Sep
29th

A couple of days ago, the Kindle Fire was announced, which means I’ve officially ordered my first tablet! I was really tempted to buy an iPad but I work in front of a computer all day, am on my Blackberry 24/7 and is in love my Macbook Pro… what would I need a tablet for? My only iPad experience (other than the Veggie Samurai wars in Whistler last year) was my parents’ iPad a couple months after they bought it; I went on it for 5 minutes and didn’t know what to do with it. I already checked my Twitter feed on my Blackberry!

So I managed to resist materialistic temptations for an entire year.

I WAS about to get a simple e-book reader for vacations though, so for the $199 price tag of the Fire— Cloud storage, ebooks, color touch-screen… why not?

What’s your favorite tablet and why?

Oct
6th

Blackberry Messenger. So yesterday I was at a designers’ meeting and it was confirmed that I’m the only one with a Blackberry — THE ONLY DESIGNER WITH A BLACKBERRY. How atrocious is that? I don’t care. I love my Blackberry and can’t do without; especially with all my friends on it, funny conference chats, Blackberry GROUPS where we plan all our events (currently: our Whistler trip). iPhone what? People ask, what’s wrong with good old SMS? Well, that’s because you’ve never used BBM. Apps what? I download (and even buy) tons of apps on my Touch but I find that I never use them… and touchscreen hates me. My Blackberry is practical and it rocks.

Books. I go through phases where I’m reading every second I’m free and I’m going through one of those now. Last Sunday was spent at Chapters on Robson after a good hearty brunch… and Boyfriend asleep on the giant beanie chair beside me (and snoring loudly… in the store).

I highly recommend this trilogy:

Waterbottle. I’d die if I didn’t have water with me anywhere I go. It has turned into an annoying obsession and not to mention I have to go pee every half-an-hour.

Boots. Four words: FALL IS BOOT SEASON!! Well actually, boot season is every season… even summer.

Poutine. I love poutine so much that Boyfriend and his friends spent 2 hours making this giant pan of poutine for me on my birthday. I almost licked the pan afterwards… until some drunk guy rubbed his nasty hands all over the pan looking for more poutine that I just ate. But yes, another sick but delicious obsession. BEST BIRTHDAY EVER.

Apr
27th

According to a spokesperson for Research in Motion, key highlights of BlackBerry 6 include:

• Crisp, more immersive visuals, including new graphics, animations and transitions
• New WebKit browser; it’s high-fidelity and very efficient, for fast, rich browsing with support for multiple sessions (i.e. tabbed browsing)
• Multi-touch support (e.g. pinch to zoom) while browsing, viewing photos, etc.
• Graphical, context-sensitive menu pop-ups
• Redesigned core apps, plus a new media player UI
• New Home Screen experience; multiple views based on content type (All, Favourites, Downloads, Media, etc.), universal search
• New app for integrating RSS and social networking feeds

via 24hrs

I can’t wait for the browser update! I’m using Opera Mini but it still has it’s flaws. RIM was on crack, releasing such an ugly and inefficient default browser (but then it IS a “business” phone after all).

Feb
16th

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.

Jan
25th

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.

Yes, there was a boyband on my home screen.

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?