Shortcuts and Tricks for BlackBerry Smartphones

Although a BlackBerry smartphone is by definition a business device, there are several lesser-known functions that can help make users' experience more enjoyable and entertaining.

Most of them have little to no use in the business world, but others are very useful for those who wish to tweak their handsets and give them an original look and feel.

One of the most important tips regards the reboot of a BlackBerry smartphone, which usually requires users to remove / replace the battery.

Obviously, there are third-party apps that can emulate the process of removing the battery, such as QuickPull, which can be downloaded for free via BlackBerry App World.

However, instead of removing the phone's battery or installing a third-party app, one can use a simple key combination that will have the same result.

While holding down the ALT key and the left Shift key at the same time, simply press the Delete key until BlackBerry reboots.

If the above does not work for your BlackBerry device, you will need to install QuickPull.

Another interesting tweak can show you how strong your phone's GSM signal is at any time. If bars are not enough for you and you wish to know the exact signal strength of your BlackBerry phone simply press and hold the ALT key and type NMLL, while at the home screen.

You will notice that the bars have changed to digital mode and it is showing a two digit number; the lower the number the better the signal, but anything between -90 to -50 dBm should be fine.

To bring up the Help Me screen where you can see detailed information about the device, such as software version, PIN and IMEI numbers, uptime, signal strength, battery level, and more, simply press the 'H' letter while holding down the ALT key and the left Shift key.

You can also take notes with your BlackBerry device even when you're on a phone call. Simply press the Menu key and choose Notes to take notes while on a call. You can find all notes saved during calls in the Messages folder as a call log entry.

Stay tuned for more tips and tricks about BlackBerry devices.