Why a Blackberry?
The other day a reader asked me why I purchased a Blackberry if I was such a fan of Apple products and I thought it was such a good question that I decided to formulate my answer in the form of a post. I know it was only a few weeks ago I was pining over the iPhone, wishing that it would finally be brought to Verizon so that I wouldn’t have to switch networks. Alas, it was shortly after that I bought my new phone, the Blackberry Tour. I know it might seem like I did a sudden 180 degree turn in my thinking, but really, my desire for an iPhone was what pushed me to get a Blackberry.
I had spent so much time thinking about why I loved and absolutely needed an iPhone, that I realized how much I would benefit from a smartphone in general. I wasn’t about to switch to AT&T over a phone, even if it was for the iPhone, because as much as I firmly believe that the iPhone is an amazing device, I know that the network is what makes the phone usable and, unfortunately, AT&T is doing a great job of stripping functionality away from the iPhone, not the other way around.
So, I did some thinking about why I wanted an iPhone to begin with and the features I liked most about it that made it different from the iPod Touch I already owned. I definitely wanted a smartphone for email, internet browsing and GPS applications on the road, which the iPod Touch can’t provide. On top of that, I wanted a phone with camera and video capabilities as well as both SMS and MMS text messaging. I also wanted to be able to tether my phone to my Mac while I am away from home so that I am never without an internet connection- that was a biggie! Now to think of elements of the iPhone I was less interested in. I definitely didn’t need another media player (I already own 3 iPods of various models), or a majority of the applications from the app store, which is really the crowning glory of the iPhone but also available on my iPod Touch. So when push came to shove, I didn’t actually need most of what made the iPhone the iPhone, especially since I already had an iPod Touch.
Eventually, I decided to look into Verizon smart phones with the specific functions I was looking for and of course I came across the Blackberry lineup. I was actually surprised at myself for entertaining the idea of a Blackberry to begin with, as the brand to me has always been synonymous with “PC”- like businessmen and a culture of overworking (i.e. does bringing your Blackberry on vacation actually constitute time away from the office?). I guess what really did it for me, however, was the fact that a Blackberry device would (a) be able to satisfy all my smart phone needs, and (b) would be backed by a name with tremendous brand loyalty and a cult following not so far off from the likes of the Apple community itself.
After taking a look at the popular models available, I leaped into the cult of Crackberry addicts with the Tour (9630) which has a great design, a great email client, a browser I actually fell comfortable using, and an application store that gives me everything I need to utilize the power of the Blackberry smart phone. Of course, the Blackberry device did have some shortcomings, namely the lack of connectivity to the Mac, which provided me with a few headaches that I have since soothed with great software I found through the internet that gives me the ability to tether, and now sync, the Blackberry to my computer. Overall, I am pleased with my choice of the Blackberry Tour and so far it has exceeded my smartphone expectations, but of course, like any good Apple fan girl, I am not ruling out the possibility of an iPhone in the future!
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts.
After all I will be subscribing to your feed and
I hope you write again very soon!