[dingdongbubble]

Hello everyone

I am going to start university soon and I was wondering how useful Blackberrys are to university students. Apart from excellent email and organization stuff, how useful is it otherwise. Are the applications on the BB competent with those on the iPhone? How has your experience been with a BB as a uni student?

I am looking for a new smartphone and I rejected the iPhone because of the virtual keyboard and lack of multitasking. But the poor browsers on the BB is kind of putting me off because browsing is important to me and the iPhones browser was pretty good (multiple tabs and excellent scrolling).

So do you think a BB would offer anything special to uni students?

[cafejunkie]

Well, an official 5.0 release will be here soon which has a MUCH faster and better browser including tabbed browsing and google gears support :-D

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[ekyle125]

There is always the Opera browser. I use my BB all sorts of things for work, school, and personal use. I like the tasks for keeping track of assignments, calendar for appointments and class schedules, and all the messaging services to meet up with friends or study groups. And of course email for teacher communications.

[NIKSTORM]

If you never used a BB how can you say that it has a poor browser?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[dingdongbubble]

Well, an official 5.0 release will be here soon which has a MUCH faster and better browser including tabbed browsing and google gears support :-D

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Well are you sure about this? How will it compare with the iPhones browser? How about the tracking? I dont want keep rolling a trackball again and again and again just to get to the top of a long page.

There is always the Opera browser. I use my BB all sorts of things for work, school, and personal use. I like the tasks for keeping track of assignments, calendar for appointments and class schedules, and all the messaging services to meet up with friends or study groups. And of course email for teacher communications.

hmmm yes I did think of Opera Mini but it doesnt have tabbed browsing and is a bit wonky on some webpages. Does it work fast on the newer BBs?

As a student, have you found any shortcomings (like lack of education apps) in your BB?

If you never used a BB how can you say that it has a poor browser?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I have used my Dad's Curve 8310 browser which is . Opera Mini works ok on it but not satisfactorily. Secondly there are articles out there about the poor BB browser.

oh and the BB OS is not intuitive and I find it complicated overall.

[zkyevolved]

Probably from people complaining on the forums :P

I'm a university student, and I have to say... what does it matter? Get a blackberry for COMMUNICATION. If you want games and pointless apps, the iphone is for you. If you want true communication 24/7, like instant messaging, FB, emails, etc. Then a blackberry is for you. I don't mind the blackberry browser. It's not an iphone, but I don't browse the internet too much. I mostly email and send instant messages. I've had WinMo 5, 6, 6.1, 6.5, Symbian, iPhone, Android... After about a week or two i'm ALWAYS back on my BB because NO ONE can do what a BB does 24/7 connection.

It's all about what YOU want in a phone.

It has a calendar app, unlimited contacts, memo pad, sync to google calendar and stuff, what else do you REALLY need?

[pkcable]

The browser on the iphone is better no questions, BUT with 3rd Party Browsers like Opera, Bolt and the coming Skyfire, browsing on a BB is excellent, AND on newer OS's 4.7 and later (think Storm, Tour, Onyx/Merlin, etc) the native browser is pretty good too.

I think a BB is an excellent tool for a college student. Unfortunately when I went to college they didn't even have cell phone let alone smart phones. And even computers were usually in big rooms. Ok so i DID have an apple II in High School (guess I was a Mac guy, sorta, back then).

[dingdongbubble]

^I agree with you. The iPhone for me is a big no no. Fine it has many apps but how useful is it to me.

Basically my main concerns are that if I am going to get a BB, its gonna be expensive and I am going to be using it for at least a couple of years so it better offer me something extra ordinarily useful. I am concerned about its poor browser (because I browse a lot) and also a bit about its unintuitive and complicated OS.

I am also looking at the Palm Pre because of its excellent multitasking, touch screen gestures (for the browser and stuff) but also a physical keyboard.

[cd36]

I wish I would of had my BB when I went to college.

I don't know how you find the OS unintuitive and complicated. What exactly do you find difficult about it? I have had no issues getting into the Blackberry OS, it as been a pretty easy change for me. The browser will get better with OS5.0, and apparantly by next summer, the browser is going to be much much better. Just the calendar/organization/tasks/e-mail/communication alone is enough that makes me really wish I had one when I went to college several years ago, unfortunately back then BB plans were fairly expensive. Much easier to justify it now that I can get an unlimited data/text plan for just under $90 a month.

[jmcd1027]

I think the email, calendar, tasks, and memo pad are some of the best features about a blackberry. Especially with the "today" themes, the bb really helps me stay organized and on top of tasks I may have forgotten or emails I may have otherwise overlooked, calendar appts I may have forgotten... Etc. I think it is a perfect phone for ANYONE who has to do ANYTHING important. Enjoy your bb if you decide to get one!

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[NIKSTORM]

So if you have played with your fathers curve you have seen what it is able to do. You are the one who knows what you want and you have used a BB before so what is this thread even about? YES a BB is useful for a student...EVERYONE can find a use for a BB, or the phone, or a palm it all depends on the price and setup you like.

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[cenloe]

How will it compare with the iPhones browser? How about the tracking? I dont want keep rolling a trackball again and again and again just to get to the top of a long page.

The iPhones browser and zoom capabilities are the best in the business, with that being said, it's easy to get to the top and bottom of a page on a BB Browser. Just hit the "T" button to get to the top and the "B" button to get to the bottom.

