BlackBerry For Dummies®

Chapter 9. Too Cool for E‐Mail

In This Chapter

• Sending PIN‐to‐PIN messages

• Using Short and Multimedia Messaging Service (SMS)

• Setting up and using Instant Messenger (IM)

• Figuring out messaging etiquette

Your BlackBerry is primarily a communication tool, with e‐mail messages and phone conversations as the major drivers. Being the social creatures that we are, however, we constantly come up with new ways to communicate — ever more ways to overcome the distance barrier, as it were. You shouldn't be surprised that the folks at RIM have moved beyond e‐mail and phoning in their search for other ways to communicate. (And we're not talking semaphore or stringing together two tin cups.)

Not that we're dismissing the power of phones and e‐mail. Both are wonderful technologies, but you might find yourself in a situation where other means of communication would be more appropriate. For instance, e‐mail isn't the tool of choice for instant messaging/chatting — most people would find that method slow and cumbersome. Nor is e‐mail the best tool to use when you want to alert someone.

“What might be a better fit?” you ask. Read this chapter to find out. You can familiarize yourself with some less obvious ways you can use your BlackBerry to communicate — ways that might serve as the perfect fit for a special situation. You get the inside scoop on PIN‐to‐PIN messaging and text messaging (also known as Short Messaging Service, or SMS). We also give you tips on how to turn your BlackBerry into a lean (and ...