Small Business

Become a BlackBerry Power User in 121 Easy Steps

By Rick Broida

Updated on: October 17, 2008 / 9:49 AM EDT / MoneyWatch

The folks at InsideCRM must be serious BlackBerry users, because they've compiled a rather exhaustive collection of tips and tricks: The Power User's BlackBerry Guide: 121 CrackBerry Tips, Hacks and Resources. (Yes, they even refer to it as 'CrackBerry' right in the title.) Here's a chunk from the Tips section:

Read "A Wired-In Guy Getting Set for a Big Date": Stick your wet BlackBerry, or any other doomed device, (turned off) in a bowl of uncooked rice overnight, and it will suck out the moisture.
Navigate Your Calendar Quickly: First, enable Quick Entry, then press "D" for day, "W" for week, "M" for month and "A" for agenda.
Separate SMS (Short Message Service) Messages and Emails: Select Separate in the SMS and Email Inboxes field under General Options.
Select Text on a Page: To highlight text, press Shift, then move the wheel up or down.

Needless to say, there's good stuff here. In fact, I can't help myself -- here's a little more, this time from the Guides section:

The First 10 Things You Should Do With Your New BlackBerry: Before you do anything else with your BlackBerry, do these 10 things.
Appear to Be in the Office While Actually Working from Home: Fool everyone by making these tweaks using your BlackBerry and more.
BlackBerry Messenger: What Is It and How Does It Work?: Get the lowdown on this BlackBerry-to-BlackBerry messaging service.
Maximize the Battery Life of Your New BlackBerry: Follow this tutorial to learn how to get the most out of your battery.

You'll also find a generous selection of how-tos, cheat sheets, third-party tools, and even reference books. I think I can say without hyperbole that this is the single greatest collection of BlackBerry tips ever assembled in the history of the universe. No, seriously! The only downside is that you'll spend half a day poring through it.

And here I thought it was going to be exciting to post about the new Agendus for BlackBerry, which brings amped-up contact, calendar, and task apps to your device. Now it just seems kinda, I dunno, meh. Damn you, InsideCRM. Damn you!