Earlier this week we released BlackBerry® Desktop Software v6.0 for PC! Several new features have been added with this release, such as BlackBerry® Media Sync and support for Microsoft® Outlook® 2010
With this new version now available for download, I’m here to walk you through the installation and initial configuration.

The first thing we’ll want to do when installing any software is to ensure that the computer we plan on using meets the minimum requirements of BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0. To identify these requirements, we will need to reference the BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 release notes. After reviewing the release notes and confirming your system meets the minimum requirements, proceed to download BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 for PC users by visiting http://www.blackberry.com/desktopsoftware.

Here’s an overview of the steps you will need to take:

1. Double click on the downloaded file to start the installation.

2. The installation wizard will now appear. Click Next to start the installation of BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0.

3. You will then see a prompt to specify the installation folder. Let’s use the default, which is C:\Program Files\Research in Motion\BlackBerry Desktop – then click Next.

4. The next screen that appears is a prompt asking us if we want to add an icon to the Windows® desktop for BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0. Let’s keep the default option again, which is to create this icon, and select Next to start the installation process. At this point, the installation will start as illustrated below.

5. Once the installation process has completed, a screen will appear asking us if we want to start BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 after we close the installation wizard. Let’s keep the default again, and click Finish to complete the installation and launch BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0. At this point, you may receive a prompt to restart your computer; if prompted, select Yes.

6. BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 is now installed and ready for use! If you had to restart during step 5, launch BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 by clicking the icon that was placed on your Windows desktop during installation.

At this point, all that’s left is do is connect your BlackBerry® smartphone to your PC. So grab your trusty USB cable and let’s get started!

Since this is a new installation of BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 – and thus the first time a BlackBerry smartphone is connected with this new installation – the “Add a New BlackBerry Device” wizard will appear automatically as illustrated in the screenshot below.

To use the wizard, simply click on Get started with this device to configure your BlackBerry smartphone and the following screen will appear. (If you just bought a new device and you want to copy all the data and settings from your old one, you’ll have the option to do so here. If you do not have access to a BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, select Don’t add the account at this dialog.)

The last screen in the Add a New BlackBerry Device wizard will prompt you to configure the various settings offered by BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0. Specify your desired options and click Finish to complete the “Add a New BlackBerry Device” wizard.

Congratulations! We have successfully installed BlackBerry Desktop Software 6.0 and configured our BlackBerry smartphone for use with it!

You can review the BlackBerry Desktop Software 6.0 User Guide to learn more about the included features and capabilities. This document will help you learn more about configuring organizer and media synchronization options.

Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback regarding your installation experience with BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 by leaving a comment on this post! Also, be sure to follow @BlackBerryHelp on Twitter for all your pressing inquiries.

Hi friends! I have exciting news today – BlackBerry® Media Sync for PC will now be included in BlackBerry® Desktop Software v6.0 (make sure to check out Andrey’s BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 post). This integration provides a consistent and unified experience between BlackBerry Media Sync and all the other great BlackBerry Desktop Software functionality. BlackBerry Desktop Software is now more lightweight, but packs a bigger punch!

Those of you familiar with BlackBerry Media Sync know that you can benefit from syncing your iTunes® or Windows® Media Player music stored on your computer with your BlackBerry® smartphone. On top of the new music sync options in BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0, users can also sync by selecting individual artists or genres in addition to playlists. There are a bunch of great new options for syncing different types of media. Let’s check them out!

Wi-Fi® music sync – anytime access to your entire desktop music library

This option is available on BlackBerry smartphones running the new BlackBerry® 6, and it’s totally cool. Have you ever sat in an airport lounge and wondered “now why didn’t I sync that song? I’ve got to remember to do this the next time I’m in front of my computer”…But the next time you are in front of your computer, you forget to do this again. If this has happened to you, you’ll appreciate the addition of Wi-Fi® music sync.

With Wi-Fi music sync, you get anytime access to your entire desktop music library even when offline (no Internet connection required). Not only can you view what music is on your BlackBerry smartphone, but you can now also see all your music not yet synced to your device that’s available on your computer (“Home Music”)! This means that you can select items for sync as well as create and edit playlists that will sync back with your computer next time you connect. Simply add music to the “Wi-Fi Music Sync” queue, and items in the queue will automatically get downloaded to your BlackBerry smartphone on the next Home Wi-Fi (or USB) connection to Media Sync.

I’ve been really having fun with this feature. For example, while sitting on the train last week, I decided to create a party playlist. I added a mix of music – some from my device as well as some from my home computer. The minute I got back home and walked through the door within my home Wi-Fi connection, my Party Mix automatically synced from my computer to my BlackBerry smartphone. I promptly hit play and enjoyed my new mix.

How is this possible? It’s simple – periodically, the metadata (album name, artist name & genre info) for your entire Home music library gets synced with the BlackBerry smartphone. These songs and playlists from your computer are then integrated in the Music application on your device. The songs not present on your BlackBerry smartphone can easily be identified as they appear dimmed (or ghosted) compared to the rest of your music. Within the Music application on your smartphone, your Wi-Fi Music Sync list displays the status of your songs and playlists, such as pending or downloaded, as well as the status of your connection with the BlackBerry Desktop Software.

It is easy to enable the Wi-Fi music sync feature. Simply click on Wi-Fi music sync from the Tools menu or Enable Wi-Fi music sync from Device Options -> Media. It is important to note though that this feature works only on the same Wi-Fi network as your computer running BlackBerry Desktop Software.

