[just4747]

Hey everyone, I just got a Blackberry Curve 8330 (OS is v4.3.0.127 I think)on VZW the other day and I'm lovin' it as well as this site. I came from a Treo 650 and this is a world of a difference..the PDA is nice and light and small (although I will miss the touch screen/stylus at times) and it is very useful and stylish.
Still learning some of the advanced things and I therefore have a few questions that maybe someone can help me clear up..I'm sure a lot of other people could benefit from answers to these as well. I searched but there's just so many results on so many different sites that it's hard to find exact answers for my specific BB model..so here we go, bare with me:

1. I was reading the 83xx theme installation instruction thread (here) and it mentions that the themes should be .alx files for 83xx phones, yet all the themes I see here for the 83xx ones are .jad files only for OTA install, (which works fine) but I was wondering where these .alx version of some themes are for use with the Desktop Mgr and the USB cable (just curious).

2. How come I delete new mails from Hotmail when I receive them on my BB phone, but sometimes they don't delete in my actual Hotmail inbox when I go check it on a computer?? It's set to delete on both...I don't get it? Every few e-mails I receive and delete from the BB, this seems to happen...

3. Somewhat related to the previous question, is there any way to set e-mail filters if you aren't on an Enterprise Server? Also, is there ANY way to have your Hotmail Junk E-mail folder get sent to your BB as well? It seems that messages in Junk E-mail folders do not get sent to BB devices (because sometimes you get e-mails in there that you need and that don't belong in the Junk folder).

4. Is there ANY possible way to have the keyboard stay lit up all the time? I know the light sensor thing can be useful for ease-of-sight and maybe power saving, but I'd rather have it lit up with the screen backlight all the time and never shut off or dim when I'm using the phone (I know this is not a regular option anywhere on the phone that I can find).

5. I realize that you have to actually close an app or menu in the phone to have it not be running in the background (seen in the Alt+Escape menu), but is there any way to set the phone to actually just close out of the program like most would think it would do just by hitting the end button or by not actually closing the program everytime (basically not having to bring up the menu and clicking close everytime..can be annoying)?

6. The only site I found a download of a BB version of AIM (to have the app with the icon right on the BB desktop) seems to say that it is not compatible with my device. Is there anywhere to get AIM on my desktop for my phone?

7. Is there any keyboard shortcut or quick way to dim the backlight at a moment's notice and vice versa like the Treos do?

8. Do the 8330s have the possibility for the extra trackball colors like the Pearls do, or not possible?

9. Is it just my BB that does this, or more of you?...most of the times when I'm holding the device and typing with both hands or clicking the trackball, I can feel the battery cover on the back being pushed in slightly from the force of my fingers pushing against the back of the phone in order to type..makes it feel flimsy and cheap and I wish the cover were more solid and set in place when the need for your fingers to push against it comes up.

10. Is there any way to make the phone's regular call log display the time and date and length of a call if you have it set to not receive call logs as messages? If you cannot view this information on the regular non-message form of the call log, that's pretty ridiculous.

11. Is there any way to make the screen light up when a text, e-mail, or mms is received like on most phones? It just makes the sound/vibrates but stays black...kinda weird.

12. Although I have auto-dimming off and screen brightness set at 100%, every once in a while the screen will light up even brighter than normal and then dim back to normal (or even darker than normal, hard to tell at the time). Can anybody explain this? Basically it's changing brightnesses sometimes even though it definitely should not be. I think I've read of a similar situation before as well so it's not just me.

13. Is it just me or is there no way to silence the phone sounds at one's will? Like a quiet mode (not just the ringer)..like whether it is in normal, quiet, vibrate, etc.. modes, it still plays music out loud when you use the mp3 player, it still makes the camera shutter noise, as well as a few other sounds I think. Is there any way to have a silent mode?? Also, is there any way to disable the camera shutter noise permanently?

14. Are there keyboard shortcuts to lock the keyboard and/or phone?

I'm sure I'll think of more questions soon, but for now I would appreciate any help with the above ones. Thanks so much and be gentle...I tried to figure them all out before-hand!

[John Clark]

1. Many themes don't come with a DM version. They're just OTA.
2. Not sure why all your deletes aren't reconciling.
3. The only emails that get sent to your BB are your Inbox.
4. Install the app called BBLight from this thread.
5. Nope, you've already figured it out. The "end" key always takes you to the homescreen while leaving the app running. The "esc" key usually closes the apps but not always.
6. I HIGHLY recommend JiveTalk. It's worth the $29! Trust me.
7. No.
8. No.
9. Use a small piece of a business card between the battery and the battery cover to tighten it up. It works.
10. Go to your Messages. Hit the menu key and select "view folder." Select Phone Call Logs. That's the only way. There are some other settings for call logs in the phone settings you can mess with too.
11. See answer to #4.
12. This is normal. You can turn this off under Options >Screen/Keyboard >Automatically Dim Backlight but you may not get full bright when in sunlight.

Welcome to BBF!

[just4747]

Hey John, thanks for the answers!
A few things:
Did you have an answer to #13 and #14 that I added?
Also, in number 12 I had mentioned that I already had auto-dimming off and that it still dimmed a few times or even got brighter than the normal 100% brightness, which is weird and doesn't seem normal. Thanks!
ALSO, isn't there a free AIM for an 8330 somewhere? And not just an internet link, but an app with an icon and everything like the Yahoo Messenger one is.

Anyone else have any answers to the ones he could not help me with?

[John Clark]

13. There is no way to silence the camera sound. Music will always play out loud unless you have a headset plugged in.

14. Press the green Phone button >Options >General Options >Set Dial From Home Screen to "No." Then you can use the "k" key to lock the keyboard and there are many other keyboard shortcuts.

