drunkencomputing

Changelog

• Updated on March10th, 2009: Added LogMaid and BBFileScout
• Updated on February 26th, 2009: Updated links for TalkLock, PhoneFace, AutoStandby, LightSaber, and Flashlight.  Added Quickpull.

Since I recently picked up a Blackberry Storm (9530) and have had time to play around with it, I figured it’s time to update my previous “Blackberry Software” and “Blackberry tweaks/tips” post from before. This time, it’s Storm-specific, unless otherwise indicated, but some of the software, tips, and obviously the websites will work on any Blackberry device.

Blackberry Software

LogMaid: (runs when your Blackberry is idle and cleans logs and memory to save space and speed up the device): http://www.mobihand.com/product.asp?id=26342

BBFileScout: (manage your file system on you Blackberry): http://bb.emacf1.com/bbfilescout.html

TalkLock (Lock the Storm while on the phone so you don’t hit buttons with your face): http://www.cellavant.com/TalkLock/Default.aspx

TwitterBerry (Excellent Twitter application): http://orangatame.com/ota/twitterberry/

SocialScope (Twitter & Facebook application for Blackberries [as of 3 Feb 09, does not work on the Storm]): http://www.socialscope.net/get.php?id=fonixmunkee%40gmail.com

Viigo Private Beta (RSS/Weather/News/Travel/Stock reader): http://www.viigo.com/download/privatebeta

BBGSPGolf (Free golf course application that tells you distances using GPS): http://go.mobihand.com/?op=dlmh&pd=21507&l=1&ps=150

WeatherBug for Blackberry Storm (Awesome weather client, includes home screen icon with temps & conditions): http://blackberry.weatherbug.com/storm/storm.jad

Facebook for Blackberry (Facebook client): http://mobile.blackberry.com/MBC/homepage?book=facebook_overview&helpdocdetail=/resources/static/facebook_overview.html

jMIRC (Java midlet for accessing IRC from Blackberry): http://jmirc.sourceforge.net/jmIrc.jad

MidpSSH Mobile SSH client (SSH client for Blackberry): http://xk72.com/wap

QuickPull (simulate a battery pull & reboot of your BB.  I schedule a reboot for 3am so the device is nice and fresh in the morn): http://go.mobihand.com/?op=dlmh&pd=22989&l=1&ps=102

PhoneFace Speed-dial (Adds pictures to contacts, too. Costs $9.95): http://store.berryreview.com/product.asp?id=20642&n=PhoneFace-Speed-dial

AutoStandby (Locks or puts Blackberry into standby for saving battery. Costs $5): http://software.crackberry.com/product.asp?id=20001&n=AutoStandby

Aerize Email alerts (Displays pop-up when you receive an email, SMS, or call. Costs $5): http://store.berryreview.com/download.asp?pdid=843693&id=21671&ak=

Google Maps Mobile (Essential mapping tool): http://m.google.com/maps

Youtube Client for Blackberry Storm (Great for watching YouTube videos in full screen): http://www.google.com/m/download/youtube/apps/v1.6.10/L1/BlackBerry-47/minitube_bb.jad?

OnToCalendar (Allows you to add an email as an appointment in your Blackberry calendar): http://www.soundslikeobiwan.com/~roger/OntoCalendar/

Google Sync for Blackberry (Syncs Google Calendars and Gmail contacts with your Blackberry): http://m.google.com/sync

QSMS (Bind to a side key for instant access to composing a new SMS): http://www.berrycoder.com/

MaxMem (Use to free up some application space on your Blackberry): http://www.berrycoder.com/

Lightsaber (Turn your Storm in to a light saber): http://www.stormgrounds.com/bb/LightSaber/LightSaber.jad

Flashlight (Turn your Blackberry into a flashlight, very handy): http://www.stormgrounds.com/bb/Flashlight/flashlight.jad

