Here’s my 9700 review after using it for about a month. Note, this Blackberry is also known as the “Bold 2.” I upgraded to this from the Javelin.

Pros:

• Faster! The web browsing is faster but nothing to “wow” about compared to my old Javelin on a 2G network. Apps like Ubertwitter and receiving files on BBM are a lot faster though.
• Trackpad!! I was playing around with Boyfriend’s Blackberry the other day and the trackball felt so weird… can’t imagine ever using it again.
• My fat fingers are no longer an issue! Better keyboard than the Javelin (but I still like the 8320 Curve’s better).
• Text messages are linked … BBM style!
• SPEAKERS ARE AMAZING! Well compared to older Blackberry models and even my 3rd generation iPod touch.
• Battery life is a HUGE improvement.
• It’s compatible with the Javelin’s micro-USB ports so I don’t have to replace any accessories since I have a gazillion chargers lying around everywhere (home, work, Boyfriend’s, car, etc.). My biggest fear is a dying Blackberry.
• Awesome resolution and bright screen.
• It’s the perfect size, which is the same as the Javelin but smaller than the chunky [original] Bold.

Cons:

• Leather backing looks tacky.
• Can’t seem to set my right convenience key to show ALL “messages” like I usually do with older Blackberry models. Right now, I can only set it to SMS/MMS OR Messages (BBM/email/etc) and not both. Am I missing something?
• I love how text messages are linked in a chat like BBM but I always forget that I’m texting someone and send them a billion in a row which they probably want to punch me in the face for.
• My calendar alerts can’t seem to be silenced even though it’s set in my profiles.

Rating: 9/10
I only wish there was a bigger screen. I have to admit the numbers are biased because I’ll always give Blackberries a high score.

I know iPhones can do a lot but here 10 Things iPhones Can’t Do, But Blackberries CAN!

Also read: Blackberry Javelin 8900 Review, Blackberry Curve 8320 Review.

Just thought I’d do a quick review of the Blackberry Javelin 8900 since I just switched the the 9700. I’ve been using this phone for about 7 months, upgrading from the 8320 which was a huge difference.

Pros:

• Nice and upgraded interface.
• Small, compact and light; it’s the perfect size.
• Has Wifi and GPS.
• Vivid display and sharp sound.

Cons:

• Not as fast since it’s on a 2G network.
• Keyboard isn’t as good as the one on the 8320 (which is still the best Blackberry keyboard to date).
• Camera still isn’t anything to rave about but it’s a HUGE improvement from the 8320. I don’t use it for anything other than Twitpics anyway so it doesn’t matter much to me.

Rating: 8/10

I think the 8900 was a great phone although it would’ve been a lot better if it had 3G.

Anyway, I finally switched the the 9700 after it’s been sitting in it’s box in Boyfriend’s closet for the past two weeks and I love it! I’ll do a review after I’ve used it for a couple weeks. I also switched over to Rogers after being on Fido for over 10 years just to save about $15/month on my plan. My new plan is exactly $53/month after taxes with: 500GB of data, 100 daytime minutes, unlimited local and network calling and evenings/weekends, caller display/voicemail/etc. It’s almost the exact same plan I had on Fido excluding unlimited text messaging which I was paying $65-$72/month for but after all my friends got Blackberries, no one text messages anymore. Edit– nevermind I just realized I do get unlimited texting.

Now the question is how I’m going to pimp out my new Bold?! I was about to order another full-white casing for it because I refuse to have the black one just like everyone else but I had second thoughts because I had a white Blackberry for the past 8 months. Should I go for another color? Hrm.

Which Blackberry model are you using and how much are you paying monthly?

People are asking me how to make their own photoalbum like CAPTURED. The reason I started the album was because I wanted a way to look through my pictures easily (and I hated scrolling through them on my computer) so with the aid of too much time on my hands, I used a graphics program, batched all my pictures so they were the same size, wrote some simple HTML (with iFrames…this was back in 2002 okay) and hosted my images locally. Eventually I uploaded it to my server so my friends could see it and now it’s where it’s at today.

It took me months but I finally revamped CAPTURED !! I imported everything into Wordpress’ NextGen Gallery Plugin MANUALLY (200+ galleries, 6000+ images). I’ve been meaning to do this since March and it’s finally done. I hope I never have to do it again so if you’re going to start now, start with a solid platform you think you’ll stick to.

Why I’d rather have my own gallery rather than use another web service/upload on Facebook/etc:

• Total control over my gallery and make it look and function how I want it (I’m sooo anal and FB just doesn’t cut it for me).
• Don’t have to deal with uploading problems (culprit: Facebook!!).
• I know it’ll be around forever (…or as long as I keep my web server).
• 8 years of of EMBARRASSING pictures = great memories!! It’s also interesting to see how we grew up and things we did in chronological order.

