Quick tip: Set your Convenience Key

Do you use voice dialing on your BlackBerry? Most people I’ve talked to do not. So what’s the up with the convenience key on the side of your BlackBerry? I’ve talked to many people who think it’s just a useless feature. That is, until I let them know you can use it for a number of functions. I’ve been using it for Vlingo, but that’s not all you can do with your convenience key. To edit the function of your convenience key, go to Options, and then select Screen/Keyboard. Scroll down, and you’ll see “Convenience Key Opens:” followed by, most likely, “Default (Voice Dialing)”. Click in the trackball, though, and you’ll see a ton of options. For Vlingo, mine is set to “Nothing.” However, you can find plenty to do with that key if you’re not a fan of the voice recognition software. It can open basically any application on your phone, just with a click of the key. The most useful one I’ve found is Keyboard Lock. I use that thing constantly, and I’m sure many of you who store your BlackBerry in your pocket do as well. Warning for Vlingo users: This will not work with you. Your convenience key is tied to Vlingo. But hey, maybe they’ll allow you to lock the keyboard with your voice eventually.

About the Author

Joe Pawlikowski is the Senior Editor at MobileMoo.com and has been covering the mobile industry full time since 2007. When he's not writing about the tech scene, he can be found discussing his personal love - baseball (and more specifically the New York Yankees) as well as writing on his personal blog.