Blackberry Services

Blackberry web signals (Manage what kind of data is pushed to your Blackberry): http://push.na.blackberry.com/mss/PM_subList

Mobile websites

Wikipedia Mobile (Blackberry browser-friendly Wikipedia): http://mobile.wikipedia.org/

Google Reader (Read your Google Reader content from your Blackberry): http://m.google.com/reader

Google Notebook (Write and read notes in your Google Notebook from your Blackberry): http://m.google.com/notebook

Google Docs (Read your Google Documents): http://m.google.com/docs

Picasa Web Albums (Look at your Picasa pictures on your Blackberry): http://m.google.com/photos

TripIt Mobile (The best web-based travel organizer): http://m.tripit.com

US Bank Mobile (If you have US Bank accounts, access them from your Blackberry): http://m.usbank.com/usbmobile/

Ski Utah Snow Report (Check Utah’s snow reports for all resorts on your Blackberry): http://www.skiutah.com/wap/resorts/

KeyToss Mobile Web Portal (Great to set for your Homepage on your Blackberry): http://m.keytoss.com

Help, tips, and tricks

Blackberry MicroSD card quick guide (shows what size MicroSD card your Blackberry can accept): http://www.berryreview.com/2008/12/04/blackberry-sd-card-quick-guide/

Setting up Gmail using IMAP on your Blackberry (get your Gmail in near real-time, and securely): http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=78882

Verizon Blackberry update site (get the latest OFFICIAL OS for your Blackberry from VZW): http://vzw.smithmicro.com/blackberry/download.aspx?ct=personal

Verizon Blackberry Internet Service [BIS] (Manage your email push accounts online from a PC): http://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=vzw

Themes, ringtones, wallpapers

Coming soon.

…but sometimes I do, like a premium Blackberry theme for my Pearl. See, I guess it does pay off to enter contents…

You will be assimilated.

Sincerely,

Research in Motion*

* makers of the Blackberry

OK, maybe it won’t save your life, but it will save you some space. I rarely post HOWTOs since most of them I get from teh Googles.  But, this one I figured out for myself.  These are the exact steps I use any time a new OS comes out for my Blackberry, or I just want to start over from scratch because I played around with my Pearl too much.

Prerequisites:

1. UPDATED: Make sure you have the latest version of Desktop Manager (I have 4.7). You can get the latest one here, from your computer: https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/browseSoftware.do, and select Desktop Manager from the list.  You can also go to your cell provider’s site and download the latest version (for instance, Verizon’s is at: http://vzw.smithmicro.com/blackberry).  You need at least version 4.3. You’ll probably have to provide some demographic information about yourself before you can download it.
   
   
2. UPDATED: Get OS version 4.5. Since OSes are carrier-dependent, you’ll need to get on your computer and go to your cell provider’s site and browse for your Blackberry downloads (Verizon, my provider, is located here: http://vzw.smithmicro.com/blackberry) .  Get the 4.5 OS download and save it to your computer.

Steps:

