[Alberta Blue]

RE: Maybe you don't really need an app for that...

I couldn't agree more with your post.

Another app where I prefer to use the web version is Facebook. The web version runs great on the Playbook, and all of the features run smooth.

One of the most frequent criticisms of the BB ecosystem in general is the lack of apps. However, I really think that the (almost)full web experience on the Playbook really makes many apps redundant or unnecessary.

I would really like to see Java support and an improved bookmark management system, but other than that the browser is top-notch.

[soogriff]

Interesting project. Would love to see how it goes. I'm a gadget lover as well. Not going to lie, have an iPhone 4 for games and such. Not sure if I could go 100% Blackberry. iPhone just does great with media. I love them both.

[jeffcrn]

Just a quick addition, after several long days and night of work we secured a nice contract at work and I got a nice little bonus for pulling it all together. My wonderful wife sent me out with the rainy fund debit card and I came home with a shiny white 9810. So now I'm rockin the 9810 for my personal phone and the Bold 9930 for work.

As for the iPhone4 soogriffin, I still have my iPod Touch 4g... for now. That is next on my list to pack away (I want to see how it stacks up to the 9850) in due time. I have to take it in steps, I'm to practical to run out and just replace everything without fear of regret, this is a long haul project and rushing things would just ruin it I think. To much change too fast is rarely a good thing.

I'll share my experience later, I had a good chat with the folks at the AT&T retailer, and then a really bad experience tonight with RIM tech support.

[Tourandot]

I think this is an interesting and worthwhile Project - best of luck!

My Curve 3G is my only 'phone, and I have been using my PlayBook at meetings since it arrived in August - beats un-docking my work laptop, lugging it to a meeting, and hoping it'll still connect to the network and not run out of power before the end!

I, however, would fall at the first major hurdle as my Curve 3G is a personal device, and I am unable to access my work emails or calendar through it.

It won't access OWA (it should, I know, but isn't made available), other than via the Internet which, frankly, on a screen that size really is a non-starter!

OWA won't work through my PlayBook's Browser either - something to do with the Java client I am led to believe and the way it's configured to log-in (3-factor authentication).

I therefore really cannot live without my iPod Touch, which has ActiveSync that works, enabling full access to work emails and calendar (within WiFi areas of course).

It also has Sonic The Hedgehog 1 and 2 on it - those I definitely won't live without - and despite them being available through App World for OS6, I'm hesitant to pay yet another �3.99 each for apps I have purchased elsewhere for that sort of price already.

I have no experience of Android, so don't know what - if anything - I may be missing.

[TGoblin]

@Skateman1972
Also on the comment about iTunes, I know it is junk on the Windows platform, but on a Mac it's a whole different story. On top of that EVERY file I have encoded for iTunes plays perfectly on my PlayBook and my Bold. I won't even bother to get into the scripting and automation that are possible with the Mac.

I have Mac as well and I am running snow leopard - how did you get around the DRM files from iTunes? Am I just ignorant on something?

[MetalxAssassinx]

Love it (Y) ,, However i can see that you're good at Apple Products and me myself i hate them =P , however i took a Shot on the iPod Touch 4g and i hated it more :@ ,, and i want your Help cause the ONLY way to add songs was to uninstall iTunes and Install it All over again so that iTunes Recognize my iPod ,, it Recognize it for a while then when i come the next day just nothing .. i Searched ALL over Google and didn't find anything useful , However i will hate Apple Products even if that solves the problem cause it is just not for me :P , but i still do recommend people to have iPhones sometimes .. if Blackberries are not their type and androids are just too hard to stable them =P..
At the end of the day good luck with the blog and Keep it up (Y) =D

[Tre Lawrence]

Great idea!

I would love to do something like this... problem is, the time frame is way too long...

I am interested to hear how you do. I don't think I could use a BB right now over a lengthy period as my daily driver, but I wouldn't mind trying.

