Ellen Barone

Once upon a time my basic needs were simple: food, water, travel… Now, I can’t live without my Verizon BlackBerry? What the heck happened?

24/7 wireless e-mail connectivity, worldwide voice and data coverage, GPS navigation − THAT’S what happened.  They don’t call it CrackBerry for nothing.

I used to snicker at the corporate drones tethered by their techy-umbilical cords to bosses and work, while I, the foot-loose freelancer, jetted off to some remote destination with a flippant “catch-you-when-I-get-back” e-mail auto-response and phone message.

That was pre-BlackBerry. Today, you’ll find me right there with the corporate schmucks, checking e-mail and thumbing back responses before the plane has even pulled up to the jetway. I hardly recognize myself.

But just when I’m ready to go cold turkey, I’ll need to Google a hotel phone number, e-mail the airport shuttle with delayed flight details, find my way to an important meeting with audible turn-by-turn directions, or score a dream assignment from the beach in Rio just because I was able to dash off a quick “I’ll do it!” on the BlackBerry, and I’m hooked all over again.

Sound familiar? To keep the scales tipped to technical god-send rather than compulsive addiction, follow these simple Rules to Blackberry By at Forbes.com.

The other day my house cleaner panicked when her cell phone accidentally fell off her belt clip and into the Cloroxed bubbling abyss of our toilet. Another friend returned from Key West with a ruined, salt-encrusted mobile after he put it in the drink sea kayaking. Then, I drenched mine in coffee.

Too bad we didn’t have Verizon’s submersible, travel-tough G’zOne cell phone. Drop it, scratch it, shake it, bake it, the indomitable 5.3-ounce phone can handle just about anything you throw its way. Tougher than you are, the military-tested mobile is built to withstand exposure to temperatures in excess of 140ºF, extreme vibration, solar radiation, conditions set to simulate storm conditions of two inches of rainfall per hour with high winds and submersion in one meter of water.

You don’t need a 007-lifestyle, however, to want this phone. Thanks to industrial-grade seals and enhanced shock resistance with the G’zOne you can snap underwater pictures, talk in the shower and run over it with your shopping cart and we’ll still be able to hear you now.

To learn more, click HERE. 

• Push to Talk Capable with other Verizon Wireless Push to Talk Capable Phones
• Polyphonic ringer and sound capability
• Speakerphone
• Voice Activated Dialing

• Bluetooth® Capable for the following profiles: Headset (HSP), Hands–free (HFP), Serial Port (SPP) and Dial–Up Networking (DUN); it does not support Bluetooth Object Transfer OBEX Profiles
• Dual Mode (800/1900 MHz CDMA) 1XRTT
• Dimensions: 3.8” (H) x 2.0” (W) x 1.1” (D)
• 8 Lines of Text
• Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Main Display: 1.8” 65K Color TFT (176 x 220)
• Sub Display: 1.3” Black & White STN (96 x 96)
• Hearing Aid Compatibility = M4
• TTY Compatible
• SAR: Head –1.07 / Body –0.413
• Battery: 1050 mAh Li–Ion
• Usage Time: Up to 203 Minutes OR
• Standby Time: Up to 170 Hours
• Handset Insurance is Available