[Channels]

Good-day; I am new to the BlackBerry world and am a little disappointed with the rigidity of the phones OS software. I have had my Storm-2 (on TELUS) for about three weeks; in the past I was using a Motorola cell phone, Toshiba pocket PC, and Zen MP3 player. I decided to combine them and got a HTC Hero; I could not take this phone back fast enough. If I was a twelve year kid maybe I would have loved it. I was then guided to the BlackBerry Storm-2 with the promise that this phone would do what I wanted. This phone does a little of everything I need; my question is: Is there a way for my Storm-2 to do more of what I need. Is there a way to tweak the software or do I have to go to an aftermarket app? I have been looking at a few App�s; Quick launch for one; is this the route I need to go? Here is a rundown of my beefs with the Storm-2:
1. I would like to be able to set more than 1 alarm at a time; irregular reminders on the phone that do not need to be on the calendar.
2. You only have three options with the alarm setting, �on-off-weekdays.� I would like to see �once only� added.
3. Alarms that run until I stop it, or at list for a 60 sec. I am often in loud environments and the three little beeps do not cut it (and the vibe is hardly noticeable over the short term).
4. Misted, calls, message notification and alarms that beep once every few seconds would be outstanding.
5. The ability to turn off my media player after a set time but not turn off the whole unit; a sleep timer would be nice.
6. Emailing is not my preferred method of communicating with other; I use the phone 75 to 1; I would like to gear the menus to this, as it feels to be email geared now.
7. The ability to copy & past of recurring appointments.
8. I also would like the Bluetooth to prompt me whether to connect to something or not as an option. I have run into the problem of being just at the edge of the units range limit when it connects with me not near the Bluetooth unit. Or, I have had my headset turn on accidently and not knowing it. This make for fun (not really) when trying to answer a call.
Thank You for your time and input.
TC

[adambigge]

Here is a rundown of my beefs with the Storm-2:
1. I would like to be able to set more than 1 alarm at a time; irregular reminders on the phone that do not need to be on the calendar.
2. You only have three options with the alarm setting, �on-off-weekdays.� I would like to see �once only� added.
3. Alarms that run until I stop it, or at list for a 60 sec. I am often in loud environments and the three little beeps do not cut it (and the vibe is hardly noticeable over the short term).
4. Misted, calls, message notification and alarms that beep once every few seconds would be outstanding.
5. The ability to turn off my media player after a set time but not turn off the whole unit; a sleep timer would be nice.
6. Emailing is not my preferred method of communicating with other; I use the phone 75 to 1; I would like to gear the menus to this, as it feels to be email geared now.
7. The ability to copy & past of recurring appointments.
8. I also would like the Bluetooth to prompt me whether to connect to something or not as an option. I have run into the problem of being just at the edge of the units range limit when it connects with me not near the Bluetooth unit. Or, I have had my headset turn on accidently and not knowing it. This make for fun (not really) when trying to answer a call.
Thank You for your time and input.
TC

Well, lets try to help out a bit...
1. The alarm function is working like any other alarm clock. If you want the irregular alarm (scheduled days and times) then that is what the calendar is for. If you don't like the calendar then there may be an aftermarket app that can help but the functionality IS built into the phone.

2. See #1

3. You can set the alarm to use however long a song or sound that you want. So you can use the standard "Chirps" or "Beeps" ..........or you can pick your favorite song that lasts 5+ minutes to wake up or remind you of something. Just go to "Browse" when you are selecting your alarm tone.

4. The missed call notification I can't help with. (I thought the flashing red led was a dead giveaway) But for your other messaging notifications (SMS, MMS, Email, Facebook, etc... can be set to use whatever sound type (.wav, .mp3, .mp4, etc...) you like. So you can simply make a long ringtone or notification sound and let it run as long as you like. That way you won't miss your calls. You can also get different applications that alter the way your LED functions in order to offer addtional methods of notification. Some free, some not.

5. Playlists, give em a shot. Or just go into your music/media folder, hit the "menu" button and set the timer for how long you want it to go before it shuts off due to inactivity.

6. If you don't like email, I'm not entirely sure why you went with a Blackberry but you CAN separate your SMS/MMS and Email messages into different menus. That way you won't have to deal with the clutter. Not sure what "75 to 1" means. sorry. As far as changing how the OS menu is "geared"....... I doubt any OS is going to give you the option to change how it's core architecture works.

7. You can set up a recurring appointment from the same screen where you are entering in the original appointment. Set it for daily, weekly, monthly, etc... Also, you can set it for every 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc... days or however many days you want between each appointment. I work an irregular shift and it works fine for my schedule. If you really want to "Copy and paste" then just do it on the PC/Mac that you sync to and let the sync process carry the changes over.

8. In the bluetooth options menu you can set it whether to automatically "trust" or "Prompt" to connect to any given device you pair it with.

All in all it seems the majority of your issues stem from you wanting to do something with the BB that it can do but you just don't like the way it does it, or you just need to do a little more digging to find the options that will give you the functionality that you want. I hope this helps! Good luck and welcome to the forums!!

