Newbie to BB and got some Q's

[jeepfreekguy]

I'm new to this site and new to the BB scene so be gentel with my questions!

First off I just got an 8230 with Verizon, who I've had for over 12 tears, and I'm almost happy with it. I have No battery life! Today for exsample I used it to make 16 mins worth of voice calls, downloaded a new free theme which took about 7 mins total to seach for and download and install, and then checked thw weather report 2 times and used Slacker radio for a total of 25 mins and the battery went from 95% to start off with to 45% when done! I took it off the charger at 5am and by 11:30 it was down to 65% before any calls were made!

Second It seems to me that all the themes out there are for the 8220 and not the 8230. The fact that the diferance is the WiFi leads me to beleive that this is the reason any free theme I install always says" some fetures are unavailable" to come up after instalation. They seem to work ok but since I"ve never used a BB before I don't really have anything to base it on. What I would like to do is build ny own theme, or atleast attempt it anyway, using a free theme as a templete. The problem is I can't seem to fing the simulator needed for my device?

What advice and or help can someone give me!

[AZBBFAN]

making themes is VERY involved. Most theme devs spend hours and hours making just one theme. Make sure you are exiting programs when you are done and not leaving programs open. Your battery is going too fast, my guess would be due to multiple apps running at once

[jeepfreekguy]

Originally Posted by cjjeffers

making themes is VERY involved. Most theme devs spend hours and hours making just one theme. Make sure you are exiting programs when you are done and not leaving programs open. Your battery is going too fast, my guess would be due to multiple apps running at once

I make sure to use the BB buton and scroll down to "close" after everything i do! Which in its self is to many key strokes and I wish there was an easier way! As far as the themes go I was planing on just usung another free theme as a templete and changing the image and icon listing on the homepage to suit me better. And as long as I use the Plasmic program and a sim I can take all the time I need! I'll have this phone for a while unless the little things get to be big things. If it comes to that I'll make them exchange it for a Tour or another BB and I'll be that much better at theme writing by then I hope.

"Time is on my side" Mick Jagger 1964

[saichick04]

Try *228 option 2. When that is complete do a battery pull. When you can let your phone die completely and charge fully! And you said you were indeed pressing menu and close when you're going between apps right?

[KasiCatastrophe]

OP: To make your own themes you will need to download Plazmic.

Is your phone constantly communicating with the network? Or possibly looking for signal? That is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to battery drain.

Originally Posted by cjjeffers

making themes is VERY involved. Most theme devs spend hours and hours making just one theme. Make sure you are exiting programs when you are done and not leaving programs open. Your battery is going too fast, my guess would be due to multiple apps running at once

Yes but for the 82XX series it is as simple as exporting one version for OS 4.6 and one version for OS 4.6.1. They don't need to remake the entire theme to have it compatible with both devices.

[google123]

Just and FYI but for me upgrading my phone from 4.6.1.208 to 4.6.1.236 made a huge difference in battery life

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[jeepfreekguy]

Originally Posted by google123

Just and FYI but for me upgrading my phone from 4.6.1.208 to 4.6.1.236 made a huge difference in battery life

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I just looked at my phone and its at 4.6.1.234 and when i tried to do an OTA update it says none available. Verizon is shipping me a new battery so we'll see how that works out. As for the searching for signal it doesn't appear to be but I have noticed that on occasion I see the 2 arrows at the top right(the ones that overlay on top of the signal strength icon) come and go when I open it and while just writing a txt and not yet sending? Any one else notice this?

[GirasolMaestra]

FYI, most of the time you can hit the escape button (the sideways U-shaped arrow) to close programs instead of BB button>close.

As far as battery drain, the GPS can drain your battery faster if you have it enabled. I just enable mine when I need to get directions to somewhere. Also, when I use Pandora, it very quickly drains my otherwise very long-lasting battery. I don't even use it very often without my phone plugged in to the wall.

My phone also has the 2 arrows at the top right come and go occasionally. I think it just means it is connecting to the system for something. I don't pay too much attention to it.