The GadgetTrak iOS application has been updated and released in to the iTunes Store and allows you to track the location of your iOS devices. GadgetTrak silently reports its location and senses when your iPhone or iPad has significantly changed its location and the GadgetTrak server keeps track of where your phone has been.
With all of the photos, contacts, apps and music on your iPhone, losing it would be a massive pain. Unfortunately, that pain is felt by thousands of smartphone users every day. Ask them�they wish they'd had GadgetTrak installed.
When your device is missing, log into your account using any web browser and enable tracking immediately. GadgetTrak will spring to life and generate location reports, including map points, longitude & latitude and IP address to help you pinpoint your lost device. It can even snap photos of the thief!
For extra security, enable the "Deleting Apps" restriction in Settings App->General->Restrictions. This will keep the thief from deleting GadgetTrak (and any other apps).
But dont forget the application has to be activated before it can start tracking your iPhone or iPad and when it is activated your battery will use more juice than normal.
If your device has GPS capability it will be used by GadgetTrak to get the most accurate location possible. Even without GPS, GadgetTrak can use cell towers and/or advanced Wi-Fi positioning technology to pinpoint the location of your device usually within a few meters.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Continued use of GPS can dramatically decrease battery life. For better battery performance, deactivate tracking until the device is lost. The GadgetTrak app does not use GPS and will not impact battery life when tracking is disabled (even if the Navigation icon appears).
GadgetTrak automatically sends a discrete message to your device, enticing the thief to initiate a tracking report.
Snap a photo with the built in camera(s) to collect crucial evidence to help Police catch the thief. (available for iOS devices with at least one built-in camera, additional in-app purchase required)
GadgetTrak for iOS is part of a suite of products available for a variety of platforms including Mac OS X and iOS. The software enables you to track and recover devices that hve been lost or stolen. New to the 2.5 release of GadgetTrak for iOS is support for cameras. If your iOS device has a built-in camera � such as an iPhone or iPod touch � GadgetTrak will snap photos to help you ad the police identify the thief and location where the device is. The photo can now be attached to an e-mail; the e-mail also includes location information.
� Locate your device using GPS, cell tower triangulation, and/or WiFi positioning
� Location reports posted to the web control panel at http://trak.me
� Location history to know where your phone has been
� Automatic push notifications
� Camera support for the front and rear-facing camera (in-app purchase required)
� Secure SSL connection for transmitting location data & photos
� Cross Platform: GadgetTrak has apps to protect your laptop (Mac & Windows) as well as Android and BlackBerry phones and tablets.
Download the GadgetTrak iOS Installation & Usage Manual here: http://www.gadgettrak.com/support/downloads
http://www.gadgettrak.com/products/iphone/
We take pride in providing great support for all of our products. If you have questions, concerns, or feedback let us know and we'll get back to you as quickly as possible: http://www.gadgettrak.com/support
� Remotely capture a photo with all built-in cameras, then email it to yourself to help catch the thief! (via a one-time In-App Purchase)
� Push notifications � Send a discrete message to your device enticing the the person who has it to initiate a tracking event.
� Various Bug Fixes.
GadgetTrak now being offered with select warranty plans ActiveTrak has announced that its GadgetTrak Laptop 3 software is now being bundled We contacted GadgetTrak and they sent us all the information we needed to recover the iPod. Luckily it was not necessary to go to the police.
10 Most expensive gadgets of 2011 cool expensive gadgets top 10 most expensive gadgets Whether you're looking for The Most expensive items, Limited Editions, Yacht, Luxury Watches, Luxury Travel, Supercars, Fashion. Here's the list of top 10 most anticipated gadget in 2011. Top 10 Most Expensive Cell Phones in the World Here are the list of most.
If you already have a perfectly working games console, mobile phone or iPod/iPhone/iPad, so why buy another model just for the flash finish?Rather, simply send in your trusty model to Goldgenie and have it embellished in 24-carat gold. Prices start from around �90, rising rapidly to �549 for the iPad gold-plating service. Or you can go one step further and embellish your iPhone's bezel with Swarvoski crystals for an eye-watering �850.
