Blackberry?

[Wmcmanus]

I've decided that I need something that offers a little more functionality than my ~10 year old Motorola Razer. I'm going to head down to Cable & Wireless (the local phone company) store and buy something today. Hopefully, it will have a lot of buttons on it, a fancy screen, and the ability to BBM.

Until today, I didn't know what the hell BBM was, or even that there was such a thing. But someone texted me and asked me if I can BBM her, so I Googled it, and have now come to the conclusion that I need to get with the program. She told me that I couldn't do this with an iPhone, so now I'm sold. Don't know on what, or why, precisely. But I'm sold.

Will report back in an hour or so after I get back home with my new gadget.

[ting.mike]

Wayne, I use a Blackberry, but I believe my friend uses a 3rd party program that lets him connect to the BBM network via iPhone.

[Knuckledragger]

Blackberries have lagged behind other smartphones in recent years, but their user base is pretty frothingly loyal. I like, but do not love mine. I suggest taking a look at the Torch. It's currently the best 'berry on the market. Avoid the Storm (II) at all costs.

[Wmcmanus]

I just got back from town. I bought the now old fashioned 8520 (Curve). It seems to have everything that I need. I don't plan to use it for anything other than reading/responding to emails and BBM. So it didn't make sense to spend twice as much for the newer models.

I'm not going to use it to browse the internet. When I travel, I always have my laptop with me and have an air card so I'm covered there. Nor will I use the camera feature unless I get in a car accident, and hopefully that won't be at night. So the lack of a flash on the Curve doesn't really bother me at all. I don't need to post a picture of every meal I eat on Facebook anyway.

I'll probably get an iPhone one day as well. It just has never made any sense to buy one because I'd get stuck with a "plan" and it would take years and years to fulfill that obligation since I'm only in the US for 4-5 months per year.

For $10 per month I can use the email and BBM features while in Cayman, so that's dirt cheap. For $20 per month (prorated for the number of days I use it), I can have access to those same features when I'm off-Island with this thing they call "Passport". I just need to remember to call to activate it before I leave and then to shut if off again when I get back. So no roaming charges for data, only for voice.

[Knuckledragger]

I've had the 8520 for a bit over a year now. I like it, but I do find the keyboard to be lacking. The 8520/8530 have a one piece keyboard instead of the individual keys that previous/more expensive models do. When I bought it, the 8520 was the only BB to have the touchpad vs the trackball, which is what sold me on it instantly. Is yours running BB OS 5.x? I connected my BB to my Macintop a couple of weeks ago, and the BB desktop program popped up and said there were updates available. It ended up taking well over an hour, but it upgraded me from 4.x to 5.x. After some significant getting-used-to I quite like OS5. Still haven't gotten Vimeo to work with it, however.

[Wmcmanus]

The Curve was $269 but it only cost me $53 because I had $216 of "points" that had accumulated with the phone company. I don't know where those points come from, but they sure do come in handy when I need a new modem or phone. The 970 (Bold) was $479. (All prices in Cayman dollars, so multiply by 1.2 for US dollars.) The 980 (Torch) isn't available for sale here yet because they're still working out some technical issues related to its use with their servers, or something like that.

I need to go back tomorrow when "the technician" is in so that he can transfer all of the names and numbers from my old phone to my new phone "because he has a wire that makes that easy." I guess I've always been saving to my phone as opposed to my SIM card. Didn't even know there was a difference until now.

[Wmcmanus]

Is yours running BB OS 5.x? I connected my BB to my Macintop a couple of weeks ago, and the BB desktop program popped up and said there were updates available. It ended up taking well over an hour, but it upgraded me from 4.x to 5.x. After some significant getting-used-to I quite like OS5. Still haven't gotten Vimeo to work with it, however.

Good question! I've just popped the "Blackberry User Tool" CD into my Macbook Pro, and it keeps rejecting the disc. First, it makes a bunch of noise, kind of grumble, grumble. Then it kick the disc out. Will have to get this sorted out tomorrow when I go to see the technician.

They sure do pack a lot of stuff in that little box! I'm impressed that I get a charger for the car for free, along with a couple of adapters for the battery charger such that I'll be able to use in in the UK and France/Italy.

[Knuckledragger]

You can get the BB Desktop software right here: BlackBerry - Desktop Software for Mac It's been so long, I can't remember if I used my install CD when I got my phone or not. You must have some "international" version. I got the wall and car chargers, but I didn't get any int'l plug adapters.

