[adam917]

...Still preferring BlackBerry over, say, Android or iOS?

By the end of this year, I will be the last one out of everyone I know still doing BlackBerry, though I have messed with other OS/hardware & even though other OS nowadays do a lot more overall, I'm especially finding the lack of a big variety of hardware form-factors to be a problem. It sucks a bit being in my position as I led plenty of people into BBs a few years back but RIM hasn't been offering a lot of very compelling devices compared to what is already out there in the past few years.

I'm intending to use my upgrade on the 9900 even though I'd probably be better off with an Android device given what I do with my phone. My reasons seem to stem from me being so used to the BlackBerry OS after going from 8100>8320>8310>8320 again>8900>9700>9780 along with me needing a lot of battery life which I find on other platforms & devices can be very hit & miss. The more I think it's the OS, the more I wonder if it's simply the power-hungry hardware going into the biggest & most advanced devices out.

I have also noticed that the few Android devices out with physical keyboards have usually been deliberately dumbed down & made inferior to their all-touch cousins. A keyboard Android device never ends up being a flagship phone.

Who else has thought the same way?

[murnende]

Fortunately, I still know 4 or 5 other people still using BlackBerry (probably a Canadian thing). My brother, though, carries an HTC Desire Z, a fantastic phone with a gorgeous display, and a nice physical keyboard (though it's landscape oriented, not ideal for one hand typing). In many ways, I'm jealous of his phone, but as a pure messaging device, and when it comes to battery life, my Bold wins hands down.

[OverShadow417]

I have never used BBM because I don't know anyone that uses a Blackberry - literally everyone I know has iPhone....well, at least everyone I know where I actually know what phone they have.

This doesn't bother me though - I had about a week of "Words with Friends" envy, played around with my brother's iPhone, realized I didn't like the fake keyboard, and decided that I didn't like the practices of Apple, so I couldn't bend my stance just to play a game and "join the club."

I then went to the AT&T store, held a Torch, then fended off the store associates attempts to persuade me to buy a iPhone and bought it.

I have since converted my brother to getting a 9810 when he can upgrade, and am on the way with my parents and comrades.

I personally will not be upgrading to a 9810 because, frankly, I don't use the phone anymore - to make calls and text messages sure - but my PB has replaced its other functions entirely. The next upgrade will probably be to the QNX phone.

As for your thoughts on the Android - no one I know uses the OS, and I've never played with it. Based on what I've read, its the linux of the 3 major OSes - RIM being Windows, and Apple being.....Apple. To me, that means Android is a questionable OS, Apple uses an OS designed for idiots and hinders power users, and RIM's OS has its problems but remains solid.

As a person who wants a phone first, a device second, and a toy third, I have no problem being "that guy" in a group - I know what I want, and I don't compromise for the sake of fitting in, due to pressure, or for the shiniest piece of crap in the dirt.

So stick to your guns!

[BergerKing]

I have a distictive lack of 'trendiness' and could give a toot less what the "In" phone is. I can communicate cross-platform with an app. If a person is a friend, I try to find a way to communicate that will work.

Am I gonna change platforms to run with the pack? In their wildest dreams.

I've had a few acquaintances change devices to something else. Very few.

So I'm gonna use what suits me. If I'm gonna be sad, there better be a darned good reason for it. Someone's choice of mobile device isn't even a minor sneeze.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Caymancroc]

I still know people with BB (maybe 6-10). I believe many or all of them will switch to the new iPhone. My work just got rid of BB and I am the only one that still uses it. I pay for my own exchange hosting, but soon I wil make the leap to iPhone too.

[jonathon.94]

I only know two people with a blackberry. One guy was in my class and was on it all the time. I only knew that the other person had it by facebook and not actually spotting it. Neither of these people are close friends. What's funny is all of my BBM friends are foreign people. :P

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[pcgizmo#IM]

For me it's not about following the crowd, it's about buying a device that meets my needs.

[mjs416]

I have always been the odd man out with a BB. Most people I know still had a dumbphone until like 2 years ago. At this point - my dad got a 9650 at the beginning of this year and a buddy of mine got a second hand Storm (which he loves by the way - wears like a size 15 ring with big sausage fingers but can still type on the virtual qwerty). Wife wont convert from the iphone so Im stuck with only 2 bbm friends.

