Behemoth Droppings

Since it was time to get new cell phones, I decided I wanted a “smart” phone. Since we are on the Verizon Network, and aren’t going to switch for several reasons, I was pretty much looking at Blackberries. Based on price and reviews, I decided to go with the Curve 8330. I’ve had the phone for a little while now, so I’ve had time to get a good feel for it. While it took a while to get used to a larger cell phone, I don’t think I can ever see myself with anything other than a Blackberry.

This thing is so cool. Just like any other smart phone, you can download a ton of applications that do really cool things. My favorites so far have been Viigo (an RSS reader, that just added podcasts!!), the Facebook app, and Bolt (a Java browser). I’m kinda glad I didn’t go for the touch screen, at least for now. The trackball is awesome for navigating around, especially when browsing the web. Plus I didn’t like all the smudges that came from touching the screen. I think next time around, I’ll probably get whatever touch version of the Blackberry is available, but for now I am quite happy with my phone.

Now, with that said there is one problem I have, however. The problem is not with the phone, but with the provider. Verizon has, for some reason, decided that they needed to lock the GPS by using firmware installed on their phones. The Curve has a built in GPS, but Verizon has it disabled except for using BBmaps, or paying for their VZNavigator service. I feel, besides being extremely frustrating, that this is illegal. They are blocking a built in function of the phone to force people to buy their service. What angers me even more is that there is a free golf app called BBGPSGOLF, but I can’t use it because Verizon has the GPS disabled. This app will let you download a course and use GPS to give you the yards to the green and cup. It will also recommend a club based on the clubs you enter and the yards to the green. To get around it, I plan on buying a Bluetooth GPS Puck, but I haven’t gotten around to doing that yet.

Bottom line…I love this phone!!!