A person I know was talking about wanting to buy a new phone as it was suggested that it would be better if she and her husband each had their own phone. She then threw out a comment on how she wanted a Blackberry Pearl as it looked nice and would be very convenient with all those features.
The husband immediately frowned upon that idea as he mentioned how she would have to enroll into a data plan which costs way more than just a regular phone plan and it’s not like she ran a business. In response, she then talked about how it was only a few dollars more per month and will make things such as text messaging friends a lot more convenient.
For those who don’t know, data phone plans in Canada are pretty horrendous in pricing compared to other countries. That conversation did make me wonder though as I have personally never seen a non business oriented person carry a blackberry type of device here when I think about it. Seems like an overkill to say simply text messaging friends doesn’t it?
Even for myself, I can’t imagine any real need for something like a Blackberry when it comes to personal use. I would have to kind of train myself to use it more such as being more care free when it comes to checking or sending e-mails when a computer is available. Although, I guess that is what cell phones have done to most of us too.
Now I’m just waiting for the day where people won’t even subscribe to a home Internet service as a data phone would be just as good similar to how some people are ditching their home phone lines. Till then though, these data phone plans are still pretty bad I’d say for people that would just use it occasionally and the savings from avoiding it is probably a better decision overall.