Switching Platforms
It's been a while, and I'd like to wish the entire community a blessed new year.
As it stands, most people know I am an unabashed Palm fan. I like the interface, ease of use , and I love the third-party applications, specifically those that enhance productivity and spirituality.
I also never made the switch to a smartphone; After playing around with a relative's Treo, I became concerned that I might lose some functionality for phone service that the jury was still out on. So, I became a two-device person (three, if you count my sweetie's iPod. It was a present for her, but is almost always in my pocket).
I had my mind set on the Centro, but recently, when I went into a local T-Mobile store to see about sim card compatibility, I saw a BlackBerry Curve up close for the first time.
Everyone knows that when it comes to tech, I am big on form factor. I was drawn in by how the 8320 looked. It was light, and I was impressed with how Research In Motion was able to keep it trendy without losing the "businessy" aspect RIM is known for. After asking a few cursory questions of the salesperson, I went home, sans phone, to do some research.
I had never, ever really considered a BlackBerry. Come on... everyone knows that BBs are only owned by stodgy suits that live on Wall Street, right? What would a youth pastor tech geek do with a BB?
Well, I warmed up to the Curve after doing some extensive research. The obvious negative would be the loss of my beloved third-party applications. Also, using a Palm was second nature to me; I just knew what to do, how to fix issues, and find support on the web. In other words, I was quite comfortable.
But on the other hand, the Curve just looked so cool. You just can't sleep on the QWERTY keyboard, push email, multimedia capabilities, speakerphone, microSD compatibility, wi-fi, bluetooth, camera, and the support of the informal, large Crackberry community.
So, to summarize, I later ordered an 8320 from T-Mobile (the T-Mobile version has Bluetooth and wi-fi, but no GPS; my preference would be to take wi-fi over GPS. AT&T and Verizon carry versions with different options). Looks like I'll be keeping it.
In the next couple of posts, I'll be posting some reviews pertaining to utilities and accessories available for the BlackBerry platform. Hopefully, there will be tie-ins to how such products can make us better ministers. It is my honest belief that the BB could be a viable propagation tool.
Great to be back!
posted by Tre Lawrence @ 1/08/2008 08:09:00 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Looking forward to checking that one out man. I'm not a fan of blackberry.. i've never used one.. but lack of touch screen, 3rd party apps, and just general functionality have kept me at bay. I started with palm.. but have since moved to windows and am happy. But for years i was on the palm platform and turned off to windows without even trying it... and once i did.. it was love. I'm wondering if i'm missing anything from the blackberry side... tho very hard to imagine. I'll be keeping up to see what you think.
Biggest thing, for me, will be the third-party stuff. You could find everything for Palm, and plenty for WM. BB seems to be a distant 4th (behind even Symbian).
I have a much softer outlook towards WM than I had a few years ago. Some of the Smartphone devices truly seem innovative, and they have been helped by the perceived stagnation exhibited by Palm. However, I believe BB has taken some major strides into grabbing market share by creating consumer (and not necessarily just CEO) -friendly technology items. Better yet, in a fast paced world, the features are extremely useful in my ministry (IM, push email and wi-fi capabilities).
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