Motorola made a limited number of these gold Xoom tablets to hand out to the top celebs at this year�s Academy Awards ceremony. The super-shiny tablets were made for the hosts and nominees for the Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Director awards.
Apple�s iPhone is rich pickings for the bling industry, but this tops the lot as the world�s most expensive, courtesy of Stuart Hughes. The cool �5m tag is down to the precious metals used in its construction: rose gold, and over 500 flawless diamonds, 53 of which make up the Apple logo on the back. Even the main navigation controls oozes expense: constructed from platinum with a single pink rose diamond in the middle. Only two will be made, but the upside? All that genuine bling means it won�t depreciate in value any time soon.
Gold is the look right now, it would seem. Tinie Tempah bagged two Brit Awards earlier this month, and was rewarded for his endeavours with a brace of 22 carat gold-plated Blackberry smartphones, one for each Brit.
You can achieve a massive improvement in sound quality by spending just a few quid on a decent set of cans. But this is one upgrade that would demand a serious cash investment, with a price tag of �1,799.99 at Firebox.com. What does that wad of cash get you? In this case, a set of Audio Technica ATH-M50 studded with a multitude of Swarovski crystals. Understated? Certainly not, but this is one set of cans guaranteed to get you noticed.
This Swiss-made mouse is cut from 18-carat white gold and set with 59 brilliant cut diamonds. You can settle for one of two basic designs � Diamond Flower and Scattered Diamond � but seeing as it costs a cool �16,200 from Fabstuff.net you�ll probably want to take advantage of the fact those diamonds can also be set to your own unique design.
�4,000 will pay for this blingtastic Bluetooth headset from Amosu. At its heart is a Motorola Motopure H12 headset � a little long in the tooth now, but still perfectly functional. But you�re not paying for that: you�re paying for the customization: 18-carat white or yellow gold front covered with nearly 250 brilliant-cut white, pink or black diamonds.
Get this straight: this isn�t a Nintendo Wii sprayed with a faux gold paint � this is a Wii that�s been embellished in 24-carat gold, which is why you�re paying Goldgenie �529 for the privilege. Not a fan of the Wii? Gold Genie also sells gold versions of the PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS consoles too. It�s the perfect way to up your bling quotient without taking out a second mortgage.
How about this � an iPod/iPhone dock made out of crystal lead glass. Handcrafted in Slovenia by the artisans at Calypso Crystal, there are four designs available. If your wallet can take the hit, choose the limited edition Aurora Crystal Dock. Only 999 have been made, each sporting a unique look. All Auroras are deep sandblasted, finely polished and then hand painted with platinum, which probably explains why you�ll need to pay �349 to own one.
�Bespoke British tailoring� is the name of the game with Continental Mobiles, which is a typically British understated way of telling you they bling phones for a living. The Blackberry Bold 9700 is one such example, with a range of finishes covering platinum, gold, diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds to suit just about every taste and budget. Prices start from �999 for �simple� platinum and 24-carat gold finishes; the Ruby & Diamond model shown here costs a whopping �1,799.
Most-expensive-gadgets. Computer, phone, e-book, clock, stick. Among these electronic devices is a special kind of gadgets you cannot Hercules DJ 4Set announced | Luxury, Tech and Most Expensive Gadget Thumbnails for 11-Jan-2011. Hercules DJ 4Set announced Sennheiser ushers Here is the list of top 10 gadgets to buy in 2011, which has not only Top 10 Most Expensive.
What better way to show off your wealth than by purchasing a 55-inch widescreen TV boasting 19kg of 22-carat gold, 48 brilliant cut round diamonds and � ahem � alligator skin? The good news is that the Prestige HD SUPREME Edition is the budget choice in Gold Striker�s TV range, costing a mere �1m. If you have an extra 500K handy, take a look at the Prestige HD SUPREME Rose Edition instead. Your extra dough pays for 28kg of 18-carat rose gold and 72 diamonds � alongside the alligator skin, of course.
The M9 series claims to be the first digital camera to offer a full-frame CCD sensor capable of perfectly capturing the old 35mm format, but the M9 Titanium isn�t about that. It�s not even about the fact it was designed by Walter de�Silva, better known for his automobile designs. No, it�s all about the fact this camera is made from titanium. This is why only 500 have been made, and why you�ll be asked to pay �19,200 for the privilege of owning one.
