iPhone, Blackberry, or Blackberry Pearl

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V Elaine Bennett, Licensed Real Estate Agent, San Marcos, CA

Date: July 16, 2008, Number of Replies: 7

I have been looking at Smart Phones lately and trying to decide which one to get. My daughter and her husband have iPhones, but they are not in the real estate business. I have tried a Blackberry and found the keys to be a little too small for me as I do not want to have to put my glasses on every time I want to put in a number or word. I have noticed that the Blackberry Pearl has larger keys. So, I am now trying to figure out if it would be best to get the Blackberry Pearl or the iPhone as my daughter suggests.

Does anyone have any knowledge about the Pearl or the iPhone?

Thank you.

Elaine

Premiere Homes

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Cheryl Haggerty Licensed Real Estate Broker, Lisbon, ME

Date: July 16, 2008

I have been looking at Smart Phones lately and trying to decide which one to
get.

I have a Blackberry Pearl, and for the most part I love it. I use it mainly
for receiving my e-mails when away from my office and for storing my
contacts and schedule. The ONLY part I am not particularly happy with is the
"roller ball" that is basically the "mouse". I have had trouble with it.
However, I can't imagine not having this device, and I would be lost without
it. Hope this helps.

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Susan Fox Licensed Real Estate Broker, Wailea, HI

Date: July 16, 2008

I have been looking at Smart Phones lately and trying to decide which one to get. My daughter and her husband have iPhones, but they are not in the real estate business.

Judi,

Depending on the programs you use the iPhone while very cool is not as compatible with Real Estate programs or at least it didn't seem like it. I was a Treo fan until recently my daughter gave me a BlackBerry World and I love it. She has the Pearl but the keys are much smaller than mine. I am hoping to upgrade to the Curve or Bold in the near future. I use Outlook and Top Producer, it works beautifully on the BB, Outlook syncs with the usb wire and TP sync's wirelessly any where, any time.

You might want to join the Smartphone group at Real Town, I have learned a lot. If not check out Dick Betts web site, he seems to be the guru of smartphones.

Email

dick@dickbetts.com

Blog

Dick Betts National Real Estate Speaker

Website

http://www.DickBetts.com

Hope this helps.

Aloha

Susan Fox, Realtor-Broker

CRS, GRI, ABR, e-PRO

Century 21 All Islands-Wailea

Editor's Note
Good idea to join Dick Betts' Group - great venue to ask your questions....and it is free.http://www.realtown.com/Dick15/groups/outsmart-your-smartphone

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Charlie Kentnor Licensed Real Estate Broker, Sonoita, AZ

Date: July 24, 2008

I have been using an iPhone since November. The more I use it, the more I am in love with it! I could write a book about how useful it has been to me as a real estate person who is away from his office a great deal of the time. The only thing I can see that it doesn't do is Supra and similar lock boxes. Since that can be independent of your PDA anyway, that should not influence anyone's decision. The new software and technology on the latest iPhone has only made this product ever more useful. At today's pricing, I would not walk to the Apple or AT&T store, I would run!

Regards,

Charlie

Please reply to me at:
charlie@CharlieKentnor.com

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Mary Whitlock

Date: July 24, 2008

iPhone, Blackberry or Blackberry Pearl?

Thank you very much for the insight into why to choose an iPhone as opposed to one that also can be used to open a lock box.

While an interesting concept, it is understandable why this may not work well together.

Unfortunately my Association choose a somewhat cumbersome lock box device that we have to use so the phone combination is very interesting, but I value your recommendation. I will look into the iPhone before purchasing a Centro.

Thank you,

Mary Whitlock

Realtor, e-Pro

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

Westlake Village, CA 91362

805-402-8773 Cell

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Ruth Gabbard Licensed Real Estate Broker, Honolulu, HI

Date: July 26, 2008

7/25/2008 @ 11:45 PM HST

Mary Whitlock

>>> iPhone, Blackberry or Blackberry Pearl?

Thank you very much for the insight into why to choose an iPhone as opposed to one that also can be used to open a lock box.

