Like a lot of people these days, I do a lot of work away
from my office. For this reason, a smart phone is my most important tool and I tend to upgrade to a new phone when
my contract allows for a hardware upgrade.
This means that I have a string of old phones that, while they still
work, no one else wants (they would need a new battery which would often
be more expensive than getting a new phone).
Several years ago, wifi started to become standard on smart
phones and this opens up new opportunities for reusing your old
smartphone. A few weeks ago, I replaced
my Blackberry Bold 9700 with a Bold 9900 and decided to see how much I could
still do with a Blackberry that does not have any cell service. This is what I found;
What works
- Blackberry desktop works fine, so synching contacts, calendars, music, pictures, etc all work
- Blackberry App world, I was surprised by this, but if you get a blackberry ID for your SIMless blackberry, you can buy and download apps to your heart’s content.
- Web Browsing, this includes using webmail
- All the games and apps
- GPS still works, but many of the capabilities of GPS applications on smartphones are dependent on downloading maps, so they are not much use while you are out and about.
- GPS applications that do not require maps or address info work just fine. So you could use the gps for position location, speed and direction, geocaching, tracking your route etc.
What does not works
- Blackberry internet service (BIS) and Blackberry enterprise services (BES). These provide the push email services that most of us are accustomed to. As such the blackberry mail app is of no use.
- Blackberry Messenger, Blackberry Yahoo, Googletalk, Windows live and AOL clients
- Cell phone service (of course) but this means no SMS messaging as well.
- Blackberry Protect, if you have a blackberry then you should sign yourself up to blackberry protect, it's free and it will allow you to locate your blackberry if lost or stolen and to erase all your data remotely
Alternative to the Apps that do not work
Mail You
2 choices for email, you can use your browser and webmail or you can use a
standalone app called logic mail.
IM There are plenty of options here,
one of my favorites is IMO.IM which is a multi platform Instant messenger
Phone A great alternative to the cell phone plan
is Dell Voice (in Canada). With Dell
Voice you get a free local phone number including voice mail. This means you can both make and receive calls
as long as you have wifi access.
So with a blackberry that has Wifi but no cell phone service you can still use it as a fully functional smart phone: Voice, Email, IM, Games, Calendar etc. with the restriction that you need the wifi.
How am I reusing my bold 9700?
If you read my previous blogs, you
will know that we have a Logitec squeezebox network throughout the house and
this system can be easily and completely controlled from the blackberry. Until now, I have been using my active cell
phone in a stand beside my bed. My SIMless
bold 9700 now has a permanent spot on my bedside table. It is a great alarm clock and with wifi
access, I can control the squeezebox network or check the weather or any of the features listed below
Other uses for SIMLess smart phone
Home automation control – home automation systems provide
browser access so you could easily control any Smart home appliances.
Home intercom system – Apps like Zello and TalkBox provide
free Push to talk capabilities
Book Reader – Kindle, Kobo and Overdrive all work fine
Weather display or photo display
Before you toss that SIMless smart phone away consider how
you can reuse it around the house.
