by Jason Salas, KUAM News Sunday, November 12, 2006 Subscribe to Jason's newsfeed   E-mail this article Printable version KUAM Toolbar Web Widgets Get RSS headlines

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To fully grasp a BlackBerry's true value is to appreciate Metcalfe's Law, realizing a network's exponentially increasing value as more nodes are added to it. In short, the more people using a device, the more worth and usefulness is has to its owner. So the Blackberry - touted as THE business tool that Guam's sorely been in need of for several years now - becomes more meaningful the more people that use them.

We've finally got a digital device we've been waiting a long time for - a true Internet-aware machine, capable of powerful, unlimited web browsing, e-mail access and SMS texting, in addition to messaging through RIM's proprietary instant messaging protocol. The Blackberry 7130g and 8700g, both available from GTA, bypass the unconnected nature of Palm Pilots or PDAs, and don't give a compromised presentation like most smartphones. This is full-access web browsing.

The device's browser is responsive and accurate and GTA's EDGE network delivers content at near-DSL speeds. HTML tables and CSS formatting are fully supported, as are many Javascript features, so web pages and images are rendered and behave as they would in a desktop environment. This is the most accurate representation of online content you'll find in a mobile device. The one notable shortcoming is that despite great performance and presentation, multimedia support is surprisingly non-existent, meaning out of the box you can't playback audio or video, or enjoy streaming presentations or podcasts.

So without third-party plugins you won't be able to do MP3s, and no Excel spreadsheets, no PDFs. But if you're a software developer you can also write your own extensions and mix-ins to existing applications, or create entirely new programs for distribution.

The BlackBerry's battery life is outstanding, and both models startup/shutdown very quickly. And unlike many Microsoft-based phones, the BlackBerries never once locked up or crashed during our strenuous lab tests. The full QWERTY keyboard lets you avoid cryptic, textspeak lingo and actually type in English, empowering you to communicate as you would in real life.

All this having been said, the BlackBerry does have one major letdown. While it's superior as an Internet-aware device, it's a disappointment as a mobile phone. The unit's poor calling programs couple its clunky physical features, making it a bad choice if you're looking to do integrated telephony. If you're brave enough use it for voice calling, expect to spend money on a Bluetooth headset, as the on-board speakers make it really hard to maintain a decent conversation. So count on having to keep your existing cell phone and use both in tandem rather than painfully attempting to awkwardly hold the BlackBerry handset up to your ear.

But this glaring inconvenience aside, the BlackBerry is what we on Guam have wanted for a long time. Gone are the days of getting a PDA and being stymied in the ability to only partially process content, and needing to synch the device up with a desktop PC, which defeats the purpose. For those of us who rely on next-gen applications running on capable devices, this is the way to go. And my expectation is that, assuming GTA is successful in fostering a local community of BlackBerry users, they'll quickly become very worthwhile investments for cutting-edge information workers.

See the RIM BlackBerry models available from GTA by clicking here