What’s your favorite BBM tip? If it isn’t listed make sure you leave a comment and let us know

1. BBM Instant Action

The next time you need to send someone a BBM message on your BlackBerry Q10, try using Instant Action to hop into a conversation with a specific contact quickly.

From the home screen, all you need to do is type ‘BBM’ followed by the name of the contact you’d like to message, e.g. bbm Ty. After doing this, tap the contact when they appear and you’ll be brought into a conversation window so you can start chatting.

If you’re using a BlackBerry Z10 with BlackBerry OS 10.1 you can use Instant Action too! Just tap the search icon along the bottom of the home screen followed by entering bbm <contact name>.

2. List or Grid? You decide

By default, BBM contacts are displayed in a grid layout but you can optionally switch to a list layout. Personally I love the grid view because all my contacts frequently update their display pictures and some of them are really interesting and eye-catching.

If you’d like to try out each view however, open BBM and swipe down from the top of the screen. Then, tap Settings followed by changing Contacts Layout to Grid or List.

3. Request High Quality Pictures

The next time someone sends you a picture over BBM, if you’d like to get a higher quality version of the picture all you need to do is tap and hold the image followed by tapping HQ on the menu that appears on the right. After doing this, the person who sent you the picture can choose to send you a higher quality version or optionally say no to the request.

Keep in mind, requesting and sending higher quality images will use a bit more data than a regular picture, so I’d recommend using this feature when you are connected to a Wi-Fi network or hotspot.

Tip: To save a picture someone sends you using BBM, tap and hold the image followed by selecting Save Image from the menu that appears on the right.

 4. BBM Music Updates

If you want to show what song you’re listening to while using the Music app, open BBM and swipe down from the top of the screen. Then, tap Settings followed by changing the “Show What I’m Listening To” switch to On.

If you do not want to see music status updates from your contacts in your BBM Updates listing, you can turn this feature off by opening the Settings screen and changing Music Status Updates to Off.

5. Link Contacts

After you’ve set up all your various accounts, you’ll notice that the same person, if they appear in multiple accounts, will be automatically merged together. If a contact with multiple entries doesn’t merge, you can manually link them together using the following tip:

1. Open the Contacts app
2. Tap and hold a contact you’d like to link together, e.g. Ty
3. Tap Select More
4. Tap the other contact you’d like to link, e.g. Ty Williams
5. Tap Link Contact from the menu

To learn about a feature on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone or troubleshoot an issue, there are several great options available to help. Visit http://www.blackberry.com/support for access to product manuals, how-to demos, tips and tricks, YouTube videos, support forums, knowledge base articles, Twitter support, and contact information for your region.

Check out the following video for a visual overview or use the steps below and try out each of the gestures.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Tip: Using a BlackBerry Z10? Check out our on post on how to use BlackBerry Z10 gestures.

Peek at your messages in the BlackBerry Hub from anywhere

All of your email, text messages, social networking notifications, missed calls, and voice mail messages can be found in the BlackBerry Hub. To peek at notifications, slide your finger up just a little bit from the bottom of the screen, and the view will shrink to show your notifications. To get to the BlackBerry Hub continue sliding your finger to the right. To return to what you were doing originally, slide your finger back to the left, or release your finger to open the BlackBerry Hub.

Peek at your messages and notifications while you’re composing or viewing a message

In a message, slowly slide your finger from the left edge of the message to the right. Continue sliding to bring your list of messages and notifications into view.

Scroll and move between items

Use this gesture to scroll through a list, pan a webpage, or move between pictures. You can also use this gesture to move between panels. For example, if you’re looking at the BlackBerry Hub, you can slide your finger to the left to move to the panel that shows all of your running apps.

Use a slider

If a slider appears on your screen, you can use the slider to progress through a file, such as a song or video, or scroll through multiple pages, such as the pages of PDF file. Drag the slider handle with your finger.

Selecting Items - Do any of the following:

• To select an item, simply tap it. If the item can be opened, it will open; if not, it will be highlighted.
• To highlight an item without opening it, touch and hold the item.
• To highlight multiple items, such as pictures or songs that you want to share, tap  and use the   Select More option. To clear an item, tap it again.

Zoom in to or zoom out from the screen

If you want a closer view of a detail in an image or if you’re having trouble reading words that are too small on a Web page, you can pinch to zoom. Slide your fingers apart to zoom in, or slide your fingers together to zoom out.

Move icons from one place to another

Touch and hold the icon you want to move and when the item starts to pulsate, slide your finger to where you want to move the icon.

