A BOLD Experience

Early last month (July), we were given a big project to work on for my usability class. We were to learn how to use a BlackBerry if we weren't familiar with it already, we were to gather both qualitative and quantative data from University students who own a BlackBerry to get a feel for how they use it in their everyday lives. This was an interesting project, especially for me who is an avid IPhone user. I was given the edge over the other students because I already experience with a type of smartphone and I adapt to new technology fairly quickly. At first, I was NOT open to using anything other than my IPhone but I kept an open mind. For example, when setting up my new BlackBerry Bold, I felt that the setup wizard was an ok but somewhat confusing source for help. I had the option of uploading my sim card contacts to the Bold but the wording made it seem like it would erase my contacts from my sim card once it was stored on phone. This made me a little hesitant as I did not want to lose 80 contacts. If I was NOT familiar with smart phones I think that this help would have been deemed useless. I experienced various emotional states when using my BlackBerry Bold. For example:

I experienced love and addiction when:

- I learned how to use my BBM feature
- It was always with me (in my purse or in my hand)
- I realized it was similar to my IPhone

I experienced frustration when:

- My trackball decided to stop working because it got a little dirt in it
- The side button kept asking me to "say a command" randomly in my purse
- When my BlackBerry was turned off, it would automatically turn on in my purse for whatever reason
- Setting up applicatons takes longer than on an Iphone
- The BlackBerry battery doesn't last as long as my Iphone

I experienced brilliance when :

- I Ignored the help and set up everything myself with trial and error
- I figured out how to use the majority of features in just once weekend
- I adapted to typing on the BlackBerry fairly quickly

After we had figured out how to use our BlackBerrys, it was time for us to go out and collect information from users who have been using it longer than us. We did a couple of paper iterations, than moved our survey to surveymonkey where we got about 29 people who responded (mainly because of time and the fact that we did this over the long weekend). The responses we got were very interesting. Most people said the same things as me, some people wanted better cameras (mainly girls), some people are more likely to recommmend the BlackBerry to colleagues than friends, some people are all about BBMing etc. To see some of the questions we asked, feel free to visit our survey on surveymonkey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3X79FC6">

The Iphone has various features that I like and do not like. For example:

I like:

- The variety applications
- ITunes
- User Friendliness
- The Ipod feature
- The threaded messaging
- The touch screen
- The Safari browser (and how you can open up more than one window)
- I can stream my favourite radio station from it and do my banking on it
- Facebook has a better application on the Iphone

I do not like:

- How it freezes sometimes and needs to be restarted
- It is very senstive if it is not locked (it will call random people)
- My 3G version does not have the BBM feature
- Should have a keypad in case people like to use both

Overall, I feel that I would not switch over to the BlackBerry side in the long run. I am more likely going to stick with my Iphone and perhaps upgrade to the Iphone4 which was just released.