Smartphone

Today I was given a BlackBerry as my phone has failed to function on the funny US frequencies. As some people know I have previously abhorred the concept of a smartphone and I haven’t really changed my mind. On the one hand I will now stop getting lost (it has a GPS) but on the other hand my work email is with me all the time.

The phone itself takes forever to turn on, I don’t know quite what it is doing but it is close to five minutes before it is ready to use. The battery also drains very quickly whenever the phone is used, I am used to getting a week and a half out of a full charge but I think I will be lucky to manage two days. The interface is also very odd, having used an iPhone and an Android phone even briefly I desire a touchscreen to use. Instead of simple buttons there is a sort of trackball except it is a capacitive button, much like a laptop touchpad, this is so small that I am finding it nearly impossible to use. I think I have probably made my views on this device clear so I won’t continue with the list of other things wrong with it, I also don’t wish to be ungrateful for being given it (I am not, I just like to complain about technology that could be much better).

The one big advantage, if you desired it, is the synchronisation that occurs with Exchange and Outlook. I would not miss this feature one bit but I’m sure companies the world over love it. At least the paranoid part of me can be happy that the phone is encrypted and if I were to lose it then all could be remotely wiped from it.

I have also installed the Skype application so if anybody wants to call me (but please remember the time difference) you can, my Skype username is my first name and surname separated by a full stop. I also have a traditional phone number, but this is US based so less useful.