Mobile Device Setup
Using Google Apps With Your BlackBerry Mobile Device
Contents
Welcome to Mobile Device Setup
Download Google Apps For Your BlackBerry
Use Google Apps On Your BlackBerry
Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to Mobile Device Setup
Welcome to Mobile Device Setup! This guide is intended for users of a BlackBerry mobile device to use it with Google Apps for your domain.
This guide contains steps on how to install the Google Apps applications (Gmail and Sync) onto your BlackBerry device, and how to use them with Google Apps for your domain.
Important: Before you start
- Before you use Google Apps for your BlackBerry, be sure to disable the BlackBerry Device Manager on your computer. If you don't disable the application, this can cause problems with synchronization of your data.
- If you are uploading any personal contacts from your old account to Gmail, or calendar events to Google Calendar, we recommend you do that first, and then synchronize Google Apps with your BlackBerry once you've finished uploading.
- If you've already been using the Google Apps Calendar Sync tool to synchronize your old account with Google Apps, remove the Google Apps Calendar Sync from your computer. Otherwise, you may have data duplicated during synchronization.
Download Google Apps For Your BlackBerry
To begin using Google Apps with your BlackBerry mobile device, download the Gmail for BlackBerry and Google Apps Sync applications using your application browser.
If you have already downloaded and installed these applications, you can skip to the next section.
Note: Use the Gmail application instead of Messages for Google Mail. For other messages, such as voice mail and text messages, use the Messages application.
Download Google Mail Application
1. From the Internet Browser on your BlackBerry, go to
http://gmail.com/app
Note: The address http://www.gmail.com/app will not work. If your browser adds "www" at the beginning of the URL, press the
t key.
2. Scroll over the
Install Now link, the click the trackball/wheel and select
Get Link.
3. Select
Download, and click the trackwheel/ball. You will then see the message "The application was successfully installed".
4. Click
Run to start the application.
A message will appear "The application Gmail has requested a http connection to
www.google.com". Scroll down and click, "https connections to mail.google.com". Then select "Allow this connection".
5. The Gmail login screen will appear.
If prompted, enter your full email address and password and click
Sign In to verify that you can access your Google Apps Mail account.
Otherwise, click the menu button or the trackwheel and exit.
6. Verify you have the new GMAIL icon
on your BlackBerry desktop or in your Applications folder on your BlackBerry desktop. If you don't see the icon, you may be using a BlackBerry theme that hides the icon. Disable the BlackBerry theme to continue.
Congratulations! You've installed the Gmail application for the BlackBerry. Next, you will install the Sync application so that you can synchronize your Google Apps contacts and calendar information on your BlackBerry.
Download Google Calendar/Contact Sync Application
This application syncs contacts and calendar information between your BlackBerry and Google Apps.
Important:
Do not use the "Sync" option in the upper right hand corner of Google Calendar to synchronize with your BlackBerry. Follow these instructions to use the BlackBerry application instead.
To install the application:
1. From your Internet Browser on your BlackBerry, go to
http://m.google.com/sync
2. Scroll over the
Install Now link, then click the trackwheel/ball and select
Get Link.
3. Select
Download.
4. A message will pop up ‘ The application was successfully installed’. Select ‘OK’, click trackwheel/ball
Verify the new Google Sync icon appears on your desktop or in your applications folder.
If the icon is not there, you may be using a BlackBerry theme that hides the icon. Disable the BlackBerry theme to continue.
Use Google Apps With Your BlackBerry
Sign in to the Google Mail Application
Use Gmail instead of Messages to manage your Google Mail. Updates performed within Gmail will sync with your Google Mail. It takes about 15 minutes for new messages on Google Apps to reach your device.Offline access to emails is limited. Most unread messages for all conversations in the Inbox will be available, but messages that were read and then marked "Unread" will not. For those that you can access and reply/forward, responses will send once you turn the antenna on.
- Click on the Gmail icon on your BlackBerry. If you can’t find it on your BlackBerry desktop, look in the Applications folder on your desktop. (see FAQ if need help finding this).
- The Gmail screen will appear. Enter your email address and password.
- You will see the message, "Keep the mail on your phone safe. If your phone offers a PIN-locking feature we recommend using it." Select and click OK.
- If you see the message "The application Gmail has requested a http connection to www.google.com" scroll down and select "https connections to mail.google.com". Then scroll down and select "Allow this connection"
- Your Gmail Inbox will be displayed mirroring your Google Mail Inbox.
- Click the Back button to leave Gmail for now.
Run Calendar/Contact Sync
If you have uploaded any personal contacts from your old account to Gmail, or calendar events to Google Calendar, you can use the Sync application to upload this information to your BlackBerry.
After you sync, contacts will be visible in the Gmail application and in the Addresses application.
To run the Sync application:
1. Click on your Google Sync icon.
If you can’t find it on your BlackBerry desktop, look in the Applications folder on your desktop. (see FAQ if need help finding this).
