John is a Salvation Army Corps Officer who likes computers, Radiohead and F1. He lives and works with his wife Marta in Gainsborough UK, and blogs at johnager.co.uk and johnager.org
Just to annoy all you iPhone afficionados out there, I nearly called this post Who Needs an iPhone Anyway? So why, when I upgraded my mobile, did I resist the tempation to get an iPhone? And how have I got on with the BlackBerry about a month and a half in?
OK, first of all, let me come clean! I’m with Orange and they don’t have the iPhone! But there is another reason! My TomTom SatNav is touchscreen and I’ve not always found it responsive to my touch, and this has sometimes irritated me. Also I wanted a smartphone for emails, and felt that a touchscreen might not have been the best option – Orange, of course, have many iPhone alternatives – but I went for the BlackBerry.
The BlackBerry Bold has won several awards, and has been well-received. It’s basically the first BlackBerry to do everything! For the record there is also the BlackBerry Storm, although this is limited to Vodafone in the UK and (believe it or not) doesn’t have wi-fi, and the SurePress keyboard entry system is something of an untried hybrid.
When you hold the BlackBerry Bold for the first time what immediately strikes you is that it’s a quality product, it feels good in the hand. It comes with a case, and you have the option to lock the unit automatically when placed in the case – a nice touch! Once you get used to the trackball it’s extremely fast to navigate the menu options, and there are lots of keyboard shortcuts to help you on your way as well. The camera may be a let-down for many people but, for me, it’s ideal to take a quick snap to send to Mobypicture or TwitPic – so maybe not such a downside after all. Do I really want a better camera in my phone than in my camera?
There are a good range of apps for the BlackBerry, although developers have yet to catch up with the range available for the iPhone. Apps seem to appear for the iPhone first! Grrr! Some of the essential apps are: Gmail, Twitter, BBTran, Facebook, File Manager Pro, Flickr, Google Maps, GridMagic (a freeware spreadsheet), Opera Mini, Scratchpad, Viigo and Wikipedia. The one that I am especially waiting for is an app for Evernote, although I can access it through the browser and send stuff by email. The Bold comes with apps to open MS Office docs. The media sound (and picture quality) is excellent, both from the unit itself and via the bundled earphones. Also supplied is a 1GB memory card, which I soon changed for a 8GB one! The software for connection to a PC/Mac is good, but don’t bother with the Media Manager – just copy the files over, it’s far less hassle! Unlike the current iPhone, voice notes come as standard! Check out some screenshots here.
So, all things considered, I am very pleased with my BlackBerry. One last thing, whenever you do upgrade and whatever smartphone you get, dont forget to haggle, haggle and haggle! You know it makes sense!
