The BlackBerry Patch

Now that you are an expert with Blackberry keyboard shortcuts (or, if not, read the previous BlackBerry Patch post to become an expert), you’ll want to continue to personalize your BlackBerry. An ideal BlackBerry experience is one that expresses your personal taste.

First, you can arrange the icons on the BlackBerry home screen so the applications you use most often are easier to access. To move an icon, hold the ALT key down and click the trackball or scrollwheel (depending on what type of BlackBerry you have). A menu will appear; select Move Icon, scroll to the location you would like the icon to reside, and click again.

Repeat these steps for each icon you would like to move.

Changing the theme (e.g., background, icons, and fonts) can provide the personalized feel you are looking for. On the home screen, locate the Options icon (it looks like a wrench, and may also be located under the Settings folder) and click to open. Scroll down to Theme and click again to open the theme settings. The BlackBerry has a couple of pre-delivered themes. Highlight the theme you would like to try, click, and select Activate from the menu. The new theme will be applied to the Blackberry. Press the Escape (or Back) key to return to the home screen to review the new look on your BlackBerry.

For the more adventurous folks, additional free themes can be downloaded from http://mobile.blackberry.com/ under the Fun & Games section. Once a theme has been downloaded the steps above will need to be followed to apply the new theme.

Finally, changing the wallpaper for the device is a great way to personalize it. The BlackBerry will have some built-in pictures to select from under either the Pictures or Media icon (depending on the version of OS and device). Once you find a picture you would like to set as the wallpaper, you can click on it and select Set As Home Screen Image. Now, you can escape back to the home screen and you will have the new image on your home screen background.

If you have a built-in camera, you can simply take the picture you would like to have as a wallpaper and follow the steps above. If you don’t have a built-in camera, don’t feel left out. You can email yourself the picture. When you open the picture attachment, (be patient, it may take a minute to download) and click, one of the options is Save Image. Click on it. A dialog box will open asking you where to save it on the device. The default is location is fine but you can set the image as the wallpaper by checking the box next to Set as Home Screen Image then click on the Save button.

Have fun customizing your BlackBerry!