I know this may sound a bit out of the ordinary but is there any program or anyone who would be able to write a program that would turn the camera "flash" on constantly? The flash appears to be nothing more then a bright LED so aside from a slight drain on the battery it would work great. Anyone else think this would be a cool idea?

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I definitely agree, it would be very useful for me also

Not a weird idea at all. The camera flash is pretty bright. I remember my roommate's Motorola phone had a feature where you could use the flash as flashlight. I'd definitely like to see something like that.

With the video recorder app on Curves (not sure about Pearls), you can set the light to be turned on when you have to--a temporary workaround.

Hmmm seems a little dangerous, the fuse might burnout.

Use moderately.

Fuse? Isn't it just a super-bright white LED?

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How would you get it to work if you don't have a video recording app on your curve?

Ooooo... please figure out for pearl 8100!!! This would be the best feature ever!

i had a nokia that had a flashlight, it was great. when i go camping my friend insists i charge it up and bring it with cause its the prefect potty light apparently.

i use my back light to navigate my dark bedroom on a regular basis, its just enough light to be sure that i dont step on my cat.

as far as using the flash as a flash light i wouldnt want to do that, although in a pinch it would be great i guess. i kind of miss my flashlight on the noika.

i never saw a video recording area on my curve, where is it

Video recording is only available in os 4.5 beta releases.

The LED flash light in vid recording mode is great - very bright.

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So if I have version 4.2.2.177 right now and later I decide to upgrade to 4.5 when it is actually released, will I have to ability to record videos on my curve?
Sorry I'm kinda new to the updating stuff

Yep.

wait til the 4.5 os release. The camera flash for the video recorder is blindingly bright. It works great as a flashlight. It does turn itself off every 10 seconds or so if your not recording though. But just scroll the track ball or push a button and it comes right back on.

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Awesome! When does 4.5 os come out? How do I get it? And does it cost anything?

Mine lasts a lot longer than 10 seconds because I have changed my "backlight off" value in my options.

4.5 will be done when it is done, some people are still having a number of problems. I would guess in another 2 months or so. Maybe they will announce at WES? Who knows.

Supposedly before WES which is the second week in May. But it was supposed to be out in one form or another for the last 6 months.

No, it won't cost you anything. You'll see the topic at the top of this forum with about 100 replies in the first 10 minutes once its released. You'll have instructions, how to get the missing themes and everything else posted in the same topic. Everyone is waiting for the same thing so it will be widely known once its out.

My old Sony Ericsson phone has that flash light function also, even has the SOS mode. I wish the BlackBerry can do that to. May be with an application that can control it.
Right now all I can do is set the light ON in video mode, so whenever I turn on the video camera, the light is on. But, I think it would kill the battery soon since both the screen with motion and the light are on at the same time.

there is an app that will turn on the light as asked for. you can find it at crackberry.com

No, bad idea. Use the right tool for the job:

Arc Flashlight: Testimonials From Owners of Arc Flashlights

Why would using the LED be a bad idea? Its just an LED so there's no heat, and it will damn near last forever. You'd be probably get rid of the phone before you'd have problems from the LED. Besides a drain on the battery, I don't see the problem unless someone ran the LED 24/7 for days on end.

If anyone needed a real flashlight obviously a good flashlight would be better served. But if you wanna find the remote in a dark bedroom while you spouse is sleeping, find something you dropped in your car seat or find yourself in a storage room looking for the light switch the LED on the BB works perfectly. Now if your the nighttime security guard, that by all means go get an 8-cell Maglite.

I loved that feature on my old Motorola V710. Very nice to use in a pinch.

I don't remember where I found it, but here is a link to an application to turn your Blackberry into a flashlight. I don't have my blackberry yet (arrives tomorrow!), so I do not know if this works good or not.

Using your BlackBerry as a flashlight or emergency tool | BlackBerryInsight

Same reason you don't use a knife as a screwdriver or prybar - use the right tool for the job. Do you take Ferraris offroading?

The Arc AAA I linked to is barely larger than a AAA battery so that anyone can carry it anywhere at any time and it is just bright enough for 99% of the tasks the average person will encounter. I never said anything about a maglight, and they don't make an 8-cell version anyhow.

