[robsteve]

OK, after playing around on the 9930 for awhile it made me remember why I left my 9700 two years ago - SCREEN SIZE!!! I think I have the eyes of an 80 year old lol. Seriously though, I like having as much content on one screen as possible, and a larger screen facilitates that a lot better. So, I'm trying my hand at trading for a 9850 . We'll see if that'll work better for me!

Get a PlayBook and have the big screen when you need it. With Bridge on the phone, there is a new menu item, open on Playbook.

[qbnkelt]

This is one of the most enjoyable and I formative threads I've read on CB recently.

Wish it could be stickied.

Glad to see you on a 9930, Penguin!!!

[elphie28]

Get a PlayBook and have the big screen when you need it. With Bridge on the phone, there is a new menu item, open on Playbook.

Best combo ever! :-)

[BBMINI]

OK, after playing around on the 9930 for awhile it made me remember why I left my 9700 two years ago - SCREEN SIZE!!! I think I have the eyes of an 80 year old lol. Seriously though, I like having as much content on one screen as possible, and a larger screen facilitates that a lot better. So, I'm trying my hand at trading for a 9850 . We'll see if that'll work better for me!

If you're so inclined after having the 9850 for a while, I'd be very interested in seeing a "9850 review after using as my daily driver" thread since I've found this thread to be very worthwhile and interesting. If you do create such a thread, maybe you could possibly link to it from this thread so my suscription to this one catches it and I won't miss the new one.

[southlander]

OK, after playing around on the 9930 for awhile it made me remember why I left my 9700 two years ago - SCREEN SIZE!!! I think I have the eyes of an 80 year old lol. Seriously though, I like having as much content on one screen as possible, and a larger screen facilitates that a lot better. So, I'm trying my hand at trading for a 9850 . We'll see if that'll work better for me!

I have both. The screen on the 9850 is excellent. The one thing that bugged me about it to some degree is always needing to rotate it to landscape to type. Right before I moved back onto the Bold, I enabled the reduced keyboard. I got to be pretty decent at typing on it in portrait mode. Found it more satisfying.

To me the regular portrait mode keyboard is too cramped. As is pretty much any standard virtual keyboard in portrait mode on any normal sized phone (ie. The iPhone I also find cramped in portrait.)

[ubizmo]

If you're so inclined after having the 9850 for a while, I'd be very interested in seeing a "9850 review after using as my daily driver" thread since I've found this thread to be very worthwhile and interesting.

Good idea. She can title it "Driving Miss Pantless" so we don't miss it.

[kbz1960]

The screen size on the bold is too small for me but so is the one on the 9850 and I know it would be on the other 4+ inch phones for anything more than email or texting but browsing is just too small. Since I don't want a 7" phone I find the bb pb combo works best for me. Phone for calls, text etc. PB for browsing and other things such as games which I don't do often. I even still use reading glasses while using my PB.

I also find the 9850 too narrow for holding to even try to type in portrait. Will be interesting to see penguins' review on the 9850.

[southlander]

The screen size on the bold is too small for me but so is the one on the 9850 and I know it would be on the other 4+ inch phones for anything more than email or texting but browsing is just too small. Since I don't want a 7" phone I find the bb pb combo works best for me. Phone for calls, text etc. PB for browsing and other things such as games which I don't do often. I even still use reading glasses while using my PB.

I also find the 9850 too narrow for holding to even try to type in portrait. Will be interesting to see penguins' review on the 9850.

Could not agree more. The one thing about the Bold is the screen is of course shorter than the Torch but it is also wider. So that makes up a little and is something often overlooked (or at least not mentioned).

I also agree about the PlayBook. That is **exactly** why I bought my PlayBook and I believe exactly RIM's intent -- that the tablet would be a web browsing/apps "companion" to the phones and allow people to not need to carry these monster glass slabs as phones. And solve the whole real keyboard vs. virtual KB dilemma.

But it's not really worked out that people want the two devices, for the most part. It appeals to only a small subset of smartphone users.

[pantlesspenguin]

Get a PlayBook and have the big screen when you need it. With Bridge on the phone, there is a new menu item, open on Playbook.

I actually had a PB for a little bit! I really liked it & had it paired to the 9700 I was using at the time, but it didn't suit my needs that well. I got a Kindle Fire instead. The funny thing, though? Last night I had a dream that I got a new Playbook!! Maybe my brain is trying to tell me something.

If you're so inclined after having the 9850 for a while, I'd be very interested in seeing a "9850 review after using as my daily driver" thread since I've found this thread to be very worthwhile and interesting. If you do create such a thread, maybe you could possibly link to it from this thread so my suscription to this one catches it and I won't miss the new one.

Good idea! I will!

I have both. The screen on the 9850 is excellent. The one thing that bugged me about it to some degree is always needing to rotate it to landscape to type. Right before I moved back onto the Bold, I enabled the reduced keyboard. I got to be pretty decent at typing on it in portrait mode. Found it more satisfying.

To me the regular portrait mode keyboard is too cramped. As is pretty much any standard virtual keyboard in portrait mode on any normal sized phone (ie. The iPhone I also find cramped in portrait.)

