Change Default Search to Bing in BlackBerry 7 Browser on Verizon & Other Carriers

 

We told you earlier this week that the BlackBerry 7 browser now allows you to add custom search engines and change the default search engine. What we couldn’t tell you back then is that this lets you bypass the Verizon and other carriers default setting of Bing as the default browser search option and set to to whatever you want like Google or even BerryReview. This is surprisingly easy in BlackBerry OS 7. All you need to do is follow these steps:

1. Open the web browser
2. Hit the menu button and select options
3. Click on Manage Search Engines
4. Hit the menu button and select New
5. Enter in the name (Google) and for the address copy and paste one of the following:
1. To search Google Mobile Search use: http://www.google.com/m/search?q=%s
2. To search BerryReview articles use: http://www.berryreview.com/index.php?s=%s
3. To search BerryReview Forum posts use: http://www.berryreview.com/forums/search.php?q=%s
   NOTE: The way this works is you simply copy the URL from a search you would normally use and notice where the URL has your search term.
6. You can then click on any of the available search engines to change your default search provider!

Let us know how it works for you!

   

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BlackBerry 6 Browser Search Bar Now Goes to Google Mobile Site!

Finally! Its amazing how the small things make such a big difference. Since RIM introduced the Google search bar in BlackBerry OS 5.0 (I think) it has always directed searches to the Google desktop site. For the last few days I have noticed it is finally going to the new Google Search page they just released for BlackBerry OS 6.0+ devices with WebKit browsers.

I cannot confirm if this is the case for those of you with devices earlier than OS 6.0 but if so let us know in the comments. Thanks Shaun for reminding me about the change. Both of us are not sure what finally changed and if it was on Google or RIM’s part. Either way I am MUCH happier now…

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Google Improves Search on BlackBerry OS 6.0 Devices!

FINALLY. I have been waiting for Google to finally get their act together and realize that BlackBerry OS 6 has a WebKit browser just like Android and iPhone. They just announced on their blog that they have revamped Google search and a couple of related properties for the BlackBerry OS 6 browser. The new interface is really slick and really enhances the experience. The only real problem is that RIM still seems to be sending us to the desktop search page from the browser search bar… Still I love the new autocomplete feature.

Here are the new features:

According to Google “These features and more are available on most RIM OS 6.0+ devices with WebKit browsers like the BlackBerry Torch and BlackBerry Bold 9780, and can be accessed in 20 languages across 70 countries.”

To check it out simply go to www.google.com from your BlackBerry with OS 6.0. You may need to clear your cache to get it to work.

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Easy BlackBerry Browser Bookmarklets – Create QR Codes or Search BerryReview & More!

For those of you who don’t know what a bookmarklet is here is a brief description. A bookmarklet is a small bit of JavaScript code stored in the URL of a bookmark in your browser that is designed to add functionality by clicking on it. I was thinking about this concept when I was at BlackBerry World and found it actually works in the new BlackBerry WebKit browser. While I would rather have more robust Browser addons like I mentioned yesterday this has spurred my interest for now.

Here are some of the bookmarklets I created so far with more to come soon. You simply hit the BlackBerry menu button while hovering on top of the link below and select “Add Links to Bookmarks.”

• Search BerryReview Popup Bookmarklet
• Search Google Mobile Popup Bookmarklet (instead of searching Google Desktop search like the browser does)
• Create a QR Code for the website address you are currently looking at using SnapMyInfo

There are limitations though that annoy me like not being able to save a bookmarklet to the homescreen but I plan on creating many more. The possibilities are endless from a “Subscribe in Google Reader” bookmarklet to a “highlight specific text or searching Wikipedia inline.

There are billions of bookmarklets our there online from Evernote to everything else you can think of. Share the ones you find or need help with in the comments!

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