[BigB]

Hi guys, I'm new. I found this site a couple days ago and I've been lurking ever since.

What I'd like to know is what made you choose a BlackBerry device instead of one of the other smart phones available? or what made you switch?

I'm considering a BlackBerry device as my next phone, but it's hard to decide with all the different phone's that are available these days.

I'm on AT&T, so I've got quite a few smart phones to choose from.

I was lusting after the iPhone for a while, and it does do some cool stuff, but the "wow factor" wore off after playing with it a few times, and I realized that it's terrible for one handed use.

Having a keyboard for texting is what made me want a smart phone in the first place and the iphone's keyboard kinda sucks.

I know very little about Windows Mobile smart Phones but several of my friends love them. The battery life, size, and complexity are a slight turn off with those phones. The Moto Q and blackjack look nice, the Tilt and Treo are just too big, and using a stylus to make a call? eewww... Also I don't have 3G coverage where I live so that "feature" doesn't get me anything.

I guess what I'm looking for is:
Something small (if I can't slide my phone into a pants pockets it's too big)
Something durable (I'm kinda hard on my devices)
good battery life
good keyboard (I'm sick of texting on my RAZR)
easy too use
calander/to-do list PIM type stuff
decent internet browsing (weather, news, banking, gmail, stuff like that)

I know I'm gonna get pro Blackberry responses here, but that's what I'm looking at the moment.

thanks,
BigB

[cant live witout my bb]

Well Big B, the bb pearl or curve can give you exactly what you're looking for.
I personally chose the bb for the intuitiveness of the device. Rim and bb have an excellent reputation. All you'll ever need is one device. I rarely use my laptop anymore. The Q, treo, and I phone can't hold a candle to what the bb can do.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[dlgus]

Hi guys, I'm new. I found this site a couple days ago and I've been lurking ever since.

What I'd like to know is what made you choose a BlackBerry device instead of one of the other smart phones available? or what made you switch?

I'm considering a BlackBerry device as my next phone, but it's hard to decide with all the different phone's that are available these days.

I'm on AT&T, so I've got quite a few smart phones to choose from.

I was lusting after the iPhone for a while, and it does do some cool stuff, but the "wow factor" wore off after playing with it a few times, and I realized that it's terrible for one handed use.

Having a keyboard for texting is what made me want a smart phone in the first place and the iphone's keyboard kinda sucks.

I know very little about Windows Mobile smart Phones but several of my friends love them. The battery life, size, and complexity are a slight turn off with those phones. The Moto Q and blackjack look nice, the Tilt and Treo are just too big, and using a stylus to make a call? eewww... Also I don't have 3G coverage where I live so that "feature" doesn't get me anything.

I guess what I'm looking for is:
Something small (if I can't slide my phone into a pants pockets it's too big)
Something durable (I'm kinda hard on my devices)
good battery life
good keyboard (I'm sick of texting on my RAZR)
easy too use
calander/to-do list PIM type stuff
decent internet browsing (weather, news, banking, gmail, stuff like that)

I know I'm gonna get pro Blackberry responses here, but that's what I'm looking at the moment.

thanks,
BigB

The truth is that I started out wanting to go with Palm--I've had one ever since the Palm VII, and I've always loved them--and you can't beat all the third party apps. When I decided that it was time to integrate my phone and my PDA, I was going to go with a Treo, but when my contract was up with my former carrier, they wouldn't give me a good deal on one......so I left the carrier, and started shopping around.

I did like BB's and when I found a Pearl for 49 dollars with a 2 yr contract via ATT, I jumped right on it--and except for the lack of third party apps(and they are getting better at that), I LOVE it.

[aoprods]

My son convinced me to get the curve. Honestly, I wanted the iPhone but it was not available when I got my curve. I thought I would get the curve and return it in 30 days when the iPhone was availble. Well, you all know the rest of the story. Liked the curve do much I did not return/exchange for iPhone. Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks. My son (16) showed me.

[daddybear]

listen to me very carefully...

buy a pearl...

or a curve...

live long and happily. text, browse, pim, etc..... to your hearts content...

-db

here endeth the lesson...

and welcome to crackberry....

[cant live witout my bb]

aoprods, your son is a genuis and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree because you still have your curve!! Good choice.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[CrackBerry Kevin]

Hey bigB,

Check out this post... Why BlackBerry?

Has some of the more compelling reasons in there.

[aoprods]

Was that a play on words (apple)? Cute if it was but, thanks anyway. I thing he is.

[BigB]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I'm definitely leaning towards the Curve 8310, and I also like the 8820 because it has wifi and a larger battery, but it may be a bit out of my price range and I think I might miss the camera as well.

