t get me wrong, I love BBM. I can’t fathom life without it. I’ve met some fabulous people on it. A select few, I’ve even given my cell number to. It’s a great messaging tool that is very safe, provided you take precautions.
In what might be a continuing series of BBM related articles for who knows how long, we’ll dub this issue number two. The first in the series is posted here http://driphter.com/index.php?topic=3612.0 . As long as RIM and BBM people around the world give me material in which to work with, this could go on for a while.
RIM’s latest campaign is BBM Flirt and I will admit, BlackBerry Messenger is a great tool for flirting. What other smartphone tool can you use so openly, yet you remain so protected by a pin? I wish I had a BlackBerry the last time I got asked for my phone number in a nightclub. I would have loved to have said, “Sorry, I only use a pin or barcode.” If I got so much as a “Huh?” for a response, then I’d know right off the bat that the guy was probably not on a similar intelligence level as me. Sorry, that probably sounded mean, but… oh never mind, if you were nearby in the club at that time, you’d understand.
BBM is a great way to “meet” others. If everyone were honest, you soon learn whether or not you have any true interests without actually jeopardizing your safety. Think about it. You exchange pins and you begin “chatting” away. The other contact hasn’t a clue where you live, unless you tell them or you display your location in your profile. They don’t have your phone number either, unless you give it out. Most of the profiles and accounts I have online always show my location as “everywhere”. There’s a reason for that. I don’t want everybody knowing where I live. This is why I’m not a big fan of all the social apps that target your GPS coordinates. I refuse to use them. Not everybody in the world needs to know where I am.
Just because someone’s wielding a BlackBerry, doesn’t necessarily make them an intelligent, upstanding citizen either. Given a few strange encounters with a couple of BBM contacts in the past, I’m hesitant to give out even the state in which I live. One of those encounters included someone in my first twenty accepted contacts. I learned this person lived only a few towns away. Because I was still a little “green” in the BBM experience, I saw no harm saying what area I lived in, though I had the smarts not to mention my town. Giving your address to someone you meet through BBM should be a big No-No to everyone out there unless you’ve known the contact for a while.
As I’ve experienced, some people turn obsessive. It doesn’t matter if they are married and have kids… they become obsessed with some, maybe even all of their contacts. I actually feared driving through this particular contact’s town. I was afraid they would recognize me. There came a point where I feared for the safety of this contact’s family. How do you report a BBM contact to the police? I’ve heard pins are traceable by some, and not traceable by others. I seriously thought this contact would off their family… just so “we could be together”. That’s kind of how the conversations went before I deleted the person from my contacts. I was literally afraid this person would find me. It scared me enough that I still don’t drive through that particular town. Others I’ve chatted with seem to be willing to drop everything and move cross-country because they think we will make a great match. Really? Who would do that after a week or so of BBM chat? Some people are taking the BBM Flirt too seriously. Stop it!
Flirt if you’re going to use BBM to flirt. But don’t make long term commitments based on a few days of chatting. Most of you are supposed to be adults out there. Like any other dating service, get to know each other, meet in a very populated area (I recommend a few times).
And don’t forget that handy little feature on BBM called delete and ignore, if things don’t work out. Delete and ignore might just be the next great tool in the flirting arsenal. You no longer have to give out fake phone numbers to people trying to pick you up. Share your pin, you can always delete them in a couple of hours with little to no regret.
If you are the type that commonly give out your phone number and location, you’ve either never had a BBM stalker or you lack common sense. If you are guilty of this, please stop right now. It only takes once for something bad to happen. The BlackBerry community doesn’t need to lose members and we’d hate to see your photo on the 11:00 news. Use a little common sense. If you just exchange only pins, you should be safe to flirt all you want.
Originally published 02/24/2011 at www.Driphter.com.
In what might be a continuing series of BBM related articles for who knows how long, we’ll dub this issue number two. The first in the series is posted here http://driphter.com/index.php?topic=3612.0 . As long as RIM and BBM people around the world give me material in which to work with, this could go on for a while.
RIM’s latest campaign is BBM Flirt and I will admit, BlackBerry Messenger is a great tool for flirting. What other smartphone tool can you use so openly, yet you remain so protected by a pin? I wish I had a BlackBerry the last time I got asked for my phone number in a nightclub. I would have loved to have said, “Sorry, I only use a pin or barcode.” If I got so much as a “Huh?” for a response, then I’d know right off the bat that the guy was probably not on a similar intelligence level as me. Sorry, that probably sounded mean, but… oh never mind, if you were nearby in the club at that time, you’d understand.
BBM is a great way to “meet” others. If everyone were honest, you soon learn whether or not you have any true interests without actually jeopardizing your safety. Think about it. You exchange pins and you begin “chatting” away. The other contact hasn’t a clue where you live, unless you tell them or you display your location in your profile. They don’t have your phone number either, unless you give it out. Most of the profiles and accounts I have online always show my location as “everywhere”. There’s a reason for that. I don’t want everybody knowing where I live. This is why I’m not a big fan of all the social apps that target your GPS coordinates. I refuse to use them. Not everybody in the world needs to know where I am.
Just because someone’s wielding a BlackBerry, doesn’t necessarily make them an intelligent, upstanding citizen either. Given a few strange encounters with a couple of BBM contacts in the past, I’m hesitant to give out even the state in which I live. One of those encounters included someone in my first twenty accepted contacts. I learned this person lived only a few towns away. Because I was still a little “green” in the BBM experience, I saw no harm saying what area I lived in, though I had the smarts not to mention my town. Giving your address to someone you meet through BBM should be a big No-No to everyone out there unless you’ve known the contact for a while.
