1. djkaraok's Avatar
    I just purchased a BB Tour 9630 - know nothing - created ringtones myself and put onto BB and assigned to certain contacts - so I know something - lol

    Wanted to know about battery life and flights from USA to Netherlands and typical phone power sources on a long plane flight. My hope is someone who reads this has flown from US to Netherlands and would know what might be available.

    During my 12 hour flight time my plan is to use my phone as my entertainment. The memory card is either 8 or 16 gig I forget so storage is no problem. It seems like I can have mp3 audio to listen to music - video for movie - games - books etc to keep me occupied. Problem is how do you deal with battery life and use it for many hours.

    Are there things as in-flight chargers available? Is there a device to give me the kind of hours use? Extra batteries the only answer?

    Anything about my phone an its use in Europe that is necessary to plan for?

    Best site for free apps - When looking for apps what should I look for with regard to my BB beside the model #?

    Can you get virus's on the phone? -

    Can I find apps for both a European money converter and a clock that will permit me to have multiple times displayed for places in the world so I don't call home at 4am. lol

    Bottom line: Want to use BB during entire flight - Find free apps - especially to convert Euro to US and multiple time zone display - get books onto BB to read.

    TY
    10-15-09 04:19 AM
  2. Radius's Avatar
    This is a pretty open ended question, but overall the more you do the faster the battery drains. On the low end of the spectrum are reading books and listening to music. Start watching movies and playing games for 12 hours and you're going to need some spare batteries with you.

    There are a few solutions, the main one is the extra batteries. There are also USB charging packs which will extend the life of the battery. Just pre charge them and charge the phone from them on the go. Not sure how many you will need if you're doing the game/movie thing though.

    There is also a product called the Fuel Case by Case-mate which is a belt clip holster with a battery built right in and charges the phone on the go. I have one and love it but I'm not sure if it's even offered for the Tour yet.

    As for additional applications for anything else you want, just do a search around here and you should be able to dig something up.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    10-15-09 06:55 AM
  3. jlb21's Avatar
    Don't forget that if you are on the plane, you will need to disable your Mobile Radio. Having this connection off will save on battery drain.

    Also, many airlines have power outlets. It depends on what class you are in and/or what row.

    Let us know what airline and what type of plane your flight is on and we can help you look up what power options there may be on the plane.......
    10-15-09 08:56 AM
  4. SoCaliTrojan's Avatar
    In-flight chargers would only be pertinent if you were flying business/1st class. If you're in the economy section, there won't be any way to charge your device, other than swapping batteries.

    Watching movies is pretty intensive. It has to power the video, audio, and do the processing of the video file. Someone used a movie to test how long a battery will last, and he got a little over 6 hours on the OEM battery for the Tour. You'll probably need 2 batteries for the flight, and maybe a 3rd so you have a phone to use once you land.
    10-15-09 08:56 AM
  5. keithwired's Avatar
    That's not true, plenty of airlines have DC power in Economy class.

    The Ultimate Guide to In-Seat Laptop Power Ports
    10-15-09 11:33 AM
  6. djkaraok's Avatar
    Ty all I am going to check all of this stuff. Nice link to airline info.

    Still no links to the best free app site? Can apps mess with your phone like PC?

    Any idea for good app for currency converter - multi-time zone display app?

    Any utilities I should have for sure? Maybe cleaner for app removal, sync software etc.

    TY all for the replies thus far.
    10-15-09 07:10 PM
  7. ryoujyoku's Avatar
    Just remember that Europe is six hours ahead, in EST. I'm not sure what time zone you're in, in the United States. To call home, I always counted six hours behind of the current time in Europe.

    I took my Blackberry to Europe with me. But I didn't touch it, to be honest, until I got off the plane. I was too afraid of the battery dying on me - and using the phone despite the mobile radio being off. Do you have an outlet converter so you can plug in your phone once you get to the NL?

    Blackberry Freeware - Free Software: Blackberry Currency Converter Freeware == this is a currency converter for the Blackberry.

    As for multiple clocks, I use World Clock that can put multiple clocks on my screen. I travel between Japan, Europe and the United States, so instead of memory sometimes I need to look, lol. :P
    10-15-09 07:25 PM
  8. FF22's Avatar
    For a multi-clock see

    Welcome to FreeJ2ME, home of free phone software

    I used the Oanda currency converter this summer in Italy.

    I flew from Seattle to Amsterdam. I used the Tour for some periods but not continually watching the in-flight movies and trying to sleep.

    I opted into the Verizon Global but we used mostly DATA which was UNlimited and kept phone calls to a minimum. Still I calculated I saved about $300 over the 3 weeks.
    10-15-09 07:59 PM
  9. keithwired's Avatar
    IMO This is the best travel application out there, and they just released app version 3.0 which has a much nicer interface and smoothed out graphics.

    WorldMate for BlackBerry | Free BlackBerry Travel Management Application
    10-16-09 12:18 AM
  10. Tour Up From the Floor Up's Avatar
    There's quite a few threads about free apps in the 3rd party apps section of the forum. This one is my favorite for finding free apps. This Crackberry user created a website of nothing but, free apps.

    http://forums.crackberry.com/f2/free...ftware-154081/

    And you're probably on top of this, but just a friendly reminder: don't forget your International Adaptor Clips. If it were me, I would be sitting on the plane as it was taxiing to the runway for take off and out of the blue I'd remember that I didn't pack them.
    10-16-09 01:04 AM
  11. djkaraok's Avatar
    TY all ! Officially I am a free app hor - Downloaded a great clock app, currency converter - Worldmate for all my travel needs -

    Need more definition on adapters that I will need - I am bringing my laptop as well.

