1. deke09's Avatar
    I think its fair to say not all is well in BB Land for many Storm users.

    23 months ago the Storm "revolution" began. 11 months later the Storm 2 appeared. And, now, after only 9 months, AT&T has released the Torch. Within all that time countless Android devices have surfaced, the iPhone has held its own, and many other companies have tried to take a piece of the smartphone pie, as well. There's so much temptation out there.

    I, like many of you, have a sweet-tooth for tech, so when I see another device release with the hype, performance, praise & sales to back it up, I no doubt feel the envy. I remind myself that my Storm2 still functions well and gets me through the day. A new device may provide some fun for a bit, but ultimately, its not going to revolutionize my day by all that much.

    Now, here's when I do some math.

    Storm1 release day $200 something
    Accessories $100
    T-Mobile contract Termination Fee $200
    Verizon's monthly access in advance fee $60
    I don't remember on what, but prob spent more that day...
    Signed up for 2-year contract...
    Approximate Monthly Bill $130 x 11 = $1430


    11 months later
    Storm 2 purchase w/accessories $377.66
    Signed another 2-year contract.
    Approximate Monthly Bill $130 x 10 = $1300

    So, I figure Since I signed on with Verizon in October of '08 (21 months ago) I've spent about $3700 to carry the Storm 1 and 2. I think its fair to say, at this point, the Storm 2 is soon to be Obsolete. From all indications, a "refreshed" Storm 2 with enough memory to run OS6 is all I have to look forward to this year, and if I want that for the promo price I'll have to begin another 2-year contract. And how long will it take before the next Storm device is released?

    See, here's my problem. These companies come out with new phones all the time. Its not just once a year anymore when we see these dazzlers appear. The 2-year contract feels like a trap at this point.

    Honestly, I don't mind spending the money on technology. Its one of my favorite things in life. But, at some point, I need to be real with myself and admit that I can't be happy with any phone for half the life of a contract. It would be wise for me to let a contract expire for once and see what the market is like. It would even make more sense for Blackberry to make a phone that doesn't get left behind after 9 months, yet RIM only houses their devices with enough specs to compare with outdated technology. How much does that turn you on? How much does the new Torch commercial turn you on? Its a vicious cycle.

    End of rant...
    08-13-10 09:57 AM
  2. 1812dave's Avatar
    glad the rant is over.

    Now, on to my comments on YOUR comments. First of all, IF a phone does what you want it to do (you DID buy it BECAUSE you liked it, RIGHT???), a newer phone does not diminish the functionality of what you ALREADY OWN. I submit that the obsolescence you seem to despise, is primarily a function of YOUR OWN THINKING, and not some intrinsic issue with your phone(s). ie, learn to adjust your thinking to how quickly high tech item models are superceded on a seemingly-ever-accelerating pace. otherwise you'll forever have the insatiable "gotta-haves". go with the flow. chill. buy a phone for what it can do NOW, rather than on promises of S/W updates that may or may not occur in the future...
    08-13-10 10:15 AM
  3. deke09's Avatar
    glad the rant is over.

    Now, on to my comments on YOUR comments. First of all, IF a phone does what you want it to do (you DID buy it BECAUSE you liked it, RIGHT???), a newer phone does not diminish the functionality of what you ALREADY OWN. I submit that the obsolescence you seem to despise, is primarily a function of YOUR OWN THINKING, and not some intrinsic issue with your phone(s). ie, learn to adjust your thinking to how quickly high tech item models are superceded on a seemingly-ever-accelerating pace. otherwise you'll forever have the insatiable "gotta-haves". go with the flow. chill. buy a phone for what it can do NOW, rather than on promises of S/W updates that may or may not occur in the future...
    I'm glad you're glad my rant ended.

    I took your point into account while typing. I do, however, believe what my phone does for me now is equally important as how I felt about it when I completed the purchase. In my case, I bought the Storm2 because I couldn't wait to rid myself of the Storm 1. I made the decision to keep the Storm 1 without regret, and I enjoyed owning the S1 "experiment," (the only touch-screen BB, the clicking screen...I was on the ride) but there were problems or deficiencies, too. I purchased the S2 with excitement and no regret. It was an improvement. I would not have kept it, otherwise. I attempted to point out I can live with my phone, but love runs out sometimes. My Storm2, in its current state, should be replaced. A spring under the screen is jerked or something, so the click doesn't feel or sound right, and I've had to live with other various glitches, as well. The thought of another phone replacement is really disheartening, though. And, when I spend the kind of money that you have to spend to have a state-of-the-art device, I expect to carry around a state-of-the-art device. Not one that, over time, I learn how fragile the experience it is to own.

