American Express-Savings
Cell phones: BlackJack2 or Curve?
Curve is nice, but ...
by MuleHeadJoe - 6/19/08 6:01 PM In reply to: BlackJack2 or Curve? by 4wightI just bought a BlackBerry 8310 Curve ... beautiful phone, works wonderfully, but most of the features are useless to me.
It has a built-in GPS which is cool, but unless you pay for a subscription to a GPS mapping service, all you get on the phone are current coordinates.
The camera is also nice, but not top-notch ... maybe it's just me, but I can't take a clear picture with it - they all come out fuzzy.
I wanted to be able to IM and text message ... texting can be done after spending a little time figuring out the controls on this thing, but the only built-in IM is BlackBerry Messenger which I have no idea how to work ... it appears it only IMs other BlackBerry users. I searched for downloadable programs to allow me to use MSN Messenger or Yahoo Messenger ... no such luck.
Also, I was hoping to make use of the oft-ballyhooed email capabilities of BlackBerry, but it appears that the only email capability it offers is corporate based ... i.e., you have to be registered with a BlackBerry email server somewhere. I want to be able to get my Hotmail or Yahoo Mail or even GMail on it, but there doesn't seem to be a way to do that.
I spent hours looking for downloadable tools/apps/programs for the BlackBerry ... virtually nothing free available, and most of the for-fee software is business oriented anyhow.
I'm very disappointed in the overall utility of this phone ... I'm sure it would be a great mobile-office tool for a corporate road-warrior, but it is clearly not intended to be a >personal< smart-phone\pda replacement.
Oh, and the BlackBerry desktop software is really sucky too.
So my advice is give the BlackJack a shot ... it can't be any worse, right? 
Curve is very nice!
by riffraff75 - 6/19/08 6:43 PM In reply to: Curve is nice, but ... by MuleHeadJoehttp://crackberry.com/download/free-software . Here you can find some free software including a link to yahoo messenger. You can also google "blackberry freeware". As far as GPS, if you have Verizon you are screwed. With Verizon you have to use VZ Nav and pay for the service monthly. With Sprint you don't need their program you can use Google maps or others. I am currently with Verizon and waiting for my contract to expire so I can upgrade to a blackberry with Sprint. They have a 2 line share plan which includes "Unlimited data and messaging: Web surfing, email, BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS), GPS Navigation, Sprint Music Premier, Sprint TV® Premier, text, picture, and video messaging
Unlimited mobile to mobile, night calling and weekends starting at 7 p.m." Verizon can't beat that.
I stand corrected ... I guess ;-)
by MuleHeadJoe - 6/19/08 7:38 PM In reply to: Curve is very nice! by riffraff75thanks for the link, riffraff ... cool stuff.
But I am having mucho difficulty getting stuff installed, or once installed using it ... are there any places (sites) where I can get info or help on setting up my crackberry?
I'm on ATT not verizon or sprint ... the default browser on this phone is set to ATT's "Media Net" and I don't know how to get rid of that homepage ... I'd rather use Google as a home page if possible.
I downloaded Google Maps, but after installing it, I can't find it on the phone. How do I find things on this dang phone?
Blackberry 101
by riffraff75 - 6/19/08 7:55 PM In reply to: I stand corrected ... I guess ;-) by MuleHeadJoeHave you tried the blackberry site? http://na.blackberry.com/eng/support/blackberry101/
You should start there. You can also go to: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/tutorials/blackberrycurve/
this is from AT&T. Google "blackberry curve tutorials" and you will find lots of stuff even youtube videos. If you still need help talk to a person at the store.
| Forum legend: | |
 |
Locked thread |
 |
Moderator |
 |
CNET staff |
 |
Samsung staff |
 |
Norton Authorized Support team |
 |
AVG staff |
 |
Windows Outreach team |
 |
Dell staff |
 |
Intel staff |