    "I opted into the Verizon Global but we used mostly DATA which was UNlimited and kept phone calls to a minimum. Still I calculated I saved about $300 over the 3 weeks" What is this? Verizon gave me a global book when I got my phone but did not understand. Do I have to have the global? I do have unlimited internet and friends and family. Can I use Skype online? If you saved over $300 what did it cost you?

    I will be in Europe for 1 month.

    You guys have stepped up and I am beginning to learn. TY
    10-16-09 02:50 AM
  12. Tiassa's Avatar
    WRTO Converters: European conuntires use both different voltage (220 for the most part) and different plugs than in the US. The chargers for most of the more recent laptops (my Sony laptop did this back in 2001, the last time I was in Europe) have the ability to adapt the voltage, so all you need is an adapter to change the "prongs" on your plug from the US standard to those used in Europe. It is possible that cell chargers work this way as well, perhaps someone more knowledgeable can confirm/deny this. At any rate, many stores (both online and brick) sell outlet converters, Google that phrase and you will find them.
    10-16-09 09:16 AM
  13. Tour Up From the Floor Up's Avatar
    If you bought your Tour from Verizon Wireless then you should have the adapters in the box that the device came in.
    10-16-09 09:35 AM
  14. hossra's Avatar
    use skype via computer. I also recommend getting a local SIM card -- wait, that may be too advanced for you right now.

    Strongly recommend Worldmate. A Godsend when I travel (mostly to Europe and the Middle East).
    10-16-09 11:07 AM
  15. FF22's Avatar
    TY all ! Officially I am a free app hor - Downloaded a great clock app, currency converter - Worldmate for all my travel needs -

    Need more definition on adapters that I will need - I am bringing my laptop as well.

    "I opted into the Verizon Global but we used mostly DATA which was UNlimited and kept phone calls to a minimum. Still I calculated I saved about $300 over the 3 weeks" What is this? Verizon gave me a global book when I got my phone but did not understand. Do I have to have the global? I do have unlimited internet and friends and family. Can I use Skype online? If you saved over $300 what did it cost you?

    I will be in Europe for 1 month.

    You guys have stepped up and I am beginning to learn. TY
    You need to actually signup for the Global Plan. The way it works is it costs $64/69 per month. I believe the 64 is only data. The $69 brings phone calls down to $0.99/min for all calls, to/from US and inside of Europe (check, some countries may be higher).

    The Global takes the place of the normal BIS plan's $29/month but on a prorata basis. If you are gone for a month you stop paying $29 and pay $69. So (rounding all numbers by the way) you pay $40 extra over the month. If you were gone only 2 weeks, you'd pay half of each of those rates.

    My approx $300 savings were based on the normal data rates without Global which is some charge per kilobyte. Global is UNlimited data. We used a ton of data. 3 people were using my BB (8830 at that time) for email and we checked weather a lot (hiking/climbing) and just browsing the web. We did not use the phone much.

    The thing to remember is that with Global you keep your US phone number. So US callers are still calling a US number. The problem is, if you give your number to a European, they are calling International to your US number. They may not want to.

    If you get a local sim card (you must call Verizon to UNlock the phone to do this), rates vary by country and I *THINK* calls to you are "free" while outgoing use minutes or money. You wind up with a European phone number. So US callers would need your new number and they call International - but this might not be an issue if you don't need to keep in touch.

    The questionable issue is getting DATA with foreign sim cards. I've read different things so I cannot help. Some folks opt for both the Verizon sim (with global activated) and local and swap sims as needed. Take a tweezers!!!

    Hope this helps.

    Oh, re: adapters - most ac adapters these days can be used with the 220 European but they use a different socket plug. So you need a plug-adapter to change to the US prongs to some other shape. And to make it more fun, different prongs in different parts of Europe. Italy and Austria were DIFFERENT. And one other thing - some of their sockets are INSET so that you need a prong set that can fit in a recessed circle - in this regard, I am not sure that the Verizon ac adapter with its different prong set would fit inside one of those recessed sockets. If you check out web sites (REI might have some pics) you will see the various adapter shapes. Here's a link to what they might look like - the "thin" ones can fit into the recessed sockets:

    Eagle Creek 5 Piece Adapter Set at REI.com
    Last edited by F2; 10-16-09 at 04:26 PM.
    10-16-09 11:22 AM
  16. djkaraok's Avatar
    That is great info - I retired this year and was a computer tech for 30 years so technology is not new but this technology is very new to me.

    I will look online for plug adapters - going to Turkey, Amsterdam, Hungry etc etc be gone for a month.

    This forum has gotten me from no apps and minimal knowledge to an app hor and enough knowledge to be dangerous. Thanks to all!
    10-17-09 07:32 PM
  17. FF22's Avatar
    Have a great time.

    What language did you program in? Dutch, Turkish or Hungarian?
    10-17-09 09:36 PM
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