Every day a new BlackBerry user is born and they may be coming from the feature phone world and have never before downloaded an app. If you’re a regular reader of BlackBerry Cool, you’re very familiar with the app downloading process, so feel free to skip the post or offer more helpful tips.
There are several ways to install software on your BlackBerry.
Option 1: Find a good site for software. Two good sources for apps are:
Then click on a link and download wirelessly or “Over the Air” also called “OTA”. You can also have the link emailed to you after entering your address into a web form on the software vendor’s or web store’s site. Another way is to type a web address directly into your BlackBerry web browser.
TIP: You may need to use the “Go To…” menu command in your Browser to type a web address.
Some sites ask you to enter your “Mobile Phone Number” – this is your BlackBerry phone number – in order to send you an SMS Text Message with the download link.
Option 2: Download a file to your computer then connect your BlackBerry to your computer and install it via USB cable connection or sometimes Bluetooth connection.
Option 3: (Only if your BlackBerry is connected to a BlackBerry Enterprise Server.) Your BlackBerry Server Administrator can “push” new software directly to your BlackBerry device. Using this option is both wireless and automatic from the user’s perspective.
Wirelessly Installing Software Directly from Your BlackBerry Over-the-Air (“OTA”)
The beauty of the wireless “Over-the-Air” (OTA) software installation is that you do not need a computer or CD, or even a USB cable to install new software.
To Install Software Wirelessly Over-the-Air (“OTA”):
To install software from your BlackBerry, as described above, you need to either click a link you received in your email or SMS text message or start the Web Browser and “Go To…” a web address where the software download files are located. In this example, we will use www.mobile.blackberry.com.
Navigate around the web site and click on a link for the software title you want to install.
Usually, a license agreement screen pops up. You must click “Accept” to continue with the download. The next screen to appear is the standard “Download” screen. This screen shows the name, version, the “Vendor” (software company), and size of the program. Below all this information you see a “Download” button to click on.
The progress of the download will be displayed in the center of the screen. NOTE: You may see a warning message that says something like: “WARNING: Application is not digitally signed. Do you want to continue? Yes or No”
You must click “Yes” to continue, but make sure this is software from a vendor that you recognize or have confidence that it is not malicious. Once the application is completely downloaded, a dialogue box pops up notifying you the download was successful. You may be given an option to “Run” the program.
Finally, if you clicked on “Run” you would start the newly installed software; clicking “OK” brings you back to the original web page where you downloaded the file. To exit to your Home Screen, press the ESCAPE key a few times. You will then see the new icon either on your Home Screen of icons, in the Applications sub-folder, or after you press the MENU key to see all your icons. Downloading and Installing Games and other Icons on your BlackBerry.
The BlackBerry can truly be a Multimedia Entertainment device. Sometimes, you might want to play a new game on your BlackBerry. While your BlackBerry may have come with a few games, there are many places on the Web where you can find others.
