CrackBerried
A few weeks ago I settled on decided to buy a BlackBerry.
After many many thoughts and considerations, left the iPhone behind and jumped into the CrackBerry bandwagon. There’s quite a few reasons why I didn’t get one:
- The network - I wasn’t really compelled to join
CingularAT&T. I was part of their network before, and it wasn’t that impressive. OK, it actually sucked. - The lock - I could’ve bought it if and only if I didn’t have to pry open the phone, get electrical equipment, have some cables soldered, and hack my way into the iPhone so I could use it in another network… here or outside of the U.S…. making you pay roaming charges is just not right… which leads me again to my previous reason: the network. Sadly, I don’t think I can blame it all on the carrier… I feel like Apple is also guilty… but I still like them. =)
- The iPod within - I still have an iPod, old, but it works. Plus, I have invested on my car audio system so I could seamlessly use my iPod by buying an Alpine head unit, that controls an iPod with its controls… It was reported that the iPhone didn’t fully work with these head units… that’s a deal breaker.
- The price tag - While I am fully convinced that you are paying a fair price for an iPhone… I wasn’t ready to get one… especially because of my previous reason.
- No installable apps - a big turn-off was to know that I couldn’t get Java apps installed on the phone, and that there was no Flash plugin for browsing. I am a Gmail user, and having Gmail on my BlackBerry has been one of the coolest things of having such device… along with Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, and the like.
I was very very happy to leave Verizon, and join T-Mobile back again. Last year I decided to switch to Verizon on a family plan… but I experienced, first hand, how they cripple their phones by adding their own OS, hence making good phones work not up to par. Doing that is just mean.
When Apple decides to open the iPhone to other GSM companies, I think I’ll be more eager to go for it.
For now, I have a beautifully crafted BlackBerry Pearl, which did did cost me nothing, and while doesn’t have a touchscreen and Safari for good browsing experience… it does have many of the things the iPhone has, and I am satisfied so far with it. No regrets.
Plus, T-Mobile has always been happy to unlock phones after 30 or 60 days of service so you can use another SIM card, which comes handy for when you are traveling abroad.
The Plan? 1000 Whenever minutes (no night/weekend), unlimited data, unlimited text messaging: $59.99. While many may cringe because of the no nights/weekends minutes… I find it perfectly fitting my talking needs: I am almost at the end of the billing cycle and I have used a little over 400 minutes.
While I didn’t get the coolest phone… I believe I made a smart decision on waiting for a new version of both the phone and the business model.
For now, I have understood why Crackberries are called like that… they are indeed addictive, and shortly after I got it, it made me wonder how I lived without one. =)