BLACKBERRY vs OTHER SMARTPHONES

Most smartphones, such as Apple's iPhone, any of the Windows Mobile (or Windows Phone as it is also now known) or Android-based devices and the Symbian-based handsets by Nokia and Sony Ericsson, can operate as standalone devices. There is no reason why they should not be able to access your email, surf the web and allow social networking or instant messaging.

But the configuration lives on the device and the phone is doing all of the work, usually checking your email server at per-defined intervals to see if any new mail has arrived.

The BlackBerry differs from this model in that it does not operate solo. Each handset is associated with a server-side BlackBerry service that handles the process of pushing email to the device, rather than relying on the device to pull email from the server.

Pushing data to the device ensures battery use is minimised, as is data connectivity. It also means new email arrives on your handset almost as soon as it reaches your mailbox, not just when the device decides to look for it.

The BlackBerry service will be hosted and provided by either your mobile operator or your employer if you're using the device for corporate reasons.

There are benefits to this approach. If you lose your BlackBerry, it can be disconnected from your corresponding BlackBerry service, preventing further access to your data. It also means, if you replace or upgrade a handset, your data and settings can be pushed back out to the new device, saving you hours of configuration time.

To be frank, BlackBerrys of old were not the most aesthetically pleasing of devices. But that has changed. Modern BlackBerry handsets blend style and sophistication when it comes to features, offering users devices that are both pleasing to look at as well as use.

In essence, the BlackBerry offers a number of compelling reasons why it should be your device of choice either as a business user or consumer.