If you’ve got a Blackberry and you’d like a little more specific information about your cellular signal strength than just the 4 little bars, you can actually change them to read the specific DB signal strength you are receiving.

• On the Home screen, hold ALT and press N, M, L, L…
• Repeat the above process to switch back to the “traditional” signal meter…

I included a photo of my modified screen to show you what it looks like. Just look over in the top right corner of the screen and you’ll see the -83. That currently equates to 3 bars at my house.

By the way, the screen I’m using can be found on my Free Themes and Apps for Blackberry post.

I just had to give up my Sprint powered PPC8800 for a Blackberry Curve 8310 so I could be on the communal rate plan and also have real-time Exchange access for e-mail at work. After doing so it forced me to do a lot of research on applications and ways to better my Curve.

I figured some other people are going to go looking for this info as well, so I’ve compiled what I learned here. Its not my most organized post, but there is a lot of information and I didn’t want to spend forever getting the post out. Hopefully if anyone knows of other cool, free stuff for the BB you’ll drop a comment below and let me know.
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I’ve been holding off on sharing this information, which is really mostly rumor and speculation, up to this point - but Google is supposedly readying the launch of a new cellular phone which will come GPS and have built in access to Google Maps, Gmail, Calendar and Docs.

Google previously bid for the FCC’s 700MHz wireless spectrum, one which could be used to operate a new Google cellular phone service, and as I previously reported they acquired GrandCentral (I handed out around 75 invites to the beta service), a unified messaging platform which provides “find-me, follow-me” service, voice mail, and other goodies.
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The attached recording demonstrates one method of negotiating lower rates with Sprint PCS - even while you are under a contract. I’ve heard anecdotal stories from others that similar tactics work with the other major US cellular carriers as well as cable providers, but I’m not aware of anyone else having actually recorded and supplied a methodology.

The reason for my call is obvious if you listen, but basically we were paying around $135 per month on average for two phones and we aren’t even heavy users. I saw lower cost rates online that include even more, so I called just to get my rates reduced.

There are a few general things to note and listen for during this recording (which has been slightly edited from the original to remove personal details and blank space). Read the rest of this entry »

Over the years I’ve collected a huge stack of business cards. This is primarily the case because I just don’t have the energy to either type them all in by hand or scan them into one of those card readers - which incidentally cost a couple hundred bucks.

So, imagine my delight when I discovered a free service which allows you to take a digital photo of a business card, e-mail or upload it and then have the contacts information automatically e-mailed back in Vcard format ready to import straight into Outlook!
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It’s amazing how much communication costs. If I add up my cellular bills, Internet bills and home phone service we’re looking at $250 a month! $3,000 a year is more than the average income of a family in 90% of the countries on earth. That is simply criminal!

Luckily, ever since the advent of the Internet those costs have been plummeting, and I would expect them to continue dropping until it costs almost nothing to talk to anyone, anywhere. (When wi-fi Internet has the same coverage as cellular networks all calls will be free!) For now, however, I’ve put together this handy little guide to help decrease the various costs associate with making phone calls.
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Finally! Rechargeable Batteries that don’t require a specialized recharging station! These new batteries from Moixa Energy plug directly into a USB port to recharge.

They come in all the standard sizes, and the company is working on additional batteries for specialized devices such as cell phones, PDAs, etc.
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Have you ever been at the bookstore browsing through a magazine and thought “I need to remember this article, but I don’t want to buy the magazine”? Well, in that case whip out your cell phone and snap a photo of the page.

scanR is a new service which allows you to e-mail in photos of documents and receive the back converted to PDF format.
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There aren’t that many phones that inspire such a loyal following that an entire discussion forum gets dedicated to them. But the PPC-6700 is one such phone. The PPC6700 Users Forum is overflowing with information on hacking, using and generally getting the most out of this all-in-one Phone / PDA.

I’ve had a string of combo devices including the Treo 600 & 650, but nothing has ever come close to the usefulness of the PPC6700. Here are a few examples of how I use my phone on a day to day basis:
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