[Jake12749]

I'm a dedicated Mac user who recently moved to an area with minimal (at best) AT&T coverage. The new iteration of the iPhone has already proved to be inadequate when pulling in weak signals.

My one big option is to get a Blackberry with VZW. Here are my questions:

1. my primary use would be for (apart from the phone) email. I have a POP , and am wondering if this can be accessed with a Blackberry. Not having push email isn't as important as a handheld that checks periodically, say every 15 minutes or so.

2. my one major concern is being able to sync my BB with my MacBook--my contacts, email addresses, calendars, etc. I know there are two Mac-dedicated sync programs, but am not sure which is best for my needs. I have no corporate account, as I work for myself, by the way, so a corporate email isn't an issue here.

3. thirdly, which model should I get? My daughter in NYC has the 8830, the global BB, which she loves, and I expect that would be fine for my uses. Can someone help out a newcomer so when I do buy a BB I'll have some information at hand?

Thanks in advance!

[WFLDEng611]

I'll give it a shot.

1. You can have up to 10 email accounts on your BB. You should be able to access your VZW.net account.

2. The two syncing programs for the Mac are PocketMac and Missing Sync. PocketMac is free, and Missing Sync costs $40.00. There is debate about which on is better. I use PocketMac, and have had minimal problems, others have had nothing but problems. You can do a search on the forums to get opinions on both applications, and make up your own mind. If it was me, I would try PM because it is free, if it suits your needs, stay with it, if not there is an alternative.

3. Concerning which model you should get, it all depends on your needs. Go to a VZW store and play with all the models. Type a few emails, see which on fits better in your hand, and which one you type better on. I just got an 8830, I originally wanted the Curve. The manager asked me to type on both, I liked the 8830 better than the Curve. I you have to have a camera, then you want the Curve or Pearl. Some companies do not allow phones with cameras on them for security reasons, you may also want to consider that. If you want a full keyboard, then the 8830 and Curve would fit your needs, but the device is a little bigger than lets say the Pearl. If you want a smaller device and can put up with the Sure Type keyboard then you would want the Pearl.

[Jake12749]

Thanks for the reply. I think my concern comes from never having worked in a PC environment and always have used Macs. I've looked at my daughter's 8830, which seems fine for me. I don't need a camera, and the phone really has the same dimensions as my iPhone. A coverage map shows that my area has digital service from VZW, so I'm sure I'll get a better signal than I do now (which more often than not is absolutely dead).

I'm told the new iPhone 3Gs are no better at picking up signals. So...time to move to BB.

A few more questions...

1. Does anyone think it's worth my while to wait for the new touchscreen BB, supposedly out this summer?

2. And when you sync your BB to your Mac is it through a standard USB cable? Can it sync contacts, their emails, as well as iCal entries?

[WFLDEng611]

While I think the touch screen is really cool, I think it takes away from being a one handed device.

The BB syncs through it's cable and yes it syncs contacts, calendar and email. For wireless syncing of your calendar you can create a google calendar, download google sync to your BB. Then you can purchase BusySync or SpanningSync for your Mac. Now you have bi-directional wireless sync to iCal for minimal cost.

[Jake12749]

Thanks! You've been very helpful. Much appreciated.