anyone moved away from a Blackberry?

benners

benners

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Ben
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it's upgrade time... i know there's a lot of better phones out there than BB, but I really do love having the qwerty keypad and worried about moving away from it.

can get pretty much the same (24month) deals for Bold 9900, Galaxy S2, Nexus, HTC Sensation XL (is that the latest/best HTC?), etc.

any BB lovers found it ok moving away from the keypad?
 
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It's the physical keypad I love about BB and am unsure about touchscreen! I'm afraid an iphone is out of the question - just personal preference that's all!
 
Really don't worry about leaving the keyboard. I loved the keyboard and had a HTC Touch Pro2 (touchscreen with flip out keyboard) and after a while I stopped using the physical keyboard.

My wife loved qwerty keyboards and switched from a Nokia E71 (blackerry type) to a HTC Desire and loves it and does much more with her phone (partly the OS and partly the touchscreen).

Galaxy Nexus = very nice and the only phone iirc on Ice Cream Sandwich (newest version of Android). It also has a very hi res screen (720 x something)

Sensation XL = very nice as well, but only on gingerbread. HTC however do put some nice touches over Android, but will have to wait and see what they do on Ice Cream. (low res 480 x something)

I'm due an upgrade and at the moment looking at the Galaxy Nexus, but I think HTC will be bringing something out soon and also watching Sony.
 
i've just had a quick play in carphone warehouse with the touchscreens and have to say they are pretty amazing!

the HTC sensation XL i can strike off the list as it is a bit too big.
the HTC Desire S looked really nice, as did the Samsung Galaxy 2 and Nexus
 
Works phone is currently a BB and up for renewal in new year.
Probably going for a Samsung galaxy
 
Moved from a BB Bold to iPhone 4 this year - I was worried about moving from a good positive keypad to a touch screen but I needn't have worried. The iPhone touchscreen is very positive and I very rarely make a mistake, the finger touch actions on the screen and internet availability are great. If iPhone is an option I wouldn't hesitate.
 
i had a blackberry that i loved, but decided to try iphone when one came up on here cheap and i really love that. However my work phone is a nokia E6 it has a touch screen with the advantage of a blackberry type keypad which now i've got used to it, is very nice

http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e6-3717.php
 
thanks gramps and michael - for lots of boring, principled reasons I won't be getting an iphone, but could to hear that losing the keypad won't be such a wrench.

i think i've narrowed it down to the HTC Sensation or Galaxy S2...
 
michael23 said:
They were the 2 I narrowed it down to when I upgraded a few months back, I ended up for the galaxy s2, I had my heart set on the faster processor and slightly larger ram, plus I couldn't get on with the feel of the sensation. Either way you won't be disappointed.
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ah thanks michael! good to know i'm thinking along the right lines ;)
the GS2 does seem to widely rated as the best out there. i've not looked yet, but is it like to have an ICS upgrade any time soon?
 
gramps said:
Moved from a BB Bold to iPhone 4 this year - I was worried about moving from a good positive keypad to a touch screen but I needn't have worried. The iPhone touchscreen is very positive and I very rarely make a mistake, the finger touch actions on the screen and internet availability are great. If iPhone is an option I wouldn't hesitate.
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I will echo everything said above. I had a BB Torch. I always said that I would never have an iphone. But, I gave in a got the iphone 4s. Its brilliant. I now wish that I had changed ages ago.
I did get fed up of having to do the battery pull everyday on the BB.

Kev.
 
Having worked in the phone retail sector, Ive owned a phone from the big players - BB, Apple & HTC

And to be honest the HTC Desire..and now the Sensation have been the best Ive owned. My brother and his gf have recently ditched the iphone for a Samsung Galaxy S2, and a HTC Sensation.

Android offers more freedom and customization. You can still sync music with itunes to a HTC if you want.

iPhones were good when they arrived, as they changed everything, but now they are clutching at straws and trying to sue everyone who is doing better than them
 
I moved from a Blackberry to an iPhone after a week, using it was like having M.E. :shake:

Anyone need a hard case and a car charger for an 8520? :LOL:
 
I cant wait til feb to get rid of my BB bold, been playing with my sons iphone 4S and cant wait to get one.
 
DjLukeW said:
Having worked in the phone retail sector, Ive owned a phone from the big players - BB, Apple & HTC

And to be honest the HTC Desire..and now the Sensation have been the best Ive owned. My brother and his gf have recently ditched the iphone for a Samsung Galaxy S2, and a HTC Sensation.

