How did I live without it?

This is my first Blackberry so I can't compare to others.  But let me say I do love this device.  I've had this for over two months so I've really had the opportunity to put it through its paces.

My colleagues and superiors had been after me to get a Blackberry for a long time.  I held off saying I was waiting for the 3G Blackberry to come out.  When the Bold was first announced (as the 9000), I read of all the bugs and issues it had.   AT&T decided to delay its release until the the device was stable and I believe that to have been the right decision.

Call Quality:
First and foremost this is (for me) a phone.   AT&T is the only US provider carrying this phone know so if you want it you have to go with AT&T.   Call quality is excellent and I have yet to have a dropped call.   The speakerphone is excellent as well.   Of course the awesome part of having a Blackberry is having your work address book (Lotus Notes in my case) wirelessly synced with your PDA.  Pairing with my Bluetooth was easy and the connection was not dropped (as it had been with other phones).  The big advantage of the Bold (over previous BBs) is that you can use the data features and phone at the same time.  I've had calls on speakerphone and bluetooth and simultaneously received emails, sent emails and checked a web site.  Though my girlfriend does tend to bust me when I'm talking on the phone with her while surfing the web at the same time.

User Interface:
I never had a Blackberry before but found the UI intuitive and easy to use.  I still find shortcuts every now and then that make things go even smoother.  The trackball works well, though I do worry about cleaning it as cleaning instructions have not hit the Web (as they have for other Blackberrys).   Hopefully it won't be an issue.

E-Mail:
I have the Bold configured for my work email (though my firm's Enterprise server) and a couple of personal rmail accounts (yahoo and gmail).  The firm email has been spot on.  I love not having to boot up my laptop and connect to get work emails on evenings and weekends.  I might have considered an iPhone, but like a lot of organizations, my company does not support it and getting work emails was critical for me.  That put the iPhone off the list.  

On a few occasions the personal accounts (Yahoo and Gmail) seem to have been delayed a bit.   Hopefully not a frequent problem.  Reading and replying to email is a breeze and reading MS office attachments (Word documents, Excel sheets) or PDFs is flawless.

Web Browsing:
Ok here I was a little disappointed.   The browser that comes with the Blackberry is clumsy and won't load a lot of web sites.   I downloaded the Opera browser (a free shareware option) and it has been ok.   Still much slower (even at 3G) then a laptop on broadband.   And since the screen is small you have to use a magnify function once you get to the part of the page you really want to read.   I suspect this is where the full screen phones like the iPhone and Blackberry Storm are better.   Since I mostly use this as a phone and email device and phone I think I made the right choice as this device shines in those areas. 

All that said there have been times I've been in a pinch and needed to pay a bill, find a restaruant or check a flight and have been able to use the Opera Web Browser to get the job done.  Sites designed for mobile devices do load quickly and I have passed more than a few minutes sitting in an airport or train station reading the NY Times or CNN mobile sites.

MultiMedia:
One reason I like this phone (over the iPhone) is I can play a lot more file formats.  It supports AVIs and I have a large library of AVI entertainment.  Going to Aruba my girlfriend and I watched a couple of shows on the device (using a headphone jack splitter) to listen.  Of course the screen is small, but the quality is very high and it was very watchable.   Really cool is that the desktop software will compress my AVI files before transferring them over saving a lot of space.

Music files play well, though I don't like the interface much.   There is a way to sync it with Windows Media Player which would provide a better way to manage music, but I have not invested the time in setting that up (yet).  I still carry a separate 30 Gig MP3 player, but have about 4 gig of music loaded on the Bold as a standby device.  One reason I like the separate MP3 player is I use it in the gym a lot and don't want to expose the Bold to that kind of punishment (though I have no reason to know it would not withstand it).

Durability:
I've dropped this puppy several times and it has the nicks to prove it.  And so far it has held up.  One time I was running on a NYC street and it hit the concrete pretty hard, but seemed none the worse for the it.  I'll have to see how it holds up over the long run.

Battery Life:
Initially when I got the device, battery appeared to drain pretty darn quickly and with heavy use sometimes could not get through the day without a recharge.  Fortunately as it uses USB to charge I could always juice up with my laptop (when needed).  A couple of weeks ago I noticed the battery started lasting longer making it through heavy use days and going several light use days without a recharge.  I wonder if ATT updated the device (without my knowledge) but something seems to have changed for the better.

Connectivity:
I seem to get a pretty good 3G connections most places I go.  At times in really crowded areas (like Times Square) or in rural areas it goes back to the Edge network.   Interestingly I don't seem to notice much of a speed difference (even when surfing the web), so I'm not sure how much value 3G really offers.  I did have the tethering option for my laptop (thinking I could replace my Verizon aircard), but found its performance inferior to the Verizon card (especially on trains), so I removed that feature.   One cool feature it has is the ability to connect via WiFi.   This feature has saved me significant expense travelling internationally.  I use that to get my emails at free hot spots and avoid significant international data roaming charges.  Since I have an all you can eat plan, I don't use the WiFi much domestically. 

Memory:
It comes with 1Gig built in (not all of which is available).  For $18 I got an 8Gig card to add in and have plenty of memory for music, videos and pictures.

Camera:
The Camera takes decent pictures (2 MegaPixels) in daylight.  Not great like my dedicated 8MP camera, but serviceable.  It has flash capability but I've found flash or indoor pictures leave a lot to be desired as the subjects have that flash washout.   It takes video as well, but have not used that feature much.

Plan Costs:
My firm covers my costs, $45 (with company discount) for an all you can eat data and enterprise email plan.   Text messages are extra and I get 200 for another $5.   Voice I'm on AT&T's family plan and you can check their Web site for the cost of the plan that would best meet your needs.   Make sure to check if you employer qualifies you for a discount.  Every company I have worked for has.


Summary:
I'm pretty happy with this device.  Phones are always a compromise.  There are times I wish it was small (like a Perl) but mostly am glad for the larger screen and full keyboard.   Sometimes I wish I had the full screen like the Blackberry Storm, but have heard (through reviews and from colleagues) that it just isn't ready for prime time yet.   So for me the Bold is the best choice.