1. sam_b77's Avatar
    With so much negativity around I thought I would start a thread on the plusses of BBOS. Some things which are so unique and surprising at times and yet intuitive.
    These are the little hidden things apart from the obvious like BBM, and stellar mail handling.
    I'll go first:
    1) Clicking a pic and pressing the BB button and selecting "Send As"...options : email, BBM,Text Message, BBM Group, Facebook, BBM Contact, Bluetooth.

    2) Browser: On a webpage pressing the BB button and select copy page address, copy image link, send page address to BBM contact, email, Facebook, BBM groups.
    Simply intuitive and single click.
    Another option is "Copy page address". You don't have to go to the browser bar and select everything.
    Also Hover over a link and press the BB button and the options are "Copy Link", "Send Link" to the usual suspects, "Open link in new tab", "Add link to Bookmarks.
    Simply awesome.

    3) Press "T" to go to the top of a message. Press "B" to go the the bottom of a message
    These are things which are so intuitive that it would be hard to live without them.
    Thing is these and a lot many more hidden thing which most people (including BB users) know nothing about. RIM would do well to make these things prominent.
    I'm sure I have missed out on a lot many things would request BB users to post other hidden/lesser known options here so that newcomers and reviewers can see that advantages of BB and maybe in the process I would learn some other features.
    11-02-11 02:35 PM
  2. shemaree09's Avatar
    3) Press "T" to go to the top of a message. Press "B" to go the the bottom of a message
    These are things which are so intuitive that it would be hard to live without them.
    I LOVE using T and B, its sooo helpful when scrolling through longs lists of emails, text, etc.

    I also like:

    **Pressing and Holding down Blackberry menu to switch between applications is very handy too.

    **Pressing the end call button to minimize an app
    graxyq and Guatiao like this.
    11-02-11 02:50 PM
  3. T�nis's Avatar
    And when you're in an email, don't forget you can press "p" and "n" to navigate to previous and next messages.
    sam_b77 likes this.
    11-02-11 03:23 PM
  4. trucky's Avatar
    Blackberry Messenger.
    therapyreject174 likes this.
    11-03-11 06:28 AM
  5. gregorylkelly's Avatar
    Well, I have a few things. I just got an iPhone 4S (for free) so I'm testing it out for a week or so before I go back to my 9930. Here are the things I've learned to appreciate from my BB.

    With multiple email accounts, you can have each account make a different ringtone for when a message comes in.

    You can also have each account (and texts, bbm, etc) have a different amount of rings when a messages comes in.

    You can close an app from inside an app. (Amazes me that you can't do this on the iPhone. You have to go to the homescreen, open the multitasking dock which is very unintuitive, press and hold the app you want to close, and then press the little minus key. Then you have to press the home button again to go back to normal).

    I miss the LED and the ability to make it blink different colors for different reasons.

    I miss having more than 1 button on the phone.

    Take email for example....when I'm in a message and I want to back out to my folder before I close out of the mail app (so next time I open it up I'm at the root folder) I have to press the back button on the top left a couple times, then click the home botton on the bottom of the phone to go back to the home screen. On the BB, you can just press the back button a few times and you go back to the root folder AND can close the app.

    I know the things I mentioned are little things, but the little things are what people don't realize that BB does great. With improved hardware, the only way a BB is inferior is with the apps and the app engines. It's a pick your poison game and right now people are choosing apps over the little things.

    EDIT:

    Let me add another thing....

    Managing Connections is the best on BB (os 6 and 7). It is terrible on the iPhone, you have to go through 3 different menus to turn on/off your cell connections, wifi, and bluetooth. With BB, you press the top bar on the homescreen and check or uncheck each one. I like that even better than Android (which I've had) with widgets. Widgets are found only on one of the homescreen panes whereas the drop down bar if found at the top of the homescreen no matter what pane you are looking at.
    Last edited by anastasiophan; 11-03-11 at 08:30 AM.
    Guatiao, bigbmc26 and 00stryder like this.
    11-03-11 08:26 AM
  6. Andrew-NYC's Avatar
    These are all great. What would also be great is when in a memo, if there were a way (especially if it's a long memo) that you could quickly get to the bottom. I don't believe there's a way to do that. Obviously, T & B don't work in memos.
    11-03-11 08:33 AM
  7. T�nis's Avatar
    With multiple email accounts, you can have each account make a different ringtone for when a message comes in ...