As I’ve experienced, some people turn obsessive. It doesn’t matter if they are married and have kids… they become obsessed with some, maybe even all of their contacts. I actually feared driving through this particular contact’s town. I was afraid they would recognize me. There came a point where I feared for the safety of this contact’s family. How do you report a BBM contact to the police? I’ve heard pins are traceable by some, and not traceable by others. I seriously thought this contact would off their family… just so “we could be together”. That’s kind of how the conversations went before I deleted the person from my contacts. I was literally afraid this person would find me. It scared me enough that I still don’t drive through that particular town. Others I’ve chatted with seem to be willing to drop everything and move cross-country because they think we will make a great match. Really? Who would do that after a week or so of BBM chat? Some people are taking the BBM Flirt too seriously. Stop it!
Flirt if you’re going to use BBM to flirt. But don’t make long term commitments based on a few days of chatting. Most of you are supposed to be adults out there. Like any other dating service, get to know each other, meet in a very populated area (I recommend a few times).
And don’t forget that handy little feature on BBM called delete and ignore, if things don’t work out. Delete and ignore might just be the next great tool in the flirting arsenal. You no longer have to give out fake phone numbers to people trying to pick you up. Share your pin, you can always delete them in a couple of hours with little to no regret.
If you are the type that commonly give out your phone number and location, you’ve either never had a BBM stalker or you lack common sense. If you are guilty of this, please stop right now. It only takes once for something bad to happen. The BlackBerry community doesn’t need to lose members and we’d hate to see your photo on the 11:00 news. Use a little common sense. If you just exchange only pins, you should be safe to flirt all you want.
Originally published 02/24/2011 at www.Driphter.com.
The Lowdown on 4G
After reading various reports about Verizon Wireless touting themselves as the the most advanced 4G network in America, I decided to do a little digging to see if they really lived up to this claim.
I rarely take anyone’s word in advertising. Lots of people can make something big out of something insignificant. Just look at the boat load of hour-long product advertisements on early morning TV.
In actuality, wireless carriers often confuse millions of subscribers, claiming they have the largest, most innovative or fastest mobile service around. If you don’t do your homework, you as a consumer can be left in the dust and regretting your two-year contract.
Here is what America’s top four wireless carriers claim:
Sprint released the first 4G phone and 4G network, which uses Wimax and claims to be in 68 markets according to a press release from the company at the end of last November.
T-Mobile claims to be America’s largest 4G network. It uses a tweaked HSPA+ network to increase their Mbps. Their website claims “96 percent of Americans reached on T-Mobile's nationwide network” and that their 4G service is in 65 markets and counting.
Verizon claims to be the fastest, most advanced 4G network, using technology known as Long Term Evolution or LTE. According to Verizon CTO Tony Malone, users should expect average download speeds of 5 to 12 Mpbs. Verizon's web site shows they launched their 4G coverage in 38 major metropolitan areas. To the dismay of many customers however, the current coverage impacts laptops with a network card and not cell phones. Verizon expects to begin rolling out their line of 4G phones later in the year.
AT&T claims to be the fastest wireless mobile network. While AT&T hasn’t claimed 4G in the recent past, they have vastly improved the speed and coverage of their network, setting up hundreds of new towers according to a 2010 article in PC Magazine. According to AT&T’s website, they will continue to evolve the network toward next generation technologies like LTE to deliver higher speeds and capacity in the years to come. According to Cnet, AT&T's HSPA+ network should have reached 250 million customers by the end 2010 and it will be available everywhere its current 3G service is available. So in terms of coverage, AT&T may have the largest, fastest wireless network in the country.
After reviewing recent data from Cnet and the four leading U.S. carriers, here’s a quick recap of the U.S. markets where they claim 4G coverage is currently accessible:
T-Mobile takes the lead in 96 cities. Sprint follows in second place, covering 78 cities. Verizon is currently listed in 39 cities, but this service covers laptops only (not cell phones) and 8 of those cities, you will find that coverage in airports only...ouch.
On most major wireless carriers, consumers should expect to see wireless internet speeds between 5 and 12 Mbps on average, regardless if the service claims to be 4G or enhanced 3G service. This is a phenomenal improvement in service considering what we had just a year or two ago.
Let’s take a look at 4G for a moment.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) if you didn’t know, is an agency of the United Nations. ITU standardizes technology in everything from cell phones to radios and satellites. I suppose that would make them the ISO of the airwaves. I was involved with ISO regulations for several years. You can’t call something one thing, if it’s not in line with the global standards. That’s what international standards were designed for - to regulate a product or service to ensure consumers were getting exactly what they pay for.
According to the ITU, technology needs to support peak download speeds of 100 Mbps to be called a 4G network. Ok, lets back up here a minute. Most major wireless carriers offering 4G networks will only net you between 5 and 12 Mbps, not 100 Mbps. That, in a nutshell is the lowdown on 4G here in the U.S. Regardless of which carrier you network through, you are not getting true 4G service and you probably won’t any time soon.
How do U.S. carriers get away with calling their networks 4G when they are not technically 4G? Good question. I am fairly proficient in standardized global regulations and I don’t know how they thought this was a good idea. Most will say 4G in the U.S. is simply “4th generation” technology… but that is not what they are leading consumers to believe, is it?
Calling 5 - 12 Mbps 4G is kind of like comparing an old dial-up internet service to a T3 connection. There really is no comparison, so why are wireless carriers getting away with it?