All your questions have been answered many times on this forum. Using the Search button will help you immensly.

[zerog46]

# 13 can't silence the shutter, you can put the BB on Vibrate in the profiles settings.

# 14 is the K key.

[pheng617]

13. Is it just me or is there no way to silence the phone sounds at one's will? Like a quiet mode (not just the ringer)..like whether it is in normal, quiet, vibrate, etc.. modes, it still plays music out loud when you use the mp3 player, it still makes the camera shutter noise, as well as a few other sounds I think. Is there any way to have a silent mode?? Also, is there any way to disable the camera shutter noise permanently?

Im not quite sure because i put the phone on silent but my game sounds still play. Because the mp3s play outloud are you using it on handheld?

14. Are there keyboard shortcuts to lock the keyboard and/or phone?
Top left there is standby but there are also settings to make your phone automatically lock with a password to access. options > SEcurity options >General Settings > make a password and set the security time out

[just4747]

For locking the device, is there a keyboard shortcut that does it when it is set to "Dial from homescreen"? Cause K doesn't work in my case since that option is on.

Also, does BBLight actually affect the Keyboard light too, or just the screen backlight? The keyboard still is unlit most of the time when I just tried the app now. Not much info on it's functions.

[John Clark]

No. The only way to get homescreen shortcuts is to turn off dial from home screen. If you turn it off, just hit the green phone button before dialing. No big deal. There are lots of shortcuts. "M" for Messages, "N" for BBMessenger...etc. Grab a copy of Stinsonddog's Tips from my signature.

[just4747]

awesome, thanks guys!

any more input from anyone? keep it comin!

[John Clark]

Seriously....This will help:

BlackBerryForums.com : Your Number One BlackBerry Community - Search Forums

[zerog46]

Ya read this, it's great...Stinsonddog's Blackberry Tips

And this...BlackBerry FAQ - BlackBerryFAQ

[just4747]

Yeah I've read those before as well as countless threads in numerous forums..just never found some of those answers before. Thanks for the links and answers thus far though.

Still looking for a way or an app that keeps the keyboard lit up at all times that the screen is on. BBLight doesn't seem to affect the keyboard backlight's auto-off feature which cannot be changed in the BB options. I just don't get why the keyboard light should ever not be on when the screen is on..makes no sense to me and I know it is not that much of a power-saving feature since no other smartphones are forced to do that usually.
I just find it a hassle to have to cover the screen in darkness everytime I want the keyboard lit up, otherwise it looks like the keyboard just came with no light behind it, lol. Hmm...

[John Clark]

It's a battery saving feature. There is no control over the keyboard light. The sensor is in the same opening as the led notifier at the top right. BBLight does all I need it to. It's had some great updates in the last week, too. It hasn't had updates in years. I wouldn't worry about the keyboard light.

[just4747]

not worried about it, just prefer to not have to cover the screen to light it up and that it is on with the screen no matter what...sometimes its even unlit when it's too dark and the backlight is needed! Weird choice of design but oooh well lol.

[John Clark]

Good battery life is important to RIM because it's important to us. I need my device to last the day under heavy use. Having the keyboard lights off save quite a bit of power.

[just4747]

That is true and a good point, BUT you have to admit that it would have been most likely simple for RIM to add the option to change how the keyboard lights up...easy. Then people with different preferences can be happy, period. Nothing wrong with that idea but it's too late now for this model so whatev.

[John Clark]

We're just lucky we can still change the automatic backlight! They took that away for awhile, too, back when OS 4.2 first came out.

[just4747]

Yeah I heard, that must've sucked haha...I wasn't introduced to the BB world yet so I never experienced it. Which brings me back to wondering why my screen brightness still changes to a dimmer one ever-so-often even though the auto-dim is off..as stated in my question #12. When it does this it usually goes back to normal shortly after, I just don't understand why it would change at all since auto-dim is off, any ideas?

Also, when adding apps to the BB using the Application Loader in the Desktop Mgr, is it installing them to the device memory every single time? If adding a lot of themes and games, isn't it going to fill up quick? Is there any way to move these downloads to the memory card instead when uploading with the Application Loader/Desktop Mgr?

[Thatzmister2u]

Originally Posted by just4747

Yeah I heard, that must've sucked haha...I wasn't introduced to the BB world yet so I never experienced it. Which brings me back to wondering why my screen brightness still changes to a dimmer one ever-so-often even though the auto-dim is off..as stated in my question #12. When it does this it usually goes back to normal shortly after, I just don't understand why it would change at all since auto-dim is off, any ideas?

Also, when adding apps to the BB using the Application Loader in the Desktop Mgr, is it installing them to the device memory every single time? If adding a lot of themes and games, isn't it going to fill up quick? Is there any way to move these downloads to the memory card instead when uploading with the Application Loader/Desktop Mgr?

1.) Yes, it is light sensitive. Darker when it's dark out so it won't blind you and lighter when it's bright out so you can see. You can disable in Meni>options>screen/keyboard

2.) Yes. It always to the device. Themes are huge and you will quickly run into space issues and you will be asking why I am I losing my call logs and messages. Be prudent!

Enjoy your device!

E-

[just4747]

Originally Posted by Thatzmister2u

1.) Yes, it is light sensitive. Darker when it's dark out so it won't blind you and lighter when it's bright out so you can see. You can disable in Meni>options>screen/keyboard

2.) Yes. It always to the device. Themes are huge and you will quickly run into space issues and you will be asking why I am I losing my call logs and messages. Be prudent!

Enjoy your device!

E-

Lol but I mentioned numerous times that the auto-dim is ALREADY disabled and it still has dimmed a few times since I got the phone last week.