Recently Tom, a friend and regular reader was telling us about his Blackberry Curve and asked us a great question.
Should I replace the BB with a new blackberry, an iPhone or an Android? I don’t have a lot of photos, or feel the need to carry around music, or even have “always-on” web access.
Apparently, the phone used to show he was connected to the EDGE network but now he’s only connected on GSM. And now, he no longer receives email on GSM. Sadly, the AT&T guy (so it appeared to me as someone getting the news 2nd hand), was not too helpful and encouraged him to upgrade. Perhaps because there’s something in it for him 😉
Anyhow… regarding the problems receiving emails and the change in network. Unfortunately, I am not too well versed with the ins and outs of the cell phone technology. What I know is surface knowledge – From what I understand, when on GSM, there is no full data capability and this is not necessarily something wrong with the phone itself, more of a network issue. Some people have discovered when a tower is down nearby, the only thing they get is GSM. Sometimes calling tech support can resolve it, sometimes not.
Beyond that I really am not in the position to say. I suggest calling tech support directly and not go into the store. From my experience, no matter which company, the guys at the store are only interested in selling you a new phone, not solve existing issues.
As for whether you should give it up. That’s rather hard to say. The geek part of me says Yes! But realistically, this is very much a personal preference.
Not too long ago, I was in a similar situation. I had an old, one of the earlier smartphones. The thing works period. It has a good enough camera, I could expand the memory, I didn’t need all those apps others have. In short, I was pretty happy with it, despite its age.
Then I had an incredible opportunity to upgrade to the HTC Incredible (pun not intended) – an Android, for an insane price. There were other factors too that made my decision a no-brainer so I went with it. Despite being a previous smartphone owner, I felt it was like stepping into a new world.
Like Tom, I didn’t carry around music – I did carry around a lot of seminar recordings though 😉 – and I didn’t need to be always online. But now… though the phone is always online, it doesn’t necessarily mean I am. It’s a choice. I also turned off automatic syncing for many of the apps. This way, the phone doesn’t bug me every time there’s something new to report.
Then there are the apps. Oh the apps! I didn’t think I needed them and I guess you can say I still don’t. But now that I do have access to them, they make things so much easier – and fun! Like with the Kindle or Nook app, I’m certainly reading a lot more than before.
Also, I’ve found some days, I can (and even prefer) not to turn on the computer.
How can this be good? Well, sometimes the best work is done offline. But you may need to get online just to find a piece of information or refer to an email. On the phone, I don’t get as easily distracted. Maybe its the screen size, maybe its because you are *somewhat* limited in what you can do. You tend to stay online for shorter periods vs on an actual computer. This may not be true for everyone, but certainly is true for me.
Having said all that… should you give up your Blackberry? I don’t know. Perhaps. If you’re only thinking of switching because of the EDGE/GSM problem, then I wouldn’t. I’d make support help me fix it.
But if it is something you’ve been considering for a while, maybe this is the perfect excuse.
Any BB users here? Do you have a suggestion for Tom? Help me (and Tom) out. Pipe up and let us know if you have a fix or give us your two cents.
Photo by Alex King