You may remember my post a while back about price fixing in canada and how it was holding me back from getting a Blackberry. Well… I caved :( BUT, I was able to finagle a great deal out of my provider and now I’m only being ripped off, not robbed blind.
Why I Love My Blackberry
I really have to say that the Blackberry has transformed my business life. It has really let me optimize my downtime and get a lot more work done. So the cost really is justified: not only am I able to respond to my clients from my day job, but I am able to effectively use downtime. For instance, I wrote my last post and most of this post while I was waiting in a doctor’s office. So instead of reading some magazine that I wasn’t really interested in, I wrote almost two blog posts.
One of the drawbacks for me are my giant bulbous fingers… it’s really hard to type on the tiny little keyboard. I am getting used to it though, and my WPM on the blackberry is definitely going up. If you communicate with your customers a lot via email, or you have downtime where you are just waiting around, a Blackberry is extremely useful because you can get a lot of work done instead of just sitting around picking your nose.
Here’s a couple of tips (especially for you Canadians) when securing your own Blackberry
1. Don’t go on a contract - honestly, when was the last time you said to yourself: “Damn, I’m really glad I signed up for that 3 year contract!”. You can get an unlocked Blackberry refurbished for pretty cheap and go on a month-to-month package, so you aren’t trapped into anything.
2. If you are a long-time customer coming off a contract or close to ending a contract, the cell companies will do just about anything to keep you as a customer. I called up Rogers when I had about 5 months left on my contract… and I was able to get them to add 250 minutes to my plan, knock a total of $11 off my current bill without losing any of my services and give me four times the data for their basic data plan.
So basically, my Blackberry service is costing me $14 a month ($25 - $11)… not too shabby!
3. Don’t believe what they tell you. While I was negotiating the deal above, I was told at least half a dozen times that “that can’t be done” or “only on a three year contract”. Stand your ground and don’t bend: remember, they desperately want to keep you as a subscriber, so you have the upper hand. Don’t accept a deal that you don’t like, because they will most likely offer you something better if you say no.
November 11th, 2007 at 9:23 am
very nice. I have been trying to figure out the jump from standard cell phone, to a full pda phone. I often think I am at my desk 90% of the time, but its times like you mentioned that it would be perfect.
which blackberry did you get?
Now its just a question of black berry vs iPhone.
November 11th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Matt,
Look into what protocols the iPhone supports for email and the decision will be easy. I know you love Apple, but the iPhone was not made with business in mind.
I got an 8700 refurbished for about $200. Jay has an 8800, if you have the money, they are sweet…built in GPS. I am jealous.
November 11th, 2007 at 9:46 am
Iphones are more expensive and unless you can buy one in France they also tend to be locked to a specific phone company… Dave reccomends a refurbished blackberry but if you got the cash I think you can still pull off his evil plan with a new phone just means you have to pay full sticker price
November 11th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
yeah, I dig how the iphone functions, and the way it browses the web. I have a pop3 email server, so i should be fine on either a blackberry or an iphone.
great tips guys.