Phones

Notice how Blackberry, which continues to have the absolutely WORST mobile browsing experience in the industry, is conspicuously absent?

I started thinking about this last night and how our lives have become so much busier in a world that was supposed to supply technologies that made things easier. This would have to be the main reason I refuse to have a blackberry - Why on earth do I need phone calls, sms messages, and my email coming to me immediately!! When did the device take control of my life? I realise there is the off button that I can press when I get home of an evening - But how many people resist the temptation to just quickly check the latest email?

Okay, okay, I can hear the sniggers and the comments now: “He’s gone for style over functionality” Well, not quite so true though it does have an element of truth to it. Yes, I got myself a Blackberry Pearl through my O2 business package. Why I have this? Let’s look at my history for the last few years:

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve done a gadget review. Last time was a review comparison of the Blackberry 8700 vs the Treo 700, which seemed to capture a TON of attention and started a community of it’s own. It’s the #1 post I have for comments, and the #2 post in visitors on this entire blog. There seems to be an amazing amount of questions and community surrounding these phones.

I was a bit surprised and amused at what happened between sessions. At every break time, 24 adults scrambling for their cell phones and BlackBerrys, returning calls and answering emails.

I am a bit laptop and Blackberry addicted (I’m no longer denying this!) - so you won’t get any posts while I’m on vacation. But you’ll be hearing from me in the New Year.

The new service is currently only available on the BlackBerry 8703e and the Samsung u520 mobile phone. You can get this service on those phones by paying $9.99 per month for unlimited use or paying $2.99 for use during a single day. Daily use is currently only supported on the Samsung phone.

On a lighter note, and in preparation for our trip, I’ve added a little Google Map to the sidebar. It’ll show you where we are, so long as I can get enough signal to update our location on the blackberry.

As I have briefly mentioned here I recently changed my trusty Treo 650 phone for a Blackberry 8700g. I’ve yet to post a full review and comparison of the phones here but in the meantime, why not check out my short Blackberry video I recently put together.

Most of the readers are free, but I've also come across some that are subscription based, especially those for mobile devices. There are a few for the Blackberry, and some that aren't tied to specific devices. Mark Evans recommends Virtual Reach for mobiule devices, and you get a 7 day free trial ;-)

After a full 5 minutes, he issues one last blast. “Get it?!” he yells, and slams the phone down. There is a small pause. He takes a breath and, like a butterfly suddenly reverting to caterpillar status, he turns to me a little sheepishly and says, “That should give ‘im something to think about. What time is dinner?” And just like that, he’s my sweet business pal again. Within an hour, word comes over the BlackBerry that the matter has been resolved in our favor.

I have an ongoing love-hate relationship with the Canadian mobile industry—mostly due to the fact that we don’t really have one yet (harsh words I know.) Digging up information about what’s going on here is painful at best. The local media still calls mobile ‘wireless’ or ‘cellular’, still thinks that ‘mobile’ exclusively refers to iPods and Blackberry devices, and most consumers have fallen madly in love with the ‘ultra-cool’ Razr (…bad UI, hobbled Bluetooth, non-existant battery life…enough said.)

And this may just make it irrelevant. Do they call it a Palmberry or a Blackeo?

Nevertheless, the bewildered pool was deposited at Camp at 9:20 a.m. and led by a Marine into the Evergreen Chapel, where we held for a little under 20 minutes guarded by two Marines holding large guns — one in the balcony and one at the front of the chapel by the pulpit. We were then led down a paved, wooded path, where we held still longer in front of a lodge marked “Laurel,” next to a fleet of golf carts emblazoned with “Camp David.” It was during this wait that one of the White House’s “In Case You Missed It” e-mails flashed across our Blackberry screens telling of Bush’s surprise trip to Baghdad, its subject-line taking on new meaning.

A week of Blackberry Bliss. After ditching my 6700 on Sprint for a Blackberry 8700c on Cingular, things have gotten much smoother in terms of my information flow. The biggest issue with the 6700 is that while I loved the device (mostly), I could never fully invest myself in the device because I was always operating in a Chinese-water-torture state of fear about the battery. It’s like living under the spectre of nuclear war, except not as melodramatic. I was often thinking, “I shouldn’t be using the EVDO radio so much!” or “people, please stop e-mailing me, my battery!”

I finally got BBReply properly installed on my BlackBerry 8700g. The trick is to do a full reboot in order to activate BBReply.

I can’t decide if I’m enjoying the ride or teetering on the edge of hysteria. The secret that no one ever told me about moving into a management position is that there’s not much difference between the two. If I start wearing a Blackberry and using words like synergy, please smack me upside the head.

Google also recently added support for the BlackBerry through a special downloadable version of Google Talk designed for the handheld device.

The Nokia E61 was on show, and the remapped S60 interface was slick, simple, and very “Palm-treo-like”. The device may not have the sheer feel of the Treo 650, but it does fit in nicely. The thumb-board felt easier to use than the Treo’s as it is wider, but we didn’t get enough time to check out all the features.

Anywho, when I launched the Crackberry's Desktop Manager after installing the System Software Upgrade Package, you are supposed to get a prompt telling you that your system is out of date and would you like the new stuff. Nothing. It was as if the Desktop Manager couldn't see the new package, or more likely, that it didn't realize that the new package supported this particular Blackberry.