All of the How-To Resources for BlackBerry Z30 and Q5, So You Can Take Advantage of our Huge Spring Sale

If you’ve visited Inside BlackBerry at all over the past week or so, you’ve likely gotten wind of our ShopBlackBerry Spring Sale – now extended until 11:59 PM PST on Friday, May 8^th.

We’re offering the unlocked BlackBerry all-touch Z30 for an incredibly low $229 in the United States, while an unlocked Q5 will barely make a dent in your pocketbook at a mere $149. (BlackBerry Passport and Classic smartphones are also on sale, too.)

(Prices and discounts may vary by country.)

In light of that, I wanted to round up some info from the blogs and elsewhere to ease pulling the trigger, with some of it summarized here and the rest with handy-dandy links so you can go right to the source.

(Read how you can save up to $1,000 over two years with an unlocked phone like the Z30 or Q5, and check out our overview on how to swap SIM cards and switch carriers on your unlocked BlackBerry devices.)

Both are excellent mobile productivity machines – so let’s take a look.

A Wealth of Productivity Features at Bargain Prices

As I stated in my customer reviews snapshot, the BlackBerry Q5, available in white from ShopBlackBerry, gives you that unmatched BlackBerry physical keyboard and a bright 720 x 720 screen with a super-clear 329 pixels per inch.

The BlackBerry Z30, available in black at up to 50% off regular price on ShopBlackBerry, is a love letter to all-touch lovers searching for compelling features, from its 5-inch HD screen, 4G LTE connectivity and HDMI-out port to the 25-hour battery life and premium build.

Both pack the full BlackBerry OS 10.3.1 experience, loaded with features including BlackBerry Blend, the BlackBerry Hub, and so much more.

A great place to start if you’re considering picking one up one of these devices is either the BlackBerry Q5 User Guide or the BlackBerry Z30 User Guide, both of which provide a comprehensive overview and how-to walkthrough.

After giving those a look, read THIS ARTICLE on all the tweaks and improvements which come along with the BlackBerry 10.3.1 OS update, including the Amazon Appstore offering a huge selection of top-shelf Android apps, updated keyboard and touchscreen shortcuts, and the world’s best mobile productivity tool set.

All the Tools You Need

What makes BlackBerry 10 OS so good?

Features including:

• BlackBerry Blend, which seamlessly brings messaging and content that’s on your BlackBerry smartphone – no matter where it is in the world – to your computer and tablet;

• BlackBerry Assistant, which allows you to manage your work and personal email, contacts, calendar and other BlackBerry 10 features through simple voice and text commands;

• the BlackBerry Hub, which allows you to quickly organize and action your inbox without having to go into each individual email, BBM, SMS message or calendar invite;

• and the BlackBerry Calendar with its Meeting Mode option, a new weekly agenda view, and more.

Additionally, you can boost your battery life by up to 15% by customizing your Power Saving Profile, enjoy upgraded camera software, and dig into enterprise applications such as BBM Meetings, which combines a mobile-optimized user experience that allows on-the-go professionals to schedule, host and participate in meetings anywhere you have an internet connection.

Who Doesn’t Love Tips and Tricks?

While there’s a certain satisfaction that comes from discovering things on your own, being able to dive right in with some timely pointers will help you cut through your to-do list like a hot knife through butter.

First up, there’s an excellent intro video for the BlackBerry Q5 that’ll have you flying around the device in short order:

…and we have an entire Q5 “how-to” playlist, which you can check out here:

There’s one to help you quickly get up to speed with the Z30’s interface:

…and here’s the “how-to” playlist for the Z30:

Easing the Upgrade from BlackBerry OS to BlackBerry 10.3.1

Upgrading from an older BlackBerry device?

Check out this tutorial video, which will show you how to migrate your data via BlackBerry Link:

Or, you can use the Device Switch app, which can transfer the following types of data:

• Contacts
• Calendar
• Email accounts (If your new device is running BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.3.1 or later, the Device Switch app is designed to detect existing accounts on your device. You must enter the passwords for each account.)
• Documents
• Pictures saved to your phone’s built-in storage
• Videos (non-DRM)
• Music (non-DRM)
• Notes
• Data saved to a media card

If you switch your media card to your new device, you can transfer the data that is saved on the media card.

Switching from iPhone or Android to BlackBerry 10.3.1 with the Device Switch App

You can also use the Device Switch app to switch from an iPhone or Android device to the Q5 or Z30.

In this case, the following types of data can be transferred when you use the Device Switch app:

• Contacts info
• Calendar info
• Pictures
• Videos (non-DRM)
• Music (non-DRM) (After you use the Device Switch app to transfer your device data, you can use the Device Switch Music Transfer app to add iTunes music from your computer to your device.)

Ready to Make the Jump?

There’s enough here to get you started if you decide to make the jump.

Hurry while there’s still time, since the ShopBlackBerry Spring Sale – running from now until 11:59 PM PST on Friday, May 8^th – doesn’t last forever.

Whether you want the click-click of the Q5’s precision hardware keyboard, or prefer the all-touch experience of the Z30’s amazing Blackberry virtual keyboard, you can’t go wrong!

Tell us which device you grabbed in the comments below, or share your favorite stories about these devices – we’d love to hear them.