[joeldf]

I kinda like being the different one. And showing it off too.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Rootbrian]

I'm not one to follow any sort of "trends", or anything to fit in. I do as I please, I don't care what others think either. My 9700 satisfies me, I don't care for thousands of apps or searing speed. If it's stable and rock solid enough, I'll use it until it burns to the ground, or wears out into uselessness. It saves me from checking my e-mail every 5-10 minutes for new messages, it all comes to me, except for a few times by checking the spam folder on a computer. Battery life, e-mail and overall satisfaction of my blackberry's performance is key, including simplicity.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[grahamf]

Virtually everyone in my social group uses Blackberry. and the one person with an iPhone we consider slightly crazy.

[sergesc]

Fortunately, I still have 70 friends with BBM. In fact all the people I know have BBs except several friends who have Android (one of which was an iPhone user). I am the one "forcing" down on them the technology most of the time, and updating their devices...^_^

However, it is a shame how in other parts the numbers have fallen..

[danimalchil]

The fact that most of my friends have moved to an Iphone is one of the reasons why I'm sticking with the BlackBerry. I really don't care what other people use...

[msp1518]

18 months ago, everyone I knew used either an iPhone, or a basic flip phone. A few has BB's. Today, it's all iPhone or DROIDs. Nobody has a BB.

Just me and my Storm2 and I am constantly asked when I am going to upgrade, as though my Storm2 is a dinosaur. It is what it is. But you will have to pry my Storm2 out of my cold dead hands.

[sergesc]

18 months ago, everyone I knew used either an iPhone, or a basic flip phone. A few has BB's. Today, it's all iPhone or DROIDs. Nobody has a BB.

Just me and my Storm2 and I am constantly asked when I am going to upgrade, as though my Storm2 is a dinosaur. It is what it is. But you will have to pry my Storm2 out of my cold dead hands.

I'm guessing you will update (if it's time) to a 9860 then?

[puddin78]

Virtually everyone in my social group uses Blackberry. and the one person with an iPhone we consider slightly crazy.

Lol!

You're lucky that you still have alot of BB friends. I don't have alot of BBM buddies but the few I have looks like they will be jumping ship soon as well. While I love my phone (and LOVE my keyboard) and will be upgrading to the 9900, I will say that my BB won't be as much fun for me without my BBM buddies.

p.s. Love your profile pic!

[pythons]

I feel your pain adam917, I'm already the last of my kind at the corporation I work for ( on a blackberry ) - the others have all migrated to Droid or iphone mostly because they were able to do things on those other devices they got tired of waiting on RIM for.

Business culture has evolved a great deal from what it was back in 2007 / 8 and many people in the business community needed to be able to open larger .pdf files and be able to access the internet to interact with corporate websites - in the business world of today RIM was either unwilling or unable to compete in these areas and has paid a price even a primate can calculate for their lack of effort.

I believe RIM makes the best "quality" phones in the world - they are tough, have excellent speakers, call quality and outlast anything else out there - I also appreciate the keyboards RIM puts on it's devices and in the case of my blackberry bold 9650 the camera has saved me countless hours and my company countless thousands of dollars.

My berry dares to go where most phones would dream of going - I've had to go out in heavy rain to do vehicle damage reports which include taking pictures of the damage ( close detail shots ) and the 3.2mp AF camera on my 9650 has done a job beyond my expectations.

I've also used the camera on my 9650 to capture documents, software product keys, notes or instructions made by others that I previously had to get a pen and paper for - for me the BB had more going for it than it had going against it - I just love the simple password keeper, calendar and push email the way BB does it.


Sadly I'm afraid my relationship with blackberry will be coming to an end with the release of the 9930 bold touch and RIM's determination to equip their flagship "business phone' with a ****tty EDOF camera which is well known for it's lack of ability to take the "business related" still pictures that make my life easier such as the pictures I need to take for damage reports and small text type shots for notes, etc.

I'm sure many others will have other reasons for leaving RIM but in my case having a functional camera for taking work related pictures is a priority - I simply use it too much and NO I would NOT go back to packing around a point and shoot just so I could have the 9930. My 9650 takes perfectly acceptable pictures for business related things and I've already taken enough test shots with an iphone 4 and a couple Droids to confirm they can capture more then enough "detail" for what I need out of it. Unfortunately, every example of the type of shots I would take the 9930 absolutely FAILS - it simply can't render close up shots such as document capture and rock chips / paint damage as found on a car.

