Having just received a new BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 smartphone, I made some notes while setting it up and put together the following guide to help new users get started with BlackBerry® 7 OS smartphones. So if you’ve just purchased one or plan on purchasing one in the near future, here are a few things you’ll want to know.

Before we begin, if you are upgrading from a previous BlackBerry® smartphone, you can use the Device Switch Wizard included with BlackBerry® Desktop Manager to quickly migrate your settings to a new BlackBerry 7 OS smartphone. For more information on how to do this, check out the following links:

• BlackBerry Desktop Software for PC (User Guide)
• BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac (User Guide)

As soon as you start up a new BlackBerry 7 smartphone for the first time you’ll be asked to sign in to BlackBerry® ID, or create a new BlackBerry ID if you don’t have one. BlackBerry ID is a single sign-on identity for BlackBerry devices, apps, servers and web portals. Visit the BlackBerry ID website to learn more about this useful service in case you aren’t familiar with it already.

After signing in, a short video will play that shows you how to interact with BlackBerry 7. The Setup app will then open automatically which will allow you to setup your email and customize other features and will also provide tips and tricks. Stay tuned for a future post on this section in more detail!

When you are finished setting up your usual apps such as email, BlackBerry® Messenger and social networking apps, here are few more things you should do:

(Note: The following links will be to the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 smartphone user guide. For other user guides, visit http://docs.blackberry.com)

Secure it! – Setting a password to unlock your BlackBerry smartphone is something everyone should do since it is an easy way to protect your personal information. For information on how to set this up, click here.

Back it up! – Thanks to automatic backup options offered by the tips below, you can prevent losing important personal information, saving you a lot of potential frustration.

• BlackBerry® Protect – Included with every BlackBerry 7 OS smartphone and found in the Applications folder, BlackBerry Protect is designed to allow you to find and remotely protect your personal information. Just a few of the great features included is the ability to remotely locate and lock your BlackBerry smartphone as well as over the air backup and the ability to restore your contacts, calendar info and more! To learn more about BlackBerry Protect and get started with it, visit the BlackBerry Protect website or open BlackBerry Protect from the applications folder.

  Something to keep in mind is that BlackBerry Protect cannot remotely turn on the device, and is not supported when the device is off or if it is activated against a BlackBerry® Enterprise Server (“BES”). If activated on BES, contact your IT administrator for more information on how your information is protected and backed up via your BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

• BlackBerry Desktop Software – Available for Windows and Mac, BlackBerry Desktop Software is a tool that allows you to automatically backup and restore your BlackBerry 7 OS smartphone. You can also use it to synchronize your personal information as well as music, pictures and videos.
• BlackBerry Messenger – Recently a friend asked me what I’d miss the most if I had to start from scratch on my BlackBerry smartphone, and the answer was my BlackBerry Messenger contact list. Backing up your contact list can be done automatically or manually in a few seconds. For info on how to back up your contacts, check out the BlackBerry Messenger user guide.

Become a BlackBerry Guru

At this point we’ve signed in using a BlackBerry ID, finished using the Setup app and done a few things to help secure and protect your personal information. The last thing I’d recommend doing now is reviewing the user guide for your BlackBerry 7 OS smartphone, as it contains a lot of useful info you should know.

Here a few of the topics I think you should check out in particular – and don’t forget that you can find your BlackBerry smartphone user guide at http://docs.blackberry.com

• Top 10 BlackBerry 7 How To Tips
• Top 10 Tips to Personalize your BlackBerry 7 smartphone
• Top 10 Tips to Save Time and Maximize Efficiency
• Top 10 Troubleshooting Tips
• How to set up Ring Tones, Sounds and Alerts
• Customize your Voice command options

What do you like the most about the new BlackBerry 7 OS? Leave a comment and let us know as we’d love to hear from you. Don’t forget to stop by the BlackBerry Support Community Forums and say hi to @BlackBerryHelp.

Every time I get a new BlackBerry® smartphone, the first thing I do is dive into the Options screen so I can learn more about the features offered in addition to specifying my preferred settings. Since I just got a BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, this is obviously the first thing I did – so today, I’d like to share an overview of the Options screen in case you are curious about what settings are available. I’ve also included links under each section so you can find more info on how to get the most of out of these various features where applicable.

