I have just started a new job and my boss has asked me if want to get a Blackberry. (Work will pay for rental/calls). One side of me says, yeah, get one it will save turning on the PC in the evening to answer urgent mails... The other side says, ignore the status symbol, it's an intrusion on your private life and will never stop beeping and will drive my wife crazy... What say you, especially those that have one... Peace, Dave C.
Depends on your needs... if you're on the road and need to check your e-mail / keep track of appointments / have quick access to your contacts / use a cell phone, then I'd say go for it... Personally, I have a cellphone and a palm pilot ... I can't justify having a data plan since I don't need it for work, so I'm fine with have 2 gadgets
I travel A LOT so it is the best thing I ever got. Down side - you are never "off" the clock. You know - they are called "crackberries" because you will become addicted!
Here's my experiences with PDA's I have a blackberry pearl (retired and sitting on a shelf), it was great for taking pictures, reading and sending emails. Very "Wonky" at best when surfing the net. but it will play music....uh....wow. Had a Plam Treo...until it crapped out, it would run circles around my blackberry pearl..... I dont know what kind of features other Blackberry's have, so I'm assuming the Pearl is a low-end gadget machine. However, the Palm Treo, other than handling emails could do the following: Take pictures Take about 15 mins of video Send Word doc. Send Excell files Of course surf the net ( not quite as wonky as the pearl). Gosh, other things too. Everything considered I would prefer the I-phone or a Palm for my needs.
If you must get a Blackberry, choose a Blackberry 8800 or a Blackberry Curve. The Blackberry Pearl is a cheap low-end POS. You will need a keyboard that makes typing easy; the Pearl fails on that account alone. The client where I am presently working is heavy into Blackberry (aka crackberry) for most of their staff. I wish they'd provide me with one if only so I could monitor system alerts and events instead of having to be logged into my desktop in the office whether on-site or remotely.
If you want to always be reachable via email...get the blackberry. if not, stay far away from it. I'm addicted to mine now...have had it for 8 months and can't resist the urge to pick it up and look to see if there is any messages for me.
Add me to the BlackBerry carrying crowd. After toting around a 7104t with thumbwheel for a year, I now have a BB Curve. The full keyboard actually suits me better. I also support 25 BlackBerry devices at our site -- primarily Pearl and Curve. We recently switched providers Perhaps 1x weekly, I may encounter a BB-related issue or two. Usually nothing serious. Yes, those devices are similar to leashes. One is never far from work. Occasionally, I'll feel the phantom vibrations similar to what has been reported in the news.
Thanks guys. Not many in strong favour...I wasn't aware of the phantom affect...sounds a little worrying. I do travel a lot but that is not a good enough reason for me to get one as I always have my cell for urgent stuff... Still thinking!! P.S. Is there any way you can send mails from a Blackberry in HTML or Rich Text? I find it really irritating to have no text formatting options once someone from a Blackberry has sent a message.
I just got the Nokia N810. This is the answer. http://www.nokiausa.com/n810 PS - posted using the N810
I work in IT so intrusions are part of the job. I love it and couldn't live without it. I have an 8700G. I had an older one-- can't remember the model number-- but it didn't have a full keyboard so it was a real pain to type on. If you do get one, make sure it has a full keyboard.
I have an 8700G that I use for data transmission only e.g. I simply plug it into my laptop for an internet connection when I'm on the road. The connection is sort of slow, but it's reliable. I can't imagine having a life without the internet!
DaveC, I could be mistaken, but unless a special app is loaded, all BlackBerry messages are transmitted in plain-text format by default. Plain-text isn't so bad. Way back in the good old days, plain-text was the only format available. gbrogan, yes, a full keyboard is really nice. A few months ago, I took a vacation. While on the road, some internal users required a rather elaborate description about a certain process. At that time, I still had a 7105t. Typing a 200-word message on the half-keyboard seemed painful. A full keyboard works much better. I configured a Bluetooth-enabled, portable foldup keyboard for use by one of our directors. At the time, he carried a 7100-series BB with a half-keyboard. The portable keyboard proved bulky. He now uses a full-keyboard Curve and says life has improved.
