Ampersand switched to gmail (well, google apps) last year and hasn’t looked back. This means that I can get at all my mail, calendar, contacts, etc. from any browser anywhere. But in order to work effectively during the summer abroad I needed to monitor and respond to short term emails from anywhere — a train, a restaurant, in between museums, or while Marilyn is driving across Europe.
I use (and love) the google G1 phone on Tmobile in the US. Unfortunately, no US carriers will not give you an unlimited global email plan on gphones or iphones. But they will do it for blackberrys. Luckily Tmobile has such a plan, and they let you change from the Gphone data plan to the blackberry plan (which is the same price), for no fee, and then change back. The global email plan is a bolt-on on top of the blackberry data plan, and costs an additional $19.95 a month. So, for a total data plan cost of $44.95 I was able to get unlimited email anywhere on the planet. Blackberrys integrate to gmail / google apps really well, just follow the wizard on the blackberry, enter your gmail username and password, and everything is set up for you. It’s full push email, and is very efficient with battery usage, etc. The only thing to beware of, is that the Tmobile global email plan only covers email usage, not any other sort of data connection (which costs up to $15 per MB). So, no web browser, no twitter apps, etc., I used the blackberry as an email only device.
Now I didn’t have a GSM blackberry, and I wanted one with a camera, so I picked up a brand new Blackberry Curve 8900 off of craigslist. A bit pricey at $300, but it’s a great tool for global travel and I can probably resell it for close to what I paid for it. It was an adjustment moving back to a blackberry, but I carried one for years so it didn’t take long. One thing I will say is battery life is great on the 8900. 2-3 days with regular email and phone use — far better than my G1 or my trial with the iPhone 3g.
To sum up, this decision worked perfectly, and was the saving grace of work communications. There were times when hotel email was spotty, or we were out for the day. But I always had my full email access right with me. And being able to shoot pics and send them to a blog or to friends was a great plus. The TMobile bills were as promised, no bandwidth or data roaming charges. Perfect.
p.s. I have switched back to the G1 now that we’re home. It’s a quick call to Tmobile support and they cheerfully changed the plan back. I haven’t decided whether to sell the 8900 or hang onto to it for the next trip abroad.
Technorati Tags: Europe travel tech, Blackberry 8900, Tmobile blackberry plan