[danielcj]

So with a whole range of new BBs coming out soon, I am starting to question my plan of switching to Android in the fall from my 9700 running OS5. However, if OS7 doesn't fix some of the issues I've had to deal with on the BB platform, the switch will be inevitable.

Issue 1: Will OS7 support full HTML emails? I'm sick of looking at emails that don't look or aren't formatted correctly. Not to mention having to manually download images to even make heads or tails. What's the point of having a phone for email if you can't read your emails?

Issue 2: Will we still get stuck with 'truncated messages'? This is a big one for me as it pretty much renders the email capacity of this phone to useless. If you're trying to send/receive large attachments, pdfs or pics, my BB becomes crippled. I am aware that this is a BIS issue and probably won't go away.

Issue 3: I loved my BB calendar until I joined a BB group and it made the BBM group calendar the default for Google sync. Now I have multiple entries up the wazoo and have given up trying to fix it.

Issue4: This is not really an OS issue but will Skype or Netflix ever be ported natively to the BB platform?

Ultimately there will be other factors that come into play such as battery life, ease of use and security. However, with Samsung and HTC dominating the smartphone market and new phones coming out every other day it seems, developers are gravitating towards iOS and Android and leaving BBs in the dust. Just look at the playbook. I know this is clich� but I would for once like to see apps that are actually made for my phone.

[kevinnugent]

The first 2 issues I'd like answers on too. These were/are the most frustrating part of using a BB.

[danielcj]

I guess this is a problem...nobody knows. All speculation at this point.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Soapm]

I'm of the opposite view on the first two points so I hope we get options. Onething I don't like about the new browser is while it gave some of the users what they were demanding it took away what others of us liked about the BB which was column view. I understand some wanted this HTML browser but me personally like the bowser the way it was. So instead of BB taking away the HTML emails currently work I hope they can just add the things you want while leaving me the ability to leave it like it is.

One thing I liked about my first 7200 was that everything was an option. You could have the browser emulate IE or firefox or you could leave it as a mobile browser. Not sure I like the new settings navigation and the fact that we lack options...

[Guatiao]

To the OP, as for truncated messages, it's not just device- or OS-dependent, it's also BIS dependent. Read this information on a yet-to-be-released version of BIS.

http://crackberry.com/blackberry-int...-gets-detailed

[danielcj]

Nice! That is actually good to know. I actually forgot about the 'receive more' issue as I usually delete the email by then out of frustration and read it on my desktop later.
To those using android, do you guys experience similar issues with html emails not rendering correctly?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[kevinnugent]

Nice! That is actually good to know. I actually forgot about the 'receive more' issue as I usually delete the email by then out of frustration and read it on my desktop later.
To those using android, do you guys experience similar issues with html emails not rendering correctly?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

No, it's only BB.

[danielcj]

Hmmm are there attachment size restrictions as well on Android? Or is that a carrier dependent thing?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Jimcmf]

Love the BOLD 9900 !

[UnknownError507]

Good to know, i will try what u said here and il replay back with more info about OS7 and their email . as far as i know and ive seen in my emails i can have a full email exacty like on the desktop but with a bit slightly changes to the pictures.

[southlander]

1. The part about having to manually download images in emails -- that is a standard security practice in Gmail/Yahoo, etc., and software email clients. That is, to not auto-load email images. Not sure if there is a setting on the phone for that, but I'd expect RIM to always keep it. With email clients this can be turned off, and also in Gmail I think. But on the phones RIM might require it. Not sure.

2. The new BIS version which only the new BB OS7 devices support so far (is my understanding) have increased the email allowed message sizes. So while you can get larger emails, if someone emails you a 15MB file you are still going to have issues. I am not sure of the exact size limit but check out the CrackBerry Blog posts for the new BIS details.

3. Do not know...

4. There is Skype for BlackBerry on Verizon right now. I see you have T-Mobile so I know that is no help. I would expect Skype and Netflix availability to depend on how quickly RIM bleeds marketshare. If the new OS7 devices claw back some users, there are likely to be more apps. If RIM's North Amercia marketshare continues down unabated, I'd guess not.

[crystinonfire]

I owned an android for all of about 23 hours before taking it back.