According to a recent article from Cnet, Verizon's Tony Melone said after a press conference on the carrier’s 4G service, "It doesn't matter what we label the network. In our subscribers' daily lives this technology will change what people can do. There's no question about that. I think even the ITU would agree this is a dramatic leap in performance."
Yes, the ITU may be impressed with efforts in the United States to improve wireless networks. I think however, they may have an issue with carriers calling the service 4G, when it’s not even really close to 4G.
I for one am a speed freak. I will gladly take any improvement in mobile internet speed but also feel at the same time, if it’s not true 4G, then don’t call it 4G.
Originally published 12/07/2010 at www.BlackBerryOS.com. Re-published 02/11/2011 at www.Driphter.com.
I rarely take anyone’s word in advertising. Lots of people can make something big out of something insignificant. Just look at the boat load of hour-long product advertisements on early morning TV.
In actuality, wireless carriers often confuse millions of subscribers, claiming they have the largest, most innovative or fastest mobile service around. If you don’t do your homework, you as a consumer can be left in the dust and regretting your two-year contract.
Here is what America’s top four wireless carriers claim:
Sprint released the first 4G phone and 4G network, which uses Wimax and claims to be in 68 markets according to a press release from the company at the end of last November.
T-Mobile claims to be America’s largest 4G network. It uses a tweaked HSPA+ network to increase their Mbps. Their website claims “96 percent of Americans reached on T-Mobile's nationwide network” and that their 4G service is in 65 markets and counting.
Verizon claims to be the fastest, most advanced 4G network, using technology known as Long Term Evolution or LTE. According to Verizon CTO Tony Malone, users should expect average download speeds of 5 to 12 Mpbs. Verizon's web site shows they launched their 4G coverage in 38 major metropolitan areas. To the dismay of many customers however, the current coverage impacts laptops with a network card and not cell phones. Verizon expects to begin rolling out their line of 4G phones later in the year.
AT&T claims to be the fastest wireless mobile network. While AT&T hasn’t claimed 4G in the recent past, they have vastly improved the speed and coverage of their network, setting up hundreds of new towers according to a 2010 article in PC Magazine. According to AT&T’s website, they will continue to evolve the network toward next generation technologies like LTE to deliver higher speeds and capacity in the years to come. According to Cnet, AT&T's HSPA+ network should have reached 250 million customers by the end 2010 and it will be available everywhere its current 3G service is available. So in terms of coverage, AT&T may have the largest, fastest wireless network in the country.
After reviewing recent data from Cnet and the four leading U.S. carriers, here’s a quick recap of the U.S. markets where they claim 4G coverage is currently accessible:
T-Mobile takes the lead in 96 cities. Sprint follows in second place, covering 78 cities. Verizon is currently listed in 39 cities, but this service covers laptops only (not cell phones) and 8 of those cities, you will find that coverage in airports only...ouch.
On most major wireless carriers, consumers should expect to see wireless internet speeds between 5 and 12 Mbps on average, regardless if the service claims to be 4G or enhanced 3G service. This is a phenomenal improvement in service considering what we had just a year or two ago.
Let’s take a look at 4G for a moment.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) if you didn’t know, is an agency of the United Nations. ITU standardizes technology in everything from cell phones to radios and satellites. I suppose that would make them the ISO of the airwaves. I was involved with ISO regulations for several years. You can’t call something one thing, if it’s not in line with the global standards. That’s what international standards were designed for - to regulate a product or service to ensure consumers were getting exactly what they pay for.
According to the ITU, technology needs to support peak download speeds of 100 Mbps to be called a 4G network. Ok, lets back up here a minute. Most major wireless carriers offering 4G networks will only net you between 5 and 12 Mbps, not 100 Mbps. That, in a nutshell is the lowdown on 4G here in the U.S. Regardless of which carrier you network through, you are not getting true 4G service and you probably won’t any time soon.
How do U.S. carriers get away with calling their networks 4G when they are not technically 4G? Good question. I am fairly proficient in standardized global regulations and I don’t know how they thought this was a good idea. Most will say 4G in the U.S. is simply “4th generation” technology… but that is not what they are leading consumers to believe, is it?
Calling 5 - 12 Mbps 4G is kind of like comparing an old dial-up internet service to a T3 connection. There really is no comparison, so why are wireless carriers getting away with it?
According to a recent article from Cnet, Verizon's Tony Melone said after a press conference on the carrier’s 4G service, "It doesn't matter what we label the network. In our subscribers' daily lives this technology will change what people can do. There's no question about that. I think even the ITU would agree this is a dramatic leap in performance."
Yes, the ITU may be impressed with efforts in the United States to improve wireless networks. I think however, they may have an issue with carriers calling the service 4G, when it’s not even really close to 4G.
I for one am a speed freak. I will gladly take any improvement in mobile internet speed but also feel at the same time, if it’s not true 4G, then don’t call it 4G.
Originally published 12/07/2010 at www.BlackBerryOS.com. Re-published 02/11/2011 at www.Driphter.com.
Keeping Your BlackBerry Data Secure
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, various companies are beginning to take cell phone security seriously. Verizon is currently working with Lookout, a San Francisco based company known for remote backup and geolocation apps for BlackBerry, Android and Windows Mobile devices. We have hopes that RIM will soon be releasing BlackBerry Protect, which promises to lock or even wipe a misplaced phone, pinpoint your prized BlackBerry on a map and make regularly-scheduled wireless backups.
Security researchers and technology executives say their moves to improve security mark the start of an effort that will take years to play out because the wireless industry until recently was more focused on signing up customers than hardening mobile devices against attacks.
