Rex’s reviews of anything (but mostly books)

    I’m carrying a BlackBerry® now: I guess that means I’ve finally joined the real techie generation. And it’s not an everyday BlackBerry like I see the college kids using on the plane (in full defiance of the FAA, I might add); it’s a – gasp! – BlackBerry 8830 World Edition. Now that I work for a company that just might send me out of the country once in a while, I need a phone that can function in more places than just the good ol’ USA, and the World Edition – with the addition of an optional SIMS card – is just that phone.

Before this job, I was a BlackBerry virgin: never used one, rarely saw one; didn’t recognize one when I did see it. Now there’s one clipped to my waist most of my waking hours (I’m still not certain that’s a good thing). I have my own smartphone, and it does it all:

• It’s a cell phone with the expected capabilities: voicemail, ringtones, SMS and MMS text messaging, picture and video messages, call-forwarding and -waiting, conference calling, speakerphone, voice dialing; the whole nine yards.
• It’s wireless email with “always-on” capability. Depending on your data plan, connect with either a corporate BlackBerry server or a POP server, including connection to webmail accounts such as gmail.
• It has a full QWERTY keyboard, backlit, with upper and lower case, punctuation, and symbols plus dedicated keys for speakerphone, backspace/delete, and return. And the spacebar is trained to insert the @ sign and . (dot) in email addresses.
• It provides a trackball for navigation and entry, menu button, dedicated send and end keys.
• It opens email attachments, including pictures, spreadsheets, and word-processing documents, Word and Excel docs, at least.
• It’s wireless data and broadband internet access and can be coaxed into serving as a broadband modem for a lap- or desktop PC, after software installation.
• It syncs to office programs for calendaring, contact database, to-do lists, and such.
• It includes a media player for pictures, music, and video.
• It’s GPS enabled and has BlackBerry Maps. It’d have full navigation if I paid for Verizon’s mapping software.
• It’s an instant messenger console, with BlackBerry Messaging.
• It can sync to a corporate database (so they tell me – it’s immaterial in my case).
• It’s fully Bluetooth enabled.
• It comes with a high-resolution, light-sensing, full-color screen and RIM’s user interface.

In other words, the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition is a mobile office, with an entertainment center thrown in. Not bad for a chunk of plastic and metal that’s about the size of a euchre deck, approximately 2½ by 4½ inches and half an inch thick. But, what’s it all about?

Description: The phone is a “candy bar” style, though shaped much more like a Nestles Crunch than a Milky Way, if you ask me. It’s available in black, red, and silver finishes (mine’s black); though available colors may ultimately depend on your cellular provider. The top half of the face is taken up by the screen, the bottom half is that QWERTY keyboard. Dedicated buttons are arranged across the face immediately under the screen – SEND, MENU, BACK, END – with a lighted trackball in the precise center of the face. There’s a single “dot” omnidirectional mic in the lower right, an “earhole” speaker at the top. A red flashing indicator light is placed in the upper right-hand corner for new message alerts.

A rocker-style POWER and MUTE key combination covers much of the top of the body, as is a slot for the speakerphone. It’s exposed when in the OEM holster, as are a pair of VOLUME UP/DOWN keys on the upper right edge. Along the left-hand edge, from top to bottom, are a 2.5mm headphone jack (compliments of Verizon, the mini-USB jack for charging and linkup to a computer, a “convenience key” that defaults to Voice Dialing, and a weird-looking little port that the documentation doesn’t explain (I’m open to suggestions…)

The battery, SIM card, and micro-SD card slots are accessed from the rear of the phone: the bottom half slides off (with some effort, I might add) for access. The top half acts as sounding board for the speaker phone.

Living with a BlackBerry:

Setup is very simple: a setup Wizard appears on the screen as soon as the phone’s turned on. You get to walk through connecting to your email¹; set language, date, and time; customize the interface with fonts and display themes; and set a few hotkeys. The setup wizard also includes some simple help such as keyboard shortcuts, e.g., instead of using the <SHIFT> key for capitalization, merely hold the key until the letter changes on the screen. The wizard remains in the menus, but can be moved “out of the way” once initial setup is finished.

Software install: RIM sends along a boatload of Roxio software to manage media (why does everyone think that’s so darned important?). Installation was fairly painful, since the CD proved faulty. Apparently that’s not uncommon, since their software support page included the symptom and a workaround in their knowledge base. It seems you must install the software (either the RIM CD or your provider’s CD) to install drivers to charge the phone from a USB cable, as well as use it as a modem. That’s not readily apparent from the documentation, by the way.

The interface is considerably more intuitive than cellular phones and PDAs I’ve used in the past. The inclusion of a clearly-marked <MENU> key that is always tasked as a menu key (unlike some cell phone GUIs) makes navigation sensible and predictable. The ability to move icons around on the screen so that the most frequently-used functions are at the top is also heaven-sent.