1. Check your OS version. To do this, on your Pearl go to “Options->About.” Jot down your OS version & platform version to ensure you make the upgrade stick.  You’ll probably want to start from at least OS 4.3.x.x, I don’t know how it will work with anything prior to 4.3.
2. Check how much free space you have. This step is just to show you how much space you’ll gain. In the end, I saved 7MB. That’s pretty ridiculous. To get your memory usage, again on your Pearl go to “Options” but this time go to “Status”. A few lines done you’ll see File Free and File Total. “File Total” is how much room is on your Pearl, while “File Free” is obviously how much space you have free. It’s a long number, but write down all the digits anyway.
3. UPDATED: Upgrade Desktop Manager to 4.7 (if required). If you don’t have Desktop Manager version 4.5, run the setup program for the Desktop Manager software you downloaded in the prerequisite #1 above. Just follow the on-screen prompts.
4. Run a backup of your Pearl. This step is crucial. To do this, plug in your Blackberry to your computer via the USB (don’t do it over Bluetooth). Run Desktop Manager and click the Backup and Restore button. Click the Backup button, and it will ask you where to save the backup file. Put it in a place you’ll remember in case bad stuff happens (rarely does this occur, but you never know).  Disconnect the Pearl when the backup is done.
5. Install the 4.5 upgrade on your PC. After updating to Desktop Manager 4.7, install the 4.5 update you got from your cell provider in the Prerequisites above.
6. NEW STEP: Perform a full wipe of your Pearl. I perform a full wipe of my Blackberry after doing a full backup.  This is just because I’m anal and like a fresh start (who doesn’t?)  To perform a wipe of your Blackberry, go to Options -> Security Options -> General Settings. Hit the Blackberry key, and select Wipe handheld from the menu.  You will be prompted to continue, make sure you check the box Include third party applications so it gets rid of *everything.*  You can reinstall these applications later, using my list of favorite applications if you want, located here: http://drunkencomputing.com/?p=310.  You will have to type in the word blackberry to continue with the wipe, just to make sure you wanna continue.
   
7. UPDATED: Fire up the 4.5 upgrade. Get ready to live!  Open up Desktop Manager on your PC and connect your Blackberry via USB.   Desktop Manager should then prompt you to perform an update of your Blackberry.  If the Desktop Manager doesn’t automatically prompt you to perform an upgrade (it should), just click Application Loader. From the submenu, hit the Start button under Update Applications. The upgrade will begin.
8. Get yourself a cold one. At this point, it’s between you and God as to what happens. I’ve never had a Blackberry upgrade crap out on me (and I’ve done upgrades more times than any normal Blackberry user has, thanks career!), but there is a first time for everything. While you’re enjoying your beer, don’t freak if you see the device reboot and appear to startup or hang for a few minutes. Also, don’t freak if you see the Desktop Manager just sitting there waiting to say “Connecting to Device” and it appears that it never will. You need to give it—no shit—like 30 minutes for the whole shebang to be over.
9. Check your OS. You probably should have finished not one, but maybe even two beers by the time the whole OS upgrade is done. Once it’s all back and the Blackberry is just sitting there, repeat step #1 above to check your OS version. It should now read “4.5.x.xxx” with a new platform number. Compare this to the version number you wrote down in step #1. If it’s different, you’re awesome.
10. NEW STEP: Push your service books and update your phone. This step is carrier-dependant, but for Verzion wireless this involves a couple easy procedures.  For VERIZON, first, dial *22899 from your Blackberry.  Your device should prompt you to turn on the radio, so do so.  You’ll hear some music and an automated voice saying that your phone is being programmed.  This updates your roaming capabilities and adds any new features to your phone that might have changed from when you activated it (for instance, at the time of this post, Verizon has unlocked the GPS in the Pearls and Curves!  Doing a *228 downloads all the new information such as this).  This step also updates your roaming capabilities.After the phone prompts you that “your phone has been successfully programmed” and a message appears saying Your phone has been successfully activated, go back to your PC and navigate to http://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=vzw (again, for Verizon customers).  Login with the account information you created when you initially setup your Blackbery.  Click on the Service Books link on the left side menu, then click the Send Service Books button.  This resends all your configured services for your Blackberry, such as email accounts and any push services, like weather or news (from Blackberry Web Signals).This whole process of step #10 may be unnecessary as you may notice emails showing up on your device before you get this far, but it’s always good to be thorough. :)