2. Enter your email address and your password, select
SIGNIN, click trackball/wheel.
Once you log in, will get the "Welcome to Google Sync for mobile" screen, please read the text on the screen as you scroll down to the
"SYNC NOW" button and click trackball/wheel.
NOTE: The first synchronization takes longer than later updates if you have migrated email, and may take about twenty minutes to complete.
3. Next, check that your BlackBerry contacts are available in your Google Mail account. Log in to your Google Mail on your desktop, and click the
Inbox link on the left sidebar to reload your page. Select and click
Contacts and verify the list.
4. Go to
Gmail on your BlackBerry, press the Menu button or trackwheel and then click
Refresh from the popup menu to trigger an immediate sync.
5. Click Menu button or trackwheel, select
Contacts from the popup menu. This displays the Most Contacted List. Wait for
"Loading contacts" to complete. Depending upon how much emailing you have done so far in Google Mail you most likely will see
No Contacts or very few contacts listed.
Press the Menu button or trackwheel and select
All Contacts. You will see all the that you sync’d to Google Mail from your BlackBerry Address book.
Details of Using the BlackBerry Gmail Application
Using the Application
Use Gmail
to access your new Google Mail Inbox, not Messages.
- Open Gmail. You will immediately see your inbox. From here you can read and reply to emails. Changes can take time to update.
- Click the menu button or trackwheel for a menu of functions displayed that looks very similar to the functions on the left sidebar of your Google Email. All changes made with Gmail will sync with Google Email.
Menu Options
Menu options include the following:
| Menu Option | Function |
| Inbox | Display Gmail inbox.
Any changes here will be synced with your Google Email. |
| Outbox | Display Gmail outbox.
Any changes here will be syncedd with your Google Email |
| Mobile Drafts | Display draft messages.
Drafts are not syncedd with your Google Email. |
| Contacts | Display contacts.
Contacts also appear in your BlackBerry Address Book so that you retain an offline contact list. Changes made here will be synced with your BlackBerry Address Book and Google Apps Contacts. |
| More… | Opens a new page to filter for a specific set of email. Options include: |
| Search Mail | Search for a particular message.
Type your query. As you type, a list will appear with suggested search terms based on your history and similar popular search terms.
To use a suggested search term, scroll down and highlight it. You can then scroll right or start typing to edit it or select it to begin your search.
You can access your search history by scrolling down from the Search box when it is empty. |
| Compose Mail | Create a new email. See below for details. |
| Open | Open selected email. |
| Refresh | Trigger an immediate sync.
New messages will be sent and received immediately. |
| Archive | Archive selected email.
The message will not be deleted but will no longer appear in your Inbox. |
| Mark as unread | Mark the selected email as unread. |
| Add star | Flag the selected email with a star. |
| Report Spam | Mark the selected email as spam. |
| Delete | Delete the selected email. |
| Accounts | Add a new account or sign out of your current account. |
| Settings | Customize your Gmail client |
| Help | View online Help. |
| Exit Gmail | Exit Gmail application. |
Compose Mail:- Click Menu button/Click Trackwheel to display menu
- Select Compose Email
- In the "TO:" field, type the recipient's first or last name. As you type the name, a list of matching contacts appears. Scroll through the list and click trackball/wheel to select a name.
- For multiple recipients, type a comma after the first name and repeat the previous step for each name.
- Options: Click the menu button or trackwheel to display the options currently available:
Reply to or Forward Mail:
- Click on an email to open.
- Click the menu button/trackwheel to display menu to display available functions. Select Reply, Reply to All, and Forward.
Update Google Mail Immediately
- Click menu button/trackwheel.
- Select Refresh.
Accept or Decline Meeting Requests
Invitations will arrive as emails but there is no function available to accept or decline the invite. You can reply to the email, but your response will not appear in the meeting requester's calendar.
To accept or decline an invitation, use the Google Email application from a full browser.
More on using the BlackBerry Sync Application
Using Contacts
Contact information can be found in 2 places on the BlackBerry - within Gmail and Address Book. Address Book can be referenced when offline, the Gmail contacts cannot. Address info is the same in both locations since these are sync’d via Google Sync.
You cannot edit contacts from within Gmail.
You can initiate a phone call from the list of contact.
Find a Contact
- Press the menu button or click the trackwheel and select CONTACTS from the popup menu. The Most Contacted list is displayed by default
- To display the All Contacts list, click the menu button/trackwheel and select All Contacts from the pop up menu.
- Begin typing first or last name in the ‘Search’ field to narrow down the list to select from.
- Highlight name and click trackball/wheel.
- Highlight the email address, click trackball/wheel to begin composing an email to that person.
- Highlight a phone number, click trackball/wheel to initiate a phone call to that person.
- Highlight ‘Show recent conversations’, click trackball/wheel to find emails to or from this person
Synchronize Contacts
If you make a change to a contact in Google Email, and you can’t find it in All Contacts in Gmail, manually refresh contacts:
- Click menu button/trackwheel.
