The 8800 series, a successor to the 8700, offers minor tweaks rather than major improvements over the 8700.

A rework of the interface replaces the scroll wheel with a scroll ball.  Otherwise, most features are unchanged.

The Blackberry 8700 series of phones (different letters after the 8700 simply designate the different wireless companies that sell it) represent the latest and greatest from RIM.

Reverting back to the full QWERTY layout, but using narrower key spacing than in 'classic' model Blackberries, this unit sensibly spurns the 'two letters per key' approach used in the 7100 series phones.

The unit has limited Bluetooth connectivity for some data synching and for headsets, but lacks a camera.  It supports higher speed EDGE data connections, but does not have Wi-Fi capabilities.

If you choose to take the time to master the Blackberry's interface, it can be an amazingly helpful unit, but not without occasional regrettable limitations.

The Blackberry 8700 - What you get

The Blackberry 8700 is sold in the US as the 8700g by T-Mobile and as the 8700c by Cingular.  As supplied by T-Mobile, it comes complete with a multi-voltage charger, a data cable to connect the phone to your computer, a hard plastic belt holster, and a wired earbud headset.

The supplier I ordered the phone from also included a very nice Bluetooth headset for free.

Comes with

Phone

Holster

Wall Charger multi-voltage

USB cable

stereo headset - different connector compared to 8700

CD with software

Tips and Tricks sheet

Warranty and legalese booklet - 20 pages!

Reference guide - 40 pages

BB vs iPhone

Very hard to put in SIM - even harder to remove it - no, mistake about where to put it!

Mystery thing on lhs

Blackberry maps - data for many countries but not all

Updating the desktop software is a 232MB download!

Media manager for sharing pix, music, videos

long password - more than 8 characters, 12 is okay

Downloaded Yahoo and Microsoft chat programs from browser option

Downloaded BB Maps from browser option

Google maps - 'data intensive'! they recommend an unlimited data plan - www.google.com/gmm

Telenav ($10/month)

battery strength isn't series of bars so harder to know

using voice dialing - two languages, bit slow to load but useful

- need to remember lastname/firstname order

Blackberry desktop software - may or may not work

Extras

https://www.globedialer.com/main.php?op=index

Translator + but uses internet so when intl will cost - https://www.handmark.com/products/detail.php?id=670

(T-mobile $15/MB)

Randall says

I have the BB8800 – ordered it the day it released last February. I have NOT loaded any new apps, but I LOVE the TELENAV feature. Well worth the $9.99/month cost.

I also had quite-a-bit of trouble with the Blue-Tooth connection between my Dell Latitude 820 (new this year with built-in Blue-Tooth) and the BB8800. I have some “techy” friends who were able to “hack” the Blue-Tooth drivers on the Dell (Windows XP Pro) notebook to get the Desktop Manager to work. Even though they hacked the Windows drivers (dll file, I believe), I think the problem is with the BB880 and/or the Desktop Manager program. I HAD (no longer works) a Blue-Tooth keyboard and mouse (Microsoft Model 1002) that connected perfectly, but it did not work after I got the Blue-Tooth working with Desktop Manager/BB8800. Obviously, it was easier to get a different wireless keyboard mouse than fight the Blue-Tooth issues. I went with a Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 to replace the Microsoft Blue-Tooth keyboard/mouse.

Other than these issues, the phone has worked well. Battery life is somewhat dependent on the signal type. At home in Louisville, I can get 3 days from a charge. When I’m in a remote area, I can only get a day or so.

From Christ

Jivetalk beejive.com - MSN

Gizmo

Priority Pass Database

Sudoku

Google Maps

The Gizmo for Blackberry has only launched this week, and I've had a few technical issues! In theory looks fine, not had chance to really dig. We seem to have blocked a port on ISA and not yet figured out which one.

 Priority Pass database is a for members (although could be useful for day pass users). BUT its hidden in a password protected area. I find it useful to know what time lounges are open, where thay are and what facilities they have. Not updated that often (still April data).

 Sudoku, is Magimic and was a BB freebie (accessed from the BB browser homepage), the games rotate and it was on recently.

 Hope this helps a bit,

 Not sure if this is relevant but we also have 2 line of business applications, running via our BES.which oir field based staff use in lieu of Symbol scanners.

Oct 5 2007 :  TORONTO - BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. broke through the 10 million subscriber mark at the end of the second quarter and is expecting the growth in accounts to accelerate as the company targets the consumer market.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based smart phone maker said Thursday that its profit and revenue more than doubled in the period, and results should be better than expected for the rest of the year.

