[redneck6497]

I'm sad....and aggravated. All of my friends (even the ones I thought would never do it) are jumping ship for the damn iphone (some for the android). I am sick and tired of this! I have spent countless hours trying to keep people back from the edge. I have failed in all cases.

What is it about the damn iphone that's so great? I have found that most of it is just a toy. For all of you that accuse me of being an Apple hater ... you're wrong. I have 2 macbooks and a macpro ... love apple!

I think blackberry is losing a huge portion of its marketshare. When the iphone launches on VZW we're going to loose even more!

I still believe that Blackberry is THE smartphone to have. It is a great device which makes my life easier, and that's what I'm willing to shell out cash for.

So, what does everyone else think?

[pcgizmo#IM]

Who cares what other people do? Are you happy with your Bold? That's really that matters.

[redneck6497]

Part of the problem is that I'm losing my messenger contacts. So, it does affect me somewhat. I may have to increase my texting plan, etc. Plus, when I'm out of the country it gets even more expensive without BBM to some of these people.

[grncherry1]

Wise up, open your eyes there is more to a smartphone than email. Play with your friends phones and you will be convinced also. Become a little more open-minded and enjoy a little bit of the real world and a little less of the world as seen by RIM.

[pcgizmo#IM]

Part of the problem is that I'm losing my messenger contacts. So, it does affect me somewhat. I may have to increase my texting plan, etc. Plus, when I'm out of the country it gets even more expensive without BBM to some of these people.

You could try GTalk, Yahoo IM, IM+, AIM or Windoze Messenger as alternatives to BBM.

Friends, virtual or otherwise, come and go, that's part of life.

[Deathcommand]

I don't think iPhone will be VZW any time soon. Data plus talk doesn't exist yet. Unless it will be 4G. And ATT has the iPhone locked down by contract.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[sposey]

I spent a week using the Droid Pro. It is a pretty slick device and does a lot.

There are a lot of apps available for Android and that adds to the hip factor of the touchscreen device. My kids each have a Droid 2 and I think they chose that phone to be able to have something similar to the iPhone.

A phone is a personal preference. I think a lot of people switching to Android are doing it for coolness rather than because it offers something they need. For example, I'm back on BB because I use a phone to communicate - voice, text and e-mail. Yes the Droid Pro did that but all the other stuff was a distraction; I don't need Angry Birds on my phone and my phone is not my music player. I do think BB has an issue keeping the personal user; Android and iPhone offer a lot of bells and whistles that personal users may want to have (whether or not they'll use them).

SP

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Chrisy]

You can only control what you do. Just get a cross platform messaging app like Google Talk or Email. Solved.

Google Voice has free SMS.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[jaydee5799]

To the OP: you cannot control what other people do, like, or use for their smartphone. If they leave for an iphoney, and you still want to communicate, then you will find a way. Some of my BBM friends have left for another platform and they say "we'll keep in touch". Guess what? They don't. Am I crying about it? No. If they can't make the effort to stay in touch with me then are they REALLY a friend?

The true friends will not let anything come between each other. Use some of the apps others have suggested. They work the same as BBM practically, albeit not as conveniently.

[ekz13]

Their money = their choice

[pcgizmo#IM]

And none of this has anything to do with 9650. Is there a rants section in the social forum this can be moved to?

[coolguy78240]

Every person is entiltled to make their own mistakes, i mean choices. My brother tells me how i need to get an iphone or an evo every time we talk. He says its better than blackberry, i say its not for me. I like what my bold does and how it does it. Just keep what you like and dont listen to the masses. Remember the grass isnt always greener on the other side.

[redneck6497]

Some good dialogue here.

I installed the gtalk client, but I think it was seriously eating some battery.

PcGizmo, I agree this isn't the right place to discuss, but couldn't find a more appropriate place. I guess the only tie to the 9650 is that is what me, and the 2 people I talked to this week have.