Aside from the camera I was looking forward to getting a new berry as I love the form factor of the bold and have grown to trust the quality put into RIM devices -the quality parts put into the bold line now seems to be a thing of the past.

[T�nis]

DoubleDragon processor! QuadcoreCam! Lenin!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[medicinILL]

Among my group of friends which I see constantly I'm the only one with a BlackBerry. They all have iphones or android but I don't feel bad. I love my phone, I don't need a bunch of apps and I hate the virtual keyboard.

[escentz]

Most of my fam uses bb, but I'm sure that's going to change when the new iphonw comes out. All my friends have some kind of android. I LOVE bb though and I really can't wait until I can get a 9930 on vzn. Touch screen + kb + bb os is going to be heaven

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[laurah2215]

I still have friends on BB, but it does seem that many people are abandoning BB these days. I have family and friends that have had BBs that are going to Apple or Android. Sometimes I'm able to convince them to stick with trusty BB, and often BBM is the only allure. Sadly, though, BBM is not enough with cross-messenger apps available on iPhone and Android. It's not enough to make me abandon BB, however. I love my BB and don't see that changing. EVER (No matter what RIM does, and somehow that says something sad about me).

[KQ9]

where i come from, middle east, most people have a BB. my home country UAE, you would honestly look odd without a BB! My whole house of 9 has BB's except for my parents whom not very tech savvy lol. if you have an iphone, you most likely have a BB in the other pocket lol. Where i study in Malaysia, still, BB is very popular, specially with Indonesians, its cheap (think curve 9300), works great and keeps you connected socially.

My BBM keeps me connected with all, and i mean all of my daily friends here, and my freelance work mate back home, honestly i dont remember when was that last time i topped up my credit since the network seems to have messed up and is not charging me for my BIS, point is BBM is saving me loads of credit every month lol.

Even though BBs are not as popular as they used to be in US, theres a whole world beyond US. And not everyone can afford an iPhone, unless its locals on a contract plan.

PS. you can probably tell im typing from a PB from the amount of mistakes lol

[therapyreject174]

It's an uphill battle to keep my BB army strong, but I fight every day and have been able to hold my ground for the most part. The new phones coming out will be fantastic ammunition.

Last few months I've lost like 4 people to Android, but I did get 2 others to start using BlackBerry. 2 of my 3 closest friends are still using BB, but the other defected to Android. He says he'll be back when the 9900 launches, but we'll see.

BlackBerry is locked in with my immediate family and girlfriend though. I've got several lines on my plan, so an upgrade rolls in every 6-8 months. That leaves me a constant flow of BlackBerry to give them for free. Plus I'm the "computer guy", and I tell them I won't provide support for anything else.

[vw1]

I had friends who switched to Android and after I found out what their phones did and mine didnt do, i STILL told myself and them that I loved BB and I wasnt going to change. After a few months of dealing with the sloooow browser and the lag and all the other bugs in the OS that I was dealing with, my love for BB kind of faded and I started looking at Android myself. I played around with a few phones in the Sprint store and realized that I was a fool for staying with my phone when there were many other phones that functioned as they should.

I had been waiting and anticipating the Bold 9900/9930. So i said I would stick it out and i felt even better after the recent OS6 update which fixed the camera issue (when you snapped a pic the phone would reboot), and helped with some of the lag, but after the update the phone would randomly reboot and many times I couldnt answer the phone when it rang and I couldnt make calls because it would freeze up. Also several times the phone wouldnt charge to 100%. (it would stop at 60%) even after several hours of charging.

So after finally being fed up, I ordered an Android phone with a physical keyboard. I did have a learning curve, but what I loved about my BB is was almost able to duplicate on my Android phone with a few free apps. And what I hated about my BB has been replaced by my Android phone. Great Browser, fast fast fast (no lag), no apparent bugs in the OS, It does so much more than my BB ever did. But I still have love for BB, but when it stopped doing the basics well, I had to let it go. I wish the best for RIM in the future.

[El Platanero]

I know the feeling. I can't for the life of me give up my berry but sometimes it gets boring when the only person on your bbm contact list, well the only one that actually messages, is my wife. The cool thing with her is that I gave her the option of picking another phone and she's just as hooked as I am. If RIM, Apple and goole would just come to the conclusion that their is a market for every type of phone then they would develop a cross platform chat so everybody can talk. Maybe just something where if an I phone user uses their chat and messages a blackberry contact at that time the message would appear on bbm. that would give me the chance to remind my friends how much their phone sucks.