Apple users are used to paying a premium for their products, so what�s �5,495 between friends, particularly when it means your MacBook Air is polished to perfection by Gold Striker and then fully embellished in your choice of finish: Platinum, 24-carat gold or 18-carat rose gold? It�s one way to make you stand out from all those other common-as-muck MacBook Air users, definitely.
One of the tricks of looking well-heeled is not to flash your wealth too much. And a trick of trying to pass yourself off as richer than you are is to choose something that looks like diamond, but isn�t. This is where this relatively understated crystal-laden 4GB USB stick scores on both counts: it looks dapper rather than gash, and it only costs �117.44 from Goldgenie. If that�s too rich, try the 24-carat Gold USB stick instead; that�s a trifling �82.19, you cheapskate.
Vertu represents the ultimate in British craftsmanship and engineering. Sure, the phone is constructed from precious metals and stones, but it�s for build quality purposes more than show. Each phone is lovingly hand built by a single individual at the company�s Hampshire base, and they�re responsible for resolving any problems that might occur.
The phone also comes with tailored services, including 140 in-depth and regularly updated city guides and a concierge service (which includes an initial �fitting� of the phone to your exact requirements). Prices start from a trifling �5,000 for the �basic� model, but you can pay �17,200 for a gold finish if you prefer.
When you want the glitz and sparkle, but re-mortgaging your house isn�t an option, the simplest solution is to opt for Swarovski crystals over diamonds and other gems. �140 will buy you this Cubical Leopardo case, but if it doesn�t turn you on, don�t fret � DSstyles offers a mind-boggling array of glitzy cases covering most popular mobile phones � and if you don�t like any of the designs provided, you can create your own.
One of the biggest frustrations with tech is how quickly its value depreciates. Amosu has the perfect remedy for that � take this Nokia N95, for example. The model may be yesterday�s news, but add 27.5g of 18-carat white gold and 675 brilliant-cut diamonds, make sure only 25 are made and charge �27,500 for the privilege. That�s not flashing your wealth; it�s an investment � particularly as Amosu can transfer your diamonds to a new phone at a later date. How cool is that?
Watch the most expensive Super Bowl commercial of 2011 now below. Cars are just expensive Gadgets, that is why we love them. Most Expensive Consumer Cell Phone 2011 | Gadget Look And it's certified as the Most Expensive Cell Phone in the world. The cellphone is made of 18-carat white gold
One question we hear often is: What�s next for Windows Phone? We�re obsessive about listening closely to our customers and improving our phone software. So over the next few months, look for updates that add some new features you�ve asked for and also tune up your phone�s performance. We've got a serious hands on for you to check out, but here is everything that you need to know.
The name�Windows Phone 7 Series�is a mouthful, and unfortunately, the epitome of Microsoft's worst naming instincts, belying the simple fact that it's the most groundbreaking phone since the iPhone. It's the phone Microsoft should've made three years ago. In the same way that the Windows 7 desktop OS was nearly everything people hoped it would be, Windows Phone 7 is almost everything anyone could've dreamed of in a phone, let alone a Microsoft phone. It changes everything. Why? Now that Microsoft has filled in its gaping chasm of suck with a meaningful phone effort, the three most significant companies in desktop computing�Apple, Google and Microsoft�now stand to occupy the same positions in mobile. Phones are officially computers that happen to fit in your pocket.
Windows Phone 7 is also something completely new for Microsoft: A total break from the past. Windows Mobile isn't just dead, the body's been dumped, buried and paved over by a rainbow brick road.
It's different. The face of Windows Phone 7 is not a rectangular grid of thumbnail-sized glossy-looking icons, arranged in a pattern of 4x4 or so, like basically every other phone. No, instead, an oversized set of bright, superflat squares fill the screen. The pop of the primary colors and exaggerated flatness produces a kind of cutting-edge crispness that feels both incredibly modern and playful. Text is big, and beautiful. The result is a feat no phone has performed before: Making the iPhone's interface feel staid.
Windows Phone 7 is connected in the same sense as Palm's webOS and Android, with live, real-time data seamlessly integrated, though it's even smoother and more natural. Live tiles on the Start screen, which you can totally customize, are updated dynamically with fresh content, like weather, or if you've pinned a person to your Start screen, their latest status updates and photos.
