I have had a blackberry for a long time, but until recently I didn't know how to call phone numbers with letters in them, like 1 800 CONTACTS, or 1 800 PETMEDS or 1 800 HOOKERS. I would have to look at a "real" phone and figure it out. "OK, lets see 1,8,0,0, H, thats a 4, O, that's a 6, another 6, K, that's a 5..." and so on.
Then I figured it out. The trick is to hold down the "alt" key and type the letters just like you were typing a text. 1,8,0,0,("alt" held down)HOOKERS, and it works!
Hope this helps someone else!
JORG