Mon, April 14, 2008 — CIO — If you use your Research In Motion (RIM) BlackBerry's Bluetooth wireless connectivity, it's probably to connect to a hands-free headset or ear piece so you can drive or take notes during conversations, or a set of earphones to beam your latest tunes from your device sans wires. But did you know you can transfer files like photos, voice notes and songs from your BlackBerry to other compatible mobile devices using Bluetooth?

Over the past few weeks we shared our best BlackBerry keyboard shortcuts, our favorite free software downloads, offered up a handful of ways to extend your RIM device's battery life and published five advanced tips and tricks for all you BlackBerry experts. This week's Bluetooth file transfer technique can come in handy in areas with poor or no cellular coverage or when you need to get files off an old device which no longer has active cellular service.

You can transfer files between a wide variety of compatible mobile devices, but these instructions cover only BlackBerry-to-BlackBerry Bluetooth transfer. Generally, you need to be within a range of roughly 30 feet of another Bluetooth-enabled device to connect. (We used a BlackBerry Curve 8320 and a Pearl 8130, but this process will work for any 8800 series device, as well as a number of additional RIM smartphones.)

1) Enable Bluetooth Connectivity for Both Devices

From the BlackBerry icon screen, click Manage Connections and check the box next to Bluetooth.

2) Make the BlackBerry Devices Discoverable

Click Options on the devices' icon screens, and then select Bluetooth. From there, hit your BlackBerry Menu key—the one with the seven-dot RIM logo—and again click Options. Then set the Discoverable option to "Yes" and exit the menu by hitting Escape—the key directly to the right of the trackball on 8800 series devices. Don't forget to click "Yes" when a dialogue box asks you if you want to save the changes.