[CarlSeibert]

I think the BBerry will do fine for you. They don't call 'em "crackberries" for nothing. My wife has the the "Tour", the international model, and it's the best business-oriented handset I've seen. My sister has had the old school 8500 models, the original touch screen (Blaze? - avoid at all costs) and now a Tour, on CDMA (both Sprint and Verizon). She's been very happy with the keyboard-equipped ones. She basically wore the 85xx to a frazzle and got the Tour as a replacement from her company. I'm happy I got the Tour for Bonnie, based on better battery life and a few other things. But I paid $100 for it. I doubt I would have sprung for three times that. The touch-screen-only model seems to be a very, very weak imitation of an Android or iPhone. In South Florida I wouldn't do an iPhone on ATT if you gave it to me (and heaven knows the plans are anything but given away), but the iPhone does have a real nice browser and lots of good apps. My next phone will probably be something Android on Sprint. (If they stay in business long enough)

[Wmcmanus]

I think the BBerry will do fine for you. They don't call 'em "crackberries" for nothing.

I realize that but the main thing I need it for really is business related, and everyone within the company uses BBM (except me). I'm an independent director and the audit committee chair for a company that is in the midst of a conversion from Canadian GAAP to IFRS. There is a lot of work to be done during the next several months (thankfully, none of which I need to do directly myself), so I'll need to be more available than usual to review documents and such. So I figured now was the time, and this was the best tool for my needs.

In South Florida I wouldn't do an iPhone on ATT if you gave it to me (and heaven knows the plans are anything but given away), but the iPhone does have a real nice browser and lots of good apps. My next phone will probably be something Android on Sprint. (If they stay in business long enough)

The main problem for me is that I'm not in the US full time, so it would probably take me 7-8 years to fulfill a 3 year contract. If they sold iPhones at the phone company here in Cayman, I may have considered going that route, but I doubt that I'd make much use of the browser let alone all of the cool apps. Maybe in time I'd grow into that, but for the indefinite future my BB will still be mostly just a fancy cell phone.

[MexicanDragon]

I use an old BB8900 as my main line. I have wifi calling (UMA), and there is a fantastic keyboard. I'm about 40WPM with it, which is fine. BBM will work well if everyone around you uses it, it can be rather handy.

For the most part, though, I talk people out of Blackberries these days. I talked a woman (and her daughter) out of a BB while I was using a BB while talking. I also carry multiple phones (down to two now, though). A 10 or 20$/month plan is fantastic, and well worth it.

If you didn't know, one of the major perks with BBM vs Texting is that you get a delivery confirmation and a "read" confirmation on every message (checkmark if it's sent, checkmark with D for delivered (it's hit their handset), and checkmark with an R if read/opened). That, along with groups, are really one of the few redeeming features of the BB right now, software wise. OS6 has some enhancements, but isn't out for everything yet. If that phone has 3G, there MAY be the option to USB tether if you have desktop manager 6.x.

**BRENT**

[Wmcmanus]

Brent, the main thing in my case is that about 8-10 people from the company can get ahold of me quickly and can expect a quick response. Often they're in meetings, and want to run something past me quickly, so the BBM will allow them to do that without making a call. Texting often works fine but sometimes in Cayman I'll get text messages 2-3 days (or more) after they were sent! It's hit or miss, and usually as quick as email, but not always.

So even if I don't use BBM outside of the company, and that's the only real step forward, it still will have served it's purpose, especially during these next several months.

I think, long run, I'll end up with an iPhone (just because I'm all Apple otherwise), at least if I can ever justify being signed up for a plan that may take me 8 years to meet a 3 year obligation. If I lived full time in the US, I'd definitely have an iPhone.

[forbigger]

If you can stay away from BB, stay away. Once you get sucked in, there's no way back. Autism is the best way to describe how you become when you got hooked. To further comment Brent post above, with BBM due to delivered/read things, I've got friends/customers/family starting asking me why i didnt reply to their BBM when it showed read at their screen. Sometimes I thought WTFFFFF, I'm fucking driving 100mph on the fucking highway and you expect me to reply ur message I really wish BB did not incorporate Read/Delivered flag on their BBM, may sounds cool but at the end of the day its more like a intrusion to your life

[K3cT]

Budi, I remember a friend complaining that he didn't want to get a BB because he could not use the excuse of "Sorry, I haven't read your E-mail" no more.

[Wmcmanus]

If you can stay away from BB, stay away. Once you get sucked in, there's no way back. Autism is the best way to describe how you become when you got hooked. To further comment Brent post above, with BBM due to delivered/read things, I've got friends/customers/family starting asking me why i didnt reply to their BBM when it showed read at their screen. Sometimes I thought WTFFFFF, I'm fucking driving 100mph on the fucking highway and you expect me to reply ur message I really wish BB did not incorporate Read/Delivered flag on their BBM, may sounds cool but at the end of the day its more like a intrusion to your life

I can see where this could become a problem. I probably won't give out my BBM pin to my students, for example! Some of them think that I should be available 24/7, and it just doesn't work that way. It's working perfectly for the company that I'm involved with that is undergoing a big project that I need to keep abreast of, but so far I haven't been using BBM with any friends.

[CarlSeibert]

Oh, and have we mentioned that Blackberry messaging is pretty secure. Enough so that it is banned in some countries many people would be proud to be banned in.