I'm not too interested in the Pearl, mainly because I want a full QWERTY keyboard.

I don't have the money for a purchase just yet, but I'm gonna stop by the AT&T store tomorrow to play with some phones.

I also have another question: How reliable is the bluetooth on the BB's? Every Motorola phone I have owned has been plagued with annoying random bluetooth disconnects. My headset will just disconnect and I have to power cycle the phone before it will reconnect again.

thanks again everyone.

[Christo1888]

Hey BigB

I love my phones and I currently own a Nokia E90, Nokia 9300, Moto Q9h, Sony Ericsson W850i, Samsung D900i, Sony Ericsson M600i, imate jamin and up till recently the phone I used was dependant on where I was going/what I was doing/the mood I was in. However, last month I got a BB 8800 on free upgrade on my contract and haven't looked back since! The only other phone I touch these days is my E90 which I use to access the internet through my home broadband connection. I am quite a heavy user of phones and I can honestly say that the battery on my 8800 has never even passed the 50% mark since I got it, I've never had a phone with a battery life quite like it! I sometimes miss having a camera but not that much that I would leave my BB at home and take another phone out instead! I got the BB out of curiosity as I'd never had one before and I must say I am impressed. . .


"Hi, my name is Chris and I'm a crackberry addict! I've been an addict for a month now and I'm not gonna stop so there!!"

[blane64]

I guess what I'm looking for is:
Something small (if I can't slide my phone into a pants pockets it's too big)
Something durable (I'm kinda hard on my devices)
good battery life
good keyboard (I'm sick of texting on my RAZR)
easy too use
calander/to-do list PIM type stuff
decent internet browsing (weather, news, banking, gmail, stuff like that)

BigB

Well, B

I was in a very similar situation. I had never had a BB, but I was looking for a smallish device to put in my pocket, or on my belt (ok, so I am old..) and wanted a QWERTY keyboard for SMS, and maybe some navigation/GPS and a little bit of browsing. I have had an 8525 and a Blackjack in the recent past. Both were good phones. The 8525 made me crazy with poor battery life and almost always needing a stylus to make a call. However, it was very powerful and could run oodles and oodles of 3rd party apps. The BJ was nice and slim, actually came close to what I wanted, but I found WM standard to be too many layers of scrolling and clicking to get where I wanted to go, and I didn't care for the keyboard. So, when I found out I could get re-imbursed from my employer if I bought a BB, well, that certainly helped make my decision! (haven't seen the $$ yet...)

So, I don't really use mine for the classic BB functions. I don't email, I don't PIN message, I don't BB messenger. I just use it like a phone that is occasionally a little computer.

So, to summarize. Selling points for me:

Nice size ( I got a Curve 8300, then exchanged for 8310)
Good battery life (several days between charges)
Nice keyboard (better than 8525 or BJ)
Good features.
Felt sturdy in my hands.

Hope that helps.

[sunnnshine99]

I'm on att and have the BB Curve 8310.
Its small (fits in my back and front pockets)....
Its pretty durable... i'm usually careful with my phones but I just moved into a house and dropped the phone about 50 times in the process. My cat knocked it off the counter a few times too... My device still looks like new - no scratches even.
My battery life is ok. i charge it about every 36 hours.
keyboard is SUPERB! perfect for fast txting and emailing.
BBs are very user friendly. you'll pick it up within a day or 2... plus you have us if you have questions
calendar is nice, address book too... has memo and to do list in menu.
internet browser is ok... i use opera mini 4 (just out of beta) and love it...

I've been recommending the curve8310 to everyone i know. I've had no problems with it at all.

[Bedrock]

I wanted a small full qwerty smartphone that was realiable and durable. Decent battery life. Didn't want a big fat smartphone. Mainly I wanted something that was sexy and had brains as well. Thus I found the curve, not to small and not to big and fat... Just right...With a lot of sex appeal

[Ms.Min]

I chose my blackberry because of the instant email access. I had the treo and since it was lacking that function I had to get rid of it. The battery life is was another reason and lastly becasue I wanted to fit in like everyone else.

[mattfutch]

I got a 'berry because Windows Mobile sucks...plain and simple. I use a Dell Axim regularly for its word processing, and let me tell you, I've never seen such a mess. The OS freezes up at least twice daily, and there are always problems. BB OS is 100X more stable, or at least thats my take. The other smartphones, for the majority, run WM, or they don't have a QWERTY, which is a necessity that I will never turn from.