-Androids are fun to play around with, but when it comes down to actually doing phone things or email things, I just couldn't live without the efficiency of a Blackberry.

-Androids don't multitask the same way that Blackberrys do. (sure you can leave apps open and running, but try switching back and forth between them in a split second...not gonna happen)

-There's always a few extra steps required to do something (whether it's make a phone call, send an email, etc). BB = making a phone call with the push of one button. Android = at least 3 steps if you go the sort way, and way more than 3 if you go the long way. NO THANK YOU.

-And then there is battery life. It's not just bad, it's terrible. I was flying to SF last weekend and my flight was delayed because of fog. I was SO thankful that I had my BB and not the android. I was able to use my phone nonstop (Socialscope, Beejive, BBM, browser, email, text, watch videos, etc) for the entire 3 hours I was waiting at the airport, PLUS it lasted me the whole rest of the day once I got to SF. The android would have been dead after an hour.

Basically, if you want a toy/thing to play with & are always next to an electrical outlet, go android. If you want an efficient phone, keep your bb.

My ipod touch keeps me happy when I get bummed about BB apps.

[sivan]

In OS7 RIM added Windows Media DRM support. That would be a pre-requisite for any Netflix or similar video streaming services. I don't know of any plan, but there is no other use I can think of for it.

But, everyone knows OS7 is a dead end. Would they invest in developing for it, or just wait for 2 more years to see if QNX is worth it? That's the problem.

[southlander]

But, everyone knows OS7 is a dead end. Would they invest in developing for it, or just wait for 2 more years to see if QNX is worth it? That's the problem.

Unless... RIM adds a BBOS 5/6/7 compatible app player to the QNX os. Unless they announce they intend to do so (and actually do it of course). Then devs will be more likely to write apps now. In fact RIM stating the QNX phones *need* dual core when we all know QNX itself does not, and phones really don't in general need it -- has me thinking they are planning a BBOS app player along with the Android app player. I mean essentially if they can write on Java VM layer that runs Android then how hard is it to write one that runs the "old" BB OS?

[sivan]

Unless... RIM adds a BBOS 5/6/7 compatible app player to the QNX os. Unless they announce they intend to do so (and actually do it of course). Then devs will be more likely to write apps now. In fact RIM stating the QNX phones *need* dual core when we all know QNX itself does not, and phones really don't in general need it -- has me thinking they are planning a BBOS app player along with the Android app player. I mean essentially if they can write on Java VM layer that runs Android then how hard is it to write one that runs the "old" BB OS?

Those players are more like a place to run legacy software, not a target for future development.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[southlander]

Those players are more like a place to run legacy software, not a target for future development.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Well certainly for the Android app player RIM intends to make it run future versions of Android as well. There'd be absolutely no point in doing it otherwise. No one would use it if it only ran one or two versions of Android.

[sivan]

Well certainly for the Android app player RIM intends to make it run future versions of Android as well. There'd be absolutely no point in doing it otherwise. No one would use it if it only ran one or two versions of Android.

Even Android vendors can't get up to date versions, RIM will be the last and even then it would be so restricted, those apps will be no more than demos.

The entire Android player is a ridiculous idea, it's stupid and it will never work in a way that anyone would actually want to use it.

The BBOS player will be like Classic in OS X, legacy only. Nobody continued developing for Mac OS, it was over.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[screamcap]

Though I am loving the touch screen on my new 9900 much more than I thought I would, I am also annoyed by the loss of the 'Column View' as it makes reading articles very annoying. I BELIEVE the Opera browsers still offers that function...assuming they run on BBOS7.

[mscrivo]

Though I am loving the touch screen on my new 9900 much more than I thought I would, I am also annoyed by the loss of the 'Column View' as it makes reading articles very annoying. I BELIEVE the Opera browsers still offers that function...assuming they run on BBOS7.

You have to get over the column view thing. While it was a nice to have feature for OS 5's (and below) poor browser, it was essentially nothing more than a hack. The old browser couldn't render anything properly, so it was easy for them to just take the text content and display it in a "column." But now that we have a real browser that renders pages as they were meant to be rendered, it's not such a trivial task anymore to make a column view. The real solution is that more sites need mobile versions of their sites.

