1. j.simon's Avatar
    Hi everyone,

    I just got my first blackberry a week or two ago. I'm still trying to figure some things out and I was wondering if some of you more experienced users out there might be able to help me out.

    First off, what's the deal with the battery life? I've never had a smartphone before so I wasn't too sure what to expect, but my battery is only lasting a day maybe two if I hardly use it. Is this normal? I mean, I am using it a moderate amount. I guess I'm just not used to having to charge my phone just about every night and was a little bit concerned. I don't leave applications running and I stopped some from automatically updating.

    Also, on every other phone that I've had, the volume rocker on the side changed the volume of the ringer (or to silent, vibrate, etc.) when it was on the home screen. Does the blackberry not have this function? I'd be a little upset if it didn't because that was a handy feature. I don't really like this whole "profile" business.

    I've been seeing some people talk about this Opera Mini internet browser. Is that any better than the browser that was preinstalled on my blackberry?

    Thanks so much for the help!
    08-01-09 02:42 PM
  2. jeffh's Avatar
    Charge the battery every night. That's normal and you won't hurt it. The volume rocker doesn't adjust the ringer volume, at least not on any BlackBerry I've used. I don't use Opera Mini, but a lot of people do. Try it for yourself. The default browser is sufficient for me.
    08-01-09 02:49 PM
  3. TheSultan's Avatar
    1. Battery Life: It sounds like you've done some reading about closing apps and stuff like that--impressive since most people don't read. 1-2 days is pretty good for the device, that's a decent average. On a related note, BB batteries can be charged as much you want and can't be overcharged, so even at the end of the day if it's only at 50% power, throw it on the charger anyway. I charge once a day at least.

    2. The blackberry device is a bit more complex than other phones, so many of us would not be happy with a simple volume up down switch. Many of us like to create "situations" on how we'll be notified. I use "phone only" for when I'm sleeping cause I don't want to be woken up by emails, but need to get calls for work. During a work meeting, I use vibrate and know that 1 vibrate is a message I can ignore, multiple vibrates are a phone call that I might need to take. So, the usage of Profiles allow each of us to create a ringtone/alert system completely tailored to what we want, individually.

    3. Opera Mini IMO is not better than the native browser, but some people swear by it and love it. My advice: it's free--install it and see what you think of the differences.

    Best of luck,
    welcome to the crack
    08-01-09 02:51 PM
  4. brady.v's Avatar
    What everyone has said seemed to hit the nail on the head. My opinion on opera mini is that it loads some pages better than others. I only use it for a few websites. The default browser IMO works a lot better most of the time

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-01-09 02:54 PM
  5. MrWheelMan's Avatar
    There's also a browser called Bolt that a lot of people seem to love. You might want to give that a try also. I haven't surfed a lot on my BlackBerry yet, and I have Opera Mini because I had it on my last phone, but the default browser seems pretty good for my needs so far.
    08-01-09 02:57 PM
  6. mitchknowsbest's Avatar
    Welcome to the world of Blackberry : )

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-01-09 03:00 PM
  7. Aetius's Avatar
    Building on what Sultan said about the browser:

    I use and love Opera Mini and find it FAR SUPERIOR to the stock browser, many do. I found Bolt to be slow and clumsy. HOWEVER, if you need to be downloading apps from the browser, you will always need to use the default. IF you click a link in an email, it will use the default, too. Unless there's some way to change this that I am not aware of.

    Battery: Agree with Jeff. Have three chargers available. AC, USB and Car. It will save you in a pinch. I just always have mine plugged in where I am (unless I'm not near one, of course)
    08-01-09 03:00 PM
  8. xliderider's Avatar
    Just a comment on the battery life. A smartphone is always on and always connected to the RIM servers, that's the only way to get instant push email. This always on data connection does take a toll on battery life.
    08-01-09 03:03 PM
  9. BergerKing's Avatar
    Just beware if using Opera Mini that you lose the capability to copy, cut, and paste.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-01-09 03:19 PM
  10. YouBoysReady4Mexico's Avatar
    Ive used bolt and opera. Both have there ups and downs along with the bb browser. Bolt is pretty quick. Opera is pretty decent. I like the zoom in feature on opera. Works awesome.

