vB Easy Archive - RIM Blackberry 5810

Pages: 1

RIM Blackberry 5810
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: jlrichards

When my new Blackberry device arrived I was ecstatic. I hoped I could finally use one device for everything, phone, organizer, e-mail, WAP access (with a screen large enough to see).
I have found that yet again I was disappointed. While the device itself is sweet in design and very intuitive to operate, it is missing several things. However, it does have its strong points.

Strengths:

RIM functionality and ease of use.

"Push" email access at an average of 40k: My company has the Blackberry server so I do not even have to sync with my desktop except to update contacts. Even my calendar entries are updated on this thing over the network.

New voice capability.

RF performance: Seems to rival my other handsets, with the exception of my Ericsson T28 or 788.

WAP browser: I prematurely say this is a stregth just because of the screen size and GPRS access. Time will tell.

Battery life: I have not even looked at the battery type or power ratings, but this thing is pretty good even when compared with my Palm 5x.

Profiles: Like the Nokia phones of past and present, this thing has profiles, the coolest of which is how the device knows it is in the holster clip that it comes with. I still have not figured out how the thing senses that. I cannot find any contact points or sensors for that purpose. Anyone??

Messaging: This phone does a really cool thing with messaging. Say you are sending messages back and forth over SMS (have not tried this with email yet), the phone shows the entire contents of the conversation broken down into what you sent and what the person replies. I never realized how many worthless SMS conversations I have.

Weaknesses:

Device does not import contacts from sim card. For me, my sim is my lone real phone book. I do not want to store all of my contacts in Outlook and sync them with my phone. I only use my PCS for calls, so why store them anywhere else. It's not like my sim card ever crashes and I have to reformat and reinstall the software on it.

QWERTY keyboard. Don't get me wrong, for typing email, it is hard to beat, but I know Tegic, iTap, and the tap methods by heart, and at least using the keypad on my phone I could dial a number without looking at the keys. With the Crackberry, forget it. If the number you need to call is not in your contacts, pull over and dial the number. (this would not have been a problem if the thing just read sim entries.)

Noise sensitivity: Driving at highway speeds, I get constant complaints from people about the background noise. My car is not the quietest, but people never complain about my 8890 having lots of background noise. My first thought was that it is probably the headset so I tried a different brand, same thing at all volume ranges.

No quick voice mail access key, and no voice dialing:
Since this is not the smallest and certainly not the most phone book friendly phone I have ever used, these features would have been nice. I like to dial without taking the phone from my side and now it is impossible.

Conclusion:
If you need the email access, you or your employer have the cash, and maybe need to have a backup voice device, the Blackberry 5810 may be for you.
But if you need the features and functionality of a wireless phone and the email capability, and you use your phone extensively, consider using the Blackberry for what it is; an email device and organizer. With the service plans designed to allow email, WAP, and SMS inclusive plans, you can keep your phone and enhance your abilities with the Blackberry.

I will be using the Blackberry seperately and going back to my 8890 for voice calls. Since I have a different device now for GPRS, I can finally put all that money to use again on my Nokia!

If anyone actually reads my blurb and has any information about this thing or any questions I may be able to answer with my limited Blackberry experience, let me know.

Posted by: TheJason

Question for you:

Does it have the always on functionality the BB 957 IE has? Or do you have to login GPRS? meaning, does goamerica have like a unlimted plan for it? Thanks

Posted by: O_loung1

this is a dumb question: is the blackberry unit as convenient as a conventional handheld? as in more bulky and too thick for your pockets?