While an interesting concept, it is understandable why this may not work well together. <<<

I had also considered the iPhone but had some issues with the service and plans. I finally decided on a HTC Touch (both Sprint and Verizon Wireless carry this phone). I signed up with Sprint as I'd had their service before (coverage area was good for me; customer service was not but most of the celluar companies I've had do not have great customer service).

I am SO HAPPY I got the Touch! It's was just $99 (with rebate, $199 up front) and I have an unlimited plan of $99 a month for almost everything (minutes, text, browsing, e-mail, Sprint TV, etc.) . It's lighter and slightly smaller than an iphone.

The only negative I have so far isn't about the phone (love the phone!). Sprint's tech support department that handles PDA's doesn't have a clue. After spending hours on the phone with them, no one could answer any of my questions. I finally figured out all the answers to my own questions. LOL

BTW, I don't think either Sprint or Verizon Wireless do a good job of promoting this phone. HTC does little better job:

http://www.htc.com/www/product.ASPx?id=356

With Warmest Aloha,

Ruth A. Gabbard (R), CRB, CRS, SRES, PB
Gabbard Hawaii Properties | Honolulu, Hawaii
808-534-1850 | 877-ALOHA HI (256-4244) Toll Free
Online: www.hawaii-properties.com
Listserv E-mail: realtalk@hawaii-properties.info

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Christian Schlueter Licensed Real Estate Broker, Toms River, NJ

Date: July 26, 2008

. I finally decided on a HTC Touch (both Sprint and Verizon Wireless carry this phone).

I liked what you wrote and went on Verizon's web site. They give this phone a different name and one thing is glaringly missing from their spec sheets and feature sheets….WI FI Access. I wonder if Verizon removed it so they could shove their Broadband at you.

Christian J. Schlueter, e-Pro, ABR

President, Ocean County Board of REALTORS®

REALTOR® Broker-Associate, Internet Professional

RE/MAX at Barnegat Bay TOMS RIVER OFFICE

1130 Hooper Avenue, Toms River, NJ 08753

OFFICE: 732-914-0074 EXT 313 DIRECT: 866-861-1169

CELL: 732-995-8249 FAX: 732-678-1536

MailTo:Chris@homes4people.com

Web: www.Homes4People.com

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Ruth Gabbard Licensed Real Estate Broker, Honolulu, HI

Date: July 27, 2008

7/26/2008 @ 9:52 PM HST

Christian J. Schlueter, e-Pro, ABR
>>> I liked what you wrote and went on Verizon's web site. They give this phone a different name and one thing is glaringly missing from their spec sheets and feature sheets�.WI FI Access. I wonder if Verizon removed it so they could shove their Broadband at you. <<<

Aloha Christian:

I'm not sure if this is what you meant, but acording to this website review, it does have WI FI:

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/phones/HTC-Touch.htm
=== The HTC Touch has 802.11b/g WiFi. WiFi worked reliably for us on our encrypted 802.11g network and range was good for a Pocket PC phone (despite the phone's small size). Data speeds averaged 1097 kbit/s, which is middle of the pack for Windows Mobile devices. The WiFi status control panel applet shows current SSID, mode (Infrastructure or ad hoc), Tx and Rx rates, BSSID, channel and signal strength. You can set the amount of power the WiFi radio consumes using a 3 position slider, set up LEAP and secure certificates. ===

I think you may be right about Verizon Wireless. One of my phones is with VW but I chose Sprint because VW wanted $50/month more than Sprint and $150 more than Sprint for the phone (including rebates). I actually would not mind paying the higher price for the phone, but it was the difference of $50/month that made me think Sprint. Also, I read reviews about VW's version and users were complaining that the housing was plastic. The Sprint version is a soft rubber which I like.

With Warmest Aloha,

Ruth A. Gabbard (R), CRB, CRS, SRES, PB
Gabbard Hawaii Properties | Honolulu, Hawaii
808-534-1850 | 877-ALOHA HI (256-4244) Toll Free
Listserv E-mail: realtalk@hawaii-properties.info

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iPhone, Blackberry, or Blackberry Pearl

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