Is there something I have to download to make my Blackberry 9720 Volume buttons work?

Just unboxed a brand new Blackberry 9720 and I had to find out, that the volume keys (up-mute-down) are not working. Do I have to set up something on Blackberry phones to make those buttons work? The BBM, camera and on/off buttons work fine. But when I push the volume keys nothing happens.
Also I have some other minor questions. Is it possible to configure the keyboard not for contacts, but rather for starting an app? When I press the B button, the browser opens. I would like to open somethin else.
Is it possible to make notes vissible on the notification bar? When I make a note, I would like to be reminded on the notification bar with something like "1 new note".

Thank you for your help

Unless the note app has it set notifications I don't think so.
As for the shortcuts, I don't remember if you can change them...

Volume buttons might be a hardware issue if everything else is working. Since it's new, you must have warranty right?