Dieter's back to BlackBerry, this time from a Pre Perspective - SPE Round Robin

[BerSerX]

1. Switching to BB, you would gain the email feature that businesses live on. A keyboard that's made for messaging. You would lose the intuitive multitasking. BB multitasking look the way it did when you press Alt+Tab on Windows XP & older. WebOS multitasking is spiffy looking like when you press the Windows key+Tab in Vista.

2. I'd like to see a WebOS type multitasking interface. Some feature that you wouldn't get on QWERTY BBs. Opening the BB menu w/o the BB button, touch motion. RIM also needs to give users more control over customizing the way the BB looks, displaying time w/ or w/o the date.

3. The ability to close an app by flicking up/throwing the app. Instead of the back button method or BB button then selecting close method. Also, the ability to bring up the menu via touch/swipe & not the BB button.

4. Unless there's a premature release, i.e. Storm, there shouldn't be any problems.

5. The recent outages have been a considerable problem since RIM is supposed to be the cream of the crop w/ email. Having everything on one system is an issue they should remedy. Unless they set up a back up system/network, WebOS looks tempting.

6. If they can get the touch screen more intuitive & user friendly, I don't see myself getting a hybrid.

[rodhnc]

as a Pre user who's never touched a BB, can't really comment on any of these questions... unless of course I win a BB

[Innovator1]

Looking hard at upgrading to the Storm 2 (or, frankly, winning one here!) from the original Storm. Faster everything, plus significantly better touch experience...

[foggylemon]

1. The basics: what would a webOS user gain by going BB? What would a webOS user lose?
Gain: BBM, red LED, case/holster sleeper magnet, better keyboard, better Facebook app/integration. Lose: awesome OS, constant updates, detailed notifications, effortless cards multi-tasking.
2. The biggest surprise for me this year is how much I like the Storm2 (and how well I can type on it!). I still think that the touch features on it feel a little tacked-on, though. Given that it doesn't look like RIM is going to be doing a massive restart of the OS, what touch features would you like to see?
Haven't used it enough, but the keyboard is surprising easy to use, as you've discovered yourself.
3. Anything about webOS that makes you jealous?
Everything, which is why I switched.
4. I know it's not a new problem, but with the introduction of OpenGL it seems like the issue of platform fragmentation is going to get worse. Or am I crazy? Does it bother you?
Fragmentation is a big problem. I don't know how OpenGL will make it worse, but with every new device, and every new OS number, it is more and more complicated for developers to write programs and users to download programs.
5. Do any of the recent outages have you thinking about a different platform that doesn't have that single point of failure?
Sometimes yes, but it also kind of brings us together with the communal complaining, sort of like a rite of passage to use the BB.
6. Do you have any desire to get a BlackBerry with both a physical keyboard and a touchscreen?
When I heard the concept for the Magnum way back when I still had a BB, I thought it sounded really bad and confusing, but using the Pre now I cannot imagine any other way.

[davinci27]

2. The biggest surprise for me this year is how much I like the Storm2 (and how well I can type on it!). I still think that the touch features on it feel a little tacked-on, though. Given that it doesn't look like RIM is going to be doing a massive restart of the OS, what touch features would you like to see?

I'd love to see RIM make better use of multitouch. right now the only thing that is multitouch is copy and paste, and it is poorly implemented at that

3. Anything about webOS that makes you jealous?

It's been said before and it'll be said again, but the webOS implementation of multitasking and multitask management is pretty awesome.

5. Do any of the recent outages have you thinking about a different platform that doesn't have that single point of failure?

The outages really do irritate me. I would think when you are setup as RIM with such a single point of failure, you would make sure that point of failure is rock solid.

6. Do you have any desire to get a BlackBerry with both a physical keyboard and a touchscreen?

Prior to the storm I would have said absolutely, now I don't even think about it. I couldn't stand touchscreen typing. I tried both the iphone and the droid and couldn't type on either. I had a touchscreen winmobile phone and couldn't type on it. The storm's surepress technology is the best thing to ever come to touch screens. When I upgraded from storm 1 to storm 2, I went and tried to get an android phone. I stood in the store playing with the eris for and hour. I even tried the droid, but it's physical keyboard wasn't even as good as surepress on the storm.

