What do you think of Blackberry?

[OKWTink]

A woman at work has one, and my relative in AZ has been given one for work.

My trusty PDA is sick, very sick. :( Soooo, I was wondering about replacing it with a Blackberry.

Any opinions? :)

[Breeze]

I love black berry jam and they make good pies too :blush:

Sorry, couldn't resist. Isn't the blackberry carried by Nextel? Hey if you get one we can play super duper spy with the walkie talkie feature :D

[PsychoAlice]

ohh and picking black berries!! My grandmother had a black berry bush in her back yard!

[Breeze]

:eek: :eek: Sorry Tink, highjack is OVER. Okay you techie people out there Auntie Tink has a question (is that better Tink)

[OKWTink]

Yes it is, thank you Breeze. :)

Nextel? I don't know. Is that the service provider for Blackberry? If so, that could be a problem. They didn't fare too well during the hurricanes, old Nextel. I'm not so sure I'd want to give them my money.

I thought a Blackberry was a unit that you could purchase and then "hook up" to which ever provider you preferred? No?

Eeeesh. I am so out of touch with these sorts of things. :sigh:

[JacksDad]

You can hook up a Blackberry with any provider who handles BB's.
I hear they are great but there is an issue with transferring files from your PC or Mac. Noone has yet perfected that integral peice of software.
Over a new PDA though?
I would go BlackBerry.

[Breeze]

Nextel? I don't know. Is that the service provider for Blackberry? If so, that could be a problem. They didn't fare too well during the hurricanes, old Nextel. I'm not so sure I'd want to give them my money.

Maybe I like mine because we don't have hurricanes in Illinois :wink:

You should check with DC, she the niftiest cell phone/PDA that I've ever seen. It looked like something from a James Bond movie.

[OKWTink]

Thanks, JacksDad. That's what I wanted to know. PDA or Blackberry. Also, it's good to know that I'm not locked into Nextel.

Breeze, I was all set to go with Nextel. I like their equipment, but had to wait until my stupid AT&T Wireless contract ran out. The hurricanes blew in before that happened and all sorts of unpleasant info came out of that. :(

DC has a nifty gizmo gadget, eh? :D Sounds like I have to find out about that! :yes:

Thanks for your help!

[JacksDad]

Don't be to hurried. Nextel just had a huge merger.
The may be very big soon.
Glad I got stock when I did.

[OKWTink]

I'm not in a wicked hurry, but I do want to move forward. These things usually take me a while though.

Merger with what other service provider?

Cingular and AT&T merged. Service is worse. :(

[Johnie]

Cingular bought out my beloved Suncom which has unlimited, anytime minutes for $50 a month. Guess that's going right down the toilet :(

I hate that walkie talkie feature on Nextel. Talk about being obnoxious with your phone.

[miraclemoments]

Nextel was bought out by Sprint I believe....

[JacksDad]

Cingular bought out my beloved Suncom which has unlimited, anytime minutes for $50 a month. Guess that's going right down the toilet :(

I hate that walkie talkie feature on Nextel. Talk about being obnoxious with your phone.
There is a choice to go private with it.
It's the user that's obnoxious not the service.

Yea MM. Think it is Sprint.
Anything has to be better than ATT UseLess. http://www.wdisneyw.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

[Johnie]

There is a choice to go private with it.
It's the user that's obnoxious not the service.


Really? so how does that work then? Wouldn't that be like talking on the phone? lol work with me cause I'm having a hard time grasping this

[OKWTink]

I hate AT&T. Big time.

I kind of know what you mean Johnie. That sound it makes when the users are switching back and forth. And you can hear everything the person on the other end is saying too. I do sort of like the feature though. It was what lured me to Nextel in the first place.

Sprint? Ugh. Worse than AT&T. :(

I'm thinking Verizon...

[miraclemoments]

There is a choice to go private with it.
It's the user that's obnoxious not the service.

OMG!! I agree!!! DH and his brother both have Nextels through their jobs...and it's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO annoying to see them just flip them up and start talking....especially when they are across the table from one another!!!! Boys and their toys, I swear you'd think they were 8 again!!!

When Sprint (my carrier of choice) and Nextel merged, Brad said, OOOH Hon, now maybe we'll be able to walkie talkie!!!

I just :rolleyes:

[miraclemoments]

I hate AT&T. Big time.

I kind of know what you mean Johnie. That sound it makes when the users are switching back and forth. And you can hear everything the person on the other end is saying too. I do sort of like the feature though. It was what lured me to Nextel in the first place.

Sprint? Ugh. Worse than AT&T. :(

I'm thinking Verizon...

