[DanHagea]

Please give me an honest answer.
I've been exploring this os for a couple of days now because I never had a Blackberry until now. Everything works smooth as butter. The Hub is great, the browser is the best I've ever seen and the physical keyboard made me never want a touchscreen keyboard again.
The problem lies in the Blackberry World. You can count on your fingers the number of usefull apps in there. I can live without Facebook and Whatsapp but you can't even find a free ringtone app for crying out loud. I've spent dozens of hours reading news and listening to interviews from Blackberry hoping to understand what will become of this os. I've come to the conclusion that they gave up on it but won't publicly admit this so they could squeeze every amount of money from us, lost sheeps.
I'm seriously contemplating to return my Passport SE.

[jefbeard911]

I think if you spent a little more time with Blackberry World you'll find that there are some good alternatives to a few Android apps. Along with making do with Blackberry's alternatives such as Nobex for a pod cast player, Maps.Me for mapping and nav, ect you can have a perfectly serviceable phone. Also, native apps run really well and take full advantage of the OS. But your point is well-taken.

I would say if your an 'app guy' or there are Must-have apps that are missing then you won't be happy.

As an Alternative you can search thru the Amazon App store which is pre-installed and see what's there. It doesn't have nearly as many apps as the Play Store but it's an option. They install easily in a couple steps.

Keep in mind, even if you find all of your fav Android apps,they will not open as fast, will sometimes be buggy, and will drain your battery. Android apps on a Blackberry for the most part just don't work very well.

The question you have to ask yourself is 'Am I willing to give up some of my favorite apps to have the BB10 experience?

He Hates These Cans! - Sent from my awesome BlackBerry Passport

[co4nd]

BB10 is done, what you have is what you get. It's app situation will only get worse. There will be no new functionality, and Blackberry has only committed to one more software release. If it works for you then fine, but don't expect any new improvements, updates, or apps. There is nothing that is going to change this.

[roleli]

If apps beyond the core apps is what you need stick to Android and iOS.

As @jeffbeard912 said if you look a little more and be prepared to spend some money you will find some useful app alternatives.

At the core, I share your sentiments BB10 is one of the best mobile OS. The hub, gestures, file manger, multitasking, active frames, calendar and meeting mode, remote access, browser reader mode, shortcuts on keyboard editions

[drobbie]

Unfortunately BB10 is dead. Great OS for sure but without the app ecosystem it has no chance

[Drenegade]

I disagree about BlackBerry World having no useful apps. There are many for me.

It's true, you'll have to pay for them, though.

I suppose it may be different if I was a long time iOS or Android user though. I'm not dependent on any apps from those app stores. I've been on strictly BB10 for over three years now and am still satisfied (though I'm not sure how long I'd stick around if Cobalts Play Store stopped working).

But like the other poster said, what you see is what you get with BB10. It's not exactly "dead" but there won't be anymore significant functionality updates.

Posted via CB10

[thurask]

It's not going to get any better. Make of that what you will.

[Old_Mil]

.
The problem lies in the Blackberry World. You can count on your fingers the number of usefull apps in there. I can live without Facebook and Whatsapp but you can't even find a free ringtone app for crying out loud. I've spent dozens of hours reading news and listening to interviews from Blackberry hoping to understand what will become of this os. I've come to the conclusion that they gave up on it but won't publicly admit this so they could squeeze every amount of money from us, lost sheeps.
I'm seriously contemplating to return my Passport SE.

You don't need a free ringtone app. Just transfer whatever sound files you want to use from your computer and select them.

The fact that you don't need facebook or whatsapp makes bb10 a possible choice for you.

Your other observations are correct.

[johnny_bravo72]

Yes.

[Dhilip shankar]

BB10 rip

Posted via CB10

[rjsdavis]

You don't need a free ringtone app. Just transfer whatever sound files you want to use from your computer and select them.

The fact that you don't need facebook or whatsapp makes bb10 a possible choice for you.

Your other observations are correct.

.....but we have WhatsApp. True, it's supposed to be withdrawn in a few days, but I expect this to be in the form of an "update" that removes the app, exactly like Facebook did.

Just don't download any WA updates after 31/12.

[Nikola Stojic]

Yes

[mrlahjr]

All these yes answers just makes it easier for John Chen to end support.

Which he shouldn't.

TMO  PP SE,SQW100-4/10.3.3.1435

[lloupez]

I say BB10 will live on because of security. Also, BlackBerry is licensing it's use to other companies so they can make BB10 phones, right? Although this will be mainly for Asian or African markets. The smartphone operating system world needs BB10. Look at the small share Windows Phone holds onto. BB10 can make it. I know it.








