No bullshit, anyone looking for a *serious* work phone for AM (or anything business) is not doing thenmselves justice unless they at least check out the T-Mobile Blackberry Curve 8320.
IMO, its the most versatile and well-rounded phone on the market right now. Here' why:
-Internet AND voice over wi-fi
-BB browser renders in Netscape, IE and supports copy/paste
-Available Opera browser as well
-2.0 mp camera; upcoming OS upgrade allows video capture as well
-View/edit MS Word, PP, Excel files
-Views .pdf files
-Full QWERTY keyboard
-Tons of 3rd party apps
-Google maps, docs, gmail, calendar, and sync (let's you sync your BB calendar with Google calendar)
-New OS upgrade will support up to an 8gig microSD cards (currently limited to 4gig cards)
-New OS upgrade will support streaming video (pre-loaded vids in BB's native .flv already supported).
-T-Mobile has officially released that they will have 3G available by summer (no official word on whether the Curve will get an upgrade that makes it compatible yet, though)
-Every important IM: AIM, Yahoo, ICQ, MS Msgr, and Gtalk. I use an app called JiveTalk that let's you stay logged into all of them at once.
-Need SSH? Take a look at the open source MidSSH or the pricy-but-nicer MobileSSH.
-Other cool stuff:
* PocketMac for syncing with Macs
* Blackberry Tools which includes BBLight, BBToday, BBCorrector, BBWeather, and BBReply.
*Beyond 411, an awesome business listings search function.
*Viigo, a great feed reader
*Reverse Lookup which let's you look up a name and address from entering a phone number.
There are tons more apps. Look on sourceforge.net (search "blacberry," of course), Handango.com, and the Crackberry.com forums in the third-party apps section.
I was lucky enough to snag a beta of the new OS so I already have video, doc editing, improved browser, and expanded microSD capabilities.
There are several ftp clients for BB that have been out for years. BeFTP, which just recently became available, is just one of them. Its also completely free. I've been tinkering with it the last few days and so far, so good.
I've heard nothing but great things about Rove Mobile's Mobile File Manager as well. l may upgrade to that since its pretty robust but its pretty expensive as well. Rove also offers the Mobile SSH mentioned earlier. Mobile Desktop and Mobile File Manager are available too.
I have been putting it off but this thread got me thinking about it again: Rove has a new service called "PCMobilizr" that gives you full access to XP/Vista PCs through a 256-bit SSL-encrypted connection. Costs $9.50 a month and they have a free trial so I don't have an excuse.
In short, if you want a toy that 13 year old girls carry around and has no *real* functionality, by all means get an iPhone. I admit, I bought one...(for my fiancee'...haha).
If you want a viable tool that will actually pull its weight as an addition to your business, then I HIGHLY recommend the wi-fi enabled Curve. Only T-Mobile has them - other carriers' Curves have GPS instead. And if you really want GPS AND wi-fi then there are aftermarket GPS recivers that are so small they fit on your keychain and communicate with the Curve via bluetooth. Works great with the Mobile Google Maps app or with the very cool TeleNav app that gives both voice and screen directions.
I pay $39.99 a month for, I think 1,000 anytime minutes, another $20 for the unlimited data package, and another $9.99 for voice over wi-fi capability (doesn't burn your minutes when you're talking over wi-fi with that add on). So for about $80 a month after taxes, I pay less than most business users and I'm pretty much guaranteed not to get slapped with fees.
(Whew! First post on the forum so I wanted to make it a good one
. And I wrote all that and posted it using my blackberry.)
IMO, its the most versatile and well-rounded phone on the market right now. Here' why:
-Internet AND voice over wi-fi
-BB browser renders in Netscape, IE and supports copy/paste
-Available Opera browser as well
-2.0 mp camera; upcoming OS upgrade allows video capture as well
-View/edit MS Word, PP, Excel files
-Views .pdf files
-Full QWERTY keyboard
-Tons of 3rd party apps
-Google maps, docs, gmail, calendar, and sync (let's you sync your BB calendar with Google calendar)
-New OS upgrade will support up to an 8gig microSD cards (currently limited to 4gig cards)
-New OS upgrade will support streaming video (pre-loaded vids in BB's native .flv already supported).
-T-Mobile has officially released that they will have 3G available by summer (no official word on whether the Curve will get an upgrade that makes it compatible yet, though)
-Every important IM: AIM, Yahoo, ICQ, MS Msgr, and Gtalk. I use an app called JiveTalk that let's you stay logged into all of them at once.
-Need SSH? Take a look at the open source MidSSH or the pricy-but-nicer MobileSSH.
-Other cool stuff:
* PocketMac for syncing with Macs
* Blackberry Tools which includes BBLight, BBToday, BBCorrector, BBWeather, and BBReply.
*Beyond 411, an awesome business listings search function.
*Viigo, a great feed reader
*Reverse Lookup which let's you look up a name and address from entering a phone number.
There are tons more apps. Look on sourceforge.net (search "blacberry," of course), Handango.com, and the Crackberry.com forums in the third-party apps section.
I was lucky enough to snag a beta of the new OS so I already have video, doc editing, improved browser, and expanded microSD capabilities.
There are several ftp clients for BB that have been out for years. BeFTP, which just recently became available, is just one of them. Its also completely free. I've been tinkering with it the last few days and so far, so good.
I've heard nothing but great things about Rove Mobile's Mobile File Manager as well. l may upgrade to that since its pretty robust but its pretty expensive as well. Rove also offers the Mobile SSH mentioned earlier. Mobile Desktop and Mobile File Manager are available too.
I have been putting it off but this thread got me thinking about it again: Rove has a new service called "PCMobilizr" that gives you full access to XP/Vista PCs through a 256-bit SSL-encrypted connection. Costs $9.50 a month and they have a free trial so I don't have an excuse.
In short, if you want a toy that 13 year old girls carry around and has no *real* functionality, by all means get an iPhone. I admit, I bought one...(for my fiancee'...haha).
If you want a viable tool that will actually pull its weight as an addition to your business, then I HIGHLY recommend the wi-fi enabled Curve. Only T-Mobile has them - other carriers' Curves have GPS instead. And if you really want GPS AND wi-fi then there are aftermarket GPS recivers that are so small they fit on your keychain and communicate with the Curve via bluetooth. Works great with the Mobile Google Maps app or with the very cool TeleNav app that gives both voice and screen directions.
I pay $39.99 a month for, I think 1,000 anytime minutes, another $20 for the unlimited data package, and another $9.99 for voice over wi-fi capability (doesn't burn your minutes when you're talking over wi-fi with that add on). So for about $80 a month after taxes, I pay less than most business users and I'm pretty much guaranteed not to get slapped with fees.
(Whew! First post on the forum so I wanted to make it a good one
. And I wrote all that and posted it using my blackberry.)