I've got Sprint, and around here it's been quite reliable, although I do think Verizon would have better coverage overall...

I ended up chosing Sprint, because they had a more comprehensive "vision" serivce (i.e. sending/receiving pictures, text messages, internet service, etc) and I use my phone more for those than actually *talking*...

[JacksDad]

All the user has to do is shut off the speakerphone option.
It still functions as a walkie but onlt the user can hear as in a regular cellphone.
I had one for 4 years and never used the speakerphone.
What? do you need to pretend you're a cop?

Ever hear someone say 10-4 on a Nextel? :lol:
I just stand there and laugh.

Hate to say it Tink but I think Nextel has the best reception around.
I have ATT as well and since the merger with Cingular they've gotten worse!

Sprint still hasn't gotten off the ground.

Verizon never paid James Earl Jones enough money for his voice work....:hehe:

And they are still a bit fledgling too.

Nextel has the same relationship with Motorola that the US Gov has.
Which means they can access satellites that no other company can. :shrug:

It's like a Presidential election. Who is the least evil.

Nextel is the only company that can cover the world on it's own.

Don't misunderstand. I'm not selling them. I'm looking for a good provider as well.
But they look good.

[Johnie]

yeah she takes pictures of Bjorn :D

[miraclemoments]

I did in fact :wink:

And you're missing the point JD :D They *like* doing the "walkie talkie" thing...Picture this...two grown men sitting in Logan's Steakhouse, phones flipped up, saying, "This is Sib 1 to Sib 2, what looks good to you? I'm thinking of roadkill stew and a rack of the good stuff...you in? Over?"

"Sib 2 to Sib 1...I'm in. Think I'm gonna add a bowl of rabbit food on the side...Over."

All of this while sitting DIRECTLY across from one another!

I will say, he had excellent service while we were in Florida :D

[Johnie]

:rotfl: Did they play Adam 12 too?

[Johnie]

Oh Anne honey, we need you over in the Ed's Vacation to CA thread for just a minute k?

[miraclemoments]

Certainly!

[Keith]

I don't think I'll comment on the network providers..... if I hear one more phone in disney go "beep beep" and one more DH/DW should loudly into it "we're still in the line yah yah sure sure sure yah" then 5 seconds later "BEEP BEEP" ARHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG anyway that apart I guess it could be a useful facility <G>

Device wise, the blackberry is really useful. First because it's a combined pda/phone but especially if you rely on email because the system pushes the email to your blackberry whenever it's received, much like a text message or a phone call. On most of the other devices, even the combined pda/phones, you need to tell it to check for email (although some are capable of using the blackberry system nowadays)

There are other combined pda/phones.. a lot of people like (and swear by) the palm treos (always makes me laugh, we had a chocolate biscuit in the UK called treo with a funny advert :) http://www.palmone.com/us/products/smartphones/treo650/
The treo has the advantage that it runs palm os applications and there are some absolutely amazing ones out there. Great calendars etc. The pda part is IMHO better than the blackberry (but the blackberry is still fine, it's just a personal choice which you get on with better).

There are other choices such as my favourite combined pda/phone, the pocketpc phones. There are a bunch of these and they get heavily subsidised by the networks so don't scream when you see the price on this site but http://www.expansys-usa.com/product.asp?code=I-MATE_JAM is an example of one. These things have a version of windows in them which really does provide excellent pda functions and with an extra bit of software you can pull/push everything from/to your mac (no extra needed if you're running windows on your desktop). It REALLY works well and the display is to die for.

Without going through all the other options... you could also consider just having a "smart phone". One which has a little pda built in but isn't any larger than a normal phone. That saves you carrying around a larger unit but still displays appointments etc.

All in all, the blackberry is an excellent choice though and I know many folks particularly in the states who are no less than addicted to their blackberry :)

[OKWTink]

The pushing of the email is what is luring me to the Blackberry. I don't know enough about it's other capabilities yet, so will have to do some investigating.

I kind of think that an all in one would be a good idea, but then I get a little nervous about that. :unsure:

Thanks for the links to the sites!

[Keith]

over here in the UK blackberry have brought out a couple of new models that people are going nuts over.. they seem to be a bit more "phone" like rather than big chunky and old looking.... they're probably in the states too given Blackberry's heritage, may be worth hunting one out rather than the older ones http://www.blackberry.com/uk/

[OKWTink]

Wow! That is a great site! Thanks for the link. Time to educate myself! :D

[dcfromva]

You should check with DC, she the niftiest cell phone/PDA that I've ever seen. It looked like something from a James Bond movie.

:lol: :lol: This probably comes under the heading of more information than you need, but...