Minimize apps and show your Active Frames

When you minimize an app it appears as an Active Frame on your home screen. This is great for multitasking as you don’t need to do things like save and close documents before you use the browser, or restart your browser session after you check your email. All you need to do is swipe up from the bottom of the screen to minimize an app you have open.

Show the menus

In many apps you can find additional features, options, and help by exploring the menus. To access menus while using a BlackBerry 10 smartphone, do any of the following:

• To see the additional actions you can perform in an app, tap  or 
• To see the additional actions for a specific item within an app, such as a song or a picture, touch and hold the item and the right hand menu bar will open. To see the names of the menu items that appear on the right side of the screen, slide your finger over them.
• To find the settings and help, swipe down from the top of the screen. In an app, you can see the settings for that particular app. If you are not in an app, you can see the device settings.

Lock your screen & put your device in standby mode

When you put your BlackBerry device in standby mode, the device screen backlight turns off and the screen locks. Wireless connections and clock alarms aren’t affected.

• To enter standby mode, press the Power/Lock key on the top of your device.
• To exit standby mode, swipe up from the bottom of the device screen.

Tip: You can optionally allow the power button to unlock your device, instead of swiping up from the bottom of the device screen. To change this setting, tap Settings followed by Display and set Allow power button to unlock device to On.

Restart or reset your device

If your BlackBerry device is running slower than usual or not responding, turning it off and back on again might help solve the issue.

• To restart your device, press and hold the Power/Lock key on the top of your device followed by tapping Restart

• To reset your device, press and hold the Power/Lock key for ten seconds.

To learn about a feature on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone or troubleshoot an issue, there are several great options available to help. Visit www.blackberry.com/support for access to product manuals, how-to demos, tips and tricks, YouTube videos, support forums, knowledge base articles, Twitter support, and contact information for your region.

One of my favorite BlackBerry Q10 features is the ability to use Instant Action to complete common tasks such as sending a BBM message or posting a social network status update.

Here’s a quick overview of the various shortcuts available to you while using a BlackBerry Q10.

After reviewing this list, which one do you use the most? Perhaps you would like to see a new shortcut added? Either way, make sure you leave a comment and let me know!

Note: In order for these shortcuts to work, you must be viewing your Home screen.

Making a call - Type “call,” then the name or number of the person that you want to call. I.e., call Jen or call 123-456-7890

Sending an email - Type “email,” then the name or email address of the contact that you want to email.

Sending a text message - Type “text,” then the name or number of the person that you want to send a text message too.

Start a BBM Chat - Type “BBM,” followed by the name of the person you’d like to chat with.

Update your Facebook Status - Type “Facebook,” followed by your status update.

Post a tweet to Twitter - Type “tweet,” followed by your update. 

Post a LinkedIn update - Type “LinkedIn,” followed by your update.

Add a note to BlackBerry Remember - Type “note,” followed by the contents of your note.

Add a task to BlackBerry Remember - Type “task,” followed by the contents of your task.

On top of using the examples listed above, in some cases you can type an alternative command instead.

An important thing to keep in mind however is that depending on what language your device is currently using, alternative shortcuts might not be available.

• Make a call – Type the “phone number” or type “phone”, or “dial” followed by the number
• Send an email – Type “mail”
• Send a text message – Type “sms”, “msg”, or “message”
• Update your Facebook status – Type “fb”
• Post a tweet – Type “tweet”, or “tw”
• Post a LinkedIn Update – Type ”li”
• Add a note to BlackBerry Remember – Type “memo”
• Add a task to BlackBerry Remember – Type “todo”

To learn about a feature on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone or troubleshoot an issue, there are several great options available to help. Visit http://www.blackberry.com/support for access to product manuals, how-to demos, tips and tricks, YouTube videos, support forums, knowledge base articles, Twitter support, and contact information for your region.

Do you sometimes need to Bcc someone when you are composing or responding to emails while using a BlackBerry 10 smartphone? If so, here’s how to do it!

1. Start composing or responding to an email
2. Tap the action key in the bottom right corner
3. Tap Add Bcc:

To learn about a feature on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone or troubleshoot an issue, there are several great options available to help. Visit http://www.blackberry.com/support for access to product manuals, how-to demos, tips and tricks, YouTube videos, support forums, knowledge base articles, Twitter support, and contact information for your region.

You can quickly perform a number of tasks when you type certain commands on the home screen on your BlackBerry Q10. For example, some of the shortcuts you can use are:

• Make a call – Type “call contacts name” or “call phone number”
• Send an email – Type “email contacts name” or “email email address”
• Send a text message – Type “text contacts name” or “text phone number”
• Start a BBM chat – Type “BBM contacts name”
• Update your Facebook status – Type “Facebook status update”
• Post a tweet – Type “tweet tweet”
• Post a LinkedIn update – Type “LinkedIn status update”
• Add a note to BlackBerry Remember – Type “note note details”
• Add a task to BlackBerry Remember – Type “task task details”

To learn more shortcuts, check out the Home screen shortcuts section within the BlackBerry Q10 user guide or open the Help app and search for “Home screen shortcuts.”

2. Easily insert symbols such as ® and ™

Looking to insert some symbols? All you need to do is press and hold a key at which point a dialog will appear with symbols. For example, holding R will display an option to select the registered mark, ®, along the bottom of the screen.

3. Hold 0 for Voice Control

The Voice Control app can make multitasking easier by allowing you to perform a variety of actions and tasks with your voice. To use Voice Control, you can open the Voice Control app, press and hold the Mute key or, my preferred method, press and hold 0.

To learn more, when Voice Control is open tap on the “i” that appears next to “What would you like to do?” and you’ll be able to review a list of the various actions with examples of how to use them.

4. Customize your Automated Assistance Options

Make sure you review the Prediction and Correction options that can be found within the Language and Input menu. Within this screen you’ll be able to customize several options that can help you type faster. For example, you can turn on Prediction Display which will cause your device to suggest words as you type. To try this feature out, complete the steps below and make sure you review the Help app to learn more about these options if needed.

• While viewing your Home screen, tap Settings
• Tap Language and Input followed by Prediction and Correction
• Turn on Show Predictions

5. Text Selection and Cut, Copy and Paste To help manage text, here are a few important things you should know!

• Cursor Indicator – Drag the cursor, or tap left, right, up or down on the cursor itself to move it to a specific location.
• Selecting Text – Touch and hold the text, then move the cursor indicators to change your selection.
• Copying Text – Tap and hold the highlighted text and select Copy
• Cutting Text – Tap and hold the highlighted text and select Cut
• Pasting Text – Touch and hold where you want the text and select Paste

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

To learn about a feature on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone or troubleshoot an issue, there are several great options available to help. Visit http://www.blackberry.com/support for access to product manuals, how-to demos, tips and tricks, YouTube videos, support forums, knowledge base articles, Twitter support, and contact information for your region.

Here’s a quick overview of how to mark prior messages as read, delete prior messages and jump to the top and bottom of your message list while using a BlackBerry Q10 smartphone.

Note: Depending on how your email account is set up, messages that are removed from your smartphone as a result of using the Delete Prior option will also be removed from your mailbox.

Step One – While viewing the Hub, tap and hold on a date banner and a menu will appear on the right.

Step Two – Select your desired option, or tap and drag the area indicated by the green arrow to expand this menu as per the second screenshot.

If you expand the menu you’ll also notice shortcut keys appear next to the following options:

• Next – N (You can also use P for Previous)
• To Top – T
• To Bottom B
• Delete Prior – Del

Don’t forget to take advantage of the context menu in the bottom left corner in case you’d like to manage a specific account as well! Combined with shortcuts, these features can really help you manage a lot of messages quickly. To learn more about your device as well more shortcuts, make sure you check out the Help app as well!

Do you have a question about managing messages? Leave a comment and let me know!

To learn about a feature on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone or troubleshoot an issue, there are several great options available to help. Visit http://www.blackberry.com/support for access to product manuals, how-to demos, tips and tricks, YouTube videos, support forums, knowledge base articles, Twitter support, and contact information for your region.

Perhaps you’ve already got one and you want to learn more about your new device?

If so, make sure you watch some of the BlackBerry Q10 How To Demo playlist available in the BlackBerryHelp YouTube channel. In addition to these demos, you can open up the Help app on your BlackBerry for more content that can help you master the various features and functions found on your BlackBerry Q10.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Tip: Using a BlackBerry Z10? Check out the BlackBerry Z10 How To Demos to learn more!

To learn about a feature on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone or troubleshoot an issue, there are several great options available to help. Visit www.blackberry.com/support for access to product manuals, how-to demos, tips and tricks, YouTube videos, support forums, knowledge base articles, Twitter support, and contact information for your region.

If you just picked up a new BlackBerry Q10, here are a few things you should know to help you set up your device.

