Calling all Blackberry owners...

[dixiegypsy 0]

I'm thinking about switching to a blackberry and wanted to know what the word on the street is...

I have Verizon & my Voyager sucks balls (I'm on phone #4 due to technical complications) so they are giving me the option to switch it for a BB.

Do you recommend it? I've received mixed reviews so I'm a bit on the fence...

"Love all. Trust few. Do wrong to none." -Shakespeare

Gold Coast Skydivers
Pink Mafia #176

[NobodysHero01 0]

I loathe my blackberry. It's a very good device, it's just that mine is from work and I hate being that easily accessible!

-- Mike
"Embrace this moment. Remember. We are eternal. All this pain is an illusion"

[freeflyimpaired 0]

I like my Blackberry. I've very tech incompetent and have found the Blackberry to be very user friendly. At least for the stuff I use it for. Two thumbs up from me.

"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."

[Kolla 0]

been using blackberries for a couple of years but now have an iPhone - my life is so much better

Blue Skies Magazine

[RoadRash 0]

I like it, but my hubby calls it my crackberry 'cause I use it so much......


It is rather addictive......


Can always check my mail, play games, downloads, work on my schedule for next week...yadda, yadda, yadda...


~R+R...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Fly the friendly skies...^_^...})ii({...^_~...

[Orchid 0]

I love my blackberry...very happy with it. I have it for over 2 years now, it's the everything in-one...yet sleek & won't leave home without it.

"Love is doing small things with great love."

Lacrosse: Legally beating men with sticks since 1492

[d_squared431 0]

I have verizone and a crackbeery...I mean blackberry and I love it. Lol

I am on it right now.

TPM Sister#130ONTIG#1
I love vodka.I love vodka cause it rhymes with Tuaca~LisaH
You having a clean thought is like billyvance having a clean post.iluvtofly

[Darius11 12]

Good but i have had too replace it two times in the past two years and the 3rd is also starting to fuck up.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[apollard24 0]

I love my blackberry! Wouldn't change for anything else.

Breathe out so I can breathe you in...

[mnealtx 0]

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[dixiegypsy 0]

haha i love lolcats!!!!

thanks for all the replies peeps.

i figure the change is inevitable...i'm sure once i get a grown-up job out of college they will make me get one anyway...i guess i can beat 'em to the punch

"Love all. Trust few. Do wrong to none." -Shakespeare

Gold Coast Skydivers
Pink Mafia #176

[BIGUN 1,297]

I haven't liked them since they switched from the thumb wheel to the clit.
Might as well go with the iPhone

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[Flyer2Diver 0]

Like my bb curve on verizon. Typing this on it now, drunk in a cab on the way home from the bar :-)

_______________________________
30005KT 10SM SKC 23/05 A3006

[mnealtx 0]

Quote

I haven't liked them since they switched from the thumb wheel to the clit.
Might as well go with the iPhone

I'm guessing you're talking about the roller wheel in the center? That's actually one of the things that I liked about it when we were looking for a new phone for Nina... made it equally usable by a lefty like me...

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[riddler 0]

Here's an article I wrote on the Blackberry Curve (Verizon) vs. the iPhone (older, not 3G). The BB curve with EVDO-revA is a great phone, but the iPhone is catching up with the 3G phone.

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3217924;page=unread#unread

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[auburnguy 0]

The blackberry is the greatest phone ever. I've had one for about a year and a half and have gone through a couple of different models and absolutely love it. When you dont want to be bothered you can just turn off the phone reception and still have access to the whole phone without having to be bothered by other people. IT FUCKING ROCKS!!!

"If you don't like your job, you don't strike! You just go in every day, and do it really half assed. That's the American way."
- Homer Simpson

[SkyDekker 1,465]

I have had verious versions of the blackberry for at least 6 years now. Don't have much experience with other PDA or smart phones, but have never had a reason to try either.....I like my blackberry.

