Should a hipster get a Blackberry for Christmas?

MANILA, Philippines - You’re at a well-lit event and so is your bruised Nokia phone, equally well-lit and visible amid strangers you deny wanting to make either a good or bad impression upon. And so you go home that night, transiently considering the possibility of a phone upgrade anyway because being outdated suddenly stopped feeling cool. Add that to the fact that your nightly non-Blackberry vibes have alienated you more than a hipster could handle: no BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) and an eclipse-like presence on both Facebook or Twitter. But more importantly, it’s also managed to make you weigh in on what a more functional phone might mean in the long run.

So despite the hype, here are six reasons why crossing over to Blackberry land might be useful for hipsters and non-hipsters alike:

1. Why not balance your disheveled look with something entirely new? The latest BlackBerry Curve 9360 is part brushed metal, part black plastic, making it a sleek-looking handset. And at 109 x 60mm, it’s a thinner, better size.

2. The BlackBerry Curve 9360 runs the new BlackBerry OS 7, making things a whole lot faster than its predecessor. Searching anything from months-old chat messages to The Smiths lyrics online is possible right from the home screen as well.

3. BBM. A BlackBerry-exclusive instant messenger known for its uptime and reliability, this app alone can replace SMS, thereby cutting your expenses in half — twice. The BBM bubble chat interface also allows you to send and receive messages with unlimited length and share photos and music files. This makes it easier for hipsters to organize Mayer Hawthorne appreciation nights and other elitist happenings.

4. If your phone isn’t Wi-Fi-ready, then this might be the time to consider a BB. Imagine all the ukay-ukay finds you can now purchase once you stop shelling out money on Internet cafés to check the web.

5. The phone’s back houses a 5MP camera lens on one side with an LED light at the other end. Previous Curve models didn’t have a flash, so this is a clear upgrade. Just make sure you tick the “Image Stabilization” box unless you want that hipster lo-fi feel. Of course, you can always turn the flash off if you, I don’t know, feel like taking against-the-light photos.

6. Sharing said against-the-light photo of your fat cat on Facebook or Twitter via Twitpic is now possible anywhere devoid of Wi-Fi. Other things you can set up here include your email, Google Talk, and Yahoo! Messenger. You’ll get notifications just like you get text messages. Don’t be surprised if you suddenly end up feeling one with the MMDA or intensely updated with the trends “before people know them.” At the very least, you’ve upgraded your hipster game as well.