Blackberry

I thought about holding out for an iPhone; but with no UK carrier announced and uncertainty over how well a non-tactile keyboard would work I’ve plumped for the Blackberry 8800. I’ve had the unit for two weeks and I have to say that I’m pleased that I’ve upgraded my mobile computing experience.Here are my initial observations:

• Battery life seems good. Easily gets me through the day on my current usage.
• I am using instant messaging more than I thought I would. The Google Talk for Blackberry application rocks. Unfortunately, it looks like I will have to pay for an application that uses MSN. I never thought I’d have to postpone an IM conversation because I have to change buses…
• The Google Mail for Blackberry application is OK – although, I find myself using the native mail capabilities of the Blackberry.
• Google Reader on the Blackberry… Well firstly they don’t have a dedicated application like Google Mail. For the first week, the mobile version didn’t seem to work at all. There are a number of usability issues. Firstly, you can’t share items. You can mark items to be kept unread which is quite neat if you want to review later – but it doesn’t move you onto the next item *sigh*. I hope the Google Reader team are looking at upgrading the user experience.
• GPS is fun, Google Maps is much better than the pre-installed BBmaps.  Sun’s Jonathan Schwartz described it “as a thing of beauty”. I’m in Cardiff and London in the next month so I will need to give it a spin then.
• I know a lot of people are happy about the Curve and the fact it has a camera. The feature that I’d like (or at least thought I’d like) is wifi… I think because I’m on an unlimited data plan I’m not that bothered by it.