Blackberry

[rtaylor61]

The boss has decided that 12-14 hour days are wrong. Apparently now we need to be in contact 24/7! So, he's thinking of throwing in a Blackberry to our bag of goodies. Odds are, it will be used for email only. And it will need to be compatible (or have a program installed) with Word and Excel. Any thoughts, suggestions, horror stories...would be appreciated.

Randy

[Jonnybc]

If you don't want to be contacted just say you get no mobile signal at home.

My company was taken over around two years ago and the new firm decided support staff didn't need mobile phones, I happily handed my phone back to them and purchased my own on a new contract. About three weeks later I was asked for the number of my new mobile, when I said no they were actually suprised. I'm now enjoying freedom.

[Austin]

Why don't you accidently drop on the road.

It's bad enough that you have a cell phone now you need mobile email?

[jfm]

Turn it off during meetings!

[Jonnybc]

Do you have any seawater nearby? Blackberrys definitely don't like sea water!

[jbasl]

Ok, so I don't know much about shaving...but I know alot about tech and especially phones of this sort!

I personally use and prefer a treo, but there are some advantages to the blackberry. As a phone its about the same as what you are probably used to. As far as email goes, its really nice because you get email when it gets sent to you (rather than having your phone check every hour and alerting you if you got anything). Email becomes like a phone call with the blackberry so you might not want to give out the new email address to too many people. The blackberry is very stable (compared to other smart phones) because the software is much more limited. In that sense you won't have to worry much about crashes and software conflicts, but you don't get as much freedom with your software.

I don't have vast experience with the keyboard on the BB, but the treo qwerty is very useable and makes writing emails not a problem.

[roughrider]

I would probably lose it on "accident." It will wind up on ebay and the seller will use the money to buy some nice shaving gear.

[moses]

Well, like everyone in my line of work, I am tethered to one of these. The basic blackberry is a pretty functional device, and the keyboard is surprisingly easy to use. Battery last forever, too, unfortunately. And the damn thing gets better reception than a cell phone.

Seriously though, it is a curse in general. The only advantage is that if you have a flexible hours job, it is nice to be able to wonder out of the office in working hours without having to worry about getting in trouble for missing something important. This in no way makes up for the loss of knowing that when you leave on Friday you are free till Monday.

I just realized, though, that I actually have no useful advice, since you don't have a choice about getting one. I will shut up now....

[tonyespo]

Randy, I have been using a Blackberry for about 2 years. I LOVE IT. Being the Internet Manager I sell 90% of my customers by email. My Blackberry helps me to close deals in the evening. I am lucky in that I don't have any scheduled hours. I make most of my money by commission only. My GM doesn't care how I sell cars, as long as I sell them. That is where the Blackberry comes in. I also carry a laptop with me at all times that has wireless internet. I have a program called VPN that let's me connect to my office desk computer and our full network. If a customer emails me and needs additional information about a car that is on the Internet, I just pull up the webpage and we look at the car together. I am working less hours and making more money thanks to my Blackberry and my laptop.

Good Luck,
Tony Espo

[mark the shoeshine boy]

there are three internet managers around here and i always have to say thanks to the other to for the bad information they shared that further enhanced my career....actually both of them helped alot...

in the chrysler world...they are doing away with our sales product guides, all of the information will be on the web only or the other option is a PDA. They have a "sales in Hand" software that is more info than the website offers.

I could get one with bluetooth and have web access. Some would include the versions of excel and word. don't know what to do, yet.

I am looking for answers, too, and if you all could help randy and I, i am sure one of us would buy you a new car for it....

mark

[yasuo200365]

What we call "progress" is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance -Havelock Ellis.

Work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do -Oscar Wilde.

Regards
John

[TraderJoe]

My recommendation would be NOT to get Blackberry, but to urge your company to use Good Technology. With Good Tech, the software is exactly like Outlook, is more secure, can be administered on the server side, and is compatible with many phones (including the very hot Motorola Q). With Blackberry, you're stuck using the big brick-style phones that only blackberry produces.

www.good.com

Drastically better than blackberry, and all others.

[Ashe]

Same here. I'm carrying a Blackberry since 6 months for my work due to the fact that we have global presence and are operating with global teams. Even though I feared in the beginning that you will never stop working, I think it's still okay.