RIM (nasdaq: RIMM - news - people ) earned $287.7 million, or 50 cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 1, up from $140.2 million, or 25 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue more than doubled to $1.37 billion from $658.5 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting, on average, a profit of 50 cents per share on revenue of $1.36 billion.

"This outperformance was driven by the strong product cycle we're in the midst of, as well as the diversification of our user base across multiple geographies and multiple market segments," Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive, said on a conference call with analysts.

Balsillie said markets outside North America represent about 32 percent of RIM's subscriber base, and consumers represent more than 30 percent of subscribers.

RIM has been targeting consumers after enjoying success in the corporate market for years. The BlackBerry's push e-mail software allows customers to access their e-mail on their wireless devices in real time.

Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM added about 1.45 million BlackBerry subscriber accounts in the quarter and shipped more than 3 million devices. The total BlackBerry subscriber account base at the end of the second quarter was 10.5 million.

In its outlook, RIM said it expected revenue for the upcoming third quarter of $1.60 million to $1.67 billion and earnings per share of 59 to 63 cents. Subscriber account additions in the third quarter were expected to be approximately 1.65 million.

"It's better than I thought it would be and I think it's better than what the street thought," said Deepak Chopra, an analyst with the National Bank Financial. "I think people are seeing these results relatively well right now given the stock has had a massive run in such a short period."

RIM shares rose $4.26, or 4.4 percent, to end Thursday's regular trading at $100.54 before the results were released. Shares fell $1.94 to $98.60 in after-hours trading.

Chopra attributed the stock's dip to profit-taking.

"Some people might have had even higher expectations," Chopra said. "The stock is up almost 100 percent since the beginning of May. I just think there's profit taking as people sell on news."

Peter Misek, an analyst with Canaccord Adams, called it a great quarter and great guidance.

"They've started to extend to the consumer market. They've now gone international," Misek said. "They have absolutely executed remarkably well and that's why the stock has performed so well."

Misek said he expects the stock to go higher once new BlackBerry models are released. He said he doesn't see another company taking market share away.

Goldman Sachs (nyse: GS - news - people ) analyst Brant Thompson said strong sales over the summer show RIM is penetrating the consumer market and he expects new BlackBerry models to spur growth.

"They talked a lot about new product initiatives targeting the consumer," Thompson said after the analyst call. "They hinted at having relationships with Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) and major music companies for content around some of their new services."

Balsillie said RIM will introduce software to allow up to five people to share pictures, music and documents through their BlackBerrys. BlackBerry Unite will be offered as a free download.

 

In addition to this hardware, the phone came with both a 63 page Welcome Guide introduction manual for the 8700 and a 132 page warranty book.  Yes, the warranty book is twice the size of the instruction manual, but this is due to repeating the warranty information many times in different languages.  The 'warranty' is nine pages long.

I put quotes around the word 'warranty' because it is actually an un-warranty rather than a warranty, and is full of disclaimers reducing the liability of Blackberry manufacturer, Research in Motion (RIM), rather than creating any obligations on their part.

The warranty period isn't mentioned in this nasty nine page document.  To find out how long the phone is under warranty for, you have to look in the other manual, where it tells you there is a one year warranty on the phone.

In addition to this extraordinarily long 'un-warranty', 23 of the 63 pages in the Welcome Guide also contain terms and conditions and restrictions and other legalese, rather than helpful information about actually using the phone.  The other 40 pages of the Welcome Guide are overly simplistic and insufficient to enable you to learn how to effectively use the unit.

A CD-Rom is also provided.  This has software that can be installed on your PC to enable the Blackberry to synch its data with your Outlook contacts and scheduling data.  It also has a more comprehensive manual.

The Blackberry 8700's capabilities and specifications

The unit measures 2 5/8" wide by 4 1/4" tall and is 3/4" thick.  It weighs 4.9 ounces.  The screen measures 2 1/16" wide and 1 1/2" tall, and has a 320 x 240 pixel resolution, displaying 65,000 different colors.

The screen is wonderfully bright and clear, and has an automatic light sensor that varies the screen brightness depending on the light level in which the unit is being used.

