To Blackberry, or not to Blackberry…?

Ahh, that is the question. Whether it’s a Blackberry, iPhone, Treo, Pre, Storm — which do you choose? Or, do you opt out? And, by the way, where do they get these names? Other than the iPhone, which says what it is. I mean Blackberry, Pre, Curve, Storm?

Anyway.

I’ve been avoiding the purchase of a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant not Public Display of Affection, just to be clear) for almost two years. Because I have a laptop, and I’m almost always in front of it, I didn’t feel I needed a PDA. In addition to that, there was the obvious expense. At about forty dollars a month, on average before taxes, for a data plan alone, plus a hundred bucks or so for the device, these puppies aren’t what I’d call cheap.

However, every one one of the smart women in my life, including my mother and my daughter, had one and insisted that not only would I love one once I had one, I actually needed one. To which I told them: I always have my laptop, so I can always get to my email and my calendar, the two most important things to me to live my daily life. So, I, in point of fact, I did not actually need one.

To which they sadly shook they’re heads, leaving me with the impression that I was perhaps being a bit hard-headed.

Which, ultimately, forced me to contemplate if I did indeed need one. First of all, I really do have amazing, intelligent women to call friends and family, and if they were insisting that I needed a PDA, then I probably needed to reevaluate my decision.

Plus, there were definitely things I did not like about my regular cellphone. Texting for one. I am a HUGE textor (texter?). My texting plan is actually larger than my teenage daughter’s. I probably send over three hundred texts per month. I text with my daughter, my mom, my friends, ex-husband, dates, even clients. It’s easy, quick, and fabulous for when you want to send a short message, answer a quick question, or touch base but not get pulled into a long conversation. However, on a regular phone, texting is a bit of a pain because of how many times you have to push buttons to get the letter you want.

Another thing I didn’t like about my phone was my inability to have my calendar on it. Like most people in today’s fast paced chaotic world, if I don’t look at my calendar then I won’t know where I’m supposed to be or what I’m supposed to be doing. Which was the biggest reason I always had my laptop with me. Back in May, before I went to Europe, I had purchased an iPod Touch to try to fix this problem. I have a MacBook Pro (my lovely Sophy MacIntosh), and I keep my calendar on iCal. The iPod Touch was supposed to be able to keep my calendar, plus Things (my task manager) my music, games, etc. However, in actual practice, I wasn’t thrilled with the results. Mostly because when it comes right down to it, I’m not a huge fan of iCal. I know, blasphemy for any Apple Fan, but there you have it.

Which means, I did indeed have to evaluate what my friends and family were telling me. So, I did what I do best and reached for the phone and Google and started gathering information. At first, I wasn’t excited. Moving to the iPhone would mean switching from Verizon to ATT, not something I wanted to do because ATT doesn’t have great coverage in my area according to friends and family with the iPhone. However, I could get a Blackberry and stay with my current carrier.

However, the Blackberry doesn’t really play nice with the Mac, so I’d need a piece of software in order to sync it with my laptop. Plus, in order to have my calendar on the Blackberry, I would potentially need to upgrade my Entourage software (Outlook for Mac), a $250 additional expense.

Sigh. Two steps forward, three steps back!

Time to go back to my people.

My friend Karen’s point was this: the blackberry just works. Every day, all day. It enables her to be anywhere in the world and keep in touch with her clients, her family, her world. Since I have a mother who has a very active life, a daughter that lives on the other side of the continent, and a travel schedule that can be erratic, this was a very valid point for managing my life.

My friend Lisa’s point was that I may always have my laptop with me, but it’s not always on. A Blackberry, or in her case an iPhone, would let me take a quick glance at my email just to make sure I didn’t need to go fire up my laptop and send something out.

My cousin, Sarah, made the point that I could keep my calendar on it, and add to it as things happened. She also pointed out that as I start blogging more, and as I want to keep in contact with all the people reading my blog (you!), I could update my blog and my facebook on the fly.

My daughter’s point was that when I’m on a plane I can check email one last time before I’m out of contact for six or seven hours, potentially catching any emergencies or work before I take off.

My mom pointed out that I whine and b$tch every time I’m with her and have to text a long message. Leave it to mom to point out when I’m whining. ☺

The final step was to go to the Verizon store while I was in San Jose last month and see what a Blackberry would actually cost me. Because the new Blackberry came out that week, the Curve was on sale for $50. A price I could swallow. I wasn’t happy with the price of the data plan, but after everything I’d learned I decided it was worth thirty days of trial.

So, for now, I’m Blackberrying. And, at this point, I have to say the amazing women in my life were correct: this piece of technology has truly helped my life. Believe it or not, the thing saved me from a huge catastrophe within the first week. Which means the amazingly smart women in my life were right. I hate it when that happens. ☺

So, To Blackberry or To Not Blackberry? To Blackberry. At least for now. (Come on Apple, play nice with Verizon!)