[-zmonster-]

Hi all. Just got my first blackberry (9530) and I now understand why so many people are addicted to these things I love it!

That being said....

I am having issues with my battery. I have searched around a little and Ive deleted some of the stock apps like vz nav and I have minimized the amount of icons on my home screen. I think my biggest issue is that I leave apps running accidentally. Is there an app that will tell me what apps are currently running? Honestly I loose track of everything on this device and I need something that I can click on that will tell me whats running at any given time.

Thanks all!

[BigJav209]

To find out what apps are still running, just press the BB button for a couple of seconds and in the middle of the screen will pop up all the apps that are still running. There are five or four apps (i believe) that will always be on. But others you can just click on them and it will take you to the app. Just press the BB button again and click on close.

[-zmonster-]

cool!

Ok well there are a few that I cant seem to turn off:
Phone(duh), Talklock, Home(again, duh), browser, blackberry messenger, and messages.

That sound right?

EDIT: Also I cant seem to remove slacker radio from my BB. Ive tried it from the desktop and I dont even have the option. What gives?

[-zmonster-]

Also...

i have been looking around like a diligent little noob, and have been reading about OS's. I am currently running BB 4.7 according to my DM, and the numeric series behind that says 4.7.0.148. Is this the most current OS? What is the latest and greatest?

Thanks all. I have searched, but honestly its all a little like reading greek!

[farundrpar]

Also...

i have been looking around like a diligent little noob, and have been reading about OS's. I am currently running BB 4.7 according to my DM, and the numeric series behind that says 4.7.0.148. Is this the most current OS? What is the latest and greatest?

Thanks all. I have searched, but honestly its all a little like reading greek!

This is a must read for you...

http://forums.crackberry.com/f135/ul...s-only-100612/

All your tips/general functions are in there.

Latest "official" is .148. Other have dropped since that, but for your purposes, I would run that for awhile until you get a little more familiar with the device.

And yes, those are all the apps that should be running (except you screen lock app... not sure about that one).

[TheOtherGuy]

cool!

Ok well there are a few that I cant seem to turn off:
Phone(duh), Talklock, Home(again, duh), browser, blackberry messenger, and messages.

That sound right?

That's seems right. Talklock needs to stay on to activate when a call comes in. Some other screen lock utilities run in the background/hidden, so they don't show up in this list

[-zmonster-]

Thanks all! Much appreciated!

[cadzilla74]

Welcome zmonster ... you have indeed made a good first impression ... there is much to read here and your Crackberry addiction will only get worse ... some things will of course by nature suck battery life faster than others ... games because they keep the screen lit all the time, streaming apps like Slacker or Pandora because the radio is constantly connected, etc ...

Really get familiar with your device, play with everything, open everything ... especially get used to how things look in the Menus you find after you open Options ... There is an OS version .151 that I have found is much more stable for memory and battery management but the radio is not perfect ... it is an excellent version of the OS however. Many of us are anxiously awaiting the .164 upgrade that just leaked for the "sister" Storm 9500 model (no you can not use 9500 files on a 9530). However, history has shown once one version leaks out the other is not far behind. .164 supposedly addresses the occasional inability of the .151 radio to maintain a steady datastream connection thus making apps like Pandora, Slacker, Orb, etc impossible to use for any length of time.

There is also the very first release of the 5.0 family of OS'es 5.0.140 ... leave that one to the experts ... it is in no way ready for prime-time and may very well sour your enjoyment of the Storm. It is the first leak since I got my Storm that I have no intention of even trying. 5.0.xxx is the future for sure, but I have a lot of apps I need to use tomorrow afternoon ... have fun!!!

[Transfigured]

What a cute diligent little noob lol. Um don't worry about slacker b/c itsa shortcut icon not full app (unless u activated). Hilite icon > menu > hide!

Battery Life Tip: options > screen/keyboard > backlight brightness > set @ lowest suitable...max usually 60.

If u don't mind the price, get extra BB standard battery & mini extended charger from Shop CB. Storm'll always be available!

[-zmonster-]

YA just read about VZW pushing the Slacker radio, amongst other things, whether I like it or not. Oh well the hide option seems like the way to go there.
I think my problem with the battery is that I had google earth running for the majority of the day. That wont happen again so I shall see what happens. If I run into the battery life problems that appear to plague .148 I'm considering the 2600hma (I think) extended battery rather than loading a new OS.

