Happy Friday #TeamBlackBerry! I recently read a question someone posted in the BlackBerry® Support Community Forums about sharing a BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet with co-workers. The question was how to best manage the device so that a person’s private information did not have to be shared with others. I thought this was a great question, so today I’d like to share some tips for sharing a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet amongst several people. (Remember: sharing is caring!)

1. Use a Dedicated BlackBerry ID

A BlackBerry® ID is a single sign-on identity service that gives a user access to multiple BlackBerry® products and is a requirement to complete the setup of a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. If you plan on sharing a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, consider creating a new BlackBerry ID specifically for the device.

Why am I recommending this? A BlackBerry ID can only be associated to one BlackBerry smartphone and one BlackBerry PlayBook tablet at any given time. In other words, if a personal BlackBerry ID is used for a shared device and that person gets their own BlackBerry PlayBook tablet in the future, you’ll need to set up the shared BlackBerry PlayBook tablet again using a different BlackBerry ID. To help get you started, check out this post on how to create a BlackBerry ID while completing the setup of a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

If you would like to find out more about how a BlackBerry ID works, see Ty’s post BlackBerry ID – Common Questions.

2. BlackBerry Bridge remembers more than one BlackBerry smartphone

Have a BlackBerry smartphone? Perfect! When it’s your turn with the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, connect your BlackBerry smartphone to it using BlackBerry Bridge™. More than one smartphone can be used with BlackBerry Bridge on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, so each person can have their messages, contacts, calendar and other BlackBerry Bridge-supported apps and features on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet while they are using it.

Just remember to disable BlackBerry Bridge on your BlackBerry smartphone before handing the device off to someone else; this can be done by clicking on the connected tablet shown in the BlackBerry Bridge app on your smartphone and then selecting Disconnect.

Not familiar with BlackBerry Bridge? Find out how to download it for your smartphone and pair it with a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet by reading Ty’s post BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 and BlackBerry Bridge – The Perfect Pairing!

3. Add Browser Bookmarks to your Home screen

Instead of saving browser bookmarks with the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet browser, keep your bookmarks separate by choosing the option to save them to the Home screen instead. From there you can move the bookmark into a specific folder or a panel.

To add a bookmark to the Home screen, all you need to do after loading the website is tap the star icon with the green plus mark that appears in the top right corner of the browser followed by selecting “Add to Home Screen”. You’ll then be prompted to specify a name for the icon that will appear on your home screen.

To move the icon you have just created, tap and hold the icon, which will then start pulsing. You are then able to drag the icon to a folder, a different panel, or a different location within the same panel.

4. Create User Specific Folders and/or Panels for Organization

You can take the bookmarks you added to the Home Screen in the previous tip and add them to a personalized folder or a new panel, which allows you to easily organize your tablet’s Home screen. Try out each method below using the provided steps.

To create a new folder:

1. From the Home screen, touch and hold an icon until it starts pulsing, then drag it over another icon and release
2. Type the name of the new folder in the text box that appears followed by tapping “Create”
3. To add an icon, tap and hold it until it stats to pulse followed by dragging it on top of the Folder you just created.

To create a new panel:

1. From the home screen or adjacent panel, press and hold an icon until it starts pulsing
2. Drag the icon to the right to move it to the next panel; if no panel exists one will be created and the icon will automatically be added to it.

Note: Empty folders and panels are removed automatically.

5. Discover and maximize the value of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, and share amongst yourselves

To get the maximum value from the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, I recommend reading all the posts we have on BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 here on the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog. We also have some pretty nifty How-To Demos that will bring you to speed in no time!

	Explore tablet hardware Using the tablet interface BlackBerry Bridge Personalization Docs To Go Print To Go Calendar Contacts Video Player Messages Video Chat Browsing the web

More about BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0

1. Help Blog: Getting Started with Email, Contacts and Calendar in BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0
2. Help Blog: Getting Started with Video Chat in BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0
3. BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 is here!
4. New Video Chat features with BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0
5. BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 Reviews from CES
6. CES 2012: BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 Communicates [Video]

Do you share a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet? We would love to hear about your experience — tell us about it by leaving a comment below!