By comparison, the 7130 (with two letters per key on a 20 key total keypad) measures by 2 1/8' wide by 4 3/8" tall and is 3/4" thick.  It has a 1 5/8" wide by 1 3/4" tall screen, with a lower 240 x 260 pixel resolution.  In other words, there's very little size benefit (but quite a lot of design compromise) to the 7130 and other model 71xx series phones compared to the 8700.

The traditionally designed 7730 phone is appreciably larger but thinner.  It measures 3" wide by 4 5/8" tall and is 1/2" thick.  It has a much larger screen - 2 1/8" wide by 2 1/8" deep, but although the screen size is larger, its resolution is lower - 240 x 240 pixels, and it is not nearly as bright as the 8700 screen.  The 7730 shows less data and less clearly.

The Palm Treo 650 measures 2 1/4" wide by 4 3/8" tall, plus an extra 5/8" for the antenna stub, and is 7/8" thick.  It weighs 6 oz and its screen is 1 7/8" x 1 7/8".

Although the 8700 has the best screen resolution of all Blackberry units to date, its 320x240 resolution is not as good as a Palm Treo 650's 320x320 resolution, and not nearly as good as my Palm Tungsten T3 which has a massive 480x320 resolution.

The 8700 has an internal antenna with nothing protruding, and seems to have managed this without any perceptible loss of sensitivity.  It receives at least as good and perhaps slightly better a signal as does my Motorola Razr V3.

The 8700 has 38 buttons on its front , two side buttons, and a control wheel.  The Treo has 41 keys on its front plus a cursor rocker/key and three side buttons.  The keyboard layout of the 8700 is slightly more spacious, but the Treo is perhaps a bit easier to use due to its extra keys, an observation confirmed in our Blackberry reader/user survey results.

Happily the Blackberry is a quad band GSM phone, meaning it supports all the four different frequency bands used by different GSM services around the world.  This is the very best type of phone to get, with maximum flexibility, no matter where you travel.

The unit has 64MB of user memory plus an extra 16MB for its firmware and standard software.  This is much more than earlier units (which had either 16MB or 32MB) and I am using only slightly more than half the 64MB, even with most of a month of emails held on the unit (I don't download all of each email).

The extra memory may come in handy later on when users add extra programs and store more data on the unit.

Unfortunately, and unlike the Treo, it doesn't have any removable expansion memory slots.

High Speed Data Support

The phone supports regular GPRS Class 10 data services and also the new EDGE high speed data service too.  GPRS data is slow; typically averaging about 15k - 20k bps (slower than most dialup modems, which vary from 28.8k - 56k bps).  EDGE data is much faster, with theoretical maximum speeds of 236.8 kbps, and real world speeds probably no more than 100 kbps.

EDGE data is basically just an improved form of GPRS, using the same equipment and protocols, merely offering a slightly higher degree of data encoding into each status change in carrier phase.

Almost all GSM networks support GPRS data, and because adding EDGE support requires very little extra investment, most (especially newer ones) now support EDGE too.  In the US, T-Mobile has EDGE coverage in over 75% of its network and Cingular is believed to offer EDGE on almost their complete network.  What this means is that EDGE equipped devices will be able to enjoy the extra data speed of EDGE networks most of the time.

Internationally, EDGE support is a bit haphazard.  For example, I found no EDGE in London or Moscow, but I did find EDGE in St Petersburg and some smaller cities in Russia.

The unit sends and receives emails perfectly well using regular GPRS service, but if you're doing some web browsing, or downloading large email attachments, the extra speed of EDGE makes a big improvement.

Bluetooth

The unit has the latest Bluetooth 2.0 built into it.  But RIM (the manufacturers of the Blackberry units) have dumbed down the Bluetooth capability so it only supports headset and handsfree operation and some very limited file synchronizing.

Strangely, the 8700 won't work with either of the two Bluetooth units in my vehicles (other phones have worked with no problems) and the audio quality when using a Motorola headset is unacceptably disappointing.

Most other Bluetooth functions have been disabled, although it is possible to patch the phone's firmware to enable it to support a Bluetooth keyboard.

Battery Life and Charging

Earlier model Blackberry units offered very impressive battery life, with some of the 6xxx models giving as much as two weeks of regular usage between charges.  But the new 8700 with its big bright screen and much faster processor goes through its battery much more quickly.

The official specification suggests the phone can provide up to four hours of talk time or up to 384 hours (16 days) of standby time.  This may well be theoretically possible, but there is a catch which greatly reduces the battery life for most of us.  Every time the phone is receiving an email, it is using up its battery at a rate close to the talk time rate rather than the standby rate.  You might have your phone sitting untouched, but as long as it is receiving messages, it is using up its battery at an accelerated rate.

