In January, our current family cell phone plan is up, so I have been doing some research on what cell phone service, phones and family plan is best for what we use and what we ‘need’, as far as phones and plans go.
Over the summer is when I first fell in love with a BlackBerry. I really like all the features that a BlackBerry has, especially for my travel and bloggy events, as well as personal travels that we do as a family. We travel a lot! Well, recently, I had the chance to check out a BlackBerry 8520 and cell phone service by T-Mobile. At first, I did not like this actual BlackBerry, compared to the 8900 I checked out over the summer. This BlackBerry doesn’t have a ‘trackball’, yet this one has a ‘Trackpad’
Access what’s important with trackpad navigation. Like a laptop, the trackpad lets you scroll through menus, icons and info by gliding your finger over it. Press and click to select an item and navigate to where you want to go.
After a while of messing around with the trackpad, I really do like it. To me, it might be better than the trackball on a regular BlackBerry. My thought is: less dirt may get in than the trackball.
Here is some info about the BlackBerry 8520
BlackBerry® Curve™ 8520 – Black
Stay effortlessly connected with the BlackBerry Curve, a sleek and stylish full QWERTY BlackBerry with all the essential features you need to balance work and life.
QWERTY keyboard:
The built-in familiar layout lets you type messages easily without searching for the letter you want.
Wi-Fi and Mobile Calling
Effortlessly switch between Wi-Fi calling and T-Mobile’s wireless network while you talk Get great coverage at home when used with a T-Mobile HotSpot @Home wireless router Unlimited nationwide calls over Wi-Fi, at home or at any U.S. T-Mobile HotSpot
E-mail
Send and receive messages from personal and work e-mail.
2 Megapixel Camera with Video Capture
Capture special moments as photos or video clips. View them later on your phone, print them out or share them with family and friends by sending them to any e-mail address, T-Mobile camera phone, or MyAlbum.
Easily synch w/ Microsoft Outlook
Stay in synch with your Contacts, Calendar, and Tasks in Microsoft Outlook
Music Player with External Controls
Play your music without going through your phone’s menus to find it. With external controls, you can just slide on your headphones and push play.
Stereo Bluetooth® wireless technology
Connect your phone to your computer or stereo headset without any wires.
Video Messaging
Use your phone to capture your favorite moments on video, then share them instantly with your friends and family.
Voice dialing Call someone with simple voice commands to keep your hands free for activities like driving.
myFaves capable
Get unlimited any-network calling to any 5 people with a myFaves plan.
Text messaging
The quick, quiet way to stay connected.
Instant messaging
Send and receive instant messages with AOL®, Yahoo!®, Windows Live Messenger®, and Google Talk®.
Picture messaging
Send pictures from your phone to others.
Micro SD memory slot
Add more memory for multimedia files, data, and more.
The App World was easy to get around in, but it took some time to set it up. It wasn’t installed, so I had to use the browser to search and download it. Took just about no time to do, so that was nice to see. I was able to download Twitter (TwitterBerry), Facebook application and even Yahoo Messenger was a breeze to get installed. I was able to keep connected with anyone and everyone in the bloggy and internet world.
I was sad that I wasn’t able to Tweet my images during the recent bloggy events I was at. Not sure what the deal was, but was able to with another service plan. I will research that for sure because at conferences, it is nice to be able to send images as they happen.
Checking emails was so amazing! Funny, but I got my emails faster on the BlackBerry than I did on my Outlook on my laptop. It was easy and so nice to know that I was connected with anyone I needed to reply to right away.
How is T-Mobile’s service? Well, I will be honest and say that it wasn’t the best. In my home, I was on roam, but still was able to make & receive calls, emails, use the web and features/downloads. I was on another tower, other than T-Mobile, but was able to get service. On the go, the service reception failed more times than expected, in areas I would have thought I would have full bars and service. I think I went through three different ‘service provider towers’ before I actually saw “T-Mobile” on the screen showing me I was in their service range. I like knowing that if I am not on my service provider’s tower, at least I am being provided service by another referring tower. I traveled all through Iowa, Chicago and New York. Service was here and there, but overall was reliable.
All in all, I would have to give the BlackBerry itself a huge plus! The service was good, but not what I was expecting. I have service, but was out of service a lot of times on the road. I am not sure how broad the towers are, but maybe this might be something that could be expanded. I would love to see this!
For more information, family plans and phones to serve what you need, visit http://www.t-mobile.com/
Mommy Goggles Review Policy: The featured product for this review was provided to me, at no cost, by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. I do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing or writing about products. I only review products that I have personally tested and used in my home, and all opinions expressed are my own.
About Tanya
I so want to win one of these!!!
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Blackberry phones are great for those of us that are always moving and needing to check e-mails, that’s for sure. Of course, I am wanting a new phone just because I’m a tech nerd LOL. And I would have to agree, here in Iowa, T Mobile’s service is just lagging. You’d think for me being in a University city, they’d have service here for all the college kids but it’s definitely not that way.
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