This is what I did tonight –

I synced my SE P1i’s original Outlook contacts to Outlook (work contacts) then categorised them as “SE P1i”. I then synced those contacts to my BB Bold 9000 and re-categorised the original device contacts as “Device Contacts”. Now, my BB Bold 9000 address book/contacts have “SE P1i” and “Device Contacts” as filters. I made the “Device Contacts” as the default contacts list.

I always carry both mobile phones even when I move around within the office, going for meetings and discussions, just in case I need to make any call to those people in my SE P1i address book. I do not have most of those contacts in my SE P1i in my BB Bold 9000 as the SE P1i is the official “work phone” and the BB Bold 9000 is my personal phone. I had contemplated having a separate contacts folder in my BB Bold 9000 for those work contacts. Not sure why exactly but I am sure I had my own reasons! This solves the part where I have ALL contacts in one reliable mobile phone (not that my SE P1i is not reliable, NO!), but, since my BB Bold 9000 number is a private number, I cannot send text messages to those work contacts! How I wish CLIR (as in Caller ID Restriction) can be set to apply for text messages as well instead of just calls. The next best solution I can think of is setting up a secondary e-mail address in my BB Bold 9000, one that can be used by others to reach me on my BB Bold 9000 (I have existing @blackberry e-mail address but the same as my mobile number for my BB Bold 9000, the e-mail address is private!). Nevertheless, not everyone have a BlackBerry and not everyone have constant access to their e-mails. Also, in the event text messages is the applicable mode of communication at that particular moment, none of the above will serve any purpose! At that moment (as most moment), I wish everyone has a Blackberry!

I do not have to carry my SE P1i all the time now that I have all the necessary contacts in one mobile phone but that is not entirely correct… I really hope more people begin to realise what being “connected” is like. It should not be a hassle, it should be a convenience. It is all about balance, it is all about balance (and of course if your BlackBerry is not company issued BlackBerry, never agree to connect it to your office e-mail). I disagreed to having my BB Bold 9000 connected to the office e-mail. I will access my e-mails only when I am sitting in front of my beloved laptop! Like I said, it is all about balance!