To blackberry or not...

[Guern]

Hi Guys

Been offred a blackberry 7290 or 7100G to use for getting my email.

Anyone got any experience of these? Can I read Pprune using the built in browser?


Cheers guys

[Danny]

I use a 7290 and I like it. With the amount of email I receive it is great to be able to deal with it whilst on the move and some spare time. It is great for composing emails. I never liked the predictive stuff and being to use a qwerty keyboard is much easier. The keys are small but satisfying when pressing them. It is very easy to use one handed.

I miss having a loudspeaker but that's about it. I never really used the camera on my other phones and many of the other features were redundant too.

I wouldn't use it for browsing PPRuNe as the pages are quite big and not designed for small browsers. I am hoping to eventually get the forums formatted for WAP which means mostly text based so that phone and PDA browsers can log on to them and make use of them.

THe Blackberry is slightly bigger than most mobile phones but I don't have a problem with that as it is quite slim and fits easily into a pocket.

Overall, I prefer it for getting email onthe spot and being able to deal with it easily. As a phone it is nothing special but the software has a great logic to it and is very easily used one handed.

I'd say go for it but don't expect to use it to browse PPRuNe until I've made a few changes.

[Guern]

Cheers for that Danny much appreciated advice.

[airborne_artist]

RIM, who make the blackberry, are in trouble over some of the code rights.

More here (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/24/supremes_shun_rim/)

[Memetic]

One thing you may want to consider is wether you want to get email delivered or be able to collect email.

A subtle difference, but being able to choose when you collect your email can be quite relaxing. I check my email very regulalry when on the move, e.g. as soon as I finish a meeting, on trains etc. but unlike "crackberry" :) users do not get my mail pushed at me - I use IM, SMS and Voicemail to SMS in meetings if I MUST be contacted with abit of information.

It seems in some organisations that because they know their Blackberry users get email almost instantly the response should be instant. Fine if the work really demands that but intrusive when it interupts meetings with stuff that could or should wait.

I'd think about your company culture and your work style before choosing.

[Guern]

Well had 7290 a week and it is fab.

Thanks for the advice (esp Danny) it is perfect for me as I spend time roaming away from home and having mail pushed is great as otherwise I wasted loads of dosh checking my mail as it had to load the headers each time on my previous phone.

Spam filters seem to work well to.

Not using it as my main phone, just use it for data, have a small one for that such as going out etc. Blackberry means I don't need to lug a laptop with me to get my email and I can leave it at home when going to pub.


Anyone got any recommendations for essential software?

[Heffer]

All emails, text messages and calls are all jumbled together in an inbox. If its for personal and business use it becomes a nightmare because you cannot turn the email off and you never seem to escape work! A very anti-social invention.

On the whole I think they're great provided you have a second handset and can switch the blackberry off when you dont need to be contactable with work.

[Conan the Librarian]

Ooh - this might prove interesting to anyone with or thinking about a Blackberry. Especially USA users. I have posted this not to be alarmist, but purely as a Heads up.

Conan

[The Voice]

;) Morning Conan .. I know it's early here, and my eyes are still half shut, but do you think you might add the link to your post please .. it's a little bit missing ..:O

[Conan the Librarian]

Terminal brainfade... My apologies :}

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-6042308.html?tag=nl.e539

Conan