After a week of vacation, we’re back. Everyone, I’m sure, has experienced this in the past. You’re on a phone call, and someone asks you for contact information. In the days of flip phones, the most common response was, “Sure, I’ll text it to you when we hang up.” But smartphones should be able to do more. And, really, they can. You can easily access your BlackBerry contacts while you’re on a call. It used to be easier, but you can still do it in relatively few steps with OS 7. In previous versions — I can’t remember if it was in OS 6, but I know it was in OS 5 — you could access your contacts right from the call screen. You just press the Send button, and it brings up your call log. Hold down Send, and it brings up your address book. Why this is no longer included with the newer OS versions I have no idea. It was frustrating to recently test the feature and realize that it no longer works. With the most recent OS versions, there are call options right on the screen. You can add a participant, go to speakerphone, flash the call, or mute it using the buttons on the bottom of the screen. It would be great if they added an option for Contacts, since it’s a pretty common feature. You can still get to your contacts, of course. While on a call, press the Escape key, and then select OK when prompted to leave the call screen and bring up the home screen. From there you can do pretty much anything, including bringing up your contacts. The call remains in place. To return to the call screen, just tap the Send button from any screen.
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How does this work on a touch screen phone? It would be nice if future tips could also state the process for touch screen phones as well.