What concerns me is that with people leaving RIM, and RIM losing marketshare then is Blackberry going to dry up eventually? I feel a vested interest in trying to keep people to stay because it makes it better for all of us. My company used to use mostly Blackberry. Now it is shifting to mostly iphone.

[hondateg91]

I still believe that Blackberry is THE smartphone to have.

So, what does everyone else think?

Does it really matter what phone they go for? If the phone works for them and they like it then so be it. Just because you think BB is THE phone to have doesn't mean it's for everyone else.

[pcgizmo#IM]

Some good dialogue here.

I installed the gtalk client, but I think it was seriously eating some battery.

PcGizmo, I agree this isn't the right place to discuss, but couldn't find a more appropriate place. I guess the only tie to the 9650 is that is what me, and the 2 people I talked to this week have.

What concerns me is that with people leaving RIM, and RIM losing marketshare then is Blackberry going to dry up eventually? I feel a vested interest in trying to keep people to stay because it makes it better for all of us. My company used to use mostly Blackberry. Now it is shifting to mostly iphone.

Unfortunately, RIM isn't really wowing the consumer market, and iPhone and Android are. I agree with you that RIM is losing marketshare, but with their enterprise market, I don't think BlackBerry will dry up.

I have had a long list of BB devices, and I've liked most of them, but my next device is most likely going to be a Droid2 or DroidX. The Storm was ok, but Storm2 failed to improve upon the foundation storm laid. I want a device that has a real touchscreen, not a pseudo-touch clicky screen, and I want fast browsing. Storm line just can't compete in that arena.

[redneck6497]

Does it really matter what phone they go for? If the phone works for them and they like it then so be it. Just because you think BB is THE phone to have doesn't mean it's for everyone else.

I don't disagree with what you're saying. I understand that a phone is 100% personal choice (unless your company dictates it ... and even then you can like it or not).

The point I'm making (and I guess it is a little selfish) is that if RIM's consumer market continues to dwindle, and the likes go to apple, and google, then I think it is inevitable that innovation for RIM will be stymied. As the consumer market dwindles, so will the corporate. I am already experiencing this where I work. This will directly affect how cool/useful/whatever the new features are on the 9650, or any other BB I decide to buy in the future.

[dbugem]

Keeping my BB, thanks. I like how it works and what it does. It helps me run my business everyday

[SoFla David]

I'll tell you. I administer 180 PDA devices for my company. For the company, it's Blackberry all the way. Android / Iphone just aren't on the same level as blackberry when it comes to security. We looked at Iphone and Droid earlier this year becasue we knew we had to get off windows Mobile. Backberry was the clear leader for business Use.

Now on the personal side...

My Fiancee and I both switched to blackberry last year (I came from 6 years of Windows Mobile, she came from 5 years of Palm). The blackberry was a huge step up in reliability and applications, but we still had to do battery pulls every couple of days. The app availability was no where NEAR what is available for Android & Iphone. We've been on Verizon for years, and I wouldn't go on ATT if you paid me, so the iphone on ATT had Zero attraction for me.

Last month, after the earpiece speaker on my Storm2 went out on me for the third time, Verizon offered to swap me out to a Droid X and I took them up on it. I LOVE the phone. After playing with mine for a week, my fiancee also switched from her Bold to a droid X. There are a number of incredible apps available for it that are just not available for Blackberry. The integration with Gmail, Google Calendar, Gogle Maps, and all things google is unbelievable. We each have a personal calendar, and then we have a shared "family" calendar, and my son has a calendar (he's using my old Windows Mobile device synced to his google account). We can put appointments on any of the four calendars and they all show up (different colors) on both of our droids, all perfectly synced wirelessly. We can also "bump" contacts, appointments, notes, etc back and forth between the phones seemlessly. Most apps in the droid Market cost no more than $2, many of them are free (some are supported by small unobtrusive google ad banners across the bottom). The same apps that cost $7-$15 in BB app world are available with MORE functionality than the BB version, and are either free, or much much cheaper. Plus, the countless other cool apps that just aren't available for Blackberry (Google Navigation, Google Goggles, Google Starmap, Wikitude, etc, etc, etc. I've been using the device for two solid weeks now, and I haven't had to do a battery pull or reset my data connection even once. And Yes, I have LOADED it up with Cool apps!