I have the Nokia 9290 which I love, but it does have some shortfalls. In November, after dropping it several times over the last 2 years, I noticed a crack forming near the hinge just before the screen, so I started shopping for a new phone as I didn't want to risk being without a phone....

I wanted to get the new Nokia 9500 (http://www.expansys-usa.com/product.asp?code=9500) which is the latest and greatest (I thought I saw it here in this forum, but I can't find it now... ). The 9500 has a few nice improvements over the 9290 such as triband in case I wanted to use my phone over in Europe. But, at the time I was shopping for it in early November, they didn't offer it here in the US. I would have waited for it, except they were offering my old phone--the 9290 for $50.00 with rebates and a 1 year contract with TMobile. It was an incredible value as I believe I paid about 10times that price 2 years prior. They also had replacement batteries at a fraction of the price and assorted other accessories. They were offering 2 phones for that same price, so I figured I could get one for DH, too. (Of course--his has sat in the recharging cradle for going on 2 months now :D )

I think there are a lot of fancy phones that are being offered at an incredible value because of a new rule which requires the phones to give their location to the 911 operator and some of the old phones don't have that capability.

My phone (http://www.letstalk.com/product/product.htm/depId_1/pgId_100/prId_19665.htm) even though it isn't the latest and greatest does have a complete office suite and a 1.5 inch X 4.25 inch display and a full keyboard. It has internet, but it is too slow for me. I haven't configured the email, but it alos has that capability. It will also send faxes. The features I use the most are my calendar, my phone contacts, phone and text messaging. (I got quite a kick out of sending text messages to the uk :) ) The display is easy to navigate. It comes with a 16mb memory card, but you can add a larger memory card on for additional storage. I can go for several days without having to recharge it (this is with talking for about an hour a day), then it only takes about 2 hours to recharge. The battery that I had for about 2 years is starting to fade (it now needs to be charged every 2 or 3 days). The built in speaker phone is excellant.

On the downside is the phone's size: It is approx 2 X 7 X1 inches, though it does fit into my fanny pack. It doesn't have 2way radio. And, as mentioned before, the internet is a slow speed connection. It also does not have a camera built in (although, when I attended the Disney Annual Stockholder's meeting, I noticed that they were requiring camera phones to be checked--so, at that time, it was an advantage not to have a camera phone :) ).


-DC :ears:

[Breeze]

JD is right about using the private mode on the nextel phone when using the walkie talkie feature. The only time I have mine on "audio" is when I am in the car and it's just easier to use it that way. I will say that nextel does seem to have the best service around here at least and when I was in Florida for the meet my family never had a problem getting a hold of me even when I was in the parks.

Ever hear someone say 10-4 on a Nextel?

I do that to Michael all the time just to annoy him :wink: And if I really want to get to him I'll even say "That's a 10-4 good buddy" :lol: He probably just :rolleyes: and then explains to his friends that his mother is just nuts :whistle:

[OKWTink]

I am familiar with Nokia, DC. I've only ever owned that brand! I've been pretty happy with the phones I've had...

I'll have to look into that too!

I am sort of, kind of, maybe hoping to have one appliance replace two?

Do you think the Nokia would replace a phone and a PDA?

[Keith]

I'm a big nokia fan.. I do think their phones have the best usability but the 9000 pda series use a different OS anyway so that's not a particular + in that range.. they definitely can replace phone/pda though! honestly I think it's an older less nice form factor than the blackberry style devices but equally powerful

[ukwdwnut]

im a nokia fan too, their menu system is the best that i've used, i have been using DD's motorola for a few months eewwwwwww dont like it at all the menu is all over the place yuk

im gonna need a new phone too soon, very soon, now in fact :D

[dcfromva]

Do you think the Nokia would replace a phone and a PDA?

For me, yes it has. But, it may depend on how you use your phone and your PDA...

I also thought of one other aspect of my particular phone--it is kind of bulky to hold it to your ear. (I normally only use the phone on the speaker mode when I am alone in my car). Though, it does come with a little ear piece attachment so you don't have to hold the phone to your ear in the private mode, if you don't want to...

-DC :ears:

[OKWTink]

More things to consider. :D

I have a problem with the ear buds. I have very fussy ears. :rolleyes: Those little buds just exacerbate the problem. I have had a wicked time (don't currently have one now) finding an alternative headset to use with my Nokia.

If it is bulky, and I can't use the earbud style of headset, is there another option (headset wise)?

You don't like the Motorola, UKWDWNUT? Good to know. I'd looked at a couple (before the PDA got sick).

[Keith]

For me, yes it has. But, it may depend on how you use your phone and your PDA...