    As for the battery life, its a lithium ion battery so when its new you need to cycle it. Cycling is charging it and letting it die, charging it and letting it die. This will eventually expand the life of your battery. By doing this, it will also charge it faster with more mah(milliamp hour). trickle charging also helps and puts even more mah in your battery. Of course they also make high mah batteries you can purchase. The stock ones are only 1200 mah.
    Last edited by YouBoysReady4Mexico; 08-01-09 at 05:48 PM.
    08-01-09 04:27 PM
  11. jeffh's Avatar
    ...
    As for the battery life, its a lithium ion battery so when its new you need to cycle it. Cycling is charging it and letting it die, charging it and letting it die. This will eventually expand the life of your battery. By doing this, it will also charge it faster with more mah(milliamp hour). ....
    This is absolutely false and the worst possible advice for lithium ion batteries. It was true for earlier chemistries, but not for lithium-ion. You should never let your li-ion battery die completely. Trickle charge it, top it off frequently, never let it die completely.
    08-01-09 04:35 PM
  12. YouBoysReady4Mexico's Avatar
    This is absolutely false and the worst possible advice for lithium ion batteries. It was true for earlier chemistries, but not for lithium-ion. You should never let your li-ion battery die completely. Trickle charge it, top it off frequently, never let it die completely.
    I meant lithium polymer batteries. My bad. Lithium Ion cant take the repeated cycling as lithium polymer. Lithium Ion prefers partial discharge rather than full discharge.
    Last edited by YouBoysReady4Mexico; 08-01-09 at 05:45 PM.
    08-01-09 05:42 PM
  13. Bllove58's Avatar
    I use the BB browser most of the time. But I also like the Operamini. Both work equally well, according to your needs. I really don't care for the Bolt. It has a tendency to freeze up on me.
    08-01-09 08:07 PM
  14. itsdollar's Avatar
    I tried bolt and opera mini and I'd rather stick with the default. I charge every night like everyone else and like what someone else said the profiles are great for different needs. Add berrybuzz and you are great. Welcome to crackberry

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-01-09 08:29 PM
  15. j.simon's Avatar
    Thanks for all the help!! I didn't expect to get so many helpful people answering so quickly!!

    Do you all have any other advice, tips, or helpful hints for a first-time blackberry user?
    08-02-09 12:29 AM
  16. Tanker811's Avatar
    J.simon... I am also a first time BB owner. It took me a couple weeks to get us too the tips & tricks of the BB. Once you get the hang of the BB you will be like the rest of us. Hooked! I will never have another brand of smartphone!
    Enjoy & welcome to the addiction!

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-02-09 01:40 AM
  17. iowabowtech's Avatar
    Given time, I think you'll come to like the profiles management. Provides a ton of flexibility and eliminates the accidental pressing of the side buttons which on many phones results in accidental muting. We've all had it happen.
    08-02-09 07:24 AM
  18. redrako's Avatar
    Being a couple of months into my first BB, I was also alarmed at how quickly the battery drained. I then recalled that when I was researching this phone before purchase that several of the aftermarket cases available offer the feature of a magnet which puts the phone into a suspend mode.

    After learning that keeping the phone in my pants pocket had clogged the trackball in six short weeks, I dug out the original slip case for the phone and found that battery life significantly improved.

    Amazon.com's affiliated merchants offer several Blackberry branded accessories at excellent prices. I have bought extra batteries, ac chargers and auto chargers for short money. All have been new and identical to original BB accessories that came new in the box from BB.
    08-02-09 08:11 AM
  19. jeffh's Avatar
    Thanks for all the help!! I didn't expect to get so many helpful people answering so quickly!!

    Do you all have any other advice, tips, or helpful hints for a first-time blackberry user?
    Be sure to read the BlackBerry 101 tutorials under the BlackBerry Help Tab at the top of the screen. And take a look at the Tips, How To, and FAQ Forum there as well. Welcome to the Forums!
    08-02-09 08:42 AM
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