The meat of the phone is organized around a set of hubs: People, Pictures, Games, Music + Video, Marketplace, and Office. They're kind of like uber-applications, in a sense. Massive panoramas with multiple screens that are each kind of like individual apps. People, for instance, isn't just your contacts, but it's also where social networking happens, with a real-time stream of updates pulled in from like Facebook and Windows Live. (No Twitter support announced yet, it appears�a kind of serious deficiency, but one we're sure will be remedied by ship date.)
As another example, Music + Video is essentially the entirety of Zune HD's software, tucked inside of Windows Phone 7. A piece of interface that's shockingly not there: A desktop syncing app. If anyone would be expected to tie their phone to a desktop, you'd think it'd be Microsoft, but they're actually moving forward here. All of your contacts and info sync over the air. The only thing you'll be syncing through your computer is music and videos, which is mercifully done via the Zune desktop client.
The People hub might be the best social networking implementation yet on a phone: It's a single place to see all of your friends' status updates from multiple services in a single stream, and to update your own Facebook and Windows Live status. Needs. Twitter support. Badly. But you have neat things going on, like the aforementioned Live tiles�if you really like someone or want to stalk them hardcore, you can make them a tile on your Start screen, which will update in realtime with whatever they're posting, and pull down their photos from whatever service. There's also your very own profile page, where you can scan your current social state and post updates to multiple services simultaneously.
All of your contacts are synced and backed up over-the-air, Android and webOS style, and can be pulled from multiple sources, like Windows Live, Exchange, etc. Makes certain other phones seem a little antiquated with their out-of-the-box Contacts situation.
�Nobody likes to wait. That�s why we�ve whittled down the time it takes for apps and games to start up and resume. It�s all part of our focus on getting you to the things you love, easier and faster.�
�We�ve streamlined Marketplace search to make it easier to find specific apps, games, or music. Press the Search button in the apps or games section of Marketplace and you�ll see only apps or games in the results.�
Microsoft's vision of Zune is finally clear with Windows Phone 7. It's an app, just like iPod is on the iPhone, though the Zune Marketplace is integrated with it into the music + video hub, not separated into its own little application. It's just like the Zune HD, so you can check out our review of that to see what it's like. But you get third-party stuff like Pandora, too, built-in here. Oh, and worth mentioning, there will be an FM radio in every phone (more on that in a bit).
Pictures is a little different though, and gets its very own hub. That's because it's intensely connected�you can share photos and video with social networks straight from the hub, and via the cloud, they're kept in sync with your PC and web galleries. The latest photos your friends post also show up here. Of course, you get around with multitouch zoom and zip-zip scrolling stuff.
I'll admit, I very nearly needed to change my pants when I saw the Xbox tile on the phone for the first time. Obviously, you're not going to be playing Halo 3 on your smartphone (at least not this year), but yes, Xbox Live on a phone! It's tied to your Live profile, and there are achievements and gamer points for the games you can play on your phone, which will be tied to games back on your Xbox 360.
If Microsoft's got an ace-in-hole with Windows Phone 7, it's Xbox Live. Gamers have talked about a portable Xbox for years�this is the most logical way to do it. The N-Gage was ahead of its time. (Okay, and it sucked.) The DS and PSP are the past. The iPhone showed us that the future of mobile gaming was going to be on your phone, and now that just got a lot more interesting. The potential's there, and hopefully the games will be plentiful and awesome enough to meet it.
Yes, the browser is Internet Explorer. And yes, the rumor's true: It won't be as fast as Mobile Safari. Not to start. But it's not bad! Hey, least it's got multitouch powers right out of the box. Naturally, you've got multiple browser windows, and you can pin web pages to the Start screen, like any other decent mobile browser.
The Outlook email app makes me question how people read email on a BlackBerry. It is stunning. I never thought I'd call a mail app "stunning," but, well, it kind of is. It's the best looking mobile mail app around. Text is huge. Gorgeous. Ultrareadable. Of course, it's got Exchange support too.