Get to know your smartphone

The first thing you should do after opening the box is review the graphic above to understand the various features and functions found on the BlackBerry Q10. The documentation that came with your new smartphone is another great place to start.

Insert a SIM card, battery & media card

In order to insert your SIM card, media card and battery into a BlackBerry Q10, you will need to remove the battery door first. To do this, press and slide the battery door down as shown in the following graphic.

After removing the battery door, insert your SIM card, media card and battery as shown in the images below. When finished, plug in your smartphone so it can charge. The battery that’s included in the box isn’t fully charged.

Setting up your new smartphone

The first time you turn on your BlackBerry Q10, you’ll be taken through a onetime setup wizard that requires a network connection, so make sure you can connect to a mobile or Wi-Fi network. After completing the setup wizard, the Setup app will open allowing you to setup other features and functions.

To finish setting up your new BlackBerry, you will be prompted to enter an existing BlackBerry ID or create a new one. If you are not sure whether you already have a BlackBerry ID, visit www.blackberry.com/blackberryid on your computer. If you can’t remember your BlackBerry ID password, check out our blog post on resetting your BlackBerry ID password.

You can use the Setup app to:

• Connect to a Wi-Fi network
• Add your email accounts, BBM and social networking accounts
• Set up your payment options for purchases you make from the BlackBerry World storefront
• Transfer data from a BlackBerry 7 smartphone (for help transferring data from earlier BlackBerry smartphones, use BlackBerry Link as described below)
• Customize and personalize your device settings
• Watch tutorials or open the Help app to learn more about BlackBerry 10

Tip: For some additional help, review the ‘After you switch devices‘ section that can found in the BlackBerry Q10 User Guide.

After the initial setup process is completed, you can always access the Setup app again by tapping the Setup icon on the Home screen.

Transferring information to your new smartphone

You can easily transfer information from your previous device to your new BlackBerry Q10. To transfer information between BlackBerry smartphones, you can use the BlackBerry Link software on your computer, BlackBerry Protect, or you can use a media card. If you are switching from a non-BlackBerry device, you have the option of using the Device Switch app to help you transfer contacts, calendar, photos & videos to your new smartphone.

Tip: Switching to BlackBerry 10 and not sure which version of BlackBerry OS you are currently using? If so, check out our blog post on how to identify BlackBerry Device Software versions.

For more information on transferring your data to a BlackBerry Q10 check out the following video as well as any of the links below for additional steps.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

• Learn how to switch devices using BlackBerry Link.
• Learn how to switch devices using a media card. (requires BlackBerry 7.0 or later)
• Learn how to switch devices using BlackBerry Protect.
• Learn more about transferring content from non-BlackBerry devices.

For more information on switching devices, open the Setup app on your BlackBerry Q10 followed by tapping Device Switch or visit www.blackberry.com/deviceswitch.

Home screen at a glance

How To Demos & the Help App

After setup, you should review the various touch gestures you can use in BlackBerry 10. For a visual overview, check out the BlackBerry Q10 How To Demos to view short videos that can help you master your new smartphone.

As mentioned earlier, you can learn more about the features and functions built into your BlackBerry Q10 by accessing the Help app. The Help app gives you one-touch access to several useful sites, including the BlackBerry Support Community Forums where you can talk with thousands of other BlackBerry customers.

What do you love the most about the BlackBerry Q10? Personally, I love the design of the keyboard. Simply put, it’s beautiful and functional.

How about you? Leave a comment and let me know!

To learn about a feature on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone or troubleshoot an issue, there are several great options available to help. Visit www.blackberry.com/support for access to product manuals, how-to demos, tips and tricks, YouTube videos, support forums, knowledge base articles, Twitter support, and contact information for your region.

The tips in this video will show you how to give your smartphone a name, customize your app layout and set up speed dial for the contacts you need most.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

What did you name your BlackBerry Z10? Leave a comment and let me know!

To learn about a feature on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone or troubleshoot an issue, there are several great options available to help. Visit www.blackberry.com/support for access to product manuals, how-to demos, tips and tricks, YouTube videos, support forums, knowledge base articles, Twitter support, and contact information for your region.

The tips in this video will show you how to find your smartphone settings, check your battery percentage, find your application settings, use the overflow icon and stop the red LED notification light.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

What is your favorite tip for navigating around your smartphone? Leave a comment and let us know!

To learn about a feature on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone or troubleshoot an issue, there are several great options available to help. Visit www.blackberry.com/support for access to product manuals, how-to demos, tips and tricks, YouTube videos, support forums, knowledge base articles, Twitter support, and contact information for your region.