[Darlaten]

Having just watched an episode of The Simpsons, the following quote seems to be quite apt for this thread, spoken by Nelson Muntz to Mr. Burns naturally, "Hey Grandpa, the Civil War's Over"

[Taigatrommel]

Just yesterday I read some news RIM will deliver phones based on BBX which will also have the beloved QWERTY keyboards - physical ones of course!

About the software, I wouldn't worry too much. What was shown was an early demonstration of an Alpha built based on a Developer Device. Who knows what we'll see in the future when the actual hardware for us end-consumers arrives?

I'm also a bit baffled why the OP stated he wants hardware compareable to Android and iOS. Dont't get me wrong, I'm still new to Blackberry. But why, just why would you like to see those power hungry dual and quad CPUs in a device powered by OS 7.1? Seriously, I mean my Bold 9900 is fast, even after many days without reboots. So why add another battery hogg? Most people want those specs because of games... but that shouldn't be a reason on a "Bold" device?

[Superfly_FR]

The whole reason I love blackberry is for the keyboard and their OS. The build, style, being able to do everything is such an easy integrated way. It's so convenient for me. Nothing can compare to the Bold 9900. Phone always comes first for me.

The ONLY thing BB's lack are the specs. They are not up to par with the latest Androids and IPhones.

If you make a Bold 9900 or something very similar to the bold, and the OS not changing its prime features with the same specs then i'm a BB owner for life.

I don't like big phones. I don't like all touch screens. I don't even like the swipe unlock thingy.

RIM, you don't have to make a complete make over. The specs is what it's all about. Or just have variety.

Or else I'm jumping ship in a heart beat. No reason to have a BB if it's just going to be another android.

If that happens, Rim will surely fail.

Don't panic, you'll be able to keep your 9900 for years ... BB10 does not anyhow means that previous OSes devices will be abandoned (say at least for OS 6 & 7).
So just relax, you'll get a bunch of BB10 over the Playbook while your trusted and liked 9900 stands for long in your hand !

[wuulfy]

All very interesting this...I remember when people would be ridiculed for having a large phone...I remember when people were ridiculed for wearing tight jeans...

Fashions change, but fashion sells. And whether we like it or not, smart phones are becoming a fashion item first and phone second.

Yes I KNOW that is not true for most blackberry owners, but you adapt or die...I think that was Darwin or someone

[dtango]

Im more bemused by people excited for a touch screen device when there is some real crackers already out there. Why would you trust rim, do you not remember the endless bricking and no support?

[donnation]

The whole reason I love blackberry is for the keyboard and their OS. The build, style, being able to do everything is such an easy integrated way. It's so convenient for me. Nothing can compare to the Bold 9900. Phone always comes first for me.

The ONLY thing BB's lack are the specs. They are not up to par with the latest Androids and IPhones.

If you make a Bold 9900 or something very similar to the bold, and the OS not changing its prime features with the same specs then i'm a BB owner for life.

I don't like big phones. I don't like all touch screens. I don't even like the swipe unlock thingy.

RIM, you don't have to make a complete make over. The specs is what it's all about. Or just have variety.

Or else I'm jumping ship in a heart beat. No reason to have a BB if it's just going to be another android.

If that happens, Rim will surely fail.

News flash, they are failing now and the old OS HAS TO DIE. It is antiquated and behind the times. They need a complete makeover and that is what Blackberry 10 is, so either ready yourself for change or start looking at other manufacturers.

[erodenero]

Having just watched an episode of The Simpsons, the following quote seems to be quite apt for this thread, spoken by Nelson Muntz to Mr. Burns naturally, "Hey Grandpa, the Civil War's Over"

bahahhahaha....gold!

[erodenero]

News flash, they are failing now and the old OS HAS TO DIE. It is antiquated and behind the times. They need a complete makeover and that is what Blackberry 10 is, so either ready yourself for change or start looking at other manufacturers.

It doesnt have to die, well not right away atleast, the enterprise adoption of bbos devices would be a huge loss if they stopped supporting them right from bb10 launch. but agreed the op needs to ready themselves for change, because it seems they dont have many other options considering they hate just about every phone out there.

[DaedalusIcarusHelios]

Maybe I'll switch to a Sectera Edge.

I finally decided to Google it to see what it looks like. Man, is that one ugly looking phone.

[sleepngbear]

News flash, they are failing now and the old OS HAS TO DIE. It is antiquated and behind the times. They need a complete makeover and that is what Blackberry 10 is, so either ready yourself for change or start looking at other manufacturers.

