So far I’ve covered setting up my mobile office and how I use the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet for presentations, but another powerful use case of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is to support collaboration.

The first in my arsenal of collaboration tools is Adobe® Connect. Simply attending a hosted Adobe Connect meeting isn’t the only thing you can do; it also allows for a variety of other features. If allowed by the host, you can turn on video and audio and utilize the camera to attend the meeting via video and audio. I’m also able to chat with anyone that is in attendance. You can send a message to the host, presenters or attendees, and if you touch and hold on an attendee’s name, you can start a private chat.

Wait, did the host just ask a polling question? No problem – the polling feature works from your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and even displays the results. I’m also able to utilize pinch to zoom on the slides if I want to focus in on some text or a picture. As you can see above, it is nicely set up into quadrants with the ability to bring each function to the full screen.

Another essential application in collaboration is Video Chat. With my team spread out over most of the United States and Canada, I’ve started to utilize Video Chat for my team’s 1×1 meetings. Being remote doesn’t always offer the good face to face time that is sometimes needed, so I find that Video Chat helps to close that distance.

Video Chat on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is very easy to set up so that you can connect with your fellow coworkers who are BlackBerry PlayBook tablet users. Besides the standard features, I can switch which camera is being used by tapping on the screen and selecting the camera icon in the lower left corner (1). You can also change the position of your video box by touching the box and swiping it to the desired corner (2).

However, there are times when you need a little “me” time, and because you don’t need the Video Chat application running to receive a call, you can hit the “Do not disturb” button at the top of the screen.

Talking about ideas and projects is only one part of collaboration – sometimes you need the ability to work on something of a more visual nature. When it comes to that type of sharing, I turn to Shared Board, which provides a shared white board for collaboration. Essentially a shared white board, it allows me to open a group room so anyone who is invited to that group can contribute their suggestions visually on the white board screen. Each user who attends the group has the ability to mark up the screen as well as send chat messages. With a swipe down motion on the screen, you are able to select your marker color, sponge (erase) and add text. Like SketchBook, you can add an image or take a photo and use it as the background image on the screen. Once you are finished, everyone can save the board as an image on their BlackBerry PlayBook tablets.

So, how are you collaborating with the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet? I’m very interested to hear what you use today, or if you would like to comment on a “wish list” item!

Check out Paul’s previous posts in this challenge:

• Paul’s Challenge: No Laptops Allowed! – BlackBerry PlayBook Edition
• Paul’s Challenge, BlackBerry PlayBook Edition: Setting Up the Mobile Office
• Paul’s Challenge, BlackBerry PlayBook Edition – Presenting with the Mobile Office

If you’ve read the previous post – and if you follow me on Twitter® (@LivingLifeBB) – you know that I travel with just a BlackBerry® smartphone and a BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet. That’s right, no laptop!

When it comes to presenting on the road, for the longest time I used the BlackBerry® Presenter and it worked great. Now with my BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, I can do my normal Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations and much more. This post will cover all of the hardware and software that you will need to be successful in presenting from the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

Hardware

The best presenters can narrow their success down to one key word: “preparation.” You have to be ready for any scenario that you may be dropped into. At an absolute minimum you will need an HDMI cable, and if you are lucky enough to always get an HDMI-enabled projector or monitor, that’s all you will need. But in an effort to be prepared, I suggest two other items: an HDMI to VGA connector, and an HDMI coupler so you can present to conventional and popular VGA ports. Optionally you can include a DVI to HDMI converter in your kit, but I’ve never run across a projector that didn’t have both VGA and DVI inputs. Lastly, I always bring my portable stand to keep the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet upright so that it is easy to change slides.

Software

You now have the hardware you need for just about any projector or monitor scenario. However, we want to stay away from just doing a simple PowerPoint presentation. I have a few apps that I would recommend you use to add a little more to a presentation. Besides Slideshow To Go®, SketchBook is a heavily used app in presentations, with my primary use for it being white-boarding. What makes this great for presentations is the ability to place a picture in the background and write overtop. This has been particularly helpful in architecture discussions.

I also use the Video application in my presentation as a way to show recorded demos and product videos. It has come in handy on several occasions when people want to see a more detailed perspective.

Extras

The point of this blog post series (and past series) is “no laptops allowed,” and I sure don’t want you to replace a laptop with five pounds of accessories. Besides the three items for presenting, I always carry around the following items: BlackBerry PlayBook tablet charger (doubles as a rapid charger for your BlackBerry smartphone), small USB charger, USB cable, headphones, tablet pen, portable stand, and the BlackBerry Presenter. I know that some of you will ask, “Why would you carry the BlackBerry Presenter when you can present from the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet?” As I said, it’s all about preparation, and you just never know. This is a lot of small loose items to be carrying around, but all of this fits in an easy to carry “Gear Pouch”.

Would you find presenting from the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet more useful than using your laptop? Share your thoughts on ‘mobile presenting’ in the comments below!

For the last several months during my first “challenge”, I talked about traveling with just a BlackBerry® smartphone and a BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet. But what about extending this concept to the home office? Over the next few months, that is exactly what I’ll be discussing, starting with setting up your work space at home. (Oh, and before you ask, writing this entire post plus the images were all done on my BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and/or BlackBerry® Torch™ 9800 smartphone!)

Let’s approach this post as a suggestion on what you can use to have a proper, modern home office setup. I’m a big fan of the onscreen keyboard on both the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and my BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone, but when I’m in my home office I need a physical keyboard. You can pair up a native Bluetooth® keyboard (this doesn’t require a USB dongle) and mouse for full control of your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Next, I found a great portable stand, which keeps the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet upright so I’m able to use the screen when necessary. It also keeps it at the perfect angle to do video chats (we will discuss video chat in a later post).

I wouldn’t categorize a monitor as a “necessity” but it is nice to have, and with the HDMI port from my BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, I’m able to plug directly in to the monitor and get a very nice look and feel. That HDMI cable is going to be your go-to companion in your home office and on the road.

A few other items that round out the mobile office setup would be these nice foldable BlackBerry stands, a USB splitter to charge both my device, and a headset.

Do you have a similar setup? Share your personal favorite home office equipment in the comments!

The next “Paul’s Challenge” that I’ve been waiting to post has arrived, and it’s all about the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet. Let me be honest – even though I have been traveling without a laptop for around 9+ months, there were times that I wished I had one. That changed when I was handed a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. I can definitely say that it has added value to several aspects of my day to day work – but how has it changed my No-Laptop Challenge?

BlackBerry® Bridge™

While all the PIM’s available are extremely helpful and great to see on a larger screen, what I find the most valuable is “Bridge Files”. You may remember back on my first post I talked about the “Files” application; well, it now has new meaning with the larger screen. Not only are my files available to me, but now I can utilize them on my BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Any file I have saved on my BlackBerry® smartphone – or can be pulled off of my personal network drive via “Files” – is readily available on the tablet screen. You should note that some service providers may require a tethering plan to make use of the BlackBerry Bridge application, so you should check your plan to see what features are available to you.

Enhanced Presentations

We have all experienced a ton of Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations in the course of our work. I’m not saying that you can’t mix it up on a laptop, but I haven’t seen anyone succeed. But with the HDMI output on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, not only can I carry a lightweight powerhouse, I have full 1080p resolution output and a slew of apps and features that I can use to redefine how content is presented. First, there is Slideshow To Go®, which allows me to do the traditional slide content with presentation mode. Second, I also have great apps like Sketch Book which allow me to do a range of things from simple whiteboarding to loading a picture in the background and marking it up. The great thing is that you can change the background while keeping your markups. Full color palette and the ability to save your work makes this a must have for any presenter. Add full HD product videos and browser-based Adobe® Flash® demos and it becomes unbeatable.

Multi-Tasking

I am what you would call a “Power User”; I can drag the best desktops and/or laptops to their knees. This means that I am a notorious multitasker who runs many applications at all times. With my plans to scale down my home office to a BlackBerry smartphone and a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, clearly I have stringent requirements for powerful devices. The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet has delivered under the pressure of this use – I always have around seven apps running, without experiencing a single hiccup or drop in speed. For power users, the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is needed to perform, and when you’re relying on a device to accomplish your business goals, it must perform. And I’m pleased to share that it has met or exceeded the use and performance requirements that I’ve placed on these devices as representative of my entire home office technology.