I also thought of one other aspect of my particular phone--it is kind of bulky to hold it to your ear. (I normally only use the phone on the speaker mode when I am alone in my car). Though, it does come with a little ear piece attachment so you don't have to hold the phone to your ear in the private mode, if you don't want to...

-DC :ears:

The holding a bulky item to your ear (and it does look/feel a bit silly) is also true of the pocketpc versions that I like so much :( and to a lesser extent, the older blackberry devices. It sounds like a small catch, but actually it can get really annoying

[dcfromva]

I have a problem with the ear buds.

:lol: :lol: I'm with you on that one .... (The little ear buds that came with the phones are still sealed in their little plastic packages :D )

I will do a search to see if I can find a headset option...


-DC :ears:

[Keith]

im a nokia fan too, their menu system is the best that i've used, i have been using DD's motorola for a few months eewwwwwww dont like it at all the menu is all over the place yuk

im gonna need a new phone too soon, very soon, now in fact :D

ooo whatcha gonna get nutty?

It's awkward nokia wise for me... they dont do any with all the features that I need/want but I do like the way they work :/

At the moment I have a motorola MPX 220 which is a windows smartphone (so it doesnt work the way all the other motorolas do.. it has windows menus). I got it from bestbuy and it works really really well. I can MSN on there, check webpages and when I do "sync" it talks over the internet with my computers at home and grabs any new email, new contacts, new appointments etc.. and yet it's the size of a normal phone

[dcfromva]

I will do a search to see if I can find a headset option...

:( I'm not finding any for my particular model... But, the new 9500 with the bluetooth technology has a really spiffy wireless headset... ( oh, I shouldn't be looking... :lol: )

-DC :ears:

[JacksDad]

Found an interesting article that was released today.

Among cellular companies, Verizon (http://www.verizon.com/) (NYSE: VZ) http://www.linuxinsider.com/images/new/icon-inline-search.gif (http://www.linuxinsider.com/perl/search.pl?query=Verizon&scope=network) scored the best in the survey for the third straight time, but often by a narrow margin. T-Mobile (http://www.tmobile.com/) http://www.linuxinsider.com/images/new/icon-inline-search.gif (http://www.linuxinsider.com/perl/search.pl?query=T-Mobile&scope=network) scored the second best in some major markets, the survey showed.

Source (http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/Wireless-Customers-Consider-Service-Shoddy-Survey-Shows-39421.html)

[OKWTink]

I get Consumer Reports and they show Verizon as the best service provider overall.

Thanks for the links! I'll check out the ariticles.

[OKWTink]

Oh! Meant to ask about this too. A man at work recommends the "sidekick" (jeez, I think that's the name). Currently it apparently only works with TMobile.

Any opinions on that device?

[JacksDad]

Verizon also supports the Blackberry.
I don't know much about the Sidekick.

[OKWTink]

Verizon supports Blackberry? Hmmm...enticing! :D

[JacksDad]

Just looked at the Sidekick.
Personally I'd go with the BB.
Think I may switch to Verizon as well. ATT. http://www.wdisneyw.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

[JacksDad]

Just did a Google on Blackberry vs Sidekick.
Oy!
Think you're own your own from here on in. http://www.wdisneyw.com/ubb/eek.gif

I'm going back to my Miles Davis. http://www.wdisneyw.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[OKWTink]

What? Hey! Come back here! You can't desert me now! :eek:

[JacksDad]

Course not.
BB is a better phone and more business oriented.
SK has a built in camera (BB's is an accessory) but a lousy phone.
It's better for surfing.
From what I see the SK is for a younger crowd who want to IM each other in class while ths BB is more of an adult organizer.
The SK also has Bluetooth which BB lacks.
Bluetooth rocks but at my age I don't need a glorified IPOD. :shrug:

[OKWTink]

Oiy. I see what you mean about on my own. :sigh: So, like I don't have any use for in class IM capability? :D

No bluetooth for the Blackberry? Hmmm...

The man at work said a friend of his who is upper management in some cable or internet company or some techie position, traded the Blackberry for the Sidekick.

The sidekick is pretty cheap too. But I don't like the lousy phone thing. :(

I think I'm just about burnt out on this issue for today. Maybe I'll just revert to carrying a quarter in my pocket and writing letters.

Could be interesting. :ohdear:

[JacksDad]

I think I'm just about burnt out on this issue for today. Maybe I'll just revert to carrying a quarter in my pocket and writing letters.

Could be interesting. :ohdear:
hey! When I was your age.....
Sorry. Wrong thread. http://www.wdisneyw.com/ubb/tongue.gif

[OKWTink]

:rotfl: Brat. :D