By far the most ambitious plans in the article however, belong to AT&T, which aside from recent deals with MobileIron and McAfee, is currently opening a new mobile security lab in New York City. From here, the company will research malware, worms, viruses and other threats as they develop in the mobile world. "Everyone is realizing that this is an uncontrolled environment," said AT&T chief security officer Edward G. Amoroso. "We don't want to have the same problems that we had with PCs."
What do you currently do to protect your phone from attack or data theft? Some apps out there help you to remotely wipe the phone while some apps that offer subscription service can help you track your beloved BlackBerry down in the event you leave it behind somewhere or someone steals it.
Originally published 12/23/2010 at www.BlackBerryOS.com. Re-published 02/11/2011 at www.Driphter.com.
Security researchers and technology executives say their moves to improve security mark the start of an effort that will take years to play out because the wireless industry until recently was more focused on signing up customers than hardening mobile devices against attacks.
By far the most ambitious plans in the article however, belong to AT&T, which aside from recent deals with MobileIron and McAfee, is currently opening a new mobile security lab in New York City. From here, the company will research malware, worms, viruses and other threats as they develop in the mobile world. "Everyone is realizing that this is an uncontrolled environment," said AT&T chief security officer Edward G. Amoroso. "We don't want to have the same problems that we had with PCs."
What do you currently do to protect your phone from attack or data theft? Some apps out there help you to remotely wipe the phone while some apps that offer subscription service can help you track your beloved BlackBerry down in the event you leave it behind somewhere or someone steals it.
Originally published 12/23/2010 at www.BlackBerryOS.com. Re-published 02/11/2011 at www.Driphter.com.
BlackBerry Strong
I’ve used many cell phones over the years. I’ve owned Palm Treos, Androids and the still out there, “do nothing” phones, or junk phones a buddy of mine calls them.
After researching phones for my daughter, I believe I am going to get her a BlackBerry.
She has owned several “fashionable” slider phones for the past few years and not one of them has lived up to her abuse. There are dead phone carcasses littering her room. I’ll admit, many kids are too young to own and care for a cell phone properly. There are times however that my daughter beats me home from school, and I don’t want her entering our house “alone”.
I’ve been known to drop my phone a time or two in the past. I put cases on them for this reason now. I once had an old Nokia that was literally covered in Duct and electrical tape. The housing didn’t fair well after the many falls onto a cement floor. I use my phone for almost everything. I am the proverbial Windows Mobile phone commercial - I am always using it for texting, making calls, appointments and lists, all while walking around. If it weren’t for the lists and memos I write myself, I would rarely drop my phone, because I typically edit them while I’m shopping or walking through a store. I now have one of those silly looking wrist straps attached to my BlackBerry (not that the strap is always around my wrist though).
I had to laugh when my sister-in-law recently replaced her Curve with a Bold. She said after the Curve took a joy ride on the roof of her SUV, it hit the pavement where it was then run over by a car. It didn’t look as pretty after its little “accident”, but it still worked. Try that with most other phones out there and I'm pretty certain they wouldn’t fair as well. Ok, don’t go out and try to run over your phones - regardless of the manufacturer, to prove it. Seriously.
So a BlackBerry it is for my daughter. No, not as a fashion statement or status symbol as my mother would quickly point out, but because its one tough phone. If it can withstand the abuse I take mine though, it might just make it a year in my daughter’s hands.
How about you? Have any smartphone “accidents” you care to share with us? Let us know!
Originally published as The Strength of BlackBerry 11/28/2010 at www.BlackBerryOS.com. Updated and re-published 02/04/2011 at www.Driphter.com.
After researching phones for my daughter, I believe I am going to get her a BlackBerry.
She has owned several “fashionable” slider phones for the past few years and not one of them has lived up to her abuse. There are dead phone carcasses littering her room. I’ll admit, many kids are too young to own and care for a cell phone properly. There are times however that my daughter beats me home from school, and I don’t want her entering our house “alone”.
I’ve been known to drop my phone a time or two in the past. I put cases on them for this reason now. I once had an old Nokia that was literally covered in Duct and electrical tape. The housing didn’t fair well after the many falls onto a cement floor. I use my phone for almost everything. I am the proverbial Windows Mobile phone commercial - I am always using it for texting, making calls, appointments and lists, all while walking around. If it weren’t for the lists and memos I write myself, I would rarely drop my phone, because I typically edit them while I’m shopping or walking through a store. I now have one of those silly looking wrist straps attached to my BlackBerry (not that the strap is always around my wrist though).
I had to laugh when my sister-in-law recently replaced her Curve with a Bold. She said after the Curve took a joy ride on the roof of her SUV, it hit the pavement where it was then run over by a car. It didn’t look as pretty after its little “accident”, but it still worked. Try that with most other phones out there and I'm pretty certain they wouldn’t fair as well. Ok, don’t go out and try to run over your phones - regardless of the manufacturer, to prove it. Seriously.
So a BlackBerry it is for my daughter. No, not as a fashion statement or status symbol as my mother would quickly point out, but because its one tough phone. If it can withstand the abuse I take mine though, it might just make it a year in my daughter’s hands.
How about you? Have any smartphone “accidents” you care to share with us? Let us know!
Originally published as The Strength of BlackBerry 11/28/2010 at www.BlackBerryOS.com. Updated and re-published 02/04/2011 at www.Driphter.com.
How Do You BBM?
Of course every BlackBerry addict knows about RIM’s ongoing ad campaign promoting BlackBerry Messenger, but how exactly are the masses really using it? What I've learned would not make any RIM campaign, I can assure you.