Again I appreciate the help fellas. Now that I have a better idea on how to manage the device I can start to screw with it!

[jazz_nh]

Ive noticed a difference on my battery life ( for the better) since installing BBM 5.0. Anyone else notice that ?

[chris.zacher452]

I have been having battery problems also. I called cs and they sent me a new battery but it still dies rather quick. I even had the phone replaced which seemed to fix the problem a little. cs keeps saying that if your signal is only 3 bars or less it could be draining the battery trying to find a better signal.

[-zmonster-]

Well the phone sat off the charger today from 7am to 1130pm and with about an hours worth of talk and email throught the course of the day the battery lost about a 10th of its charge. Seems to be working well!

[wpn00b]

Hi all. Just got my first blackberry (9530) and I now understand why so many people are addicted to these things I love it!

That being said....

I am having issues with my battery. I have searched around a little and Ive deleted some of the stock apps like vz nav and I have minimized the amount of icons on my home screen. I think my biggest issue is that I leave apps running accidentally. Is there an app that will tell me what apps are currently running? Honestly I loose track of everything on this device and I need something that I can click on that will tell me whats running at any given time.

Thanks all!

Welcome to crackberry!

Not to pass judgement on an app that I was so ever grateful for when I got my first Blackberry (also the Storm), but I noticed excessive drain when I used TalkLock as well. They may have updated the app since then and results are inconclusive at best, but I noticed much shorter battery life with it installed. Maybe it was because it was early in my Blackberry experience that I was using it a lot more...? Who knows?

I used the StormSlider free edition set to my left convenience key (Options> Screen/Keyboard> Left Side Convenience Key Opens: ) for a while and manually activated it while on calls after I'd already passed any keypad input directory.

Now I don't even bother with it. I've gotten used to the phone and how it should be held so that I don't click with my face or muffle my voice anymore. I clean the memory every once in a while(Options>Security Options> Memory Cleaning) and I make sure to close every app as soon as I'm done with it(Menu>Exit/Close -or- Escape as many times as it takes to close the app/Press and hold Escape). Also, I always charge through the Wall Charger since a full charge through USB doesn't last nearly as long for some reason. I've had to rely on just a USB charge a few times and there is a noticeable difference in battery drain.

Anyways, I hope this helps, if not at least it gave you a reason to play with your Blackberry a little bit more : )

Edit: I second the tip above that said to lower your screen brightness. I keep mine set at 10 at all times. The screen isn't nearly as gorgeous, but when I'm away from home a couple of days at a time, I appreciate the longevity.

I got a car charger as well. For drives that take around 25-minutes or more, when down to the yellow battery bar, I power of the device (press and hold End) and charge the device. It hasn't affected my overall battery life and it charges much faster when powered down. Does anyone think that I should not be doing a partial charge? I only do it in situations where I won't be home for some time and my battery is extremely low. I heard that newer batteries don't suffer from the memory effect. Can anyone back that up? I've never tested it until this device.

[Nemesis2009]

I am new to the Storm switched from the iphone to the storm, since iphone was costing me an arm and leg for data. I have battery issues with the storm as well. I downloaded a theme on it. I have a lot of apps, but my BB dies on my within 4 hours. I charge it from 11pm to 7am everynight, and then by noon its dead. I don't use it much, today i did 5 emails and 10 texts, 3 phone call lasting 15 minutes. So any advice would be great, i hate to go back to the iphone... Is there any apps that are useless and i can delete? as well themes?

[cadzilla74]

First, make sure you CLOSE apps when you are done with them and don't just hit the BACK button. Press and HOLD the BlackBerry button and a list of apps that are running will pop up. Home, Messages, Browser, Phone and BB Messenger should always be running. Nothing else should appear unless the app is specifically designed to run at all times in the background.

Second, go to Options > Screen/Keyboard and change your Backlight Brightness to 20 or 30 and set the backlight to timeout after 20 or 30 seconds.

The fastest my battery burns down is when I'm playing a game for a couple of hours and the screen is always on.

[patches152]

if you're not getting enough to run your phone from when you leave till you get home, could be a battery issue...have you contacted your carrier about it yet?