BlackBerry is only for businesses? Not anymore! BlackBerry
can now be for everyone - individuals, consumers, kids,
even hackers and hardcore computer users. BlackBerry can
be fun too - You can now run chat software today more efficiently
than many other handheld wireless devices, for example!
MSN, ICQ, IRC too!
Yes, other handheld devices have email. But what makes BlackBerry
stand out? Why is BlackBerry called Crackberry by addicted
users? There's push available for other devices such as
Goodlink for TREO. Unfortunately, all of them are more proprietary
-- you have to pay a huge arm and leg for these solutions.
Apart from the big $$$$ you have to pay for other push email
solutions, don't forget the other BlackBerry advantages:
- ¡¤ Longer battery life:
BlackBerry consistently lasts longer than other handhelds
like PalmOS.
- ¡¤ Ruggedized: BlackBerry
handhelds survives drops much better than other handhelds
such as Treo's or iPaq's. PalmOS: There are some models
that are ruggedized, but on general, BlackBerry is far
more ruggedized ¨C
- ¡¤ Data Loss Prevention:
You can yank the battery out of your BlackBerry for
a full week and put it back in one week later, all your
data is still there. Everything is written to flash
ROM on the fly, even your email drafts, so you don't
need to make backups like you would with Palm or iPaq.
PalmOS:
- ¡¤ Security: BlackBerry
comes with the capability for remote-controlled lobotomy
to delete your data if your BlackBerry is ever stolen.
BlackBerry also requires cryptographic signing by RIM
before the application can do any damage to the operating
system or databases, which makes it much more impossible
to write a virus for the BlackBerry than for Palm/PocketPC.
PalmOS: Sill FAR behind.
- ¡¤ Email Software: The
email on the BlackBerry is superior to the other wireless
push email software, even the recently available Treo
push email software.
- ¡¤ Stability: Uptimes
well over 60 days are getting common on BlackBerry nowadays.
- ¡¤ Always On, No Connecting
Needed: The BlackBerry is like a wireless Cable/DSL
connection. It's always there. No connecting needed.
- ¡¤ Configuration Free:
No need to worry about configuring email software to
automatically start up when resetting a Palm; no need
to worry about whether the email software is running
in the background or if it has crashed. There is no
"QUIT" menu item in the BlackBerry email software at
all!
- No power button needed: BlackBerry uses so little
power; you just put it down -- no need for a power button
at all.
For the hardcore computer users, BlackBerry is getting more
and more open source software too -- It's just a matter
of time before Linux sync is available. Most applications
do not even need RIM to sign it. And even so, RIM recently
signed open source applications, including BlackChat (to
permit it to hook into Notifications; something you don't
want a virus to do). Please see the Developer forum for
a listing of open source J2ME software; we need more open
source developers for BlackBerry!