BlackBerry Hacks: Tips & Tools for Your Mobile Office (Hacks)

A lot of the first hacks of the book might seem old-hat to a Blackberry 101 graduate. But as the book progresses it gets deeper into the BB's relationship with the servers, but not in an overly-complex way. It seems designed toward folks who have already read the manual and want a little bit more, but aren't quite ready to become systems engineers.

Toward the end it describes, again in simple language, how to download the development environment from RIM, and actually start building simple applications, starting with a simple stock quote Java program, with source, that can then be used as a beginning example for further development. In just a few pages a programmer can start with the sample, build an app, and prepare it for both OTA and desktop installation. It is at about the same level as the first K&R C chapter where we were taught how to write "hello world", compile and link, and run our first program. I always do best when they give me and example rather than trying to explain in english how to do it. And Mabes makes that really simple.

If you want to do more than just use the Blackberry, and want some tips on little known tricks, and want to actually write code for the blackberries, without having to read all of "Professional Blackberry" and ALL of the RIM literature, this is a good place to start.

Mike Jalkut, Embedded Systems Compiler Developer

I read some of the warning reviews but as they were directed at power users I thought they didn't apply to me. Wrong! Having bought a Blackberry Pearl and wanting something to bring me up to speed on the Blackberry operating system with some nifty tricks, I was sorely disappointed. There are no real hacks in this book. It is mostly a long compilation of 3 party software available on the web in many cases out of date. Most of the tricks shown are so obvious that I had already figured them out such as how to hide an Icon. How to make your own autotext entries etc. Skip this book unless you want a very bland overview of what you can do with your blackberry. Don't expect any inner secrets to the os to be revealed to you.

Had I read the intro section about what is considered a "hack" for the purposes of this book (in a series of similar ones), I may have had second thoughts about purchasing it. Doesn't take much to qualify as one, apparently. As a result, the book is really a very nicely made operations manual, repeating lots of already documented BB functions with a few of not-so-well-known tricks thrown in. For the power user, I saw only a couple of things I hadn't known about before. Super for the beginner, good for the everyday user, nothing new for the power user.

Everyone from the end user to the BlackBerry administrator to the developer will find conveniences in the BlackBerry that don't exist on other platforms. In this book, you'll find clever uses for some of these enhancements and new tricks for using some features that have been there from the beginning. This book can be read from cover to cover, but each hack stands on its own, so jumping around shouldn't hinder your comprehension. If there's a prerequisite you need to know about, a cross-reference will guide you to the right hack.

Chapter 1 uncovers some of the tricks you may not have known your device was capable of. New users will be happy to know what's just below the surface: a clipboard [Hack #2], multitasking [Hack #6], and wireless calendaring [Hack #4]. The hackers in the crowd might like to display the signal strength in decibels instead of bars [Hack #17], use your computer as a wireless headset [Hack #16], or get mobile Internet access on your computer [Hack #9].

Rather than building an organizer and then retrofitting email support onto it, Research In Motion (RIM) designed the BlackBerry for email from the beginning and only then added support for other features. Highly secure, push based email is what has made the BlackBerry so popular in the business world. Every effort was made to allow users to efficiently process the mountain of email messages they receive daily. Email is great, but it can quickly become a burden. There are a number of hidden features of the BlackBerry you can use to your advantage. You can clear a bunch of messages at once [Hack #22], filter your messages [Hack #24], and make your email doubly secure [Hack #28].

Although the BlackBerry is optimized for the suit-and-tie business crowd, newcomers are pleasantly surprised at the graphics capabilities of the device. Currently, Magmic Games has a big lead in the BlackBerry gaming market, which is the subject of chapter 3. There are even some games that you can play against online opponents. While Magmic pushes the limit of BlackBerry games, there are plenty of free games you can download and install over the air in seconds. You could even use the device simulator [Hack #93] to play the games.

With the advent of the Mobile Data Service and TCP/IP on the BlackBerry [Hack #37], an entire world of Internet services became accessible on the BlackBerry. Some of the best applications in existence are accessed by using some type of client software (perhaps just a browser), but the real power comes with its integration with a central service where users and data meet in interesting and exciting ways. Very few client-only software packages carry the same importance as one that integrates well with a web service. With your BlackBerry, you can track your to-do list [Hack #47], corral your bookmarks [Hack #46], and even use instant messaging [Hack #44].

Chapter 5 is about free software. If you tried out every commercial program that interested you, you'd be nickeled and dimed to death. Luckily there are custom applications that come free of charge--if you know where to look. Because RIM chose J2ME as their platform for the BlackBerry, the device is seen as a viable operating system by the millions of Java developers worldwide. This chapter includes a small subset of the free applications available for the BlackBerry. You can view the night sky [Hack #55], go shopping [Hack #58], and even put your device through the paces in a stress test [Hack #54] to see how it stacks up. As the BlackBerry third-party application explosion continues, the number of free programs available for the device will continue to grow.

In places where the BlackBerry comes up a little short, there are a growing number of third-party developers ready to fill the void. Chapter 6 showcases the entrepreneurial spirit of the BlackBerry application developer. Most of these providers are small businesses that have found a nice niche with the BlackBerry. RIM's loyal customer base makes a nice, motivated target audience for third-party applications. If you've got a need, there's a good chance there is a BlackBerry application that can fill it. Chapter 6 highlights some useful third-party programs to get you started: a real-time stock quote program [Hack #70], a program to modify Office documents [Hack #68], an alternate web browser [Hack #66], and an alternate email program [Hack #67].

It's fairly easy to get a BlackBerry Enterprise Server off the ground. However, as many a BlackBerry administrator will tell you, it is a difficult and time-consuming chore to keep the service running smoothly. For the most part, it is no fault of RIM's--there are many tools provided that continue to go unused in many BlackBerry shops. There are more than a few tips and tricks to keep the BlackBerry server and your users happy. The motivated BlackBerry administrator will find several gems in chapter 7 from simply adding several users in one fell swoop [Hack #72] to implementing security [Hack #73]. There are several hacks you can use to send yourself proactive alerts when problems arise.

One of the most significant innovations in RIM's short history is the addition of the BlackBerry Browser to the operating system. In combination with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server's Mobile Data Service (MDS), this instantly unlocks entire intranets along with mountains of rich corporate data. Unfortunately though, corporate networks are full of lazily coded FrontPage web sites that were designed for ancient versions of Internet Explorer viewed with large monitors. To make those sites viewable on the BlackBerry, some sites will require minor tweaks [Hack #88]. For others, it might be easier to start from scratch. For especially time-sensitive data, you can push that data [Hack #90] to your users' BlackBerry devices.

The final chapter is about application development. There are applications for getting real-time stock quotes [Hack #70] as well as spellchecking [Hack #65]. If you speak a little Java, you can write your own application to communicate with web servers [Hack #94]. Best of all, there are no license fees to get started--in fact, you don't even need to own a BlackBerry device [Hack #93]. RIM provides free access to the BlackBerry JDE, a development kit that includes an IDE, or integrated development environment. The other nice feature of the BlackBerry platform is there are a variety of ways [Hack #97] for your users to install your program over the air wherever they happen to be.

I thought I knew a lot about BlackBerries... I design software for them and use my 8700, 7100T and BlackBerry Pearl all day and part of the night. I learned more from BlackBerry Hacks in the first 30 minutes than in months of combing through forums. The ticks I picked up save me time every day and makes it more fun to use my growing collection of BlackBerries.
Marc
Ascendo