Having a Blackberry means you're available after business hours as well but does not mean you have to reply instantly. If for example my US or APAC colleagues need some quick feedback which I can provide them on the top of my head, then I go ahead with the Blackberry. If this helps them out immediately, and a quick reply takes only five minutes, then I go for it.

Browsing through Word and Excel files is rather okay, although I find the Excel support too limited. Word support is much better.

You get used to the keyboards very easily and as mentioned before, it's surprisingly easy to work with. The same goes for browsing the web. I can even access this forum from my Blackberry, taking into account alot of tables etc. I'm not saying that it's perfect for browsing, but for quick lookups or if you're bored, it has sufficient functionality.

Then we have the phone support, the quality is much better than any other high end mobile phones I have used in the past.

The use of a Blackberry can be considered as a curse, however once you get used to it, you will be able to decide and determine on which emails you can easily reply without needed access to either the internal network or at least your corporate laptop/desktop.

One hint: make sure you turn it off during holidays, since otherwise you never get "out" of the work.

Bottomline: you will quickly love it, it has alot of advantages and you can determine what you do, when you do it and how. (well ehh, sort of ;-))

[Tito]

Great now I got to watch out for people trying to type while driving too.

I unplugged about 4 years ago. This is what lead me to my career change. I was stuck in someone elses world and a slave to my work. It was only after some "real life" experiences that let me know that nothing is that important that can't wait ever! (Cause life is short...epiphany.) I got to thinking I was only getting paid for the billable hours that I was working. And that did not involve afterhours. Those I determined were mine and I knew that I could not bill for them and even if I did I would not get paid for them. If an 8hr. day is not enough then OT is in order or more help. It's hard enough to pay attention to life as it flys by without having to be interrupted by whatever obnoxious device. I know that this is a case by case scenario. If one enjoys that kind of scenario then I say have at it. This was just my experience and in no way is it the perfect case for everyone.

As far as suggestions go:
Maybe explain to your boss how precious your off time is. That you are willing to use the damn thing when you are on the job and for after hours emergency situations but that you're not going to be in someone's back pocket.

This is based on the idea that as Randy mentioned he is already putting in a honest days work.(I understand that these mobile doo-hickies are sometimes great for people out in the field.)

[jmhUT]

Hi Randy,
While a nice tool for some I find the device a horrible nuisance and an invasion of my personal time. If you can avoid getting one you are likely better off doing so. However, I suspect that most of us do not carry one by choice. If the competitors are beating you because their employees work longer hours, weekends and vacations via the blackberry you will have to do so as well to keep up. If you do end up getting saddled with one and you have a choice betwen the Treo and the Blackberry I would probably go with the Blackberry. The Treo is a better combination phone/email device but the Blackberry is a better email only device IMO. Most of us use the email function more often so you may as well get the best email tool. Plus, you can keep your private cell phone and not distribute the number. This would limit those who would invade your personal time to email only.
Cheers,
Jeff

[tonyespo]

there are three internet managers around here and i always have to say thanks to the other to for the bad information they shared that further enhanced my career....actually both of them helped alot...

in the chrysler world...they are doing away with our sales product guides, all of the information will be on the web only or the other option is a PDA. They have a "sales in Hand" software that is more info than the website offers.

I could get one with bluetooth and have web access. Some would include the versions of excel and word. don't know what to do, yet.

I am looking for answers, too, and if you all could help randy and I, i am sure one of us would buy you a new car for it....

mark

Mark, I suggest that you talk to other people in the "Chrysler World" and see what they are using and what works best. Also ask your dealer rep what he suggest. I am lucky that Porsche is such a small car company we share information freely and my dealer rep is there to help whenever I need him.

Good Luck.
TE

[rtaylor61]

It's great to see that everyone here loves the Blackberry! The Blackberry got shot down. Seems that for now, the program that allows the use of Word and Excel does not allow them to be modified on the device. So, my Cingular guy suggest a Nokia! It's really in my favor to have one of these. There are only two people in my department, and while one of us is almost always in the store, there are times when we are both out. This would allow coverage for anytime the store is open. I'm going to check the phone out tonight, and we will get a demo on Monday. The store will pay for the phone and the data charge. And I get a phone with wireless internet for free!

Randy

[jmhUT]

Excellent resolution, congrats.
Cheers,
Jeff