I love my CrackBerry

After years of self-righteous protests, “I ain’t gonna get one of those PDAs,” I’m now hooked on my Blackberry — and that’s with assimilation still in progress.

The drive toward the BlackBerry was oblique. First, there was the appeal of the mobile Internet: It would be neat to be able to access a Web page without schlepping my notebook PC. That was a low-level interest. Then there was the more urgent issue that my Motorola RAZR v3 mobile phone was malfunctioning. Half the time, when I took it out of my pocket, the RAZR had turned itself off, even with a fully charged battery.

When I mentioned both of those to my colleague, SD Times senior editor Alex Handy, he offered me his old BlackBerry 7230. Since it was unlocked for the same mobile carrier network as my RAZR, working with it would be as simple as transferring the SIM card and enabling the service. If I liked it, great; if I didn’t, no harm, no foul. In any case, it would be a learning experience.

To make a long story short, I’m hooked.

What do I like?

+ It’s a better cell phone than my RAZR. Reception is clear, the volume is loud, and it works well in areas where the RAZR had poor coverage. The address book is far easier to use. (I don’t care about the camera and “musical ring tone” features.)

+ The e-mail functionality comes in really handy. I have the BlackBerry interface at T-Mobile set to only forward messages from friends & family — I would be overwhelmed if my hundreds of work-related messages came to the device. Even that limited e-mail connectivity has proven to be invaluable.

+ Battery life is excellent, and I can charge the device with a USB cable.

+ Google Maps on a BlackBerry rocks.

What don’t I like?

– The BlackBerry 7230 doesn’t have speakerphone and Bluetooth capabilities. Those were features I used often on the RAZR.

– The Web browser is terrible. Part of the problem is the itty-bitty 240×160 pixel display, and part is speed/bandwidth.

– Google’s Gmail reader client for the BlackBerry sucks.

The next step is syncing the BlackBerry calendar with my Web-based calendar. It’s not difficult, and are several ways to implement the sync. Still, it calls for careful thought and planning.

If my experience with the BlackBerry continues to be positive, I plan to upgrade to the newer BlackBerry 8700g, which supports faster EDGE networks, and has a 320×240 display, speakerphone and Bluetooth.

Interestingly, this isn’t my first experience with a BlackBerry. In mid-1999, I reviewed a very early model for InformationWeek. The weakness then was the poor integration with desktop e-mail software. The technology has certainly progressed significantly in the past eight years. But even then, co-author Logan Harbaugh and I concluded, “We grew quite attached to BlackBerry during the evaluation, particularly when out of town, and would recommend it to anyone who wants a mobile E-mail product.”

Update 8/26/07: As predicted, I bought a BlackBerry 8700g, and for many of the reasons described above.