Blackberry is the King as a corporate device, but they have all but isolated themselves from the personal market. and sadly, with the shift from Landlines and desktop computers to mobile devices, more and more people are using their mobile devices for personal as well as business. why carry two devices when you can carry one device that does both (as long as your company allows it). Mine does not, so my BB has my work email and work calendar... my Droid has the rest of my life.

Unless Blackberry re-develops itself or pulls a rabbit out of their hat quickly, then as soon as Iphone and/or Droid develops their administration platform to be secure enough for mainstream business use, then all I can say is "stick a fork in that Blackberry.... It's DONE"

[JimiMack]

I have used Windows Mobile, Palm and Android over the last few years and I would take my Blackberry over all of them in a flash. I agree the android line has some great apps but really at what point has it just become, lets make an app for anything and someone will use it. The Android line is nice and shinny like a good race car but like a race car it eats up it's fuel fast, battery life I found to be the real killer for me. And after using touch screens for the last few years I wanted to get as far away from that as I could. I just do not find them reliable enough for me. The Droid Pro has the hard keys but they are so small in an attempt to allow the screen to remain large, I found it useless and difficult to balance in the hand. Now I have only have my BB for a short time but for personal use, I prefer it over all the high end phones I have had over the years. BB is reliable, compact, well made and gets the job done. I can only hope RIM does go after the other manufactures soon and shows them this ole girl still has some life left in her.

[m0dem]

Most people are jumping ship for the lack of apps. Blackberry has the least apps and has been around the longest

[CASH]

Anyone who spends any portion of their life trying to acquire material possessions just because someone else has it/them is a serious failure at life and does not get it - it being life.

If you are only sad about your ____ when you compare it to someone else's ____, then there is nothing wrong with your ____.

EDIT: If BlackBerry isn't doing enough for you, just leave.

[redneck6497]

All I can say is that I woke up this morning, and marvelled in how easy my Blackberry was to navigate, and get to "my life", and everything going on around me.

Hopefully, I'm wrong, and Blackberry will start to innovate more and steal some of the market share back from Apple and Google. I want to see BB succeed. There are major strengths to the BB platform for consumers.

Also, another interesting point that was made earlier is to the distractions that having all of these games and multimedia items produces. Does someone really need to be screwing with their phone every free minute? That was a great point made. At the end of the day, does one feel more fulfilled b/c they played Angry Birds for an hr. or spent 1hr. reading to their kid.

One other rant I have is what Verizon is doing lately. I have been called, texted, and mailed several times in the last few weeks with them trying to get me to use my upgrade and get an Android. Why? If I were RIM I would be upset that they are actively trying to convert people. Someone called the other day and told me about this great new droid they have. I told them why would I want to upgrade?? I already have your best Blackberry.

[pr1nce]

I don't care what other people say or think. I work with a few who have switched to Android devices. The only thing that matters to me is my BB works for me and makes me more productive.

[mjbesen310]

I too am leaving Blackberry after 8 years. They are just falling so behind and I used to stand up for them like no tomorrow. I'm anxious to get a smart phone that lives up to the potential of todays world unlike RIM. Sad but true.

[rocco225]

I'm sad....and aggravated. All of my friends (even the ones I thought would never do it) are jumping ship for the damn iphone (some for the android). I am sick and tired of this! I have spent countless hours trying to keep people back from the edge. I have failed in all cases.

So, what does everyone else think?

I think you should prepare yourself for a lot more sadness in life if your friends opting for a different phone than yours brings you sadness. It's probably a sign that you have a relatively good life if these are the things that bring you sadness. I just want my friends to be happy and healthy. I don't care what kind of phone they have.

I'm not insulting you. I mean that quite literally.