I Really Do love this Blackberry Pearl

In my previous pearl articles I wrote about viewing or listening to video and audio using the Blackberry Pearl. Click the thumbnail to see Opera mini. Just recently Opera Mini 3 became available and if you already have Opera installed on your phone starting up Opera will automatically place a link to upgrade. This happens quickly and easily and even keeps your settings and favorites.

Once installed, start it up. After it says “No Weather Profiles..”, which it will at first, CLICK THE PEARL – do not touch the menu key (OR any other keys) otherwise you will have trouble getting the program to start working. CLICK ONLY THE PEARL.

At this point, after you CLICK THE PEARL – you should be able to go into Options and add a profile. That means add a zip code for the city you wish to know about and how many days of Forcasting you want. Also “Disable MDS Proxy”. You may have to click the pearl twice to get there, but believe me it’s easy once you get started. Obviously zip codes are only for the US. If you wish to include a city in Europe, there’s a fairly simple method. It just requires a little bit of prep work. Go to weather.com and locate the city you are interested in.
As an example I wanted to know the weather for Glasgow and here is the link:

See that number in the middle? UKXX0061 Take that number and to add it to your list in the Blackberry: click the menu button Options/Add In the Location ID put in that number. The Description is the name of the city. Forecast Days can be 2 to 10 days. Choose between Standard and Metric Units and if you wish you can assign a Shortcut Key for quick access to that city. Go ahead and try it. Another city I like to collect info about is Brussels, Belgium and the number is BEXX0005. Try it out and see.

Another of my favorite things to do is look and play around with maps. On the Blackberry Pearl you can use their included Maps program as well as download Google maps

That site lets you download google maps for cell phones. Use your WAP browser to get to that site and site will “sense” you are using a blackberry and will download the correct version.

Both programs lets you save favorite locations and create directions between locations. If you have an address in your Contacts, access that to find the location on the map. In the Maps program get the menu item Map From Address Book. This brings up the Address Book list. Roll to the person you want to find and now click the menu. Click View Home Map and let the map program find the location.
And if you have a Bluetooth GPS device you can Pair that to the Blackberry and use it with Maps Program. There’s a menu item in Maps: Start GPS which starts it up.

Google Maps has Satellite View – BBMaps does not. Being able to see the Hoover Dam on a cell phone is something I find quite exciting. Call me crazy! Anyway, using these two programs there’s NO way you can get lost! And if you are like me, it will provide hours of entertainment as you search about the country.

Since we are mentioning Bluetooth I’m happy to report that the two Bluetooth headsets I have work quite well with the Blackberry Pearl. These are the WEP200 and the BluePearl.

In Options roll down to Bluetooth and click the trackball to Enable. Pair a headset in the normal way – easy, no sweat. I’ve done Pairing with several devices at this point and this was just as easy as any other. And for the most part the sound is good. In fact, I called someone I know in the UK and spoke to them using the BluePearl headset. I find that set really comfortable to wear (and I like the colors). At one point during the conversation a family member spoke to me from down the stairs and my friend all the way over in the England heard what was said through my Bluetooth. Not half bad, eh? As I mentioned to him, I felt like Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. Being able to clearly and comfortably talk wirelessly to someone thousands of miles away should NOT be taken for granted. Especially using a device that fits inside my hand. I’m impressed!

MMS is the new and cool way of sending messages on the Blackberry. Sure, you can text to your hearts content. In fact I love the way you can type on this phone. The SureType basically saves (or “learns”) a list of words you use and as you type shows the possible words you are aiming for. With a bit of practice I find myself typing out messages fairly quickly and easily.

Send Voice Note is an easy way to speak a message. Click on that icon and start talking. When done, click the Pearl and send it as a MMS. If you only want to save a voice message for yourself rather than send it someone, just pick anyone in your Address book when you are asked who to send it to. Once you are in the message ready for sending, access the menu for where it says Save Draft. It will be saved in the Messages list, unsent. And easy to listen to anytime you wish. Needly to say, this is also a way to make a sound message to someone and postpone the sending until a later time.

You can send someone a combination text, audio, video and still image MMS message (ok, their phone DOES has to be able to accept all that). This makes being James Bond really easy! Take various surreptitious pictures of Dr No’s secret lair and MMS the info to M with the press of a few buttons. None being the wiser!

When you explore the files you have in your microSD card, access the menu while looking at any file you can send it in a MMS message.