- Select Refresh.
- View All Contacts.
If you make a change to a contact in Google Email, and you can’t find it in the Address Book, run Google Sync:
- Click on the Google Sync icon.
- Click the menu button/trackwheel.
- Select Sync Now.
If a contact is deleted from the Address Book, it will remove the contact from both your Gmail contacts and your Google Email contacts.
Use Calendar
Use the standard BlackBerry Calendar application to manage your Google Apps calendar.
Select Calendar from the BlackBerry desktop.
Create new calendar events or change existing events in either your BlackBerry calendar or Google Apps calendar and have these changes synchronize to the other application.
When a change is made to the Calendar on the device, the Gmail Calendar Sync App client will sync with Google Calendar within 10 minutes of the change being made.
When no change is made, automatic synchronization happens ~ every two hours. The actual sync interval is a random time between 1h45m and 2h15m. This was designed to reduce peaks in traffic to our mobile sync service.
To trigger immediate Calendar Synchronization:
- Click on the Google Sync icon in your BlackBerry.
- Click the menu button/trackwheel.
- Select Sync Now.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find the new Gmail and Google Sync icons?
The Gmail icon and Google Sync icons typically download to your BlackBerry desktop. Scroll down to the end of these icons. Depending upon the model of your BlackBerry you may need to click on the Applications icon on your BlackBerry desktop and will find these icons in that folder. How do I move the new Gmail and Google Sync icons to a more accessible location?
The exact method depends on your model.
For Older models:
- Locate the icon
- Scroll over it
- Hold the ALT key while you click the trackwheel to display a popup menu
- Select MOVE APPLICATION and click trackwheel (you may see the works ‘Moving Application’ at the bottom of your screen)
- Scroll the trackwheel to move the icon to desired position
- Click trackwheel to save the move
For Newer models:
- Scroll your cursor over the icon you want to move
- Press the button to the left of the trackball.
- Select "move application"
- Using trackball move the icon to where you want it
- Click trackball to save the move.
Move from Application folder to your BlackBerry Desktop:
- Scroll your cursor over the icon you want to move
- Press the button to the left of the trackball.
- Select "move application"
- Using trackball move the icon to UP icon
- Click trackball to save the move.
- Return back to your desktop and now you can move the icons around on your desktop
- Scroll your cursor over the icon you want to move
- Press the button to the left of the trackball.
- Select "move application"
- Using trackball move the icon to where you want it
Click trackball to save the move.
NOTE: If you do not see the application, you may be using a theme that hides the application. To see the application, disable this theme.
What CONTACT fields synchronize with my BlackBerry?
GOOGLE SYNC can sync the following fields with your BlackBerry:
Title
First
Last
Job title
Company
Email
Work
Home
Mobile
Pager
Fax
Other
Work address
Home address
Notes
What shortcuts are available in Gmail?
Gmail Shortcuts
i – Inbox
/ - Search Mail
c – Compose Email
k – Newer conversation
j – Older conversation
+I – Mark as read
+u – Mark as unread
#,d,delete – Delete
s – Toggle Star
y – Remove from current view
e – Archive
m – Mute Conversation
! – Report Spam
z – Undo
+j – Next account
+k – Previous account
While viewing a list of conversations
o – Open
t – First Conversation
b – Last Conversation
While viewing a conversation
n – Next message
p – Previous message
o – collapse/expand message
r – reply
a,? – replay to all
f, . – Forward
t – First Message
b – Last message
u, backspace – back
Does Gmail let you accept Google Calendar invitations?
No not at this time because the Gmail Mobile App client does not support rendering of HTML email messages but it is something the Gmail Mobile App team is considering for the future.
Does Gmail support push email synchronization?
No. It refreshes every 15 minutes.
How often does Gmail check for new messages?
Every 15 minutes.
Can Gmail be configured to check email at a custom interval (eg 5 mins or 60 mins)?
No not at this time. The Gmail client was designed this way to conserve battery life. Our tests indicated that having a refresh interval of less than 15 minutes is a huge battery drain on the device.
How often does Google Sync refresh / update / sync with Google Apps Calendar?
When a change is made to the Calendar on the device, the Google Sync will sync with Google Calendar within 10 minutes of the change being made. If there are not changes, automatic synchronization happens about every two hours. The actual sync interval is a random time between 1h45m and 2h15m. This was designed to reduce peaks in traffic to our mobile sync service.
Can the user specify the sync interval for Google Sync ?
Not at this time
How do I access my emails offline?
Offline access to emails is limited. Typically the unread messages for all conversations in the Inbox will be available though this doesn’t seem to hold true if a message was read and then marked ‘unread’. For those that you can access and reply/forward, responses will send once you turn the antenna on.
What do I do if I see all my contacts list duplicated?
Improper setup, or synchronization failures, may sometimes cause a duplicate contact list. If this happens, see your administrator to troubleshoot the problem. You may need to wipe clear your BlackBerry and install all applications again.
