The BlackBerry hasn't been a ~status symbol~ in a number of years. I'm not sure it ever reflected status as opposed to fingered you as a corporate or Big Brother. And it hasn't done that in a bit of time either. Just checkout the farmers at the local feed store while they peck away on their Curves.
It's true, some people still consider them status symbols. I answered my email by the BB and I received a phone call from a friend bc she thought I got some big deal promotion.
I'm a gadget freak and I wanted the BB, plain -n- simple.
I never thought of it as a status symbol personally, so I can't say that I think it is less of one now.
I will say that the general population clinging to smartphones in general gets on my nerves though. It makes me cry a little inside when I am in a cellphone store and someone comes in, picks up a WinMo device or a BlackBerry and goes, "Ooo... this one has a keyboard, I want it so I can text."
Get a SideKick if that is all you want to do...
It's not that I think you need to be "special" to have a smartphone, or even a business person. I just think that if you are going to buy a smartphone, you need to understand what you are getting and that there is a lot more to it than a full keyboard for texting.
Buying a smartphone of any kind just for a full keyboard leads to mass confusion, lots of silly questions, and 95% of the device going to waste in my opinion. That is the only reason it "upsets" me that smartphones are becoming more common amongst the casual market.
i work in customer service, people ask for BLUEBERRY when i hear that i laugh inside and say BLACKBERRY? they say "that one the one everyone has" i ask are u gonna use email, internet....."no" o well i could offer u blast, sidekick or soemthing else with a nice keyboard
I didn't know it was a status symbol I am always typing away on it and people do look at me like why don't give that back to your parents haha I don't know why I don't look THAT young
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
I never thought about Blackberrys as 'status symbols'. It never seemed like a big deal. Oh, sure. Lots of Hollywood types carry them, but I didn't even notice THAT until I got one. The media sure doesn't make a big deal of it.
Now the iPhone, being the latest, hippest, coolest, must-have device ever to hit the cellphone market - now THAT has seemed like a status symbol to me from the day the first one was hyped by the press.
I am usually way behind the curve, so I think it safe to say that when I got my first BlackBerry (8300 Curve) back in September 2007, that's when they quit being a status symbol!
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
I think I understand the original post. When BB (smartphones) were first available more business folks carried them. As time passed gadget folks caught on and now it is as common as having a wireless laptop... Once WiFi hit the market the wireless world as we knew it changed.
I got my berry mainly cuz of the functionality. I was due for an upgrade and with my busy schedule at work, I was also looking at getting a pda. Well, heck, I thought to myself, why not get a phone where I can do all that? Then along comes the email, the internet. Everything at the tip of my fingers. And better yet, I switched carriers when I got my BB and come to find out, it was actually CHEAPER for me to have the berry with everything (GPS, streaming tv, texting, bbm, email etc.) than it was for me to have a phone line and unlimited text. It was a no brainer for me and best part about my schedule, it syncs wirelessly automatically so I never have to worry. It certainly has nothing to do with my status.....
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
I work for Alltel and every day I see more of the general public coming in for blackberry's. Now while I don't think this is a bad thing. Does this make Blackberry's less of a status symbol?
I'm not sure what type of status symbol a BlackBerry possesses. If you mean in the corporate world, I've seen 50/50- BlackBerry/Treo. This ratio is based on what I've seen 1st hand and not based on a national average of some kind.
I'll start with my job; for some, the Treo was the all-important device to have. It does what its needed to do- the problem with that is the people who have them dont know what to do with them when they encounter problems; whereas a "geek" would have the problem solved in a matter of minutes.
On the BB side of things, I've seen them actually encounter less problems. I see very few emails go out that say "without my BB" as opposed to all day long "without my Treo."
Stepping outside of the corp world, I see a lot of BB minus a data plan. I dont think those users (the ones I've seen) have a clue about what a BB can do other than talking on it. Maybe for them, just "having" one gives them some sort of status.
Status symbol? Do people really pay attention that closely to the kind of cell phones that other people are using? I sure don't. Well, only on this website do I pay attention.
To me a Blackberry is a techy/gadget interest as well as a life organizer. Definitely not a status symbol.
.....Buying a smartphone of any kind just for a full keyboard leads to mass confusion, lots of silly questions, and 95% of the device going to waste in my opinion. That is the only reason it "upsets" me that smartphones are becoming more common amongst the casual market.
CrazE, I agree with you completely. The main word here is "smart." These people are buying "phones" that have texting capabilities and IMO, in their minds, doing it on a BlackBerry makes them feel important.
Originally Posted by Arninetyes
I never thought about Blackberrys as 'status symbols'. It never seemed like a big deal. Oh, sure. Lots of Hollywood types carry them, but I didn't even notice THAT until I got one. The media sure doesn't make a big deal of it.
Now the iPhone, being the latest, hippest, coolest, must-have device ever to hit the cellphone market - now THAT has seemed like a status symbol to me from the day the first one was hyped by the press.
I didnt notice certain phones until I started using that particular phone. Back when I used a Treo and joined a Treo forum - Treo sightings were the rage. iPhone - same thing and even here using a BlackBerry- BB sightings. Whatever phone I am using I am sure to come across a "sighting" thread.
I think the media putting it out there is secondary. It's the public that pushes it out into the medias face- then the media runs with it. The iPhone was a different animal. It was a first, so in that regard, the media and every one in the free world was going to jump on that band wagon.
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