I'm a working yet hands-on mom. I help out in the family business, write for several publications, and blog plus I tutor my kids and manage the household.

I've been test driving the BlackBerry Curve 8520 since last December 2009. My previous cellphones were all from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung so I really didn't quite know what to expect.

I immediately took a liking to its wide yet slim frame. It's a phone you can hold comfortably in your hand. and since it's widescreen, you can surf the internet and read your emails without having to put up with screwed up aspect ratios. It even had interesting pre-loaded games which totally blew away every other phone's pre-loaded games. Being an avid gamer, one of the things I check out when I get my hands on a new phone is the games. They're really handy when you're standing in line somewhere or waiting for something/someone. Games included are Brickbreaker, Word Mole, Texas Hold'Em King 2, Sudoku, and Klondike.

I love BlackBerry's Push Delivery Technology. I receive my emails as if they were text messages. I can do everything from monitor responses to my blog, reply to urgent business and personal emails ASAP... I can even send email entries to contests on the fly, hehe! Sure, it takes away the suspense of actually checking your email but it's really useful when time is of the essence.

BlackBerry also has its own apps for Yahoo Messenger, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I got such a kick out of chatting with friends and family while waiting for my turn at City Hall, the dentist, or wherever. My mom and I could chat via YM anytime anywhere as if we were just texting each other -- she's based in the United States while I'm in the Philippines. It's so cool to have online access when you're on the road. I'd plurk and tweet while stuck in traffic (I don't recommend doing this while driving!), reply to real estate inquiries while waiting at my kids' schools' gates, download contracts from my email for review... it's like having a mobile office, and I now understand why a lot of business people go for Blackberry.

BlackBerry Curve 8520 is especially nice when you get it with Smart's Unlimited Prepaid Blackberry Plans. For a P300/week, you get unlimited push email, unlimited messaging, unlimited social networking (Facebook and Flickr), and unlimited internet browsing. The unit itself is reasonably priced too -- P14,995 from Smart Prepaid. Quite frankly it makes me want to throw away my current cellphone and get one.

Warning: The BlackBerry Curve 8520 + Unlimited Smart Blackberry Plan is addictive. You may be glued to your cellphone 24/7 from hereon.

20100118 - Update: Blackberry 8520 Unboxing Pics!