Location: A restaurant in Miami Beach and I am surrounded by Blackberry and a couple of Danger hiptop users! And no, these people are not the typical business users that used to carry the Berries exclusively only a short while ago.
I've noticed a similar trend at the conference I attended in Orlando last week. Most people had a Blackberry with them, nothing else, a bit of American monoculture. About half of them had a company Berry while the others bought the devices themselves because they see the usefullness of having mobile eMail. Each and everyone I asked also used the device for mobile web access and most of them used Facebook. And we are not talking about the teens and twens of Miami Beach here but of mothers and fathers in their thirties and forties.
Two very different and very interesting directions for the Berries and the mobilization of the Internet!
I was a one time business 'Berry user. Having left that company I'm now an individual 'Berry user. facebook: check: webbrowsing: check; email: check; diary: check. Messenger: check. GoogleMaps: definitely. It's only EDGE enabled, but mostly that's enough. Sure a bigger screen and better browser would be nice - but as it is, my life is so much more enhanced. After two years of touch screen reliability issues with my four Palms, my two 'Berrys haven't missed a beat and get my money now. Even my mini SLR camera only comes out for special trips these days.
Posted by: dominic hayes | June 23, 2008 at 03:00 PM
i'm one of them too... i find it a very useful device and can do most of the same items that my PC can. main applications that i use are email (and the associated MSFT office application integration), web, fb, IM, maps and some of the games (my kids use them more:)
thanks for the opera mini browser info.
Posted by: Ed | July 05, 2008 at 01:28 PM