2-Way Video Sync

Similar to the addition of 2-way photo sync with the previous release, you can now sync your videos back and forth between your computer and your BlackBerry smartphone. Here’s how it works:

• Computer to BlackBerry smartphone – Transfer videos saved on your computer to your BlackBerry smartphone. Videos are optimized for playback on your device, allowing for storage of more videos on your BlackBerry smartphone without sacrificing quality and better viewing experience based on screen and file size.
• BlackBerry smartphone to computer – Transfer videos taken with and saved on your BlackBerry smartphone to your computer. This is a great way to back up your device videos for safe keeping and/or editing.

Users can also continue to enjoy 2-Way Photos Sync. Here’s how that works:

• Computer to BlackBerry smartphone – You can transfer photo albums that you have edited, organized, and saved on your computer to your BlackBerry smartphone. You can store a lot of pictures on your BlackBerry smartphone, as Smart Memory Management is designed to optimize your photos by reducing them to up to ~2% of the original size.
• BlackBerry smartphone to computer – Import photos taken with and saved onto your BlackBerry smartphone to your computer. This is also a great way to backup your photos for safekeeping or editing with your favorite photo management software.

I still love this feature, as I take a lot of photos with my BlackBerry smartphone and it’s great to know that I can sync these back with my computer quickly and easily. I also love taking photos that I have edited on my computer and syncing them to my BlackBerry smartphone to use as my device wallpaper.

BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 is available starting today, so existing BlackBerry Desktop Software users should start auto-update notifications later today. The rest of you can visit www.blackberry.com/desktopsoftware. Don’t forget to also check out www.blackberry.com/mediasync as well for specific BlackBerry Media Sync information.

Have any questions about BlackBerry Media Sync functionality? Please let us know by posting a comment.

iTunes is a trademark of Apple Inc.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted the BlackBerry® Desktop Software v6.0 sneak peek and officially kicked off our first-ever BlackBerry Desktop Software for Windows® limited public beta program. Your amazing feedback and comments on the post have been truly inspiring to both me and the teams working on the product!

Today, I have some more exciting news for you as well as a more detailed walkthrough of key user interface and feature changes in BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0. Read on to take a closer look at BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 and learn when it will be available on a PC near you!

Connecting a new BlackBerry® smartphone

Something that is one hundred per cent new in BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 is a very simple set-up wizard which you will see when you connect any of your current BlackBerry® smartphones for the first time with BlackBerry Desktop Software. This set-up wizard will help you to automatically transfer all your data and settings from your BlackBerry smartphone. It doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or expert – with just a few very simple steps, you will be fully set up and be able to run the new BlackBerry Desktop Software. Among other things, you can even give your BlackBerry smartphone a nickname and specify which tasks you’d like to be done automatically when connecting with BlackBerry® Desktop Software.

Summary and Device Options

As some of you have noted in your comments, the BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 layout and Device Summary are now much more similar to what many of you have seen and loved in our Mac version of Desktop Software. In addition to device information and an indication of when the BlackBerry smartphone was last synced or backed up, the summary screen also provides an easy way to kick off a new backup if you opted out of the automatic option, as well as the option to update your BlackBerry smartphone when updates become available.

Any settings configured during set up can be updated at your leisure from Device Options menu, also accessible now from the Summary:

New Interface to Add/Remove Applications and Configure Organizer Sync

As with previous versions of BlackBerry Desktop Software, you can manage applications to install BlackBerry Device Software-optional applications to your BlackBerry smartphone (like support for new languages), or remove any third-party apps you may not want to use anymore. Removing or adding an app is just a matter of clicking on the ‘+’ or ‘X’ buttons in the action column, and the Application Summary screen will be updated to reflect what will happen after you select ‘Apply’ for the changes.

Once your Organizer settings have been configured, the new user interface provides an easy way to control what specific data you would like to sync next time. In addition to previously supported organizer applications like Microsoft® Outlook® Express, Windows® Vista Address Book and Calendar, Microsoft® Outlook® 2003 and 2007, with BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 you can also sync with Microsoft® Outlook® 2010 (32bit mode).

Integrated BlackBerry® Media Sync!

All BlackBerry® Media Sync features are now integrated natively in BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0, with plenty of improvements and new features including Wi-Fi® Music Sync for BlackBerry® smartphones (with BlackBerry® 6). Vikram has covered the features of BlackBerry Media Sync 6.0 in detail in his great blog post, but here is a quick summary of the key enhancements:

• In addition to playlists, you can now also sync by artists or genres
• You can now sync videos from your computer to your BlackBerry smartphone and import new videos from your BlackBerry smartphone to your computer
• New pictures and videos can be automatically imported as part of autosync when your BlackBerry smartphone is connected

BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 is available starting today, so existing BlackBerry Desktop Software users should start getting auto-update notifications later today. The rest of you can visit www.blackberry.com/desktopsoftware. Post a comment and let us know what you think!

Mac is a trademark of Apple Inc.

Today I am very happy to share some exciting news about the upcoming BlackBerry® Desktop Software v6.0 release this summer. We did some major changes to the product inside and out, all to make it a true part of the overall BlackBerry® 6 experience. The first invitations to join our BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0 Limited Beta will start going out today to some of you who have already joined BlackBerry® Beta Zone. If you haven’t joined BlackBerry Beta Zone yet, sign up at www.blackberry.com/beta.

Stay tuned for more posts here at Inside BlackBerry from myself and Vikram, where we will dive into the detailed feature sets and user interface walkthroughs for all the new goodness we added in BlackBerry Desktop Software v6.0. For now, here are a few screenshots to give you an idea of the new look and feel of the software – let us know what you think!