Posted via CB10

[Elephant_Canyon]

All these yes answers just makes it easier for John Chen to end support.

Which he shouldn't.

Because Blackberry is a charity with the sole purpose of serving your whims?

[lloupez]

The other day I ran into someone with a Passport SE in the street. He said he liked it. Very rarely do I ever see anyone with a BB10 phone but even in New York City, there are some users. Keep your SE and enjoy that keyboard. Forget being a slave to all those apps.

Posted via CB10

[Elephant_Canyon]

Also, BlackBerry is licensing it's use to other companies so they can make BB10 phones, right?

Blackberry would like to, but no other company wants BB10.

The smartphone operating system world needs BB10.

No, it doesn't, really.

[PantherBlitz]

.....but we have WhatsApp. True, it's supposed to be withdrawn in a few days, but I expect this to be in the form of an "update" that removes the app, exactly like Facebook did.
Just don't download any WA updates after 31/12.

WhatsApp extended functionality support through June 2017.

...and don't think that skipping updates will push that date. WA will end your connection at the server-level.

[rjsdavis]

WhatsApp extended functionality support through June 2017.

...and don't think that skipping updates will push that date. WA will end your connection at the server-level.

I wasn't aware of that. My WA still warns me that support ends in a few days.

Also, I just reset my sons Z10 and FB was reconstituted as a standard build app. It works perfectly, despite being withdrawn all that time ago. There's no reason to block WA at server level. The inherent value is in the size of the userbase.

[Elephant_Canyon]

There's no reason to block WA at server level.

How do you know what capabilities WhatsApp may or may not be adding on the server side that can't be supported on BB10? Don't make proclamations about others' reasons unless you know exactly what's in their development roadmap.

[lloupez]

The sad part is that many of us are so dependent on Whatsapp to the point that people have reluctantly switched to Android and iOS. I think a big and powerful company like Facebook is more than capable of serving niche needs by continuing support for BB10 and other operating systems. They could even charge us and I'm sure most would pay. I think the world will pay for it's Android and iOS addictions. We'll all just have to wait and see what the future actually holds because, after all, predictions aren't always correct and sometimes what seems obvious turns out to be something else.

Posted via CB10

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

The sad part is that many of us are so dependent on Whatsapp to the point that people have reluctantly switched to Android and iOS. I think a big and powerful company like Facebook is more than capable of serving niche needs by continuing support for BB10 and other operating systems. They could even charge us and I'm sure most would pay. I think the world will pay for it's Android and iOS addictions. We'll all just have to wait and see what the future actually holds because, after all, predictions aren't always correct and sometimes what seems obvious turns out to be something else.

Posted via CB10

Facebook never supported BB10.... BlackBerry themselves used "open" APIs to create the BB10 app.

It's true the future is unknown... might be where the old FaceBook app will work for years, I expect it will as many other devices (DVD Players, TV's) relied on those APIs to create custom Apps. Might be that Whatsapp never really shuts down BB10 access. But again you won't see newer features showing up either.

The hurtful thing is that BlackBerry themselves are pulling support for BB10.... Software like BLEND is EOL and LINK might as well be. Several BlackBerry made apps other than FaceBook are no longer being updated, and BBM for BB10 seems to be on a different track....

[chain13]

Yes it is (dead).
Even if there are still small number of apps in the bb world, just few developers will keep update their apps.

[jefbeard911]

I say BB10 will live on because of security. Also, BlackBerry is licensing it's use to other companies so they can make BB10 phones, right? Although this will be mainly for Asian or African markets. The smartphone operating system world needs BB10. Look at the small share Windows Phone holds onto. BB10 can make it. I know it.








Posted via CB10

I too hope BB10 will continue to live on. Your analogy to Windows Phones is not really valid though. Microsoft has endlessly deep pockets and Billions in cash in the bank while BlackBerry does not. MS can simply afford a money loosing business where BlackBerry can't.

My guess is WP is on its last legs as well. Universal Apps are not the savior they thought. Even MS will want to stop the bleeding sooner than later.

He Hates These Cans! - Sent from my awesome BlackBerry Passport

[conite]

Repeat after me:

We will never see another BB10 device, or any significant software update.

We will never see another BB10 device, or any significant software update.

We will never see another BB10 device, or any significant software update.

We will never see another BB10 device, or any significant software update.

We will never see another BB10 device, or any significant software update.