New to smartphones in general, and feeling lost (awww)

Hi,
I got my storm about a month ago and so far I LIKE it, but I'm not in love with it like I was expecting. I think part of it is I moved from a flip phone with 0 features, to the Storm. The transition is somewhat overwhelming to say the least hehe. I use my Storm for facebook, texting, occasional web browsing, and of course my calls, but I know it is capable of 8 zillion things. I'm just not used to thinking of the phone as anything more than a phone.

Anyway, I guess I was wondering if anyone had some useful "tips for beginners" that would help me get a little bit more out of the phone. Or something you discovered when you were new to this type of thing that just made you go "WOW!" Things I might find useful, things I'll probably never touch and should remove from the phone, etc. I know everyone's experience is different, and people have different interest/uses/etc. But I guess I'm trying to train myself to the "mindset" of a smart phone.

Also this is probably just part of the design, but, when the phone is in landscape mode and I press the bottom of the screen (spacebar), it feels really spongy like I'm going to break it. I tried doing that thing where you stick the business card under the battery but that didn't seem to do anything, is there a way to tighten the screen suspension or something?

Thanks for any tips/advice!

Well you're definitely in the right place as many of the members here have a Storm. Autotext can be very useful thing that most phones can't do. Here is an article about them.

Did You Know About AutoText Macros? Neither Did I? | BerryReview.com

Welcome to BB OS!!! BlackBerrys are capable of a lot and it takes time to learn them well. Give it a fair amount of time, take a break from it, then come back again....as time goes on, you will get used to the storm (or any other blackberry)...and you will miss it if you decide to go to another phone :)

Here are some links to help you:

Please visit our Tips and Tricks subforum:
Tips and Tricks - BlackberryOS.com

Please also visit our Media forum for Themes, wallpapers, ringtones and videos:
Media Center - BlackberryOS.com

Visit our Software sections for some really exciting applications:
Software - BlackberryOS.com

And lastly, please do not hesitate any questions that you may have!!! We are here to help and assist you in getting to know and love your blackberry ;) (or re-worded "we are here to make you a blackberry addict" ;))

:)

Wirelessly posted (storm 9530)

Lee your back! Great to see ya! I don't
Want to overwhelm you with a whole bunch
Of stuff, so take a look at the links Laney and
Sunkast left you, and get back to us.
Oh ya... Remember I told you to be thinking about
What you want your storm to do?
Could you fill us in a little about that?

Hmmmm, what do I want my storm to do.... besides creating a space/time vortex that teleports Scarlet Johanssen to my front door.....

I think I was kind of thinking of it as a "mobile organizer" type thing. I tend to forget a lot of stuff so if I don't write it down or make a calendar thing, I pretty much always forget.

I also have a bad tendency to not remember info I need when I'm out somewhere so the internet is another thing.

I guess this is hard for me to answer because I really don't know how much it's capable of. I need to read those links. I read the macro one this morning and was playing with that at work a little bit... er.... I mean I was working at work and being good.... anyway I like that macro thing, even though I didn't touch it at all while I was working. :rolleyes:

you MUST get opera mini... its a 300% better browser then the stock one, although it takes a bit to get the feel, as you dont need to click the screen just touch. I reccomend putting it in mobile view mode, hold down on the screen for a bit and a box will pop up. you will find yourself surfing more and more with opera

Wirelessly posted (storm 9530)

Ok Lee, the first one... Well I'm currently out of flux capassitors, so we are going to have to work on the others! All the things you mentioned your phone is capable of. You can create a calander with your email account and sync it to your storm. You also have a to do list option on your storm. Let's see.. Oh ya there is also a memo pad for you to make notes on. These items can be synced back to your email account and vise versa. So pick an item and we will walk your through it. Opera mini... Rasputin is correct it is a great browser, much better than the stock one. We can get you a link when your ready for that. If your ready for all of this at once... Just started throw out what you need to know! We got you!

Another thing I was told by my Verizon rep (he's a customer of mine, so he won't hose me...) is that you will go through a period of adjustment to get used to the features and such. He told me a lot of people take about 90 days or so to really get the hang of it, but once you do, you'll be lost without it.
Anyway, welcome to the forum and hope to hear from you while you get your 'Berry the way you want it.
Don't worry about experimenting with your device, there are a lot of really good people here to help you if anything goes astray, plus, they might be able to guide you with customization.
Enjoy...