Android offers more freedom and customization. You can still sync music with itunes to a HTC if you want.

iPhones were good when they arrived, as they changed everything, but now they are clutching at straws and trying to sue everyone who is doing better than them
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that's really interesting, thank you Luke - I think I'll be making my final decision between the HTC Sensation S XE and the Galaxy S2. At the end of the day, I don't think I'll be disappointed whichever I choose, but any thoughts are welcome =)

i'd like to renew with O2 and have been with them for a while. Does ringing them up and haggling still work, or are they all a bit more inflexible these days? I've never had expensive contracts with them, so not a 'valued' customer :D
 
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call them and see what they can do. I always shop around and just tell them if Ive found anything cheaper and they usually sort it.

any questions about handsets just let me know. Had my sensation since August, and my Desire I had for 15months before that
 
thanks Luke, really appreciate it (y)
from reading lots of online reviews both GS2 and Sensation come out pretty even, so probably just going to be down to personal preference of how they feel - might pop out in a bit and look at them in the shop, while I'm in the zone!
 
YEah I spent a month deciding between them.

The fact that swung it for me what the build quality. the GS2 is very plasticy, however the sensation is less flimsy but does need a gel case on it for grip (play.com - £3.99). Its hard to get a good grip without
 
DjLukeW said:
YEah I spent a month deciding between them.

The fact that swung it for me what the build quality. the GS2 is very plasticy, however the sensation is less flimsy but does need a gel case on it for grip (play.com - £3.99). Its hard to get a good grip without
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the more i read about the Sensation XE, the more I like the sound of it. plus it's due an ICS upgrade in the next month or two?
 
bold 9900.. very very happy with it , built well, major step up from any curve, if you use it for email keep your keypad.. internet its as fast as anything else, has touch too. os 7 is nice. (anyone who thinks a touch keypad is as good as real is delusional, why have our pcs not just gone to flat non tactile keyboards...? cause theyre not as good)

at the end of the day its really about what you need to use it for and not just fashion.

I will upgrade when new bb qnx phones come out next year.
 
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Currently got a bb work mobile and a HTC desire personal phone, at the moment I think I'm going iPhone at upgrade time.

Reasons.. Bb I hate, it's slow, clunky and email sync is awful (and that at a corporate bes level). HTC, android is okay nothing special though and my desire is gradually slowing to a halt. Which leaves me with iPhone which I'm hoping as its the same interface roughly as my iPad it will be more intuitive.
 
arwesa said:
bold 9900.. very very happy with it , built well, major step up from any curve, if you use it for email keep your keypad.. internet its as fast as anything else, has touch too. os 7 is nice. (anyone who thinks a touch keypad is as good as real is delusional, why have our pcs not just gone to flat non tactile keyboards...? cause theyre not as good)

at the end of the day its really about what you need to use it for and not just fashion.

I will upgrade when new bb qnx phones come out next year.
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i do love the keypad, however my problem with BB is they are severely lagging behind all the competitors (as shown in recent sales figures) - relying on the uniqueness of a keypad is now not a strong enough argument to keep the handset, especially if most other hardware features are falling behind very quickly. they may release something amazing in 12 months, but i'm going to be committing to a 2yr contract shortly, so to have a 9900 which is already behind its peers, means I'm going to be stuck with a dated/inferior handset for at least another 12months.

neil_g said:
Currently got a bb work mobile and a HTC desire personal phone, at the moment I think I'm going iPhone at upgrade time.

Reasons.. Bb I hate, it's slow, clunky and email sync is awful (and that at a corporate bes level). HTC, android is okay nothing special though and my desire is gradually slowing to a halt. Which leaves me with iPhone which I'm hoping as its the same interface roughly as my iPad it will be more intuitive.
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i have to disagree about the email sync, I have a Curve 9300 and it works awesomely with Gmail, really can't fault it (maybe you have some settings issues?). the Curve does a (relatively) tiny amount of onboard RAM/hard drive space, so now I've filled it up, I agree it can be a bit clunky.

i certainly won't be getting an iphone, and am leaning towards the Sensation XE now. If BB gets its arse in gear and catches up in a couple of years' time, I'll gladly switch back to have the keypad - but that's just not a good enough argument as sit currently stands, given all the other features it falls far behind with :(
 
? bb have grown their numbers from 40 to 70 million users world wide last year...dont believe the press hype fueled by apple... as has already been pointed out above theyre desperately trying to keep their 'trendy' image when in fact theyre good devices, but not earthshattering.

Id be interested to know what you think is 'behind' about blackberry? what is it you actually need you cant do ?

bb 9900 has nfc (contactless payment technology)..once the banks sort themselves out its there, it has touch, its fast... its v.7 software which is a step forward and 7.1 dropping in next few weeks so you can do wifi hotspot for your pc etc....I have wikitude running on mine...so called great app first on android...its pretty pointless if you ask me...Ive used poynt for years on bb and its still more useful.

