January 13th, 2009
7 reasons why the BlackBerry Curve 8900 is my perfect companion
Research in Motion via their PR company sent me a BlackBerry Curve 8900 to play with for a fortnight. I’ve just spent the last three days writing a post, of which by in the end of it thought was a load of boring, rambling nonsense, comparing the BlackBerry to a Windows Mobile device (which has been done anyway).
Trust me, you would have fallen asleep reading the damn thing. Instead, I feel a few tests, as a student and on behalf of all students everywhere, would suffice to convince you, the fellow reader, to buy one. I’m under no obligation to write anything nice about the BlackBerry, but over the last few days, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
There is a full image gallery on the BlackBerry Curve 8900; click here.
I shall now attempt to prove, why this particular phone, let alone a BlackBerry, is perfect for student needs beyond all reasonable doubt.
Trying to get home after a house party
A really good house party involves stumbling outside in the morning, not remembering who you were with last night, where your wallet is, or where about you are. So, to replicate this, my friend Elliot drove me (blindfolded) somewhere within a 2 mile radius of Canterbury with nothing more than the clothes on my back and my BlackBerry.
I turned on the BlackBerry Maps application which is pre-installed, and connected via the mobile network to determine where I was. The handy thing is the GPS inside the BlackBerry; provided you’re outside, you can get a satellite fix, telling you exactly where you are. With the route planner, you can navigate your way from anywhere to anywhere.
I managed to get back home within the hour for a nice cup of tea. Good job really, because it was bloody cold without my gloves.
Accessing university resources
When you finally pluck up that last bit of motivation to get some work done, you need something around you to get yourself going. For me, I can be stuck on a train and decide to read through some lecture notes. The browser in the BlackBerry OS is quite frankly, crap; I proceeded to download the Opera Mini browser, which is more than satisfactory.
With the browser, I’ve got full web access, as if I was on a laptop using Firefox or Internet Explorer. I sign into my virtual-learning environment where my lecture slides are (remember, most VLE’s are full of JavaScript, Java, plug-ins and client-side scripts, so I’m amazed this worked).
I flip through to the course content…
Once you start downloading, it requires you go through the BlackBerry default browser; even though you may be using wireless connectivity, you may still need to connect through GPRS which could cost a fair bit if downloading large files.
Once you’ve downloaded the file, the in-built presentation software allows you to view the file as if it was in PowerPoint. The other software includes a document and spreadsheet viewer; it’s like having Office 2007 Standard on your phone, except to actually edit something, you need to pay for the premium version… *grumble*
Emailing my boss abuse whilst drunk
I, like many students, like a little tipple in the evening after a hard day screwing around studying. However after a night out, you get thinking about life, and work, and your boss, and how much of a total tool they are. My boss is lovely (I’m not on about Larry, although he is lovely), but thought I’d give her a good ol’ midnight beasting in form of an abusive email.
As you can see, it’s not so easy when you’ve got big hands and using a tiny keyboard. I kept hitting the “B” key when I was aiming for the “N” key, and mashing the keyboard by accident is quite a regular thing. Plus, because I’m a native Nokia/PC user, I get confused between using the Shift button for numbers, when I should be using the Alt key.
Because the Alt key is so close to the number keypad, it also makes it a little difficult when typing in phone numbers. One extra Alt key to the other side of the phone would make it far more ergonomic.
Facebook, a dark nightclub, midnight munchies and media –>
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Zack Whittaker, the youngest in the ZDNet network, is a British student at the University of Kent, Canterbury, where he studies BA (Hons) Criminology and Social Policy. His insight into the next-generation is unique and first-hand, sharing his knowledge of the here and now but more so what's next and how to get there.
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