[curve247]

I think from reading everything, it seems like everyone is in agreement that the hardware is there. Especially with the storm 2. I think most people see growth in the OS, which is why there is so much intrigue with Android and webOS.

Hardware is all personal preference. Thus there are so many devices out there that are all selling. Software is more about working and being able to be personalized, but the underlying workings have to be there. I think this is where the debate is, especially for the Round Robin.

[KLeBron23]

Multitouch would make it even better. Email on Blackberrys is the best you can get on any device.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[zrxoa1]

Agreed on the email. Regardless of what else happens with my Storm I love it because of the way BB does my email.

On another note, I have to kind of laugh...I am a BB newbie having entered the family just this year. Until I stumbled upon Crackberry, I did not know I had a piece of junk phone! LOL

Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss! LOL

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[JmeBerry]

1.- i'll say the best e-mail messaging experience. Also, you get the ability to sync with your desktop out of the box. But you loose all those cards goodies.

3- The flow is kind of cool.

4.- I think this could be a problem when the OpenGL based software apperars.

5. - It's makes you think, but it's still manageable. But if it becomes more frequent I'll will think about it.

6- Yeah, that would be excellent.


After a long time as a Palm user, from the Handspring Prism, latter a Visorphone, Treo 270, Treo 600, after it was damaged I was searching for a smartphone with keyboard and a great experience, I arrived to the blackberry and at first I was always trying to touch things on the screen. If the Pre existed in that moment, maybe .... Who knows. But I'm a happy Blackberry user, but missing the combination of physical keyboard + touchscreen.

[iLovemy_bb]

Ah! The great debate begins. I'm learning more of what WebOS has to offer everyday. I like the cards and the hybrid idea, but there's something that locks me on to BB's , so no matter what I rule them to be the best. I think, it's the fact that we're growing so fast that people don't even realize. The OS 5.0 is being polished and there are plenty of apps that run OS 5.0 & 4.7<=. People are trying to broaden their BB issues when it's not like that. Every app on 4.6/4.7 is working on my 8900 5.0 except for quick pull(who cares ALT+RIGHT CAP+DEL = Quick Pull) Anyway, please people, have more experience with your device before ruling out what it truly does. Anyone can stick to what they know, but the Round Robin is about gaining knowledge of other devices also...just an idea.

[KU Kitch]

Personally, I don't see myself wanting to move to webOS, there just aren't any devices yet that I desire. The Pre is ok, and the Pixi seems too underpowered, though I am a fan of the card interface and the notification bar. Same with BlackBerry, I'm just not feeling it. My parents have the 8900, and I think it's a great phone, but I'm only really interested in touchscreen phones anymore. The Storm 2 seems to have improved on the original quite a bit, but I just don't see the OS as a great environment. I do think that the messaging capabilities of BlackBerries are still unmatched, but a java-based OS just seems really outdated at this point, and a crappy browser just isn't acceptable in my book

[Frogbone]

I love the Blackberry hardware. The devices get the job done. That is paramount to anything else.
Now, having only seen the Pre once, I do like the way it visually multitasks.

I am in agreement with many other posters here, the Storm2 with both touchscreen and full keyboard would be awesome.

[cafe_civet]

1. Gain: notification light. Seriously, I thought Palm was a business device company. Lose: Cards. Those things are awesome.

2. I am not a Storm fan.

3. How easy it is to quit apps. Bb key, scroll down to close is annoying.

4. OS fragmentation is nothing new for BB. It's annoying but not critical

5. Yes...among some other things

6. The Pre vertical slider is my favorite form factor. But those keys...seriously?...

[saymes]

Dieter, you blew my mind! "A BlackBerry with both a physical keyboard and a touchscreen" Hmmmm. I was thinking that they needed to do a higher resolution Storm. Ok, I could go for a Blackberry in a Pre form but it would have to be physically bigger even if the screen was the same resolution.

[jankyhanky]

1. Push. BBM.

2. It needs to look different than the regular BB's. The theme does not look so good on the touch screen.

3. The Menu dock thing can be pulled up at any time, with a nifty wavy response.

4. A little. I'm sure once Palm unleashes hardware acceleration and more APIs it will just be a matter of adapting GUI interfaces.

5. Opera Mini and third-party e-mail clients don't rely on RIM, right?

6. A little.