opinions on getting a Blackberry

waway625

Im currently using a Nokia e72 and I prefer QWERTY phones over touch screen phones. My wife uses the Iphone4 so I use it often to browse the net before finally going to sleep..But thats pretty much it..I loathe SMSing using that phone

Anyway, I saw this Blackberry Bold 9900..Looks stunning and the display looks decent. Im thinking of buying one but Im worried about RIM's current situation. What if RIM goes bankrupt? How would it affect current Blackberry phone users? Will services like BBM cease?

Opinions are appreciated

EspHack · 07-07-2012, 05:43 | posts: 1,550

all i hear about it are complaints, a friend of mine got one and he says it doesnt last more than 3 hours on 3g mode on a full charge, he is always using ede witch is damn slow, the device itself is decent i think, its the only bb y would want to use it never lags or anything and the browser seems ok

UZ7 · 07-07-2012, 05:56 | posts: 5,020 | Location: Everyday Rain Florida

I've seen a lot of talks about the future of RIM but so far no one knows yet, I've had a playbook before and really liked the solid build/specs but software wise it was very lacking and got a little better when they supported android.

http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/technol...9320-1.1335765

Heres some info on the new Curve. As for mobile devices myself I already went onto the Android wagon and I'll be here for a while

.

jbmcmillan · 07-07-2012, 06:09 | posts: 821 | Location: Langley,B.C. Canada

I have a 9700 been using it for 2 years now.The phone for me size wise is perfect as I have it in a holster while I'm working and the newer Android and Iphones don't really lend themselves to that usage.The keyboard is excellent but I find the screen too small for any serious browsing.I don't like the default browser and I use Opera-mini which is ok not great.Battery life I get all day but that is mostly phone calls and not wifi.I got it on an upgrade for $0 but I wouldn't have if I had to pay more than 50 bucks with a contract.Ok phone but browsing meh and no games for me occasional youtube when waiting for someone.Blackberry App World is underwhelming.

waway625 · 07-07-2012, 08:48 | posts: 7,931 | Location: Singapore

I dont know much about Blackberry but I always admired how their phones looked. When I used a demo 9900 a few weeks back I really was impressed by the design and build quality. I heard the battery is crap though

What Im really worried is what would happen to BB services if RIM goes bankrupt. Will services like BBM be gone too?

adabiviak · 07-07-2012, 09:01 | posts: 568 | Location: California

I have one through work (turned down an iPhone to keep the Blackberry, actually). My only gripe is that there's no auto answer option for the Bluetooth headset. The battery life is good (playing music over Bluetooth while the phone is in analog and/or search mode and it will last all day). If I had to buy a phone for personal use though, I'd get something ever simpler though, just because I don't use phones for playing video, surfing the Internet, or much of anything outside of voice and text. The camera is handy at work, and the 'flashlight' (the video camera LED) is handy, but I don't need those in a phone. Bonus points for not requiring proprietary software to get music/pictures on and off of the unit too.

Glidefan · 07-07-2012, 12:12 | posts: 11,890 | Location: Solar System, Earth, Med, Cyprus

I have a 9300. It goes for 2 days on a single charge and as far as the device goes, i like it a lot. The messaging service works great, but you need to know people that have a blackberry and are using the messenger service.
As far as apps go, its certainly on the dry side, so if its apps you are looking for, try and find an android with a keyboard. I think there are some.

lucidus · 07-07-2012, 12:18 | posts: 3,161 | Location: UAE

My friend has a BB bold 9900 and it's fine .. he's happy with it.

At worst RIM will be bought out by a competitor and their services will remain but under another badge.

eclap · 07-07-2012, 14:00 | posts: 18,401 | Location: Hampshire UK

Only get one with a qwerty keyboard and only if you type a lot. Getting a touch screen BB would be a mistake, there's better touchscreens out there on both Android and ios. the keyboards on say Bolds are amazing, but it wasn't enough to keep me on BB. I prefer a big screen, with better apps etc...

dcx_badass · 07-07-2012, 15:42 | posts: 9,543 | Location: Leeds [UK]

Everyone I know who wanted a blackberry and got one, didn't get another.

For all of them it was their first and last Blackberry. All hated them when they got them, bad build quality, most of them broke, didn't run well, all jumped ship to IOS/Blackberry. After spending about half of their phone contracts moaning on facebook about how bad their Blackberrys are.

Li4m79 · 07-07-2012, 15:51 | posts: 4,691 | Location: Scotland

they always seem to be getting lost, and I know a lot of people who end up with keyboard issues, funnily always the J button......

waway625 · 07-07-2012, 15:52 | posts: 7,931 | Location: Singapore

^^ I dont "play" around with phones. On my e72 (though yes I guess the OVI store is the worst among all platforms) I only have Opara Mini, tethering software and the Singapore bus schedule app installed XD..Phone for me is for call/sms and browsing the net while im on the train/bus so Im not too particular about which platform has a wider choice of apps

But I do sms a lot..and I hate shortcut sms so when I type I type the full word..I hate typing on touchscreens (like my wife;s Iphone) thats why I have a QWERTY phone now (Nokia E72)..the Bold 9900 really caught my attention because of how "professional" it looks and how it felt really sturdy when holding it

yelsewshane · 07-07-2012, 21:54 | posts: 1,468

Wait a couple more months and get a windows 8 phone

Sticky Mick · 07-07-2012, 23:10 | posts: 4 | Location: England/UK

Hmmmm, Blackberry. They're definitely struggling at the moment, so is Nokia, TBH.