Remember what I said earlier about Windows Mobile being dead? So are all the apps. They won't work on WP7. Sorry Windows Mobile developers, it's for the best. Deep down, we all knew a clean break was the only way Windows Phone wasn't going to suck total balls.
Apps will have some standardized interface elements, like the app bar on the bottom for common commands. But here's a question: Will they multitask? Um, that depends on your definition of multitasking! When we asked Joe Belfiore, the guy running Windows Phone, he alluded to live tiles and feeds as some ofthe ways that third-parties will be able to "bring value to the user, even when their apps aren't running." Which sounds to us like a big ol' "shnope," but we'll see more next month at Microsoft's developer event MIX.
The Marketplace is where you'll buy apps. Since we've got like 6 months 'til Windows Phone 7 launches and people should be excited to develop for it, hopefully there'll be plenty of stuff to buy there on day one.
Naturally, Bing and Bing Maps are built into the phone as the default search and maps services. They're nice, smartly contextual, and very location-oriented. Bing's also used for universal search on the phone, via a dedicated Bing button. (There is no search but Bing search, BTW.) Bing Maps is multitouchable, with pinch-to-zoom. It's rich, with built-in listings with reviews and clever ways of searching for stuff. And yeah, Office! It's connected to that cloud thing, for OTA syncing and such. Business people should be happy.
Another way the old Windows Mobile is dead is how Microsoft's handling partners and hardware situation. With Windows Mobile, a phonemaker handed Microsoft their monies, and Microsoft tossed them a software kit, and that was that. Which is why a lot of Windows Mobile phones felt and ran like crap. And why it took HTC like two years to produce the HD2, the most genuinely usable rendition of Windows Mobile ever.
Microsoft's not building their own phones, but they're going to be picky, to say the least, with Windows Phone 7. Ballmer phrases it as "taking more accountability" for people's experiences. There's a strict set of minimum hardware requirements: a capacitive, multitouchable screen with at least four points of touch; accelerometer; 5-megapixel camera; FM radio; and the like. There are serious benchmarks that have to be met. And only chosen OEMs get to build the phones now, not like before, when anybody with $20 could get a license. The OEMs that Microsoft's announcing they're working with at launch are: Qualcomm, LG, Samsung, Garmin Asus, HTC, HP, Dell, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba. AT&T's their "premiere partner" in the US (dammit). (Take note people! Premiere does not mean exclusive!)
Every phone will have a Bing (search) button and a Start button. Custom skins, like the minor miracles HTC worked, are now banned. The message to hardware makers is clear: It's a Windows Phone, you're just putting it together. Basically, phonemakers get to decide the shape of the phone, and whether or not there's a keyboard.
One other word on hardware, in a manner of speaking. Hardware it won't work with? Macs. Which is kind of stupid to us�a lot of the people Microsoft wants to use Windows Phone 7, like college students, have been going Mac in droves. You wanna lure them back Microsoft? Let them use your phone with any OS.
Windows Phone 7 Series is, from what we've seen, exactly what Microsoft's phone should be. It's actually good. It brings together a bunch of different Microsoft services�Zune, Xbox, Bing�in a way that actually makes sense and just works. But there's a real, lingering question: Are they too late? The first Windows Phone 7 Series�phone�goddamn that is a stupid name�won't hit until the end of this year. That's more than three years after the iPhone, two years after Android, hell, even a year after Palm, the industry's sickly but persistent dwarf.
History is on Microsoft's side here�we know what happened the last time Apple had a massive head start. (Update: To be clear, in computing.) Microsoft is, if nothing else, incredibly patient. Remember the first Xbox? Back when it was crazy that Microsoft was getting into videogames? It's cost them about a billion dollars and taken nearly 10 years, but now, with Xbox Live, Project Natal and their massive software ecosystem, they arguably have the most impressive gaming console you can buy. That was a pet project. Now, mobile is the future of computing. What do you think Microsoft will sink into that?
The mobile picture is now officially a three-way dance: Apple, Google, and Microsoft. The same people who dominate desktop computing. Everybody else is screwed. Former Palm CEO Ed Colligan famously said a few years ago: "PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in." That's precisely what's just happened. Phones are the new PCs. PC guys are the new phone guys.
