My work provided me with a BlackBerry a little over one year ago, and I've been very happy with my productivity and ability to communicate compared to other non-PDA phones.
However, with my new BlackBerry, I've run into a major problem design wise - which from what I understand has existed for quite some time, although my older BlackBerry never encountered this.
The problem I am referring to is the dreaded "Your battery is too low for radio use" message. Now, common sense dictates that if the battery is too low, then I will not be able to make/receive calls, surf the web etc...because my phone will shut off.
What the engineers at Research In Motion failed to do however, was explore the programming behind this issue, as it produces possible safety implications. After the message comes up and I am unable to use my phone, I am still unable to do so even after I have plugged the phone in to charge. So not only am I unable to use my phone, but I am unable to use my phone until the charge has reached a certain level. Lets say someone is stranded on the highway and they are calling for help, but their phone dies. They'll have to wait to call back until after the phone has charged. Common sense engineering would dictate that the phone would be able to receive a signal while charging, no matter what the battery level, unless the phone is drawing more power than the charger can supply, which in that case, a more powerful charger should have been designed.
Here's hoping that RIM updates some software to allow calls while charging, or at the very least, implements this feature in newer designs. I for one will not be purchasing a BlackBerry outside of my company provided one, and will look towards other PDA phones from HTC, Palm or other vendors if this simple issue still exists.
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