Blackberries

[Boxlicker101]

This may sound like a dumb question. Outside of being fruit, what are blackberries? I know they are mobile telephones, but what other capabilities do they have? Specifically, could a person go to a place that does NOT have a connection to the internet and go online with one of them. In a place such as Starbucks, I have sometimes taken my laptop and accessed this site, but I would not be able to do so from most private homes. Would I be able to do so from an unfurnished and unoccupied home using a Blackberry?

 

[3113]

This may sound like a dumb question. Outside of being fruit, what are blackberries? I know they are mobile telephones, but what other capabilities do they have? Specifically, could a person go to a place that does NOT have a connection to the internet and go online with one of them. In a place such as Starbucks, I have sometimes taken my laptop and accessed this site, but I would not be able to do so from most private homes. Would I be able to do so from an unfurnished and unoccupied home using a Blackberry?

There are different types of Blackberries, but most of them are now smartphones, meaning you've got a mini-computer in your hands, not just a mobile phone. I believe that most carriers have a way of giving smartphone users an internet connection without wi-fi (it is the carrier as much as the phone that will allow you to do this as that connection relies on their towers), but these tend to be incredibly slow and unreliable compared to a wi-fi connection.

 

[Tyro999]

You can start your education on smartphones and wireless networks here, Box:

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/index.html
http://sprint.com/index_p.html

A google on various combinations of cell phones, smart cell phones, wireless cell phone networks, etc., should turn up more possibilities, but Verizon and Sprint are two of the major network players, so they're a good start.

Tyro
[A cellphone luddite - I wouldn't have one if you paid me to.]

 

[Weird Harold]

This may sound like a dumb question. Outside of being fruit, what are blackberries? I know they are mobile telephones, but what other capabilities do they have? Specifically, could a person go to a place that does NOT have a connection to the internet and go online with one of them. In a place such as Starbucks, I have sometimes taken my laptop and accessed this site, but I would not be able to do so from most private homes. Would I be able to do so from an unfurnished and unoccupied home using a Blackberry?

Blackberry is a brand name for a line of PDA and Smartphones. My daughter's model is a combined PDA/Smartphone that has cellular internet and phone service via Verizon, and is capable of WiFi if there is a hotspot available. It is a bit larger than the granddaughters' Smartphones but not as large as an iPad, Kindle, or similar tablet sized devices.

Her Phone has the new Windows Mobile which includes PDA versions of Outlook and Micrsoft Office. It is also capable of mobile live TV, but she does not subscribe to that service.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

To answer your question, yes you can use it as a broadband modem if quipped to do so.

I used a Blackberry 8330 at work and when I needed an internet connection I plugged a USB cable into my laptop and connected the phone to the other end and using software on the laptop (you have to have it installed before you use the phone as a modem) was hooked up to the net...to the laptop it just looked like a high speed internet connection.

So if there is not WiFi connection your laptop can see it's away out. Some Blackberry's now are actual WiFi hot spots so no cables are necessary. That way you can use the phone as a phone and a WiFi hot spot at the same time.