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Hi, I am due an upgrade and I have been thinking of getting one of these. I was just wondering if anyone else here has/has used a blackberry, and what they thought about them. Thanks.

Ubiquitous wrote:Hi, I am due an upgrade and I have been thinking of getting one of these. I was just wondering if anyone else here has/has used a blackberry, and what they thought about them. Thanks.

Never used the Pearl but I have the 8700 for work and it is addicting as all hell. In part this is because the company pays for me to use both company and personal e-mail as well as mobile web browsing.

Can you watch internet video? I wouldn't mind watching MLB games via mlb.tv whilst I am out of town. Or youtube videos as well. Any ideas?

Also, is googlemaps any good on it or is the screen too small?

It's a nice enough device, but personally I would go for the Blackberry Curve instead. Bigger screen and full qwerty keyboard make if much mure comfortable to use.

ANGELUS wrote:It's a nice enough device, but personally I would go for the Blackberry Curve instead. Bigger screen and full qwerty keyboard make if much mure comfortable to use.

Assuming his tariff covers it, of course. I, personally, hate those tiny QWERTY keyboards, which are no better than touchscreen ones for such typing intensive activities. I have no problems using the normal pad on my N95 8GB, which browses all websites perfectly and streams video and the like as well as do just about everything I could want (except for some fucking reason it's missing the stopwatch and timer function that any cheap mobile has as standard. ARGH!).

except for some fucking reason it's missing the stopwatch and timer function that any cheap mobile has as standard. ARGH!).

I've found that most new phones lack this feature, which is a shame because its an extremely handy yet simple feature. As far as the Pearl, I really don't like the keypad, its some odd hybrid of a qwerty and the normal phone number pad.

Well, my dad has a curve and he uses it non-stop. He's very satisfied with it, and he's not a technophile, so it's easy enought to use apparently . (To the point where we usually try to hide it from him at meals, due to the constant pinging of incoming e-mails)

What's the advantage of blackberry when even cheap phones can use internet, email and run programs ? I can make long posts here from a N72. The cellphone keypad is not bad for text entry. If someone requires a full qwerty keypad even some cheap phones like the $ 80 Siemens Sk65 have it. For a greater price one can get a symbian phone which is like a miniature laptop computer.

Sarevok wrote:What's the advantage of blackberry when even cheap phones can use internet, email and run programs ? I can make long posts here from a N72. The cellphone keypad is not bad for text entry. If someone requires a full qwerty keypad even some cheap phones like the $ 80 Siemens Sk65 have it. For a greater price one can get a symbian phone which is like a miniature laptop computer.

Blackberries integrate nicely with Microsoft Exchange Server, which powers Microsoft Outlook in businesses.

Yes. I hear the reason Blackberry's are popular among professionals is that they fit in with corporate computer. However why can't this feature be offered on normal cellphones ? I am not an expert but can't software be developed to emulate Blackberry's unique features on symbian phones ?

Sarevok wrote:Yes. I hear the reason Blackberry's are popular among professionals is that they fit in with corporate computer. However why can't this feature be offered on normal cellphones ? I am not an expert but can't software be developed to emulate Blackberry's unique features on symbian phones ?

Could it be done? Sure, the existence of BlackBerrys means that it can be done. The problem begins with the fact that you will have to pay Microsoft and license their development gear in order to create software with decent interoperability with Outlook. So if a company already has a deal in place or is willing to invest the money in developing a compatability program that works with existing corporate firewalls and servers to basically allow the phone to act as a mobile Outlook then go for it there is no real special barrier to doing so.

Blindside wrote:As far as the Pearl, I really don't like the keypad, its some odd hybrid of a qwerty and the normal phone number pad.

yeah... That is what i meant. I have no trouble using the predictive text feature that regular cellphones have, but the keyboard on the pearl is just weird. I have used it a few times and i just don't like it. I much rather have the full qwerty from the curve.

Ubiquitous wrote:Hi, I am due an upgrade and I have been thinking of getting one of these. I was just wondering if anyone else here has/has used a blackberry, and what they thought about them. Thanks.

I have a Pearl, which I got for free as part of the sponsorship for being a member of the blackberry's mountain biking team (Buy Blackberry!)

I haven't tried the new one yet, but the 8100 is the best phone I've ever had. I played with the iphone and except for the browser, which is clearly superior, and for the ipod in it, I'd keep the Pearl thank you (OK, the big reason is because the contract is half the price, the iphone is a nice toy otherwise) . It's stylish - provokes a reaction when you're seen using it. You can install a fuckton of free and paid applications without actually voiding the warranty of the phone, and they work great too. It's extremely fast and polished in what it does. And the push email feature is indeed addictive. I have all my email accounts pushed to the phone. Gmail, work email, whatever and it works perfect. Also have IM applications like gtalk, MSN, AIM, etc.

