Third Time’s the Charm? Blackberry Bold

I recently had to part ways with my Blackberry Pearl – some heartache, I suppose, but time and product innnovation march on. There is a lot to like about the Blackberry Bold – I am definitely happy to have made the change …

<aside> … although my inner conspiracy theorist sees a case of planned obsolescence. Apparently, others have experienced the same problem – a sticky trackball that refuses to scroll down. Try as I may, nothing would improve the situation – and so I was compelled to upgrade. </aside>

• Acceptable Form Factor: Yes, the Pearl was “perfect” because of it’s candy-bar size – unlike the classic 7200 series, which felt strange when held up to your ear as a cell phone. Bottom line – the Bold still fits comfortably in jacket, shirt, and pants pockets. Plus, when I’m using it as a phone, I’ve typically got the Bluetooth headset plugged in.
• QWERTY is Back: You can get used to the predictive typing on the Pearl’s compressed, two-letters-to-a-key keyboard, but the Bold’s “standard” layout has help reduce my typos considerably (alas, I have to take ownership of misspelings again).
• So That‘s What WiFi is For … It didn’t register until I connected to my local Tomato to get out to the intarweb – much faster than anything I’d ever seen before, very useful.
• Improved Screen: More real estate really helps here, and the applications are much more useful. Not just the “native” Contacts, eMail, and Calendar clients, but the web browser as well; pages just render better on this thing. I mean, it was usable before, but now it’s actually quite effective.
• More Applications: A few more games, big deal – I don’t play in meetings anymore. However, there is a wide range of free, Blackberry-aware apps that are really useful – the Google suite, of course, plus Facebook and the Wall Street Journal. I’ve even re-downloaded Twitterberry, which has made a few updates since I last played with it (trying microblogging again …)

<aside> I heard of a law firm, touting the effectiveness of their corporate-supported iPhones with enthusiastic praise for the Bloomberg application. “How wonderful”, says the barrister, “that we can proactively contact our clients when a story comes across the wires involving their firm”. What do they call that app – iAmbulanceChaser? </aside>




• Subtleties that Really Deliver: No, I’m not an iPhone hater – but I have discovered a number of little features – not widely talked about, but spot-on useful – that apparently are not matched in the BBKWT. Face it – the Blackberry is spooky self-aware that it’s a phone, first and foremost; open up an eMail, and if a phone number appears in the body, you can click on it to initiate a call. Or start a conversation with Messenger, and click the green phone button – a pop up asks if you want to call the person you are chatting with. Nice.
• My Desktop: I also like the fact that I can add custom folders and rearrange icons, even moving them within these new folders. The home screen gives me space for six icons, so I’ve got a folder for messaging apps (email, gmail, IM, SMS, and tberry), Internet apps (browser, Google apps, WSJ, Facebook), plus direct licks to calendar, contacts, and Google Maps (my fave application for the handheld).
  

No, it’s not perfect – I don’t understand why I can’t create shortcuts for my favorite web sites (Bloglines, Ping, Weather Underground, etc.) in the folders – but I can see myself growing more independent from the luggable [notebook]. If I could only get a decent VNC client …

Previously …

• eMail on Blackberry Changes Definition of Acceptable eMail (September 19, 2005)
• My first month with the Blackberry Pearl (February 26, 2007)
• Rare event: Design problems with my Blackberry Pearl (May 24, 2007)
• New Twitter features starting to make things more relevant (June 3, 2007)
• Communication is the responsibility of … (August 19, 2007)
• Innovation That Matters – Substance Over Style (January 12, 2008)
• The Innovation Generation and User Interfaces (April 9, 2008)
• Stretching Your User Interface Design Muscles (April 16, 2008)
• Finally! Relevant Applications for YouTube and Twitter in the Enterprise! (July 11, 2008)
• On the Road: Business Travel, Fall 2008 (October 13, 2008)

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