We all know that the BlackBerry is not the best mobile internet browsing solution, but it is definitely possible. I tend to only use my BlackBerry’s browser when I’m out and I need to look something up really quick. I usually just do mobile banking and Google search a few things. Using some of these tips will make internet browsing a bit simpler on your BlackBerry device.

Start Page:

My favorite of all browsers available for the BlackBerry is the native browser. It is stocked full of hotkeys and shortcuts that the other solutions seem to lack. First, open up your Browser application. Out of the box, your BlackBerry’s home page will be set to a carrier specific site. In order to change this, press the menu key, select Options, then Browser Configuration. Scroll to the bottom of the Browser Configuration page and you will see where to enter your home page address. Another option would be to point the browser to the page you want as your home page first, then pressing the Use Current button at the bottom of that page. If you don’t want your browser’s home page to be a web page you have the option to load the Start Page. This is usually the best option for quick Google searches.

Not sure how to visit different pages? Press the menu key and select Go To, or simply press “G”. This will pull up the Start Page and you can enter an address, view your history and bookmarks, and use the quick searches for Google, Yahoo, Live Search, Wikipedia, and Dictionary.com. If you visit a page and you want to share that page with someone else, press “P” or press the menu key and scroll down to Page Address. This gives you the option to either Send or Copy Address.

When the text is too small to read, and you’re not on a mobile dedicated site, you can simply press the trackpad/trackball/click screen when the cursor is in “white space” and the view will zoom in. Press the back key to zoom out. Another option is to take full advantage of the hotkeys RIM supplied you with and use “I” to zoom in, “O” to zoom out, and “Z” will take you through the zoom presets. If you’re tired of scrolling up and down to get to the top and bottom of the page, pressing “T” will take you to the top of the page, the space bar will take you down page by page, and “B” will take you to the bottom. A lot of the common browser functions have respective hotkeys to go along with them, I will include all hotkey functions at the end of this post.

Some of the third-party solutions for easier browsing on a BlackBerry are Bolt Browser, Opera Mini, and one that’s especially hard to get your hands on is Skyfire. Skyfire has been in the beta stage for a while. I had it on my 8330 a long time ago and it was still in an early beta phase. Right now there is no support for OS 4.5+ devices, and nearly impossible to get an invite, and to be honest I’m not even sure they’re still working on a BlackBerry browser. As for Bolt and Opera Mini, you either like them or you don’t. Both of them have come a long way since their first release and have done a good job in making browsing on your BlackBerry easier and faster. I just enjoy my hotkey functions too much and I like the way RIM has the browser setup. Like I said though, I don’t use my BlackBerry for browsing unless it’s an emergency or I want to Google search something really quick. So if you’ve used the BlackBerry native browser and aren’t satisfied, I would suggest trying out Bold and Opera Mini both before coming to a decision on which one to download.

Bolt can be found here, and Opera Mini can be found here. Simply point your native browser to one of these pages and there are download links on both pages. (Note: When downloading applications through the browser, the native browser will need to be used.)

BlackBerry Browser Shortcuts

A – Add Bookmark

B – Bottom

C – Connection Information

F – Find/Search For

G – Go To…

H – Home

I – Zoom In

K – Bookmarks

O – Zoom Out

P – Properties (Copy Address/Send Address)

R – Refresh

S – Options

T – Top

U – Fullscreen Toggle (Takes banner away or replaces it.)

V – Find/Search For

X – Zoom Standard

Y – History

Z – Zoom Presets

If anyone has any further questions, email me at taylor(at)bberrydog(dot)com. Sound off your opinions on the different options in the comments below! I want to hear your thoughts.