[686beretta]

My cell phone contract expires next month, I am switching providers, I was out shopping yesterday, looked at a Blackberry, was wanting to know from anyone who has one, are they worth it? What are the pros/cons (besides having to subscribe to the internet and the price). I have the internet at home, just wondering why I would need it on my phone. Please share your thoughts and opinions.

 

[Baber]

Buy an IPHONE you will be happier.

TB

 

[MXSHOOTER]

I just got a blackberry storm, so far I like it but have only had it a couple weeks, I wanted the I-phone but AT&T is not available in my area. I was told that the storm has all the same capabilities as the I-phone. Texting is easier than with my old razor and it is nice to be able to read e-mail when not at home.

 

[cls]

A Blackberry (any model) is only useful if you need to get your email on the go. Or have certain Web sites you need to access on the go. If you don't, it's not worth it.

If you buy a Blackberry and do not subscribe to internet/e-mail access the phone will be limited. For example, several friends and family members of mine often text mail photos to each other, pictures of the kids, etc... I can't send or receive photos on my Blackberry because my chosen plan does not include internet access. If I had a Razor I could.

If you choose to pay for the internet/e-mail plan, Blackberry's are great. But so is the iPhone. cls

 

[rrose]

I have a blackberry because of work. If you need your email all the time and you travel it is good but otherwise I would not buy one. I do wish it had a camera and mine does not. I find mine to be hard on the battery because I get so many emails and have to charge it daily and sometimes run out of charge.
randy

 

[BIGDON]

I have had mine for about 5 months and like it alot. I use it for work and play. I can stay in touch, take pictures, record and battery life is better than other phones I have had. If I didn't need the email and internet I wouldn't have bought it but it also works as an air card for my laptop.


Don

 

[tachyon]

I really did not see a need for any "fancy" cellphone. I had a blackberry and switched to an iPhone. I like the iphone better. It is all about how you are going to use it. Some of the things you can do with the iphone (and most of them you can also do with the blackberry).

1. It syncs my contacts between my laptop, desktop and iPhone. Nice backup if you have one stolen, nice to have all contacts on all devices. It also syncs my calendar.

2. It automatically connects to an open wifi network. (asks first of course). With the wifi connection you are not using any minutes. I used it last week when my wife's flight was delayed by weather to check the airlines website and compared their info to the info on the big board. I also used it to check a price while inside a Best Buy, interesting when you show them the web price and compare to what they in the store.

3. Doubles as my iPod. I don't need a separate iPod, it also plugs into my F150.

4. Location/maps. Had to go to Sioux City to help a friend. Forgot a map. The built in GPS on my IPhone located where I was and the built in maps let me navigate. The weather feature is nice. I keep the weather for Barrow Alaska handy so I can feel better when it is -10 in Omaha and -40 in Barrow.

5. Built in scientific calculator. Replaced most of my TI for school/research purposes.

6. Download pics taken with the built in camera to my computer. My former razor required me to "send" my pictures to an email address and they charged by the picture. I don't use the text messaging very much but I can assure you that it is one of the preferred methods of communication with high school students.

7. Applications: Many of the third party applications developed for the iPhone are free. I use the "level" which turns your iPhone into a level. Nice and it is always with me. The Graphing Calculator replaces another part of what my TI would do. Unit converter is nice to convert between various temperature scales. It also does area and volume conversions which I tend to need from time to time. Urban Spoon uses the built in GPS to find/recommend restaurants near your current location. There are thousands of apps with stuff for the building trades, cooking, finance etc.

8. Books. I have a number of reference books on my iPhone. Nice to have available when needed. Movies, You can download/watch movies/podcasts and TV shows on the iPhone. Nice when sitting around airports with nothing to do. I download the free videos from iTunes U. Some interesting learning experiences.

9. Recreation: I have an app called Baseball which has the rosters for just about every major league team in history. Want to lineup for the Brooklyn Robins for 1920... it's there (yes I know totally useless for most people). Games iBowl is about as good as a Wii.

 

[sptnclays]

The blackberry can act as a modem for your computer.
If the battery goes bad in the iphone it has to be shipped back to the factory.

 

[pyrdek]

Listed above is an article outlining some of the comparisons between the Blackberry Storm and the I Phone. There is also mention of using an IPod Touch to get most of the features of the I Phone without the $100+ ATT contract.

The author had the same kind of problem some users have reported around here in NW Pennsylvania, namely poor or non-existent network connections. Depending on your area that may or may not be a problem.

 

[Carol Lister]

For many people, the Blackberry is just an expensive techno-toy in search of some legitimate use, a toy they quickly become tired of. The people I know who own/owned one (including me) quickly became annoyed by the "push" email service that notifies the owner of new mail immediately. Few of us found any value in being chained to email 24 hours a day. It comes default with the Blackberry Internet Service service and with both Gmail and Yahoo. Other SMTP and POP clients can be configured check for mail less often.

Nokia and Apple both offer less elaborate services to compete with Blackberry. If you can wait until you can get to a computer to do internet business, you don't need a Blackberry.

Carol Lister

 

[ljutic73]

I bought a Blackberry "world" phone last April in advance of our trip to [email protected]#@#$ thing did not work as advertised outside North America (probably due to my service provider stringing me a line of BS about how it would) and I found the thing too large to use as a phone and too small to function well as a computer with my big fingers....so I gave it to my daughter in law who like fancy tech thingies.....my advice....buy a phone and a small laptop with wirelss capabilities....you'll be happier....JMHO

Ron

 

[X Trap 2]

i phone seems best from what I have heard and my granddaughter uses one also. Gps and you tube are a couple of many, many, great features also.Ray

 

[gotbass]

bought a Blackberry Storm, blackberry is the only make supported by the county I work for. Hate the damn thing, the razor phone was much superior and my wife's Itouch is much more user friendly. I had a work related blackberry with out the phone before and a palm before that, the Palm was much better. I will not buy another blackberry product.