Two weeks with a BlackBerry
Two weeks ago I got rid of my iPhone and dropped AT&T for a BlackBerry Bold 9700 on T-Mobile. My impression so far: I love it.
I have all four of my email inboxes being pushed out to my phone. I can look at them in a single inbox or individually. I can (and do) have different signatures for each email account. Since I’m using Google Apps for my email, I actually have the ability to do things like archive and report spam. It syncs both contacts and calendar items flawlessly with Google Sync, in addition to being able to do it natively with the new BlackBerry OS 5.0. Facebook is integrated directly into the address book, so when people call me I see their latest Facebook profile picture. Google Talk runs in the background and lets me answer IMs the same way one might answer a text message. Google Latitude constantly updates my location and allows me to see where my friends and family are on Google Maps. When I take a picture, I can send it to Facebook or Flickr with a few clicks from within the camera application. I even got into the Foursquare for BlackBerry beta. My battery time is now measured in days instead of hours. I can use the Bluetooth connection without restrictions to transfer files or use the phone as a tethered modem. Calls are clear, rarely dropped, and I don’t have to worry about signal strength when I’m at home or work, since I just use the UMA and WiFi functionality.But the most interesting application was something that isn’t new, just something I wasn’t actually aware of — BlackBerry Messenger (or BBM). For those who don’t know, or have never used it, BBM is a collaborative messaging environment that allows you to create groups of up to 30 other BlackBerry users and participate in real-time chats, share pictures, videos, notes, events, and a host of other things. However, most of these features are relatively new to BBM 5.0 and late model BlackBerry devices, which might explain why I wasn’t aware of BBM previously. All things considered, BlackBerry Messenger is a really neat application with two huge flaws:- It’s too corporate. Your phone is identified by a unique 6-character PIN. No one wants to remember that. The latest version allows you to send people a QR code instead, that will let them add you as a contact or join a group, but it’s far from perfect. Most people still don't know what QR codes are.
- It’s proprietary and only works on BlackBerry phones.
Those are my only two gripes. After using it for a little while with a few friends, it reminded me of Google Wave and got me thinking… What is Google Wave going to look like on a mobile phone? Could the future of social networking, email and collaboration lie in mobile, BBM style application? A mobile version of Google Wave could bring BBM style functionality to a host of different devices and break down the barriers that have branded it as a corporate communication tool.
