Section 54. About the BlackBerry Phone
54. About the BlackBerry Phone 1 About the BlackBerry User Interface 55 Make and Receive Phone Calls 58 Manage the Speed Dial List 59 Take Advantage of Smart Dialing 60 Work with Call Logs 61 Tweak Phone Options The BlackBerry 7100 series device is designed from the ground up to supplement BlackBerry's robust text-messaging features with mobile phone features that rivaland in some ways surpasspopular mobile phones. Although there are a few notably missing ingredients in the BlackBerry phone, such as voice dialing and Bluetooth synchronization support, the mobile phone features of the 7100 still make it an incredibly useful multipurpose device that is as much handheld computer as it is mobile phone. What sets the 7100 apart from most other mobile phones and handheld computers is its form factor, which rests clearly in the middle of these two ends of the mobile divide. The screen is considerably larger than that of most mobile phones yet smaller than most handheld computers; although it has a less-than -full QWERTY keyboard, it has more keys than a typical numeric phone keypad. Some of the hardware phone aspects of the 7100 are conveniently hidden to help streamline the device. For example, the handset speaker is cleverly concealed under the shiny chrome metal piece along the top front of the device and the microphone is hidden from view in the keyboard. Even though the BlackBerry 7100 keyboard is not a full QWERTY keyboard, it simulates a full keyboard with its predictive SureType typing technology. A few other hardware features fit into the compact form factor of the 7100 device and help give it the feel of a traditional mobile phone. More specifically , there are familiar Send and End keys for making and ending phone calls. The trackwheel and Escape button also enter the picture with the 7100 phone by allowing you to change the volume (scroll the trackwheel) and navigate through software phone screens (the Escape button backs out of a screen). Additionally, a large speakerphone speaker is located on the back of the device that drives the speakerphone feature of the device, as well as a headphone jack along the upper-left edge of the device for plugging in a wired headset. The compact form factor of the BlackBerry 7100 series device allows it to play the role of mobile phone without feeling too big and clunky .  After you are comfortable with the hardware design of the BlackBerry 7100 series device, you can move on to assessing the software it uses. The phone in the 7100 device is a software application that functions much like any of the other standard BlackBerry applications. The Phone application is launched directly from the Home screen and is easily identifiable on most 7100 series devices thanks to its telephone icon. You use familiar screens, menus , and other BlackBerry user interface components to set phone options and use the Phone application. In fact, one of the most interesting aspects of the 7100 device is that you can use other applications on the device while talking on the phone. So, if you need to reference a text message or perhaps the calendar while on a call, you can simply jump over to the Messages application or the Calendar application. To do this, you must first navigate from the phone back to the Home screen by clicking the trackwheel, selecting Home Screen from the menu that appears, and clicking again. From there, you're free to do anything you would normally do with your device when not on a callwhile still staying connected with your call. Although you can compose messages while you're talking on the phone, the messages won't actually be delivered until the call ends. When not on a call, you can query the device to find the current phone status, which consists of your mobile phone number, the amount of time spent in the previous call, and the total amount of call time the device has experienced . To view the phone status, click the trackwheel in the Phone application, select Status from the menu that appears, and click once more. The Phone Info screen is displayed and shows the current phone status. The Phone Info screen allows you to view your phone number, the duration of the last call, and the total call minutes. The call timers displayed on the Phone Info screen can be reset so you can track phone usage from a particular point in time. To reset the call timers, open the Phone Info screen by clicking the trackwheel in the Phone application, selecting Status from the menu that appears, and clicking once more. Click again to open the Status screen menu, select Clear Timer or Clear All Timers from the menu that appears, and click once more. The Clear Timer menu command clears only the selected timer; Clear All Timers clears both call timers. After clearing the timers, click the trackwheel, select Save from the menu, and click again to save the changes. You can feasibly use the main call timer ( Total Calls ) to track phone usage as a business expense. I realize that mobile phone bills typically itemize the minutes in phone usage, but you could make expense reports a bit easier to manage by clearing the main call timer when you embark on a business trip. Think of it as a trip odometer for your phone. Although clearing a call timer might not be something you need to do often, there is another feature of the BlackBerry 7100 I hope you never have to use. I'm referring to the ability of the phone to make emergency calls. What is interesting about this feature is that your phone is equipped to make emergency phone calls regardless of whether the SIM card is inserted or the wireless radio is turned on. If the keyboard is unlocked, you can simply dial the emergency number (911, for example) and press the Send key. If the keyboard is locked, click the trackwheel, select Emergency Call from the menu that appears, and click again. Then click Yes to confirm that you want to make an emergency call. The idea behind the emergency call feature on your phone is to allow you or someone else to use the phone in an emergency, even if the phone is locked to prevent access. As an example, if you are in an accident and are unable to use your phone, a passerby could use your phone to make an emergency call and assist you. One last phone feature worth pointing out is voice mailor at least how to access it. Every wireless provider is free to implement its own specific voice mail system. However, regardless of how your specific voice mail system works when you access it, connecting to voice mail from your device is consistent across all 7100 devices. Just hold down the 1 key ( E R key) from the Home screen or from within the Phone application, and you will be connected to voice mail. |
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