[circles313]

So, I got the 9800 & I had switched from the captivate. I watched videos, saw commercials, read reviews & played with it in stores. So I got mine, I made 6 calls in 20 hours & then returned it for the Captivate. I missed having a physical keyboard & I loved BB & the email client. Lets face facts, NOTHING can or will EVER beat blackberry when it comes to email clients. But the reason I returned it was because the call quality was garbage! 6 out of 6 phone calls were distorted. Also, The new 6.0 seems to have pointless menus. Do I need a phone telling me what I use most often? How is that ever needed? Also, The speed...my GOD was it slow! It lagged & froze. I wanted to love the phone I really did! But instead it put such a sick taste in my mouth.....

Has anyone ever experienced these problems?
Are developers working on more apps?
Do all the 9800's have bad call quality?

I'm used to having a phone (android) with tons of apps & when I saw the market for the 9800 I was unimpressed. I know it's new & it takes times but even when Android started, a ton of developers jumped on board. Where as with RIM, they've been around for a long time & still, the app market is pretty small & charges a lot of money for apps I'd never use.

[circles313]

Sorry, I almost missed my point. I want to love the 9800. RIM isn't a bad company & they do have strong points, but I'm looking for some hope with this phone & the new OS. Is there any?

[mhw100]

There shouldn't be any lag. That was dealt with OS .246. Mine is quick but then again I shrunk the OS to get rid of anything that could lag.

Call quality is excellent and I think for most users would agree. That is one of the attractions to the phone for me although admittedly the speaker volume could be higher.

You may have had a bad one or one that had the old OS installed which was slow and call quality poor.

Your biggest challenge is going from the Galaxy screen to the Torch screen. The screen on the Torch is my only beef but then again I'm not watching movies, playing games and doing very little browsing,.

[circles313]

Thanks for the heads up on that. I wasn't sure if it was just the unit I had or the OS. Maybe I'll give it another go cause again, I did want to love the phone. But I'm used to playing games, using photo apps, using the web & more. If the 9800 can hang with the Captivate, I'll switch back in a heart beat for the Emails. But my experience was really bad right off the bat.

[mhw100]

The key seems to be the operating system so if it is .141 then you're going to hate it. If you're playing games and using the web a lot then you prolly don't want the torch compared to the beautiful galaxy screen. Fonts on the Torch can sometimes be blurry...not cool. Depends what is more important to you though: emails vs. media stuff

Also check out to make sure the slider doesn't wiggle when it is extended.

[dfairlite]

None of those issues with mine, snappy, clear quality calls, love the frequent menu. Sorry yours sucked. Enjoy the droid. I tried a droid for a few hours and hated it, so to each their own.

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[MaverickAngel]

I have a new (less than 24 hour old) Torch and I'm in love with it. I have no problems with call quality and it's like driving a F1 racer after spending your life piloting a Pinto. One of those YMMV situations I guess.

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[homer1475]

Most of the problems listed are OS dependent. Although the captivate has a better screen and better games, I believe the BB is a better phone. For overall functionality the BB is hands down the best out there, any BB. If you want to watch videos, play games, and do all the things you can still do on a berry(although in my opinion not as efficient). Then an iphone or android platform will probably suit you better.

[flippychip]

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I had the Captivate for 2 miserable weeks. It was a fun toy but crappy phone. I had the opposite experience, my calls dropped like crazy, couldn't txt pictures, email would just disappear, & never had a good signal. I wanted to have something new & exciting but in the end I decided I wanted a phone that actually worked. I have had the Torch for a week now, almost two, loved it from the start. I can make calls w/o dropping, emails are always thhere, browser is fast, battery life is awesome, I think you might have had a dud, either that or I did

[zensen]

aren't you lucky that you can switch as easily as that. For the most part I dont think many people were getting horrible reception. did you like call the same person or others in the same area. I swear you didn't give it enough of a go...

Also, how many apps do you really need to get the weather or to type a message or to surf the web or get in touch with people on twitter... i don't know... unless you're talking about games then well, casual touch screen games, some can be fun but there's a reason why there's PSP's and DS'es out there.

[GG1]

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
I had the Captivate for 2 miserable weeks. It was a fun toy but crappy phone. I had the opposite experience, my calls dropped like crazy, couldn't txt pictures, email would just disappear, & never had a good signal. I wanted to have something new & exciting but in the end I decided I wanted a phone that actually worked. I have had the Torch for a week now, almost two, loved it from the start. I can make calls w/o dropping, emails are always thhere, browser is fast, battery life is awesome, I think you might have had a dud, either that or I did

You must have had a dud also. I am still waiting for my 1st dropped call after months of use with my SGS. I can easily say it is the best phone i have had. This is my business phone so my emails are a must and that also works great. I guess experiences vary, i had a so-so experience with the Torch.

