I hate the blackberry. It's expensive, I find it cumbersome; it's EXTREMELY limited as a PDA; and as a phone. Actually I've yet to find a combo PDA and phone that I like, but the blackberry is totally crippled as a PDA and pretty crappy as a phone as well.
Whenever you try and smash two devices into one, you are going to have to make compromises, and this is definitely a lowest common denominator compromise. The only advantage it has is wireless email; which is why the company gives them out in the first place.
Here's the thing: I already have Sony Ericsson T610:
AND a Palm Tungsten T3:
I get wireless internet access from the phone, through the PDA via bluetooth; and I can sue whatever palm apps I want.
Theres millions of them... LITERALLY MILLIONS, and some are VERY VERY good.
Everything about my PDA is better in every way to the blackberry. Everything about my Phone is better in every way to the blackberry; but the blackberry server handles all that email for the company, and every manager has to have one.
I mean, they're using verizon, and they are going to re-imburse me for MY cell phone anyway; why not jsut get me a Treo SmartPhone? They're decent phones AND decent PDAs (though the screens are tiny); or at least if you got yours after the recall they are.
BUT IT GETS BETTER.
Not only are they using the crippled PDA/Phone combo, BUT THEY ARE USING THEM FOR DATA ONLY.
Yes, that's right; the enterprise communications services package for our blackberries doesnt cover voice. No voice means half the functions of this rather large hip hugger are useless.
So I'm going to have to carry around my REAL PDA, my REAL PHONE, and the blackberry, which will only be useful for checking my email; which I could already do much better with my REAL PDA and REAL PHONE, if it werent for the corporate blackberry infrastructure.
Lord... I already have a bat belt; it's not like I need more crap hanging off it. When I'm carrying it'll be even worse. Of course I don't carry at work; but I'm an operations manager, I need to be available 24/7 in case something explodes; and I DO carry everywhere else.
I feel like the COmic Book guy; wondering why his utility belt door prize didn't come in XXL.
