by Carlee Tibbs

Created on: October 10, 2010

A BlackBerry is a range of smartphones designed and developed by Research In Motion (RIM). Although they are primarily a mobile phone, they have the hardware and software capability to run a wide range of advanced applications, such as; an email client, Internet access, a notepad, instant messaging, full address book etc.

When you first get your BlackBerry up and running, you will already have some applications installed and ready to use; Calculator, MemoPad, Tasks, Voice Dialing and Password Keeper. You will also be able to install applications for Flickr, Facebook, Windows Live Messenger, MySpace, Yahoo! Messenger and GoogleTalk, by going to the Application Center in your BlackBerry Menu.

Even more applications can also be found on the BlackBerry App World; just point the browser on your BlackBerry to blackberry.com/appworld and you will have the option to download it. App World is the best choice to download your new applications through, as it keeps track of which ones will need upgrading for you.

Currently, there are 5 BlackBerry models to choose from; Bold, Curve, Pearl, Storm and Torch.

When the BlackBerry mobile phone was first created and launched in the early 2000‘s, its primary use was to send and receive emails wirelessly. This stigma of only being a phone for the “professional”-type stayed with BlackBerry until fairly recently, when RIM started bringing out “consumer models”, such as the BlackBerry Pearl, Bold and Curve. These models have helped the BlackBerry become a more mainstream mobile phone and can usually be bought on both monthly contracts and Pay As You Go.

The BlackBerry comes with one of two types of keyboard, depending on what model you’ve bought; a full QWERTY keyboard, or the SureType keyboard, where each number key has three or four different letters to choose from. The Bold and Curve models both have a QWERTY keyboard, the Pearl has the SureType keyboard. The Storm model, although a touchscreen, has both keyboard layouts as an option, depending on the orientation of the device in your hands.

The Torch is a bit different to all previous models, as it has a hard QWERTY keyboard that slides out from under the screen, but also has a touchscreen keyboard with both keyboard layouts as an option.

Whichever device you decide to go with before purchasing a BlackBerry, the keyboard will probably be a deciding factor, as most users will either love the QWERTY keyboard and hate the SureType keyboard, or will love the SureType keyboard and hate the QWERTY keyboard. Those who send a lot of emails or text messages will find the QWERTY keyboard quicker, easier and more confortable to use, however.

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