New Technology

Yes, I love gadgets. Thankfully my wife understands… in fact she also has a similar interest in them. (No complaints from me!)

It is this interest that got me into programming computers in the first place back in 1979.

Many years and quite a few desktops, laptops and pda’s later… I at least know my needs when considering my next “toy”.

Very often a laptop is simply too much. Too heavy, not convenient to lug around and takes a little bit to boot up.

I love having access to all of my applications but over the years I’ve learned 99% of the time, I can get by for a short while with out them.

So what are my needs?

Portability and Staying Connected

An important necessity for me is the ability to stay connected when I need to. This doesn’t just mean via phone but quite often by the internet as well.

I had been keeping an eye on a PDA style phone for awhile. When I heard the next generation of it was becoming available I kept a close eye on it. Finally at the beginning of this year it came out and it had the features that I was hoping it would.

I did some research, read some reviews and then placed my order for my own…

Blackberry 7510

My phone carrier is Nextel. I choose them because of their “direct connect” feature on their phones.

It is basically a digital “walkie talkie” that works anywhere in my country. I would estimate about 30% of my friends and family have Nextel. In addition to the great phone coverage, the instant direct talk is a fantastic feature.

The particular Blackberry that I received has this direct connect built in along with many other features.

The Blackberry works with many other carriers also, such as Nynex, ATT, Verizon etc. and it works in other countries as well (the U.K. being one of them).

The Blackberry 7510 allows me to:

• Send and receive email directly to and from my blackberry
• Access the internet with a web browser (graphics and all)
• Syncronize my calendar and contacts with my desktop computer
• Download java applications, programs and even a game or two
• Receive and edit attachments via email. The standard blackberry lets you view Word, Excel etc and there is a program which allows you to create and edit these file types as well.

This allows me to keep an eye on things or be alerted when there is an issue that needs to be addressed.

• The blackberry can notify me in a specific way if there is a customer support request, contact through one of my web sites or even sales. I can then email if necessary or even log onto any of my sites.
• For the Small Business Web Site, I am able to log into the forum and reply to any posts that may be needed.
• If I want to stay in instant communication online with someone, I can Instant Message chat with any AOL, Yahoo, MSN, or ICQ user in real time. Anyone chatting this way has no idea that I am doing it through the Blackberry.
• I have already saved my bookmarks of my favorite forums and research sites which I can browse at any time and anywhere. This allows me to dramatically take advantage of “down time” if I am looking to occupy a few minutes here or there
• My todos and notes are better accessible to me. As I update them on the blackberry or my desktop, they syncronize with each other

Not For Everyone

I’ll be the first to admit that there is no one technology that is right for everyone.

My wife for example loves the concept of the Blackberry. It is missing a feature that she really desires though. That is a cellphone with a digital camera built in.

Being a realtor, she could quickly snap some pictures of a house which might interest one of her clients and send them instantly to them via email.

Rumor has it, the next version of the Blackberry may include a built in camera. I don’t have a use for that right now, so it isn’t a big deal for me.

The size could also be a detractor for those people looking for the smallest cellphone possible. The Blackberry is bigger to give a better screen size and add to its functionality.

I am already enjoying the benefits of being more productive and a nice side benefit is that it is tax deductible for me as a business expense.

I love technology.