You might be wondering: how do I access the Options menu? To do that, all you need to do is tap the Gear icon that appears in the top right corner of your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s home screen. If you aren’t currently on your home screen, you can swipe in from the top-left frame onto the screen, which will show you the status bar which contains the Gear icon.

After tapping the Gear icon, you’ll be presented with a menu similar to the screenshot below that lists the various options you can modify along the left-hand side. You can also access the options while using an application by swiping in from the top-left frame onto the screen.

About

Simply put, this screen will allow you to review information about your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, such as who the owner is, which OS version you are using, and a media count that lets you know how many songs or videos you have, for example. If you tap the General button in this dialog, you’ll be able to review more information, such as Hardware along with more in-depth OS, Network and Legal information.

Wi-Fi®

Using this screen, you’ll be able to setup a new Wi-Fi connection and review your current Wi-Fi connection setting details as well as being able to perform some basic network troubleshooting. In the screenshot above, if you tap on the Wi-Fi Radio icon with the question mark in front of it that appears along the bottom of the screen, you’ll be able to view additional information about your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet in addition to having access to several network troubleshooting tools.

• Device Information – In addition to the About screen that appears in Options, you can also identify basic information about your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet such as your PIN number.
• Wi-Fi Information – If you are connected to a Wi-Fi network, details about this network can be found here.
• Internet Connection – Within this screen you’ll be able to review network information, such as your IP address and DNS information.
• Logs – Self-explanatory.
• Ping – A PING tool that will allow you to verify network connectivity.
• Traceroute – Similar to PING, this is a simple tool that allows you to trace the path of your current network connection.
• DNS Lookup – This tool will allow you to verify DNS functionality on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

Software Updates

This is a simple screen that allows you to quickly check for a new software update. If one is found, you’ll be presented with the ability to download it now, or check again later for a newer update. If you decide to download a system update, all you need to do is open this screen and select Install Now.

Bluetooth®

To customize your Bluetooth settings, such as the name of your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and whether or not it’s discoverable, this is the menu you’ll want to access. Using this menu, you can also add and remove Bluetooth devices by tapping the small pencil icon that appears on the screen. To learn more about the Bluetooth capabilities offered by the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet – including what kind of Bluetooth devices you can use – check out the BlackBerry® Bridge™ user guide. If you want to learn more about using Bluetooth in general with your BlackBerry smartphone, check out this post about BlackBerry Bluetooth pairing.

BlackBerry Bridge

If you own a BlackBerry smartphone and have purchased a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, this is where you’ll want to go to start the BlackBerry Bridge setup process. BlackBerry Bridge technology allows you to access your email, calendars, and more on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. To learn more about setting up BlackBerry Bridge, please review the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet user guide.

Internet Tethering

The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet includes support for several different Bluetooth profiles such as Dial-up Networking (DUN) which allows you to access the internet connection of a tethered mobile phone, or other internet enabled device.

To use this feature, all you need to do is pair a Bluetooth device that supports DUN with your Playbook tablet. After pairing, setting up internet tethering is as easy as selecting your wireless service provider profile from a list and clicking Connect if your wireless service plan supports internet tethering. Using this feature might result in additional charges so contact your wireless service provider for more information in case you aren’t sure.

For more information on this feature, check out the Help application on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, or review the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet user guide.

Screen

Using the Screen Options menu, you’ll be able to customize what happens to your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet screen when it is running on battery power, or plugged in as per the screenshot below.

HDMI

One of my favorite BlackBerry PlayBook tablet features is the ability to hook it up to my HDMI-equipped TV at home and watch videos I’ve captured with my family and friends. Using this menu, you’ll be able to customize a lot of settings, so you’ll be able to get the most out of the HDMI connection you are currently using. Some of the settings you can customize include the ability to customize the Aspect Ratio in addition to enabling Mirror Mode. For more information on this feature, review the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet user guide.

Sounds

Straightforward and to the point, this screen will allow you to change your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet master volume in addition to your Keypress Input and Notifications volume.

General

Being able to play a game and stream music from an online radio station at the same time is pretty easy thanks to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s multitasking capabilities. The General menu will allow you to toggle the ability to multitask applications on and off, which can help you save battery life in addition to preventing games from playing in the background if you switch applications for a moment. This setting is referred to as the Application Behavior, and you can select from the following options.

