How does the telephone work?
I wasn't able to have my students try out the phone at school, so I put it through those paces myself. I was actually quite impressed with it. The phone comes with a cable to connect it to the telephone wall jack, and a combination earpiece/microphone cable.

I found the sound quality to be quite clear, although I did hear substantial static if I wiggled the earpiece cable at its base. The earpiece was very comfortable to wear, and the people to whom I was speaking didn't notice any difference in the quality of the sound as compared to my usual telephone. Figure B shows the Berry's phone, detached from the rest of the unit, with the earpiece cable.

FIGURE B

The Berry's phone is small but functional. Click picture for a larger image.

What the students liked
My older students focused on the convenience of the Berry. They were pleased that a phone was part of the unit, and that they could take the two pieces apart and use the Calendar or Address Book while making phone calls. The Calculator was particularly attractive to these students, as they would no longer have to remember to bring their calculators home from school.

The younger students were all about the Berry being new and different. I guess they take after their teacher in that way! They liked the fact that the Berry was light and small enough to be portable, and were additionally interested in the telephone.

What the students didn't like
Almost universally, the students were disappointed the Berry's display wasn't in color. Many were also upset the buttons didn't make any sound when they were pressed.

There are no games in the Berry, and this again was a disappointment to my students. They've seen me use my Zire to play games and were very hopeful the Berry would give them this functionality.

The students also felt they shouldn't have to read the instructions before using the Berry. I didn't require them to, and as a result, only one student actually did. One said, "Kids shouldn't have to read instructions!" While I'm not completely in agreement with this point, I do think the instructions would've been more respected had they been written in a "kid-friendly" style. After all, this is a device targeted toward kids.

Of great concern to me was the student who said, "I can't even use the calculator. I'm too dumb, I think." I was quick to inform her this wasn't the case, but it's still not the kind of reaction a child-focused product should evoke in a child.

Would they buy one?
My students had some pretty substantial complaints about the Berry's lack of color and lack of games. Given this, I was quite surprised by how many of my students wanted to buy a Berry (or take my demo unit away from me). Six of the ten older students that worked with the Berry wanted one, and ten of my fourteen younger students did.

The $19.99 price is very attractive. My students were doubtful about their desire to purchase a Berry until I told them what the Berry would cost; they were then very interested. Several of them actually asked for the Web site information to show their parents.