Conclusion

You might be asking “What’s next for Paul’s Challenge?” Traveling without a laptop was really the first stage in my overall project. I think that it’s time to start moving on to stage two and move off of my laptop completely at my home office. With this direction in mind, get ready for my next set of blog entries covering everything BlackBerry PlayBook tablet!

I’m back for part three of my No Laptops Allowed challenge, and this time, we’re talking BlackBerry apps!

For this post, I’m going to forego some of the standard applications. You should all have a favorite mapping program, your normal social media applications like Twitter®, BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™), foursquare®, LinkedIn®, Facebook®…I could go on forever. I would like to know what your most-used social app is, though! Let me know in the comments section, or send a message to the Inside BlackBerry for Business Twitter account.

These are a couple of key applications that, in my experience, are complementary to someone who needs to be truly mobile:

Tungle.me:  As someone who is on the road about 80% of the year this is the ultimate meeting scheduling applications. This application eliminates double-bookings, time zone mishaps and the back-and-forth of finding a time to meet. Update: Here is some exciting news about RIM & Tungle.me!
Gowalla: A social travel guide for people on the go, is a fabulous way to share photos, places and highlights from your life with your friends and discover new places around you. Since launch, people have visited, photographed and shared over 2.5 million places around the world with Gowalla. Now local businesses, events, musicians and organizations are using Gowalla to reward their fans, connecting with their communities in thoughtful new ways. Very cool.
Ring2 Conference Controller™:  Another must-have application for me; being mobile and having the ability to view, selectively mute, hold and drop callers is very useful. I also have to say I’ve been running this application for probably five years, and the app has worked on every device and code I’ve thrown at it. Check out AppWorld for more details and pricing info. As a bonus, here’s a screenshot of the new Ring2 application for BlackBerry® smartphones:
Documents To Go®: I am constantly editing and updating Microsoft® Word, Microsoft® Excel® and Microsoft® PowerPoint® files on the road (yes, I did edit some of this post on my BlackBerry smartphone). The great part of Documents to Go is that it’s included with BlackBerry smartphones OS 5.0 or above.
Cisco WebEx® Meeting Center: We all eventually end up in a situation where we are asked to jump onto a WebEx. The mobile WebEx app has worked flawlessly for me. I find myself joining using my BlackBerry smartphone even when my computer is sitting in front of me
Chalk™ Pushcast™ Software: Internally, we are big into sending training and business unit information out to the team. Audio presentation and video are all local on your BlackBerry smartphone and are designed for fast viewing.
BlackBerry® Travel™: If you travel and don’t have this app, stop reading, I recommend that you get on BlackBerry App World storefront and download it now – I’ll wait. Welcome back – don’t you feel better? It has a great look and has saved me from waiting in an airport for a 3-hour delayed flight. How can you beat that?
Games from BlackBerry App World: Let’s be honest – one cannot live on work alone, and I find a game is the perfect outlet. You can check out BlackBerry App World for downloadable games that might be of interest to you! Prices vary on these puppies.

Are you going to the BlackBerry World 2011 conference? I’ll be presenting “Leave your laptop at home” during WA67. Come let me know which apps have worked best for you on the road!

For all you readers, I’ll see you again in a month or two to talk about how the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet has taken my mobile life to the next level. And if you have any questions, please post them in the comments and I’ll get back to you!

I’m back with part two of my no-laptop challenge (have a look at the No Laptops Allowed Challenge Part 1, in which I introduce my personal challenge to work solely from my BlackBerry® Torch™ 9800 smartphone), and this time, it’s all about the hardware I’d recommend you have on hand to most easily succeed with just your BlackBerry® smartphone for your day-to-day tasks.

First, let me thank everyone who responded to the first post! Not only was it motivating to hear about your experiences, but it was also nice to see some additional challenges thrown my way. In part three, I’ll cover application essentials; but here in part two, we’re going to talk about the hardware that is essential to this challenge. You’ll be able to find all these items at the Official RIM BlackBerry Accessories Store, so be sure to stop by and order a few of these handy items for yourself!