It's a lot less trouble than figuring out how to hack your phone to do something it was never intended to and it does a much better job of it.

The 8-cell maglight was a joke but I totally understand, "right tool for the job" mentality. But at the same time, I couldn't imagine carrying around a flashlight unless I found myself in dark or nighttime situations on a daily basis. Using your BB as a flashlight works perfectly for the situations I mentioned earlier. Here are some more:

- Drop the remote behind the bed? use your BB instead of walking to the kitchen to find a flashlight
- climb into the attic (or basement) and forget your flashlight? Handy BB thats right on your hip will work.
- Drop change in your car seat? BB will work better than a flashlight.

Unless I found myself outside everynight (which I was frequently while I was deployed to Iraq) or work in a dark environment where I needed an flashlight on a daily, I just couldn't see carrying around a flashlight no matter what the size.

For probably 9 outta 10 people a simple $4 program to enable the LED light or a free work around mod that requires a few button pushes (like 4.5 os going to the video function and having the auto flash enabled) on a BB will be more practicle than paying for and carrying a flashlight.

My Blackberry has a camera and a gps that pale in comparison to other options, but for SOME people it is the right tool for the job. (At it's always there).

Using the Blackberry LED for a flashlight might just be the right tool for the job they have at hand.

Many Mags were "hacked" with an LED long before Mag decided that LEDs were the right tool. Your mileage may vary.

I have a software to tun on the front LED continuously.
fist, install that hotkey manager, and execute the icon. a flashlight menu will show on the screen.
then press "a", and then whatever characters show, just press central ball. See what happen?

I don't agree with that reasoning. Look at all of the features that the BB's (and most of the other phones on the market) come with. Calender, web browser, games, camera, vid cam, etc. etc. Are you saying we should all carry a Palm, Sony PSP, Nikon D80, MacBook Pro, and a Canon XH A1? That's ridiculous. Granted, we all agree we won't be using this application as a permenant solution, we look at the BB as a "swiss-army-knife" of the cell phones. Of course, it's a phone, first and foremost, but it's got a ton of features (and more to come) in an all-in-one package that makes life so convenient (at least mine).

EDIT: Had to laugh when I read this thread. LINK

Talk about self-contradiction.

the camera flash is a super bright led, it will outlast your phone, you could probably leave it on for 100,000 hours straight and it wouldn't burn out.

has anyone tried the app that does this? if it works, i don't mind paying the 3.99 or whatever to get it...

This is what I get when I open the "Hotkey" manager :
hotkeyman.alx
hotkeyman.cod
pool.bin
Which one of these do I install and how ??

Extract the files to a folder somewhere you won't delete them. Use Desktop Manager's Application Loader and then click the "Add" button and browse to the .alx file. The .alx file tells the Desktop Manager to load the .cod file to the device.

This app only lights the notification LED. It looks to be a little buggy. My device is flashing the green LED now. I wouldn't load this. Edit: It's a lot buggy. When I removed the app and rebooted the device, now every application is opening and asking me to set the app as trusted. Glad I tried this on my spare.

I've not tried the $3.99 app above. Anyone tried it?

Bb Fans Lets Jus All Work Together So When The Updates Are Out,software We Let Each Other In On It

works fine on a pearl 8120 with 4.3 -- enable the flash in the video recorder then just use the video recorder app as a flashlight. you don't even need to start recording.

Yeah, that what I said earlier. The light is bright as hell and it works great. Granted on my phone it goes off after 10 secs or so of not recording but it comes right back if I press a button.

Heck I just changed the right side key to use the Video function on my 8330 and now my flashlight is just a keypress away. Had it to us the address book but if you hold down the send key it brings it right up anyway, So one button flashlight 4 me.
Thanks guys,

Do you have 4.5 Beta loaded or does the 8330 come with video?

Sometimes I just turn the screen on full brightness on my 8830 when I'm trying to navigate my bedroom and the wife is sleeping. Seems bright enough in a pinch...Of course, I don't have a flash on mine, so I'm guessing I would like to be able to use it as a flashlight on occasion also.

Does it just make the LED blink green and thats it or does the light stay on?