Talk to me about Blackberrys

This may be my last attempt at a PDA phone.

I like the idea a lot, but just haven't found the right device.

I had both a Palm and a IPhone.

The IPhone is not an option. I'm in a rural area, and Verizon is pretty much THE provider. Phone service was terrible on the IPhone.

The Palm was OK, but it got pretty dated. I wore the buttons off mine. But the operating system and the technology is just not up to snuff anymore, and the company is not bringing out any improvements.

I'm kind of a basic guy. I don't care about movies, videos, or MP3's, never use it for gaming, and I have found internet surfing to be nearly impossible on any hand held screen, just because of my old failing eyes and innaccesibility of local 3g networks.

I need a basic business tool, not a cool gadget with unlimited ring tones and gaming. I really like the idea of a mobile contact/ calender device coupled with a phone, but am about to resign to the fact that these devices are mostly compromises, and maybe I need both a phone and pda.

So, what I need most is a really good phone. Simple, easy integration. The Palm was a little weak on this. The phone sound quality was weak, the speaker phone was terrible, and the buttons were too small to see.

Next, I'd like to manage contact data on the fly. I really liked the basic interface of the Palm, and especially liked it's ability to hot sync to my computer.

PDA stuff is necessary- calender, tasks, notes, etc.

Emails to my phone would be nice, but I find the Qwerty keyboard and the tiny screen too small to be practical. The IPhone was a better screen. The old Palms had full sized keyboard options, and I really liked that. Haven't seen anything like them in a while.

Storing pics is good, but I rarely use the camera.

Managing Word and excel files would be really good.

I could see getting to like MP3's, but its WAAY down on my list.

So, how do the Blackberry's stack up?

I have had the Curve and now the Storm. They are both great phones, sounds like maybe the Curve would be a better fit for you.

great for keeping in touch for business and personal. On my curve I had like 5 email accounts setup. I was able to respond to business emails right away and get my school email setup on it as well.

My Curve was also very sturdy, dropped it a few times with no effect on its function. I could easily slip it in a pocket where the Storm is a little bigger.

I loved my Curve and I'm honestly tempted to go back it it from the Storm. There are a few bugs with the Storm still though most could be fixed with a firmware update.

Buy an iPhone (outside of AT&T/Apple) and put it on Verizon. No harder to do than any other phone. iPhone's are available outside of the states with other providers....

An HTC built SmartPhone with Google's Android I think would be a better solution since I dislike BlackBerry's interface (reminds me of Palm's old PDA interface and we've all grown out of those days, why haven't they?)

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/04/hands-on-with-h.html

I will however, say that Palm seems to be giving it one last chance:

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/04/how-the-palm-pr.html

Be sure to check out the links on the bottom of the articles and to hit up da Google for more info, etc.

Since we're all touchy feel-y geeky types, a look see/feel mission might be in order.

Verizon's Blackberry Storm seems pretty nice, though i have not used it myself.

This impartial website will give you its stats and some user reviews.
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=1864

fiat22turbo wrote: Buy an iPhone (outside of AT&T/Apple) and put it on Verizon. No harder to do than any other phone. iPhone's are available outside of the states with other providers....

There is one flaw in your iPhone logic. The US version of the iPhone is not capable of recieving or transmitting in the digital mode known as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) it is only capable of transmitting in Global Systems for Mobile format (GSM).

What this means is that due to its internal parts, the US version of the iPhone is not capable of broadcasting or recieving over Verizon's network.

Your recommendation of the HTC Android also suffers the same flaw since it too is a GSM-only product.

There's got to be some kind of crack out there for that though...

jrw1621 wrote: Verizon's Blackberry Storm seems pretty nice, though i have not used it myself. This impartial website will give you its stats and some user reviews. http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=1864

Yeah I have the Storm now. Its an awesome phone but there are a couple things that need to be fixed, as I said a firm ware update could solve them I'm sure.

There likely is. Not sure if it is worth it though and for the casual user, not very good if you have to rely on wifi to get your data, etc.

I'd say the Palm Pre or the HTC G2 (the Verizon versions of them anyway).

The underlying problem is simply that Verizon uses cdma2000 (2.5G) which limits the phones available. How is T-Mobile's reception in your area? They use EDGE/GSM (granted a different frequency set than AT&T, but you're one step closer)

BTW, the iPhone is available on CDMA in Japan....

Even if the IPhone could work on Verizon's network (which it can't), it is still a severely compromised gadget without a good 3G network. 3G service has WAAY too holes in it in rural areas.

I've owned 3 different Blackberry pearls in two years. My first BB I accidentally dropped in iced tea, my second one had some sort of setting problem I could not figure out and by that I could not receive emails, so I traded that blackberry for my sister's blackberry. She uses her blackberry as a full time phone, does not use any other functionality. She just thinks its a cute phone. My current blackberry's trackball wont scroll down, which makes life hard when it depends so much on the track ball.

That being said, I love my blackberry and find it very useful. I can listen to internet radio via slacker mobile, I can check my RSS feeds using Viigo, I can send and receive emails, texting is a breeze with the qwerty keyboard and I surf the web on opera mini.

If you can find the good applications for your needs, you'll love it too. But like always, technology is great!.. when it works.

Verizon is the only real option.

The cell size for systems like AT&T is too small to effectively cover large geographic areas. They need more towers, and can't afford or justify them when there is a smaller populace. When there IS a signal it is tremendous, but there are huge holes.

