Blackberry desktop software lets you back up the data from your Blackberry and add, remove, and update the software on your Blackberry, and control everything from your laptop or desktop computer. Now you can do this from your Mac as well as your PC and it’s a no-charge download from a special page on the manufacturer’s web site. See the full article for details, including initial test-drive results:

Your Blackberry came with a CD with software you can load onto your desktop or laptop computer to back up the data from your Blackberry and to manage and update the software on your Blackberry. This software is known as the Blackberry Desktop Manager and, until now, it was only available for Windows PCs.

This week, Blackberry Desktop Software for Mac became available here: Blackberry Desktop Software official download page. The same page contains a download link to the version of the Blackberry Desktop Software for the PC.

Test Drive Results

I’ve used the PC version of Blackberry desktop manager since it became available and have no complaints about it. I am happy to say that the initial release of the Mac version is 90% effective at the things that most users will want to do. Here are my test results for the Mac version:

• Downloading and installing the software was quick and easy.
• The software recognized the connected Blackberry without any trouble.
• Backing up the Blackberry to the Mac was a matter of clicking on the Backup icon on the top right of the window and clicking on another button to confirm that I wanted to backup all the data from the Blackberry.
• I wasn’t able to use the software to remove some unneeded software from my daughter’s Blackberry. I’ll address this with the manufacturer and expect that this will be improved in the next release of the Mac Desktop Manager.
• Remember to click on the little eject icon on the bottom right corner of the window when you are finished, to disconnect your Blackberry before unplugging the USB cable from your Mac.

Lab Notes from my Tests

Downloading and installing the new Mac software just took a few mouse clicks. When downloading the software, I suggest that you “run” it rather than “save” it, as there’s no reason to “save” the installer software.

Getting Started

Now if you can’t find the new software in your Mac’s Dock, you can find it in the Applications folder within your Macintosh HD and drag it onto the Dock so you can more easily find it next time. Click on the program or Dock icon to start the program.

You will then be prompted to connect your Blackberry to your Mac using the special USB cable that comes with your Blackberry, and after your computer recognizes your Blackberry, you will be prompted to confirm a name for it. If you will be backing up more than one Blackberry to your computer, I suggest that the name start with the name of the person using that Blackberry. You’ll also be asked whether or not you want to sync this Blackberry with this computer. Don’t say yes for more than one Blackberry and don’t do this unless you want to store the same address book data, calendar, etc. on both your Blackberry and this desktop/laptop computer.

Unless you are going to play with the sync feature, keep the “Summary” bar on the menu highlighted. This will enable you to use the important backup/restore/applications icons on the top right corner of the window.

Backing Up Your Blackberry

The next thing you should do is back up your Blackberry. This is the most important feature and you should do this before anything else. You are allowed to do selective backups but, unless you have a compelling reason to do otherwise, just back up the whole device – it’s quick and painless. The encryption feature protects the data in the backup in case your Mac is lost/stolen, or is shared with others. Just be sure to select a password you can easily remember or your backup will be useless to you as well. I tested the Mac version of the Blackberry Desktop Manager software by backing up 3 different Blackberries and it works OK.

The Sync Feature

There is a feature that lets you sync a Blackberry with your Mac. This can be a convenience if you use the email, calendar, and related features of your Mac or Macbook and want to keep this data synchronized with your Blackberry. Appointments you enter or accept on your Blackberry will be copied onto the calendar of your Mac and ones that you add to your Mac will be copied onto your Blackberry. The same 2-way synchronization will take place for tasks, address book entries, etc. I may try this in the future but this isn’t how I use my Mac so I didn’t use the sync feature.

To use the sync feature, highlight one of the items (calendar/contacts/notes/tasks/music) located on the left site of the window, update the sync options drop-down icon (which will initially have a red x on it) to 2-way sync, and select the options that will what data to sync and which Mac software to sync it with. For example, you may want to sync your Blackberry notes with either your Apple Mail notes or your Entourage notes, depending on which program you use on your Mac. After you have completed your sync setting, click on the green Sync button on the top right corner of the menu. I haven’t tested this feature yet so this is an area where you are on your own.

Managing the Software in Your Blackberry

The feature that lets you check for and update the software in the Blackberries confirmed that all 3 were up to date. The feature that lets you add or remove software looks like it isn’t working in the initial release and I’ll address this with the Blackberry people at Research in Motion.