Blackberry

[Matt Taylor]

Fargin blackberrys. Anybody use these? A friend just gave me a 7100g and I'm trying to figure out if I want to use it or not.

Any big advantages other than being able to email from it? I probably don't need that feature enough to pay for the data package from Cingular. Maybe in the future. I was thinking that the ability to manage contacts with Outlook and the BB would make it worth it, as well as some of the applications you can download.

Anybody have any input/experiences/etc.?

 

[az_max]

Fargin blackberrys. Anybody use these? A friend just gave me a 7100g and I'm trying to figure out if I want to use it or not.

Any big advantages other than being able to email from it? I probably don't need that feature enough to pay for the data package from Cingular. Maybe in the future. I was thinking that the ability to manage contacts with Outlook and the BB would make it worth it, as well as some of the applications you can download.

Anybody have any input/experiences/etc.?

I have a nextel black and white blackberry I used at my last company. Once I left, I couldn't see the need to pay $75/mo for internet access (blackberry package) PLUS the phone package ($30/mo). And nextel doesn't let you use the BB without the BB package.

we used a third party software to sync Groupwise mail with the BB (and Treo's), so I'm not familiar with the outlook integration. The Two apps I wished to run on the BB didn't run (irc and marbles from netives.com).

 

[bigred]

If you are a heavy email user it may be worth while. If you are an occasional email user, you can get the same functionality out of a smartphone without having to mess with the required blackberry packages that most carriers have.

 

[lcater]

I find the combined phone with Lotus Notes integration to be a very solution. The best 'phone' I've had as integration of names was easy. But, if you do not plan to use one for email, then there are better phones specific solutions out there. Check out http://www.blackberryforums.com/index.php as it is a very good site for information on blackberry's.
If you had an 8700c/g then I would say keep it.

 

[Alexa]

Today my blackberry died..... I found it most useful with the calendar function so that if I am away from the office and a client wants to book an event I can check availability etc etc etc. I don't think I will replace it with another blackberry.

 

[Alan]

The email portion of it seems good but so far the phone quality hasn't impressed me. It seems to pick up a lot of background noise.

 

[bernardmann]

I live and die by my work-provided Blackberry. I use it mainly for the e-mail, calendar, and task functions, because I'm away from the office a lot. If you're mainly going to use the cellular phone feature, you probably won't like it, because that function sucks in my opinion - the reception is horrible.

 

[vabiro]

Fargin blackberrys. Anybody use these? A friend just gave me a 7100g and I'm trying to figure out if I want to use it or not.

Any big advantages other than being able to email from it? I probably don't need that feature enough to pay for the data package from Cingular. Maybe in the future. I was thinking that the ability to manage contacts with Outlook and the BB would make it worth it, as well as some of the applications you can download.

Anybody have any input/experiences/etc.?

Matt,

The big advantage to having a Blackberry is that it frees you from the teather to the desktop. You can be on-top of things from almost anywhere on the planet, and turn it off when you don't want to be available.

I have had Blackberrys since they were even branded as Blackberrys, and have found that they do one thing well, and only one thing: integrate with Exchange and Lotus Notes.

They are lousy phones, and so-so as a PIM or web client.

If you are planning on using it for accessing simple e-mail (POP3 or IMAP) i would do as someone else suggested, and use something like a T-mobile Hiptop, a Palm Trio or one of the other PocketPC phones. Some can use WiFi on your home network which has a bunch of functions (VoIP, Video over IP, sharing your MP3s etc.), and checking mail or browsing the web using WiFi at home is free vs. data transfer on a cellular network.

The real-time e-mail and PIM (calendar,contacts, tasks and notes) syncronisation on Blackberries using the desktop client only if you are using Exchange or Lotus server. Otherwise, you have to connect to your desktop and then sync.

Since RIM got into all their legal problems a lot of very good, cheap, alternatives have popped up.

Victor

 

[skippy3k]

I'll 2nd (or is it 3rd?) the statement that they suck as phones.

They suck as phones.

Unless you use an earpiece thingy, you feel like you are talking into a bar of soap...with about the same reception qualities.

The email part is nice though. Once nice use for them is to email up-to-the-minute trail reports to those who couldn't make the wheeling trip in the first place.

Scott

 

[Rocky]

Wifes used one for years . Shes an addict a crackberry.

