This method worked much better when I always carried my Palm handheld with me and used it as my primary calendar and contact management device. The appeal of electronic books is that I always have it with me. Once I started using my BlackBerry to maintain everything, my Palm fell into disuse, and I no longer carried it with me. I started reading less. I needed a new solution.

I have started using Mobipocket on my BlackBerry and Stanza to convert texts. Mobipocket has a whole online store for purchasing texts, but the reader itself is free and can read non-purchased texts that I already have. Stanza can convert between plain text and the Mobipocket format. Unfortunately, Stanza is only available for Mac OS X and Windows. There are other options, but Stanza worked best.

Now I once again always carry the device with my current novel, and I can spend my free time reading instead of playing games on my BlackBerry.

Configuration:

Install the latest version of Blackberry Desktop.
Open the “Phone and Modem Options” control panel.
Click the “Modems” tab.
Select “Standard Modem” and click on “Properties”.
Click the “Advanced” tab.
In the “Extra initialization commands:” field, enter the following:

AT+cgdcont=1,"IP","wap.cingular"

Click “OK” twice.

Open “Network Connections”.
Open the “New Connection Wizard”.
Click “Next”.
Select the “Connect to the Internet” option, and click “Next”.
Select “Connect using a dial-up modem” and click “Next”.
In the “ISP Name” field, type “BlackBerry”, and click “Next”.
In the “Phone number field:”, type “*99#”, and click “Next”.
Select “Anyone’s use”, and click “Next”.
Leave the user name and password fields blank; uncheck “Make this the default Internet connection”, and click “Next”
Click “Finish”.
Click “Cancel”.

To connect:

Connect the BlackBerry Bold to the computer using a USB cable.
Open the BlackBerry Desktop Manager.
Open “Network Connections”.
Open the “BlackBerry” network connection.
Click “Dial”.

You should now be connected. When you are done, go ahead and disconnect.