1. donmateo's Avatar
    I thought this would be an acceptable place for this, but if not, I apologize and thank you in advance for your cooperation.

    The Bold 9900 is arguably the best looking BlackBerry device to date. Sleek, thin, quality, the 9900 was a status symbol and productivity tool in one. People would often ask me about the phone and tell me how attractive it was. I loved that phone and it served me well for over a year before I jumped to a Z10.

    I got my 9900 around Christmas 2012 to replace my aging 9700, which was my first BlackBerry. I was so excited to setup and use my 9900. Beyond the sleek architecture, the 9900 brought a QWERTY/Touch experience that we previously hadn't had. Being able to slide through webpages and knock out emails, texts and memos in seconds was a prime feature which served me extensively with notes, processing orders and more. When BB10 was announced, I was on the edge of my seat to see the next generation BlackBerry devices. I decided to immediately get the Z10 on March 22, 2013 when ATT released it. I set it up and was so happy to have a new BlackBerry. As I watched my 9900 collect dust, I was sad to see it go unused. I tried to use it as a media and web device, but it was silly when realizing the capability of BB10. I decided it was time to sell my 9900 and let someone enjoy it.

    After having the Z10 for several months, the Q10 was released and I was interested to check it out. Interestingly enough, I won a Q10 in the Keys to the City contest and received it about a month later. I opened it, set it up and enjoyed for a few hours. Something was wrong, though...I didn't have the same excitement as when I opened my 9900. Thinking the QWERTY and Touch experience would bring a sense of joy and remembrance, I was disappointed to find I was indifferent with this new phone. Everything I could do on my Q10, I was already doing on my Z10 with more screen real estate. The Q10 keyboard was good, but the curved 9900 keyboard was much more ergonomic for punching out emails and alike. The Z10's predictive text and all the neat keyboard features make it a bit more friendly and productive than the Q10's.

    I sold my Q10 after a few days and went back to using my Z10. Recently, news of two new QWERTY devices has come about. Whispers suggest the "Q30" will have a unique touch capacitive keyboard with massive screen, while we also hear rumors about the "Q20" which will be a BB10 with toolbelt. This sounds reminiscent of my old love, the Bold 9900. With the re-release of the Bold, it reminds me that I miss my old BlackBerry and that it truly defined the BlackBerry experience. The "Q20" is a major milestone for BlackBerry and it is my hope that they will approach it with 9900 users in mind. Reintroducing the curved keyboard, toolbelt and touchscreen is imperative. Moreover, combining these classic features with a larger, better display and BB10 software will allow the "Q20" to become a proper 9900 successor. Until then, however, we will just have to wait and mire in the 9900 nostalgia.

    zmsox, rayporsche, phuoc and 4 others like this.
    06-06-14 01:38 PM
  2. jrsva2008's Avatar
    Hey, let the nostalga go...pick up a Bold 9900 and come back to the life you miss!

    Seriously, I did the same with my Q10. Impressed with it but missed the ease of my Bold. So I got one on EBay and I'm back. (And saving my money for the Q20 to come someday). OK, the camera on this thing stinks in comparison to the Q10 and the web browsing is slower. But for phone, calendar, texts and emails...can't beat it.

    Come back...come back....come back...........
    06-06-14 03:59 PM
  3. AthenaSmith's Avatar
    Another Bold 9900 --> Q10 user here. I am also considering going back to the 9900 and have been scouting around eBay for a brand new one (my 3-year old 9900 is starting to conk out).

    I really miss the precision and efficiency of the trackpad, and the ease of the function keys on the toolbelt.

    I work on documents and draft/compose a lot of them on my phone, so I always need to move around words and phrases and blocks of text. I love typing on my Q10, but I'm getting more and more annoyed by the "jab-at-the-screen-and-just-hope-the-cursor-ends-up-where-I-want-it" issue, as well as the tediousness of highlighting, copying, cutting and pasting without the precise selection and placement of a trackpad-led cursor. I waste a lot of seconds trying to get the white circle thing and the highlight right where I want them.

    I am so excited for the Classic so I can have the trackpad and utility belt back, with the speed and camera of BB10.