[tmelon]

Wow, what?
You didn't expect to run into RIM fanboys on the biggest BB Fan site on the internet?
Like you said "Stupid ****". I think you fall in that category.
When you come to a BB fan site and start hating on BB there will be many arguments. But you already knew that.

Please realize that I didn't once "hate on" BlackBerries or even mention them in this thread. When you bluntly bash another platform with weak insults and no facts to back them up, you're asking for arguments.

Yes, this is a BB fan site, but if you actually take a look at the devices in peoples profiles you'll notice that many of them are Androids or iPhones or occasionally even a Windows Phone. This is a community for smartphone users in general with a focus on BlackBerries, not just a place for BlackBerry users to hate on the mobile world around them.

A comment stating that iPhones/Android are toys is going to start the same argument as a thread saying that BlackBerries are outdated ****, which happens much too often. Every platform is going to have ups and downs and these forums would be much calmer if everyone had the maturity to accept that.

[jeffcrn]

I have Mac as well and I am running snow leopard - how did you get around the DRM files from iTunes? Am I just ignorant on something?

I re-encode everything with Handbrake. I won't go into details, but the DRM can be stripped from anything. For every TV show, Movie and CD/Music track I have in my Library I have the store bought digital media to go along with it. I do not steal my media, I pay for it. I have several boxes full of DVD's that have never even been opened. I tape the receipt to the box and stash it away, it's just faster to download them already encoded or ripped. DRM has it's place, but it sure makes things difficult for people who do not have a device that is supported by whatever format the different studios decide to use and so forth. I pay for what I have and my conscience is clean, and I support the artists I enjoy and that is what counts.

[jeffcrn]

@Tourandot- My school email is via OWA and I have no problems at all accessing through my devices. I can even get the contacts from it, which is every member of the faculty and the students... I could also get it via android or the iOS, but it required a password for the device in order to d it as part of the security enabled by the system. I just tried to accces it through my PlayBook and I had no problems there either. You might want to contact an administrator and see of they can help you out, they may just have to enable your account for access or something?

[jeffcrn]

Now that AT&T is getting the 9900 this weekend I will probably try and sell my Sprint 9930 here on CB. I am going to pick that up for sure on Sunday.

I got a box full of goodies from Amazon today and one more coming later this week and I will have some more reviews and articles to post.

I'll share my thought on the 9810, but I don't think the world needs another full on review of the 9810, CB has covered that in more depth and more capability than I could ever match. In short, I love it and the extra screen size is dreamy.

[jeffcrn]

I got caught up with my writing tonight. It's been a busy week and I have had little time to do everything I wanted. I finally updated my PB to OS2, got my 9810 rolling and have a 9900 on order, they were out when I went looking for one. Stock was rare in this area, but they are coming in Thursday according to my AT&T rep. I'll keep posting here from time to time as i add something new or in an attempt to get some feedback. I was a little disappointed in OS2, but I'm not going to go into any of that until it is final. I still love my setup and it works very well, but my wish list is also growing =)

[jeffcrn]

Week 3 of my Project

I'm 3 weeks in and loving it. I have had a lot of CB readers pay my blog a visit and BBM me and I want to thank the community. Feel free to add me to your BBM contacts, I really enjoy making new contacts with fellow BB fans. Here's the first part of my week 3 post, you can read the rest at the link at the top.

today marks the end of the third week into my switch project. It has been a little hectic, I have made a few swaps and have finally settled in on a combo I think is going to take me through the long haul. In terms of personal and work phones respectively I have gone through the following combinations: 9930 & HTC Inspire; 9810 & 9930; and now 9900 & 9810. I look back on the switching and think it was good for me to go through all the updates and info swapping, each time I setup my device from scratch just so I could become more familiar with each device. I did that intentionally and each time I learned a little something new, even though it was time consuming. I have also installed OS 2 on my PlayBook and gone through several security wipes with it, with the same results.

