Tip: What's New in BlackBerry OS 4.2

Some people may wonder what the big deal is about BlackBerry OS 4.2. Well, for many BlackBerry lovers out there, it is simply cool to finally get a chance to have a go at the newest OS for their favorite device. For others, 4.2 rocks because it finally brings the more multimedia-friendly capabilities of the Pearl and 8800 models to the 8700 series.

Here are some of the big differences between the shipping version of 4.2 and the Beta edition of the same OS as well as BlackBerry OS 4.1:

The Clock is bigger on the main screen and the icons at the top have moved around and look better. The Battery icon works, which it did not in 4.2 Beta, and the calculator application looks different as well.

The Zen theme, my personal favorite, looks the same until you open up all the applications not on the main screen. Instead of a banner in the middle you get a screen full of icons.

I spent some time trying to remember how to move the icons around without reorganizing the applications. You use the same old alt and click of the scroll wheel combo to get them to move or hide the icon menu. Alt and the scroll wheel will move you up and down, while the scroll wheel alone moves you left to right.


Menu Icon

Another neat change is that the name of an icon fades in when you highlight it and fades out again if you leave it alone.

The new Zen theme had SMS and Emails all in a single folder. This terrified me at first—I thought it was a deal breaker, as I get too many of each not to keep them separate. But in your messages folder under Options -> General Options at the very bottom is seperate SMS and Email Boxes.


Email Options

This gives you the option of organizing your messages as Theme Controlled, Combined, or Separate. So it offers something to make everyone happy.

BlackBerry Messenger has a different look and no longer crashes when you send an e-mail address or web address as it did in the 4.2 Beta. You can also send and receive voice notes right in BlackBerry Messenger, a must if you do not have a MMS package from your provider.


BlackBerry Messenger Voice Note

The Voice Note Application only allows you to send a note via MMS. You have to locate your contact in BlackBerry Messenger and open up a conversation with them to send the note in BlackBerry Messenger.

Your tunes and images are now located under Media, which is different from BlackBerry OS 4.1. You can send and recieve media files from here using Bluetooth or MMS. Pictures can also be sent via e-mail or BlackBerry Messenger.

A word of caution: Some applications are specific to a particular OS on the BlackBerry, so you may have to download a different version of IM+, PocketDay, or JiveTalk, for example.


Media

Remember to always back up your BlackBerry when upgrading to a new OS. While with 4.2 the only things I had to reset were the tunes and the order of my icons when upgrading - everything else remained the same - in the past I've loaded a new OS and lost it all. Also, make sure you have plenty of time available.

All in all, 4.2 is a big change from not only BlackBerry OS 4.1 but also the 4.2 Beta.

Click link below to learn more about BlackBerry OS 4.2.

Tip: What to Do When the BlackBerry Network Goes Down

First, take a deep breath and don't panic.

Next, verify there really is a problem. Send yourself a test email, text message someone, try to load a webpage, and try to send a BlackBerry Messenger message. This will give you an idea of what is going on.

In the outage on April 17th and 18th text messaging and phone calls worked fine, but there was no e-mail and the BlackBerry browser couldn’t connect. That’s because the outage was on RIMs side and they do not handle the phone calls or texts, as those are taken care of by your Service Provider, like AT&T or T-Mobile.

If you have a group of BlackBerry buddies check with them to see if they are having problems too. For example, this morning my e-mail and browser stopped working, so I sent a text to a friend, who said his was working fine.

A battery pull later I was back on track. Sometimes the problem is just your BlackBerry and not the network. Usually you can tell pretty fast by talking to others if it is your service provider or RIM. Once it is clear what the problem is and who is causing it feel free to report it and share it with others.

Now comes the worst part: What to do while waiting for it to work again.

In the April 17th and 18th outage you could still use some third party applications. It was reported Opera Mini worked, along with mirc chat via the BlackBerry. Of course, any games on your BlackBerry are going to work just fine to. It is a great time to work on the BrickBreaker high score you want or work out the brain with a little Sudoku.

When you need a break from games you can load a new OS on your BlackBerry, if there is one available. And if there is not a new OS, it would be a perfect time to back up your data just in case you ever need it.

Also since I find that my internet e-mail accounts sometimes get very unorganized now that I read all e-mails on the BlackBerry, the outage was a great time to clean up my accounts.

Most importantly, remember service will come back. There are people scrambling to try and locate and fix the problem. Networks go down, and outages happen, no matter how hard a company tries to avoid them. It is just a part of the technology age.

No need to worry about missing an important e-mail if no e-mails are coming through, right? With an outage, millions of other people are the same position as you. They should understand your predicament.