Blackberry vs Treo
I was always nervous about missing important e-mails when I left my office. The decision was made to get a treo 650 or a blackberry. When I announced my decision to friends I got the usual jibes about becoming addicted to the "crackberry" but I decided to investigate further. In my mind, it came down to two wireless devices: Blackberry 7100 or Treo 650. RIM has a winner as far as I'm concerned in their Blackberry 7100. I first saw it on Oprah's Favourite Things and I *knew* it could easily become one of mine too. All of RIM's other products were so toast-like that I just couldn't see myself putting something that awkward up to my head.
The Treo was an easy favourite as well because I owned one of the first Handsprings (I chose it over Palm as, at the time, the two weren't merged) and have had a few PDAs since. My current PDA, a Sony Clie even has WiFi (note to readers: Sony stopped making PDA's last year) but finding a hotspot just to babysit my email was becoming a drag... not to mention impossible on the Rideau Canal.
When completing my research, I felt that the real difference between Blackberry lovers and Treo aficionados is in the basic use of the device. Blackberry vs Treo comes down to one simple question: What is the number 1 thing you want to do with this device? If you answered retrieve email, have a phone and be able to view your calendar - get a Blackberry. If you want multi-media functionality as well i.e. digital camera, mp3 player, document reader - get a Treo. I knew from my current PDA usage that the multimedia and business functionality of my PDA is rarely used so for me, the Blackberry 7100 was the answer.
Problem- Rogers, my wireless provider, has these ridiculous contracts that go on for EVER. I was only 6 months into a 3 year contract on a basic cell phone. In order for me to upgrade to the Blackberry 7100, I would have to pay a penalty for every month left in my existing contract plus the Blackberry phone with a new contract. Upgrading to the Blackberry would have meant shelling out nearly $600 not to mention another three year contract which is a veritable death wish for someone who is an early adopter. I argued with the guys at Rogers that *I swear* cellphones will be merged with WiFi phones in less than 2 years so why would I want to be tied to a 3 year plan - but sadly, outgeeking them didn't make a difference. That I would never commit to a contract again AND that I wouldn't pay a penalty for stopping my existing cell contract. So that left one choice - eBay
Problem- There are *many* refurbished phones being sold on eBay. It is, at least when I was looking, rare to find one being sold from the actual previous owner. That being said, I knew that whatever phone I bid on had to be unlocked. An unlocked phone will work on any carrier and will save the buyer from having to send their phone off to a third party at an even greater expense to them. I found an eBay store (Lee's Awesome Deals) that had a Buy Now feature attached to an unlocked, manufacturer reconditioned T-Mobile Blackberry 7100 (T) for CDN$200. After carefully reviewing the seller's feedback I placed my bid (Watch the feedback, people - especially with consumer electronics - the price might be good but if they have high negative or neutral feedback stay away). The seller turned out to be very good in communicating with me about the shipping and, despite the automated email messages; he did jump in and answer questions when needed. I think the phone ultimately got hung up (no pun intended) in customs because it took a little longer to arrive than I'd hoped (2.5 weeks) but it got here in excellent working condition as described and I only had to pay $30 in duty. Price of Blackberry so far: $230
Problem- I have a Mac so I knew that I'd have to purchase third party software in order to synch my new Blackberry with iCal and Address Book. Little did I know that the fall out from Rim's problems with the US Supreme Court means that they have been trying to attract customers to their product? As of February 2006 (and I just so happened to receive my new Blackberry on Feb 1), the third party software has been licensed by RIM as a free download to all Blackberry customers. I included. Problem #3 solved! I downloaded Pocket Mac from their web site, installed it and was happily synching all of my contacts and calendars quite quickly.
"The Pin and IMEI you have provided are already associated with an account within our system"
Problem- Now, I had to call Rogers and add a data package to my existing cell phone plan. I held my breath and went through tech support. The phone had indeed been unlocked and, after a few technical hiccups, Rogers was able to have me sending and receiving calls AND surfing the web. For those who want to go this surreptitious route - make note: your wireless tech support