Ok, in every respect this is as absurd a statement as the OP's suggestion that RIM can NOT change. Please, enough with the melodrama.

[Morty2264]

I think I read somewhere that there will be a QWERTY keyboard phone released, as well (but all that is speculation at this point; but I have read that there will be BB10 keyboard phones from different sources). Anyway, though it's too early to say with assurance that there will be a keyboard phone with BB10, I'm hoping that there will be a phone like that. RIM is known for its keyboard; so hopefully they will take that into consideration when releasing future BB10 phones.

[kraski]

The whole reason I love blackberry is for the keyboard and their OS. The build, style, being able to do everything is such an easy integrated way. It's so convenient for me. Nothing can compare to the Bold 9900. Phone always comes first for me.

The ONLY thing BB's lack are the specs. They are not up to par with the latest Androids and IPhones.

If you make a Bold 9900 or something very similar to the bold, and the OS not changing its prime features with the same specs then i'm a BB owner for life.

I don't like big phones. I don't like all touch screens. I don't even like the swipe unlock thingy.

RIM, you don't have to make a complete make over. The specs is what it's all about. Or just have variety.

Or else I'm jumping ship in a heart beat. No reason to have a BB if it's just going to be another android.

If that happens, Rim will surely fail.

So, where do you go? WP7 & iOS have no physical keyboards. The few Android phones with physical keyboards had lots of flaws, including the physical keyboards. Match the right sized screen with a physical kb and you have the best phone ever. There are advantages to both.

[Morty2264]

I finally decided to Google it to see what it looks like. Man, is that one ugly looking phone.

I just Googled it too; and it almost looks like a version of the Nintendo DS (with the screen and the touch-pen) - though not as sleek (I love my DS!). Lol.

[Morty2264]

Blackberry has a lot of things right. You obviously recognize that. at the same time, if they do not change then they will go under and you will have no more blackberry to be proud of. Yes, there will be changes to the operating system and they will make some new phone models, but they know that they have an entire army of blackberry users who love what they already have. RIM is not going to abandon their current user base. They will keep what is good and add on top of it. Don't give up hope!

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

Very well said!

[adriank403]

I had the same feeling as the OP initially. When a significant amount of time of the keynote went into on-screen keyboards I was convinced that it would be the only form that BB10 phones would have.
BUT
I thought to myself: there isn't much more a BB pjhysical keyboard can do (which is OK) and the full on-screen keyboards are always a problem regardless of screen size (my playbook keyboard is annoying sometimes). The Playbook is going to run BB10, as well as the next generation of Torches so if this is the upgrade for those phones then awesome because I have a 9800 and writing on that on-screen keyboard is crap.
I really do hope that the London won't be the only phone released at the launch but the Milan as well. I'm with the OP when they said the physical keyboard is vital to his loyalty. Sure we can stick with a 9900 for ever but lets face it we're dorks and we want a new device every little bit.


Sent from my BlackBerry 9800 using Tapatalk

[dcgore]

The whole reason I love blackberry is for the keyboard and their OS. The build, style, being able to do everything is such an easy integrated way. It's so convenient for me. Nothing can compare to the Bold 9900. Phone always comes first for me.

The ONLY thing BB's lack are the specs. They are not up to par with the latest Androids and IPhones.

If you make a Bold 9900 or something very similar to the bold, and the OS not changing its prime features with the same specs then i'm a BB owner for life.

I don't like big phones. I don't like all touch screens. I don't even like the swipe unlock thingy.

RIM, you don't have to make a complete make over. The specs is what it's all about. Or just have variety.

Or else I'm jumping ship in a heart beat. No reason to have a BB if it's just going to be another android.

If that happens, Rim will surely fail.

I guess back to the dumb phone you go.

[Chrisy]

The deciding factor for me will be the size of the touch BlackBerry 10 device. I agree with the OP. I hate huge phones. I liked my Android a lot, amazing screen and features but in the end it was TOO BIG.

If the BlackBerry 10 device isn't under a 4.3 inch screen I may wait for the BlackBerry 10 with physical if there is one.

If not, I'd be in the same boat. Only I'd just stay with the 99xx series.

I mean you cn still get an 8330 so I don't think that will be an issue.