    And, seriously, RIM knew well enough that the S2 would not be a target device for OS6. Considering that the new webkit will only be provided to devices running OS6 I'm supposed to roll without it and "chill" for another year? Its an improvement that would greatly enhance my user experience and, at least, rival the other top device experiences throughout the landscape. I'm not paying the kind of money, IMO, to be left with the feeling that my device is deficient on so many levels compared to so many devices in so short a time. Especially because of a "S/W" issue, but definitely when its a S/W issue combined with a H/W issue.

    Temptations aside, its not so much about the "insatiable gotta-haves." I'm not happy with what I have for a what I believe to be a good reason.
    08-13-10 11:06 AM
  4. paulwright1's Avatar
    if you knew anything about technology you would know that this is how it goes for EVERYTHING.
    08-13-10 11:40 AM
  5. 1812dave's Avatar
    I'm glad you're glad my rant ended.

    I took your point into account while typing. I do, however, believe what my phone does for me now is equally important as how I felt about it when I completed the purchase. In my case, I bought the Storm2 because I couldn't wait to rid myself of the Storm 1. I made the decision to keep the Storm 1 without regret, and I enjoyed owning the S1 "experiment," (the only touch-screen BB, the clicking screen...I was on the ride) but there were problems or deficiencies, too. I purchased the S2 with excitement and no regret. It was an improvement. I would not have kept it, otherwise. I attempted to point out I can live with my phone, but love runs out sometimes. My Storm2, in its current state, should be replaced. A spring under the screen is jerked or something, so the click doesn't feel or sound right, and I've had to live with other various glitches, as well. The thought of another phone replacement is really disheartening, though. And, when I spend the kind of money that you have to spend to have a state-of-the-art device, I expect to carry around a state-of-the-art device. Not one that, over time, I learn how fragile the experience it is to own.

    And, seriously, RIM knew well enough that the S2 would not be a target device for OS6. Considering that the new webkit will only be provided to devices running OS6 I'm supposed to roll without it and "chill" for another year? Its an improvement that would greatly enhance my user experience and, at least, rival the other top device experiences throughout the landscape. I'm not paying the kind of money, IMO, to be left with the feeling that my device is deficient on so many levels compared to so many devices in so short a time. Especially because of a "S/W" issue, but definitely when its a S/W issue combined with a H/W issue.

    Temptations aside, its not so much about the "insatiable gotta-haves." I'm not happy with what I have for a what I believe to be a good reason.

    I smiled at your use of the word "experiment" when mentioning the S1. I have to concur 100% on that sentiment. I had an S1...for 8 days. While the IDEA of the S1 was intriguing, I found the .75 (or was it .148?) OS release to be woefully DEFECTIVE and bailed quickly on the S1. I was doing too many battery pulls, too many OS reloads, and the phone too often spontaneously rebooted itself. My wife, thinking more with her heart than logically, wasn't happy with me returning both S1's but in the end she understood.

    She cajoled ( I think that's the correct term) into buying a pair of S2's in late 09. We had roughly the same bad experience (fully notated in this forum) and I returned them for refund within a short time-frame.

    Fast forward to Feb of this year: more whining by the missus prodded me into one last attempt to try the S2's. The reasons were: 1) the wife's persistence, and 2) our repeated visits to Verizon stores yielded no other phones we liked as much as the Storms (assuming a properly functioning storm). The two S2's we bought in Feb had almost no issues (I DID replace mine for a screen issue in the lower left corner), and here we are in August and the phones are still going strong. I don't have the antipathy towards RIM or the Storm line, that I once had. I'm actually very glad my wife nagged me (something she hasn't done on any other subject--that's one of the things I love about her) to repurchase storms.

    having said that, I am willing to consider other phones and have taken the time to go to the stores when new phones hit. I saw the Droid on Day One, the Droid X on Day one, and came away still pleased with my phone. that sentiment won't last forever, and at some point, I'll replace the phone. It took a lot of 'courage' for me to give up my Star Tac! I switched models when the Star Tac failed to receive most calls at my home. The next phone wasn't much better--a Kyocera that pivoted open. It was a POS. Then I got an LG8300 (which never failed to receive calls at home, just like our Storms) which I kept for more than 2 years. It got put back into service each time I returned the Storms and I was fine to have that reliable phone with me. In the end, all this hardware is just a means to an end--effective and handy, communications.
    08-13-10 11:42 AM
  6. bmoney1229's Avatar
    Ive seen a lot of people complain immensely about the storm line of products, then switch to a different phone/carrier, then come crawling back on their hands and knees begging for forgiveness.