[mdrejhon 8]

Quote

I'm thinking about switching to a blackberry and wanted to know what the word on the street is...

I have Verizon & my Voyager sucks balls (I'm on phone #4 due to technical complications) so they are giving me the option to switch it for a BB.

Do you recommend it? I've received mixed reviews so I'm a bit on the fence...

It's a pretty good device. Love my BlackBerry and won't go without it.

I have also tried the iPhone, has its own pluses or minuses. I generally prefer the BlackBerry. The iPhone does have a vastly superior web browser (although the new BlackBerry Bold's zoomable web browser is pretty close -- though the Bold is not coming till September/October and is not going to be on Verizon). People can just download Opera Mini www.operamini.com to get a better web browser on their BlackBerry too...

Mixed reviews are usually based a lot on:
- Work BlackBerries (too easily accessible), but you can control accessibility on your own personal BlackBerry.
- Work BlackBerries often put special restrictions on "fun" Internet use (camera, maps, chatting, etc)
- Old BlackBerries are pretty boring devices. Modern BlackBerries now have cameras, memory cards, video, MP3, GPS navigation, etc.

A BlackBerry AppStore isn't here yet (coming in 2009 to compete with Apple's), but there's already great software. When you get a BlackBerry, don't forget to install these on your BlackBerry by entering these into BlackBerry browser (to initiate wireless software installation), all free software.

www.blackberry.com/livemessenger -- MSN for BlackBerry
www.blackberry.com/facebook - Facebook for BlackBerry
www.google.com/gmm - Google Maps for BlackBerry
www.gmail.com/app - Separate Inbox for GMAIL
www.operamini.com - Alternative web browser
www.viigo.com - Great RSS reader so far
www.amazegps.com ... Free GPS navigation! Turn BlackBerry into a Garmin clone! (not as good as pay GPS software, but hey, this one is free...)

There are some excellent pay software too:
www.flipside.fm - iPod MP3 knockoff player for BlackBerry with album flipping
www.dataviz.com/products/documentstogo/ - Word and Excel for BlackBerry
www.beejive.com - Best Trillian/Adium/GAIM clone for BlackBerry. Universal chat client.

There's now Internet radio players available, such as xPlayer, etc.

If you want to wait, you may want to be aware that Verizon is getting the new touchscreen BlackBerry called BlackBerry Thunder. It's supposed to be using the WebKit web browser engine, the same renderer used in Safari, so the BlackBerry will finally catch up to iPhone web browser eventually. Actual Prototype Photos of touchscreen BlackBerry Personally, I prefer a physical keyboard, but there you go -- more choice in BlackBerry coming!

[mdrejhon 8]

Quote

I haven't liked them since they switched from the thumb wheel to the clit.
Might as well go with the iPhone

Got mixed reviews from me too, but the trackball is much better now, when I adjust sensitivity to 90% (its sensitivity is adjustable) and you can turn on click sounds, at least temporarily, to train you to it. Also, there are other tips that I wrote about in BlackBerryForums: Tips to use Trackball Devices Faster ... Might not help everyone, but it helped quite a few trackwheel veterans get used to the "ball"

[dixiegypsy 0]

Ding dang, do you work for blackberry or something because you totally just sold me!

High five on laying out the pros and cons.

While I would love to wait for the blackberry bold, I don't know how long verizon's switch-it-for-free offer will last. I don't want a touchscreen because they frustrate me (as I've learned with the Voyager) so I don't even need to worry about liking the Thunder.

once again, thanks for all the feedback!


I think I'll be going for the World Edition...in Red (my favorite color!)

"Love all. Trust few. Do wrong to none." -Shakespeare

Gold Coast Skydivers
Pink Mafia #176

[BIGUN 1,297]

Excellent tips!!
May have to re-think my position on the BB.

Any tips for me to stop spinning the ball with my tongue while walking thru airports? Hey. it's Bonfire - had to do the cursory innuendo..

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[mdrejhon 8]

Quote

Ding dang, do you work for blackberry or something because you totally just sold me!Close. I work as a software developer for mobile devices, writing third-party software for BlackBerry, as well as Windows Mobile and other devices, including working on iPhone very soon. Basically, I work ON BlackBerry, but I don't work FOR BlackBerry.

I also am a former moderator of BlackBerryForums.com -- the world's biggest BlackBerry discussion forum with over one million posts total!

For most, I strongly suggest waiting for the Bold or Thunder for getting much closer to iPhone-quality web browsing, as the 8830 World Phone will never have iPhone quality web browsing (but you can still use Opera Mini to get better browsing anyway). The 8830 is a nice device, as long as you are comfortable with its keyboard, which doesn't have the same 'spacing'. I suggest looking at the 8330 Curve too, which is smaller than the 8830 World Phone. But these are still very much previous-generation BlackBerries (although MUCH better than the old boring models) Also relatively cheap now - you can get a good deal now, and two years later a device similiar to Bold will be available on Verizon later anyway.

One warning... Verizon forces you to pay for GPS. So don't expect free GPS on a Verizon BlackBerry (unfortunately). AT&T and TMobile do not charge you to use the GPS in your BlackBerry.

Quote

Excellent tips!!
May have to re-think my position on the BB.

Anytime! It's a learning curve to get used to get the BlackBerry ball. Do definitely temporarily re-enable audible scroll-click sounds for the first week or two -- it will make it sound (but not feel) like you're rolling a trackwheel; it is a good 'training wheels'.

If you ever get a BlackBerry again, I suggest one of the upcoming OS 4.6-or-later models such as the Bold 9000 series. On these, the ball is no longer half bad when browsing with the BlackBerry Bold browser -- it behaves as a true mouse pointer (not the half assed behaviour in the Desktop view on Pearl or Curve). In Bold, there's a mouse cursor when you web-browse on a BlackBerry Bold. Panning, zooming in/out in steps, clicking on links, full 100% desktop-style web browsing, like iPhone (albiet not as good, but MUCH better than the Pearl/Curve browser) www.dropzone.com on BlackBerry Bold behaves exactly as FireFox or Internet Explorer, for example! If you dislike the pointer, you can always use the Mobile view, but it's much smoother and is the best browsing I've seen so far in a non-touchscreen cell phone. It's still a beta, so not all AJAX websites work, but some of them actually do ("Edit Post" on vBulletin forums actually work without refreshing the page!)

I've had my hands on a BlackBerry Bold 9000, so my observations are real experience...

Anyway, I am impressed that RIM is running as fast as possible to COMPETE with iPhone... A lag of several months, but they are playing hardball, for sure! Thunder won't be as good as iPhone in every way, but they'll have made a mad leap 90% of the way (while still providing superior email, for example -- HTML email is now supported. Hallelujah!), and continue to stay in the ballgame without being eliminated early by Apple. There's also a flip phone Blackberry coming this year too. (Leaked photos can be found on BoyGeniusReport and EnGadget, so it's real too)

I just can't wait for better RIM development tools coming in 2009... (Hurry up RIM!

[Gawain 0]

I have a Blackberry from work and the only thing I don't like about it is that is that it's on AT&T's network...I wish it was on Verizon.

Other than that, it's a good device. I recommend the curve. Don't like the Pearl much.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[skreamer 1]

Problem with the trackball is that it collects dirt (just like an old rollerball mouse). Unlike the old rollerball mouse it is not a simple task to take it apart to clean the contact surfaces - trust me I spent quite a bit of (work) time taking one apart. I support about 60 users using blackberries with trackballs (8800s and 8310/curve) and am returning on average about two devices per month because the trackballs become unresponsive. The one nice touch is if you are upgrading from an 8700 to a Curve is that they use the same battery - great to have spares and eco friendly too.

The Bold is worth waiting for (save you having to carry an ipod for music and movies), it would just be nice if they can make the trackball a little more robust.