Originally Posted by
alex1 I used a regular ol' flip phone as a phone only - never even text messaged. I got a different job that required constant access to email, but out "in the field" all day. I was running home and running to the public library and generally running around like crazy to ck email. I was VERY un-techy. A cousin of mine (who is a window washer, not a business type) has a BB. He explained how they work, what they do, etc. I bought a curve, joined this forum, downloaded many apps. Now I'm VERY technically savvy and use my BB to the full. Point is... I bought BB for my business needs. I never even considered buying one for any "image" attached to it. I learned how to optimize the benefits of BB by networking w/ a window washer and a 60-year-old tupperware salesman who saw me using my BB and gave my some pointers. I live in a semi-rural area (Pueblo, CO) and don't see many BB's around here. When I travel and am in urban settings (Chicago recently, Seattle a few months ago) I see BB's EVERYWHERE! Most folks using them have that classic young urban professional (that's what YUPPIE stands for) look to them. So.... I think BB's are status symbols only to those who use them for that purpose - and is very relative to the geographic area of the user. A BB user in Po-dunk Iowa and a BB user in New York City are NOT the same people. The guy in the sticks has an audience that doesn't even know what he's using. I actually had someone ask me yesterday, "hey man - why you talkin' on your calculator?" The user in an urban setting has an audience that understands what a BB is and has a better chance of "impressing" someone. Think of the phrase "pearls before swine" (look it up if you need to) I think the majority of REAL crackheads own and use them (by use I mean - data plan) for the practicality and don't fit the classis role of what one would imagine someone seeking a certain status would obtain from using a BB. -- I know that's kinda convoluted but my point is: you get out of it what you put into it and a lot has to do with WHERE the user is (rural vs. urban).