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

by Dave Mabe (Author)
Key Phrases: enterprise server, application loader, web client, Shareware Apps, Research In Motion, Desktop Manager (more...)

4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The BlackBerry has become an invaluable tool for those of us who need to stay connected and in the loop. But most people take advantage of only a few features that this marvelous communications device offers. What if you could do much more with your BlackBerry than just web surfing and email?

BlackBerry Hacks will enhance your mobile computing with great tips and tricks. You'll learn that the BlackBerry is capable of things you never thought possible, and you'll learn how to make it an even better email and web workhorse:

Get the most out of the built-in applications
Take control of email with filters, searches, and more
Rev up your mobile gaming--whether you're an arcade addict or poker pro
Browse the web, chat over IM, and keep up with news and weblogs
Work with office documents, spell check your messages, and send faxes
Become more secure, lock down your BlackBerry and stash secure information somewhere safe
Manage and monitor the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) and Mobile Data System (MDS)
Create web sites that look great on a BlackBerry
Develop and deploy BlackBerry applications

Whether you need to schedule a meeting from a trade show floor, confirm your child's next play date at the park, or just find the show times and secure movie tickets while at dinner, this book helps you use the remarkable BlackBerry to stay in touch and in-the-know--no matter where you are or where you go.

About the Author
David Mabe is a system administrator and programmer who has been engineering, administering, and implementing BlackBerry platforms for 4 years. David's He's also been heavily involved in standards-based web development and automation. Through his involvement, David He's been in the trenches with the BlackBerry and has discovered innovative ways to get the most possible out of the BlackBerry.

Product Details

Paperback: 328 pages
Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.; illustrated edition edition (October 13, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0596101155
ISBN-13: 978-0596101152
Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #454,863 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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This item is part of The O'Reilly Hacks Series.

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
enterprise server, application loader, web client, mobile data service, simple push application, delivery confirmation, polling time, wireless handheld, access point name, management console, click the trackwheel, use the trackwheel, trackwheel menu, alx file, own polyphonic ringtones, handheld code, cod files, unlimited data plan, handheld browsers, stock quote application, jad file, auto signature, owner info, server simulator, home screen

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Shareware Apps, Research In Motion, Desktop Manager, Application Development, Free Programs, Berry Pix, Cancel Figure, Address Book, Event Log, Attachment Service, Texas Hold, Program Files, Password Keeper, Google Maps, User Administration, Simulate Any, Export User Stats, Play Zork, Google Local, Shortcut Description, Kill Handheld, Use Backpack, Make Your Web Sites, Take the Easy Way Out, Abidia Wireless

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	40% buy the item featured on this page: BlackBerry Hacks: Tips & Tools for Your Mobile Office 4.5 out of 5 stars (21) $16.47
	26% buy BlackBerry� 8800 & 8300 Curve Made Simple (Blackberry Made Simple Guide Book) 3.6 out of 5 stars (18) $27.99
	21% buy BlackBerry For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)) 3.7 out of 5 stars (12) $16.49
	7% buy Professional BlackBerry 4.2 out of 5 stars (8) $27.49

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Customer Reviews

21 Reviews

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3 star:		(2)
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4.5 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book of ideas for enhancing your Blackberry's usefulness, November 22, 2006

By	calvinnme "Texan refugee" (Fredericksburg, Va) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

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.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nearly useless except for the lazy., March 7, 2007

By	Sam Johnson (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

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.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for the power user, December 27, 2006

By	justsomeoneelse (AZ) - See all my reviews

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.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Blackberry Hacks
BlackBerry Hacks: Tips & Tools for Your Mobile Office
For every BLACKBERRY OWNER, this is the book for you! Don't 'Blackberry' without it!

Published 17 days ago

1.0 out of 5 stars Outdated information for 2009 Blackberry models
I bought this hoping for a set of tips more tightly focused on the operation of the Blackberry OS and built-in applications. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Chuck Wood

3.0 out of 5 stars Average at Best
When I got this book, I was really expecting to get more information from it regarding tricks on the BlackBerry. Read more

Published 5 months ago by bbhorrigan

5.0 out of 5 stars Good intermediate guide
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... Read more

Published on June 25, 2007 by Mike Jalkut

5.0 out of 5 stars Productivity Booster + some fun
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. Read more

Published on November 16, 2006 by Mr. BOLH Marc

5.0 out of 5 stars Hacks Indeed
This IS the Blackberry bible. The shortcuts are excellent time savers. Dave shows many ways of maximizing the uses of your device. If you have a Blackberry you need this book.

Published on August 3, 2006 by Manny Evaristo

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource
As a new user of the Blackberry, this book has helped me tremendously. I especially like the "time-savings" tips and shortcuts the author provided as well as hacks that have... Read more

Published on August 2, 2006 by Charles E. Kirk

5.0 out of 5 stars Great source of ideas
I wish I had gotten this book the day I got my 8700c. It would have saved me a lot of time, as I spent a lot of hours browsing forums and doing web searches to figure out how to... Read more

Published on June 6, 2006 by Richard W. Todd

5.0 out of 5 stars Become a power user!
BlackBerry Hacks is a must-read for any BlackBerry user! Mabe points out some of the most useful device features and therefore allows you to take full advantage of it's powerful... Read more

Published on May 16, 2006 by Shari M. Kornberg

5.0 out of 5 stars Productivity tips
This book can easily be read from cover to cover, but I found that I'm more familiar with some features of the BB and less with others. Read more

Published on May 4, 2006 by Mark Coughlin

› See all 21 customer reviews...

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