I have maintained and used Blackberry's for about 5 years now and must say that there is nothing that truly compares if you are looking to have a handheld device that would primarily be used for checking your email. I have owned and used the PocketPC's and must say you get better battery life with a Blackberry than any other comparable PDA style phone on the market. My current Blackberry phone can last 2-3 days with me talking for several hours each day and not recharging it.

Let me warn you though if you are going to purchase a Blackberry make sure you are prepared to pay an extra $45-$65 per month on your cell phone bill because all companies charge additional internet charges (on top of the charges for regular internet service) for them and if you don't have that service your phone won't have email, internet or text messaging abilities plus the service is horrible because it works on a different phone network when used as a phone without the Blackberry capabilities.

In regards to the Blackberry service being shutdown that hasn't been an actual issue and I don't believe it will be considering the company has been around way too long and all of the military services rely on them.

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