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[circles313]

Zensen, I thought the same thing before I ever owned an android phone. But now that I do I have a lot of apps. Of course there's my email, weather, camera DC, YouTube downloader, rom manager, beautiful widget, better keyboard, xda developer, album art finder, task killer, lock screen, landscape app & so much more. I get why people love blackberry phones but with android you have so many options & i wish blackberry would allow you to make the phone exactly how you want it to look.

I thought the hd2 looked pretty rad with the weather & clock app with the real time weather app so i downloaded it. Its small things like that which make people want an android phone. Plus, rims app market has more paid apps then free apps where android has tons of free apps & games.

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[Thanontos]

Zensen, I thought the same thing before I ever owned an android phone. But now that I do I have a lot of apps. Of course there's my email, weather, camera DC, YouTube downloader, rom manager, beautiful widget, better keyboard, xda developer, album art finder, task killer, lock screen, landscape app & so much more. I get why people love blackberry phones but with android you have so many options & i wish blackberry would allow you to make the phone exactly how you want it to look.

I thought the hd2 looked pretty rad with the weather & clock app with the real time weather app so i downloaded it. Its small things like that which make people want an android phone. Plus, rims app market has more paid apps then free apps where android has tons of free apps & games.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I think you will see more competition in the app market for android, hence the multiple free or cheap apps. Part of the reason many app developers probably don't code apps for BB is that RIM restricts many parts of the phone and it can take a while to get the proper api's to develop the app, at least from what I read, I'm sure somebody will comment further on this. But on a good note, RIM being tight about unrestricting parts of the OS for apps, means that there is less of a chance for security issues.

The general consensus is BB is for the business consumer, they don't need to play 3D games, and companies might not buy a phone for emploees if it can deter productivity. I don't agree so much with that statement and hope maybe RIM will deliver a phone for the non-business consumer out there.

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[circles313]

From what I understood is that the 9800 is supposed to be that new medium between business users & non business users. I loved my blackberry & I'm not a business person. Hopefully rim will realize they're pigeon hoping themselves by only trying to reach 1 type of person.

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[jcp007]

RIM is not restricting themselves to one market segment. They recently acquired Torch Mobile, thus the new webkit browser. Cellmania was acquired signalling their app development focus and DocsToGo is another one that will enhance the multi-tasking of business professionals. Business professionals or not, if messaging is more a priority, then RIM is the only one with a secure communications platform that other brands wish they had. The OS is optimized to make maximum use of the hardware. Do RIM owners wish for a more robust processor and browser? Sure they do. With each OS iteration, multi-tasking and device customization/organization gets better. I have trouble taking any device seriously that has an OS named after food. In all seriousness, the android and Apple devices are great devices. It just depends on which configuration meets your needs and what your priorities or expectations are regarding your smartphone.

[GG1]

^ So it is easier to take seriously a phone named after food than an os named after food?

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[sleepngbear]

From what I understood is that the 9800 is supposed to be that new medium between business users & non business users. I loved my blackberry & I'm not a business person. Hopefully rim will realize they're pigeon hoping themselves by only trying to reach 1 type of person.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I'd consider myself the same kind of user as you. I had the the Enterprise plan so I could sync my work calendar; but I scrapped it a couple of phones ago because having to use a company-mandated password plus all the other stuff they lock down on MY personal phone just stuck in my craw, especially when the company decided to stop subsidizing it. But I digress ...

When I first got Torch, the call quality was definitely crappy compared to the Bold 9000 before it. First OS upgrade from .141 to .246 fixed that and a plethora of other bugs and annoyances. I just upgraded to .284 last week, and the thing is pretty much bomb-proof. Good battery life, no crashes, no need to reboot, no lag to speak of other than the occasional spinning clock in a couple of games ... but they're just time-wasters anyway, so big deal. And I've been through at least a half dozen themes and I've yet to find one I like better or is more functional than the stocker, which to me says a lot about the thought that went into this whole package.

As someone else mentioned, maybe you just got a dog ... I'd visit the store again and give it another shot. Before you leave the store, check the OS version and make sure it's at least .246; check the slider for wobble, and make a test call to be sure the audio clarity is up to snuff.

Good luck ...

[fass]

I am a life-long mac user so when it came time to buy a smart-phone, everyone assumed that I would get an iphone. I needed the best phone that would help me get my job done and I decided on the Torch. I knew nothing about Blackberry. I am so addicted to the Torch and the OS that I already have decided to get the Playbook as soon as it's released. I believe that I will only buy Blackberry phones from here on out.