Blackberry have put their latest O/S BB10 on hold until next year (was the last I heard). Was looking promising too.
Nokia has pretty much been destroyed from within. The fire on the "burning platform" has now been extinguished. Simply because it's gradually, but noticeably going below the waves. QWERTY phones are getting like rocking horse poop, the last one Nokia produced was the E7. Haven't seen anymore from anyone else, and there hasn't been many Android QWERTYs (3 if I remember) Sony Ericsson did 2 and there was the Motorola Droid. I am, of course, talking proper QWERTY keyboards.
I'm currently using a Nokia N900, have been for 2 years now and can't find anything out there to match it.

Might be worth keeping an eye on Samsung over the coming months to see if they actually do produce a MeeGo (Tizen) handset. There's rumour that HTC are also considering a MeeGo based handset or buying out ailing WebOs.

Another option, if you really want a QWERTY keyboard and you're not bothered about the phone O/S or manufacturer, is to get a touch screen and then buy a Bluetooth keyboard case. They're definitely available for the iPhone.

deltatux · 07-10-2012, 16:10 | posts: 18,771 | Location: Toronto, Canada

QWERTY phones are a dying breed, to be honest I can't stand them, only touch screen for me.

You can take a look at the Samsung Galaxy Chat which is a QWERTY phone running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_gala...b5330-4866.php

deltatux

EspHack · 07-10-2012, 18:50 | posts: 1,550

well if you are still loving your E72 im sure you will like this http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3...&idPhone2=3545

and it got sms threaded view (:

sykozis · 07-10-2012, 22:53 | posts: 13,489 | Location: US East Coast

My first and last BB was a BB Pearl 8330.... Loved the phone, hated the software. My Transform Ultra is my first Android phone (due to having a hardware keyboard) and will be my last. Blackberry's are one of those cases where either the phone works great....or it's total garbage. Basically a "luck of the draw" type deal. If you can deal with a slideout QWERTY keyboard there are a few Android and WP7 based phones available....most (meaning not all) of the Android phones I've seen with hardware keyboards are "entry-level" though....

eclap · 07-11-2012, 02:09 | posts: 18,401 | Location: Hampshire UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by EspHack

well if you are still loving your E72 im sure you will like this http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3...&idPhone2=3545

and it got sms threaded view (:

thing is, those keyboards are crap. buttons are too far apart. BB keyboards are the best on the market by far. sooo easy to type. rest of their phones lacks big time. but hey, if he mainly wants to message then it's an option. still, learning to swype on android is almost as fast as using a BB keyboard. almost. plus you get the feel of real keys on BB so you don't really have to look at the phone while typing.

robert1990 · 07-11-2012, 02:32 | posts: 734 | Location: Sydney/Indonesia

I'm using Android phone atm (HTC Sensation), but considering to get a BB phone as well, because most of my friend (especially in Indonesia) using Blackberry phone. They prefer to communicate with each other using BBM (Blackberry Messenger) service rather than SMS, because they get data packet for BBM when they recharge their credit. This is the reason why BBM is popular in Indonesia.

TBH, I've tried using my friends Blackberry Bold 9900, the build quality is good, but the OS is just less intuitive than Android (at least for me). Navigating with the optical trackpad is quiet inconvenient. Beside, I've already used to big touch-screen based phone

IPlayNaked · 07-11-2012, 15:43 | posts: 6,559

I don't understand how anyone does the hardware keyboard thing. For gaming, sure. But for typing? I can type faster than you on a touch keyboard, no contest. You have to press a button, relatively hard, to get it to register. I can't for the life of me fathom how that is better than just tapping the screen furiously. Maybe you've just tried it on screens that are too small.

I have an S3, and before, an Evo3d. Obviously reasonably sized screens, and I have few problems with typos or speed. I don't use the default keyboard, I use smart keyboard, which works very well, however.

EspHack · 07-11-2012, 19:44 | posts: 1,550

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPlayNaked

I don't understand how anyone does the hardware keyboard thing. For gaming, sure. But for typing? I can type faster than you on a touch keyboard, no contest. You have to press a button, relatively hard, to get it to register. I can't for the life of me fathom how that is better than just tapping the screen furiously. Maybe you've just tried it on screens that are too small.

I have an S3, and before, an Evo3d. Obviously reasonably sized screens, and I have few problems with typos or speed. I don't use the default keyboard, I use smart keyboard, which works very well, however.

THIS... i cant see the ****ing love about physical keyboards, they just add thinkness and dust, and i can swype the hell out of my friend's 9900

btw @eclap everyone to their own, i prefer those slideout keyboards they are big enough and the key spacing is what makes it great, using a tiny bb keyboard is a no go for me, i keep pressing 3 buttoms at once, maybe for girls they are ideal lol

Exodite · 07-11-2012, 19:59 | posts: 1,628 | Location: Luleå, Sweden

I wouldn't pick up a BlackBerry at this point, certainly not as a viable smartphone platform and not even as a feature phone replacement.

Personally I find typing with things like Swype to be vastly faster than using a physical keyboard but YMMV.

As I'm only experienced with the Android platform I'd look into the newer Motorola Droid variants as well as the Sony/Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro and Xperia Mini Pro if you want a smaller device.