[xanadome]

I had the same feeling as the OP initially. When a significant amount of time of the keynote went into on-screen keyboards I was convinced that it would be the only form that BB10 phones would have.
BUT
I thought to myself: there isn't much more a BB pjhysical keyboard can do (which is OK) and the full on-screen keyboards are always a problem regardless of screen size (my playbook keyboard is annoying sometimes). The Playbook is going to run BB10, as well as the next generation of Torches so if this is the upgrade for those phones then awesome because I have a 9800 and writing on that on-screen keyboard is crap.
I really do hope that the London won't be the only phone released at the launch but the Milan as well. I'm with the OP when they said the physical keyboard is vital to his loyalty. Sure we can stick with a 9900 for ever but lets face it we're dorks and we want a new device every little bit

I don't think for a minute that RIM would abandon the QWERTY any time soon. After all, that was at least one reason why it was making a BB a BB. RIM has a huge market following who prefer the physical keyboard, which they like to maintain, at least not to be stolen by competitors.

But come to think of it, in a grand scheme of things, physical keyboard seems to be a dying breed. What was killing RIM was their inability of sensing the changing wind and dwelling on what they believed was the superior OS and keyboard etc. But the market changed to more "display-centric", i.e., more emphasis on internet essentially (including GPS etc).
Virtual keyboard lost (at least for now) the tactile feeling people praised, and ability to use shortcuts etc. But having half of the available real estate occupied by the permanent keyboard seems to be a big waste.
Instead of fighting to maintain the physical keyboard, I think the industry will try to make the virtual keyboard more like a physical one, and even better. BB10 keyboard they have shown yesterday is a one step forward. They can also make the virtual keyboard on a lock screen so that it is always available for shortcuts etc (I don't know if that's the best way, I am not a designer :-).

While I use the 9790 for everyday use now, the touch screen never bothered me (I've been using the iPhone since the beginning of it). In fact, reasons I am using the BB now are not because of typing on physical keyboard. Because I know that well-designed virtual keyboard is very comfortable to use, I do not worry a bit about BB10 possibly losing the physical keyboard eventually.
I actually look forward to RIM for making the best-in-the-industry touch keyboard. RIM has the potential of accomplishing it as they know how the BB's physical keyboard is used, particularly in conjunction with their OS. Allowing shortcuts on virtual keyboard alone would entice me. Old school hierarchical menu system itself does not bother me, but I am sure BB10 would sport a brand new UI.

[xanadome]

The deciding factor for me will be the size of the touch BlackBerry 10 device. I agree with the OP. I hate huge phones. I liked my Android a lot, amazing screen and features but in the end it was TOO BIG.

I agree with this. The moment I saw the BB10 dev alpha, I thought it was an iPhone knock-off, LOL. iPhone today might look smaller compared with others but I thought it hit the sweet spot. It probably might go a bit larger but not by much. At one point, I even dreamed of "iPhone nano" that eliminated one horizontal raw of icons. I preferred 9790 over 9900. I hope RIM would maintain the size of the alpha device.

My ideal is a "toss-around" pocket sized phone that could be very usable for displaying info
on internet or map etc (which by default means a virtual keyboard). I do not think larger is better. When I need a larger display, I would certainly reach for a tab or a laptop etc.
I understand the reasoning behind Sam's Galaxy Note, but do not agree with it. It's ridiculous.

[shemaree09]

yeah, I see where the OP is coming from.

A Blackberry without a keyboard is not appealing to me. Carrying around a huge glass rectangle is not appealing to me either.


As long as they keep the Bold 9900 form factor with BB10 phones, I will buy. I might be willing to get rid of the trackpad, but the touch + trackpad+ keyboard combination just WORKS! Very well!

I agree that function comes first. For me, the Bold 9900 is an excellent phone first.

[Tõnis]

I finally decided to Google it to see what it looks like. Man, is that one ugly looking phone.

Its beauty is on the inside.

[calicocat2010]

Thorsten speaks about this. It's on the homepage of the CrackBerry Blogs. They are Not getting rid of the Keyboard. He has confirmed this.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[SK122387]

I too love my Bold 9900 but I plan on picking up the first BB10 phone on launch day, even though it won't have a keyboard. I'll also buy the first qwerty BB10 phone too. It's just the wait that kills me...

[BlackBerry Guy]

If BlackBerry doesn't change, they're done..

The current BBOS needs to go. Specs aren't the problem. The latest high end BB7 devices shouldn't hang or show a spinning clock as much as they do. The old OS is the bottleneck, not the hardware.

[Premium1]

If BlackBerry doesn't change, they're done..

The current BBOS needs to go. Specs aren't the problem. The latest high end BB7 devices shouldn't hang or show a spinning clock as much as they do. The old OS is the bottleneck, not the hardware.

Agree that spinning clock should not happen with the specs in the current phones. Hopefully bb 10 corrects this so it does not happen all the time.