    You can also have each account (and texts, bbm, etc) have a different amount of rings when a messages comes in.
    Yes, these are biggies. I like that there's one "messages" box for all email accounts, texts, bbm, im's, etc.

    And it didn't take much for me to see how BlackBerry apps are superior to other apps. I just had to load the AOL AIM instant messenger because the RIM AIM was no longer supported. Its notifications aren't customizable. It's either sound on or sound off -- that sucks! -- and it's no longer possible to link my AIM contacts to their respective BlackBerry contacts. I'm not sure, maybe it's because I didn't give the app "trusted" status, but if this is the way Android and iPhone users have to deal with messenger apps (on a compartmentalized basis/go inside each app every time to change sounds), then that's a major drawback to those platforms as far as I'm concerned.
    11-03-11 08:38 AM
  8. shemaree09's Avatar
    Yes, these are biggies. I like that there's one "messages" box for all email accounts, texts, bbm, im's, etc.

    And it didn't take much for me to see how BlackBerry apps are superior to other apps. I just had to load the AOL AIM instant messenger because the RIM AIM was no longer supported. Its notifications aren't customizable. It's either sound on or sound off -- that sucks! -- and it's no longer possible to link my AIM contacts to their respective BlackBerry contacts. I'm not sure, maybe it's because I didn't give the app "trusted" status, but if this is the way Android and iPhone users have to deal with messenger apps (on a compartmentalized basis/go inside each app every time to change sounds), then that's a major drawback to those platforms as far as I'm concerned.
    THIS is what I try to explain to people. Its the little things like customization and app integration that I love so much about Blackberry.
    Guatiao likes this.
    11-03-11 09:25 AM
  9. Rickroller's Avatar
    Well, I have a few things. I just got an iPhone 4S (for free) so I'm testing it out for a week or so before I go back to my 9930. Here are the things I've learned to appreciate from my BB.

    With multiple email accounts, you can have each account make a different ringtone for when a message comes in.

    EDIT:

    Let me add another thing....

    Managing Connections is the best on BB (os 6 and 7). It is terrible on the iPhone, you have to go through 3 different menus to turn on/off your cell connections, wifi, and bluetooth. With BB, you press the top bar on the homescreen and check or uncheck each one. I like that even better than Android (which I've had) with widgets. Widgets are found only on one of the homescreen panes whereas the drop down bar if found at the top of the homescreen no matter what pane you are looking at.
    Not trying to derail the thread or anything..just wanted to point out a couple things. With Gmail on Android..you can also set up different tones for different email accounts.

    As well..Cyanogen (an extremely popular ROM on Android) has the ability to toggle wifi, bluetooth, airplane (along with many many others) all within the drop down notification bar. Launchers can also be configured to enable these options. For example, I have my Phone, Contacts, Email, Messaging, and Browsing icons on my bottom screen. I can tap phone to make a call, or swipe it to bring up Bluetooth. I can tap my Browser icon to bring up the browser, or swipe it to bring up my wifi. No widgets needed.
    11-03-11 09:36 AM
  10. Rickroller's Avatar
    but if this is the way Android and iPhone users have to deal with messenger apps (on a compartmentalized basis/go inside each app every time to change sounds), then that's a major drawback to those platforms as far as I'm concerned.
    Not sure about Apple..but this is the case with Android. I can't go into one setting and customize each messenger sound profile. I have to go into them individually to change it. Not a big deal to me personally...but BB definately has the sounds and LED alerts set up very nicely.
    11-03-11 09:41 AM
  11. anakin1979's Avatar
    Rickroller is correct. All the plus points mentioned except for the T and B shortcuts are also doable on Android devices.

    You can also long press a photo in Android to post it on several social networking sites. The menu is also present in iOS5.

    If we're talking about customization alone I think Android has more options, actually.

    In truth, for me, the only plus point the Blackberry really has is the LED light.
    11-03-11 09:51 AM
  12. SRR500's Avatar
    I agree with all the above "little things" that BB does well.

    I agree that Android does them well also.

    Here is what I like about my BB:

    I like that I can run the setup app ONCE and my phone is ready to use. Email, sounds/notifications, wifi, etc. are all ready to go and the apps I use most (note pad, task list, docs2go) are included with the OS.

    I like that I DO NOT have to go searching the market and/or internet for apps, launchers, ROMs, and rooting/jail breaking instructions just to make the phone operate like I want.

    I like that my data is compressed and securely transmitted.

    I like having my 3rd party apps integrated with the OS.

