So how can a BlackBerry be beneficial as a “non-work phone?” As mentioned earlier, a BlackBerry is very handy when keeping in touch with family and friends. With the BlackBerry Messenger app, you can start an instant conversation with a push of the “track ball.” Personal email, such as Gmail, can be accessed on your BlackBerry via a Gmail app. This allows you to send and receive email from your personal Gmail account without logging into a computer. The Gmail app also synchronizes your Google Calendar with the calendar on your phone. Of course like all cell phones now days, BlackBerrys have a texting feature. The good thing about most BlackBerrys is they come with a full keyboard. This makes texting, emailing, and web browsing much easier. Another great feature that comes on all but one BlackBerry is the ease of navigation. Instead of pushing buttons to navigate through menus and the internet, the BlackBerry phones have a track ball; which is basically a computer mouse on your phone. The one BlackBerry, the Storm, is touch screen.

BlackBerrys are reliable phones. They have good battery life and are built tough. I have dropped mine more times than I can count and it still works. If I do happen to break it, loose it, or it becomes submerged in water, then the insurance plan available for these phone would send me a new one. Of course I send them $50, but I think that’s a fair trade off. But anyways, tomorrow I will interview Delbert Terry about his experiences with his BlackBerry. Until next, happy teching!