This is a compensated review by BlogHer and BlackBerry.
The contest has now ended. Thank you so much to all who entered. Winners will be notified by a BlogHer employee via email.
THANK YOU!
This is a compensated post. I was given a BlackBerry Style (with free service for 2 months) and paid for my time to test the phone and write a review.
I really like my job. Everyday I pinch myself that I get to stay home with my children and earn money (in my pajamas!) by writing about things I want to write about.
It's pretty sweet. I'd highly recommend it.
Because I do my work on the internet, I try to stay away from it when I'm not at home. I haven't purchased a Smart Phone, and truly enjoy the time I have outside of the house--- when I'm not plugged in.
I don't want to be reminded that I have 158 unread email when I'm at the park, or at gymnastics, or on a run, or while folding laundry during a Real Housewives of NY marathon.
But *everyone* has a Smart Phone these days, and I can't lie: I sort of wanted to give the whole thing a try.
Because of this, I quickly agreed to test out the new BlackBerry Style when BlogHer asked if I was interested. When the box came, I unpacked it and plugged it in to charge up high, away from the baby.
When the light alerted me the phone was fully charged, I began pushing buttons to try and figure out my new number and place a call. Now this is where I need to come clean: I HATE READING INSTRUCTION MANUALS.hate hate hate hate hate instruction manuals.
This is why I like my crockpot(s) so much. I plug them in, push a button or two, then walk away. I don't want to download a manual, or watch a DVD or YouTube video in order to figure something out. I get it that I'm pigheaded. I get it that manuals are written for a reason, not everything is as easy as a crockpot, etc etc etc. I get it.
But it's who I am, and Dr. Phil says that I should embrace who I am. so there you go. It took me a while to find the instruction manual, and when I did, it was straightforward and I figured all the features and bells and whistles out.
And there are a lot!I can make calls (and the calls don't drop! and I'm in the Bay Area and I'm constantly being hung up on by my friends who have that other phone). I can access all 4 of my email accounts. I can go on twitter, I can finally text people, and I can google things. super cool.
I do find the buttons a bit small for my liking, but maybe I have abnormally large fingers. I'm not sure.
I love the feel of the touchpad button for navigation. It works really well for moving from one application to another. The picture-taking feature works wonderfully. I've never been able to take photos from my phone before---this is great for sending pictures of the kids to Adam when he's at work. I always worry he's missing out on things.
As much as I liked all the bells and whistles, I'm just not sure I’m ready to be a SmartPhone girl. Maybe I was born in the wrong decade, I don't know. I hate seeing people walk the streets with their heads down because they're too busy playing with their phones. I don't want to be that person.
I'm scared that the need to "just check one thing" when out and about would get out of control. For right now, my job just isn't that important---if someone really needs to get ahold of me, they can by calling my (terribly outdated and archaic) cell.
BUT!
That doesn't mean that YOU aren’t ready for a SmartPhone! You might desperately need or want a new BlackBerry Style (it's very pretty).
good news! I've got 2 brand-new factory-sealed BlackBerry Styles on the Sprint Network to give away via a random draw.
Interested? You should be! HOW DO YOU WIN?
Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry
methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment
on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on
this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about
an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.
You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be
selected.
The Official Rules are available Here
For more information, please Visit the Official site
THERE ARE MORE CHANCES TO WIN! Visit the Exclusive Offers section
good luck!!!
