Advantages of BlackBerry: Why BlackBerry?

Other handheld devices have email, but what makes BlackBerry stand out?

(Note, this list below applies to full BlackBerry's, not the 7100 series)

1) Longer battery life: Blackberry consistently lasts longer than other handhelds like PalmOS.

2) Rugged Construction: Blackberry handhelds survives drops much better than other handhelds such as Treo's or iPaq's.  For further protection - There are many manufacturer's of rugged sleeves dedicated to different environments and usage.

3) Data Loss Prevention: All emails and folders are saved on backend servers if full synchronization is turned on.  So if the device is lost, stolen, or faulty all of the data can be sent to a new device.

4) Security: All connections are encrypted and applications need to be digitally signed before they can access critical features interesting to virus authors. Blackberry come with the capability for remote-controlled "flush and lock" to delete your data if your Blackberry is ever stolen. Blackberry also requires cryptographic signing by RIM before the application can do any damage to the operating system or databases, which makes it much more impossible to write a virus for the BlackBerry than for Palm/PocketPC.

5) Email Software: The email on the Blackberry is superior to the other wireless push email services, even the recently available Treo push email software.  Other mobile device manufacturer's are now incorporating licensed RIM push technology.

6) Stability: Uptimes well over 60 days are getting common on BlackBerry, which is not nearly as common for Palm and iPaq handhelds.

7) Always On, No Connecting Needed: The BlackBerry is like a wireless Cable/DSL connection. It's always there - no connecting needed. 

8) No power button needed:  Unlike on Palm/iPaq handhelds, the Blackberry uses so little power, you just put it down -- no need for a power button at all. You can electronically turn off via menus, for those times like airplanes, etc.

9) Mission Critical : Using a touch screen is lots of fun! But, some people argue that a touch screen is a disadvantage when it comes to a mission critical pocket device. It takes more steps to correct mistakes caused by accident caused by a stylus tap, than caused by an accidental button press.