    Posted via CB10
    06-06-14 11:06 PM
  4. domzh's Avatar
    Using BlackBerry since ages, I once sold my 9900 because BES was not longer supported by my employer (they switched to android and active sync instead - large telecom provider btw...). I then found out about the ability of active sync and os10 so I gave back my corporate note 2 and got myself a q10. First I encountered the exact same experience you guys did. I almost cried because I had such a hard time finding all the options and mixed up menues. But than again, after a couple of days I became a lot faster dealing with it and now that I spend like 5 weeks with it, I can say that I absolutely felt in love with it! Its by far the most effective device I had ever used!! Thing is you must learn OS10! Especially how editing text works (keep holding for whole paragraph etc). But after this learning curve it will unveil its full potential and insane business capabilities!!

    Believe me guys, give it another shot. Its worth it! And this is coming from a power user (80 emails 30 phone calls 8 projects etc, all handled with the q10! I am not kidding, since the q10 I dont need my laptop anymore for most of the time. I even create presentations on it and review excel reports!). I did not mentioned that I communicate in three languages (german french english) and how awesome the multi language support and text suggestions are!! Just insane!!

    Btw the speakerphone is just awesome!! No one on the other end asked me if I where using the speakerphone, and you guys do know that you will hear the difference normally on most devices and even are having a hard time to clearly understand the other person.

    Love BlackBerry so much!!

    Cheers from Switzerland

    Posted via CB10
    jrsva2008 likes this.
    06-07-14 06:12 AM
  5. world traveler and former ceo's Avatar
    Had my bold 9900 not been stolen i would go back... can't stand typing on the z30,z10 or q10.

    And contacts and emailing is best on the bold 9900 period.

    If they could just manufacture that phone with decent camera and better battery.... it would be unbeatable!!!

    Posted via CB10
    jrsva2008 likes this.
    06-07-14 10:33 AM
  6. Bobert_123's Avatar
    Had my bold 9900 not been stolen i would go back... can't stand typing on the z30,z10 or q10.

    And contacts and emailing is best on the bold 9900 period.

    If they could just manufacture that phone with decent camera and better battery.... it would be unbeatable!!!

    Posted via CB10
    And maybe no lag or spinning clock, a faster browser, better quality keyboard frets that don't blacken over time, better feeling in the hand, bigger screen, more apps, more consumer features, better speakers...

    Definitely a better camera and battery life...

    Of wait, I'm describing the Q10, silly me

    Posted via CB10
    SK122387 likes this.
    06-07-14 06:46 PM
  7. SK122387's Avatar
    I enjoy these posts because they're so different from what I feel, it's cool to see other points of view that I simply don't share.


    The 9900 was great. I got one the day it launched in August 2011. I too used it until March 2013 when the Z10 launched. I had a 9900 in black and in white. I thought it was the ultimate BlackBerry. The Z10 is a cool phone, and the Z30 is great, but my Q10 is my go-to phone. If I had to have one phone ever, it would be the Q10.

    There is very little the 9900 has that I miss. In fact, I can't name a single thing. I don't miss the trackpad, but I'll happily use it again. I don't feel impaired or at a disadvantage without it. I went into the Q10 experience thinking I'd really miss it, and when I first saw the images of the Q10 leak online, I was upset that it didn't have the toolbelt of buttons. Having used the Z10 by itself from March 2013 to June 2013, I was fully able to use BlackBerry 10, and was used to the new features and more importantly, the differences between BlackBerry 10 and BBOS.

    I think it's mental trick that people have fallen for when it comes to the Q10, especially those that are coming directly from a 99xx or some other Bold. The Q10 looks like a successor to the 9900 that I had, and even feels very similar in my hand. But from the moment I turn it on and begin using it, it is absolutely nothing like my 9900, my 9780, 9700, or 9000. It's a weird experience to use something that feels so familiar physically, but functions so totally differently.

