The Blackberry Convenience/Constraint
This is a photo of my new Blackberry. I was debating this move for a while, as it’s a work device (paid for and maintained by my company). I think it’s incredibly convenient; I also think it’s incredibly dangerous.
Unlike some of the other folks who have them (Jeff, who’s on call 24/7 should something go awry with our servers and the Affiliates, who tend to be on call for customer support issues), I’m not a link in that “critical” chain. If there’s a fire, I’ll probably get notified eventually… but just not right away.
If anything, the Blackberry is really convenient. I’ll be able to schedule meetings easier, and that alone is more or less what drove me to get it. I have a slight worry that I’ll be constantly checking emails on this thing… and that’s a definite concern. My intention is that this will be a helpful device, and not something I end up feeling chained to.
I had similar thoughts in regard to my cell phone. And I can say it singularly, as I’ve only ever had one phone… and didn’t own a cell phone until two years ago. As much as I’m into technology, I’ve always been a bit leery of mobile phones – and the idea of being available all the time.
I gotta say though, I did get pretty excited during the whole setup process. Brian initialized the phone for me, Jeff is going to register me with our Blackberry server, and I got some good tips from Ben regarding how to sync up my device with my Mac.
I’ll be doing a lot more with iCal in the future, given my particular sync approach. Which is cool, as I’ve always heard a lot of good things about it… but just never got down and dirty with it.
So yay for technology. Once I’ve got the work email hooked up, I’m also hoping to get a few personal email accounts set up on this thing as well. So drop me a line sometime. Although, I’m not going to guarantee I’ll respond immediately.
Well that is one way to go… and I have considered it. Glad I skipped the palm pilot thing.I decided on the iPod touch (it has WiFi) to augment my cell phone. So far, so good. I do wish it had bluetooth. Love the sync to my Mac Mini calendar, contacts and songs.-ski
SKI (April 3, 2008 at 8:56 am)Ah, nice. The one regret I have with the Blackberry option is that it precludes my getting an iPhone. I’m using .Mac to sync up my work and home computers (bookmarks, address book, and iGTD), and it would have been great to have all that seamlessly integrated into a mobile device.I’ve got most of my info pulled into the Blackberry, but as neat as it is… it’s no iPhone.
avoision (April 3, 2008 at 11:45 am)My boss has one and it is totally a Crackberry. If service goes down (it’s happened only twice), he loses his mind.
Layla (April 4, 2008 at 9:23 am)