The Blackberry: Quality Behind The Hype?

By: Nick Baker

 

According to Mat Bard, a wireless consultant at Alltel in Mount Pleasant, one out of every five phones they sell are Blackberries, making it one of their highest grossing products.

 

The Blackberry is becoming one of the most popular phones in America, with Mount Pleasant not far behind on the trend, but how reliable are these do-it-all devices?. 

 

The Blackberry was first released in 1997 by the Canadian company Research In Motion, but never really caught on until 2002 when the Smartphone version was released.  The Smartphone Blackberry supports e-mail, web browsing, and text messaging, as well as making phone calls.

 

Today the Blackberry has greatly expanded its Smartphone features, upgrading all the different functions within it, becoming the device that’s on the market today.  The Blackberry seems to be the perfect piece of equipment, but is the phone without its faults?  And does a rural county like Isabella get the same coverage as a more populated community?

 

According to Mat the Blackberry is in reality, almost flawless.  “They support the largest coverage in the country,” said Bard, “We are also planning on upgrading soon, making the network even faster.”

 

All of Isabella County does not get excellent coverage though.  Outlying areas, such as Lake Isabella, do have a weaker network. The coverage is still strong enough to not completely disable the phones connection, only slow it down.

 

The Blackberry itself is also a well made device.  “I would highly recommend the Blackberry to customers,” said Bard, “it’s built with a metal chasse, making it extremely durable for whatever might happen to it.”

 

The Blackberry appears to be the perfect product, but what do the consumers think?  David Wilt, a Blackberry owner and frequent traveler through Isabella County, says he is very happy with his purchase.

 

“I was eligible for a phone upgrade a few months ago, but didn’t take it,” said Wilt, “I love my Blackberry too much to replace it.  I have never had a problem with its Internet connection of phone service.”

 

With few problems notable in the device and its service, it’s unlikely that we will be seeing the Blackberry go away very soon.  Sales are up and praise is high for the do-it-all device, making the Blackberry a phone that really does live up to the hype.