Oh, and, it's not Microsoft

[epiguards]

My work gave me a one of the original BB's many years ago. Always had it but since I had my own cell phone I tried all types of smart phones, samsung, palm etc. All along I had the best and only phone I would ever need. Since those days I have had the 8700, 8100, 8800 and now the best of the best, the Curve. BB service is awesome and does everything any other smart phone can do and more and better. Iphone Ishmone, besides where esle can you find a family like the Crackberries, you've got to love us.

[dmnall]

Well I have used a bb a year and a half ago with an old bb 7xxx series phone and I did not like that phone because of the scroll wheel, black and white screen and I could not get used to the keyboard. I was mainly used to using moto razr v3. Then at my previous job I had to carry a treo 680 which worked well until after a month it froze up once ever 3 days. When I went to upgrade from a samsung sync *cingular branded pos* I went to a nokia n75 after getting a special upgrade exception from att! That phone had issues of overheating and shutting off! Then I looked at the pearl * I personally did not like the kb * and went with razr2 v9 and it was plagued with problems! After 2 v9s I was going to break down and get the pearl until I saw the curve for $ 20.00 more then the pearl! After playing with the managers curve, I was hooked! I walked out of there with a new curve 8300 and will not work with any other phone!

Charlie

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Sandipan]

I got my 8300 Curve becos-
- Qwerty keyboard
- Push mail
- Stable OS....It doesnt freeze or reboot like my earlier WM based smartphone....

[ralarosa]

I have had a Pearl for about 7 month now and love it. You get used to sure-type pretty fast.

I have not had any problems pairing any headset and have never had a drop.

I am looking forward to getting the 8120 when it hits the US.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[the_elf]

I choice the BlackBerry 8830 for the following reasons:

* It's VERY convenient to get email to my phone, especially for someone who works in IT
* We may soon have a BES server here, and other handhelds/smartphones really can't take advantage of that if they aren't BlackBerrys.
* The 8830 came with autonomous GPS (which Verzion had decided to cripple ).

[simons91]

I'm in the minority here, I have the Motorola Q and (most of the time) I love it. I like the keyboard layout, I find it quite intuitive, the phone quality is great, I like that I can hack it to what I want, and it has e-mail and internet access. What I don't like is the battery life (I have to charge it once per day), and the OS is prone to random crashes.

All that being said, I absolutely love the way the Curve looks. That is one beautiful looking device. My carrier doesn't offer the Curve yet, so the Q is safe, for now!

[BigB]

Thanks for the awesome replies everyone.

I went down to the AT&T store today and played with a bunch of phones. I'm really liking the BB's now that I've had some time with them.

None of the display curves were running so I played around with an 8800. Fantastic little device. I even installed google maps on it right there in the store lol. someone else seems to have put Opera Mini on it.

I gotta say that it's intuitive and pretty damn easy to figure out. With some of the WinMo devices I found myself scratching my head and even giving up while trying to figure out how to work all it's functions and buttons. (and I'm a former IT person/certified gadget geek who can usually figure out any device)...

I also spoke to my dad last night (I completely forgot that he's been using a 7100G for years) and he says he loves his BB. Turns out he bought an 8800 to hide under the x-mas tree for himself. I guess his windows PDA didn't convert him to WinMo after all.

I wish I could've gotten a little more time with the Curve's keyboard (stupid zip ties were tied across them) but I figure it can't be too much different than my girlfriend's Treo.

I definitely think a BB could be everything I want/need.

My inner geek does sometimes lust after the big screens, slid out keyboards, touch screen's, etc. (the Tilt is a damn sexy device) and I'm sure that those devices can do some really cool stuff, but when I think harder about it I'm reminded that's it's my phone first (my only phone at that), and that in a phone I demand easy of use, simplicity, and reliability.

It turns out my contract isn't up till June, so I'm gonna start saving my money and I'll probably grab up a Curve or an 8800 off of ebay. Then I'll grab another one in June with my equipment upgrade and my old one can go to my girlfriend who's recently decided that her Treo is too big. That is, if she doesn't make me buy her a red Perl first

I guess Crack is the right word.. lol

[BigB]

I just thought of something that I completely forgot to check out today at the store.

Ring tones!

How are the factory BB ring tones?

I know BB is big with corporate users so I'm guessing they have some decent basic "ring ring" tones, but I forgot to check.

I'm not a musical ring tone person, and one of my pet peeves is that more and more phone companies seem to be forgetting that some of us still want a basic, loud, ring and nothing else. I get pretty annoyed when every included ring is either music or way too quiet.

[Kaos]

Well, lets just say that my old phone is in the top dresser drawer and it's a MDA running Windows 5.0.
Did I mentioned that it was in my top dresser drawer?

[BigB]

well, I just won an 8800 on ebay today. w00t!

It should keep my satisfied till my contract runs out and I can get a deal on a curve.