Here in Jamaica, and I've read, many other less-developed nations, Blackberry phones are the most popular. By far. Overwhelmingly, this is due to BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM. It's almost like a small social network in and of itself. A friend of mine runs a phone sale / repair business via BBM. Every morning, he broadcasts items for sale and daily specials. Deliveries and payments are also co-ordinated via BBM. Party promoters also put their BBM PIN and QR Code on fliers, and keep you updated via BBM. My bank is on BBM...
Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) is also affordable. My BIS plan costs ~17USD, which gives me email access, unlimited data, and BBM. Normal data plans for use with an iPhone / Android phone would cost approximately double that, and most are metered.
I use my Bold 2 (9700) with Google Apps for my personal / business email. Works great. Email, Contacts, and Calendar entries sync seamlessly out of the box. Email is instantaneous. From here in Jamaica, over my home WiFi, if I send an email from Gmail's web interface, in literally 2 seconds it shows up on my phone as a Sent Message. I can also 'star' messages, archive them, label them and it supports Gmail conversation view. The browser in OS v6 is ok...I haven't experienced much other mobile browsers. ihackernews.com is a lifesaver, and my home page....
I don't have access to all the apps in the iOS ecosystem, but I'm actually quite satisfied. And I love the keyboard. When data plans get cheaper, though, I might switch to an Android phone running CyanogenMod.
FWIW, my PIN is 21C714C2. Always happy to chat with a fellow HNer.
Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) is also affordable. My BIS plan costs ~17USD, which gives me email access, unlimited data, and BBM. Normal data plans for use with an iPhone / Android phone would cost approximately double that, and most are metered.
I use my Bold 2 (9700) with Google Apps for my personal / business email. Works great. Email, Contacts, and Calendar entries sync seamlessly out of the box. Email is instantaneous. From here in Jamaica, over my home WiFi, if I send an email from Gmail's web interface, in literally 2 seconds it shows up on my phone as a Sent Message. I can also 'star' messages, archive them, label them and it supports Gmail conversation view. The browser in OS v6 is ok...I haven't experienced much other mobile browsers. ihackernews.com is a lifesaver, and my home page....
I don't have access to all the apps in the iOS ecosystem, but I'm actually quite satisfied. And I love the keyboard. When data plans get cheaper, though, I might switch to an Android phone running CyanogenMod.
FWIW, my PIN is 21C714C2. Always happy to chat with a fellow HNer.