    Posted via CB10
    06-07-14 08:07 PM
  8. idssteve's Avatar
    Nostalgia implies obsolescence. The 9900 is still in production and, therefore, cannot be defined as "obsolete". Its mature OS7.1 has been updated within about 6 months ago. There's nothing to wax Nostalgic about. If it fits your needs, you can buy one this minute. I, for one, will be getting at least one of the new ones. My company is exploring the idea, also.

    Only you can determine if it, or the Q20, is for you. You will, no doubt, encounter the usual barrage of condescending comments from non-belt users that seem to feel they must defend their choice of device by demeaning your choice. They'll inevitably imply that "you just didn't try long enough" or "you're just clinging to the past" or "you're just afraid of new technology". They just can't seem to accept that ANYone would have actually tried their favorite device and intelligently concluded that we simply prefer a different device for what we do. Right or wrong, that's the conclusion most in my office have voiced. Why else would people that proclaim disdain for belted devices waste 30 seconds on a forum dedicated to a belted device? Go figure.

    All that being said, it's a pretty safe assumption that BBRY will eventually sunset OS7.1 functionality to some level of unacceptable useability. Will the Q20 be a worthy alternative to the 9900? The 20's OS has a LOT of potential. It's still maturing and one would hope that some future OS upgrade might eventually FULLY restore the 9900's keyboard shortcut/speed dial functionality. Also, one would hope that the Q's trackpad will mimic the 9900's full access to navigational functionality. Several, here in my office, fear bbry might cripple trackpad functionality in effort to "train us" into accepting glass navigation. Way too early to tell, since no mere mortal knows much at all about the new Q.

    Also, some have conjectured that the new Q might lack the 9900's removable battery, charging pads, accessory key, etc. Another post somewhere conjectured that the Q might even loose the hdmi port. It almost certainly will loose the 9900's compact footprint. The 9900's "relatively small" screen works quite efficiently because of trackpad navigation. Trackpads are best suited for compact screens on compact devices, imo. The new Q's 3.5" screen will almost certainly make the new Q larger than the 9900. Uncomfortably large for some of us. Unnecessarily so, imo.

    What will the new Q offer for 9900 users? Hopefully improved camera, battery life, faster processing, more RAM, newer OS. Will the gains mitigate the losses? None of us will REALLY know until November. Even then, it will mostly be a matter of preferences. Hopefully our relative preferences will enjoy mutual respect.
    06-08-14 06:21 PM
  9. SC457's Avatar
    Looking forward to the Q20/Classic release. Loved my Bold 9900 and my Q10. Q20/Classic seems to be the best of both in theory so far.
    06-10-14 04:13 PM
  10. SunshineStateFlyer's Avatar
    It is always very interesting to see that BlackBerry is likely to be the only brand out there with users wanting to go back to an older device. I couldn't imagine an iPhone user going back to an iPhone 3G from an actual phone.

    Apparently this comes because the 9900 was just an unbelievably solid system, business proven and reliable.

    As for the BlackBerry classic, I see I am not the only one hoping for a curved keyboard. Unfortunately I think it is very unlikely to actually get a curved keyboard instead of a straight layout though.

    At the end of the day, I sometimes think a perfect BlackBerry would be in the exact form factor of the 9900, with a high resolution display, impressive speed and a high end camera.
    06-10-14 05:22 PM
  11. wilber1's Avatar
    My thoughts also but maybe a bigger screen for browsing ( classic)
    06-11-14 07:16 AM
  12. bunky1971's Avatar
    what would really blow my mind is if the Q20 has the 9000 form factor/sound capabilities, with the leather back door and the processing speed/LTE antenna/battery of the z30...THAT.

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9630 using Tapatalk
    06-13-14 04:14 PM
  13. solar1806's Avatar
    I used 9900 2 years, and I will wait Q20
    06-17-14 10:45 AM
  14. anon8091350's Avatar
    Bought a second hand Bold 9900 to try a real keyboard and have had no problems it's been very reliable not had to pull battery yet, and unlike my Z10 never looses all my contacts when i need to make calls it happens at random not helpful, and build quality is excellent and battery lasts a full day easily, Bold is now my main phone and waiting to see if Q20 will replace it, if not time for a new Bold.
    06-17-14 05:40 PM

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