Just got my first Blackberry two days ago.
Getting use to the touch screen. This phone has tons of features and I'm getting overloaded right now.

Question...How do I hide the icons that I won't be using that often?
I'm looking at using maybe 5 on a daily basis until I start getting use to all the bells/whistles .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dingo

Just got my first Blackberry two days ago.
Getting use to the touch screen. This phone has tons of features and I'm getting overloaded right now.

Question...How do I hide the icons that I won't be using that often?
I'm looking at using maybe 5 on a daily basis until I start getting use to all the bells/whistles .

---

Welcome to BBOS dingo. To hide icons, hit the Blackberry button then hit hide.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dingo

Just got my first Blackberry two days ago.
Getting use to the touch screen. This phone has tons of features and I'm getting overloaded right now.

Question...How do I hide the icons that I won't be using that often?
I'm looking at using maybe 5 on a daily basis until I start getting use to all the bells/whistles .

---

Dingo,

Only hid icon you will never use. (example, i dont use icq, yahoo, or any of the messenger programs so i did all the icons.)

hope that helps:)

Wirelessly posted (storm 9530)

You can move your not regulary used icons to a folder. highlight the icon you want to move hit the bb button and select move to folder. Then a widow will pop up and it will have all your folders in it. Just select one and your done. You can also create folders! I create a folder called CRAP! That has all the icons I never use in it! All you have to do to create a folder is... Hit the bb button scroll down to create folder name it and hit ok. Side note... before you hit ok, if you click the little folder up in the left hand side of your screen... A window will popup and you will be able to select the style of the folder.

:cool: Thanks for the quick replay. Now I can make my own CRAP
folder :)
This site is outstanding... I'm glad I joined.....

Welcome to BlackberryOs dingo! We're glad to hear you like the site so far! :arms:

Wirelessly posted (storm 9530)

Welcome Dingo! Hope we can help you with some more CRAP in the future! :lmao:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LeeVT99

Hi,
I got my storm about a month ago and so far I LIKE it, but I'm not in love with it like I was expecting. I think part of it is I moved from a flip phone with 0 features, to the Storm. The transition is somewhat overwhelming to say the least hehe. I use my Storm for facebook, texting, occasional web browsing, and of course my calls, but I know it is capable of 8 zillion things. I'm just not used to thinking of the phone as anything more than a phone.

Anyway, I guess I was wondering if anyone had some useful "tips for beginners" that would help me get a little bit more out of the phone. Or something you discovered when you were new to this type of thing that just made you go "WOW!" Things I might find useful, things I'll probably never touch and should remove from the phone, etc. I know everyone's experience is different, and people have different interest/uses/etc. But I guess I'm trying to train myself to the "mindset" of a smart phone.

Also this is probably just part of the design, but, when the phone is in landscape mode and I press the bottom of the screen (spacebar), it feels really spongy like I'm going to break it. I tried doing that thing where you stick the business card under the battery but that didn't seem to do anything, is there a way to tighten the screen suspension or something?

Thanks for any tips/advice!

---

Welcome to BBOS. I hope that our staff was able to help you with some tips and tricks to help you love your storm. Try some of the hybrids out and your experience will dramatically change with the storm. Best Wishes

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dingo

:cool: Thanks for the quick replay. Now I can make my own CRAP
folder :)
This site is outstanding... I'm glad I joined.....

---

Welcome to Blackberry OS Dingo!!

when ur ready fo a hybrid look me up. 30613564 pin or email randyrkelly@vzw.blackberry.net Also make sure u check my tips and tricks in the tips forum Tips and Tricks - BlackberryOS.com

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dingo

Just got my first Blackberry two days ago.
Getting use to the touch screen. This phone has tons of features and I'm getting overloaded right now.

Question...How do I hide the icons that I won't be using that often?
I'm looking at using maybe 5 on a daily basis until I start getting use to all the bells/whistles .

---

Welcome to BBOS, and you are in the right place.

Thanks for the replies, I'm already starting to look at the phone in a new light, I haven't had a chance to read through everything or try stuff yet because I'm in grad school and have
A: work
B: school projects
C: mid-terms
all due this week :/ Either way, just skimming through some of the tips threads is showing me what the phone is capable of :)