After years of using Sony Ericsson cellphones, I was disappointed with the company after their flagship product P990i - the phone was bad, SE’s attitude towards customers was horrendous!
I then flirted with Windows Mobile. I really like this platform. However, it needs a lot of development to iron out the basic kinks and duh factor features in their phones to make them usable!
So with all options considered, I zoomed down to the one I had never thought of trying before - RIM BlackBerry. I was very skeptical while making this decision, and went for the 8820 model. However, after nearly 8 months of usage, I can safely say that this is one of the best smartphones I have ever used.
Apart from the popular push email system that comes with a BlackBerry, the 8820 has some surprisingly good features. To begin with, here are some quick specs:
Push email - Protocols Supported: BlackBerry, POP3, IMAP4, Exchange, Domino, GroupWise
Connectivity - WiFi 802.11 b/g/a, Bluetooth, EDGE
Full QWERTY keypad
Java (J2ME) enabled
Full Speed (1.1) built-in mini-USB connector
64 MB internal memory - expandable through MicroSD slot
Comes with a magnetic holster
Those are just some quick facts. For a more detailed spec sheet, check out the official website.
Too often I have come across hardware that advertises to do the most advanced things, but turns out to be a disappointment when you actually use it, as can’t even deliver the basic stuff. This was not the case with 8820. The pleasure of using the phone came by the fact that everything worked out of the box just as expected - phone features, calendar, email, messaging, profiles, syncronization - you name it, and it works perfectly without any need to tweak.
To begin with, the phone has a great battery life. The signal reception is perfect, and the sound is crisp both in the handset as well as the speakerphone. The 360 * 240 display is gorgeous, and the operating system looks great. But the real winning factor with BlackBerry phones is the speed - no frustrating waits for things to turn up - you click on them, they are there the next second!
The other good thing about this phone is its resemblance in usage to a computer. For example, you can use Alt+Tab to switch between open applications, Ctrl+Alt+Del to reboot, and so on. Also, the phone has clearly been built with one-handed operations in mind - almost all applications have a keyboard shortcut, so you can open them right from the standby screen just by pressing a button.
A very intersting feature was the ’autolock upon holstering’ feature. You can set the options so that every time you place your phone inside the holster, the keypad would lock automatically - very thoughtful!
The LEDs on the top of the phone is an extremely handy feature - it lets you know instantly that there is a pending item for you - an unread message, a missed call, or a calendar item - good for forgetful people like myself!
One of the biggest complaints I have heard about BlackBerry phones is that they are not very customizable. Well, it DOES allow you a very deep level of customization with the most robust inbuilt features. Of course, it does not provide the flexibility of Windows Mobile customization, where you can basically cook your own operating system for the phone! Now here’s the thing - when the phone functions perfectly well out of the box, do you really need that level of tailoring? I guess the answer is - it depends on what type of a person you are. If you love opening the hood and replacing everything within, then you will feel a bit tied down.
One of the shocking omissions from this phone is that there is no countdown timer or a stopwatch. Of course, you can download freeware applications that address this problem perfectly, but a surprising omission none the less.Last on my wishlist for this phone would be an FM Radio! And yeah sure, even though I love how the phone works out of the box, I’m still the kind who’d take a look under the hood anyways ;-)However, those are just a few kinks, nothing major for me. All my skepticism before buying this phone has now been laid to rest. This is, without a doubt, one of the better smartphones I’ve ever come across.