I’ll admit it, I am newer to the BlackBerry world than many of you. I did have a Curve for a little while but moved back to my Palm Treo Pro while I waited (a long time) for the Bold 9650 to be released.
Like many newbies, I created a My Blackberry account and posted my pin without truly understanding what I was doing. Silly me, I thought BBM was a wonderful tool used by professionals around the globe. I thought the possibility of networking with a bunch of cool business people would be great. Like most things in life, I should have just Googled BBM before ever posting my pin.
I kid you not, within thirty seconds of posting my pin, I had several requests from users, asking to be added as a contact. Within a mere ninety seconds, I had lots of requests. And what do you know, they were all guys. Not that I have anything against guys. In actuality, all my BBM contacts are guys with the exception of one lady from MMA class. I’d much rather talk football, geeky stuff and taxes than knitting and shopping (yeah, so I’m a little odd). Well, many of these guys loved talking football and geeky stuff... taxes - not so much. They quickly named their favorite teams, etc., etc. This lasted for all of maybe ten minutes. Then of course, the real BBM conversation kicked in.
Seriously, do 98% of BlackBerry users really need to know what I'm wearing day in, day out? I think not. I really don't think you need photos of all your BBM contacts in various state of dress or undress either. Is it too much to ask to have a normal conversation? Talk about sports or life in your part of the globe, talk about geeky things. Don't ask to me to add you just so you can have another chick in your contact list. I prefer to add geeky dudes anyway.
Now I will say I have “met” a few wonderful, professional BBM friends that I gladly keep in my contact list. However, all the people who want to know what I'm wearing throughout the day or do nothing but send shirtless pictures of yourself along with dirty jokes and spam will be deleted… quickly, I might add.
I deleted my pin posting soon after releasing it on My BlackBerry. I still get direct messages in my inbox at that site saying “I think we’d make great friends.” or “You’re so pretty, please add me.”. Eh, no. I won’t add you based of your request. You’re the very type of of BBM contact I’m trying to avoid, so stop sending me direct messages.
I am at a point that I actually Google all pin numbers when I get a request now. I think BlackBerry should add this in fine print to their BBM ad campaign videos from now on. Surprisingly, you can learn a lot about a person if you Google their pin. You get to see all the fun sites they’ve already posted their pin info to (if they’ve ever posted it) and often get a general overview of what kind of person they are. Only then will I decide if I want to accept, ignore or decline their request (sometimes forever).
So unless you like “chatting” with anybody and everybody, I suggest you start Googling those pins from now on.
Originally published 11/28/2010 at www.BlackBerryOS.com. Re-published 02/21/2011 at www.Driphter.com and 02/23/2011 on other sites by request.
I’ll admit it, I am newer to the BlackBerry world than many of you. I did have a Curve for a little while but moved back to my Palm Treo Pro while I waited (a long time) for the Bold 9650 to be released.
Like many newbies, I created a My Blackberry account and posted my pin without truly understanding what I was doing. Silly me, I thought BBM was a wonderful tool used by professionals around the globe. I thought the possibility of networking with a bunch of cool business people would be great. Like most things in life, I should have just Googled BBM before ever posting my pin.
I kid you not, within thirty seconds of posting my pin, I had several requests from users, asking to be added as a contact. Within a mere ninety seconds, I had lots of requests. And what do you know, they were all guys. Not that I have anything against guys. In actuality, all my BBM contacts are guys with the exception of one lady from MMA class. I’d much rather talk football, geeky stuff and taxes than knitting and shopping (yeah, so I’m a little odd). Well, many of these guys loved talking football and geeky stuff... taxes - not so much. They quickly named their favorite teams, etc., etc. This lasted for all of maybe ten minutes. Then of course, the real BBM conversation kicked in.
Seriously, do 98% of BlackBerry users really need to know what I'm wearing day in, day out? I think not. I really don't think you need photos of all your BBM contacts in various state of dress or undress either. Is it too much to ask to have a normal conversation? Talk about sports or life in your part of the globe, talk about geeky things. Don't ask to me to add you just so you can have another chick in your contact list. I prefer to add geeky dudes anyway.
Now I will say I have “met” a few wonderful, professional BBM friends that I gladly keep in my contact list. However, all the people who want to know what I'm wearing throughout the day or do nothing but send shirtless pictures of yourself along with dirty jokes and spam will be deleted… quickly, I might add.
I deleted my pin posting soon after releasing it on My BlackBerry. I still get direct messages in my inbox at that site saying “I think we’d make great friends.” or “You’re so pretty, please add me.”. Eh, no. I won’t add you based of your request. You’re the very type of of BBM contact I’m trying to avoid, so stop sending me direct messages.
I am at a point that I actually Google all pin numbers when I get a request now. I think BlackBerry should add this in fine print to their BBM ad campaign videos from now on. Surprisingly, you can learn a lot about a person if you Google their pin. You get to see all the fun sites they’ve already posted their pin info to (if they’ve ever posted it) and often get a general overview of what kind of person they are. Only then will I decide if I want to accept, ignore or decline their request (sometimes forever).
So unless you like “chatting” with anybody and everybody, I suggest you start Googling those pins from now on.
Originally published 11/28/2010 at www.BlackBerryOS.com. Re-published 02/21/2011 at www.Driphter.com and 02/23/2011 on other sites by request.
