My husband has declared that I *need* a new cell phone.. my 3+ yr old bottom-of-the-line model is starting to exhibit the kind of wonky behavior that he INSISTS will cause it to die just when I need it. I've already put him off six months, but I promised I'd start looking into a new cell phone.

Of course, most of the "free" options are crappy phones with lots of crappy gizmos (I don't care about gizmos.. I want my next phone to last at LEAST as long as this one.. of course, no one talks about the longevity of they device.. but that's another rant) So, I found myself looking at slightly more expensive phones. And then I realized that I could get a blackberry for about $100..

And while I've heard "Oh, never buy *brand X* phone, they're awful!" about every other brand, I don't think I've ever heard that about blackberries.

But do I need $100 worth of phone? Maybe... I'm a list-maker, and I've often thought of getting a PDA, but never really thought I could justify the expense. But $100 for a PDA from a good brand that was also my phone (and a camera, and a music player...)? That might be worth it. So I guess my first question is.. will a 8110 or a "pearl" actually let me make lists and maybe basic spreadsheets? Will it let me track finances? Track how frequently I take my allergy medication? Could I do any of that on today's non-PDA phones?

AND.. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me what extra services they'll try to get me to buy if I decide to go with this? I'd LOVE to have the internet with me everywhere, but I REFUSE to double my phone bill for the privilege! So no "data plan" for me. I think I saw something about a "blackberry plan" in the fine print on one phone? The bottom line is that I'm not willing to increase my phone bill for a PDA that I'll remember to use because it's also my phone.

I have Cingular/AT&T, if that makes any difference.. and I have no plans to change carriers. I've had no almost no problems with this one, so far, anyway. I *am* open to recommendations for other, cheaper *phones* - but I feel like every "thumbs up" recommendation I hear is paired with a "thumbs down"! Damn disposable technology....

Anyhow, TIA!

The Blackberries really excel at e-mail. If you aren't going to get a data plan and use the e-mail function regularly, it isn't worth it IMO. I think theoretically I could take notes on my Pearl, but it would be a hassle (split keyboard) and the software functionality just isn't there. Forget spreadsheets and tracking finances.

It sounds like you want something like a Palm where there is a lot of third-party software available.

Palm is kind of dying. I finally gave up, after years of loyalty; my Treo was just a pain. I had a 650, which is no longer available new. I think people are happier with the Centros. I do highly recommend the datebk replacement calendar.

I got an iPhone. I'm not sure that would suit the OP either, but it works better for me.

My wife has a blackberry for work and she has most of the packages that come with it which are email, internet and regular phone stuff, which runs $160/month - more then all the other cell phones in the house combined. The AT&T bill I have lists all the blackberry charges with blackberry specific titles, however since we have a family plan I'm unable to tell if that would exceed a non-blackberry plan. You'll probably want to contact them to compare costs with the features you're looking for.

Personally I hate her having the Blackberry, it has an extremely annoying light that flashes constantly for some unknown reason and she spends a lot of time on it in the car which used to be time we had for conversation which has now become time for email. The irony is that I dislike it because it's performs the duty it's designed for so well.

Green light?
Options-->Screen Keyboard --> Led Coverage Indicator
(I have a blackberry 8700, hope it's the same.)
If it's red, check your mail.

I can't comment on value as mine is provided by work.

Thanks for all the insight!

An Iphone, for the record, is right out. I just can't pay for the name like that. Or the gadgets. Besides, from what I've seen, the average life span of an I product is about two years, tops!

A friend told me that she loved her Treo.. of course, she now has an Iphone. And I think all the Palms that I could get are more in the $200 price range. Not including any *Palm* specific charges.... Though I think my husband is safe from hating anything like that... the glory of being an hourly employee is that no one from work EVER calls me. Somedays, I think that's worth the much smaller paycheck!

Buying new technology seems like such a gamble in the quality department these days - it makes me want to buy a new notebook and some pens, nurse my current phone until it really dies, and resign myself to being "cheap"!

Have you tried looking under "PDA- refurbished" on your favorite bargain electronics site? (I use mypoints, so I like overstock.com, which offers some fairly good deals on Blackberries, I think).

I actually just considered switching to a Blackberry plan just to get the data/email/web usage. I wrote a post about it and concluded it was just lifestyle inflation.

I would never recommend getting a Blackberry if you are not also going to get a data plan. And I wouldn't recommend getting a data plan if you don't really need it.

Think about it this way. If you spend $25 on a phone today, and it lasts 1.5 years before needing replacement, you're $75 ahead of the Blackberry. You could buy four cheaper phones for the cost of the Blackberry... if they all lasted 1.5 years, you would have 6 years worth of cellphones.

Any chance you could acquire that Treo? Or any other friends who recently upgraded because they could not because they needed to, who may have a phone they don't know what to do with.