Today I want to quickly talk about one of my favorite BlackBerry® smartphone settings, which is the ability to enable Event Sounds. This setting allows you to receive audible notifications whenever your battery is low or fully charged, in addition to whenever you connect or disconnect an accessory (such as a USB cable) to or from your smartphone.

To enable Event Sounds so you can try them out yourself, complete the following steps:

BlackBerry® 6 and BlackBerry® 7 OS smartphones

1. On your Home screen, select “Options”
2. Select “Accessibility” followed by “Event Sounds”
3. Toggle “Event Sounds” to “On”
4. Press the Menu key and select “Save”.

BlackBerry® Device Software 5.0

1. On your Home screen, select “Options” followed by “Advanced Options”
2. Select “Accessibility” followed by “Event Sounds”
3. Toggle “Event Sounds” to “On”
4. Press the Menu key and select “Save”.

Tip: Using BlackBerry® 6 or later? Try using Universal Search to access Options, followed by searching for ‘Event’ or ‘Sounds’ to quickly enable/disable Event Sounds. Just tap on the search icon that appears in the top right corner of your Home screen and enable your desired search result.

A very important thing you should know is that Event Sound alerts trigger regardless of your current profile. For example, if your BlackBerry smartphone is set to the Vibrate Only profile and your battery drains completely while in your pocket, an audible alert will play.

Since this is the case, if you are going to a special event, considering turning off Event Sounds by completing the steps above and setting “Event Sounds” to off.

Do you have a favorite feature you are always telling your friends and family to try? Leave a comment and let us know as we’d love to hear from you!

#TeamBlackBerry, I’ve got a question for you: When was the last time you backed up your BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet? Performing a backup on your tablet is something I encourage all of my friends and family to do, because one day you might be glad you did.

I know I was relieved when I was able to recover videos of my niece’s ice skating show that I recorded a few weeks ago. What happened is that I had recorded several videos using my BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and moved them onto my USB thumb drive. Several hours later I ended up knocking my keychain with my USB thumb drive attached to it into a sink full of water. After a few minutes trying to figure out how to save my USB thumb drive (ultimately it was lost), I realized I had a backup of my tablet thanks to BlackBerry® Desktop Software, which meant my videos were safe. All I had to do was restore the backup file to my tablet and presto – the videos were back, so we could always remember her first skating show!

Learn how to start backing up your tablet automatically (or on a schedule, if desired) after the break.

Before we begin, you’ll need to download BlackBerry Desktop Software, which allows you to back up and restore your tablet. To download and install it, click on one of the links below depending on which operating system you are currently using:

• BlackBerry Desktop Software for PC
• BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac

An important note about restoring backup files

When you restore a backup file to your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, files that are currently stored on your tablet will be deleted when a backup file is restored. In other words, if you have files stored on your tablet that have been added to your tablet since your last backup, considering using USB or Wi-Fi® file sharing to copy them off the tablet before restoring a backup file.

Something else to keep in mind is that backup files can only be restored provided that the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet you are using was set up using the same BlackBerry® ID. Attempting to restore a backup file made using one BlackBerry ID on to a tablet that was set up using a different BlackBerry ID will result in the following error (depending on which version of BlackBerry Desktop Software you are using):

• BlackBerry Desktop Software for PC – “There was an error restoring”
• BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac – “BlackBerry Desktop Software failed to restore your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet”

If this error occurs, to restore the backup file you’ll need to perform a security wipe of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet followed by setting it up again using the same BlackBerry ID that was used when the backup file was created.

Backing up and restoring your tablet

Provided you have installed BlackBerry Desktop Software for PC or Mac, follow the steps below depending on which version you are using:

BlackBerry Desktop Software for PC

How to configure and perform a manual tablet backup

1. Click on the Start Menu, select “All Programs” followed by “BlackBerry Desktop Software”
2. Connect your tablet, click “Device” followed by “Back up” and select one of the following options:

• To back up all of your tablet data, click “Full”.
• To back up all of your tablet data except for your media files, click “Quick”.
• To selectively choose what information on your tablet you’d like to back up, click “Custom” followed by selecting the desired data.

