[sangkyu324]

as an aspiring new BB owner, i'm excited to be reading all these different and informative threads on this site...

i'm wondering how your Blackberry has improved your quality of life?? are there any specific specific functions/programs/apps that have made your life better?

with the continued and rapid evolution of technology, i'm excited that it makes business more efficient, but does that/has that spilled over into your life?

[paulbblc]

It definately keeps me more organized, that's for sure. Being organized equals less stress for me.

[fiffer]

It allows me to be away from the office more with out getting backed up with stuff. Its a real time saver

More free time makes Chris happy.

[JSanders]

Yes, much happier, more gruntled for sure. Apps like Beyond411 and Flight checker are life-savers, not to mention NOT having to lug around a laptop for email, etc.

[macallik]

I love jabplite for my finances. Anytime I use my check card or buy anything i plug it away. It really can help you be more organized. It is very addicting though. Wouldn't trade my crackberry.

[JeffAUV]

Having my calendar and e-mail 24/7 is a lifesaver. I travel frequently and having the BB enables me to leave my laptop home on shorter trips.

[tobyw]

Quality of life is a double-edged sword for me: I love being able to use chunks of otherwise useless time to read/reply to e-mails. This takes the pressure of coming back to my desk to an overflowing inbox. On the other hand, when I'm trying not to work it's a huge temptation to "just reply to a few e-mails..."!

One thing that I'm currently trying, which has potential to improve home/work life is the David Allen Getting Things Done system on my BB. Using NextAction! I've moved over from a paper system on a trial basis. The results seem to be good, and at least I'll always have my BB with me to enter/edit date. I do, however, wish I could wireless sync tasks (I'm only on BIS for my personal Pearl).

[archer6]

Originally Posted by tobyw

One thing that I'm currently trying, which has potential to improve home/work life is the David Allen Getting Things Done system on my BB. Using NextAction! I've moved over from a paper system on a trial basis. The results seem to be good, and at least I'll always have my BB with me to enter/edit date. I do, however, wish I could wireless sync tasks (I'm only on BIS for my personal Pearl).

Having just finished the book (GTD), I would be interested in hearing more about the exact software you are using, on which model of BB, etc.

As far as my response to this post. I truly enjoy the way I have been able to make changes in how I work. The added flexibility of having my email with me at all times is a big plus for me. In addition, I find that the longer I use a BB the more ideas I come up with to increase my efficiency. I live by Outlook for work and personal calendars, tasks, etc. I love how fast it syncs with my laptop and that I can leave the laptop behind, and still have all my contacts and activities with me.

Then for the times like some weekends, when I need a break from what can be a very active BB experience, I use one of my "regular mobiles".

Funny how it goes, that in itself can feel a bit odd after the constant connectivity of the BB.

Cheers....

[archer6]

Originally Posted by sangkyu324

as an aspiring new BB owner, i'm excited to be reading all these different and informative threads on this site...

i'm wondering how your Blackberry has improved your quality of life?? are there any specific specific functions/programs/apps that have made your life better?

with the continued and rapid evolution of technology, i'm excited that it makes business more efficient, but does that/has that spilled over into your life?

Greetings sangkyu324, and Welcome to the Forum!

Your question is a very good one.

After using regular cell phones, then Treo's, a Moto-Q and Blackjack. I found that those smart phones were pretty good, but not completely reliable and therefore the experience was quite frustrating.

Finally I decided my last try would be a BlackBerry. Little did I know what a wonderful, fast and reliable experience I would be in for. I had absolutely no idea how much benefit there would be in using a BB.

In addition, they come with a full range of software already built in. I have not added any other software to mine, as I decided that I would learn them as completely as possible before adding even more software to learn. The way the BB interface works so perfectly with Outlook is a huge plus for me. I use Outlook for both work and personal and find that the Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Notes all sync with the BB very quickly and reliably.

That is perhaps the number one most impressive aspect of a BB for me, is that it "Just Works", every time. This is the first device that I've had that actually saves me time and allows me to work in a variety of different ways. I can get out of the office much sooner. I can work on my non-urgent emails at my convenience, as well as being able to manage my very dynamic, ever changing schedule very effectively.

I cannot imagine NOT having a BlackBerry going forward. Finally the BB has made such a positive impact, that I have purchased a few so that I would have a choice of size and form factor depending on if it's a work week or weekend, or evening out.

In the event that you decide to try a BlackBerry I think you too will be very happy and incredibly impressed with the functionality and usefulness.

Cheers...

[BES admin]

Like others, I have been able to do more outside of the office.

I am the Exchange and BES admin for my company, so email IS truely my life and line of work. I use a program called Mobile Admin, by Idokorro, to remotely accomplish almost every task required by my job, while not in the office.

I have accomplished tasks, which pre-blackberry could only be done from a desktop or laptop connected to the internet, from EVERYWHERE I get a data connection: Pool-side, on the golf course, running errands, at my kids' ball games, and yes, in the bathroom (don't even look at me like you never did it!)

This device has literally unshackled me from my desk and made me more productive no matter where I am.

My company's ROI for the BlackBerry is fairly substantial given the number of additional taks I accomplish at all hours of the day, good for them, not necessarily so good for me.

[Dawgfan]

I have a BB for work and for personal so...
For work I agree that I can get those little pieces of comm done without having to be at my desk. I don't get to work at 7:30 like some people and have an hour commute and when things come up I can often take care of them or fend them off until I get in the office which gets rid of that "GOTTA GET THERE" stress.