The Ultimate Cell Phone Case
I’m sure a lot of you look online and in stores for the next best cell phone case. If you’re obsessive like me, you look often. I hate using a case that covers the beauty of my BlackBerry, but I do tend to drop my phone a lot. So I need a case, like it or not.
I really need an OtterBox, but I refuse to purchase one. Why you ask? Certainly they set the precedence in cell phone protection. I agree. However, until they make the little cutout in the back of the BlackBerry cases to show off the infamous BB, I refuse to buy one.
A few years back, I didn’t much care for company branding. If a product worked, I considered it worth buying. Something happened when I started owning smart phones however. If I spent a lot of money on a phone, I wanted people to know it. Yeah, sounds ridiculous I know.
When I saw my first iPhone sporting an OtterBox which clearly displayed the prominent Apple logo on the back of the phone, I wanted that case. I did not want an iPhone, just the case.
I was already familiar with OtterBox, so I knew it could withstand the abuse I could take out on it.
I was sadly disappointed to learn that OtterBox does not make a “customized” case for BlackBerry which displays the logo on the back. I emailed the company. Certainly I couldn’t be the only obsessive idiot that wanted one.
A friendly representative from the company emailed me back explaining that while they had several requests from other BlackBerry users for a similar case (so glad I wasn’t the only idiot), she saw nothing in the works in the near future for the manufacture of such a case. I felt compelled to write her back and explain that I would not be ordering an OtterBox until then.
Honestly, if OtterBox had not started the iPhone case logo issue, I would probably own one of their cases already. However, after seeing that they branded the case for Apple and not BlackBerry, kind of ticked me off. That’s the real reason I choose to boycott OtterBox.
Originally published 11/28/2010 at www.BlackBerryOS.com.
I really need an OtterBox, but I refuse to purchase one. Why you ask? Certainly they set the precedence in cell phone protection. I agree. However, until they make the little cutout in the back of the BlackBerry cases to show off the infamous BB, I refuse to buy one.
A few years back, I didn’t much care for company branding. If a product worked, I considered it worth buying. Something happened when I started owning smart phones however. If I spent a lot of money on a phone, I wanted people to know it. Yeah, sounds ridiculous I know.
When I saw my first iPhone sporting an OtterBox which clearly displayed the prominent Apple logo on the back of the phone, I wanted that case. I did not want an iPhone, just the case.
I was already familiar with OtterBox, so I knew it could withstand the abuse I could take out on it.
I was sadly disappointed to learn that OtterBox does not make a “customized” case for BlackBerry which displays the logo on the back. I emailed the company. Certainly I couldn’t be the only obsessive idiot that wanted one.
A friendly representative from the company emailed me back explaining that while they had several requests from other BlackBerry users for a similar case (so glad I wasn’t the only idiot), she saw nothing in the works in the near future for the manufacture of such a case. I felt compelled to write her back and explain that I would not be ordering an OtterBox until then.
Honestly, if OtterBox had not started the iPhone case logo issue, I would probably own one of their cases already. However, after seeing that they branded the case for Apple and not BlackBerry, kind of ticked me off. That’s the real reason I choose to boycott OtterBox.
Originally published 11/28/2010 at www.BlackBerryOS.com.
Buying Guide For Your Berry Obsessed
Who hasn’t been stumped for ideas when buying a gift for co-workers, friends and loved ones over the years? Lets see, socks? Flannel shirt? Down vest? Whether you know someone well or barely at all, gift giving can be quiet tedious. You want to give a gift that shows you put a little thought into the purchase.
How about getting something for their phone? Who doesn’t like tricking out their phone? Ok, maybe my brother’s wife, but she’s a rarity these days. When the battle of the smartphones conversation comes up in my family (Android versus BlackBerry versus iPhone), she’s quick to say that she wants her phone to only do calls. Ha! I’ve learned that most people who say that have never wielded the power of a smartphone in their hands. Once you rely on a smartphone for a while, its pretty difficult to see life without one.
I’ll admit it (proudly I might add) that I am berry obsessed. I have been ever since my first smart phone and it wasn’t even a BlackBerry. I guess that would make me smartphone obsessive, but I’m into BlackBerries now.
Everyone must have a BlackBerry user on their shopping list this year or you wouldn’t be here reading this. Let me give you a few gift ideas that people often overlook. Considering the economy and the fact that we’re all trying to spend less on gifts, cell phone accessories are the perfect gift. BlackBerry accessories better still.
A BlackBerry gift is good in many ways. It tells your friends and loved ones, “Hey, I know you love your phone, here’s something to make it even better.” and it’s an inexpensive gift for the “Secret Santa” name you drew for the office party. It says, “I’m a cool gift giver by not getting you a Linens and Things or McDonalds gift card”, but in no way reflects too much bromance, if you happen to be purchasing a gift for one of your buddies.
So here are some gift suggestions, in no particular order:
Bigger media card - bigger is always better when it comes to storage. I for one like to use my BlackBerry for music - a lot of music. The standard 1 or 2 GB media card for BlackBerry just doesn’t cut it for me. It’s kind of like a gift tag on a present and stays with the box.
I am currently using an 8 GB card and that’s about two-thirds full. I will soon go into panic mode as my free space gets smaller. It’s kind of like a smoker who gets down to their last three cigarettes and they only have three bucks to their name or they seriously want to quit smoking. When they get to their last few smokes, the panic has already set in “What happens when I run out?!!” A BlackBerry user can never have too much storage space.
