How BlackBerry saved my life.

**sydsam** · 11-01-2012, 03:10 PM

I've been a BlackBerry user since 2007, my first BlackBerry was a Curve, and then I moved on to Bolds which I used until late 2011. All this time I had a strange feeling towards the iPhone users, I could never understand what is up with that crowd. And generally speaking I could never understand what is up with Mac users either. Apart from the designers and video editors, I could never grasp why the would you use one. But at one point it seemed that everyone was switching to iPhone. And this is where the mockery began: "What? How can you not have an iPhone?", "You don't have an iPhone??? How do you view pdf's??? What???", "What??? What do you mean you don't have a compass?" and only later "What??? You are not on Instagram??Pffff", "Do you even have maps in that thing???" and on and on.

So finally when my upgrade time came along in the late 2011, I gave in and got myself an iPhone 4S. And oh-my-god. It wasn't like somebody chopped of both of my hands with a very blunt axe, it was much worse. I would go over the entire experience point by point, please bare in mind that this is coming from a blackberry user taking things for granted. (BIASED)

Calling/Reception/Antenna
In one sentence: "It's non existent." It's not just that reception is appalling, it's everything that comes with it.
Connected to wifi and walk out of router range while talking= Dropped call.
Reception not in full bars you making a call, even if you get connected = dropped call.
Have a wifi antenna on, while out and about? Most likely most people that call you will go straight to voicemail. I literally had tens of voicemail notifications per day without my phone ringing once, while I was in network coverage.
But to be honest, even when all is well and you have all the bars, and the wifi antenna is not trying to connect to anything there is in the vicinity. The call quality is so bad, you might as well just not bother calling anyone ever.
Once you get over this there is
Notifications/Push/Sync
And this is where BB really shines over iPhone. Let's take out the genius of little red light out of the equation, and just look at how things are pushed through. When you are a BlackBerry user you get used to the idea, that if anyone has sent you an sms, email, what's app message, facebook message or whatever else you have connected to your device, you would know if not immediately then in the next 5 minutes (that is when outage is taking place or you are caught in the middle of natural disaster). So how about several hours for pushing through an email? Or 2 days for whatsapp message? I'm not saying this happens on the daily basis, but it is more than common with iPhone. Getting to your messages is not an easy task either. You have to do 2-3 times more actions to do the same task when compared to bb. And then there is that paradigm Thorsten talks so rightly about - in and out of apps. There is no integration between apps there is no sync to google or facebook, to such an extent that we got used to when using a bb. The first two hours I spent with iPhone where like somebody just switched off my life. And there is definitely no app for that. You are left isolated staring at that shiny thing in your hand with a half-mad grin on your face not knowing whether to cry or laugh. The joke is on you.

Apps
Once you get used to the idea, that nobody can contact you, and you can't contact anyone either. Might as well connect to wifi and download some apps. This is where iPhone is at its best, right? Well ye, there are loads of very high quality apps. But that's the thing, in order to get an iPhone to be even half-way as productive as bb, you have to download tens of apps, most of them paid for. And this is when the "in and out" madness begins, it's not just inconvenient it is a full time job. In my opinion this is the only explanation to high download volume at appstore, people are trying to do something to get out of misery experience of using an iphone.
Locked screen new whatsapp message, responding to notification takes to the conversation you are notified about, right? Wrong. You go to last conversation open.
Want to attach anything to an email you are currently writing? Nope, can't be done. Go back to file, picture, or whatever you want to attach and start over.
Want to dial last number in the call log:
bb: basically 2 actions: Unlock screen, dial button press twice.
iPhone:
Wake, unlock, phone button, recent, dial button.
And this is the moment when you start using your iPhone primarily for taking pictures of food and putting them on instagram.

After 11 months of pure torture that iPhone brought to my life. After numerous questions from my colleagues whether I have taken a vocation. After several fights with my girlfriend, who felt increasingly neglected and ignored. I went to Vodafone store and got myself the cheapest bb they had, the magnificent Curve 9220. Within minutes my mind was at ease, blackberry is still the best phone there is. It has an extremely snappy and intuitive OS, which would run circles around iOS and Android for that matter. The reception is outstanding, and call quality is superb. Everything is pushed through, and the light is shining brightly red. It just works.

So if you are even considering switching to iPhone, talk to your friends that have used a bb before they switched to iPhone or just slap your face. Don't be as stupid as I was, there is nothing there. To be fair there is one department where Android (I am a proud owner of Nexus 7) and iOS are obviously better - the maps. Maps are a pain on bb. But even the maps are now gone with the new iOS 6.
So relax, sit back, and think of BB10. It is going to be awesome.

**mikeo007** · 11-01-2012, 03:13 PM

Thanks for your opinion.
How exactly did Blackberry save your life through? I was expecting an inspiring story about sandy...

**sydsam** · 11-01-2012, 03:17 PM

I'm on a 100+ work related emails per day. Thats how.

**mikeo007** · 11-01-2012, 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by sydsam

I'm on a 100+ work related emails per day. Thats how.

Still don't get it. Sounds like you had bad luck with your iPhone, Blackberry works well for you, awesome.

**gymwarner** · 11-01-2012, 03:25 PM

Haha a really good post. Very interesting opinions. I could see how it would frustrate you.

BlackBerry!!!!

**TgeekB** · 11-01-2012, 03:31 PM

Oh the drama!

**berriac** · 11-01-2012, 03:35 PM

long story put short " other than maps, BB is better than iOS and Android in every department"
may I add Photos and videos to the advantage of iOS and Android devices

**ALToronto** · 11-01-2012, 03:41 PM

My husband was just given an iPhone 5 by his employer. He was the last BB holdout in an office of 35 people. I can't complain about call quality of his new phone, but the lack of the LED is very annoying. You need to be within earshot of the phone to hear a message come in. The email sync is not bad anymore, maybe 5-10 minutes. But there's no doubt it's a toy, not so much a communication management device.

**jweihrauch** · 11-01-2012, 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by ALToronto

My husband was just given an iPhone 5 by his employer. He was the last BB holdout in an office of 35 people. I can't complain about call quality of his new phone, but the lack of the LED is very annoying. You need to be within earshot of the phone to hear a message come in. The email sync is not bad anymore, maybe 5-10 minutes. But there's no doubt it's a toy, not so much a communication management device.

I was using a company issued Bold 9900. There were 8 new guys getting company issued phones. 7 requested the 4S and I requested the Bold 9900. IT said, "What is the Bold 9900?". Good grief. Anyways, I had so many issues with my Bold 9900 that I had to send it back for another one. Then another one...eventually they said, "You're getting an iPhone." Well...I then went out and sold my personal 4S JUST so I could have my Bold 9900 back. I say all this to simply say this, "Company issued iPhone 4S phones are a disaster for those who travel. No changing of batteries on a plane with no outlets and terrible reception. I'm gaming most of the time and clicking in and out of apps is quite annoying."

I was made to switch too. Hate it.

**sydsam** · 11-01-2012, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by mikeo007

Still don't get it. Sounds like you had bad luck with your iPhone, Blackberry works well for you, awesome.

See. we are speaking different languages - you are sane. Use an iPhone for a year, then we'll speak again.

**sydsam** · 11-01-2012, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by berriac

long story put short " other than maps, BB is better than iOS and Android in every department"
may I add Photos and videos to the advantage of iOS and Android devices

Sure. Maps, photos, apps and shiny.

**sydsam** · 11-01-2012, 07:16 PM

Originally Posted by jweihrauch

I was using a company issued Bold 9900. There were 8 new guys getting company issued phones. 7 requested the 4S and I requested the Bold 9900. IT said, "What is the Bold 9900?". Good grief. Anyways, I had so many issues with my Bold 9900 that I had to send it back for another one. Then another one...eventually they said, "You're getting an iPhone." Well...I then went out and sold my personal 4S JUST so I could have my Bold 9900 back. I say all this to simply say this, "Company issued iPhone 4S phones are a disaster for those who travel. No changing of batteries on a plane with no outlets and terrible reception. I'm gaming most of the time and clicking in and out of apps is quite annoying."

I was made to switch too. Hate it.

Totally agree with the last statement.
Travel with an iPhone is even worse if you live in Europe, I travel about 10 times a year, to 3-4 countries per year. And that means international data roaming. Phone bill up by 300% since switched to iPhone.

**MartyMcfly** · 11-01-2012, 07:27 PM

The Bold is a great device, I hope you enjoy it.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

**MartyMcfly** · 11-01-2012, 07:29 PM

Originally Posted by ALToronto

The email sync is not bad anymore, maybe 5-10 minutes. But there's no doubt it's a toy, not so much a communication management device.

A toy that many use to run their business.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

**sydsam** · 11-01-2012, 07:37 PM

Originally Posted by MartyMcfly

A toy that many use to run their business.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I guess it depends on a type of business, the one that doesn't require urgency most definitely can be run by an iPhone. If you need to reply within minutes from the time somebody sent you an email, you are screwed.

**MartyMcfly** · 11-01-2012, 08:17 PM

Originally Posted by sydsam

I guess it depends on a type of business, the one that doesn't require urgency most definitely can be run by an iPhone. If you need to reply within minutes from the time somebody sent you an email, you are screwed.

I do it everyday.

Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

**sydsam** · 11-01-2012, 08:24 PM

Originally Posted by MartyMcfly

I do it everyday.

Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

I'm sorry, you do what everyday?

**mikeo007** · 11-01-2012, 09:04 PM

Originally Posted by sydsam

I guess it depends on a type of business, the one that doesn't require urgency most definitely can be run by an iPhone. If you need to reply within minutes from the time somebody sent you an email, you are screwed.

Lol, sounds like you've never actually used an iPhone. I get emails on my iPad quicker than they come on my Blackberry. You sure your fancy story isn't just a figment of your imagination?

**sydsam** · 11-01-2012, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by mikeo007

Lol, sounds like you've never actually used an iPhone. I get emails on my iPad quicker than they come on my Blackberry. You sure your fancy story isn't just a figment of your imagination?

On wifi or 3G?

**bluz** · 11-02-2012, 05:40 AM

glad you're back alive!

**TgeekB** · 11-02-2012, 07:04 AM

I believe if you wouldn't have said blackberry "saved your life" and just commented on how you preferred it, you wouldn't be getting these responses. Just because we prefer blackberry does not mean we have to make things up about iPhone. If you had a bad experience, so be it, but lots of people and businesses do not. That's just fact.

**sydsam** · 11-02-2012, 08:00 AM

Originally Posted by tgeekb

I believe if you wouldn't have said blackberry "saved your life" and just commented on how you preferred it, you wouldn't be getting these responses. Just because we prefer blackberry does not mean we have to make things up about iPhone. If you had a bad experience, so be it, but lots of people and businesses do not. That's just fact.

Elaborate on "make things up". I did write in BOLD in the post that the views I was expressing are obviously BIASED. If you can think of a bigger disclaimer, please let me know for future use. I also never said that iPhone is unusable to people or businesses. It is, just in my opinion not as efficiently as bb, again in the departments I mentioned. Please don't try to twist my words.

**sydsam** · 11-02-2012, 08:09 AM

Originally Posted by mikeo007

Lol, sounds like you've never actually used an iPhone. I get emails on my iPad quicker than they come on my Blackberry. You sure your fancy story isn't just a figment of your imagination?

You forgot to answer whether this is on wifi or 3g....or you thought if you keep your head down and change the subject, I'm not going to ask? It's not school, you know.

**mikeo007** · 11-02-2012, 08:15 AM

Originally Posted by sydsam

You forgot to answer whether this is on wifi or 3g....or you thought if you keep your head down and change the subject, I'm not going to ask? It's not school, you know.

Oh I didn't forget, I just don't feel like getting into pointless debates with obvious trouble makers.
But since you asked so nicely: both on wifi only and 3g

**TgeekB** · 11-02-2012, 08:17 AM

Originally Posted by sydsam

Elaborate on "make things up". I did write in BOLD in the post that the views I was expressing are obviously BIASED. If you can think of a bigger disclaimer, please let me know for future use. I also never said that iPhone is unusable to people or businesses. It is, just in my opinion not as efficiently as bb, again in the departments I mentioned. Please don't try to twist my words.

I was referring to the title of the thread which, as you know, determines whether people will have interest in reading your post or not. Second you said
"So if you are even considering switching to iPhone, talk to your friends that have used a bb before they switched to iPhone or just slap your face. Don't be as stupid as I was, there is nothing there." that sounds like you are saying it is "unusable" to me.