Verizon used to have a Windows Mobile smart phone that was a regular flip phone form factor. I don't remember the model, or know if they still have it, but if it's still around it should be cheap and may be what you're after.

What about the dated-ness of the Palm OS bugs you? You say you just want pretty basic PDA functionality, and my Treo 755p does everything you seem to want pretty well. I can also use it as a Bluetooth-connected modem with my laptop.

I don't have any experience with older Palm-made phones (although I've been using PalmOS PDAs since 1999 and had a Samsung i500 that I absolutely loved from 2003-2008), but I think the sound quality of my late model Treo is fine. I do realize that sort of thing is partly (largely) subjective, though.

fiat22turbo wrote: . I'd say the Palm Pre or the HTC G2 (the Verizon versions of them anyway).

The Pre is likey not a good choice since it is not planned to be available for a few months and when it does become available it will work on Sprint only for about the first year.
http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=3796

I can find no evidence of a HTC G2. Can you give more info?

fiat22turbo wrote: . BTW, the iPhone is available on CDMA in Japan....

I believe that the Japan version is WCDMA, not CDMA and though only one letter different they are not intercompatable.
http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=104

Good info guys. I too am thinking of getting a BB soon and I'm not really tech savy. There's also the Samsung Omnia (spelling?) from Verizon.

billy3esq wrote: What about the dated-ness of the Palm OS bugs you? You say you just want pretty basic PDA functionality, and my Treo 755p does everything you seem to want pretty well. I can also use it as a Bluetooth-connected modem with my laptop.

I had a Treo 600 which met my basic needs, but the phone quality wasn't too good.

When I wore it out, I tried other options. Thought the IPhone was great, until I learned its limitations (for me).

I looked hard at a friend's Treo 700p. It looked like it was trying too hard to force the old software to do new stuff (like old PC's, which still had too much evidence of DOS). I eventually gave in, because I was frustrated with the IPhone.

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of buying a Treo 700w, not realizing this was not Palm OS based but Windows Mobile. THAT was a terrible mis-match (the machine didn't interface well with the software, and the software didn't interface well with the machine). I got the worst of both worlds- I lost my simple machine with the Palm OS that I liked, got a horribly difficult to view WM screen, all the high tech problems with none of the perks. Then that machine died- good riddance.

Now I use a basic flip phone, but I do miss the PDA features. I'm just frustrated with what is available. It seems some of the best tools of the basic world (easy interface, uber easy to read and organize, add-ons like full sized keyboards) have disappeared in favor of all the "cool" stuff- but these cool features still seem very forced in the PDA format.

I run a BlackBerry Curve from Verizon

primary reason? Microsoft Exchange support with ota Calendar/Task/Memo/Email sync

other fun reasons?

Decent screen

Internet Access with Opera Mini (No limitations)

Camera for quick shots of work

support MicroSD cards for tons of storage

Pandora.com app for streaming CD Quality Music

Full qwerty keyboard.

Apparently the Pandora app does not yet recognize the Storm

I love my Curve.

check out

crackberry.com

Another Curve user here, I went through 3 different Windows Mobile devices and hated them all before I got the Curve and it just pain works. The keyboard is easy to use, the screen is acceptable size and resolution for web use, and it'll do word and excel files no sweat (though I'm on Sprint, YMMV with Verizon). The built in GPS and Sprint navigation are nice too. The only downside is the cost aspect of the plan for me, I had an unlimited data plan but I had to add a Blackberry plan onto that to the tune of $40 a month to get the functionality I needed for work.

Yeah one thing that I miss from the Curve over the Storm is the ease of typing out a message with one hand.

I've had my Sprint Curve for about 2 months. I was addicted to the phone after about 2 days. I don't think I could have a phone with less functionality than what I have now. I considered a Storm, since we were already on Verizon at the time, but decided that it was a new device and wanted to wait a bit for the bugs to be worked out.

One thing to keep in minde is that in the realm of phones, the Curve is a bit on the older side. There are newer and better options available. The Samsung Omnia and the HTC Touch Pro are probably devices you should try out as well. Both run Windows Mobile, which can be for better or worse. I did consider the Omnia over my Curve when we were planning on staying on Verizon. I never did try it out, though.

All in all, the Curve is a good device, and you should probably at least try it out. Don't bother with using an in-store model, see if you can find an activated handset to try. I work with a bunch of gadget whores, and had access to just about everything without limitations.

only problem with the blackberry's as you will soon find out.

they resemble crack addictions.

to the point as previously mentioned the official-unofficial user forum is crackberry.com

But, I've converted numerous people from the gimmicky touchscreen/slider/flipphone/treos to the BB. they haven't looked back.

It is marketed as a business phone, not a consumer phone. the reception is wonderful, much stronger than most phones.

I had a treo 640? zero bars of signal at my desk (inside brick building) the BlackBerry Curve? Full Bars.

Hell, I get 4-5 bars when out in the middle of nowhere where the nearest cell tower is 10 miles away

It would be nice if it worked that way.

Is yours a Verizon Blackberry? Was it a Verizon Treo?

yes to both

billy3esq wrote: What about the dated-ness of the Palm OS bugs you?

I was wondering that myself, since he immediately goes on to say he doesn't need whizz-bang features. other than what the Palm offers.

I'm in pretty much the same quandary; I'm fairly stuck with Verizon for decent coverage and I'm heavily Palm-based. I'm excited about the Pre because there's else nothing on the horizon to replace my Treo, which is luckily soldiering on well after 3 years or so.

My main problem is the utterly nonexistant Macintosh support that Palm offers for the Desktop software.