Blackberry vs Treo
I was always nervous about missing important e-mails when I left my office. The decision was made to get a treo 650 or a blackberry.
When I announced my decision to friends I got the usual jibes about becoming addicted to the “crackberry” but I decided to investigate further. In my mind, it came down to two wireless devices: Blackberry 7100 or Treo 650. RIM has a winner as far as I’m concerned in their Blackberry 7100. I first saw it on Oprah’s Favourite Things and I *knew* it could easily become one of mine too. All of RIM’s other products were so toast-like that I just couldn’t see myself putting something that awkward up to my head.

The Treo was an easy favourite as well because I owned one of the first Handsprings (I chose it over Palm as, at the time, the two weren’t merged) and have had a few PDAs since. My current PDA, a Sony Clie even has WiFi (note to readers: Sony stopped making PDA’s last year) but finding a hotspot just to babysit my email was becoming a drag… not to mention impossible on the Rideau Canal.

When completing my research, I felt that the real difference between Blackberry lovers and Treo aficionados is in the basic use of the device. Blackberry vs Treo comes down to one simple question: What is the number 1 thing you want to do with this device? If you answered retrieve email, have a phone and be able to view your calendar - get a Blackberry. If you want multi-media functionality as well i.e. digital camera, mp3 player, document reader - get a Treo. I knew from my current PDA usage that the multimedia and business functionality of my PDA is rarely used so for me, the Blackberry 7100 was the answer.

Problem- Rogers, my wireless provider, has these ridiculous contracts that go on for EVER. I was only 6 months into a 3 year contract on a basic cell phone. In order for me to upgrade to the Blackberry 7100, I would have to pay a penalty for every month left in my existing contract plus the Blackberry phone with a new contract. Upgrading to the Blackberry would have meant shelling out nearly $600 not to mention another three year contract which is a veritable death wish for someone who is an early adopter. I argued with the guys at Rogers that *I swear* cellphones will be merged with WiFi phones in less than 2 years so why would I want to be tied to a 3 year plan - but sadly, outgeeking them didn’t make a difference. I decided(part 2 below)

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