[ASAP]

Does anyone think a college student would benefit from a blackberry? I am most interested in it for the organizational and productivity aspects. I have heard that there are a lot of applications that you can buy that are very useful in college. Also, the email would be important as I would have to communicate frequently with groups, professors, and also my research partners. Because of the family plan I am on, I could get the phone and pay only $40/month for the plan. It would include unlimited texting, excess minutes, web, and email.

Is it a good idea? Or does anyone not suggest it? Share your experiences and/or opinions. Thanks.

[lostman72]

For e-mail its super, I think also it would be great practice if you go into the corporate world. Most corporations use black berry.

[BeefyBeefo]

Wirelessly posted (VZW 9630)

I would very highly recommend it. I used a blackberry through college and I don't know what I would have done without it. The benefits far outweigh the cost at that monthly price. Just my .02

[clevebb]

Wirelessly posted (World Edition that dont travel)

What are your other options? If it's either a dumb phone or bb, def go with a bb. But if it's between a bb and an other smartphone there are more factors.

[Trimix]

Being able to email on the run is handy, but I would assume if you are on campus, computer access is relatively easy. And chances are you might want to use a computer when you have tons of emails to reply too.

But I highly recommended a Blackberry or any other smartphone for organizational purposes. I used to use a Palm PDA. Kept all my contacts straight; I could schedule out meetings, office hours, test dates, study sessions on the calendar, and take notes in a jam with the memopad feature. It definitely helps you to be more organized.

[dankarlinski]

Wirelessly posted (White and Nerdy)

I use my berry for school all the time. Having the last minute class cancelations pushed is really nice... I really like the orginization you get from it.


Also, if u plan to go with I, download an app called google sync. It syncs your contacts and calander with the google site so you are all in one place when u need it. And best of all, its free.. Unlike some services that the OTHER fruit device offers

[takeshi]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Does anyone think a college student would benefit from a blackberry?

Potentially anyone could. It's really more a matter of the individual rather than demographics. If you're inclined to make use of it them you'd probably benefit from it. If not, it would be a waste.

Despite the popular line of thought that "Blackberry is for business" there are plenty of business people that really don't make use of their BB's or don't use them to their full potential.

[rambo47]

Some colleges are actually offering mobile services designed for BlackBerrys or other smartphones. Like dankarlinski said, if they can push class notices/cancellations right to your device it's a major plus.

[MikeLip]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Does anyone think a college student would benefit from a blackberry? I am most interested in it for the organizational and productivity aspects. I have heard that there are a lot of applications that you can buy that are very useful in college. Also, the email would be important as I would have to communicate frequently with groups, professors, and also my research partners. Because of the family plan I am on, I could get the phone and pay only $40/month for the plan. It would include unlimited texting, excess minutes, web, and email.

Is it a good idea? Or does anyone not suggest it? Share your experiences and/or opinions. Thanks.

A college kid is going to have a computer in any case. My daughter has a laptop. She has no need for a blackberry. Pretty much all campuses have wifi, so a laptop with wifi will be way more than adequate - it does email way better than a blackberry. My daughter has a regular phone with unlimited text and she is fine with it.

[dankarlinski]

Wirelessly posted (White and Nerdy)

I saw a post somewhere about schools offering free iphones with tuiton in the school. I haven't heard of anything blackberry specific yet, but I'm sure its out there. Some colleges offer text alerts for different things, but having that reliable push email is always good.



I can promise you... If you get used to the berry, and u use all of the things it has to offer... The data plan price is more than worth what you pay for it.

[leec81]

I really don't think you would need a blackberry for college. Most of the campus will offer wifi on site, and for some of the courses you might have to use a laptop. So it makes more sense to me to buy a ulta-portable laptop, then getting a blackberry. You will have access to msn, email, etc while you are on site. Plus, you dont need to be connected at all time...people can wait few minutes for you to return an email...

[ASAP]

clevebb: The options I am considering are upgrading to a blackberry or keeping my current, basic phone that I have had for two years. I really don't want to waste my money upgrading to another basic phone if it is going to just do the same things as my current phone... there would really be no point. On the other hand, upgrading to a bb would give me more useful features, which is why I am considering that type of upgrade. It is just a matter of if I would get my money's worth from the bb as a college student.

[muffler01]

phone are very much useful this days, communication was the first usage of it, well also it depends only on motive on having this kind o gadget..
just having a proper use of this things makes it more useful.


Adult Match Club

[mgerbasio]

I've always like Windows Mobile as a personal information manager especially with third party software like PocketInformant. WM may also have better note taking ability and third party "student" software. I don't use BB Notes, but I recall on older versions there was a limitation on the note size. On the BB I use IdeaMatrix and Quick Note.

This past week I picked up my AT&T Tilt I haven't been using and decided to load WM6.5 ROM and try it out. I was surprised how much I now prefer the Bold. The larger screen of the WM device is nice, but otherwise I thought the Bold was just easier to use.

If you go with AT&T you don't need a data plan so if you find the cost is too high in six months you can drop the data, keep the phone and sync to your PC with a USB cable.

[leec81]

Originally Posted by ASAP

clevebb: The options I am considering are upgrading to a blackberry or keeping my current, basic phone that I have had for two years. I really don't want to waste my money upgrading to another basic phone if it is going to just do the same things as my current phone... there would really be no point. On the other hand, upgrading to a bb would give me more useful features, which is why I am considering that type of upgrade. It is just a matter of if I would get my money's worth from the bb as a college student.

I think this comes down to the basic questions of needs and wants. Do you need a BB in college? Not really...
Do you want a BB? Now, thats a different story.

[Dubdub]

You woul dneed to make sure that the school allows POP and/or IMAP access to email. Some do, some don't.

[cdnPaul]

I wish I had a BB back when I was in college. forget about email on the go. For me TIME MANAGEMENT is the biggest pro for any BB user.

using gmail, and gCalendar with Google sync has saved my ass a number of times.

[leec81]

you use calendar that often in college? To track when is the paper due? Using a 200 dollars device, and pay 40 dollars a month just for that? I mean, you can get something cheaper to track your calender...like a GF?hahaha!!!

[rambo47]

Alarms for calendar events give you peace of mind, if nothing else. The Tasks list is also useful for organizing your schedule. Go a step farther and buy REXwireless' ToDoMatrix and/or IdeaMatrix.

[jacobsaa]

Dont forget about the wonderful wifi some schools have in many of their lecture halls. A blackberry would be a great device to have.