Peer pressure (together with explanation of earlier Test post)

[philmophlegm]

After several years of arguing that I didn't want one, I have finally succumbed to peer pressure.



I've got a Blackberry. To be specific, one of these: http://uk.blackberry.com/devices/blackberrycurve8900/curve_features.jsp

Many people assume that I am quite gadget-focused, but I really am not. I have been an early adopter on some technologies (Sky+, .mp3, 3D graphics cards, computers in general in fact), but it took me ages to get a mobile phone and I've never really fancied a Blackberry.

The thing is though, my work mobile is a few years old now and the battery life isn't what it used to be. I could have got a new battery, but I was entitled to a new phone or a Blackberry. I have been teased for some time for my refusal to have a Blackberry, even though I had a 3G card for my laptop, which almost nobody else I work with has. And after doing some research, the Blackberry 8900 Curve seems like quite a good phone, regardless of its email features. Importantly for me, the batteries last about half a month, not a day and a half which is what my old mobile was down to.

I've had it for a couple of days and I'm still getting to grips with it, but generally, I'm impressed. The email handling is excellent - seamless integration of my work email without having to synchronise or anything like that. At any time, I can see my emails on my laptop or my Blackberry. It can even cope with attachments if they are pictures, Word, Excel or Powerpoint files, and this is a feature I think I will use occasionally. It also has a full keyboard, albeit a small one. You can't exactly touch-type, but it's a lot quicker than predictive text. The screen is lovely - high res, very colourful, great contrast (even in direct sunlight).

What irritations there are seem to be due to restrictive JOLF policies. I should be able to connect it to my laptop to transfer files. However, it doesn't look like JOLF wants me to do that and seems to have locked down that functionality. It does seem to be possible to download applications directly from the internet. The quickest way to transfer files may be to use the microSD card. You can get microSD cards that come in an SD card caddy, which would allow me to get files from PCs with an SD card slot onto the Blackberry via its microSD card slot. MicroSD cards seem to go up to 8 and even 16gb, which is an amazing amount of storage for something the size of a little fingernail. Oh, and I don't seem to be able to get the GPS to work - again, this might be a weird JOLF restriction.

The earlier Test post I did was me seeing how easily I could post to LiveJournal using it. Answer - not bad. I also downloaded the Facebook integration app. This allows you easy access to a version of Facebook tailored especially for the device, and it seems to work very well. One clever feature is that it matches people in your Blackberry contacts folder with your Facebook friends list, and then when it finds a match, it uses that person's Facebook profile photo in the contacts folder.

Comments

[pellegrina.livejournal.com]

"Blackberry or iPhone?" I had asked myself before clicking... I've wondered about getting one, but since my monthly phone spend is closer to £5 than to £10 except when travelling abroad, I can't really justify the expense.

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

amy_chaffinch was impressed enough by my Blackberry to replace her oldish-and-not-working-very-well-obsolete Blackberry with one like mine. She's also on her second iPhone, but that's her own since JOLF doesn't provide us with them. I think she prefers the iPhone, but the Blackberry is much better for email (its reason for being) or texting, simply because it has a proper keyboard. The iPhone is better for web browsing because a) the zoom in and out function on the touchscreen is very clever and b) it's 3G, which the Blackberry 8900 Curve isn't.

My monthly phone spend after deducting business use (and calls home in the evening when staying away for business, which I'm allowed to claim, up to £5 a night) is on average less than £1. I'm not what you would call a heavy mobile user.

[pellegrina.livejournal.com]

If I deducted phone calls to work saying "Trains up the spout, will be late" and phone calls home saying "Euston in chaos, expect me when you see me", I suspect my monthly phone spend would be in line with yours. I would love to have a concealed phone jammer - I am fed up with trying to dodge idiots who appear to have a phone surgically grafted to their head, or wear headphones and talk to themselves.

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

I tend to sit in the quiet carriages on trains, but then my train travel is almost entirely on inter-city routes.

I could use a jammer when presenting courses though - not to cut out phone use (people aren't generally that rude), but to stop people (especially partners) checking their Blackberries.

I actually have a squeezy rubber 'blackberry' that from a distance looks pretty realistic. I have often fantasised about confiscating a course participant's Blackberry, then subtly switching it in my hand for the rubber one before putting the rubber one on the floor and stamping on it. Never quite had the nerve though.