I am typically considered an early adopter of technology, but for the past few years I have stayed on the sidelines of the smart phone and Blackberry frenzy. Perhaps I got burned too many times in the early days of Palm and WinCE. I needed a breather and was waiting for a device that could truly make mobile life easier.

In recent months Apple’s iPhone got all the press and while esthetically speaking, the phone has great appeal, it doesn’t seem like a good choice for business use. Another reason for me to hold out so long was my cell carrier. I have been happily using Verizon for years, which has great national coverage and offers excellent wireless broadband service. The downside – Verizon uses CDMA technology that is not compatible with the predominantly GSM based networks in Europe and many other parts of the world.

Late this past summer, Verizon finally offered a phone that seemed to address all of my issues - the Blackberry 8830 World Edition. A slick looking smartphone that integrates with corporate email in legendary Blackberry fashion, provides wireless broadband Internet access and global roaming through dual mode CDMA/GSM capabilities.

I have been using the phone for three months now, and I have to say I am impressed – everything works just as expected. Rather than writing another full review on the 8830, let me just share some impressions based on how I use the phone:

1. Email: My company already had a corporate BES server, so getting me up and running took literally minutes. The integration with Lotus Notes email, calendar / scheduling and contacts works flawlessly. I was also able to easily add synchronization with my personal Exchange based email account through RIM’s sync service.
2. Wireless broadband: Although (silly) Verizon still disables certain Bluetooth profiles on their phones including DUN, the USB cable included with the phone works fine. As a positive sideeffect, the phone gets charged through the USB port. I have been able to stay connected to our company’s VPN for hours while taking the Acela Express train from Boston to New York. It also works well on the water far beyond Boston Light
3. Mobile Web: The Backberry web browser does a good job rendering non-mobile optimized pages in an acceptable amount of time. It has come in handy to look up company addresses, flight schedules and weather reports. I would not want to read The Wall Street Journal on its 2.5” screen though.
4. IM: We use Lotus Sametime as our corporate IM solution, and it works great on the Blackberry. Besides the convenience of IM’ing co-workers when unable to make a call, the integration of Sametime with our internal address book and CRM system makes this an invaluable tool. I can simply send a customer or employee name to the CRM BOT and instantly get phone number, address and other account information. A lifesaver when stuck in traffic on the way to a meeting.
5. Global Roaming: The true test came on a recent trip to Germany. In the past, I have used an extra GSM phone with pre-paid cards when traveling to Europe. Dealing with forwarding phone numbers and keeping a balance on the pre-paid card is obviously a real hassle. After stepping off the plane in Frankfurt the phone immediately connected to the Vodaphone GSM network and emails started to trickle in. Making and receiving phone calls worked seamlessly and web browsing worked well. However, as told by Verizon, wireless broadband access is disabled. This would have been a real plus to have, since Wifi connectivity in Europe can be pricey and unreliable.
6. GPS Mapping: Now here is the downside. The phone has a fully functional GPS receiver built-in that can be accessed by mobile applications. Unfortunately, Verizon in greedy carrier fashion, decided to disable this feature for now, supposedly until they have their own navigation software ready. I suspect they are planning to charge for its use. What is even more infuriating is that the phone comes with RIM’s mapping software preinstalled and early Verizon ads touted GPS capabilities as well. Even without the GPS receiver working, I have found Google Maps extremely useful in getting directions from point a to b. You just have to know where you are.

Overall the phone and service has met and sometimes even exceeded my expectations. There have been no crashes or application lockups, the voice quality is great and the battery charge lasts multiple days given my average talk and online usage. Verizon should learn from past mistakes and stop depriving customers of device functionality for profit sake. Although, I’ve added some sort of international value calling plan, nobody at Verizon could consistently tell me what the roaming costs for Germany are, so I am somewhat curious to see my September bill. I will add a follow-up post when it arrives.

Technorati Tags: blackberry 8830, wireless, unified communication, uc, verizon 8830

If you are new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. An RSS Subscription will deliver new Blog posts automatically to your computer.
Thanks for visiting!