[leglace]

Adorno alarm app does many of what you mentioned above.

[jwebste9]

Well adambigge pretty much hit the nail on the head 8 times.

[StaticFX]

#4: BigTinCan buzzme has a setting for missed call reminders...with these settings.
every 30 seconds - 10 minutes
LED Color
Tone
Vibration

[Channels]

Thank you for replying to my post; and sorry it has taken me this long in thanking you. Some of your advice has been very useful. I am getting used to my BB; it has a bit of a learning curve to it. I still have a few issues that I think I can work out and with the help of this form I don't think it should take long.
Thanks;
Channels

[Masahiro]

BerryBuzz by Bellshare can help you out with number 4.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[titusilvering]

I started a thread "Share your list of apps in storm2". Maybe you and pop in take a look?

Beside sharing, i hope it will also give others an idea what exactly in real, pp are using or running or installing to make their phone better ease of use in their daily life. (Of course some not always the case) Thats for you to go explore.

I suggest you to try out those free apps first, then try those trial apps and compare. e.g. some like bebuzz while some like buzzme.

If its real good for you and you need it so much then buy it. Keep a look at crackberry apps store daily deal. Buy it when its real cheap. Otherwise, if not a must then wait and live with nothing for now.

Those free apps will add up to all your basic needs to some extend. For a good start, maybe you can get quickpull which is real useful and free!

Helpful adambigge did a great job by replying and giving you some suggestions.

Storm2 is not a perfect phone. You can see people grumble around the forum alot. There is no such thing as perfect but for me its almost perfect. So it depend on how you look at it and use it.

if you recall lately some guy said something similar to "you are holding it incorrectly"? wahahaha, then I say "you are not using it correctly". Play with the phone and explore it. There's a lot features built in which I dont think I yet to use or even know it!

Anyway, you already bought the phone so either live with it or sell it away.

OS6 is coming but don't know when. It should bring some nice features or take away some?

But till then, LEARN TO LOVE YOUR STORM2!!!!

[jiggaman2g]

I don't care what anyone says, bb's are one of the most solid devices when it comes to customization of options and overall ease of use.....after reading this thread I love my S2 even more! Very insightful
and maturely dealt with thread.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Channels]

Thanks; good advice; makes sense.

[Edge of Night]

Good-day; I am new to the BlackBerry world and am a little disappointed with the rigidity of the phones OS software. I have had my Storm-2 (on TELUS) for about three weeks; in the past I was using a Motorola cell phone, Toshiba pocket PC, and Zen MP3 player. I decided to combine them and got a HTC Hero; I could not take this phone back fast enough. If I was a twelve year kid maybe I would have loved it. I was then guided to the BlackBerry Storm-2 with the promise that this phone would do what I wanted. This phone does a little of everything I need; my question is: Is there a way for my Storm-2 to do more of what I need. Is there a way to tweak the software or do I have to go to an aftermarket app? I have been looking at a few App�s; Quick launch for one; is this the route I need to go? Here is a rundown of my beefs with the Storm-2:
1. I would like to be able to set more than 1 alarm at a time; irregular reminders on the phone that do not need to be on the calendar.
2. You only have three options with the alarm setting, �on-off-weekdays.� I would like to see �once only� added.
3. Alarms that run until I stop it, or at list for a 60 sec. I am often in loud environments and the three little beeps do not cut it (and the vibe is hardly noticeable over the short term).
4. Misted, calls, message notification and alarms that beep once every few seconds would be outstanding.
5. The ability to turn off my media player after a set time but not turn off the whole unit; a sleep timer would be nice.
6. Emailing is not my preferred method of communicating with other; I use the phone 75 to 1; I would like to gear the menus to this, as it feels to be email geared now.
7. The ability to copy & past of recurring appointments.
8. I also would like the Bluetooth to prompt me whether to connect to something or not as an option. I have run into the problem of being just at the edge of the units range limit when it connects with me not near the Bluetooth unit. Or, I have had my headset turn on accidently and not knowing it. This make for fun (not really) when trying to answer a call.
Thank You for your time and input.
TC

I don't know when it showed up but there is now an option under Calendars called New Alarm. Use your BB Menu button when in Calendar and you will see it. This option allows you to set an alarm for the day your in, multiple alarms for the day, label it and set up recurrences just like you set for a calendar appointment. I have one set for my weekly wake up that I set for recurrences M - Fri and one for weekends. I don't set alarms the conventional way anymore using the "Clock" function although my next alarm shows up there. When the alarm goes off it's like I set it using "Clock". This way the snooze works just like it always did. I think this is what you're looking for in your #1 and #2 "beefs".

I'm running Lyricidal's 758 v2 hybrid over 5.0.0.713. I think it's a 713 feature. Hope this helps. The alarm function is doing it all for me now.

[steveg22]

Thanks Edge, one more little feature hiding away on BB, will definably make use of this