| Author | Message | ||
| RJ Long (Rjlong)
Registered Member Username: Rjlong Post Number: 1751 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 71.195.124.20  Rating: N/A |
All - (This is being cross-posted on BNO & BCM.) A good friend of mine went crazy over Thanksgiving weekend and bought a new Mac desktop, iPad and iPhone. (Whew, must be nice to have that much cash!) I have now been offered (for $25!) the old Blackberry Bold 9000 smart phone. It's in excellent condition, doesn't even have any scratches on the case or screen. I currently am using a Motorola Razr, which has been pretty good, except for some battery issues (that were solved with a new battery). We're both on AT&T, so compatibility or unlocking isn't an issue. I've found the Owner's Manual online, and the BB uses the same charger as my Razr. Would have to get a protective case, but that's about all. So, my question to my fellow busnuts: Do I take the plunge and move up to this Smart Phone, or do I just muddle along with the Razr for a bit longer? (Keep in mind that it took me a long time to give up my old brick Nokia 6310i.) Be kind, but be honest! TIA!!  | ||
| marvin pack (Gomer)
Registered Member Username: Gomer Post Number: 1110 Registered: 3-2007 Posted From: 71.55.1.12  Rating: N/A |
RJ IF it ain't broke don't fix it, I waited until mine gave up the ghost and got a free one at sprint and I be happy. Smart phnes are pretty good I have heard.. Gomer | ||
| don goldsmith (Bottomacher)
Registered Member Username: Bottomacher Post Number: 276 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 75.202.32.15 Rating: N/A |
After a year of looking, I just bought a Droid x. Like buying a new car- no real joy, much expense, but I need it in my real estate work. If the razr does what you need, keep it. If you need the Blackberry, switch. You can't get it much cheaper... | ||
| Dal Farnworth (Dallas)
Registered Member Username: Dallas Post Number: 216 Registered: 7-2004 Posted From: 72.172.33.200  Rating: N/A |
RJ, I moved up to a smart phone about 5 years ago. Although I don't use it for texting, I do use many of the other capabilities it provides. Such as when I need an address or a phone number that's not in my contact list. I can go to Google, type in the business name and the town and get the listing for it. There are just too many capabilities to mention... but you could keep up with your FB account more easily!LOL | ||
| Paso One (Paso_1)
Registered Member Username: Paso_1 Post Number: 173 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 142.165.246.240  Rating: N/A |
RJ I'm on my second Blackberry, Gave the first phone to wife still works great after 5 years. They are great phones. My newest is the Bold 9700 Lots of fine tuning can be done to suit your own spoecific needs. | ||
| Debo Cox (Debo)
Registered Member Username: Debo Post Number: 37 Registered: 1-2009 Posted From: 149.168.204.10  Rating: N/A |
Hey RJ! I've certainly learned a lot from your postings here. Now I hope I can return a little something. I use my Blackberry all the time - mostly for work. The main advantages I get with it are email, calendar, and notes. Here's what I mean... I have several different email accounts, and messages from them all get "pushed" to my phone as they arrive. I can decide what's important, and what can wait right there as I get them. This is kinda cool these days because I can get notifications if my bank balance is too low, or if UPS has delivered my package. If it's something critical for work, I can answer it right there from the phone - email or text message. I use Google calendar online to keep up with my time management. I have an app on my Blackberry (GoogleSync) that automatically syncs every change made on either calendar with the other one. So for instance if I'm at a party and add a lunch appointment on my phone, it automatically shows up on the Internet-based Google calendar next time I open it at work. Pretty cool, and completely automatic. All I have to do is set it up and it does everything automatically. The other REALLY useful thing is the "notes" capability. Some examples of notes I have in mine are web site passwords, insurance policy numbers, and even a few bus part numbers - like the blower belt number. You can password protect all of that stuff so if you lost your phone nobody could access your important information. There's even a way to wipe your phones memory clean by calling it and entering a code if you lost it. The downside of all of this is that there's an additional charge for a "data plan." Mine is with AT&T and it's $15 a month. That's on top of your regular cell phone bill. I'm a bit of a gadget freak, so that's what initially attracted me to the Blackberry, but the longer I've used it, the more useful I've found it to be. It's kept me from having to boot up the laptop every time I want to check my email, and saved my bacon on some time-sensitive stuff at work that probably should have been a phone call instead of an email. I'll tell you this. The first time you get an important message you wouldn't have gotten otherwise, or get reminded of an important appointment you'd have missed, or are able to look up a part number on the side of the road while you're talking to the shop, you'll think it's a pretty cool thing. Hope this helps. Debo | ||
| H3-40 (Ace)
Registered Member Username: Ace Post Number: 1148 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 173.136.37.208  Rating: N/A |
I second everything Debo said with the exception I'm using an HTC evo from sprint. I hardly ever use my laptop for anything anymore! I liked it so much I bought Susan one and 2 of my friends each bought one. They do almost everything! | ||
| George Martinez (Foohorse)
Registered Member Username: Foohorse Post Number: 260 Registered: 1-2010 Posted From: 68.215.72.106  Rating: N/A |
RJ I am Very satisfied with mine. I have had them since 2002. go ahead and get it, and it would be my pleasure to help you with it while at the upcoming event. | ||
