Mobile Apptitude

It’s been about six months since I got my BlackBerry Curve (I upgraded from a Sanyo Katana) — and so with the coming of the new year I decided to look back and consider whether or not it’s really made my life any better. In short, I’ve got to say, the answer is a resounding “yes.”

The biggest advantage I’ve found is that with my email in my pocket, I no longer need to stay in front of a computer to stay in touch with what’s going on at work. If I need to be away from my desk for an hour or so to run some errands, I’m still easily reachable by email — and lots of times, my colleagues don’t even know I’m gone.

(I’ve also fired off a few not-so-coherent, late-night messages using my personal email account…but I’m always sure to check the recipient list repeatedly to make sure only my closest friends will be getting my harangues. No sense fulfilling any urban dictionary stereotypes or anything.)

Another great advantage is the better web browsing experience that a smartphone offers. As I detailed in a previous post, my BlackBerry plus the Weather Underground’s animated weather radar images helped turn what could have been a disastrous day at the zoo into a decently fun excursion.

Oddly enough, my parents are huge fans of my new smartphone as well. The reason? Every few days they get a short video emailed to them featuring their one and only granddaughter, who’s growing up fast these days. Point, click, save the file, send as email…and California grandparents can hear firsthand all the big new words their granddaughter is learning in Ohio.

The only drawback I can see is, of course, the price tag — smartphones on CREDO Mobile (as with just about every other network I’m aware of) require a data plan along with your voice plan. CREDO’s unlimited BlackBerry data plan is only $29.99 per month, though — which, looking back, seems a pretty small price to pay for some of the ways I’m now better connected to the world around me.