Classroom and Lab Computing

Blackberry and AT&T GSM/GPRS Network Review

March 2003 - October 2005.  Chris Sacksteder, cjs<removethis>@psu.edu

Contents

• Summary
• Background and Purpose
• Things Done — chronological list of things tried and observations
• Initial Impressions
• Email — how it works, how well, etc.
• Wish List — features that might be nice to have
• Problems

Summary

This is a review and various notes on using a Blackberry 6710 wireless handheld device as part of an ITS Emerging Technology project to look at handheld devices.  Note that I have not used a PDA prior to this review, so I cannot compare those functions with what other PDA's offer.   I do use an aging Nokia 6162, mostly for SMS messages sent by server monitoring systems.

Update April 2004: Software updated applied in January seem to have eliminated the occasional crashing when receiving or making a phone call.  After a year of daily use, I find the biggest limitations are that it must be docked to synchronize the notes, contacts, and calendar, and that the desktop redirector sends my mail to it before my spam filter can remove spam, so the phone is getting all the spam mail that I don't have to see in Outlook.  If we had the enterprise messaging software on our mail server, as well as a spam filter, that may not be a problem.

A quick summary of my opinions currently would be:

Positive

• nice form factor; easy to hold and use;
• fairly good user interface;
• good integration with Outlook and Exchange when connected to desktop (email, calendar, contacts, tasks, memos);
• sophisticated cell phone, particularly with synchronized contact list.

Negative

• GSM service in State College area is too spotty for dependable use; this has gotten a little better over time, but I cannot depend on it for reliable phone service;
• several bugs; device has crashed for me several times (prior to software upgrade April, 2004);
• application development seemingly impossible or very difficult;
• web browser too limited (WML and some limited HTML);
• have to dock to sync notes, contacts, calendar.

Handheld devices are a very competitive and rapidly changing field.  A number of alternatives available now and in the near future should be considered; see our evolving notes on Pocket PCs.

Links

• Press Release for 6710/6720
• Specifications
• RIM Road — applications, news, other info
• http://www.attwireless.com/business/solutions/midtolarge/blackberry.jhtml
• http://www.blackberry.net/support/downloads/aws/index.shtml
• WML Tutorial
• Smartphone Developer Kit FAQ — has some interesting things about the Smartphone
• (Almost) Perfect Devices — short review of other handhelds (Windows and .NET Magazine, May 2003, p.25-26.

Background and Purpose

Several possible uses for a handheld, network accessible device for CLC staff include:

• General cell phone use -- many CLC staff are required to have cell phones for daily work or emergency access; some also receive service problem alerts via SMS.
• The "Hotline" is a single cell number staffed by various people 7 days a week (2 shifts on week days, 1 on weekends).  Calls are to be logged into a problem database, which can be difficult when a computer is not nearby.
• Staff on trouble calls currently do not access or update the central inventory database with hardware status information while on site; a handheld device with web access might be useful for this.

Another, more uncertain, use for a small device might be by students in classrooms.  For example, perhaps instructions could use them to get instant feedback from students (e.g., "Do you understand that topic?  Please press ...").  See Programming Handheld Devices to Enhance Learning (Educause Quarterly, Number 1, 2003).

Buzzwords

GSM -- Global System for Mobile Communications - cell phone protocol used in Europe for a long time; AT&T is migrating to this.

GPRS -- General Packet Radio Services - protocol for data transmission over GSM