This action is pretty logical: Microsoft employees want Windows Phone 7 to succeed than the average outside developer, and so allowing employees to gain financially through their app development efforts is a big incentive to come up with interesting app ideas Windows Mobile for the next generation dubbed Windows Phone 7 Series upon its launch at MWC.
1. Use the keyboard less
BlackBerry has always had a QWERTY keyboard and you can type everything out in full - but you can save time with the built-in shortcuts. Press space twice at the end of a sentence to get the full stop and an automatic capital on the next word.
Don't bother with apostrophes in words like I'm and isn't (type im and the BlackBerry will correct it for you); there are other handy abbreviations like 'wel' to get 'we'll' and 'il' to get 'I'll' and you can add your own with Options > AutoText.
AUTOTEXT: Speed up typing by creating your own abbreviations and corrections
2. Quick capitals
You don't need Shift - press and hold a letter key to type the upper case letter.
3. Skip Symbol
If you're typing an email address into a field that expects an email address, don't bother looking for how to type the @; just hit space and BlackBerry with put the @ in for you. Press space when you need the . in the middle of the email address and it will fill that in, too. Do the same for URLs in the browser; pressing space fills in the periods faster than typing them by hand.
4. Fast select
There's a Select command on the menu for choosing what to copy and paste - but you can make a selection just by holding down the Shift key as you scroll the trackball.
5. Keyboard shortcuts
Save on scrolling by using 't' to get to the top of any email message, web page or other long screen and 'b' to get to the bottom. There are specific shortcuts for all the built-in apps like using the Mute button to pause videos or music or skipping to the next or previous track by pressing and holding the volume up and down keys (which also zoom in and out in the camera - although many apps use I and O to zoom); there's a list in the Help tool.
SAVE TIME: Put the keyboard to work with shortcuts in every built-in app
6. Choose dialling or shortcuts
Under Options > Phone Options > General Options you can set Dial From Home Screen to Yes or No; if you set it to Yes you can start typing a name to dial the number on the home screen, if you set it to No you can type the first letter of apps on the home screen to open them (M for Mail, B for browser, C to compose email - and oddly N for Messenger, L for Calendar and U for Calculator).
7. Web columns
Press Z in the web browser to reflow the page into a column the size of the BlackBerry screen so it's easier to read; press Z again to go back to a normal page view you can scroll around.
EASY READING: Switch between seeing the original layout and a version of the page reformatted as one long BlackBerry-sized column
8. Turn on JavaScript
To save memory and make pages load faster, the BlackBerry browser usually has JavaScript turned off by default; use Options > Browser Configuration > Support JavaScript to turn it back on and make more pages load correctly.
9. Which browser?
There are three different browsers on the BlackBerry; a WAP browser for viewing content from your mobile network, the BlackBerry HTML browser (and a hotspot browser that prioritises the Wi-Fi connection). If you have problems accessing or loading Web pages, choose Options > Browser Configuration and set Browser to BlackBerry Browser and make sure Options > General Properties > Default Browser is also set to BlackBerry Browser.
10. Don't get mobile Web sites
You can also try changing Browser Identification from BlackBerry to Firefox or IE to force the full versions of specific pages to load instead of the cut-down mobile versions - but they might be slow or not load fully.
BROWSER SWAP: The BBC web site always loads the mobile version on BlackBerry; if you want to see the full site, have your BlackBerry pretend to run Firefox or IE
11. Fast search
You can search for contacts, messages and inside files and web pages - press S to search in contacts and messages and F to search in other apps.
12. Color-code messages
If you get both work and personal email on your BlackBerry, you can change the color of either set of messages. Choose Options > Security Options >Information> Message Outline Colors and either Enterprise Messages or Other Messages.
COLOUR-CODED: Show work and personal messages in different colors
13. Menu multi-tasking
BlackBerry has had multitasking for years but it's subtly done; apps stay running so you can switch back to them (unless you run out of memory when they're closed automatically). To get back to another app, press and hold the Menu button to get the task switcher.
14. Lock with mute
Some BlackBerrys have both a lock and a mute button on the top edge, others - like the original Bold - only have a mute button. You can always lock the screen by scrolling down to the Lock icon but it's faster to just press and hold mute until the screen locks (do the same to unlock it).