    My point is, its easy for us all to complain about what we have right in front of us but take it away and replace it with a Windows mobile device, and i guarantee you will be sitting there thinking about how good you had it with the storm2.

    deke... hold on to that phone and be happy with it... these are really great phones compared to the competition.

    Dave... hold on to that wife of yours. Woman that dont complain are hard to find
    08-13-10 12:38 PM
  7. 1812dave's Avatar

    Dave... hold on to that wife of yours. Woman that dont complain are hard to find
    Don't I know it!!
    08-13-10 12:44 PM
  8. deke09's Avatar
    if you knew anything about technology you would know that this is how it goes for EVERYTHING.
    I understand your point, but it doesn't apply to everything...

    Frankly, my Storm 2 is the only technological device in my collection that causes me any grief. I'll still take it over an iPhone or Android cuz I'm loyal to BB, but that's my problem. I'll deal with it...
    08-13-10 11:23 PM
  9. glittergirl13's Avatar
    Yeah but the Android phones will get updates for years not just once. Even the first phone is getting an update. There were a limited number of BlackBerrys to begin with now that pool has shrunk for hope of updates. I love my Storm 1 now more than before but seriously they need to throw us something, a 5.2 a 5.3, something. I plan on staying with Backberry. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones because my 2 year is almost up meaning new phone. I'm still sore and will contine to be sore because RIM just flipped us the bird.
    08-13-10 11:33 PM
  10. 1812dave's Avatar
    Yeah but the Android phones will get updates for years not just once. Even the first phone is getting an update. There were a limited number of BlackBerrys to begin with now that pool has shrunk for hope of updates. I love my Storm 1 now more than before but seriously they need to throw us something, a 5.2 a 5.3, something. I plan on staying with Backberry. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones because my 2 year is almost up meaning new phone. I'm still sore and will contine to be sore because RIM just flipped us the bird.
    that's funny. RIM didn't flip me off. I guess I wasn't watching as they were making obscene hand gestures in your direction.
    08-13-10 11:45 PM
  11. tech_head's Avatar
    I get annual upgrades because the minute plan I have enables me to trade phones on the primary line once a year and I trade like clockwork.
    I had a Treo 700W and it didn't do BT voice dial so I dumped it for a Samsung i760 which started out well enough.
    My Samsung i760 was a nightmare because VZW screwed with the software and made the phone buggy as h3ll. I went to the S1 because it had a touch screen and was more cutting edge than the piece of crap I had. I went to the S2 because it had WiFi and a couple of other features, All these we on annual upgrades and I sold the phones and more or less paid for the new ones. I don't plan on dumping VZW so a two year contract doesn't bother me. If I decide to dump them I'll pay the ETF and sell the phones. No big deal.

    Now that being said, with no information from RIM; the Droid X s my next phone. The rumors of a S3 just make it look like a warmed over S2. Quite frankly the S4 unless the screen is larger is a no go for me too.

    My Dx will be here at the end of the month. At that point, bye bye BB S2.
    08-14-10 03:44 AM
  12. Mio_Ray's Avatar
    Obsolete must in this context be considered as an relative and highly subjective statement.

    Small case story. My dad got himself a touch phone last year, before I even considered them. But within 6 months he was back to a "brand new" Nokia 6310i (the killer corporate phone of the 00's) As he says... It holds the battery for roughly a week, signal and call quality is excellent, buttons are outstanding. And in short that is what he needs it to be.. So a 00's phone which actually costs the same as an average smart phone today (as it is no longer produced) is in my dads mind not obsolete at all....