3. After specifying what information will backed up, customize the backup file using any of the following options

• To change the default name for the backup file, in the “File name” field, type a new name.
• To encrypt the back up the file, select the “Encrypt backup file” check box and type a password.
• To save the settings so that there is no prompt to set these options again when backing the tablet in the future, select “Don’t ask for these settings again” check box.

4. To start a backup, click on “Back up”.

Enabling Automatic Backups of your tablet

After determining what information will be backed up and how the backup file will be created, to enable automatic backups of your tablet, open BlackBerry Desktop Manager, connect your tablet and click on the “Device Options”. In the following screen, check “Back up my device” and specify your desired schedule – daily, weekly or monthly. After doing this, click “Ok” and automatic backups will be performed based on the frequency you set.

Restoring a tablet backup file

In the event you need to restore a backup file, complete the steps below. Keep in mind, doing this will remove files stored on the tablet before the backup is restored.

1. Open BlackBerry Desktop Software, click “Device” followed by “Restore”
2. Select a backup file that contains the data you want to restore and do one of the following:

• To restore all of your tablet data, click “All device data and settings”.
• To select which tablet data you want to restore, click “Select device data and settings” followed by selecting what data you would like to restore.

3. A warning will appear that all data will be replaced with the back up file, click “Yes”
4. If the backup file is encrypted, type the password that you set to encrypt
5. Click “Restore”.

You may encounter an error that reads as the following: “There was error restoring – There could have been a problem with the device or connection during the restore. Verify that the device is turned on and connected.” This is a result of restoring a backup file on to a tablet that using a different BlackBerry ID than the one used when the backup was created.

To learn more about this error, check out the following knowledge base article KB31317 – Unable to restore a BlackBerry PlayBook backup file taken from a different BlackBerry ID.

BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac

How to configure and perform a manual tablet backup

1. On your computer, in the Applications folder, click the BlackBerry Desktop Software icon
2. Click “Back Up” in the upper right corner and do one of the following:

• To back up all of your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet data, click “All Data”.
• To selectively choose what information on your tablet you’d like to back up, click “Custom” followed by selecting the desired data.

3. After specifying what information will backed up, customize you backup using any of the following options:

• To change the default name for the backup file, in the “File name” field, type a new name.
• To encrypt the back up the file, select the “Encrypt backup file” check box.

4. Click “Back Up”
5. If you selected to encrypt the backup you will be prompted for a password. After typing the password, click “Encrypt”.

Enabling automatic backups of your tablet

To specify a schedule that will automatically back up your tablet, complete the following steps:

1. On your computer, in the Applications folder, click the BlackBerry Desktop Software icon
2. Click “Device Options” and on the Backup tab, select the “Automatically back up when device is connected” checkbox and select a interval
3. To back up all of the media files on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, select the “Include media in automatic backup” checkbox.
4. To encrypt the backup file, select the “Encrypt automatic backup file” checkbox
5. Click “OK”.

Restoring a tablet backup file

In the event you need to restore a backup file, complete the steps below. As mentioned earlier, doing this will remove files stored on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet before the backup is restored.

1. Open BlackBerry Desktop Software and click “Restore”
2. Select a backup file that contains the data you want to restore and do one of the following:

• To restore all your device data, click “Restore all data”.
• To select which data you want to restore, click “Restore selected data” followed by selecting what data you would like to restore.

3. A warning will appear that all data will be replaced with the back up file, click “Yes”
4. If the backup file is encrypted, type the password that you set to encrypt
5. Click “Restore”.

If you encounter the following error “BlackBerry Desktop Software failed to restore your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet”, this is a result of restoring a backup file on to a tablet that using a different BlackBerry ID than the one used when the backup was created.

To learn more about this error, check out the following knowledge base article KB31317 – Unable to restore a BlackBerry PlayBook backup file taken from a different BlackBerry ID.

If you have questions or feedback, make sure you leave a comment!

If you aren’t already following @BlackBerryHelp and you want to receive lots of tips and tricks, start following today using Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones and keep an eye out for the #BBTips hashtag.

With that being said, here are the five popular tips that we’ve shared with our fantastic followers:

1. Video Camera Flashlight

Try the following steps to quickly turn a physical keyboard-equipped BlackBerry smartphone into a flashlight so you can find your way!

1. Open the Video Camera app
2. Press the space key to turn on or turn off the flashlight.

Note: Using a smartphone with a virtual keyboard only, such as the BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 smartphone? If so, you can also make it a flashlight by opening the Video Camera App and pressing the Menu key, then selecting Options followed by checking the box for Video Light.

2. Copy contacts from a SIM Card

Did you recently upgrade to a new BlackBerry smartphone or are switching a different model? If so, complete the following steps to copy your contacts stored on your SIM card to your new smartphone.

Add one contact from a SIM card to a BlackBerry smartphone

1. On the BlackBerry smartphone, open Contacts
2. Display the menu and select SIM Phone Book. The SIM phone book will be loaded
3. Select the contact you want to import, and then select Add to Contacts
4. That contact will be then added to your BlackBerry smartphone Contacts list.

Add all contacts from a SIM card to a BlackBerry smartphone

1. On the BlackBerry smartphone, open Contacts
2. Display the menu and select SIM Phone Book. The SIM phone book will be loaded
3. Display the menu and select Copy All To Contacts
4. This will add all contacts to your BlackBerry smartphone Contacts list
5. Check your Contacts on the device to ensure that they transferred properly.

Check out Eric’s post on how to transfer contacts from your SIM card to learn more. You can also look up the user guide for your BlackBerry smartphone.

3. Autotext/Word Substitution

One of my favorite tips to share with other BlackBerry smartphone owners is the ability to use Autotext/Word Substitution to quickly enter information you commonly enter, such as your PIN number, the current date or the expansion of an abbreviated term.

For example, if you type something that can be replaced with an Autotext entry, the text changes after you press the Space key (BRB will change to Be Right Back if you’ve added it to your Autotext database).

Here a few must-know Autotext/Word Substitution entries:

1. mypin – Your BlackBerry smartphone PIN, i.e. “pin:XXXXXXX”
2. mynumber – Your BlackBerry smartphone phone number, i.e.” XXXXXXXXXX”
3. ld – The long date, i.e. “Thu, May 10, 2012”
4. lt – Long time, i.e. “10:24:10 AM”

In addition to the entries above, your BlackBerry smartphone includes dozens more! To view them as well create some of your own, check out the user guide for your BlackBerry smartphone.

4. How to perform a soft reset

A soft reset is a three-key combination that resets the BlackBerry smartphone without removing the battery. This method of resetting a smartphone is only available on BlackBerry smartphone models with a QWERTY keyboard, such as the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 smartphone or BlackBerry® Torch™ 9810 smartphone.

To perform a soft reset, complete the following steps.

1. Press and hold the Alt key (1)
2. While holding down the Alt key, press and hold the Right Shift key (2)
3. With both of those buttons still pressed, press the Backspace/Delete key (3)
4. When the screen turns off to indicate that the BlackBerry smartphone is restarting, you can then release the keys you have been holding.

To learn more, read our blog post on how to reset a BlackBerry smartphone.

5. Message shortcuts

For those using a BlackBerry smartphone that has a physical keyboard (such as the BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone or the BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone), try the following shortcuts while using the Messages app to fly around your inbox and manage messages quickly!

While viewing a message:

• R – Reply to a message
• L – Reply to all in a email or PIN message
• F – Forward a message
• I – File a email message
• N – Move to the next message
• P – Move to the previous message

While viewing your messages inbox:

• C – Compose a message from a message inbox
• Alt + U – Mark a message as read or unread
• W – Add a flag to the message
• ALT + F – View all flagged messages
• ALT + I – View received messages and received call logs
• ALT + O – View draft and sent messages
• ALT + V – View voice mail messages
• ALT + S – View text messages
• ALT + P – View call logs

Moving around your messages inbox:

• Shift + Space – Move up a screen
• Space – Move down a screen
• T – Move to the top of the inbox
• B – Move to the bottom of the inbox
• U – Move to the next unread item
• J – Move to the next related message
• K – Move to the previous related message

To learn about other useful shortcuts, including shortcuts for those using touch screen-only devices such as the BlackBerry® Torch™ 9860 or BlackBerry® Curve™ 9380 smartphone, make sure you check out the user guide for your BlackBerry smartphone.

Got a question? Leave a comment and let me know!

A new feature in BlackBerry® 7 OS is the ability to quickly switch from one BlackBerry 7 smartphone to another BlackBerry 7 smartphone using a MicroSD card. This allows for a speedy transfer of your personal data between two BlackBerry 7 smartphones without the need for a USB cable or computer.

If you are upgrading from a device with BlackBerry® 6 software or earlier, you’ll need to use a computer and the following instructions to transfer your data using BlackBerry® Desktop Software:

• PC: How to switch from one BlackBerry smartphone to another using BlackBerry Desktop Software for PC
• Mac: How to switch from one BlackBerry smartphone to another using BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac

Before we begin, a very important thing you should know is that this feature does not back up and transfer applications downloaded from BlackBerry App World™. It is meant to be a way to quickly switch your personal data such as contacts, calendar and profiles only.

Since this is the case, after completing a device switch using a MicroSD card, open BlackBerry App World on your new smartphone and select My World, and you’ll be able to reinstall all of your favorite apps and games.

With that being said, here’s an overview of how to complete the device switch using a MicroSD card.

Part 1: Backing up Your Data

First, we need to back up your personal data on your current device. Something to keep in mind is that your BlackBerry smartphone will NOT be able to make phone calls, send or receive messages, or exit from the backup screen once you have started this process. You are able to click “Cancel” at anytime.

1. On your current device, from the Home screen or a folder select “Setup”
2. Select “Device Switch” and then “Using a Media Card”
3. To copy data to the media card select “Save Data”
4. If you would like to transfer emails, select the box next to “Save Emails”
5. When ready select “Save Emails”
6. Create a password and confirm it then press “Continue” to begin the device switch.

Once completed, you will need to transfer your MicroSD card and, if your device has one, the SIM card to the new BlackBerry smartphone.

Part 2: Restoring Your Data

If you are turning on your new BlackBerry 7 smartphone for the first time, it will bring you to the Setup screen after a short opening video. If this is the case, jump to step 2. Otherwise, start with step 1.

1. On your new device, from the home screen or a folder select “Setup”
2. Select “Device Switch” and then “Using a Media Card”
3. Select “Transfer Data” and then “Continue”
4. When prompted, enter the password you created on your old device and click “Continue”.

Tip: After the data transfer is complete, select “Delete Saved Data” to free up the space used for the backup on the micro SD card.

Now that you have your data transferred, re-install your apps and games from BlackBerry App World using the My World feature.

Have a question? Leave a comment and let me know!

Good morning, readers! Today we’ve got a guest post from Thusenth about an important new feature in our latest OS update. Read on for more – Ed.

It’s no secret that BlackBerry® smartphones are known for their security. It’s baked deep into our BlackBerry OS DNA, and many features of the BlackBerry smartphone experience can be customized and managed by BlackBerry® Enterprise Servers and their administrators.

You might not think it obvious, but one segment of customers that can benefit from BlackBerry security are teens – they may even be children – with phones provided by their parents or guardian. You can see the parallels here with the Enterprise market – IT is now mom, and the Enterprise user is now little Jimmy.

If you provide a BlackBerry smartphone to a teen or child, you may want to set limits on what features or services your child has access to. We see there’s an opportunity here for us to leverage our expertise in security and manageability to help parents.

With this in mind, we developed Parental Controls, which is included in the BlackBerry® 7.1 OS that’s being rolled out with our new BlackBerry® Curve™ smartphones (9320 and 9220). Parental Controls is an integrated feature that provides parents and guardians simple options to help them protect their children by restricting access to specific functions, features and applications. A free download of Parental Controls will be made available for BlackBerry® 7.0 OS and BlackBerry® 6 OS next month; and for BlackBerry® Device Software 5.0 shortly after through the BlackBerry App World™ storefront.

A couple examples of the restrictions you can set by going to Options -> Security -> Parental Controls are:

• Camera – A control to disable use of the camera for both still pictures and video. Upon attempting to launch the Camera application, the user would be provided with the message “Camera has been blocked.”
• Phone – Limit the phone to receive calls only from phone numbers that exist in the Contacts application. This feature will block incoming phone calls from unknown callers.

For more information on all the available Parental Controls settings, check out the official user guide.

Research In Motion® (RIM®) is active in a variety of international organizations dedicated to making the Internet a safer place for children. For additional tips to support your child on how to use their BlackBerry smartphone safely and responsibly, take a look at this guide from the UK Safer Internet Centre.

In addition to Parental Controls, BlackBerry App World also offers content rating and filtering options for applications based on the CTIA Wireless Association’s “Guidelines for App Content Classification and Ratings”. To take advantage of this, download the latest version of BlackBerry App World.

The postcard above was made using Scrapbook, a free app for the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet available on the BlackBerry App World™ storefront!

Hola #TeamBlackBerry, it’s time to introduce you to another face behind @AyudaBlackBerry! Jose (aka ^JC) is a traveller, a self-proclaimed gadget fanatic, and like all of our social support analysts, a true technical expert. He’s devoted to helping BlackBerry® customers solve technical issues, and deserves a round of applause for his high energy and strong work ethic. Although I don’t work with Jose on a daily basis (since he’s in Texas and I’m in Canada), I’ve heard that he’s a rock star in the office. He’s the type of guy who makes me proud to be part of #TeamBlackBerry!

Read on and get to know Jose a little better:

What is your favorite app developed by Research In Motion® (RIM®) for your BlackBerry smartphone?

I would have to say BlackBerry® Travel™! I love how I can enter my travel information and go without having to carry multiple printed documents.

What is your favorite BlackBerry smartphone tip/trick?

My favorite tip/trick is the Bedside Mode option inside the Clock application. While I like keeping my BlackBerry smartphone by my side at all times, I hate when email alerts wake me up. With Bedside Mode, I’ve created a special profile that silences all of my notifications – it even dims the display and turns off the radio communications. Be sure to check out Brian’s post about using the Bedside Mode on your BlackBerry smartphone for more!

What do you like best about your job?

I really like when I answer a customer’s question and receive confirmation that their issue was resolved. I also love hearing when my tips or solutions help fellow members of #TeamBlackBerry. And while it’s challenging to fit detailed responses within the 140-character limit on Twitter®, I always find creative ways to relay information and take care of our customers.

What is the most used tool on your BlackBerry smartphone?

I frequently use the BlackBerry® Device Analyzer application within BlackBerry® OS 7.1. It helps me keep track of activities that affect my device’s battery life, and even activates battery saving mode when I forget to charge my device.

How long have you been working for the Social Support Team?

By the end of this month, I will have been with the team for a full year.

Tell us a little about your growing up and where you’re from.

I was born and raised in Mexico City, but my family is originally from Spain. I moved to Dallas, Texas two and a half years ago, and really enjoy it here! While I do miss my friends from Mexico, I’m grateful for BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™), which helps me keep in touch with them.

I’ve always been interested in technology, and am definitely the type of guy who reads manuals and teaches friends and family about extra features that most people don’t know about. I guess it makes sense that I also LOVE gadgets. Whenever a new gadget comes out, I feel the urge to buy it (and more often than not, I end up getting it). Take my BlackBerry PlayBook tablet for instance – I got it the day it launched, and I’m so glad I did! It has literally replaced my personal computer.

Thanks for your time, Jose! Readers, let Jose know if you have any questions for him in the comments.

Happy Friday #TeamBlackBerry! You’ve seen Ty’s favorite BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet tips already, so this week I’m going to share mine. I have put together a list of my favorite tips which I provide to friends and family when they buy a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Some tips have been around for a while, and others have popped up with BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0. For example, do you know how to use reader mode in the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet browser? That is just one of the valuable tips I’ll provide today. Even if you have owned your tablet for a while, you might learn something new today!

Meet me after the break for more:

1. Display Hidden Status Icons

The status bar that runs along the top of your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet screen is home to settings, the battery indicator, notifications, and more. When viewing the device in portrait mode, however, some of the icons can become hidden due to limited space.

You can quickly view all of the status icons on the left or the right side by tapping the right or left edge of the date and time situated in the middle of the status bar (as per the screenshot below).Go ahead and give it a try yourself!

To display the date and time again, tap the empty space in the status bar.

Tip: To view the status bar while using an app or game, you can use the peek gesture. To learn more, check out our post on how to use the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet gestures.

2. Calendar and Alarms from the Status Bar

This is a quick one you might have found while trying out the last tip. Clicking on the date and time in the status bar displays the current month’s calendar – I often use this to confirm what day of the week a specific date falls on. You can also swipe left or right to view a different month.

Travel a lot? Tap the calendar once to view date and time settings so you can change between time zones or 12- and 24-hour time quickly.

Below the calendar, you will see the current time your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s alarm is set for and if it is turned on or off. This is an easy way to set your alarm for a new time; tapping the alarm clock opens the clock app from where the alarm is set.

3. Reader mode for Webpages

Reader mode brings clarity to reading content on webpages in the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet browser; the surrounding website, ads, and other objects are quickly removed, showing only the content’s images and text in a style more often related to an RSS reader app than a web browser.

Tip: Interested in using RSS feeds? Check out how to subscribe to an RSS feed using the BlackBerry News App for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

When reader mode is available, a blue icon that looks like an open book will appear on the top left of the screen, directly below the navigation buttons. It works in both portrait and landscape mode and is enabled by tapping the icon, which then opens the content in a reader mode. To close the content and go back to the webpage you were viewing, click the “X” to the left of Close in the top left corner.

4. The Browser Context Menu

After using the reader mode from the previous tip, you might want to save an image from the article or webpage you are reading. This couldn’t be easier:

1. Tap and hold the image
2. When the Context menu is displayed select “Save Image”
3. Use the current name or type a new name
4. Tap “Save”.

Note: The image, like all other downloaded files, is saved to the “Downloads” folder on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

The context menu also allows you to “Copy Image Link” should you want to share it with someone. You can also “View Image” if you want to view it on its own without the rest of the content from the page you are viewing.

5. Message Search Filters

From within the messages app on a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, you can filter emails in two ways. The first method is to type a search term into the text box; from the first letter you type, the app will start to filter your emails. The second method is the real tip here because I find it faster. Let’s say you need to find an older email from a work colleague named BlackBerry Ty:

1. Tap the latest email received from BlackBerry Ty to open it
2. Tap the magnifying glass in the top left corner of the messages app
3. A list is displayed with different filtering options

4. Tap the square next to the filter to select it, and all messages in your inbox on the tablet will be searched for the selected filter.

There are other filters available – Unread, Today and Last Week, for example – so make sure you try them all.

Did you find these BlackBerry PlayBook tablet tips helpful? Leave a comment and let me know!

I’m sure you’ve done this before, #TeamBlackBerry: You’re at home minding your own business when it hits you – the sudden urge to re-arrange furniture! After a few hours and some heavy lifting, your living room has a new look and you’re viewing it in a whole new light.

This happened to me last week, but not with my sofa and coffee table – I decided to change the look of my BlackBerry® smartphone. Within seconds I was searching through themes in BlackBerry App World™, found one I liked, installed it and activated it. Know what the best part was? No heavy lifting!

Today I’m going to provide you with the information you need to find, download and install themes, then show you how to activate a theme on your BlackBerry smartphone.

If you are someone who would rather create your own theme, I suggest starting with the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog and the first part of a three-part series called Digging Deep: Using BlackBerry Theme Studio 6 to Build Themes for BlackBerry 7. If you want to do what I did and download a theme, I suggest using BlackBerry App World. If you are unfamiliar with BlackBerry App World or need to install it on your device, check out one or all of the following:

• Don’t have BlackBerry App World on your device? Download and then install BlackBerry App World to your BlackBerry smartphone
• Unsure how to install an app or theme from BlackBerry App World? How to install an Application using BlackBerry App World
• Did you know you can use your PC to install apps or themes onto your BlackBerry smartphone? How to install applications on your BlackBerry smartphone using the BlackBerry App World Storefront

Once you have downloaded and installed a theme from BlackBerry App World, you may be prompted to activate the theme. If this prompt appears, choose “Yes” and your new theme will be activated. To change themes again, continue reading.

Switching Themes on a BlackBerry Smartphone

To view and switch themes that you have currently installed, complete the following steps depending on which version of BlackBerry® Device Software you are currently using.