BlackBerry USB Charger x 2: One charger should be dedicated to the BlackBerry® Presenter (as it doesn’t run on a battery), and the other can be used for various charging purposes. I would also highly recommend the smaller plug for size consideration when it comes to packing your bags.
BlackBerry Presenter: You can read the blog post about BlackBerry Presenter to find out more details of this product, but I’ve been finding this piece really helpful while travelling. I’m always presenting different material, from Microsoft® PowerPoint® to sections of PDF files, and this is a must-have in my bag.
Bluetooth® Headset: Another must have for two key reasons: 1. In some states and several provinces in Canada, it is against the law to drive and talk on your phone (unless it is hands-free). 2. Hands-free is great because it enables you to talk while taking notes or listen while watching a Cisco WebEx®. Also, for more Bluetooth tips, check out this recent post from the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog about how to pair your Bluetooth-enabled headset with a BlackBerry smartphone. Note: If you prefer, a wired headset is fine. You could also choose high performance ear buds and save a little room in your bag.
Extra Battery: Having an extra battery for those extra-long days is handy. This came in handy last week at Lotusphere when my day started at 6 AM and ended around midnight with no time to charge. (Again, the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog has got a great post about battery-saving tips)
BlackBerry® Leather Swivel Holster or BlackBerry® Leather Pocket: The magnet in the case does wonders for overall battery life.
USB Splitter Cable: I would list this as an optional item, but I did find it useful when charging my BlackBerry smartphone and Bluetooth headset at the same time.
microSD Card: I would recommend getting the largest one possible to carry your files, music and movies. I have at least 10GB of space dedicated to corporate files.
Performance Ear Buds: For music, video and even podcast a good pair of in ear buds are great, especially for those noisy flights!
BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet (coming soon): There were several comments on the first post regarding the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and how it would fall into my challenge. I’ve started to travel with one now, so look for a future post on how it was used.

That wraps up what I use from a hardware perspective. Did I miss anything you use for essential hardware? Post a comment and let me know!

Hi everyone – my name’s Paul. I’ve worked at Research In Motion® (RIM) for over eight years as a Technical Account Manager, and I’m now the Manager of Technical Services for the Enterprise Sales group at RIM. For the past few months, I’ve been making a deliberate effort to conduct all of my work on my BlackBerry® smartphone (a BlackBerry® Torch™ 9800 smartphone, to be exact). This project started very slowly, but with each week, I learn what I can do to keep my laptop at home.

I started while on a business trip to Chicago, and although I had my laptop present, I tried to keep it in my bag. The next trip was to San Francisco, and once again, I had my laptop with me – but this time it stayed in the hotel room. For all of my meetings, I relied on BlackBerry® Presenter.

Before the holidays I tried my first official week where my laptop didn’t even make it on the plane – I was able to do all my work laptop free! Through January, as I head off to a week-long conference, I plan to leave my laptop at home. Very liberating – and all thanks to my BlackBerry smartphone!

In this series of posts, I plan to cover off some helpful tips and best practices that I’ve learned through this experiment, as well as providing a bit of background on the accessories and apps that make working without a laptop easy.

So here we go! A couple of quick tips for working solely from your BlackBerry smartphone:

1. In the “Files” application, map to your personal drive. This is a great way to keep documents easily accessible between your laptop and device. Think of it as your secure cloud hard drive. To do this:
a. Launch the “Files” application
b. In the “Go to” section at the top of the app type the path to your network drive. It will most likely be in the following format “//server name/folder name”
** You’ll need to be connected to a BlackBerry® Enterprise Server and have IT permissions for this.

2. Create a folder on your MicroSD card called “USB Thumb” and keep files that you would frequently share with your customers or team. I also store commonly used documents and product information here, where it is easily accessible.

3. Tips for getting the most out of your BlackBerry smartphone battery:
a. Reduce the backlight timing and brightness (Options > Screen/keyboard)
b. Turn keytones off (Options > Screen/keyboard)
c. Use headphones when using Media.
d. Utilize “Bedside Mode” when charging (I always use my BlackBerry smartphone as my alarm clock, so it’s beside the bed but it doesn’t have to be a nightlight!)
e. Check out some more hints for conserving BlackBerry smartphone battery power.

I’ll be back with the second post in this series later this month. In the meantime, feel free to start conducting your own experiment and let me know how it goes. Happy New Year!