Real world battery life depends on how much email comes to your phone, as well as obvious other factors such as how much time you spend talking on the phone and how much time you spend with the screen on, eg, reading and composing emails (as well as sending them).

When I'm using my Blackberry intensively, I need to charge the unit every day.  Yes, there's still a bit of charge left after 24 hours, but not nearly enough to get me through a second day.

If I'm using the Blackberry less intensively, I can get two or even close to three days of use (I turn it off every night).

This is a relatively short amount of life compared to a regular modern day cell phone, of course, but the Blackberry is not a regular cell phone and should not be compared to a cell phone for this measure.  Compared to a Treo 650, it seems the Blackberry 8700 gets similar battery life, but it is close to impossible to find a fair comparison with exactly the same usage patterns on each unit.

The phone has a regular 3.7V Lithium Ion battery inside and uses a standard mini-USB plug for the charger.  Like most phones these days the charging intelligence is inside the phone rather than inside the charger, so if you have any other chargers with the same plug and for the same type of battery, you can probably use it with the Blackberry too.

A related very nice feature is that if you connect the Blackberry up to the USB port of a computer (or a powered USB hub) it will charge through the USB cable.

It charges quite quickly and takes about three hours for a full charge, and it seems to take less time when charging in the car.

One company sells a high capacity battery that gives twice the life of the regular battery.

Using the Blackberry as a Phone

A common weakness of earlier Blackberry units has been their poor performance as a regular cell phone for voice calling.  The 8700 seems to have addressed these limitations, and gives you a fully functional phone as part of its integrated capabilities.

This means that it has all the latest and greatest phone related features.  Yes, you can download ring tones to the phone.  It has a speaker phone capability.  It can be used with Bluetooth headsets and in-car units as well as with regular wired headsets (and it takes standard 2.5mm headset jacks with three connectors - body, sleeve and tip) making it compatible with many headsets on the market.

Sound quality and volume levels were reasonably good.  The sound quality improved noticeably when used with the supplied wired headset, and if you use a headset, you can simultaneously access the rest of the phone for things like referring to emails, checking your calendar, or anything else.

It can have different types of ring for different callers, and has a sophisticated address book modeled on the Outlook Contact format that allows for multiple phone numbers, email addresses, and other information to be stored for each contact.  There is no limit to how much contact information can be stored (other than the phone's internal memory limit).

Large 'Send' and 'End' keys make it easy to place and answer calls.  One slight issue is that the phone number keys don't have the letters on them that one uses when dialing vanity phone numbers that are shown as a word rather than as numbers.  So if you want to call, eg, 1-800-2VANITY, it would seem you're left having to guess which letters correspond to which numbers.

Fortunately, there's a solution to this.  When dialing the number, you enter the digits as digits, then press the Num key before each letter you want converted to a digit, and then enter the letter.  This is easy and quick, and I prefer it to having to hunt around the ten keys on a regular phone to try and spell out a vanity number.

In the past, many Blackberry users also had a separate cell phone for regular phoning.  With the 8700, this is no longer necessary, and most people will find the 8700 is perfectly satisfactory for regular phone calls.

Using the Blackberry for Email

The Blackberry can handle up to ten different email accounts simultaneously.  This gives you tremendous versatility - you can have a couple of work email addresses and a couple of personal email addresses all on the unit, and still have more accounts left over.

In addition to the special Blackberry type email service which requires expensive additional software, ordinary regular people can use their Blackberry to get ordinary regular email (ie POP3 and IMAP4).  The Blackberry will also get email from Yahoo and Gmail accounts, but not from Hotmail accounts.

It can also interface with Exchange, Notes, and Groupwise mail servers.

Receiving Email

The Blackberry can be set to either receive just the first part of every email or to receive the entire contents of every email.

I suggest you set it to receive only the first part of each email.  This seems to bring in about 3k of message which is often the entire message, and if it is not the entire message, it is enough for you to know if you want to then bring in the rest of the message or not.

There are two reasons for downloading just the first part of each email.  Firstly, it greatly speeds up getting your emails.  Every so often I get a huge email (and usually it is a useless stupid email) which would terribly slow down getting emails if I were downloading the entire contents of every email, but this way, even the biggest email takes no more time to download than the smallest.