BlackBerry® 6 & BlackBerry® 7 OS

1. From the Home Screen or a folder, select “Options”
2. Select “Display” and then “Screen Display”
3. In the Theme section, highlight the theme you wish to use
4. Press the Menu key and Select “Activate”.

BlackBerry® Device Software 5.0 and below

1. From the Home screen, select “Options” and then “Theme”
2. Highlight the theme you want to activate
3. Press the Menu key and select “Activate”.

Removing a Theme from a BlackBerry Smartphone

BlackBerry 6 & BlackBerry 7

1. From the Home Screen or a folder, select “Options”
2. Select “Display” and then “Screen Display”
3. In the Theme section highlight the theme you wish to remove
4. Press the Menu key and Select “Delete”.

BlackBerry Device Software 5.0 and below

1. From the Home screen, select “Options” and then “Theme”
2. Highlight the theme you want to remove
3. Press the Menu key and select “Delete”.

With those few easy steps, your BlackBerry smartphone’s Home screen takes on a whole new look.

Got a favorite BlackBerry smartphone theme to recommend? Let everyone know in the comments!

Did you know that your BlackBerry® smartphone has a built-in feature to help you organize different types of contacts within your Address Book? The categorization feature allows you to create and assign categories to easily group different kinds of contacts together. You can then filter a category to view the contacts belonging to it. To help get you started, there are already two categories created for you in the BlackBerry smartphone’s Address Book (Business and Personal); however, these are only suggestions to get you started.

Find out more about how to start organizing your contacts using categories after the break!

A very important thing you should know before we begin is that categories are not limited to the Contacts app. The Task and Memo apps also share categories that you can create on your smartphone. This means that changes made to a category – such as deleting it, for example – while using the Contacts app will also cause that category to be removed, so it no longer appears when using the Task or Memo app. With that being said, let’s begin!

By default, your BlackBerry smartphone has two categories, “Personal” and “Business”. These can be deleted, which allows you complete control over how categories are used; see the section below titled “Deleting a Category in Contacts”.

Tip: Want to know how to transfer contacts from the SIM card to your device? Check out KB03189 – Import contacts from the SIM card to your contact list.

Creating a new Category in Contacts

Categories are organized alphabetically and are not case sensitive.

1. From the Home screen or in a folder, select “Contacts”
2. Press the Menu key and select “Filter”
3. Press the Menu key and select “New” from the menu
4. Type the name of the category to be created
5. Press the Enter key.

View and Filter a Category in Contacts

When you filter a category, you are choosing to only display the contacts assigned to that category. You also should know that you can only filter one category at a time; uncheck the selected category to view all your contacts at the same time.

1. From the Home screen or in a folder, select “Contacts”
2. Press the Menu Key and select “Filter”
3. Select the Category you wish to view by clicking the Trackpad or Ball.

Deleting a Category in Contacts

To remove a category, complete the following steps. Keep in mind that deleting a category from Contacts will cause it to be removed from the Task and Memo apps categories list as well.

1. From the Home screen or in a folder, select “Contacts”
2. Press the Menu key and select “Filter”
3. Highlight the category to be deleted
4. Press the Menu key and select “Delete”.

Adding Contacts to a Category

Your contacts can be associated to more than one category if required. The method of adding contacts varies between versions of the BlackBerry OS. Not sure which BlackBerry OS you have? Read our blog post on how to identify BlackBerry® Device Software versions.

BlackBerry® 6 & BlackBerry® 7 OS

1. From the Home screen or in a folder, select “Contacts”
2. Using the track pad, highlight the contact to be added to a category
3. Press the Menu key and select “Edit”
4. Under Categories select “Edit”
5. Select the categories you would like this contact to belong to
6. Press the Menu key and select “Save”
7. Again, press the Menu key and select “Save”.

BlackBerry® Device Software 4 & 5

1. From the Home screen or in a folder, select “Contacts”
2. Using the track pad, highlight the contact to be added to a category
3. Press the Menu key and select “Edit”
4. Press the Menu key and select “Categories”
5. Place a checkmark in the box to assign the contact to categories
6. Press the Menu Key and select “Save”
7. Again, press the Menu Key and select “Save”.

There you have it – an easy way to keep your contacts organized on your BlackBerry smartphone.

As always, leave a comment and let us know what you think!