How to Send a Message with the BlackBerry PlayBook

With the release of the BlackBerry ® PlayBook ™ OS 2.1 for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, some new features have been added, including the ability for BlackBerry ® Bridge ™ users to access text messages on tablet devices. To access the text of your message in the tablet, you should make sure you have a BlackBerry Bridge 2.1 is installed on your BlackBerry ® smartphone.

Here is a brief overview of how to make sure you're running the latest version of BlackBerry Bridge on your smartphone and upgrade if necessary.

Before We Begin:

In case if you are not familiar with the BlackBerry Bridge application, you can use it to pair your BlackBerry smartphone with BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to get more features. To learn more about the capabilities offered by BlackBerry Bridge, such as the ability to control remote BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, check out the full description can be found on BlackBerry App World ™ and inspect the BlackBerry Bridge on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet user guide.

Upgrade BlackBerry Bridge uses the BlackBerry App World

Provided you have updated your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to your BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1, the next step is an upgrade to the BlackBerry Bridge 2.1 on your smartphone so that you have the ability to access text messages (SMS) on your tablet. For those who have not upgraded their tablets, all you need to do is select Settings from the Home screen followed by Software Update. Press the "Check for Updates," and when asked, did the update to upgrade to the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1.Assuming the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is now running OS 2.1, an upgrade to version 2.1 in BlackBerry Bridge smartphone. Once the upgrade is completed, you will see a new icon appear in the folder Text Messages BlackBerry Bridge on your tablet. With that being said, to upgrade the BlackBerry Bridge on your smartphone,

follow these steps:

Open BlackBerry App World and select the "My World"
Select the BlackBerry Bridge and select "Upgrade"

For those who do not have a BlackBerry Bridge is currently installed on their smartphone, you have two options to download and install:

Option 1 - Using the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet

Using the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, select Settings from the Home screen followed by selecting the "BlackBerry Bridge"
Press "Setup", enter a name for the tablet (ie my PlayBook) and press "Next"
Select "Install Now" and follow the instructions to scan barcodes that are displayed using your smartphone.

Option 2 - Using your BlackBerry Browser

Open the BlackBerry ® Browser on your smartphone.
Enter the following URL: www.bbry.lv/BlackBerryBridge

Help! I still can not see text messages on my tablet after upgrade!

In the plan you upgrade to BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 and BlackBerry Bridge update on your smartphone to version 2.1 and you still can not see the text messages, a quick review of the BlackBerry Bridge option may solve the problem. To review and customize the information displayed on the tablet BlackBerry Bridge - like the ability to display your text messages - do the following steps.

On the smartphone, open BlackBerry Bridge
Press the Menu button and select "Device Properties"
A list of items that will be displayed on your tablet (so long as they are off) is displayed
Verification "Message Text" check (it was the last choice in the list).