11. Backup again (recommended, but not required). I recommend you maybe run another backup of your device at this point, in case the next step has some adverse effects you don’t enjoy. You can always restore the backup from step #4 above, too, but better safe than sorry.
12. Get MaxMem, from BerryCoder. On your phone, go to: http://berrycoder.com and hit the link for MaxMem. Follow the onscreen prompts.
13. UPDATED: Free up some memory with MaxMem. Once you’ve installed MaxMem on your Pearl, launch the application.  You’ll see a bunch of options to remove stuff. You can remove as many of these as you want. A detailed explanation of each:
14. 1. Remove VAD: VAD is “Voice-Activated Dialing” and is only useful if you use a hands-free device and dial with it (such as a Bluetooth headset). You can remove VAD and still use a Bluetooth headset, but you’ll only be able to answer the phone. Select Remove VAD if you don’t use any hands-free (like me, it’s for sailors), or if you are a man and can hit a number from the address book on your Pearl with your eyes closed, and have it route up to your hands-free device.
    2. Remove PTT: This gets rid of the “Push To Talk” function of phones. If you don’t know what it is, hit the button. If you don’t use it, again, hit the button. NOTE: This won’t remove anything on a Verizon phone.
    3. Remove T-Mo Fives: This removes the Top Five screens on your T-Mobile phone.  If you don’t want it, delete it.  NOTE: This won’t remove anything on a Verizon phone.
    4. Remove MDS: Hit this button no matter what, unless you use your Pearl on a corporate email system (such as at work). If you’re using a Pearl for corporate messaging, you’re an idiot too, FYI. Get the Curve and save yourself some finger cramping.
    5. Remove Media: Hit this button to get rid of default pictures and videos your Pearl, unless you use one of the hideous pictures that came with the phone as your background.
    6. Remove Default Themes: If you still use the default Pearl theme, you can hit this button with no worries. However, if you’ve installed your own theme (you go, girl!), you might not want to remove this stuff. You can hit the button and remove only selected themes, but you have to pay attention to what pops on screen. For instance, if you hit the Remove Themes button, it will ask you to delete a “…Zen…” theme. Deleting this will make any “Zen”-like themes you may have installed not work. You can say “No” to delete the “…Zen…” theme when prompted, and your Zen-based themes will work. The same goes for the “…Today…” theme as well. Don’t delete it if you have any “Today”-based themes.
    7. Remove TID: DON’T hit this one.  You’ll essentially neuter your Blackberry’s awesome TrueType capabilities.
    8. Remove Foreign Resources: Go ahead and hit this one if you use English.
    9. Remove RIM Internal Tools: This one is up to you.  See MaxMem notes below before proceeding with this one, however.
15. NEW: MaxMem notes: Be careful what you remove from your Blackberry with MaxMem.  Start out light, removing stuff you know you can lose (like VAD, themes you don’t use, and the default media).  Removing too much stuff has caused problem for me on my device, such as mobile websites not being able to recognize my device as an 8130.  My recommendation is to only use MaxMem to remove stuff you *know* you don’t need.  Removing too much stuff makes it a pain to put them back on, as you have to reload the OS from the desktop again to restore these internal applications.

16. Reboot and reap the rewards. Close MaxMem when you’re all done removing the stuff from above. When MaxMem is closed, yoink the battery out of the back of your Pearl, let it sit for a few seconds, then plug it back in. Let the device power up, then follow the step #2, above. You should see that the “File Free” number has gone up again. I was at 14,909,360 after the 4.5 upgrade. After running MaxMem and rebooting, I went to 20,098,312…or a little more than 20MB. That’s an overall saving of 7MB, which is a big deal.
    

17. NEW OPTIONAL: Remove MaxMem: Hey, you’re trying to free up space right?  So why not delete the application you used to free up space? :)  This is found in Options -> Advanced Options -> Applications. Highlight the MaxMem application, hit the Blackberry button, and select Delete.

You’re good to go. You should also be seeing some additional speed increases as well with your Blackberry. You’re welcome for that, too. Now enjoy!

One more note, if you plug in your Blackberry to your desktop and run Desktop Manager again, it may say that it wants to update your phone again.  This is because it will see the stuff you deleted with MaxMem is gone, and it will attempt to reload it.  Just cancel the update if it appears in Desktop Manager.  Likewise, you can just do this “update” with Desktop Manager if you end up uninstalling anything from your device you didn’t want to.