BlackBerry: what comes to mind when you hear it?

OK.. this is just an experiment. I would like you to post what you think about BlackBerry mobile phone products. I don't care if it's an opinion based on what you've heard or seen, experienced.. etc.. but be honest. The fun will hopefully begin after I get a bunch of replies.

 

The 8-track tape of the smart phone world.

 

Little tiny keyboard, impossible to hit only the key you want.

 

BBM...an outdated app for which people craved for years...poor brand..blackberry..

 

Oooops.......shhh.......Looks like I'm in the minority here rolleyes

I think they are great and still use a Torch. The reason I don't have an iPhone is the screens keep breaking and they are Apple lol. I have dry skin or low capacitance or both and touch screens don't work for me so the slide out keyboard on the BB is really handy. Work has been using them for the last 8 years and I have had 4 and all have been reliable. We get new ones every two years so I give the old ones to my kids. Luckily I don't buy them otherwise I might have either a Samsung S4 or Sony Xperia Z Ultra

There squint at that folks roflmao

 

Well, not as many replies as I had hoped. I'll let it go for a few more hours.

 

The stench of failure.

 

All what I expected.

Go ahead.. now, take your time while you browse these screen shots from my new phone:

https://plus.google.com/photos/+Jim...5956765567277395858&oid=111399422704049832196

And yes.. it's a blackberry .. BB z10, running BB10 (QNX). Read the captions on the images as it gives you an idea of what the Screen shot context is.

Let me know if you still think the same..

 

A great product.....in the 90s. BB is in deep trouble.

 

I still think the same, except: Android apps on it look decent

I am assuming that many of those are. Can the phone stand without Android apps though? That is the true test.

 

Still using my Nokia E-71....0_o.
Agreed that B.B's with small keyboards ans screens are difficult for an old fogie like me to see and with Shrek hands, but I'm, (sort of). used to it.

 

I have sideloaded all the google apps you saw as well as Amz Mp3 and netflix. Those ARE Android apps running under the Android runtime on BB10. The 10.2.1 update that is coming, opens the ecosystem up for NATIVE loading of Android apps. You could effectively think of this scenario as Mac (The impervious) running Windows (the hack).

I actually like BBM a LOT more than Hangouts etc.

 

We have BBM in Android too. The problem is, everyone I know who used to be on a BB has since moved on to other devices. So I have no contacts, lol.

BB is like the X-Files to me:

I Want to Believe.

I want them to succeed because the more mobile OS competition out there, the better.

 

It's a mobile phone, I hate them all.

I hate blackberry's less than Iphones but I still relate Blackberry's with snobby people who wear suits and drive Porsche Cayenne's.

 

Them are iSnobs now.

 

I reduced my G-Print (aka: Google Footprint) because I got tired of being a product EVERYWHERE I went. The apps that were on Android allowed NO control over access to my device. I had enough of the bull. With BB10, I am in control again.

My goal in this thread was to identify a known "bad image" and try to illustrate that the BB10 device is a far better device than any previous BB product EVER. It's on par or better than the other mobiles out there in its' class on the hardware side. On the OS and security.. can't beat it. The QNX microkernel is phenomenal -- a mult-threading env that leaves Android in the dust, IMO. Only OS to be certified NATIVELY for running on the DoD network. Samsung's KNOX was certified but has been plagued with bugs as I hear.

 

Yup. Ipod sprayed with same paint as car body. You can legally punch these people and not go to jail...

 

Well, cool! They actually have keys of a decent size! I have no idea what the model was I was using (it wasn't mine, I was the co-pilot in the car and thus in charge of the phone), but that tiny little physical keyboard was impossible to use. I ended up grabbing a jeweler's screwdriver out of my bag and using it to type. LOL

That doesn't look too bad at all. However, I am firmly in the HTC camp, and not likely to leave. Although part of that is because as long as I keep this phone I also get to keep my unlimited data plan, but if I replace it I lose it (I'm grandfathered in).

 

I won't judge you for your phone choice if you don't judge me for mine. But to answer your first question the idea that comes to mind for a Blackberry is an overpriced phone with waning possibilities. However, from reading that you can put google apps on them the possibilities part is negotiable. Again, I'm not judging your choice of phone.

 

Judging is not part of the discussion. I'm just trying to show people that there is yet another option out there that is not only viable, but quite possibly, arguably better. Not just because it side load apps, but the performance is amazing. I can go days on standby with my phone.. and infact, I have.. 102hrs roughly. But for me, the biggest thing was disconnecting from google.

 

http://www.bubblews.com/assets/images/news/935959535_1381756461.jpg
.

 

omg..that button thing. yeah.. if you asked me to buy a BB phone with that nubby thing, I would have laughed in your face.lol

Check out the screen shots I posted (via link) a few posts back.

 

You would laugh at my phone. I has text, and camera. And can make phone calls. Apps? I don't think they make apps for mine. :-D

 

You would even laugh harder at my flip LG mobile phone. It's all I need and want for emergencies only, no camera or text. $10 + tax per month ain't bad.

My daughter and her family each have a blackberry and loves it but she never used the little keyboard, it's way too puny.

 

Would not laugh too much, mine is a slight upgrade from my old flip phone. Mine just has a slide out keyboard...

 

My sister has had a blackberry for years, and she loves it. She upgrades every time a new model comes out. She has told me that she would never switch to another brand because her blackberry makes her business run so much easier.

Me on the other hand, last year I ordered a BB playbook, as my Christmas present to me, and it was a really not user friendly piece of machinery. I consider myself to be somewhat tech savvy and I spent, at least, 8 (probably more) solid hours playing with it and found it to be quite obtuse and a bit antiquated, being that there were few apps for it inside it's own market. I made short work of returning it as did a friend of mine who purchased one around the same time I did and came to the same conclusion. I really wanted to like it but it just wasn't for me.

 

The Z10 comes installed with DocsToGo which I find works pretty well. There isn't a native app for skydrive, but there is a 3rd party manager for it for $2.00 USD. There is NATIVE support for Exchange in this version of BB and since I use my outlook pretty heavily, it would have been a deal breaker for me. The Blackberry link syncs quite well for just outlook alone. Obviously win mobile has a leg up on this since it's from MS, but the Z10 is not slouch either.

Well, with BB10 10.2.1 set to release in 2014, you can install android apps too. You can do it now via sideloading but it's somewhat of a pain in the ***.

 

The playbook was a let-down for even hardcore BB users. No surprise there. That being said, they are planning another Playbook using BB10 with better hardware and resources. Also, BB just announced that Foxconn will be their production backend, which on a business level is a good move.

Think about this too. ECC encryption is owned by BlackBerry and with RSA having been accused of a payout to weaken their security at the behest of the NSA.. ECC is the next best thing. I foresee a shift in the forces soon