Headphones - While I’m on the topic of music, the avid music listener must have a primo set of headphones or ear buds. They work fabulously at the mall to drown out all those annoying kiosk vendors (for any reader that is actually one of those kiosk vendors, I do apologize and I feel horrible that you have such a job). When I’m on a mission however, I don’t like to be sidetracked and I certainly don’t have any money to buy whatever you’re selling. I don’t want your lotion, cheap sunglasses and hair irons. I have unruly curly hair, why on earth would I want to fight with a $150 hair straightener? The only kiosk I want to see at the mall is a Starbucks - that’s it, nothing else. I have a Starbucks gold card, I don’t need any cash to buy a coffee.
Ok, back to headphones. I personally have the RIM Premium multi-media headset. The sound quality is good and if I get an incoming call, I simply press a button on the inline remote to answer it. The headset is equipped with a mic so you can listen to music or take calls.
Bluetooth Headset - Many people prefer Bluetooth headsets over the plug in jack style mentioned above. I have the Motorola H500 (in pink of course), but I certainly don’t listen to music on it. Now if I can find a nice wireless stereo headset that plays music and takes calls.
iTunes Gift Card - Hey, more music, the better and the tunes can be synced to your BlackBerry.
Cases - There are hundreds if not thousands of cases to be had online. If you have to buy a girly gift, there are countless Hello Kitty and rhinestone cases you can get for little money. Body Glove makes a great case for any guy on your list (although I have one too). These cases reek executive and they feel good in your hands. You can even find water-proof cases for the fishing or beach-minded person on your list. Just don’t buy an OtterBox - BlackBerry users should be boycotting these until OtterBox starts making them with a BlackBerry logo cut out in the back.
Protective Skins - Several companies have cropped up over the past few years. These skins offer clear scratch guard protection which is a must-have if you ask me. I’ve tried most brands out there. My choice by far is BodyGuardz. Here’s why - I’ve purchased the other big name in Best Buy when I bought my last smart phone only because they didn’t carry BodyGuardz. Within 4 days, I noticed faint scuffing and scratches throughout the film.
I’ve had BodyGuardz previously and they never scratched. I used a stylus with a burr on the end with my Palm Treo 750w and 800 for over a year - not a scratch in sight. BodyGuardz are also cheaper than Invisible Shield. Your first order online nets you TWO complete skins for the price of one Invisible Shield. After your first order, every order you make thereafter (for the same or other devices) is several dollars cheaper - and you still get two full sets.
Wrist Strap - These come in handy if you’re in a very public spot where everyone is bumping into everyone else or when you’re simply walking through the store by your lonesome and carelessly drop your phone on the floor for no good reason like I seem to do, often.
There are a couple different types of straps out there - so investigate before you buy. I prefer the longer strap - I believe it’s the 7” strap. There are others out there which are 3 or 4”, which is great if you only want to loop it around one finger. I for one am way too careless to trust a one-finger-hold on my BlackBerry.
Chargers - Blackberry users only get one charger in the box (along with the sync cable which also charges) and if they are running OS 6, they could probably use another charger. You can find car chargers, bedside charging stands and charging mats.
I liked keeping a charger at the office (when I used to work anyway) because cell phone reception in a massive brick building can be hampered which equates to battery drain.
Speakers - I use to keep a nice little set of desktop speakers at work that I plugged into my phone so I could listed to my favorite music at work. I actually worked for a company that did not allow radios or streaming internet music in the office. They couldn’t say squat about my cell phone though, I needed it at work, ha!
Replacement Housing - For those looking to spend a few more dollars, you can purchase OEM housings. Maybe the person your buying for dropped their beloved BlackBerry - repeatedly and it’s a little scratched or cracked. A new OEM housing will make it look brand spanking new.
And then of course there are the colored housings. Not all BlackBerry models have a large assortment of colors available, which is a bummer. But if you’re lucky enough to find a color for the model you’re buying for… someone might get excited. I personally want a red or purple housing - maybe even white. With housing replacements, you can customize just the battery door cover, or the whole entire BlackBerry - even the keyboard! There are videos online that show you how to change the housing if it’s something you care to attempt.
So there you have it. I consider many of these things “must-haves” for BlackBerry users. The price range of these items range from about $4.00 up to about $70.00, so if you’re buying for someone you really don’t care for or know well, the out-of-pocket expense is not going to break you, and it still shows you’re a really cool person. If I think of other ideas along the way, I will pass them along. All items can be readily found online, but if you need assistance, just let me know.
Oh and if you see my Secret Santa anywhere, tell him I want a White Blackberry 9650 Housing with keyboard please.
Originally published 11/29/2010 at www.BlackBerryOS.com.
How about getting something for their phone? Who doesn’t like tricking out their phone? Ok, maybe my brother’s wife, but she’s a rarity these days. When the battle of the smartphones conversation comes up in my family (Android versus BlackBerry versus iPhone), she’s quick to say that she wants her phone to only do calls. Ha! I’ve learned that most people who say that have never wielded the power of a smartphone in their hands. Once you rely on a smartphone for a while, its pretty difficult to see life without one.
I’ll admit it (proudly I might add) that I am berry obsessed. I have been ever since my first smart phone and it wasn’t even a BlackBerry. I guess that would make me smartphone obsessive, but I’m into BlackBerries now.
Everyone must have a BlackBerry user on their shopping list this year or you wouldn’t be here reading this. Let me give you a few gift ideas that people often overlook. Considering the economy and the fact that we’re all trying to spend less on gifts, cell phone accessories are the perfect gift. BlackBerry accessories better still.
