What's The Point Of A Blackberry??

So what is the Blackberry attraction that causes so many to pay extra for that device over a pda/smartphone?

Here's just a few tidbits to wet your whistle ... and get you thinking.

* Camera Flash - I've yet to see a Palm OS device with it, and only some Windows Mobile devices have it. Every Blackberry that has a camera, has a flash. The camera feature is almost useless without a flash, from what I can tell.

* Software - Probably not as wide a selection as Windows Mobile, but probably better than Palm OS. I remember that I did like Palm OS, but it's basically dead. Only one manufacturer makes devices with the Palm OS, and even they make Windows Mobile phones as well.

I can see people making more Blackberry programs, but not for Palm OS.

* 3G - Most Blackberries don't support it, but this is quickly changing.

* GPS/Wi-Fi - With Blackberry, you have had to choose one or the other, if you want it built-in. But again, this is changing. Some of their devices have both. I've never heard of a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth dongle, but there's Bluetooth GPS. So if you want both, get Wi-Fi built-in, and get the Bluetooth GPS device.

* The Blackberry keyboard - If it doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard, then you have the option of Suretype (different input method). Since getting my Blackberry, I decided that I hate Suretype so I turned it off. It's still easier than typing words using a normal mobile phone. Instead of pressing the "2" button three times to get the letter "c," you press the "7" button once. Also, there is a shift key, and you only have to press two buttons to get punctuation characters.

* Touchscreen - Most Blackberries don't have it but some do.

* I don't know what plan the OP has, but for $70 plus taxes (at Sprint) there is a plan that has 450 minutes and lets you have unlimited data and messaging features. For that price, I doubt that it'd cost more each month.

* I did notice there is a $20/mo. option to access a BES server, but that's pointless unless you have a BES server to connect to.

If you can think of more reasons to like the Blackberry (or even some to dislike it) .... feel free to leave a comment.