The second reason is to avoid overflowing your Blackberry's memory.  Although the Blackberry intelligently manages its memory, and will start deleting old emails if you run out of storage, it is best not to have to do this and so by keeping your emails small rather than large, you shouldn't have a problem.

Because it is just downloading a small part of each email, my Blackberry typically gets a large batch of email faster than my main desktop.

An important issue with the Blackberry is how often it goes to check for new messages on your email server.  If you're using the special (ie expensive) Blackberry Enterprise Server software, emails are 'pushed' to the Blackberry the instant they are received with no appreciable delay at all.  This push technology also applies to Yahoo email and to email sent to your special Blackberry email address, but it does not apply to regular POP3 and IMAP4 email.

Instead, for these types of email, the Blackberry checks for email with a variable frequency, depending on how busy the network is.  At its most infrequent level of checking, it will check every 20 minutes; if the network is not congested, you might get email every 5 - 10 minutes.

Maybe I'm obsessive, but I don't find this frequent enough.  Sometimes I'm having an exchange of increasingly important emails, and being forced to wait up to 20 minutes, with no way to force an earlier manual check for email, is terribly frustrating and completely unsatisfactory.

Spam

Unfortunately the Blackberry has very little spam control or filtering.  It is possible to create some very crude filters on their server (which you access through a web page) but it is usually best not to do this, for fear of losing real email in with the spam that might be filtered.

A Simple Strategy for Managing your Email

If you have a regular POP3 type email address, you might want to consider having all your normal mail be copied to a second email address which feeds all emails to the Blackberry.  That way your regular mail goes normally to your normal email account (eg on your main computer) and a copy of everything also goes directly to the Blackberry.

This makes it easy to read emails in both places.  As for sending emails, you should change your email 'From' address on the Blackberry so it looks the same as your main email identity, not the duplicate identity on the Blackberry.  That way when you send emails back to people, it looks like your normal email address and - very importantly - if they then reply back to you again, it goes to your normal main email identity.

One last step - arrange for blind copies of all the emails you send to also be sent to your main email account.  This way, on your main computer you'll have a record of any replies you send from the Blackberry.

By way of example, say your main email account is [email protected].  You would arrange for a second email account, let's call it [email protected] to be created and for all mails sent to [email protected] to be copied to the JohnBB account as well.

Your Blackberry would then log in and get all the mail sent to JohnBB.  But you'd change its settings so that if you were replying to an email, or creating a new one, it would show your email address as [email protected], not as JohnBB.  The JohnBB account is a 'secret' internal identity only.

Lastly, you'd set the Blackberry to automatically bcc all messages you send, passing on a copy to the [email protected] account.

Having done this, all email gets originally sent to the John account and is copied to the JohnBB account, and copies of all emails you send from the Blackberry get sent to the John account.

Using the Blackberry as a Wireless Modem for your Laptop

In theory, it should be possible to use the Blackberry as a modem to enable your computer to connect to the internet.  Just as a computer would normally connect, via a serial cable, to a modem, which then connects through the regular phone line to the internet, it should be possible to connect, via Bluetooth, to the Blackberry and then from the Blackberry, dialing out to the internet.

Unfortunately the Bluetooth support for this type of connection has been disabled.  But the good news is you can still connect to the internet through the Blackberry, simply by using the supplied USB data cable.

There is a very clear explanation of how to do this here.  I successfully used this method to access the internet while cruising through the rivers of Russia, and never had any problems.  Connection speeds were noticeably faster when EDGE service was available, of course, but even with regular GPRS it was usable, although much slower than desirable.

Blackberry Usage Costs

T-mobile's costs for their Blackberry service are generally lower than the costs levied by Cingular.

With T-mobile, you have two choices - you can either choose any regular voice plan and then pay an extra $20/month for unlimited Blackberry email and data service, or you can choose a Blackberry only plan for $30/month and pay extra for any minutes of voice usage.

If you're going to be sending SMS messages (or using the IM client, which communicates via SMS) then you should consider buying a pack of text messages, too.  400 text messages every month cost $4, and larger packs of messages have even lower per message costs.

International Usage

T-mobile have a wonderful service if you're traveling internationally.  A flat extra fee of $20/month gives you the ability to send and receive unlimited email, pretty much everywhere in the world.

If you're planning on traveling internationally, you should add this feature to your account a few days before you start your journey, and then turn it off again as soon as you return, so in effect it costs you only 60¢ for each day you're away to stay connected.