As far as personal, while most of my friends are not as connected (IM, BB Msgr, email, etc) as I am I like the fact that when they are on IM, email, etc that I can be in touch with them no matter where I am. Unlike my gf, most of them are not acclimated to the BB "experience" so they do not expect immediate responses.

Another personal benefit for me is when I do business via eBay (or have questions out to customer service, etc) where I may need to answer questions or ask questions I do not have to be near the house or come home to 50 of them piled up. I can be whereever I want and take care of them as they come in or as quickly as I please. Remember, not everybody knows you have a BB or is used to what it is like. This was the hardest thing for me to get used to. When I first got my BB I would get emails and think that I had to respond right away. I learned that few people expect immediate responses to email. Likewise I had to learn that few people have BBs and therefore I cannot expect such quick reponses. I remember thinking, "I JUST emailed this guy, WHY has he NOT responded? It has been 10 minutes ALREADY!?" My gf would remind me that not eveyone is tied to their email like us BB users.

I have become so accustomed to this experience that I am wondering if the iPhone will suit my needs. If it can match the email experience as well as the rock-solid OS of the BB I may consider it. I am a .mac user so it may be possible for the sync funtion to perform like push email, not sure yet..

Regardless, I have used multiple Windows Mobile OS phones and other devices but nothing has given me such a positive experience as my BB.

There is a reason they are called Crackberrys.

[tdiersch]

Sure
I'm downtown and trying to find out where an address is.... I use my BB to start Google Maps...

Im in a new city and trying to figure out where the nearest starbucks is...

I'm looking for a japanese restaurant close to home and don't know the name or number.... using berry411 i get the number and phone and make a reservation

Lots of examples that are simple time savers when I'm on the road. Not to mention phone, email, chat etc.

The only thing that doesn't work well is the web browsing... Any suggestions?

[tdiersch]

Originally Posted by tobyw

to improve home/work life is the David Allen Getting Things Done system on my BB. Using NextAction!

Can you give some more details on that app? What does it do, what do you use it for? what did it cost?

Thanks

[Dawgfan]

I cannot count how many times I have typed "pizza" or "sushi" into Berry411 (i know, i know Beyond...) and gotten just what I needed.

What were those 411 digits used for anyways? Thanks to my BB I totally forgot...

[003402]

I think it has actually improved my work life balance. I am able to play hooky occassionally and go snowboarding or the like and still feel like the place is not going to unravel while I am gone. I also feel like I don't have to fire up my laptop as much to get things done every night or while in an airport.

I think the todomatrix and ideamatrix from the rexwireless guys is based on the GTD model, cant speak for NextAction. I bouth both for 100, and it seems to be helping. I was constantly missing tasks while on the road due to volume of email, and not capturing details while on the go. This has helped a bunch.

R2

[Ryan8700]

I couldn't live without my Blackberry! I use it for everything. I'm only a teenager so I don't use it for the same reasons that some of you may use it for (businessy stuff) but I use it for everything, text messaging, E-mail, internet (I used it to research Darfur today!), phoning and even booking flights.

[Shamrock]

There's always a few weeks adjusting period. For me getting the "balance" meant turning the email ringer off. I have it set to vibrate and then ring for the phone, vibrate for SMS (usually more "important" as from friends, g/f, etc) and nothing for e-mail.

I found it would vibrate when you were in a "I do not want to check email any more" mood but its human nature. There's no way to ignore it!

I just started reading StinsonDog's tip pages, learn about the new apps etc, expanded the functionality 10-fold.

What are the GTD books and applets? Sounds veeery interesting. I am always coming up with "good" ideas that vanish a day or two later.

[Maverickster]

I'm actually torn. On the one hand it has freed me 100% from that nagging impending doom feeling that always accompanies being away from the office for a day (or even a couple of hours) where you feel like you're gonna get "it" when you get back ("it" being overloaded emails, angry client, missed calls, etc.). Now, I know that when I get back in the office, I won't have missed anything (save the stack of stuff my secretary has put on my chair) because I will have either dealt with "it" or, at least been made aware of "it" via my BB while I was out. Consequently, the impending doom feeling is gone.

On the flip-side of that, I'm never truly away -- which, despite all of its upside is, in some significant respects, its own downside.

--Mav

P.S. Notwithstanding the dichotomy above, the convenience functions (i.e. Berry411, TeleNav, google, etc.) are universally "quality of life improvers".

[dandrzejewski]

Absolutely improved quality of life. Yes, I could live without it. I won't allow myself to believe that I need it. It's not the end of the world if I can't get my email on the road.

It really helps me keep organized. The problem I always had with a PDA is that I had to carry another electronic device around in addition to my phone. The BlackBerry has all the PDA functionality I need in addition to the phone. The wireless email is incredibly convenient. I can stay on top of e-mail outside of the office (if I want to).

One nice feature that I find to be incredibly useful is the ring profiles. Not only can you control how the device alerts you when inside a compatible holster vs. outside, but you can also define any number of custom profiles.

The greatest thing about the holster feature - while it alerts me audibly outside the holster - when I put it in, it vibrates only, which is really convenient for those times where I forget to put it on vibrate mode.

I highly recommend you read through the user manual and look through all of the menus and options - before you even install any 3rd party apps. You'll find a lot of features that you may not have seen before on other phones or smartphones.

Play with the options, set your theme, your font size, ring tones, set up everything the way you want it.

Once you do that, if you're not on a BES, set up your e-mail on BIS and then set up sync with Outlook or whatever organizer you use.

Then load up with 3rd party apps. I recommend the google applications and Beyond411.

Most people are pleasantly surprised when they find out all they can do.