Yeah I've never been that good on a touch screen phone in portrait, unless I had HTC's condensed keyboard activated like this:



It makes it a LOT easier to type, but I don't like it for anything lengthy.

Good idea. She can title it "Driving Miss Pantless" so we don't miss it.

Mother of God, I just had the best idea. RIM can develop a Siri alternative...voiced by Morgan Freeman. Seriously, it would be like having a conversation with Morgan effin' Freeman. Who wouldn't like Morgan Freeman telling them current weather conditions or where the nearest froyo shop is?? RIM needs to get on this now!!

[southlander]

Mother of God, I just had the best idea. RIM can develop a Siri alternative...voiced by Morgan Freeman. Seriously, it would be like having a conversation with Morgan effin' Freeman. Who wouldn't like Morgan Freeman telling them current weather conditions or where the nearest froyo shop is?? RIM needs to get on this now!!

I have a better idea. I would pay good money for a Samuel L. Jackson voiced "Siri" type assistant that would curse at me when I was about to do something dumb. Like that line in The Avengers when he tells the "council" or whatever they were that he realized they had made a decision and said something like "I am ignoring it because it's a stupid-a$$ decision". Lol.

I'd want it to actually yell at me as well.

[FF22]

The screen size on the bold is too small for me but so is the one on the 9850 and I know it would be on the other 4+ inch phones for anything more than email or texting but browsing is just too small. Since I don't want a 7" phone I find the bb pb combo works best for me. Phone for calls, text etc. PB for browsing and other things such as games which I don't do often. I even still use reading glasses while using my PB.

I also find the 9850 too narrow for holding to even try to type in portrait. Will be interesting to see penguins' review on the 9850.

I was thinking about phone size just recently. I would guess what I saw was some form of Android SLAB. I mean it was pretty large and it hit me that for ages folks were trying to get smaller and smaller phones. Now we are going the other way and they are getting larger and larger. But I guess I'm using the wrong terms - these are no longer PHONES. They are portable Browser and app delivery systems and folks want them LARGE.

I guess we are starting the DIVERGENCE of devices. Really, when I'm out and about and/or hiking, biking, or walking, I do not want a slab along that is larger than my 9930 and I still preferred the size of the 9650 frankly. And if Rim would reintroduce the damn Column View for the Browser I would be set. The smaller screen on the 9650 was more fit for browsing than the larger screen of the 9930 - at least, that's my take.

[pantlesspenguin]

I have a better idea. I would pay good money for a Samuel L. Jackson voiced "Siri" type assistant that would curse at me when I was about to do something dumb. Like that line in The Avengers when he tells the "council" or whatever they were that he realized they had made a decision and said something like "I am ignoring it because it's a stupid-a$$ decision". Lol.

I'd want it to actually yell at me as well.

Oooh yeah! I'd want Jillian Michaels for mine.

Me: Jillian, where is the nearest pizza place?

Jillian: PIZZA, SEXY STUDBISCUIT? DID YOU REALLY JUST ASK ME ABOUT PIZZA?? I WANT 50 PUSHUPS AND 100 JUMPING JACKS FOR EVEN THINKING ABOUT PIZZA!!!

[pantlesspenguin]

Day 14 with the 9930 as my daily driver. I've been able to answer for myself a question I've asked CB and never got a real answer. My question was "What makes a BlackBerry a communication device as opposed to the competition?" I asked that because in my time with both the BB and Android platform, I felt I used both just the same in regards to messaging. Today it hit me.

The physical keyboard on the 9930 really is outstanding. It's great for hammering out long messages with the least amount of correction. BBM is second to none. I love using it for having long conversations via text/messengers/and just any situation that has me typing a lot.

A lot of what I'm missing comes down to aesthetics and app functionality. I like a bigger screen to see more. For example, Google Maps. I can view more of the map on a larger screen, and it's easier to navigate because of that. I've noticed some of the apps like Facebook are more functional. It's easier to "like" certain things and view pics and everything else. I use the Google + messenger for group conversations with friends. So I use the 9930 as my daily driver for communication, and I come home to the Rezound to catch up on other things. In the morning I still tap on the Traffic widget to see what my commute will be like. And picture quality? Loads better on my Rezound. The 9930 is ok for lil daily stuff like taking a pic if my cat is doing something cute. But if I'm ever in a situation where I need to take pics of important stuff on the fly I hope I have my Rezound charged up in my bag.

Is the 9930 an all-around replacement for my Rezound? No. Do I want to chuck the 9930 into a wall? Definitely not. It's a very nifty device that I like communicating with.

[southlander]

Day 14 with the 9930 as my daily driver. I've been able to answer for myself a question I've asked CB and never got a real answer. My question was "What makes a BlackBerry a communication device as opposed to the competition?" I asked that because in my time with both the BB and Android platform, I felt I used both just the same in regards to messaging. Today it hit me.

The physical keyboard on the 9930 really is outstanding. It's great for hammering out long messages with the least amount of correction. BBM is second to none. I love using it for having long conversations via text/messengers/and just any situation that has me typing a lot.

