Well, I'm not proud of it but my Blackberry 8900 has died what I would like to believe a glorious death. For the interim, my friend has recently upgraded her Blackberry and lent me her old one to borrow until I can figure out a replacement for my phone.
I can jump out to the store for another Blackberry no problem, however I can't help but feel a little intrigued at what else is out there. I've had a blackberry for a few years now and despite minor improvements it still seems like the same old boring thing. If it's the best that's out there then so be it, but I'm seeing this as an opportunity to re-evaluate and perhaps change it up a bit.
I was told by Rogers (my carrier) to wait and call in on Friday to ask about my options of going with the new iPhone on a hardware upgrade as opposed to getting a discounted "out-of-warranty replacement" on a new 9700 which would not affect my current contract at all.
I'd be lying if I wasn't intrigued by the prospect of going android, but I don't know much about it. I've tried to read up - but it seems as though there's a lot of conflict and disappointment in general regarding the after purchase support and system updates etc.
On the other hand, now may be absolute perfect timing to jump on the Apple bandwagon, pending reasonable (or better) pricing vs. the Blackberry replacement.
What I am looking for are opinions or recommendations on what to look into given my opportunity to take a few days to figure something out. I have bought a new Rogers sim and am setup with the loaner phone for as long as I need, within reason of course. I would like to give it back within the next week or so...
I'm hoping to get steered towards an alternative to Blackberry, or if its what's best then get told to stick with it and grab the 9700. Here's what I use my phone for.
- Personal use, at this time not associated with a business. Although a short while ago I was running a small handyman gigg on the side and I may return to that in the future. That means multiple email accounts...
- I do read and reply to emails from my phone
- Texting, pretty heavily. BBM is a plus but not a deal maker / breaker for me.
- Information inquiries. (finding businesses, numbers, addresses etc.) I had used the free app "poynt" extensively for this.
- The odd GPS mapping, really only for those times when the dash mounted GPS didn't have the street in it. I used it to get directions from a location where I am etc.
- very light web use, but this was probably due to the Blackberry browser and my 8900 wasn't 3g. I could definitely seeing myself using this feature more if it was more accessible.
- Personal organization: I pretty much need it to sync with outlook. If I don't make an appointment I will forget. I also use it to sync with my work pc on a one way basis (from pc to phone) to put due dates for my work projects in there. A notepad of some sort would be a must, syncing with outlook would be a plus but not required. Also task list and sync-ability would be a plus, but not required.
- Photography: When it's appropriate I have to be able to take a picture and share it from the phone. Otherwise no-one will believe me, or I will buy the wrong shirt...
- And obviously... a phone. We don't have a house phone so between the wife and I my phone is the main point of contact and is where all the voice mails are left and retrieved.
That's my main use, and what's important. I'm not turned off by an on screen-type virtual keyboard, so long as it works. I'm the type of guy that always has the new toys when I get something, and I don't know what it is but I'm just not drawn to the Blackberry like I was.
With what I use does it make sense to switch it up? If so to what... Android (which device???)? iPhone?
Any help out there? Is the Magic+ from Rogers already outdated? I see them on local classifieds for ~$200-$250.
I can jump out to the store for another Blackberry no problem, however I can't help but feel a little intrigued at what else is out there. I've had a blackberry for a few years now and despite minor improvements it still seems like the same old boring thing. If it's the best that's out there then so be it, but I'm seeing this as an opportunity to re-evaluate and perhaps change it up a bit.
I was told by Rogers (my carrier) to wait and call in on Friday to ask about my options of going with the new iPhone on a hardware upgrade as opposed to getting a discounted "out-of-warranty replacement" on a new 9700 which would not affect my current contract at all.
I'd be lying if I wasn't intrigued by the prospect of going android, but I don't know much about it. I've tried to read up - but it seems as though there's a lot of conflict and disappointment in general regarding the after purchase support and system updates etc.
On the other hand, now may be absolute perfect timing to jump on the Apple bandwagon, pending reasonable (or better) pricing vs. the Blackberry replacement.
What I am looking for are opinions or recommendations on what to look into given my opportunity to take a few days to figure something out. I have bought a new Rogers sim and am setup with the loaner phone for as long as I need, within reason of course. I would like to give it back within the next week or so...
I'm hoping to get steered towards an alternative to Blackberry, or if its what's best then get told to stick with it and grab the 9700. Here's what I use my phone for.
- Personal use, at this time not associated with a business. Although a short while ago I was running a small handyman gigg on the side and I may return to that in the future. That means multiple email accounts...
- I do read and reply to emails from my phone
- Texting, pretty heavily. BBM is a plus but not a deal maker / breaker for me.
- Information inquiries. (finding businesses, numbers, addresses etc.) I had used the free app "poynt" extensively for this.
- The odd GPS mapping, really only for those times when the dash mounted GPS didn't have the street in it. I used it to get directions from a location where I am etc.
- very light web use, but this was probably due to the Blackberry browser and my 8900 wasn't 3g. I could definitely seeing myself using this feature more if it was more accessible.
- Personal organization: I pretty much need it to sync with outlook. If I don't make an appointment I will forget. I also use it to sync with my work pc on a one way basis (from pc to phone) to put due dates for my work projects in there. A notepad of some sort would be a must, syncing with outlook would be a plus but not required. Also task list and sync-ability would be a plus, but not required.
- Photography: When it's appropriate I have to be able to take a picture and share it from the phone. Otherwise no-one will believe me, or I will buy the wrong shirt...
- And obviously... a phone. We don't have a house phone so between the wife and I my phone is the main point of contact and is where all the voice mails are left and retrieved.
That's my main use, and what's important. I'm not turned off by an on screen-type virtual keyboard, so long as it works. I'm the type of guy that always has the new toys when I get something, and I don't know what it is but I'm just not drawn to the Blackberry like I was.
With what I use does it make sense to switch it up? If so to what... Android (which device???)? iPhone?
Any help out there? Is the Magic+ from Rogers already outdated? I see them on local classifieds for ~$200-$250.