<p>is having a blackberry/iphone in college really helpful to stay updated and organized or would they become more of a distraction. i imagine it matters more on a person-to-person basis, but does anyone have any opinions based on past/current experiences?</p>
<p>I like my Blackberry. I don’t really use it for organization (except for writing down big things like finals) but I do use it for email and mobile web since I usually don’t carry my laptop with me. I love that I can get my email in real time and be able to respond easily to it if I have to. The cost is worth it to me.</p>
<p>I love having a smartphone. They’ve got better hardware, better keyboards (usually), better software, and better web browsers. </p>
<p>I do wish I could scale my plan down a little bit (I really don’t need unlimited texts) but overall I’d say it’s worth it.</p>
<p>Yes. Life is so much easier with a smartphone. Finding information really fast, getting driving/walking directions, showing people random Youtube videos…the possibilities are endless.</p>
<p>It really is an individual basis. I have no need for smart phone. I don’t need to stay connected to everyone, I don’t need one in case I get bored, I don’t need internet every second of the day, and most of all, I don’t want it. If you do, all the more power to you. They’re great tools. I’m fine with my good ol’ flip phone, and just as organized and up to date as my peers who have them. I have never been hindered by not having one, I’ll put it that way. </p>
<p>For what it’s worth though, go to a college campus and look around when people are walking from class to class. At least half of them have their eyes glued to their phones, and I’m probably being generous. </p>
<p>Don’t some phone companies have a month period in which you can try it, though? So if you’re considering it, could you go that option? But I guess that’s for people newly contracting.</p>
<p>It’s really convenient having e-mails pushed to your phone and checking it on the go, especially if your professors send out frequent reminders and such.</p>
<p>I think I would make very good use of a blackberry given that I run two student organizations and I get zillions of emails throughout the day, it would be nice to deal with them as they come rather than all at once when I sit down at my computer. But otherwise I don’t think they’re necessary or all that helpful. They’re cool and all and I’ve heard of some people that feel it motivates them to be more organized, but I don’t know if I buy it.</p>
<p>I like my smartphone. The only issue is that I can’t really access my student email accound very well because of the way it’s laid out. However, it does let me check my regular email, which is nice, it can play music for on the way to class, and when you’re bored or waiting for your next class, there’s always a game or something to play, or you can check Facebook.</p>
<p>Android 4 lyf</p>
<p>I really like my smartphone. I have a rather large laptop, so I don’t carry it around. The phone allows me to check email between classes (which is really nice for my job because if a shoot comes up, my boss sends out an email and the first responder gets it). It’s also nice to have something to do in between classes if you have a half hour to kill or whatever. </p>
<p>The big draw back, with mine at least, is the battery life. It sucks.</p>
<p>I’d say it’s all about personal preference. I don’t have one and don’t think I’d use it if I did. And I consider myself to be very well organised. I get annoyed when I’m on my laptop and every minute an e-mail message pops up so I think I’d go insane if I was subject to that in class or while I was on my bike or whatever getting all of these alerts (In college you literally get an e-mail at the very least every 15 minutes or so). Of course, I’m in the minority. Most students at college are addicted to their smartphones and don’t let it out of their sights for more than 5 seconds.</p>
<p>Personally, I would never get a smartphone (unless work was paying for it), since I know I’d be distracted 24/7 by it.</p>
<p>I have no use for a data plan, but I fully use my unlimited texts, considering I sent/received some 2000 last month (my mom laughed when she saw the bill, as she was glad we’ve got unlimited).</p>
<p>Internet access anywhere. Organizational apps. Games. Social apps. Videos. Music. Do I really need to say more? Smartphones are freaking amazing!</p>
<p>
+1.</p>
<p>Also, I can put reminders in my calendar that will pop up a pre-specified amount of time before, write to-do and grocery lists, check the weather, get GPS directions, take legible pictures when things unexpectedly happen and I don’t have my regular camera, look up movie times across town & buy tickets, check a campus map, translate a sign or whatever, Google a fact/statement/question, AND keep in contact with other people via texts.</p>
<p>I know all of those things can be accomplished with other devices, but it’s nice to have it all in one place that you’re going to have with you anyways.</p>
<p>It’s very personal. Some people find it very useful, some people don’t.</p>
<p>I’m part of the latter and personally just jot all my dates down on pieces of notebook paper, which are then sorted by date, labeled, but not organized. That way, everything is in one place, it’s hard to “lose”, and cannot run out of battery.</p>
<p>Yet, there are others who would just forget to bring a pen or have a hard time remembering to look at the paper.</p>
<p>Find out what works for you.</p>
<p>is there a general consensus as to which main smartphone type (iphone, blacberry, or android) is the most popular/best? what do you notice that other people have and/or what do you have and you opinion?</p>
<p>^ No. There is no general consensus lol. </p>
<p>I have a droid. Personally, I hate blackberries for a variety of reasons. iPhones are much too expensive for me. </p>
<p>Try out different ones and see which ones work for you :).</p>
<p>I’m trying to decide if I should get a droid or a blackberry…which one do you think is better? I can’t decide. I like how bb’s have bbm-ing.</p>
<p>Android is the future.</p>
<p>As someone who’s had both Blackberry and iPhones, I’d say iPhones and Android are equal and are up to personal preference, whereas BB’s are now stuck in the past (see: Blackberry Torch). One internal messaging system does not a smartphone make.</p>
<p>When it comes to iPhone vs. Android, there’s a lot to look at/decide upon:
-Carrier offerings?
AT&T has few Android phones, fewer still even worth looking at-- the Samsung Captivate is really the only AT&T Android phone I’d use, and you can’t sideload apps on that network (hence, why I have an iPhone, since the Captivate just came out and my family has an AT&T plan). Sprint lucked out with the Evo, and Verizon offers a lot of choices. T-Mobile is eh, although they do have the Samsung Vibrant, which is just the Galaxy S modified for TM. And obviously, the iPhone is still locked into AT&T for now.
-Desired screen size?
Some Android phones are 4, even 5" (looking at you, Dell Streak) diagonally. This may be great for things like watching movies/videos, or just for plain ol’ usable space, but at the same time, many of the larger ones can’t fit in a lot of pockets, and may possibly be uncomfortable in your hand. Compartively, the iPhone’s screen is about 3.5".
-Open source v. closed source?
More innovation v. less bugs & viruses.
-Specs?
If you’re a tech person such as myself, you’ll probably already know a lot about this; otherwise, you probably won’t notice the difference between stuff like 1 GHz processors or 2.1 versus 2.2.</p>
<p>Sorry for the novel :P</p>