What's the big deal with Blackberries?

[prism]

I hadn't even heard of em until I saw one on a TV show a little while ago, and now they seem to be everywhere. And now there's the whole shutdown of their service in the U.S., and apparently they're most heavily used by the government. Are these things anything more than fancy PDAs?

 

[Looney]

Wow, what rock have you been under?

 

[George P Burdell]

Originally posted by: Looney
Wow, what rock have you been under?

QFT, man, QFT!!!

 

[StevenYoo]

Originally posted by: Looney
Wow, what rock have you been under?

 

[prism]

Originally posted by: Looney
Wow, what rock have you been under?

Two rocks called a full-time job and college.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: Looney
Wow, what rock have you been under?

no kidding, i thought i was under a rock for just finding out they are being forced to shutdown. all of our company officers use them and we have a blackberry server just for that purpouse.

 

[imported_Trippin315]

You dont need one.

 

[imported_Trippin315]

You dont need one.

 

[sygyzy]

Originally posted by: Prism

Originally posted by: Looney
Wow, what rock have you been under?

Two rocks called a full-time job and college.

Lame answer. Try harder.

 

[Agaruvala]

mmy brother with google local owns

 

[SampSon]

I don't know what the big deal is about them, they don't seem to make life easier.

 

[chimmytime]

Its the simpliest way corporations can make you work on your off time. So spending a couple extra bucks a month for the service is nothing for companies.

 

[Ime]

Originally posted by: chimmytime
Its the simpliest way corporations can make you work on your off time. So spending a couple extra bucks a month for the service is nothing for companies.

This is true. Our sales force, all the Officers, VP, and Directors have these.

I'm conflicted, myself. Being a geek I'd love to play around with one, but on the other hand I don't want to be expected to check on and respond to my email at 3:30am.

 

[Looney]

In simplest terms, they're email devices. But using push technology, so you don't have to check the email every 15mins or so, instead the emails are pushed to your device automatically. Think of emails and IMs mixed together, and you'll get the idea. If you can understand how powerful emails can be, then you'll understand why Blackberries are so popular. For example, at my company, if the server goes down, it sends out an email to all the administrators, so that if they're a hundred miles away, they'll get the msg in seconds.

 

[KillyKillall]

Its a way for my company to go..

"we pwn you!"

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Ime

Originally posted by: chimmytime
Its the simpliest way corporations can make you work on your off time. So spending a couple extra bucks a month for the service is nothing for companies.

This is true. Our sales force, all the Officers, VP, and Directors have these.

I'm conflicted, myself. Being a geek I'd love to play around with one, but on the other hand I don't want to be expected to check on and respond to my email at 3:30am.

They are not much of a geek toy. Hardware wise they're nothing special, crappy screens, slow interface, etc.

They are a communications tool for the generall business world.

If you want a geek toy get a Pocket PC.

Viper GTS <= Used to carry a 'Berry

 

[trmiv]

They are really big here where I work. I support a lot of users that have blackberries.

 

[prism]

But is there something about them that makes them superior to a regular PDA or those new-fangled keyboard-equipped cell phones?

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: Ime

Originally posted by: chimmytime
Its the simpliest way corporations can make you work on your off time. So spending a couple extra bucks a month for the service is nothing for companies.

This is true. Our sales force, all the Officers, VP, and Directors have these.

I'm conflicted, myself. Being a geek I'd love to play around with one, but on the other hand I don't want to be expected to check on and respond to my email at 3:30am.

They are not much of a geek toy. Hardware wise they're nothing special, crappy screens, slow interface, etc.

The 8700 has QVGA and a 300+ intel CPU

 

[jagec]

They always seemed pointless to me.

 

[Chelsey]

My dad has one for work. I personally do not care for it...it's big, bulky, and if you've ever tried talking on the phone on one of those things it's nearly impossible! They don't seem to fit the angle of your mouth/ear. I don't see a point either.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Looney
The 8700 has QVGA and a 300+ intel CPU

Vs VGA and 600+ on an Axim?

The 8700 does seem to be an improvement though.

I have nothing against blackberries, they are good at what they do - I just don't consider them to be that exciting.

An X51V though...

Viper GTS

 

[sygyzy]

I have push on my Treo and let me tell you, it's not *that* exciting. Also, if you set up your POP to retrieve, say every 1 minute, it's basically the same as PUSH. When have you ever gotten in trouble becaues you replied to an email 1 minute late? People get annoyed at days without a reply, not minutes. Also, so far none of my emails have been ultra time sensitive but even the ones that were, are able to withstand the 5 minutes between POP checks my Outlook does. Anyway, I'd rather have PUSH than not, but it's not THAT cool to me.

 

[DigDug]

Its a ball and chain. The only thing its good for is when you go out on the town - your friends are very reachable - even in noisy bars and clubs. Hardly worth the aggravation that it provides, though.

 

[trmiv]

They work great for their intended purpose, that's what the big deal is. We can provide users with either Blackberries or Treos here at work. We have far fewer problems with the Blackberries than the Treos.