| Gary Stacy (Stacytruck)
Registered Member Username: Stacytruck Post Number: 23 Registered: 12-2009 Posted From: 71.210.26.133  Rating: N/A |
The main thing to remember is that you will HAVE to pay an internet,email fee, whether you want email or not, no choice with smart phone. g | ||
| George Martinez (Foohorse)
Registered Member Username: Foohorse Post Number: 262 Registered: 1-2010 Posted From: 68.215.72.106 Rating: N/A |
Gary that is not the case with RJ's service all he has to do is install the sim card from the RAZOR into the Blackberry and he will have the same service cost as the Razor, but he will have the functions that the blackberry has over the Razor. if he wants email, internet,GPS, so on so forth there is an additional fee. I use Metro PCS no limits, full data, anytime, now nationwide $50 month. compared to ATT $110 | ||
| Dal Farnworth (Dallas)
Registered Member Username: Dallas Post Number: 217 Registered: 7-2004 Posted From: 72.172.33.200 Rating: N/A |
George, Where do you come up with $110 for AT$T? We've had them for about 6 years, and have 4 phones on our plan, 2 smart phones and 2 Razr's. Mine has unlimited Data, text, etc. All the others have 5Gb limit per month. We share 700 minutes with roll over, for a total cost of $138/month. So far we have 3500 minutes that have been rolling over, and we'll lose a month of roll over as each month passes a year. You might also want to look at Metro PCS for the holes in their coverage. They share towers with many companies, and have service in Waco, Temple, Kileen, College Station/Bryan around here... but many users of that system can't get a signal from any of the towers that are within a mile of us. | ||
| RJ Long (Rjlong)
Registered Member Username: Rjlong Post Number: 1753 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 71.195.124.20 Rating: N/A |
All - Thanks so much for the feedback. Since it's raining right now here in Fresburg, work is on hold. So time to play with the phone. . . Step One: Finish going thru my contact list on the Razr, editing the info and saving to the SIM card. Step Two: Head over to the local AT&T store (company-owned, not a kiosk) w/ both phones and have a nice little chat with a geek. Step Three: Have geek erase all previous owner's info/data (thanks, Debo, for the tip). Step Four: Have geek copy my SIM card to a new one and install in BB. Step Five: Have geek update/upgrade current AT&T plan as necessary for BB to work properly. Step Six: Sync Bluetooth headset to BB. Step Seven: Beat head against wall trying to figure out how to use BB. Step Eight: Read Owner's Manual. Step Nine: Return to AT&T store to bug geek some more. Step Ten: What did I leave out? | ||
| Dal Farnworth (Dallas)
Registered Member Username: Dallas Post Number: 218 Registered: 7-2004 Posted From: 72.172.33.200 Rating: N/A |
Never EVER EVER EVER EVER go to the geek store... they are Not AT$T. They are a subcontractor for the seller which is a subcontractor for ATT. Get online at http://www.att.com and switch your service. I'm sure you have friends, relatives or other younger persons that have played with cell phones before. Let them do it, or better yet, if your present phone will accept a micro SD card, swap everything to it... it's in the tools function of the Razr. Then when you put it in your MerryBerry, it will see the card either as separate drive or as an extension of your phone. The manual will show you what to do to swap stuff over. I always save my contact list and favorites to the MicroSD... it's a lot faster and has a bunch more room. Did I mention, NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER go to the Kiosks or the ATT stores? | ||
| Ian Giffin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 1392 Registered: 7-1997 Posted From: 24.239.5.12  Rating: N/A |
Buy a new Ford and watch the fun you can have with Microsoft Sync! Ian www.busnut.com | ||
| RJ Long (Rjlong)
Registered Member Username: Rjlong Post Number: 1754 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 71.195.124.20 Rating: N/A |
Dallas - "Never EVER EVER EVER EVER go to the geek store... they are Not AT$T. They are a subcontractor for the seller which is a subcontractor for ATT." I know what you mean, but this one is different. It's been the business office for over 50 years here in town, from the days when it was the Pacific Telephone division of AT&T before the breakup. No cell phones back then! It's still the main business office, handles landlines, business phone systems, and cell service. Back side of building has the dispatch center for installation/repairs w/ lots and lots of trucks - from vans to cherry pickers. Most cell customers don't frequent it, simply because it's in an industrial park and they'd rather go to the more convenient kiosk/contractor store. There are a couple of geeks who work there that are helpful, friendly and, most importantly - extremely competent. They don't even talk "geekspeak!" Thanks for the MicroSD suggestion, hadn't thought of that. Will pick up a couple (need one for my camera) before the transfer. Ian - ??????? | ||
| George Martinez (Foohorse)
Registered Member Username: Foohorse Post Number: 263 Registered: 1-2010 Posted From: 68.215.72.106 Rating: N/A |
Dallas thanks for the heads up about Metro in Texas. I wonder what the service will be like in my ditch in AZ. I was being burned By ATT every month was a battle with customer service, finally when my contract was at an end they offered me a better deal but not what I am getting with Metro. | ||
| Ian Giffin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 1393 Registered: 7-1997 Posted From: 24.239.6.10 Rating: N/A |
RJL, http://www.ford.com/technology/sync/ Very geeky! Got it in my new automobile. Love it. Ian www.busnut.com | ||
| Dal Farnworth (Dallas)
Registered Member Username: Dallas Post Number: 221 Registered: 7-2004 Posted From: 67.141.79.197 Rating: N/A |
George, here's the MetroPCS coverage map..... http://www.metropcs.com/coverage/ |