A BlackBerry gift is good in many ways. It tells your friends and loved ones, “Hey, I know you love your phone, here’s something to make it even better.” and it’s an inexpensive gift for the “Secret Santa” name you drew for the office party. It says, “I’m a cool gift giver by not getting you a Linens and Things or McDonalds gift card”, but in no way reflects too much bromance, if you happen to be purchasing a gift for one of your buddies.
So here are some gift suggestions, in no particular order:
Bigger media card - bigger is always better when it comes to storage. I for one like to use my BlackBerry for music - a lot of music. The standard 1 or 2 GB media card for BlackBerry just doesn’t cut it for me. It’s kind of like a gift tag on a present and stays with the box.
I am currently using an 8 GB card and that’s about two-thirds full. I will soon go into panic mode as my free space gets smaller. It’s kind of like a smoker who gets down to their last three cigarettes and they only have three bucks to their name or they seriously want to quit smoking. When they get to their last few smokes, the panic has already set in “What happens when I run out?!!” A BlackBerry user can never have too much storage space.
Headphones - While I’m on the topic of music, the avid music listener must have a primo set of headphones or ear buds. They work fabulously at the mall to drown out all those annoying kiosk vendors (for any reader that is actually one of those kiosk vendors, I do apologize and I feel horrible that you have such a job). When I’m on a mission however, I don’t like to be sidetracked and I certainly don’t have any money to buy whatever you’re selling. I don’t want your lotion, cheap sunglasses and hair irons. I have unruly curly hair, why on earth would I want to fight with a $150 hair straightener? The only kiosk I want to see at the mall is a Starbucks - that’s it, nothing else. I have a Starbucks gold card, I don’t need any cash to buy a coffee.
Ok, back to headphones. I personally have the RIM Premium multi-media headset. The sound quality is good and if I get an incoming call, I simply press a button on the inline remote to answer it. The headset is equipped with a mic so you can listen to music or take calls.
Bluetooth Headset - Many people prefer Bluetooth headsets over the plug in jack style mentioned above. I have the Motorola H500 (in pink of course), but I certainly don’t listen to music on it. Now if I can find a nice wireless stereo headset that plays music and takes calls.
iTunes Gift Card - Hey, more music, the better and the tunes can be synced to your BlackBerry.
Cases - There are hundreds if not thousands of cases to be had online. If you have to buy a girly gift, there are countless Hello Kitty and rhinestone cases you can get for little money. Body Glove makes a great case for any guy on your list (although I have one too). These cases reek executive and they feel good in your hands. You can even find water-proof cases for the fishing or beach-minded person on your list. Just don’t buy an OtterBox - BlackBerry users should be boycotting these until OtterBox starts making them with a BlackBerry logo cut out in the back.
Protective Skins - Several companies have cropped up over the past few years. These skins offer clear scratch guard protection which is a must-have if you ask me. I’ve tried most brands out there. My choice by far is BodyGuardz. Here’s why - I’ve purchased the other big name in Best Buy when I bought my last smart phone only because they didn’t carry BodyGuardz. Within 4 days, I noticed faint scuffing and scratches throughout the film.
I’ve had BodyGuardz previously and they never scratched. I used a stylus with a burr on the end with my Palm Treo 750w and 800 for over a year - not a scratch in sight. BodyGuardz are also cheaper than Invisible Shield. Your first order online nets you TWO complete skins for the price of one Invisible Shield. After your first order, every order you make thereafter (for the same or other devices) is several dollars cheaper - and you still get two full sets.
Wrist Strap - These come in handy if you’re in a very public spot where everyone is bumping into everyone else or when you’re simply walking through the store by your lonesome and carelessly drop your phone on the floor for no good reason like I seem to do, often.
There are a couple different types of straps out there - so investigate before you buy. I prefer the longer strap - I believe it’s the 7” strap. There are others out there which are 3 or 4”, which is great if you only want to loop it around one finger. I for one am way too careless to trust a one-finger-hold on my BlackBerry.
Chargers - Blackberry users only get one charger in the box (along with the sync cable which also charges) and if they are running OS 6, they could probably use another charger. You can find car chargers, bedside charging stands and charging mats.
I liked keeping a charger at the office (when I used to work anyway) because cell phone reception in a massive brick building can be hampered which equates to battery drain.
Speakers - I use to keep a nice little set of desktop speakers at work that I plugged into my phone so I could listed to my favorite music at work. I actually worked for a company that did not allow radios or streaming internet music in the office. They couldn’t say squat about my cell phone though, I needed it at work, ha!
Replacement Housing - For those looking to spend a few more dollars, you can purchase OEM housings. Maybe the person your buying for dropped their beloved BlackBerry - repeatedly and it’s a little scratched or cracked. A new OEM housing will make it look brand spanking new.
And then of course there are the colored housings. Not all BlackBerry models have a large assortment of colors available, which is a bummer. But if you’re lucky enough to find a color for the model you’re buying for… someone might get excited. I personally want a red or purple housing - maybe even white. With housing replacements, you can customize just the battery door cover, or the whole entire BlackBerry - even the keyboard! There are videos online that show you how to change the housing if it’s something you care to attempt.
So there you have it. I consider many of these things “must-haves” for BlackBerry users. The price range of these items range from about $4.00 up to about $70.00, so if you’re buying for someone you really don’t care for or know well, the out-of-pocket expense is not going to break you, and it still shows you’re a really cool person. If I think of other ideas along the way, I will pass them along. All items can be readily found online, but if you need assistance, just let me know.
Oh and if you see my Secret Santa anywhere, tell him I want a White Blackberry 9650 Housing with keyboard please.
Originally published 11/29/2010 at www.BlackBerryOS.com.
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