[dodger_moore]

Really good project Jeff, I'm enjoying your blog posts.

I did something similar a week or so back The simple life | Dom's Surf 'n' Kite Pages though mine is not an experiment and I haven't recorded it in as much detail like you have. Rather I wanted to just get rid of all my stuff and keep one thing - even the PB has gone - my 9900.

First test was a week abroad in the Canaries. I didn't even break out the laptop - did everything on the 9900 including inputting orders into our accounting software.

It is true you get a lot more done with fewer gadgets and you spend a lot more time taking in the real world instead of gazing at a screen.

I can see I'm going to pick up some good productivity tips from your blog, keep it up mate!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[jeffcrn]

I'm sort of cross posting, I got some writing done recently and my latest article is about how I carry my PlayBook with me and why. I started a thread in the PB forum but I know there are some followers here and would like to here from them. I plan to create a gallery of some sort and have the methods other folks use to carry their gear around. People can be very ingenious about this sort of thing and I think it's a concept worth sharing. If you'd like to contribute BBM me, PM me, comment on the blog, I can even take Morse Code (20 wpm back when I got my first HAM license.)

[Rootbrian]

http://forums.crackberry.com/general...me-631658-new/

Just wanted to reference that thread. You're doing great. If I was on a different platform, I would definitely do a project and then make a final decision once it's completed.

[jeffcrn]

Thanks for the link Rootbrian.

I've been working on reviews this week and just posted my review of "Files and Folders" which I now consider to be a Must Have PlayBook App. Review: Files and Folder for the PlayBook

Up next is a review of the Jawbone JamBox (it's freaking awesome) and some other goodies. I'm also going to have an interview with Alec Saunders coming up as well as some Q&A's with some Dev's that have gotten ahold of me. I'm having a lot of fun with the whole thing and I'm getting great feedback and a lot of new contacts.
Cheers!

[jeffcrn]

Latest entry is up, I picked up a Jawbone JamBox and loved it so much I had to write an article/review for it.
Review: Jawbone JamBox

Hope you find it a good read!

[Caymancroc]

Great experiment. I am also starting a similar experiment. I am turning in my car for 'ol Bessie. She is a seven year old working horse. I figure who needs a fancy car with leather and all that air conditioning stuff.

[anon(2325196)]

gizmojeff, you da man, lol

good show

[anon(2325196)]

all i use is a 9810 and a playbook, i don't even have a laptop or a desktop, no tv, nothing

the only other device i want is that portable 500 gb wifi hard drive - forget who makes it, but if i see it at a store i would remember, haha

the only times these devices will be replaced, is with a bbx phone and the new playbook that people think is coming, lte and perhaps quadcore or something, whatevz

if i need to update or fix something that's bricked, i go to my friends house and borrow her computer, lol

i also don't have a car, or a workhorse

[jamievenna]

Of course I agree~~

[HuskerTom]

Latest entry is up, I picked up a Jawbone JamBox and loved it so much I had to write an article/review for it.
Review: Jawbone JamBox

Hope you find it a good read!

Yup, just read it and commented. Excellent review. Keep up the awesome work.
I'm thinking this is my weekend to move back from Android to BB....I miss the ol' workhorse.

[ugahairydawgs]

Great experiment. I am also starting a similar experiment. I am turning in my car for 'ol Bessie. She is a seven year old working horse. I figure who needs a fancy car with leather and all that air conditioning stuff.

A 7 year old car doesn't have A/C?

[MissoulaMarinerFan]

Hey all! Just thought I'd give a quick update about gizmojeff.com. I am now assisting GizmoJeff with some posting. I'm bringing the perspective of a college student who uses the BlackBerry full time to stay connected, and on task. I've done a few postings so far since GizmoJeff has been pretty busy lately, but the "insider" word is that he'll have some neat stuff up this weekend. Give it a look, and if you have any questions, comments, ideas, or concerns, feel free to hit us up in the comments over at gizmojeff.com!