If imitating is flattery then why is it apple just launched a rather poor copy of bb messenger? .... if the future is lead by our kids whats the most widely used device in young school and college users in the uk? ...blackberry...mainly because of messenger.

I think reality is far from the hype.... yes you can get more fart apps on your iphone... but what is it you really need day to day... I like the speed and simplicity with which I can do what I want to...no prodding at a screen forever...we are always having competitions in the pub when someone asks 'what year was that song released etc' and everyone reaches for their devices to race for the answer...the blackberry always gets there first... then theres universal search in v7...I know Ive got a message somewhere from xxxx I just type their name (or any other keyword for that fact) and I get instant access to the info...no looking in email/txt etc seperately. I can go on, but as I said before you really have to say what it is you really want to use the device for?
 
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arwesa said:
? bb have grown their numbers from 40 to 70 million users world wide last year...dont believe the press hype fueled by apple... as has already been pointed out above theyre desperately trying to keep their 'trendy' image when in fact theyre good devices, but not earthshattering.
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Are you sure you aren't being fooled by blackberry's marketing?

http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_os-ww-monthly-201011-201111

BB share is falling everywhere.

The reason we don't have touch keyboards on desktops is they aren't lacking on space. Touchscreen is everywhere and has many many benefits - flexibility on layout, larger screen and smaller device are 3 good examples.

A touch screen is slightly behind a physical keyboard, but not by a huge way and I'm happy to type out long messages or emails in my touchscreen phone.

The comment about the HTC desire is the device lacks internal storage for apps. This is its only downfall. Sadly it is quite a major one. Apart from that I don't see a need to replace my desire.
 
hmm, stats are stats...
  • their sales are down 14m units in the last quarter
  • net income nearly $1bn down on comparative sales from same quarter last year
  • Playbook has been very disappointing
  • shares are dropping
  • BB users fell by nearly 2m in the US mid-2011

all this compared to Android/Google going from strength to strength, doesn't give me the confidence in having one of their products for the next 2 years. if they pull their socks up in 12months, then great, I'll be due a renewal and jump back onboard.

for the phone:
  • single core processor compared to dual core
  • OS10 won't be out til later in 2012, compared to ICS (or newer) it seems it'll be playing catch-up
  • inferior quality screen, androids really are something to behold
  • no flash support
  • i've never used BBM so won't miss it

for me, buying a new phone at this particular time, i think i'll get more for my money going Android.
 
touchscreens are everwhere because blackberry own the patent to the physical keyboard on the phone and others dont want to pay them....

irrelevant of space if a touch keyboard was better youd use them on a pc...theyre not.

not looking at percentages or numbers sold...looking at subscribers... how many active subscribers... aug 2010 was 41 million aug 2011 was 70+ million...fact. not a dying platform...yes others have more rapid growth, but reality is the platform isnt 'dying' as some would have you believe...nokia however is a different story
 
comparing handsets and PCs is apples & pears.
you're right, stats are stats and relatively meaningless for day-to-day useability.

but RIM right now doesn't fill me with confidence and they ARE in a bad place. it's not propaganda from other manufacturers, it's just how it is right now.
 
benners said:
i have to disagree about the email sync, I have a Curve 9300 and it works awesomely with Gmail, really can't fault it (maybe you have some settings issues?). the Curve does a (relatively) tiny amount of onboard RAM/hard drive space, so now I've filled it up, I agree it can be a bit clunky.

i certainly won't be getting an iphone, and am leaning towards the Sensation XE now. If BB gets its arse in gear and catches up in a couple of years' time, I'll gladly switch back to have the keypad - but that's just not a good enough argument as sit currently stands, given all the other features it falls far behind with :(
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nah it's definitely bes and crappy sync issues
 
neil_g said:
nah it's definitely bes and crappy sync issues
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strange - mine works a dream, I have the BB sat on the desk next me at work and sometimes emails arrive on the BB before they pop up on the PC. the syncing is great, that I can delete emails completely, or just from the handset and the sync happens almost straightaway.
 
Blackberry 9900 is really good, easily the best smartphone I've had for my usage, and I've had iPhones, HTC's and Windows Mobile.
It really depends what your looking for, personally I love the hardware QWERTY and at the end of the day for phone calls, messaging and email its hard to beat, anything else I've got a laptop for and a Playbook which I'm enjoying too.

If you've got an older BB the 9900 is night and day better, I moved from the Bold 9700 up to the new one and its much much better.
 
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