Communication is a breeze. It’s a standard cellular phone that operates in normal mode or as a speakerphone, and can be used with Bluetooth with a headset or handsfree kit in a car. It’s an email device that’s always on: my corporate email is sent to both desktop and BlackBerry; I could do the same with my gmail if I wished. Attachments such as photographs, Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, and PDFs open on-screen (sometimes it takes a little coaxing, though). It has (of course) voicemail, three-way calling, call-waiting, call-forwarding, and call-just-about-everything-else. The BlackBerry 8830, like any good phone, also syncs with desktop applications (via USB cable) to keep my contact list and calendar current.

International use is a given – it’s why this is called a “World Edition.” This is the phone that everyone in the company uses, and that means almost anywhere in the world. Our staff uses it not only in the USA and Canada; but Europe (including Trondheim, Norway); Asia (the code shop is in Beijing, and our sales and support force just got back from Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Ho Chi Minh City. Nuff ’said?); and South America (Medellin, Bogotá, and Caracas). They’re a widely-traveled bunch, and they use their BlackBerries everywhere they go.

Internet access is slicker’n snake snot. The BlackBerry browser is designed for the tiny screen and miniature keyboard. BlackBerry’s home page (the default homepage) provides links to common websites for mobile users, and you can (of course) store bookmarks, and cookies are stored for your password. Since there’s only 64Mb of on-board memory (unless you add a mini SD chip for more memory), you’d need to keep the cache cleared.

Entertainment is covered, too: videos (almost recognizable on a screen slightly smaller than 1½ by 2 inches), photos (ditto) and digital music. Music played through the onboard speakerphone is as tinny as one might expect. The provided headphone jack is a 2.5mm jack, meaning only special headphone sets fit (I think that’s a Verizon thing to sell their headsets…). Since I have an iPod, I haven’t bothered with the media player, though the interface is up to the standards of the rest of the BlackBerry GUI. Oh, and there are games available – BrickBreaker (notice the “BB”?) is installed, and you can download others as well (join the BlackBerry Lounge for more info)

The tale of the tape, so to speak… Based on my experience, here’s the lowdown on the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition:

plusses
• This is an incredibly versatile device in a fairly small (see below) package. I’m not sure I’ve found anything I need in a mobile office that it doesn’t provide
• The learning curve for a new device is surprisingly gentle, when compared to cell phones and PDAs I’ve used in the past.
• Navigation through the interface is intuitive, not the least because the dedicated keys do the same thing regardless of what application is running.
• Whether it’s the service or the device, I’ve not had a single dropped call or poor connection with this phone so far (knock wood).
• The phone seems to run forever on a single charge: great battery life, at least when it’s new.

neutrals
• The help documentation and setup wizard reference keys by name – ALT and ESCAPE, for instance – that aren’t immediately apparent from their labels, or with icons that don’t appear anywhere. The first time I locked the keyboard, I had to pop out the battery because the unlock instructions said to press ALT (huh?) and a key whose icon was nowhere to be found (it’s the SEND key, but how was I to know?)
• The default setting on the convenience key (Voice Dial) means that almost every time I pull the phone out of the holster, it asks me to “Say a command,” ’cause my thumb keeps pressing the key. Man, that’s irritating…

negatives
• Lacks a camera.
• Compared to almost anything else (except maybe my Dell Axim) it’s huge!
• If you hold the phone while it’s on speaker, it vibrates like an ‘85 Civic in serious need of front end alignment. Maybe the back of the case could be a little more substantial?
• Backlighting on the keyboard is very dim, making it very hard to read in low light (or maybe it’s because the backlighting is blue). Don’t see any way to change it…

Overall, the positives are critical and the negatives are pretty insignificant. The BlackBerry 8830 World Edition is an essential wardrobe accessory for every self-important person out there, and for those of us who are important as well. If you need (and want) to be in touch with your business at all times and also want a way to keep entertained during the down moments, this is the device that ought to be on your belt.

For those who absolutely have to know, more techie stuff:
- CDMA-enabled, also operates on GSM and GRPS networks for global access
- standby time of nine days, talk time or 220 hours (more of both on GSM/GPRS networks)
- integrates with BlackBerry server for MS Exchange, LotusNotes, GroupWise
- weight 4.6 oz
- rated M4 and T4 for hearing aids
- 64mB onboard flash memory
- Bluetooth support for handsfree kit, headset, or serial port
- shipped with wall charger, USB cable, lambskin holster, software, and paper documentation (including QuickStart)

¹if you’ll be on a BlackBerry enterprise server, you’ll need to work with your IT department on email setup

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Buy a Verizon Blackberry 8830 World Edition at amazon.com