[danielcj]

A lot of valid points here. This whole idea of QNX coming in a year or so will put RIM at the bottom of the pile again as Apple and Google continue to build on and refine their existing software. QNX will definitely have its bugs and issues upon release and I'm still not sure how functional it will be on a tiny traditional BB screen. Just playing with a Playbook clearly shows that future BB phones will have to have larger screens or at least a landscape mode. Maybe there will be a horizontal slider?
I am still torn about sticking with BB or moving over to Android. I will have to wait and see if the 9850 provides the best of both worlds. One of my goals is to be able to take high quality photos/videos and be able to share them directly from my phone to others. Will OS7 and the updated BIS be able to do that?

[guerllamo7]

Hello, I think I found your answer to number one:
I'd like to share something about android vs. bb e-mail that may help you decide though.
My business partner and I both got frustrated with the BB Tour (an older BB that did not even have wifi) and switched to what was at the time the fastest Droid. HTC Evo 4G.
Wow, we loved how the faster resolution, google maps and other things worked. But over time I missed my BB and when the Torch came out I returned to BB.

After about a year, my partner is frustrated with the quality of the phone and how sometimes he get the e-mail promptly and sometimes it takes several hours! We are a small investment firm and we need e-mail immediately, not just between us but our trading alerts come via e-mail. For us, time is critical.
I've been happy with my Torch though I've wished for a bit more power and speed (the new 9930 is going to take care of the power and speed issues so I will pick one up as soon as it is available). He loves the games on his HTC Evo but hates the e-mail reliability and just hardware issues he has had as well as the infamously short battery life.

This is very important stuff so I would take reliable e-mail over anything and I say this because there is more to the decision you are about to make. Your situation may be different but I delete 70% of my e-mails without looking beyond the subject line or just a few lines into them so that is more important to me. Still, to answer your question BB has expanded the size from 32 to 64kb but I found this information in the
"Administration Guide, BlackBerry Professional Software for Microsoft Exchange, Version 4.1 SP4"
Controlling the size of attachments that users can receive on their BlackBerry devices
By default, the BlackBerry� Attachment Service in the BlackBerry� Professional Software does not limit the file size of an attachment that is embedded in a message or retrieved through a link. The BlackBerry Professional Software sends data to the BlackBerry device in packets that are no larger than 64 KB; however, the BlackBerry Professional Software can send an unlimited number of packets. To control attachment file size, you can specify a maximum file size for attachments. You can also configure the maximum dimension for images.
Suggested file sizes for attachments
File format Suggested size
Adobe� Acrobat� Versions 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4 less than 2000 KB
Microsoft� Excel� Versions 97, 2000, 2003, 2007, and XP less than 2000 KB
Microsoft� PowerPoint� Versions 97, 2000, 2003, 2007, and XP less than 2000 KB
Microsoft� Word Versions 97, 2000, 2003, 2007, and XP less than 2000 KB
Corel� WordPerfect� Versions 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0 (2000), and 10.0 less than 2000 KB
ASCII text less than 100 KB
HTML less than 100 KB
ZIP archives less than 2000 KB
images less than 2000 KB
audio less than 2000 KB
MP3 less than 2000 KB
Rich Text Format less than 2000 KB

Configure the maximum file size for attachments
You can change the maximum file size of attachment file formats to control the amount of memory that the BlackBerry� Attachment Service in the BlackBerry� Professional Software uses during the attachment conversion process. Consider changing the default configuration if the BlackBerry Attachment Service must respond to multiple users who request conversions for large or complex attachments (especially .pdf files and ASCII text files that are larger than 2 MB), or if it must respond to multiple users who request large or complex documents within the same period of time (0 to 10 minutes) while the BlackBerry Attachment Service processes large conversions.
1. On the server that hosts the BlackBerry Professional Software, on the taskbar, click Start > BlackBerry Server Configuration.
2. Click the Attachment Server tab.
3. In the Distiller Settings section, in the Max. File Size (Kb) column, click the value for the distiller that you want to change.
4. Type a value in kilobits.
5. Click OK.