• Showcase – All open applications are active and never pause in the background.
• Default – An application stays active in the background until another application goes full screen.
• Paused – All applications are paused in the background and activated when tapped.
  You also have the option of enabling Demo Mode, which allows your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to play demo movies automatically when it’s idle and the charger is plugged in.

Storage and Sharing

The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet offers several options for accessing the built-in storage using BlackBerry® Desktop Software, including the ability to use Wi-Fi sharing, which is a really cool feature I absolutely love. This feature allows me to copy files to and from my tablet using the Wi-Fi connection.

In order to get the most out of your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, I would recommend installing BlackBerry Desktop Software, which allows to you quickly synchronize music, photos and videos, in addition to being able to back up your tablet’s information. Don’t forget to review the settings listed in the Network Identification screen, as this information will be used to log in and access your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet using Wi-Fi sharing. For information on installing BlackBerry Desktop Software, see the BlackBerry Desktop Software site.

Security

The security options menu allows you to view information such as Application Permissions, Certificates and any VPN settings. You can also initiate a Device Wipe, which will remove all of your personal information from your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet in the event you are giving it to someone else.

Another important setting here is the ability to set a password on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet – something I highly recommend, as a password can save you a lot of grief in the event that you misplace your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. You’ll also notice an option to enable Development Mode, which is a setting you should avoid unless you are developing software for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

For more information on using some of these features including VPN capabilities, check out the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet user guide.

Keyboard

This screen will allow you to quickly customize your keyboard settings, such as whether or not the Keypress Popup is enabled, or specifying which keyboard type you are using. For example, you can use QWERTY, QWERTZ or AZERTY.

Date & Time

From this menu, you’ll be able to change your time zone in addition to using a 24-hour clock. You’ll also have the ability to toggle your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to set the Date & Time automatically using your network connection.

As you can see, getting the most out of your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is easy thanks to the Options menu, which allows you to quickly review your current settings in addition to customizing them to your preference.

What was the first setting you customized when you got your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet? Leave a comment and let me know!

In order to get the most out of your BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, you’ll want to know about each gesture that allows you to control and access various features. Today I’ll be providing an overview of the various gestures, so if you plan on purchasing a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet – or have already got one – this would be a good post to bookmark.

Let’s dive in!

Swipe (see the top image) – To scroll through a list, pan across a webpage, move between pictures and more, just touch the screen and slide your finger up and down or right and left.

Pinch – To zoom in and out of a webpage, picture or other content, touch the screen with your finger and thumb and pinch them together, or spread apart to zoom in and out.

Drag – To move an item from one place to another, touch and hold the item for several seconds until it starts shaking. You can then slide your finger to the position where you want to place the item.

Show the home screen and minimize applications – Swipe up from the bottom frame onto the screen to view the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet home screen, which will allow you to open a different application and view other applications you are currently using.

Show the menu – In many applications, you can find additional features, options, and help in the application menu. To access this menu, swipe down from the top frame onto the screen. Once you are finished, just tap away from the menu to close it.

Switch between apps – You can flip between your open applications without having to return to the home screen. To do this, while viewing an application, swipe in from the left or right frame onto the screen. You can then swipe left or right to move between open applications.

Show the status bar – You can peek at the status bar without leaving the app you’re using currently, which is really handy. This is a great way to quickly check your notifications, see the time, keep an eye on your battery power level, change system options, and more. One of my favorite tricks is to use this gesture whenever I want to enable the orientation lock feature. To do this, swipe in from the top-left frame onto the screen.

Close an application – The first step is using the gesture that allows you to view the home screen, which is swiping up from the bottom bezel. You can then touch the application window that appears and flick up to close the app. You also have the option of tapping the X that appears to close the application as well.

Switch between views on the home screen – Swipe left or right in the lower part of the home screen to change between views such as All, Favorites, Media or BlackBerry® Bridge™, for example.

In addition to the gestures I listed above, you should definitely check out the user guide for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Also, don’t forget to visit the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet support site for additional information on using your tablet.

What do you think about the gestures? Leave a comment and let me know!

Want to know what it’s like to take brand new BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet out of the box and set it up for the first time? Follow this handy visual guide to learn how to get started – How to Set Up the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Make sure you come back and visit us here at the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog often, as we’ll be publishing a lot of great content ranging from tips and tricks, to videos showing you some of our favorite features, to what to do in case you have questions about using your tablet.

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet!