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I ran a little experiment with my family with Blackberries. I've been an avid fan since my Pearl 8100 and have used BB since. However my father, mother and sister have used completely different phones. I recently signed up for a family plan and got everyone new Blackberry Torches and decided to see how each one would feel about their new phone. It's been a month and a half, and I've noticed some interesting observations so I thought I'd share.
A little background. I'm a student and business owner. My sister is a corporate type employee who has so far resisted attempts to be assigned a corporate phone because she doesn't want to be connected to work always. My mom is also in corporate, and my dad is nearing retirement. Ages range from 23-60.
My dad:
Before the Torch, he had the iPhone 3G and liked it. His favourite use for the phone was watching videos on Youtube and tethering to his Netbook. He regretted getting the iPhone and always wanted a Blackberry.
However, a month in and he hates his new phone. I've tried my hardest to try to show him the features around the phone but there are some things I can't overcome. The iPhone Youtube app is unfortuantely better then Blackberry's shortcut. Family BBM isn't too particularly useful since we all have unlimited texting, so it's really neither an advantage or disadvantage for his particular case. After much resistance, I agreed to switch him back to the iPhone and sell his Torch.
As the oldest user, his case was the most interesting. Everyone knows Apple for it's 'experience' rather then cutting edge technology, and in the end, it's what mattered to my dad. I'm hoping that QNX will convert him back to BBs, but for now, I feel it's a lost cause
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Mom
Probably the least interested in a smart phone in my family. She has started to use BBM and Facebook more and more, and so far she seems happy with her phone. Before the Torch, she had a Motorola Razr (Old I know!).
Sister
She came from a Microsoft OS Samsung (Not the new one, the old crappy one). Apart from call and texting, it didn't do anything, but it was a quick phone, never froze. She also received an iPhone 3Gs with her old job. Loved the youtube functionality, hated that it was touchscreen/sans keyboard.
I actually did advise her to at least check out some Androids, but she was adament on getting a Blackberry. Socially, she loves it as almost all her friends use bbm. However, she's getting really frustrated with the constant freezing, especially on Youtube. I've tried to update the OS on her phone to no real improvement.
Myself
There are two reasons I'm loyal to RIM, the Pearl and that it's Canadian. The Pearl was an amazingly built phone, stronger then anything I've ever seen and the OS was amazing (For it's time). Rarely if ever froze on me, the only two problems were it's lack of memory (which would wipe my call log and text messages if I didn't do a battery pull ocassionally), and the battery door latch. Friends were impressed when I'd hit the screen with the edge of a table with barely a scratch. It always worked when I needed, Opera 4 made browsing the internet a breeze (and rather fast for Edge).
The Torch seems to have lost that magic. It's fat, slow, and seems to find the most crucial moments to act stupid. I'm scared of dropping it, or even putting keys or coins in the same pocket since it already has a visible scratch.
As a business owner, I long for the simplicity and the 'just works' attributes of my old Pearl. I've been waiting for Blackberry Office 365 to be released. I appreciate tools like BB Traffic, Travel, and the Conference app. But it's getting harder to ignore advantages of other platforms. So I'm selling my Torch too and going back to my 9700. I'll be waiting to try out the 9900 when it comes out.
I'm trying to find a positive way to end this, because the last thing I want to do on a Blackberry enthusiast forum is bash a company that is already facing some difficulties (and received a lot of unfair press over the last few months). The intent was to show four different perspectives of Blackberry users (Content consumption, simple, social, and business owner) because I've seen a lot of posts over here claim how the phone as it stands now is terrible or perfect. I've found that it fits both descriptions depending on who you are and what you do. I sincerely do want RIM to be the dominant force it once was and that means less "If you don't like it, then leave" attitude in my humble opinion.
As for that positive note to end this off, I'm not switching to an iPhone or Droid. I'm too stubborn to leave my brand. I think RIM made every mistake in the book and still got where they are, now it's their time to get back into the game with all guns blazing.07-05-11 11:43 AM - Thanks! Glad you liked it
I've noticed this with a friend of mine who recently bought a 9780 for his wife. While he is quite happy with his 9700 + OS 5, the OS 6 is becoming a frustration.
Family chat was the first thing I set up for all four of us. My dad's issue might have been his learning curve at his age. He's so used to texting, that going into this messaging program didn't provide some super benefit.
I think with a few general improvements, I can think of several different types of people who'd switch back to Blackberry. I was reading the article posted by a Blackberry developer from space, and I feel that if he's right, and RIM integrates TAT and tinyhippos and all their new aquisitions properly, they would be a force to reckon with.
Thanks! And good luck! I would hold on to the faster and thinner 9900 for your folks thoughNice experiment!
I recently got my sister and her fiance a couple of 9780's and they love them. They love being able to have a bbm group for our family. Now we're just trying to convince the old folks to make the switch
Blackberry is great for families.07-05-11 10:27 PM