A lot of what I'm missing comes down to aesthetics and app functionality. I like a bigger screen to see more. For example, Google Maps. I can view more of the map on a larger screen, and it's easier to navigate because of that. I've noticed some of the apps like Facebook are more functional. It's easier to "like" certain things and view pics and everything else. I use the Google + messenger for group conversations with friends. So I use the 9930 as my daily driver for communication, and I come home to the Rezound to catch up on other things. In the morning I still tap on the Traffic widget to see what my commute will be like. And picture quality? Loads better on my Rezound. The 9930 is ok for lil daily stuff like taking a pic if my cat is doing something cute. But if I'm ever in a situation where I need to take pics of important stuff on the fly I hope I have my Rezound charged up in my bag.

Is the 9930 an all-around replacement for my Rezound? No. Do I want to chuck the 9930 into a wall? Definitely not. It's a very nifty device that I like communicating with.

Kudos to you for a very fair/balanced and civil thread. I think your assessment matches up well with consensus among a lot of us here that are not absolutely 100% pro or con for either platform. We can't give up the awesome keyboards and messaging.

One thing I do not recall being mentioned... How does call quality compare? Any noticeable difference?

[BigBadWulf]

Above and beyond anything else, it's the keyboard stupid, but I'm sure there's still much you'll discover on your journey PP.

The camera takes a lot to get used to. I still wish it had AF, but I've adjusted to it well, and marvel at some of the images I've been able to capture.

[pantlesspenguin]

One thing I do not recall being mentioned... How does call quality compare? Any noticeable difference?

Oh gosh thanks for bringing this up. I know I've mentioned this in other threads, but if I haven't mentioned it in this thread this is very well worth noting:

BlackBerry gets it hands down for call quality. I remember the first time I really noticed it on my 9700. I got that phone in November of 2009, and I was out at a busy mall buying gifts for my fam. I had to call my mom about a question I had regarding my bro and SIL's gift. While in that conversation, my BB self-adjusted the volume based on the background noise. I thought that was AMAZING, and I lamented losing that when I got my Samsung Vibrant the following summer. I see that hasn't changed in the 9930. AWESOME feature.

Also, I'm a conference call facilitator. Those earnings calls you hear? Webinars? All Hands calls? That's me. I facilitate those. I can't tell you how many times a speaker on those calls can't use their landline for some reason or another, so they call back saying "Hey, I'm on my BlackBerry. Can you still hear me?" and it's just the same as when they were on their landline. I'm ASSUMING that these people aren't so stupid that they call all smartphones "iPhones" so that when they say "I'm calling from my BlackBerry" they really are indeed calling from a BLACKBERRY. So, BB definitely gets my vote in call quality.

[southlander]

Oh gosh thanks for bringing this up. I know I've mentioned this in other threads, but if I haven't mentioned it in this thread this is very well worth noting:

BlackBerry gets it hands down for call quality. I remember the first time I really noticed it on my 9700. I got that phone in November of 2009, and I was out at a busy mall buying gifts for my fam. I had to call my mom about a question I had regarding my bro and SIL's gift. While in that conversation, my BB self-adjusted the volume based on the background noise. I thought that was AMAZING, and I lamented losing that when I got my Samsung Vibrant the following summer. I see that hasn't changed in the 9930. AWESOME feature.

Also, I'm a conference call facilitator. Those earnings calls you hear? Webinars? All Hands calls? That's me. I facilitate those. I can't tell you how many times a speaker on those calls can't use their landline for some reason or another, so they call back saying "Hey, I'm on my BlackBerry. Can you still hear me?" and it's just the same as when they were on their landline. I'm ASSUMING that these people aren't so stupid that they call all smartphones "iPhones" so that when they say "I'm calling from my BlackBerry" they really are indeed calling from a BLACKBERRY. So, BB definitely gets my vote in call quality.

Cool. Yeah I just happen to notice that when my wife or mother call me on their BlackBerrys I am able to hear them better than when my friends that have Android phones call me. Not that I can't understand my friends; it is just I do notice bit more audio fidelty when my family calls on their BlackBerrys.

Not a deal breaker as far as platform. I was just curious. Thanks.

[BigBadWulf]

I've also been able to compare speakers against many Androids, and they don't.

[ubizmo]

The speaker on my Galaxy Blaze is decent but the 9900 is better. Since I listen to a lot of podcasts and audiobooks without headphones, it matters to me.

Speaker quality is a fundamental feature that we often overlook.

[belfastdispatcher]

The speaker on my Galaxy Blaze is decent but the 9900 is better. Since I listen to a lot of podcasts and audiobooks without headphones, it matters to me.

Speaker quality is a fundamental feature that we often overlook.

I'm not sure if this is by design but the 9900 sounds a lot louder if you set it flat on a hard surface/table.

[ubizmo]

I'm not sure if this is by design but the 9900 sounds a lot louder if you set it flat on a hard surface/table.

For some reason, the sound is louder from the back of the 9900. Placing it on a hard surface uses that surface as a sound reflector. Placing it an inch away from a hard surface works even better.

When driving and listening to a podcast, I lean it against the vertical panel of my car dashboard, which amplifies it quite a bit.