    I like that the phone will turn itself on for the alarm to go off.

    There are more, but these are the biggest "little things" that keep me happy using BB.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-03-11 11:28 AM
  13. graxyq's Avatar
    Great thread!!

    +1 to all the above

    Another very useful feature is the search function for mail/ contacts/ Calender/ BBM.

    So often i forget the name of a person, so just need to think of the name of something like the person's employer or may be something that is entered in the notes (while creating the contact).

    If I need to send an SMS to many people (on my 8900, i can send sms to only 10 contacts at a time), I do not have to start searching from the 1st contact down, I am automatically taken to the last contact and then I proceed from there.

    simple, little things all adding up to a great experience.
    Guatiao likes this.
    11-03-11 12:46 PM
  14. houshinto#IM's Avatar
    Love how even in a thread that has very simple instructions in its title "BB Pluses", we still cannot stay on topic.

    Regardless of earnest attempts "not to derail the topic" honest! No one is asking about what other devices can do whether they can do it or not.

    OP is asking what are the pluses that you feel towards your BB. If you're focusing on the the word "unique" and "surprising" you should also notice the word "SOME", so this is not an invitation to defend other devices even if they share certain mentioned pluses.
    11-03-11 02:07 PM
  15. jason18's Avatar
    I LOVE using T and B, its sooo helpful when scrolling through longs lists of emails, text, etc.

    I also like:

    **Pressing and Holding down Blackberry menu to switch between applications is very handy too.

    **Pressing the end call button to minimize an app
    i'm a big fan of the space bar acting like a "page down" button as well
    11-03-11 02:46 PM
  16. SRR500's Avatar
    i'm a big fan of the space bar acting like a "page down" button as well
    There have been a lot of things mentioned already (like the page down space bar) that I never thought about untill someone mentioned it. Then I think "oh ya! I use that all the time. "

    By the way, if you didn't know, shift+space bar = page up.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-03-11 03:00 PM
  17. T�nis's Avatar
    ^Same here. And shift+space is page up.

    Edit: ya beat me to it, db, lol.
    11-03-11 03:00 PM
  18. Guatiao's Avatar
    Don't forget the convenience keys!
    11-03-11 06:17 PM
  19. spike12's Avatar
    I love how pressing enter twice will submit any form info you use, like signing in to a webpage.
    11-03-11 06:33 PM
  20. Phil DeLong's Avatar
    You can close an app from inside an app. (Amazes me that you can't do this on the iPhone. You have to go to the homescreen, open the multitasking dock which is very unintuitive, press and hold the app you want to close, and then press the little minus key. Then you have to press the home button again to go back to normal).
    I'm sorry but this is simply incorrect. From within an app, all you have to do is double click the iPhone's home button to bring up the multitask bar. Double click it again to close the bar and stay in the app. If you're going to critique something make sure you've fully researched it first.
    Last edited by Phil DeLong; 11-03-11 at 06:40 PM.
    11-03-11 06:38 PM
  21. T�nis's Avatar
    I love how pressing enter twice will submit any form info you use, like signing in to a webpage.
    Please elaborate. How does this feature work?
    11-03-11 06:58 PM
  22. spike12's Avatar
    Please elaborate. How does this feature work?
    Apologies Tonis for being so ambiguous. I was typing on my pb and in my haste tried to shorten what I meant to say and it did not come out right.

    I was referring to how in many cases, for example when entering information for an sms such as contact, title, msg body, you can scroll to the next field using the enter key. In the case of entering username and pw info, pushing enter twice will jump to the next field and select it, which usually is the submit or login button. I used to have to type in a lot of the information on my old t9 phone and I really appreciate this feature how small it may seem.

    I hope this clarifies.
    11-03-11 08:14 PM
  23. T�nis's Avatar
    Yes, thank you!
    11-03-11 08:28 PM
  24. Barbyclerk's Avatar
    I really like how pressing 'G' in the browser immediately gets me into the address bar. And will let me search google immediately. I also like how when I remove my BB from its holster to check the message I've just received, it'll automatically open my messages and show me the newest message, cleanly and with the text input box automatically selected so I can just begin typing.

    *Swoon* - BB

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-04-11 03:18 PM
  25. tmelon's Avatar
    Things I miss the most are the LED light, pressing "t" to go to the top of the page and "b" for the bottom. Also, being able to type in names of contacts with the keyboard to call them easily. Quickly calling people is a problem I have on my iPhone now.
    11-04-11 04:59 PM
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