Advantages of NextGen Gallery Plugin for Wordpress:

• Will generate thumbnails and custom original image sizes for you so you don’t need another program to resize them.
• Easy to create multiple albums, galleries and integrating them into blog posts/pages.
• Images can be displayed how you want it (thumbnails, slideshow, etc).
• My album use to be public but I recently made it private because I was uncomfortable with certain people I know creeping my sites looking at my pictures. With WP, you can control who looks at them.

Tips:

• Use any CMS you want. I chose Wordpress because I was familiar with it.
• Remember to do regular database back-ups just in case anything happens.
• Keep your galleries organized in separate folders on your computer.

A couple of years ago, 5-year-olds use to ask me for my MSN. Sometimes when I go on the computer, I’d see the kids’ MSN Messenger opened with like 5 other kids of the same age on their friends list messaging each other. One day, I went on the laptop only to find Firefox opened with multiple tabs, left opened by a little 5-year-old boy trying to get on Youtube except he couldn’t spell it and each tab was “yutbeu.com“, “utoobe.com” etc. I don’t think he ended up finding the correct site.

Boyfriend would tell me of this 6-year-old nephew calling his friends for “tech advice” for their Nintendo DS. “You have to take it out and blow into it and then put it back in!!!” (when the games won’t start) or “I’m on Wifi right now… go on so we can battle!!”

The other day, Boyfriend’s 8-year-old niece came up to us and asked us for an IPHONE for Christmas. I was like WTFBBQ… what do you need a cellphone for?!! She quickly corrected herself and said iPod Touch instead but I still wonder. Heh. And she’s probably going to get that iPod for Christmas too. Lucky kids!! *enters jealous glare here* I never even got Christmas presents as a kid. Our tree had empty boxes wrapped up because my parents never believed in giving presents and the tree was just for “decoration.”

Anyway, this entry was inspired by a comment left on my Facebook photo by an 8-year-old niece (using her mom’s account). Why was she on Facebook? I have no idea. I wouldn’t let my kids on social community websites until they are out of elementary school but at least Facebook isn’t as shady as Myspace.

Oh and yesterday, I saw a little 6-year-old GOOGLING!!!! OMG. He was actually searching for stuff on Google. I’m. So. Amazed. And proud.

Technology is connecting kids to the world by giving them access to so much information, allowing them to grow up faster BUT is that good or bad?

I was talking to a co-worker and I realized one thing: I hate clicks.

As in mouse clicks. I surf the web like a bullet train and I want everything right there in front of me and want to do as little as possible (you can call me lazy). If I had it my way, there wouldn’t be anymore “continue reading” links or thumbnails and everything would be laid out right in front of you. And they call me an interface designer. Hah. But of course that can’t happen or imagine the size of websites and not everyone properly saves their images for web!

• Pictures: I prefer seeing pictures resized and laid out nicely in front of me. I HATE clicking on thumbnails— in fact, 95% of the time I don’t. I’d rather wait for big images load which usually isn’t a problem nowadays as long as they were properly exported. Just for the record, my Flickr bar up there is just for aesthetics. I have an online photo album and all the pictures are all laid out vertically (for my viewing pleasure, not yours).
  

  But some thumbnails are okay as long as they are big so I can see what I'm about to click and only open the ones I want to see.

  

  Left/Right navigation arrows makes it a little better, although I still think there are too many clicks. It's also harder to compare images.

  

  Perfect. Everything laid out, simple, clean and all I need to do is scroll. Of course, there is the debate about portfolios needing more 'creativity' but that's for another entry.

• Annoying pagination. Eg: Listing each point of a blog entry on different pages and it’s the worse when the page takes forever to load. WHY? Are you trying to build suspense?! FAIL. AND let’s not forget multiple-paged blog entries.
• Lightbox — It looks good but I can’t stand sites that use it. Is it just me or is it EXTREMELY slow …or the loading icon just makes it seem like it’s taking FOREVER to load?
• Loading Icons. Functional and works aesthetically but I don’t need to be reminded that your page is taking forever to load and it’s ONLY at 19%. I swear, loading bars makes loading seem longer than it actually is.
• STFU I don’t want to “hit the jump.” If a blog has a “continue reading” link, chances are I won’t continue unless it’s an informational post. Sometimes the link is so useless and obnoxious… is your content THAT good for someone to want to see it that bad? And what’s the point of it if there is nothing but one sentence after I “hit the jump?” I applaud you for saving a whole 20px of vertical scrolling though.
• I never use the “back” button on my browser; I’d rather have a billion tabs open. It’s a pretty bad habit because sometimes I’d accidently close a page if I forget to open it in a new tab and I’ll forget which site I was on.

You know how much shit is online and how little time there is?!

What do you prefer in terms of UI?