Here Are The Top 10 Basic Blackberry Tips And Tricks In No Particular Order Top BlackBerry Problems Solutions Top 10 Basic Blackberry Tips And Tricks from. BlackBerrys have a lot of settings hidden in the OS. Here are some of the most popular BlackBerry Tips for any user. There are some tips you won't need often - like pressing Alt, Del and the right-hand Caps key at the same time to reboot instead of just restarting; others you'll use all the time, like pressing the red 'hang up' key to get back to the home screen and clicking the spanner icon on the home screen to open Options.
15. Real convenience
There are two 'convenience keys' - one on each side of the BlackBerry; you've probably found one of them by knocking it and hearing that irritating 'say a command' message. If you never use voice command, choose Options > Screen/Keyboard to change the buttons to something more useful - starting the camera, opening the music player or launching your favourite app.
QUICK START: Put two apps or commands you use all the time at your fingertips
16. Tweak your trackball
Use Options > Screen/Keyboard and scroll to the bottom of the page to choose the horizontal and vertical sensitivity (how far it moves across the screen when you move it) and whether you hear a click as it rolls.
17. Turn off speakerphone
The slightly confusing way to put a call on speakerphone is to use Menu > Activate Speakerphone; the even more confusing way to turn it off is Menu > Activate Handset - or you can use the $ key to turn it on and off. (And the $ key produces the $ sign in email, use Options > Screen/Keyboard > Currency key to set it to � instead).
18. Say a command
Voice command does more than voice dialling; if you want to check your signal and battery strength you can wade through the Options menu or you can hit the voice command button and say 'status' or 'check battery' and 'check signal strength'.
19. Say it again
Voice recognition works quite well, but you can train it by reading a list of numbers and words; choose Options > Voice Dialing> Adapt Voice.
VOICE TRAINING: Choose Adapt Voice and your BlackBerry will ask you to read a list of sample names and numbers
20. Hidden Help
The hidden 'Help Me!' screen shows the signal strength, battery level, device PIN, free space, space in use, IMEI, OS version, how long the BlackBerry has been on and some other info that can be useful for troubleshooting. View it by pressing Alt + Caps + H.
MORE INFO: The Help Me! Screen collects key information together
21. Archive, don't uninstall
Only the very latest BlackBerry models have anything like enough memory for all the apps you want. When you run out of space, pick the ones you use least and archive them to your microSD card (this only works with apps from App World). Select the app in the My World sections of App World and choose Menu > Archive; archived apps have a green arrow on their icons and you can click them to reinstall - but you may have to restart to archive or restore an app.
ARCHIVE APPS: You can't run apps from the SD card but you can archive them to save space
22. Save power overnight
BlackBerry is very frugal on battery life and you can make it last even longer by having yours turn itself off overnight and back on in the morning. Choose Options > Auto On/Off; you can have different on and off times for weekdays and weekends.
23. Master Control Program
Use the free third-party tool MCP (http://mcpfx.com) for tweaking your BlackBerry, doing a factory reset in an emergency - or just installing updates more easily than with the sprawling and inefficient BlackBerry Desktop software.
TWEAK BLACKBERRY: Install a new OS or tweak the modules on your BlackBerry with the excellent Master Control Program
24. Install any app
If you want to run an app that doesn't have an installer - including alternative email clients like Astrasync and NotifySync which RIM won't sign for installation - connect your BlackBerry by USB, switch to mass storage mode so it shows up on your PC as a drive and copy the JAR file to the root folder. On your BlackBerry use the Media app to open the folder and select the JAR file to install it.
25. Save money on texts
If you're sending a message to another BlackBerry user, BlackBerry Messenger is free -but you need to know their BlackBerry PIN.The easiest way to get someone in your contact list is to invite them.
Get BlackBerry Tips, Tricks and Key-Press Shortcuts Learn Read the Top 10 Phone Tips from BlackBerry: This list includes simple tips. BlackBerry Troubleshooting Tips & Tricks from RIM What follows is RIM's recent list of BlackBerry troubleshooting tips. Read our top tips for BlackBerry Bold 9700 if you just got the latest Its the best thing to do closest to what we're used to doing with.