[ekyle125]

hmmm yes I did think of Opera Mini but it doesnt have tabbed browsing and is a bit wonky on some webpages. Does it work fast on the newer BBs?

As a student, have you found any shortcomings (like lack of education apps) in your BB?

So far I haven't found any shortcomings. I don't really use any education specific apps so I'm not too sure there. I usually just use what I have at my disposal. I'm sure there are plenty of education apps out there though.

I am also new to the BB world. This is my first one. I have always had WinMo before this. The interface took a little getting used to but now I am flying along right through it with the rest of 'em. I don't think the browser on the Storm is all that bad either.

[Agent Y]

Studentdocket ftw

and cram is pretty cool too.

those are some apps specifically geared toward us students.


look at the crackberry blog section, there should be a blog about a student packet. its like $29.99 for for 3 apps. I personally like studentdocket, its a pretty awesome organizer and you get a 15 day trial. Usually studentdocket goes for $20 alone, so the deal is pretty good. Also, if you just want studentdocket, they have a 35% off thing for it on their website so its about $12 for it right now.

[KillYouWithMyMind]

what you have to ask yourself is what you'll be using the phone for most often. if you're going to be browsing all the time and you really want a nice browser, iphone.

everything else- BB.

[dragonsamus]

I'm going to say the bb is great for anyone, students included. You'll have access to email for communication with your professors. You can use the calendar to notate important dates such as tests and projects that are do. Use the task app so you know what you need to complete.

Browser wise, the bb cannot compare to the iphone but the bb gets the job done.

About the os being complicated, its not. The 8900 was my first bb but I had all aspects down less than a week. I hope that helps.

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[btrek]

My BB was very useful to me in college, especially for keeping up with all of my team projects between classes and while at work. A lot better than having to carry around a laptop just to keep up with emails from professors and team members.

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[papped]

Hello everyone
Are the applications on the BB competent with those on the iPhone? How has your experience been with a BB as a uni student?

The short answer is no. iPhone has much more development. If you want apps, get a WM or iPhone.

[acosenza2]

I recently graduated and I am now getting another degree and I can say that my BB is an incredible help. I was on a lot of committees and keeping it all straight was a challenge. My BB helped with that. My university was very tech savvy and everyone used the internet, email, IM and even facebook to communicate. This included my professors and admins. I believe that the BB is more geared towards getting work done rather than giving you something to do in a boring class, although BB does have apps for that.

I would go with a BB but only you now what you want.

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[bildo]

I found that in my last two years of university that my blackberry was very useful for many reasons.

For one, as my classes became smaller, my relationships with my profs and TAs became much closer than in my first two years. Communication was key (emails) in order for me to clarrify assignments and general questions.

Having a blackberry in a boring lecture also keeps me awake from drooling out of the corner of my mouth.

I also utilized the calendar for my due dates, tests, and presentations. It really helped manage my time and workload.

I had an Ipod touch before and the blackberry kicked it to Craiglist.

Hope this helps

[anon4705193]

I had my BB for the tail end of my college career and I wish I would have had it longer. So much easier to keep in contact with the people in my classes then having to carry my laptop around all the time or run to the library to check an e-mail about a project, group meeting, paper, etc. At the time that I got my BB I was making a short film as a final project, and in charge of scheduling. The ease I had to look at my calendar and then get to my group on e-mail/FB was perfect for me. I'm going to be continuing my education and using my BB then too.

[russelb]

I started using a paper DayTimer in high school. (They did not have PDAs back then.) I bought a Palm IIIx for myself for a graduation present from law school. I graduated to Treos, then a MotoQ9m, and I am now on the Tour. Getting into the habit of keeping a calendar and having all of your contacts organized it one place is a good habit to get into now.

If I was a college student again (now) I would have a Blackberry and I would sync it to Gmail along with the the Google calendar and contacts (there is an app for this) I have my wife's 8830 set up this way. (Unfortunately, I am tied to Outlook because of work.) I use the Gmail app to access my corporate Gmail account.

I prefer the Blackberry Browser to all of the other Blackberry browsers I have tried including Opera and Bolt. I mainly access mobile web pages and read the news on it. Most web pages have a mobile version that will display well on a small browser. My bank (Chase) has an excellent banking mobile website. I would agree that the browser on the iPhone (and iPod Touch) is better, but the Blackberry browser serves its purpose.

The iPhone is cool, but ATT service is inferior to Verizon where I live and I would not want to live without a real keyboard. My stepdaughter has an iPod Touch and I have great difficulty typing on it. A lot of the iPhone apps are just plain stupid. For every 1 useful iPhone app, there are 9 that make a fart noise or tell a "Your Mama..." joke.

[JoeyMoose]

I won't lie, i have used my BB to cheat on tests, and i love to use it when a professor says something that i know is wrong so i look up the correct answer to have proof.

[Laura Knotek]

I had a group project during summer semester. My Blackberry was a huge help to me. I was able to contact the members of my group easily, contact my instructor, and have access to my .edu email address.

[Weens]

Helps a ton in group projects and talking to profs, constant Facebook never hurts, much better calender than a simple paper one (no reminders there), and instant internet to look something up on the fly without having to start up my laptop: I don't think I'd finish this year of college without my BB to help!