[RobertDavidson]

Im 15 and have had my bold 9700 (black) for three months now

Vut i have come across a lot of people particulary adults saying that i shouldnt have one as i do not need one but i text a lot so the qwerty keyboard is very helpful, use email to help out at my local scout group, use the camera and a lot of thrip party and bulit in apps

Do you think blackberrys are wasted on younger people ? and what blackberry est suits the demands of the younger population?

[blueyestm]

honestly, no i don't think a teenager needs a blackberry. you can get phones with a basic data plan and that have a querty keyboard and still be able to do what needs to be done including using email because I had the gmail app on my sony phone and was only paying $2.00/month for unlimited data when I had suncom.

[Spiral_ouT]

Blackberry's "wasted" on young folks? No. Seems to be a limitless supply.

Most smartphones are marketed to the younger crowd now. More of a luxury than a necessity as it is for some adults though.

[cre8tivspirit]

As long as you can pay for it yourself then I don't have a problem with teenagers having whatever phone they feel they need.

[lnichols]

My two oldest son's, 15 and 12, both have 8330m Curves. Why? They were same cost as low end phones. My sprint Everything Family didn't matter if I got them a cheap dumb phone or Blackberry or droid cause its $20 extra per line. I can communicate to them with BBM when I'm on business travel internationally. And they wanted them as Birthday gifts. Not like these things are super high end phones and since it doesn't cost more to get them the BIS with my plan I thought it was better to get them something that was more useful.

[haymond]

Well,my oldest son is 16 now and he has the bb curve 8530 and has had a bb for over a year.So depends on what the parent thinks as far as there child having a bb.

[Rhiannon10]

I gave my son a 8330 Curve as a present last Christmas. He just turned 16. Does he NEED it? Of course not. It is however something he uses alot and so far, he has been very responsible with it. He is able to get his school assigments via the browser as well as emailing teachers as needed. With 4 children in the family, it's a struggle to get much time on the home computer. We found a great application to help him keep up with his Blood Glucose levels and he has become better at managing his Diabetes (Type 1). He pays for the data portion of his plan. Will I get a Blackberry for any of my other children as they get older? Well that will depend on the child!

[Jude526]

If the teen can afford it herself/himself then why not? I don't think parents should have to pay everything for their child. Let them have responsibilities. If they are too young to have a paying job, then their parents should have them do chores at home to compensate for the BB. And if they keep their grades up as well. But the moment their grades slip, then I think it should be taken away from them till they can improve their studies.

I think kids today need to learn to be responsible. A few years ago I had a client who got her 16 yr old a benz convertible for her birthday just because her daughter wanted one. And she was commenting to me how spoiled she is. Well, I wonder why !

[MamaBee]

Sure. It's a luxury, but I wouldn't have a problem with it...IF...there were some sort of parental guards for the internet, just like at home.

If Tmobile comes out with a Family Data Plan package, then yes, I'll hand down my Curve to our daughter when I upgrade.

But only if I can protect her from some of the junk on the 'net.

For us, having a cell for our pre-teen is imperative. We don't have a home phone. I want her to feel safe, and I need to know she is safe. I need her to be able to call me to let me know she got safely to school on her bike. I need to know what time she is leaving the school so I can make sure she gets home safely.

I sure would feel better knowing she has a proven, stable phone like my Curve that doesn't shut off or lock up constantly, like her Gravity does.

[kdawg6924]

I see no issues with a teenager having a BB... in fact, when my son is old enough, he will have one, and it will be connected to my BES so I have full control over every aspect of the phone.

[syb0rg]

As a parent of a 9mth old and the smartphone on the rise, i've had to step back and look what will i give my child when they turn "of age" to get a cell phone. which i know is distant in the future, but it will be here before i can turn around again.

I would say that i would give them a Smartphone. Maybe not a Blackberry but a smartphone of some sort. The ability to 3rd party monitor the phone is what i am most interested in. I can not do that with a standard phone.

Monitor Text messages. Monitor MMS messages. monitor web use... alot of the stuff i can keep track of.

That is what i am most interested in.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[diegonei]

Set up a BESX server on your home PC and there you have it: no more worrying about sexting, calling strangers and al those things kids sometimes do.

[MamaBee]

Set up a BESX server on your home PC and there you have it: no more worrying about sexting, calling strangers and al those things kids sometimes do.

Very interesting! I'll look into that when the time comes. Thanks for the tip!

[cl8baller]

I received my first Blackberry Feb 09 as a high school junior. With me it was a great tool to use due to my positions held in various clubs and the people I had to interact with. I had to constant send out emails to various teachers, advisors, my peers, businesses etc. My daily use of email went far beyond my use of text messages. The applications were somewhat useful, handling personal and club funds, directions, news feeds and so on.

All in all It varies in how the device is being used. If you are not going to use the phone to its full productive potential (this includes software updates to squeeze more power out of it) then there is very little reason to own a Blackberry.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[bad_boy321]

I gave my 13 year old son my old Storm 1 to see how responsible he was with it. after a year, it was in the same condition it was the day I gave it to him. I have access to his sms/mms so I knew what was being sent, same with email accounts. The phone stayed on his side and he showed me he was really responsible and could handle a device like that. A few weeks ago I bought him and I both Torches and he loves it. I travel all the time so I like being able to communicate instantly with BBM. So far, the device is in pristine condition and he actually uses it to look up things for school if the other kids are on the computer. To me its a tool. Now my 11 year old on the other hand........it will be a cold day in h3ll before he gets something like that. Boy can't even keep up with his shoes.

[K Bear]

A teenage 18 or older that can a) afford the device and b) can pay for the plan should have every right to any phone they desire.

[kbz1960]

No I would not give them one but if they can afford it on their own great and welcome to the addiction.

[anon(62000)]

My stepson has a Storm. Thankfully, I don't have to pay for it. LOL

[James Richardson]

Here in the UK the BB 8520 is really popular with youngsters. Why - as it is only �150 PAYG (pre paid) and BlackBerry services are �5 per month. Can't go wrong with that
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Maxwell_BD]

I agree with what almost everybody here is saying, it completely depends on the child. I am younger and have had a blackberry for a little over a year. Both my Blackberries are in close to mint condition ( I upgraded cause of a problem with my miniusb port ). But the Blackberry is an AMAZING tool for high school, just the Tasks application is reason enough for me.. But the phone is used to its full potential. I payed for the phone and my parents are paying for the plan. Aslong as I keep good grades it will stay that way.

[taweel.tony]

My son is 10 years old and I am happy to report that his first phone is my old BB Pearl. He loves the phone, is able to text without a problem, and learned the phone functions in no time at all. I even tricked it out with a yellow track ball and bezel for him. And, for all you palm users..... he even turned down my wife's old Palm Pre for the BB Pearl.

As long as he keeps his mitts off my Tour--we should not have any problems. ha!

[pr1nce]

I think it depends on the child. If the parent is fine with it, no problem. I just got my son a Bold 9650 he uses it mostly for email, texting, tasks and browsing. He's a freshman in college and I know he'll get alot of use out of it.

[67Tucker]

I tried to, but she doesn't want one. She wants a Droid.

[Rootbrian]

Saw a 2 year old on the bus with a droid.

I'm like, WTF?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[iMiiTH]

..uses it mostly for email, texting, tasks and browsing...

Isn't that all that a BlackBerry does? Lol