Is a Blackberry the Right Phone/PDA Solution for You?

So you need a way to organize your business clients, appointments, calendar, and check your email, but carrying around your laptop cannot get this done. If this is the case, there is another solution that companies have found to be very beneficial to their productivity for many years - the Blackberry. No, it is not the juicy fruit you're probably thinking of. It is instead a smartphone with a wide array of features that can help you get organized in a snap. Depending on your needs in business and life, the Blackberry may be the right organization solution for you. So let's take a look at how this gadget might improve your day-to-day affairs.

What is a Blackberry?

A Blackberry is a mobile solution categorized as a smartphone with integrated software enabling it to access a variety of data and communication services. In other words, not only can you keep in touch with your friends, family, and colleagues, you can also manage information that you might otherwise only be able to manage from your computer.

In the appearance category, the Blackberry looks very similar to a cell phone with the exception that many come equipped with a QWERTY keyboard (a small keyboard that organizes the letters and numbers similarly to a computer keyboard). With this keyboard, you are able to more easily communicate through emailing and texting, as opposed to feeling constricted by verbal communication.

Many large corporations utilize Blackberry products as a standard requirement for upper management and high-level executives because they enable employees to remain on constant standby if need for a conference call, or simply to set up meetings and respond to emails. However, the everyday individual can also get great use out of these phone/PDA solutions. So let's take a look at a few of the Blackberry products on the market, and how they might benefit your life.

Blackberry Products

Below is a short list of Blackberry products and their primary features to give you a taste of what this company has to offer:

Pearl - Pearl smartphones are said to be the smallest in the world, and offer basic functions such as email, Internet, text messaging, IM, and organizing functions. In addition, you can take advantage of multimedia functions, expandable memory, and a digital camera; however they do not offer the QWERTY keyboard. This phone is closer to the cell phone family than the PDA family, and is a little cheaper in price than other Blackberry products.

Curve - Curve smartphones move up a notch from the Pearl and offer a QWERTY keyboard and a slightly sleeker look. Just as the Pearl phones are the smallest smartphones in the world, Curve offers the smallest and lightest smartphones with QWERTY keypads. There are more features to take advantage of with Curve phones, including Blackberry Maps, expandable memory, trackball navigation, and voice-activated dialing. Of course with these phones you also get the basics like texting, IM, and Internet.

7100 Series - The 7100 Series smartphones are similar to the Pearl in their close relationship to a standard cell phone. With this series, you get features like push-to-talk, speakerphone, Bluetooth, GPS, and a walkie-talkie. However, this series does not come with the QWERTY keyboard.

7130 Series - The 7130 Series also takes on a closer resemblance to the standard cell phone and is void of the QWERTY keyboard. Some features that it offers in place of this major feature is Bluetooth, MP3 ringtones, light-sensing, LCD display, Internet, and the ability to connect to your laptop or PC.

7200 Series - The 7200 Series takes consumers back down the path of the small PDA with phone-calling capabilities. These smartphones give you access to software applications and come with color screens, QWERTY keyboards, and thumb-trackwheels. A few other features you might enjoy are faster emailing capabilities, quick browsing speeds, Ev-DO technology (high-speed wireless data services), and the ability to connect directly to your computer.

8700 Series - The 8700 Series also takes on the responsibility of doubling as your PC when you're away from the office. It also comes with the full keyboard, light-sensing screen, email, Internet, organizing capabilities, and of course, your phone features.

8800 Series - The 8800 Series of smartphones is probably the strongest group of all of the Blackberry smartphones. They come packed with tons of features including the standards (email, IM, organizing, Internet), and a number of extras like GPS, Blackberry Maps, media player, expandable memory, Wi-Fi support, and the ability to roam globally on GSM/GPRS networks.

Blackberry Connect - If you are not interested in purchasing a new phone but want some of the functions that come with the Blackberry then you might be able to take advantage of Blackberry Connect. It is a technology that allows you to connect to the company's Internet Service and Enterprise Server through your Blackberry-enabled device. Some of these devices include Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, and Palm.

To get a better understanding of the specific features of each Blackberry smartphone, it is important that you research the products to determine which features mesh with your necessities. It would be shame to let great functions go to waste while others that are still in need are only available with another product. But after you've determined if/how the Blackberry is right for you, the only next step is to go out and get your own.