Pearly standby

July 17 2007

Five months into using the Blackberry Pearl, I suppose the most remarkable thing is how little I've written about it.  It just works, and works well (99% of the time).  I haven't become an addict, though it does seem odd that first thing in the morning, I scan my mail on the Pearl rather than walk down a flight of stairs to look at the laptop.  And I'm really enjoying having decent calendar and browser-based net access all the time, plus some of the bonuses like Google maps.

Pearl users seem to love to show off their Pearls, even to other Pearl users.  That's why I am surprised that so few of the Pearl users I encounter know about vowe's "secret" tip -- the mute button.  That's that square button on the top of the Pearl.  Sure, they may know it's the mute button...but not the standby button when held for two seconds.  I have shown that feature to at least a half-dozen Pearl users so far, all thanking me on behalf of their battery life.  So, standby Pearl users...just push the right buttons.

Ed Brill | Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Blackberry Pearl  Add/View Comments [22]

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  1. 1  Mark Hughes  | 7/17/2007 12:46:57 PM

    For a beter web experiance, Opera Mini is a great browser you can add on to your blackberry. And google maps is a must have if you own the 8800.

  1. 2  Volker Weber http://vowe.net/about | 7/17/2007 12:48:05 PM

    For those with an 8800, it's the right button on the top of the device. The other one switches the device off, a button that the Pearl does not have.

  1. 3  Jim Casale  | 7/17/2007 12:59:53 PM

    Ed, you must be a Saint. I can't get used to that predictive typing on the Pearl :-(

  1. 4  Gerry Shappell  | 7/17/2007 1:32:11 PM

    All these tips and more can be found at blackberryforums.com

  1. 5  Wild Bill http://www.billbuchan.com | 7/17/2007 1:47:19 PM

    Go on - try the new curve. If you can wait - get the wifi one..

    The screens' awesome..

    ---* Bill

  1. 6  Alan Lepofsky http://www.alanlepofsky.net | 7/17/2007 3:19:28 PM

    Vowe also made my day telling me how the # button enables multiple selections when working in my inbox.

  1. 7  Adam Gartenberg http://www.adamgartenberg.com | 7/17/2007 3:57:43 PM

    I've never tried using standby before. A question, though: If my BB is on standby overnight, will the mail show as being received at the actual time received, or will it all show up as being received at 5:45 AM (or at whatever ungodly hour my kids get up that day). Like Ed, I find the BB helpful for that early morning triage.

  1. 8  Mirel Popa  | 7/17/2007 3:59:16 PM

    Here is a nice utility that can change the color of the Pearl trackball.

    { Link }

    Just install the OTA file and select Options -> ColorPearl. You can create custom colors since the device has 3 LEDs (RGB) behind the trackball.

  1. 9  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/17/2007 4:07:19 PM

    @7 timestamps are time received, versus when the power is off.

  1. 10  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/17/2007 4:13:51 PM

    #8 thanks, that's a great hack!

  1. 11  Mike Robinson http://www.invcs.com | 7/17/2007 4:58:48 PM

    Is GPS built in?

  1. 12  Todd Watson http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/Turbo | 7/17/2007 7:48:46 PM

    Hi, my name's Todd, and I'm a Pearloholic.

    Seriously, I'm with you, Ed. I bought the first-gen Treo and was greatly disappointed, but I went ahead and braved the Pearl waters recently and have been most pleased.

    As you said, the thing just works, gets me my Notes email and calendar when I need it, has more than satisfactory speed for basic browsing...I don't need much else. I highly recommend it.

    As for the "mute" button, I thought I'd found it, but perhaps not. You said it was the square button at the top? Is it one of the buttons to the right or left of the little trackball? I think I'm missing something, and it sounds most useful.

    PS Did you get the ST app working (through Web Messaging)? That's a great way to sign on to bluepages for we 'Beamers needing to look up a phone # and make a quick call!

  1. 13  Todd Watson http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/Turbo | 7/17/2007 7:51:17 PM

    And some words of wisdom for those who can't get used to the predictive typing. All you have to do is TRUST the software. 97+% of the time, the software figures out what you're trying to type, and for those instances where it doesn't, it quickly learns and adapts. I spent the first month NOT trusting the software, and was very frustrated. But then I just started going for it, and discovered it works brilliantly, and now can Blackberry-type MUCH faster.

  1. 14  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/17/2007 9:19:50 PM

    @12 Todd -- on the physical top of the phone, not the face of it. Metal-coated button, picture of a speaker with a line through it embossed into it.

  1. 15  Bryan Kuhn http://btkuhn.blogspot.com | 7/18/2007 7:00:19 AM

    @11, GPS is built into the 8800 model, but the 8100(Pearl) does not come default with internal GPS.The Pearl can be made GPS-capable with a separate TeleNav GPS receiver.

  1. 16  Rob Ingram http://www.dominoblog.com | 7/18/2007 7:43:13 AM

    @13 - Agree that predictive typing just works very well. I used to have to fix my typos all the time and the Pearl is actually more accurate than I am, even when I dont have reading glasses to see clearly. I'm sometime surprised at the words it can figure out on its own, even its email addressing form the address book seems smart.

    I also now hate apps that force me to use double tap!!

  1. 17  Mike Robinson http://www.invcs.com | 7/18/2007 7:46:13 AM

    @15 thanks- I'm currently a Windows Mobile (ppc 6600) and was going to jump to the 6800 w/ gps,3G, etc...but am being tempted by all the good reviews of the BlackBerry.

    I was using CommonTimes mNotes for Domino mobile app dev. which is a very cool product. Seems like J2ME is the way to go to build apps on the BB.

    Anyway, nothing like a good first hand review.

  1. 18  Jim Knight http://www.lavatech.com | 7/18/2007 8:36:55 AM

    Love my pearl - thanks for the mute tip - didn't know it!

    I have Opera mini on there.

    How do I get my links in mail to open in Opera mini? Is it possible?

  1. 19  Ray Bilyk http://www.thepridelands.com | 7/20/2007 11:00:33 AM

    @6 - Alan, you (and 'the MAN' himself, Vowe) just made going thru my mail a lot easier! What a great tip!

    Vowe showed me the standby tip at Lotusphere. It has really changed my battery consumption.