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Blog topics
Blackberry email vs Gmail client
I recently acquired my first Blackberry, and immediately set it up with my primary email account, hosted on Gmail. I found the Blackberry client easy to use, and insanely addictive. Within 15 minutes, I found myself with a Crackberry. I was obsessively checking my messages, and immediately doubled the amount of time I spent with my email.
The problem was that I have discussion and news lists on my main email account, and the Blackberry doesn't (that I know of) have a filtering function. Further, the generic Blackberry client doesn't preserve some of the unique Gmail features, such as "conversations", which created a good deal of cognitive dissonance.
I've worked hard to keep a measure of work-life balance, so I investigated other options. The Blackberry version of the Gmail client is quite good - it doesn't have some of the lesser known keyboard shortcuts (please may I use the standard shortcut to get to the next and previous item in the list?), but maintains many shortcuts.
The Gmail client could be moved to the main list of the Blackberry on the 7390c but not on the 8700 (I had to switch to the 8700 because there was no Mac support for the 7390). No matter - I put Gmail on the center convenience key. The biggest issue is that it doesn't refresh itself when it isn't used but I neglect to exit it, but it is so fast that that doesn't bother me.
And I only check it when I have a specific desire to check it, not out of fidgeting. I can look at my Blackberry screen without having to look at email. Work-life balance is restored, with the added bonus that I'm carrying my laptop less frequently.
So, for my purposes, the Gmail client is better.
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