She's even worn out at least two.......

So I got her a laptop for home use...IBM T43. Thinking about getting another one for me, and letting the kids have the desktop

 

[walkerTranger]

The big advantage to having a Blackberry is that it frees you from the teather to the desktop. You can be on-top of things from almost anywhere on the planet, and turn it off when you don't want to be available.

I have had Blackberrys since they were even branded as Blackberrys, and have found that they do one thing well, and only one thing: integrate with Exchange and Lotus Notes.

They are lousy phones, and so-so as a PIM or web client.

If you are planning on using it for accessing simple e-mail (POP3 or IMAP) i would do as someone else suggested, and use something like a T-mobile Hiptop, a Palm Trio or one of the other PocketPC phones. Some can use WiFi on your home network which has a bunch of functions (VoIP, Video over IP, sharing your MP3s etc.), and checking mail or browsing the web using WiFi at home is free vs. data transfer on a cellular network.

The real-time e-mail and PIM (calendar,contacts, tasks and notes) syncronisation on Blackberries using the desktop client only if you are using Exchange or Lotus server. Otherwise, you have to connect to your desktop and then sync.

Since RIM got into all their legal problems a lot of very good, cheap, alternatives have popped up.

Victor

I would second this post. I just trashed my 7520 and bought a 7100i. They are great for a "corporate" user type as they provide you with many functions in one device. If it were not for the applications that apply to my business, I would have another solution other than Blackberry.

 

[Klank]

I have a nextel black and white blackberry I used at my last company. Once I left, I couldn't see the need to pay $75/mo for internet access (blackberry package) PLUS the phone package ($30/mo). And nextel doesn't let you use the BB without the BB package.
we used a third party software to sync Groupwise mail with the BB (and Treo's), so I'm not familiar with the outlook integration. The Two apps I wished to run on the BB didn't run (irc and marbles from netives.com).

Not so True. Just take your phone sim and put it in the Blackberry. Trust me, it works. You don't need the email package.

Matt

 

[az_max]

Not so True. Just take your phone sim and put it in the Blackberry. Trust me, it works. You don't need the email package.

Matt

I remeber that breaks something, either push email or web browsing, I forget which. And I know Nextel can 'upgrade' your plan automatically if they see a BB on the other end instead of a phone. Don't know if they ever do it.

I used the BB service to check my own mail, and notifylink to get corporate mail.

BTW, NotifyLink and BES now have support for Groupwise, if your company runs it. NL has support for Palm, Wince, PDA 2003, RIM, and a few others.

 

[Matt Kendrick]

these posts sum it up, great at email, sucks as a phone. i would prefer not to carry it, but, it's a necessary evil if you frequently work outside of the office. mine also has direct connect, which seems to work pretty well.

cons; battery life, ringer is not nearly loud enough, doesn't ring more than three times before going straight into your voicemail, the little wheel on the side sucks when you're trying to answer a call (i miss calls all the time and wind up having to call them right back, usually as they're leaving me a message), basically anything that has to do with phone functionality.

pros; syncs pretty well with ms outlook, i get emails sooner than my office desktop, i'm pretty damn fast at typing on that keypad now, can open and read most attached files, but most importantly and someone else mentioned it up there, allows freedom from being teathered to your desk!

 

[vabiro]

Hi,

I just heard that RIM has just received FCC approval for a couple of new GSM/EDGE models that are a bit smaller and phone-like:


I think their product group has been getting a lot of criticizism about the phone functionality. Companies like Motorola and Nokia are starting from the phone paradigm, and RIM from the e-mail world, and it seems to show in their products.

The problem remains with their product: you have to pay something like $50/mo to have access to their service. Other services exist for other devices, and you're not marrried to a single service provider or product.

Victor

 

[Matt Taylor]

Thanks for all the awesome input. I've found that the phone sucks as well, mostly because of the background noise. If I'm in the Defender, which is my daily driver, nobody can hear me.

So, until that time when I need to access email 24.7, I'm sticking with my motorola.

Thanks guys.

 

[az_max]

Just a selfless self promotion, we posted my old BB on ebay. 6510 Nextel/boost mobile (so I hear) b/w blackberry. I had it refurbed about a week before my company stopped paying for our service, so it's just about New in the Box.

http://cgi.ebay.com/RIM-Balckberry-...ryZ64355QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem