How to get the most out of your Blackberry on a mac

Despite my most recent rant, I’m still a big fan of RIM’s tiniest creation, the Blackberry Pearl. On top of that, even though the last time I wrote a real tutorial was MONTHS ago, those keywords still drive the majority of my search engine traffic. Some of the software I’m going to talk about will cost you, others won’t. I’ll try to list prices as I discuss the products. All software is universal (will work on your old PowerPC mac or your new Intel machine), or it is Blackberry certified, and at least works on my Pearl.

First of all, you need a way to syncronize the content on your computer with the handheld. Although RIM “officially recommends” using PocketMac’s Blackberry client, it is the worst piece of software I’ve ever tried to use. It will install fine, but I was only able to get it to recognize my phone once over the 3 weeks that I tried it. I did multiple installs, even wiped my computer and my handhelf. Let’s face it: POCKETMAC SUCKS.

What you need to get, and I apologize in advance for those of you who don’t like paying for software is Mark/Space’s Missing Sync for Blackberry. Yes, it will set you back $39.95, but it is well worth it, and if you have ever bought Missing Sync from them before (like I did for my Palm Treo 600), you can crossgrade your license for a very reasonable $19.95.

By purchasing this software, you not only get to syncronize your phone with iCal, Address Book, iTunes, iPhoto and Mark/Space’s Notebook, you also get to support an independent software developer and a quality product. By downloading Missing Sync you also get something very important: USB driver support for the phone, something that PocketMac and Apple computers as a whole are missing. This allows you to reliably charge your phone from your computer, and also use its mass media storage mode (flash drive).

At this point, I’m going to assume that you know how to install and configure software on your mac. If not, check out Apple’s support forums. Let’s proceed.

Next I’m going to talk about calendaring. I personally like to use a mix of Google Calendar and Apple’s native iCal application. Because google provides .ics support out of the box, it is very easy to create a calendar in iCal that “subscribes” to the google calendar. I do this because I like to be able to share my calendar with friends, publish it on the web, and also edit it from any location, rather than being dependent on my laptop or handheld.

The one downside of using Google Calendar is that they currently don’t support 2-way syncronization on the mac. That means that while changes you make on the website will show up in iCal, changes made in iCal will not syncronize on the web. There are a couple work-arounds for this, although none are ideal. First, you can always manually edit it (the choice I currently use because it forces me to constantly analyze my schedule). To do this, create two calendars in iCal, on that subscribes to Google, and another that will receive the changes made on your phone. To do this you need to set the general calendar settings to syncronize both (or all) of your calendars, but to put “events created on the device” into your non-google calendar. Then fire up google calendar and transfer the events. Be sure to delete them from iCal as they are confirmed or else you will get duplicates.

Your next option for 2-way syncronization is Spanning Sync. For $25 a year or $65 one-time fee, Spanning Sync will give you a plugin that uploads your iCal changes to their server, and then translates it over to Google Calendar. While I’ve never tried this (I’m a little leary about giving my personal data to a 3rd party), they’ve received nothing but good reviews. Be warned that both Spanning Sync and subscribing to the .ics feed will remove any alarms created in Google Calendar. Annoying, I know. I’m working on creating an Apple script to fix this, but in the meantime, you have to manually re-apply them on your phone.

The third and sketchiest syncronization option is “over-the-air” syncronization or OTA. In theory, this is ideal because it keeps your handheld calendar and your web calendar syncronized without the need for a host computer. My problem is that the options are flawed. My greatest hope is GCalSync, an open source option being developed by the community. Unfortunately, it is hit or miss. It hasn’t been updated in a while, and the current beta (1.3) doesn’t support the Pearl. The other option is GooSync. When I found this site, I thought all my problems had been solved. They offer a free syncing service for appointments with reminders, but it only does 7 days in the past, and 30 days in the future. For $19.95 a year, you get up to a year in the past or present, plus support for attendees and multiple calendars.

The problem is that they aren’t very upfront about the technology. The header graphic insinuates that they are “powered by Toffa.” After a little googling, I found out that Toffa is responsible for a ton of syncronization software based on the up-and-coming SyncML protocol. In order any of GooSync’s services (free AND paid), you have to shell out for a 3rd party client called “SyncJe” from a company called Nexthaus for an additional $39.95. This is where I bailed. While the service could work great, I don’t feel comfortable negotiating with a company that wasn’t up-front about all the charges I was facing. If anyone takes the leap, I’d love to know how reliable their service is. Under this scenario, your data is again passing through their server to Google, but the simplicity of OTA syncronization might just be worth it.

Now your Calendar is backed up. Contacts syncronization is very straight forward with Address Book. You can manage individuals, companies, and groups right from the window. Rumor has it that Google is planning to release the API to Gmail and its contact management program, but until then, I’m happy.

One major advantage of having a Blackberry Pearl (8100) or the 8800 is that they have DUN or dial-up-networking built right in. This means that you can wireless “tether” your phone and its data-plan to your macbook and get internet on the road. For step by step instructions, check out my post “Macbook: Meet Pearl.” For those that feel confident without my instruction, just stroll over to Fibble.org forums for the latest script and support: HOWTO: Use your pearl as a bluetooh modem.

Another company, Brain Murmurs, developed similar software for the other Blackberry devices. For a $50 one-time fee, you can download Pulse and get wireless internet on your 8700g, 8700c, and 8703e.

Unfortunately, Missing Sync does not install blackberry software for you. This makes things like OS upgrades very difficult. That said, installing over WAP (wireless access protocol) is very easy and reliable. Because of this, I’m now going to provide a list of links to stuff I use on my handheld to get through the day. Everything following can be installed “OTA.”

• Gmail for Blackberry. This is free and offers great features like threaded conversations and google search. It supports Google for Domains, and works as a stop-gap for anything left out in Blackberry’s default mail software. Be warned that it is java and can be a little sluggish.
• Google Maps. This software gives you access to real-time traffic, detailed step-by-step directions, and satellite imagery. I use it on a daily basis, and paired with my Bluetooth GPS receiver means that there is no excuse to be lost ever again.
• AutoLock. Automatically lock your keyboard after the backlight turns off.
• SoftReset. This lets you run a softreset without having to take the battery out. Very handy.
• ColorPearl. This one is just for gimmicks, but a little know fact is that the 8100’s trackball LED has the ability to change colors. This feature is not included with the 8800 or the curve, but if you have a pearl like me, you can change the color to a couple presets, or insert your own HEX code and choose your own color. Find HEX values.

You can also find Blackberry downloads for a fee (sometimes with free trial) at Handango, and some great games from Magmic.

The bottom three downloads, autolock, softreset and color pearl were provided by independent developer Geek and Proud.

My personal theory is that Google hasn’t released the API’s to a lot of their services and don’t provide 2-way sync for the Blackberry because they are in the process of releasing their own handset. It is supposedly powered by Linux, features a touch screen, and may or may not provide ad-supported free internet access. I’ll be following the rumors as they come out, but rest assured that I will own one should it be true. Until then, I hope this guide helped you.