The keyboard takes a while to get used to but after a week or so I got to like it. If you're used to a full QWERTY blackberry, you're probably going to get annoyed, at least at first, but the jump from a normal phone to a Pearl is fantastic. Once you get used to it, the typing speed is much improved over a normal phone. Not quite QWERTY speed, but close. It's the price to pay for having a slick phone.

ANYWAY, buy Blackberry

Ubiquitous wrote:Can you watch internet video? I wouldn't mind watching MLB games via mlb.tv whilst I am out of town. Or youtube videos as well. Any ideas

I think with the new one you can. Not sure though. I've never actually tried in mine anyway, since I only have a 5 MB data plan. Fuck paying more money to T-mobile when I already have fast internet at home and at the office.

Quality of videos stored in the flash drive is good.

Also, is googlemaps any good on it or is the screen too small?

It works great. By the way, a hint. Unless you have a generous data package, use mgmaps instead.

ANGELUS wrote:

Blindside wrote:As far as the Pearl, I really don't like the keypad, its some odd hybrid of a qwerty and the normal phone number pad.

yeah... That is what i meant. I have no trouble using the predictive text feature that regular cellphones have, but the keyboard on the pearl is just weird. I have used it a few times and i just don't like it. I much rather have the full qwerty from the curve.

You need to use if more than a few times. After a week or so, you won't be able to switch back to the horribly slow regular cellphone's typing.

Five meg data plan? Nice. For £5 a month extra to my tariff, I get a gig. Honestly, I don't know how I survived before even the crap web access on my Sony-Ericsson K750i.

And I'm pretty sure any Symbian phone like the N-Series can integrate with Outlook, if you really have to use that damned system.

As for the iPhone, the only reason it sells is because it's Apple chic and in the US it passes as advanced. £269 for 2G? Fuck. No.

I do wonder why you'd risk a Blackberry given that bankruptcy row and times when their servers die. Seems folly to get locked in that way, correct me if I'm missing something.

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Five meg data plan? Nice. For £5 a month extra to my tariff, I get a gig. Honestly, I don't know how I survived before even the crap web access on my Sony-Ericcson K750i.

Welcome to Germany, home to what are maybe the most expensive phone rates in the civilized World. I'd have to pay an extra €20 to get a measly 200 MB. It's ridiculous.

And in the meantime, I have to put up with assholes like you or my brother bragging about their fancy GB's dataplans. Pff.

Colonel Olrik wrote: Welcome to Germany, home to what are maybe the most expensive phone rates in the civilized World. I'd have to pay an extra €20 to get a measly 200 MB. It's ridiculous.

I had to pay £7.50 when with O2 on pay and go with my K750i for 200 Mb. Not amazing, though better than nothing even if half the web wouldn't load. I see T-Mobile do nice deals here, so you'd think they'd have the same such infrastructure and deals in their home nation.

And in the meantime, I have to put up with assholes like you or my brother bragging about their fancy GB's dataplans. Pff.

Please. I'm a wanker, not an asshole. You're more than welcome to emigrate to Blighty for SUPAR data plans. Everyone else in bloody Europe is coming here anyway.

Thanks guys. Awesome feedback. Didn't expect so many people here to use such devices!

I was planning on ordering one on friday, but I was too busy. However, I am off work on Monday so I will get one then. I will phone my supplier and I don't care whether I get the Curve or the Pearl - which ever they offer the best deal for, I will take.

o2 do a nice Blackberry deal. £10 for ALL data, each other. By comparison, I spent over £30 on my standard plan on internet usage alone last month.

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Five meg data plan? Nice. For £5 a month extra to my tariff, I get a gig. Honestly, I don't know how I survived before even the crap web access on my Sony-Ericsson K750i.

And I'm pretty sure any Symbian phone like the N-Series can integrate with Outlook, if you really have to use that damned system.

As for the iPhone, the only reason it sells is because it's Apple chic and in the US it passes as advanced. £269 for 2G? Fuck. No.

I do wonder why you'd risk a Blackberry given that bankruptcy row and times when their servers die. Seems folly to get locked in that way, correct me if I'm missing something.

Luckily there is no bandwidth cap here for the biggest cellphone company. For about USD 10 they allow unlimited mobile internet use as well as using that mobile as a PC modem to dl however many gigabytes someone wants.

Regarding Outlook there are several apps available. Like Flurry for instance. It works fine for personal use although I am not sure if it works with corporate IT systems equally well.

Thanks for the advice people. I finally got my hands on a Curve 8310 today after much, much drama. Why do mobile phone companies universally suck wand? Anyway, I have to wait until Wednesday before I can use it due to pathetic delays in getting my tariff changed. Anyway. I will no doubt be posting here then to ask for help when I get stuck with the features!

Client side outlook integration can be done with almost anything that's at least mid-range. What the blackberries have going for them is that they have backend server integration with exchange/groupwise and a couple of others. What this means is that mail/appointments/all the other fun bits and pieces can be pushed out to the handset like it was just another client on the network, that's why businesses like it.

Normal phones can be made to poll pop and imap servers over WAP, the functionality is usually much more limited though (though often more then enough for personal use).