Note that this $20/month flat charge does not give you unlimited voice calling - that is all extra.

When you're roaming internationally, you don't need to change any of the settings, the phone just automatically switches to the best available network and continues to work as if you were at home.

Notes on Using the Blackberry 8700

I'm left handed, so the first thing I noticed was that the Blackberry is designed for right handed people.  Both the scroll wheel and the escape button are on the right of the unit, where your right thumb would naturally lie if holding the unit in your hand.

Carrying the unit is something to be careful about.  You don't want to scratch the screen, and you don't want to accidentally be pressing keys (as may happen if the phone was just loose in your pocket).  There's no lanyard loop for a neck string, and so you need to have some sort of holster or wallet to carry the unit in.

The 8700 comes complete with a solid plastic holster that clips onto your belt.  This is a good carrying solution - at least for people wearing belts (but not too large a belt or else the holster's belt clip won't fit - maximum belt thickness shouldn't exceed 1 3/8"), and the 8700 intelligently recognizes if it is in its holster or not.  You can set it to make different sounds for different events depending on if it is in the holster or not.

Some of the 'logic' of the unit was frustrating.  To enter an upper case letter, you first press the key labeled 'Num'.  But to enter a number value, you don't press the 'Num' key, instead you first press the key labeled 'Alt'.

Dismayingly, and inexcusably, the email reader often would get tripped up by html formatted emails, and instead of presenting either a neatly formatted message or just a basic unformatted version of the message, it would instead show all the raw underlying html format commands.  This would make the message close to unreadable.

It is inexcusable that a device with its prime justification for existence being its ability to supposedly do a good job with email can't display regular normal formatted emails correctly.  Shame on RIM.

There are also limitations on the unit's ability to display email attachments.  I've had regular problems getting pdf files to display correctly.

There is no folder system for email messages - you can't have a series of folders within each email account to store messages in.

Be sure to set a password lock on your Blackberry.  Much more so than a regular phone, your Blackberry potentially contains a huge amount of very personal information (in your emails).

Cleverly, if an incoming call rings while the Blackberry is in locked mode, it will still allow you to answer the call without first having to unlock the phone.

The battery meter is quite accurate, and there's also a helpful charge level shown as a percentage in the Status screen.

Another interesting item in the Status screen is showing the actual signal strength the phone is receiving, as a dBm level (the bigger the negative number, the weaker the signal).

Limitations

The Blackberry unit is reasonably fully featured, although it does have some annoying, albeit generally minor limitations that a top of the line unit should not suffer.  These include the following points :

• The Bluetooth functionality is unnecessarily restricted and either doesn't work or works poorly with many headsets/car kits

• There is no removable memory option.

• The phone doesn't have a built in camera.

• Battery life, while typical for this type of device, is short.

• Learning how to use the unit is challenging, although the rewards from having done so are appreciable.

• It can't take an external antenna connection.

• No Wi-Fi connectivity.

• Email limitations include problems displaying some html coded messages and pdfs, too slow email checking intervals, and lack of folder hierarchy to manage received and sent messages.

• Doesn't display many web pages correctly (or even at all)

• Doesn't play video clips.

• Doesn't play audio clips and MP3 songs.

How best to buy a Blackberry

Amazingly, the best prices for Blackberry 8700s and other model Blackberries is generally to be found on Amazon.  Click the link in the left hand column to go find their current specials, which usually see new 8700 units being sold for close to free in conjunction with new service signup.

Summary

My Blackberry saves me an hour or more a day on those days when extra time is most precious - when I'm out of the office and traveling.

So, is a Blackberry suitable for you or not?  If email is an important part of your life, too; the answer is probably yes, although you might want to have a look at a Treo unit as well to see if you prefer the look and feel of the Treo to the Blackberry.

And increasingly, new devices such as the Motorola Q or the Cingular 8125 are snapping at Blackberry's heels, providing similar or possibly even better functionality.

Please also see our comments about The Blackberry Mindset which puts how one uses a Blackberry into its proper context.

Part 1 of a three part series on Blackberry and other personal email units - please also visit

1.  Blackberry 8700 review
2.  Reader survey results on personal email units
3.  Reader feedback and comments/suggestions about Blackberry, Treo, and other units

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Originally published 4 August 2006, last update 21 Jul 2020

You may freely reproduce or distribute this article for noncommercial purposes as long as you give credit to me as original writer.