wsuffa
Touchdown! Greaser!
I'm a couple of keystrokes away from getting a Crackberry again. Older model, but cheap (thank you ebay).
Somebody stop me before I get assimilated again....
Somebody stop me before I get assimilated again....
Somebody stop me....
- Thread starter wsuffa
- Start date
flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
Get an iPhone instead, Bill. 
wsuffa
Touchdown! Greaser!
Get an iPhone instead, Bill.
I'm too cheap. And I'll be running it on TMo - and using it internationally. A couple of strikes, me thinks.
woodstock
Final Approach
I just bought a Touch. That won't help you unless you have WiFi access, but it's realllllllllly cool.
astanley
En-Route
Join us, Bill. Sitting in 3A on the CVG tarmac last night (after !@#$@##@ delays), I was able to fire off a large number of emails, reroute my flight, get my hotel reserved, work with my wife to pick out my outfit for today (as I'm all gussied up today), and still read half of my Atlantic Monthly before we got airborne.
Join us, Bill...
Cheers,
-Andrew
BlackBerry addict
Anthony
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Anthony
Yes, Bill.......come to the dark side.....The Crackberry is your Father Bill.......
Switching to other Sci-Fi genre:
Unless you comply, you will be assimilated into the Crackberry Collective, otherwise known as the "CC".
They do add to productivity as nobody wants to talk, just type. Another example of our anti-social culture. We've gone from handshakes and face to face to phone, to video conferencing to Crackberries. What's next?
wsuffa
Touchdown! Greaser!
I kept saying I wouldn't need one again when I bought the EVDO card. Not good enough. It's beckoning me back... do I hear Rod Serling?
3 years in remission. Sigh.
3 years in remission. Sigh.
Dave Siciliano
Final Approach
Trinity: I know why you're here, Bill!. I know what you've been doing... why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night, you sit by your Crackberry. You're looking for him. I know because I was once looking for the same thing. And when he found me, he told me I wasn't really looking for him. I was looking for an answer. It's the question that drives us, Bill. It's the question that brought you here. You know the question, just as I did.
Bill: What is the Collective?
Trinity: The answer is out there, Bill, and it's looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to.
Bill: What is the Collective?
Trinity: The answer is out there, Bill, and it's looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to.
astanley
En-Route
True Anthony. But I've found that nothing beats meat: a handshake and a face to face will solve more than hours worth of emails. Partially because people will say things they'd never say in person; partially because people feel when you are face to face, they have to invest in the discussion. In fact, my trip this week was just that: a large vendor who we were struggling with, and spending time with their executives assigned to our account to discuss where we stand, and where we are going. 3 months of formal meetings, status, governance, and conference calls hadn't done that. 3 days... in the bag.
Cheers,
-Andrew
astanley
En-Route
Anthony
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Totally agree Andrew. I was just saying that its done less and less these days. You had to go through cyberspace for three months where three days in person did the job. I much prefer face to face interaction.
wsuffa
Touchdown! Greaser!
As do I. Especially in dealmaking. The face-to-face interaction shows you're serious and helps you reach a deal better and more quickly.
OTOH there is also an expectation that one be immediately available, and the phone doesn't always cut it when you're working with folks from Dubai to Hong Kong....
I saw someone I know the other day walking along, texting, and being totally oblivious to their surroundings. I even spoke to them and they didn't look up or acknowledge. I had to send 'em a message.......
rpadula
En-Route
Should be much cheaper in about a month when v2.0 comes out.
The rumor trickle is really starting to flow now. And the jailbreakers/unlockers seem to have the original iPhone manhandled quite well to work on any carrier (minus visual voicemail).It's funny, I've just been listening to the audio of this MIT presentation (available at iTunes here) while running a few days ago. One upshot of the study is that Blackberrys increase stress in the long-term. You might want to listen. I believe they followed everybody in an investment banking or private equity firm for the research.
-Rich
wsuffa
Touchdown! Greaser!
gkainz
Final Approach
I still miss my Treo; been on the Blackberry Pearl since December ...
woodstock
Final Approach
When people know you can reply immediately, they expect it.
One thing that has greatly lowered my stress level - I don't answer the phone unless I recognize the number AND want/need to talk to the person. Both at home and at work. That is what voice mail is for. It drives me crazy when you are in a one on one meeting and the other person takes all five calls that came in during that meeting (for example).
astanley
En-Route
As if those are low-stress jobs to start with...especially right about now....
I would agree that there is a bit of stress related to posessing the device, but it's the lack of limits -- for example, last Friday while driving out to Kentucky I checked my email and saw something that agitated the daylights out of me. If I hadn't read the email, my BP would have been far lower... the expectation of moving quickly though (to your previous point Bill) sure is moving up. You know it is hard when you are sitting on an airport tarmac wishing you had a WWAN card so you could do phone calls and work on a few attachments and maybe get some more work done before you get to the hotel that night.
Cheers,
-Andrew
Dart
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iM a grandpa
BINGO!
I'm with Elizabeth. My wife calls my cell phone my "car phone" because I leave it there so often. When I'm with a client I am there for them. Unless I'm dealing with a critical, time sensitive issue I either don't take my phone or I silence it.
I have clients whose bosses keep them on a short leash, i find it rude and distracting to hear their Crackberry diging every few seconds and them jumping to sneak a peak at it like some comic Pavlovian experiment.
ggroves
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Titanium
Do it!! For me, it's an incredible productivity tool. Just know when to leave it at home, and when to keep it with you.
For enterprise integration (BES with Exchange), its the best technology and will be for some time.
iPhone?...please...
Greg
For enterprise integration (BES with Exchange), its the best technology and will be for some time.
iPhone?...please...
Greg
wsuffa
Touchdown! Greaser!
Yep, I used to have one and I gave it up when I left the San Antonio company. Invaluable tool - and it worked nearly everywhere. Especially Europe, where it is incredibly expensive (and in some cases nigh on impossible) to get an internet connection.... the bberry offers email and limited browsing.
To your other point, I've used the EvDO card to great success while sitting on a plane waiting... waiting... on the tarmac... and (before I got EvDO) I've even been known to tap into the airport terminal wifi while waiting for an hour to be deiced (thank you MCI for free wi-fi). Kinda hard to do that discreetly with the full laptop.
I thought EvDO would be good enough, and it probably is, but it certainly isn't as portable nor does it work outside the US.
To the chagrin of some, I do turn my phone off (or on vibrate, or on silent) when in an important meeting or personal event. I failed to do so one time when I had the Blackberry in Europe and was issued a threat of "if you don't turn that off, I'm going to flush it down the toilet...."
Guess it's like flying - some people just don't get it.... 
gprellwitz
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Fail to turn it off when you're in a courtroom, and it's liable to be confiscated! (Don't know if you'd get it back.)To the chagrin of some, I do turn my phone off (or on vibrate, or on silent) when in an important meeting or personal event. I failed to do so one time when I had the Blackberry in Europe and was issued a threat of "if you don't turn that off, I'm going to flush it down the toilet...."
ScottM
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iBazinga!
The only place outside of the US that I am aware of with 1xEV-DO is Japan. 1XEV-DO was to be a side branch of cdma and a two step process. The follow on version was to be 1xEV-DV. The acronym means '1X' how many carriers (there can be up to 3 in CDMA 3G systems), 'EV" evolution, 'DO' Data only. The 'DV' was for data and voice. The standards were written and some demos systems were set up but there was little commercial interest. Then WiMAX really stole the show and DV become DoA.
As for answering the phone I am one of those guys who has his phone on all the time. But if I am busy or I do not recognize your number, I don't answer. That is what voice mail is for. I am really insulted when some looks at the phone when I am in a meeting speaking with them, they do not recognize the number, and say 'I should see who this is'. I have walked out of meetings when someone does that too me.
AdamZ
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Adam Zucker
Ain't that the truth I always ALWAYS turn my treo to stun when in court. And is a crackberry that much better than a treo?
astanley
En-Route
Adam, I'll let you take mine for a drive this Friday. Needless to say, yes -- EXCEPT your web browser is better. But once you go Crack, you never go Back.
Cheers,
-Andrew
who transcribed 2 pages of a contract via his BlackBerry in a meeting today, without looking at the keypad once
gkainz
Final Approach
I would go back to my treo in a heartbeat
flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
Y'know, the iPhone will do Exchange when the v2.0 software is out (June)... So what's wrong with it?
astanley
En-Route
Some of us are stuck in non-Exchange environments...
I HATE Lotus Notes...
Cheers,
-Andrew
ggroves
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Titanium
Cost, single carrier, untested, limited administrative controls (aka locking down games, etc.), royalties on development...and that's the short list.
Greg
flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
How much is a Crackberry?
Admin controls will also be part of 2.0.
Royalties? Hardly. It's more of a distribution fee, since they're handling all of those costs. Compared to the costs of selling software for Windoze Mobile, etc. 30% is actually a great deal.
gkainz
Final Approach
I got mine (Blackberry 8100 Pearl) at Costco and they had a boatload of rebates at the time. I don't recall if it was $29 or free with activation of a 2 year contract. Off the shelf I think is was $299
ggroves
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Kent,
Less than $100 with rebates. I'll change untested to unproven. That can't be argued with. I haven't looked at the depth of the admin controls.
But...30% is a great deal? Are you kidding? I can develop interactive , SQL Server based apps for the Blackberry using MS Visual Studio and distribute for 0% and have full control of them using BES.
For PURE business use, where push e-mail is the #1 objective, I'll stand by my opinion.
Greg
Less than $100 with rebates. I'll change untested to unproven. That can't be argued with. I haven't looked at the depth of the admin controls.
But...30% is a great deal? Are you kidding? I can develop interactive , SQL Server based apps for the Blackberry using MS Visual Studio and distribute for 0% and have full control of them using BES.
For PURE business use, where push e-mail is the #1 objective, I'll stand by my opinion.
Greg
flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
woodstock
Final Approach
I just joined the dark side. I bought a Blackberry 8830 because I can use it in Europe. I have resisted the blackberry so far. HOWEVER, this is NOT syncing with work emails, only yahoo and maybe gmail.
wsuffa
Touchdown! Greaser!
I cracked.
Got an unlocked 8700 refurb @ about $70. It says Cingular on the case, but I loaded the latest T-Mo software on it just fine - works great.
Now all we need are the mobile mods for vBulletin.....
Got an unlocked 8700 refurb @ about $70. It says Cingular on the case, but I loaded the latest T-Mo software on it just fine - works great.
Now all we need are the mobile mods for vBulletin.....
flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
Well if you'd bought the iPhone you could read the board without it needing any mods.
Congrats on the new toy!
wsuffa
Touchdown! Greaser!
Well if you'd bought the iPhone you could read the board without it needing any mods.
AT&T - blech. Part of the reason for this was to get some use out of the T-Mo contract I have primarily to take internationally. Besides, I can get 4 of these (unlocked phones) for the price of one iPhone.
Congrats on the new toy!
gkainz
Final Approach
Clumsy interface and a hard to read layout, but this thead read from and replied to from my T-Mobile BlackBerry 8100 Pearl
woodstock
Final Approach
OK, for those who knows - how do you get the ^&*(* voice command turned off? The button is on the side and every time I move, it gets jostled in my purse and it starts talking to me...
gprellwitz
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