Black berries and smart phones

[Zeke]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'm posting this on my new Blackberry Bold 9700, purchased off Kijiji for a bit more than I had hoped to spend, but much less than the store price and much, much less than I'd pay over the course of a three-year data plan ($50/month adds up to roughly $1800).

I found myself agreeing with Derek the more I thought about things. I have Wi-Fi at home right now, and I'm a university man (not in school right this minute, but hoping to start my PhD in the fall), so I have Wi-Fi there as well. This did me no good on my old Curve, but the Bold has Wi-Fi, so I can browse without a data plan. Even better, Rogers has a handy feature called a Data Daypass, so any time I do need a data plan, I can pay $3 and get 24 hours' worth instantly.

Of course, the most important thing for my purposes is that I can type easily on it. The Bold has a better-looking but slightly less comfortable keyboard than the Curve; I'm sure I'll get used to it. And above all, it's quiet. The clackety-clack of my old Curve made it awkward to use in public places that weren't already noisy.

It's nice to have a higher screen res, too... though I wish the screen were also larger instead of just finer. But the 9700 is about the same weight as my Curve, so that makes up for it.