Your BlackBerry will happily operate on its own most of the time, pulling down email over its wireless connection and allowing you to run your applications and surf the web. However, there will be times when you need to hook it up to your desktop PC and when you need to make sure all of your data - not just email - is up to date.
If you are a business user, with a Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes server and the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) running, calendar and address-book data is pushed, wirelessly, to your BlackBerry handset.
If you access your work email, alongside your own P0P3 and IMAP email, via a BlackBerry Internet Server (BIS), only your mail is pushed to your device. If you want to get a copy of your address book and/ or calendar on to your BlackBerry from a desktop application, such as Outlook - and keep it up to date - you will need to install RIM's BlackBerry Desktop software and have a go at synchronising the data.
BLACKBERRY DESKTOP MANAGER
A CD containing the BlackBerry Desktop software is supplied with your new handset, but, the chances are, it will already be out of date - a reflection of the fact RIM regularly updates this desktop-sync program. So visit www.blackberry.com and download the latest version - it's free.
Once installed, BlackBerry Desktop will load in the background every time you switch on your PC and will spring into life as soon as you plug in your BlackBerry to the computer.
With this software, you can sync data - including calendars, address books, notes and to-do lists -from popular desktop applications, such as Outlook, on to your device. You can also decide how to deal with conflicts in the event that you enter the same information in your BlackBerry and desktop address book or calendar, thus ensuring the right version is kept and neither cancels the other out.
You can also use BlackBerry Desktop software to do a complete backup of your device, including any third-party applications you have installed. This is particularly handy if your device is lost or replaced because you can simply drop all of your data and software back on to the device, while your email settings will be handled by an over-the-air push from the BlackBerry server.
BlackBerry Desktop is also used for carrying out firmware updates and for updating the built-in applications on your handset. The first time you plug in your device, you will probably find the core applications are updated because these frequently receive small revisions to improve performance and correct any bugs.
BLACKBERRY MEDIA SYNC
One of the more fun aspects of installing BlackBerry Desktop software on to your PC is that it provides a plug-in that lets you sync music and video from Apple's iTunes on to your BlackBerry.
The Bold 9700, Storm2, Curve 8900, Curve 8520, Bold and Storm are all excellent media players, while the Bold also has surprisingly good built-in speakers,
so it makes sense to use it as an MP3 player or portable video player.
Your BlackBerry won't be able to play any digital rights managed (DRM) music or video files -basically, anything you actually bought via iTunes. However, normal MP3 files, as well as WAV, AAC and M4A files, will work on your handset, as wili music bought from the Amazon MP3 store, which can be managed in iTunes.
If you used another smartphone or PDA - such as a Palm or Windows Mobile device - before moving to a BlackBerry, you are probably using either Microsoft's Active Sync or Palm Desktop to keep those devices up to date. But that means your computer is expecting to sync with a certain type of handset and this doesn't always make moving to another device or platform very easy.
Thankfully, tools built into the BlackBerry Desktop software allow for an orderly migration of data, so you can move everything from your Palm or Windows Mobile device - including data not normally synched and only stored directly on those devices - on to your BlackBerry handset.
If you don't have access to a BES, there are third-party applications for over-the-air synching of data. The most common is SyncJe, which lets you synchronise the BlackBerry contacts, calendar and tasks with SyncML servers.
A plug-in installed on your desktop means data stored in, say, Outlook is kept in sync with a third-party SyncML server, which, in turn, communicates with your BlackBerry to enable wireless transfer of data that you would otherwise need to refresh over a USB-cable connection.
SyncML is a standard method to synchronise contact and calendar information between a handheld device (such as a mobile phone) and a computer. The specification includes support for push email, providing an industry-standard alternative to proprietary sync platforms such as the BlackBerry.
SyncJe costs between $40 and $70 (about £26 and £46) depending on which bundle you opt for and is available from blackberry.nexthaus.com .
In the main menu within each of the email mailboxes on your BlackBerry is an option 'Reconcile Now' - and it is among the more useful email management tools on your handset.
Reconcile Now tells the BlackBerry to synchronise any changes (new/deleted email, calendar, memos) with the server. Not everything on the BlackBerry reconciles at the same time; for example, new email and calendar entries have a higher priority than address-book changes because these are more likely to alter on a regular basis.
Using Reconcile Now will force all changes to be synched, regardless of their schedule. Obviously, this can cause additional load on the server if run at peak times, so use it only when needed.
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