[gorilla]

Every time I see a newspaper there are always ads for Blackberry's. Most of them are business orientated, but not always and it's mostly from Vodafone, T-Mobile, O2 and BT. They are all promoting different models and tariffs but they do seem like good value.

Is it just me or does it seem like someone is feeling the pressure?

What's the benefit of a BB, does it have anything other than push email?

I see iphone business tariffs have been launched in the US, perhaps they are seeing dropping customer numbers?

Am I right in thinking that most BB's are not 3g? Surely in order to compete these days you need a 3g capable device.

[miffed]

I remember reading somewhere ( can't remember where!) that Blackberry considered 3G "innefficient" for delivering push mail , something to do with the size of packets sent .. and that is why there are few 3G devices

Sounds like BS to me ! , never really been tempted by BB's myself

EDIT - here we are , from Wikipedia


RIM have been criticized for not including 3G/UMTS on any models other than the 8700 series. However, email delivery on 3G units is often slower than EDGE and even GPRS, as emails are broken down into very small packets, each with its own encryption key. The UMTS networks are more suited to streaming media, so for BES/BIS email delivery there is little or no advantage.

[Ben]

I've been 'interested' but I can't say that I'm feeling the draw.

If my business had a compatible email system that the Blackberry service could 'plug in' to then maybe, but tbh if I get an email about something I usually need at least a laptop to be able to deal with it.

A next-gen iPhone is a much more exciting proposition for me.

WRT the iPhone Business tariffs - that probably has much more to do with the impending SDK launch and, hence, launch of Business applications rather than flagging sales.

[getti]

Expect a HSDPA BlackBerry by Q3 this year

[Hands0n]

Yup, that is the usual American BS trying to make excuses to the Europeans (nay, the rest of the world actually) as to why they didn't put 3G in. From their insular perspective 3G is a novelty, a bit of a mystery really, and priced accordingly. They do not have the luxury that we have here of the most advanced mobile networks pretty much nationwide deployed.

Regardless of whether or not Push Mail is [only] as fast as 2G the lack of 3G these days is inexcusable. Handsets these days are not just about email or any other single thing. They are about trying to have the Personal Computer experience in your hand, as near as dammit.

I've never been tempted by Blackberry. I see no reason to have to use BIS or BES to have push mail. It is a complete lock-in to RIM and I don't like such things. I'd rather use Exchange Server with its own pseudo push mail technology which interfaces with squillions of different handsets with Windows Mobile installed, and even to Nokia devices (some).

BIS and BES? No thanks, you can keep them.