Yesterday was my birthday and I got a new toy. I’ve been wanting a Blackberry for a long time, but really couldn’t justify having it, especially considering that the service was an additional $20/month. Anyway, I finally decided that it was worth the extra $20 and gave a call to TMobile to check on my other requirement: that I can use the phone as a modem over Bluetooth for my laptop. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that not only could I do that, but I could use the Blackberry service and drop the $20/month data plan that I’ve had for ages 🙂
After being assured that I can go back to my old phone and my old (no longer offered) plan should I decide not to keep it, I took the plunge yesterday afternoon and got a Blackberry Pearl, the phone I’ve been looking at for about a year. I got a white one, which is kinda cool. (Only Cingular has the red one.) I’ve been playing with it, getting it all set up. Having my email delivered to the phone is cool. I haven’t had time to play with the BT setup to my laptop yet but so far, I’m having fun with it. The interesting thing to me is that the phone is like coming home. After years of using PDAs, I switched to small computers a couple of years ago. Having my phone sync to Outlook using the same software (Intellisync) that I used for my very first PDA back in 1996 is amazing.
Anyway, unless this thing won’t work with my Lifebook, I’m keeping it 🙂
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Happy Birthday Vivian!
See you at your Bash.
Having worked in a federal agency surrounded by people with crackberry addictions. I have three words for you: You’ll be sorry.
Happy Birthday Vivian. I just got a new phone too — a “Katana,” I miss my old phone already, though 😦
No one sets out to be an addict. First it starts with a little experimentation – you assure yourself you can always stop if it starts getting out of hand – you think you can go back to being you. But then, then you feel the lure of it – the cool metallic slickness as it rests so perfectly in your palm, the pretty lights on the screen, the merry tunes it sings to you in your solitude – so stylish, so attractive, so you. Then you find it singing its siren song to you day and night, night and day. It needs you and you need it. It brings you all your messages from all your friends and reminds you of where you have to be and tells you facts you need to know, all with the touch of a few buttons. It’s, it’s … a Crackberry. Go ahead, try giving it up now. Bwaaahahahahaha!
Sure, Carla. First hit’s always free. At first, you say you can always leave it behind, even though you’ll panic and drive a mile home before you’ll complete a 7-11 run without it. You start thinking that it’s normal to answer clients within a few minutes of a Sunday morning email. And before you know it, you realize that you’re interrupting face to face conversations with your friends at the bar so you can check to see what that most recent vibrate alert means.
About the only time I don’t have a computer nearby is when I’m asleep – and then it’s sitting on my nightstand 🙂 I’m not too worried about being a Crackberry addict. Besides, I’ve intentionally only set up a couple (well, three 🙂 ) of my email addresses on it.