    Just to remind... It is all about what You need it to be, not what might look nicer/(greener) and ohh, lookz gut, me hawe dat...
    08-14-10 07:58 AM
  13. kingprince's Avatar
    U will never be up to date....close but never up..something new is always around the corner

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-14-10 08:17 AM
  14. 1812dave's Avatar
    U will never be up to date....close but never up..something new is always around the corner

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

    exactly. that's the advantage of my being older than some of the members here--with age comes the wisdom to know you can't POSSIBLY have the "latest and greatest" for more than 24 hours. sometimes, it sucks to be young.
    08-14-10 11:51 AM
  15. corymcnutt's Avatar
    that's funny. RIM didn't flip me off. I guess I wasn't watching as they were making obscene hand gestures in your direction.
    Dave, I am POSITIVE if you looked around fast enough, someone on this site would be "flipping you the bird!"

    sometimes, it sucks to be young
    Sometimes it sucks being old, I know!
    08-14-10 12:13 PM
  16. gpc's Avatar
    Listened in on a discussion with one of my leads and 2nd line manager. They were talking about how one of the things our customers are guaranteed when they buy our product is software updates to the latest for at least a couple of years. This came up as we were discussing changes that were to go into our next release. Yes things advance all the time and anyone who knows anything about technology understands this, but its just bad business and bad planning to forget your customers so soon. We have to consider the current customers when making decisions about what software changes will do to first release hardware. Those upgrades will eventually require more updated hardware, but there is a reasonable amount of time to consider before we force this. I know I can't necessarily make a fair comparison between my company's product and cell phones but we have seen the effort by the competitors phones to provide compatibility for new software far longer than 9 months.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-14-10 12:16 PM
  17. David Itkin's Avatar
    Ive seen a lot of people complain immensely about the storm line of products, then switch to a different phone/carrier, then come crawling back on their hands and knees begging for forgiveness.

    My point is, its easy for us all to complain about what we have right in front of us but take it away and replace it with a Windows mobile device, and i guarantee you will be sitting there thinking about how good you had it with the storm2.

    deke... hold on to that phone and be happy with it... these are really great phones compared to the competition.

    Dave... hold on to that wife of yours. Woman that dont complain are hard to find
    Agree with the wife comment.
    Although you might be tempted to upgrade to a newer, sexier model, why change if the current model is comfortable and does everything that you need? Besides, the early termination fee will kill you.
    08-14-10 01:41 PM
  18. 1812dave's Avatar
    Agree with the wife comment.
    Although you might be tempted to upgrade to a newer, sexier model, why change if the current model is comfortable and does everything that you need? Besides, the early termination fee will kill you.
    I'm still paying for wife numero uno, in the form of a mortage I had to take out on my house which would have been paid off long ago. That mortage was taken out in 1998 and I have another 2 years of payments, at a very accelerated payment schedule. Can't wait to be done with that expense! (the new mortage, to pay her off was nearly FIVE times the cost of our home, "thanks" to home appreciation from 1972 to 1998)
    Last edited by dave1812; 08-14-10 at 04:35 PM.
    08-14-10 04:33 PM
  19. sfobrien's Avatar
    if you knew anything about technology you would know that this is how it goes for EVERYTHING.
    Not necessarily everything. Typing this on a two year old Dell laptop running Windows Vista that is Windows 7 ready if I choose to upgrade.
    08-14-10 04:53 PM
  20. gpc's Avatar
    Not necessarily everything. Typing this on a two year old Dell laptop running Windows Vista that is Windows 7 ready if I choose to upgrade.
    Ha! actually I did just that. I bought my Dell 1505 laptop in 2006 and just recently upgraded to Windows 7. The only thing I've had to replace since then is a hard drive.
    08-14-10 05:09 PM
  21. sfobrien's Avatar
    Ha! actually I did just that. I bought my Dell 1505 laptop in 2006 and just recently upgraded to Windows 7. The only thing I've had to replace since then is a hard drive.
    So if the S2 would have been built with enough memory to begin with OS6 would have been good to go.

    I have no problems with my S2 and after seeing OS6 on the Torch I'm not really that upset didn't get it but would have been fun to mess with.

    Running Lyricidals latest hybrid and no complaints............
    08-14-10 05:14 PM
  22. David Itkin's Avatar
    I'm still paying for wife numero uno, in the form of a mortage I had to take out on my house which would have been paid off long ago. That mortage was taken out in 1998 and I have another 2 years of payments, at a very accelerated payment schedule. Can't wait to be done with that expense! (the new mortage, to pay her off was nearly FIVE times the cost of our home, "thanks" to home appreciation from 1972 to 1998)
    Sorry about that and didn't mean to touch a raw nerve. Over the long run, sounds like your upgrade will have been well worth it.
    08-14-10 06:50 PM
  23. 1812dave's Avatar
    Sorry about that and didn't mean to touch a raw nerve. Over the long run, sounds like your upgrade will have been well worth it.
    ah, it's not a raw nerve. I was just saying how the "ETF" through divorce, takes a while to pay off.
    08-14-10 06:53 PM
LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD