Yes I'm married to iOS: But only for my Tablet

Me and the Blackberry have had a long term on-again off-again sort of thing.  My first Blackberry was one that looked like an old-school pager (model 900?).  For its time it was a magical device.  Then, I had one with black LCD screen in a format that looked more like the Curve.  My current Blackberry is the Bold 9000.

I'm currently using my iPhone 4 SIM in it (with a plastic adapter I bought on the i-net from Germany).  One thing I've decided about tablets is that if you have one, the app experience (whether iOS or Android) is so much better than what it is on the smaller phone screen. As a consequence, do I really want my phone to be a smaller mini-me version of my tablet?  I don't think so!

Rather, I think my phone should specialize in different tasks than my tablet, like texting, email, quick posts on Facebook or Twitter, and God forbid, an actual phone call!

To that end, my favorite specialized phone-calling, data entering device is.... the Blackberry.  With all respect to Steve Jobs,  a real keyboard is loads better than a touch screen facsimile of same. And, the Blackberry keyboard is the best! Full QWERTY, lots of keyboard shortcuts.  It's just the best.

The Blackberry Bold 9000, though a bit long in the tooth in so many other ways, has the best of the best of the Blackberry keyboards.

I know, the iPhone and Android have left RIM in the dark ages when it comes to things that phones can do, but if this Tablet thing catches on, my prediction is that people might (and I say might) rediscover the joy of the real freakin' keyboard on their phone and return to the Blackberry as a companion to their Android or iOS tablet.  I love gadgets of all stripes and I'm not faithful to any one phone platform (as my SIM switching ways will clearly show) but consider that we are leaving the world of convergence. We aren't trying to cram every last function into our smartphones because we have a tablet for that and because we are getting older and can't see all that tiny stuff on our tiny screens!

I'd welcome your thoughts on this subject.  That's my 2 cents.

Blackberry Bold is da Bomb!

I love the Blackberry Bold! I bought the original iPhone shortly after it was launched and I was a big fan. I loved the UI, I loved the apps, I loved the iPod. It was great... except for one thing. I hated trying to enter content with the onscreen keyboard. Typos galore! I missed having a keyboard. So, I tried a Nokia E71. Nice phone with a keyboard but a couple of rubs: (1) the camera is awful (2) the UI is downright mysterious and (3) the email program is pretty lame. So, I went to my local AT&T store and tried a Blackberry Bold. I love it. Email is still the killer app for me. Plus, now that my iTunes have been liberated from DRM, my Bold can play my iTunes too. I am so happy with the Bold that I haven't yet taken the SIM out to see if it still works with my iPhone.

If you have a Slingbox at home, try watching it on your Blackberry Bold with the mobile version. It ROCKS!!!

If you use Twitter, check out Twitterberry. It's a great way to keep up with Tweets.

Oh, and the free Beatles theme is a must!

Wife Fondles Bold Stays True to Curve

When my wife purchased her Blackberry Curve at the AT&T store last week, the helpful rep put us on a call list for the Blackberry Bold.  Yesterday, the store called and said they had put a Bold aside for us.  I went with my wife to the store today to check out the newest Blackberry.  Hugh Malo, the store manager, was extremely helpful and patient with us.  I've thoroughly appreciated the excellent customer service that I received from him in purchasing and setting up my wife's new phone.  

So, today we go back to the store and get hands on with the Bold.  You've no doubt seen the reviews of this phone on various websites. It is a stunning new Blackberry.  It has 3G network and WiFi, plus a beautiful screen and an updated OS.  The screen is bright and crisp. Colors pop. Text is very readable. Were it me, I would have traded the Curve for the Bold in a hearbeat.

I was not surprised to hear my wife, who is infinitely more rational than me when it comes to electronics, say "no, thanks."  She likes the smaller size and lighter weight of the Curve.  She likes that her Curve is red.  She has learned to use the menus and didn't want to learn a new UI.  She knows that she won't spend the time that I spend surfing the net on a phone when there are usually web-connected computers around.  She did comment that she wished her phone had the brighter screen but that wasn't compelling enough for her to spend an extra $200 to exchange the Curve for the Bold.  

It is interesting to observe another person making a technology buying decision that doesn't affect me.  I enjoyed listening to her comments as she watched the demo from the sales rep and then checked out the phone herself.  I wanted her to see the latest offering from Blackberry since she was committing to a new 2-year contract, but I think she will be happy with her red Curve.