[monil11]

Today at a social gathering at my aunts place I was happy to see one family friend using a Q10. Needless to say it caught my attention. He has used previous BlackBerry devices and also had a galaxy note as his second device. this is the chat I had with him.

Me: I see you have the Q10. How do u like it.
Him: *while struggling with his phone* it is so complicated.
Me: how so?
Him: you have to learn so much before you can use the device.
Me: yea with every new device there comes the annoying learning curve.
Him: nono this is more than just a learning curve. I've had it for a couple of weeks and it is a constant struggle. I still have to pay a lot attention to complete simple tasks and even then I go wrong many times.
Me: you know how when u first start the phone it gives you some instructions that you need to follow? If you actually give that tutorial about a minute it can solve many of the problems u have.
Him: I did try that but I don't know it's just too complicated.

Now this is a man in his 40s who runs a business and uses his phone a lot as he has to multitask often. He is like the poster man for BlackBerry. The perfect target customer.

Later along the night he figured I have a z10 and was more than happy to have some guidance. I have earlier helped this same person with his galaxy note but that was all about finding good apps and showing him some cool hidden features which he did find useful. Needless to say he trusted my judgement in this area. I was shocked to see that the kind of problems he had with the phone.

1. How do I reject a call?
2. Why are there favourites in my contacts when I haven't added any?
3. When I receive a phone number in a text message why can't I just tap on it to place a call (turns out this worked just as expected, he probably wasn't tapping the right area)
4. My battery life is terrible it only lasts a day of heavy use (a day of heavy use is great if you ask me but I did help him by turning off LTE as hspa+ speeds do go upto 8mpbs here) he later asked me what h+ on the top right meant.
5. When scrolling through my call log I end up dialing when I don't mean to dial. This never happened before.
6. I don't know how to get my options without the menu key. Do I swipe down from the top, do I press the 3 dots on the bottom right or do I just look for options on the screen itself (this was probably the hardest one to explain)

I solved all his problems. Some had simple answers and others was him just 'not doing it right' I even taught him how to use peek. (he had no idea about the swipe up and drag right gesture to use peek and/or get to the hub) I taught him how to use quick commands. I also taught him how to quickly navigate the home screens by using the icons at the bottom.

He then suddenly started enjoying his device a lot more and just played with all the new things he learned and all the problems that were solved.

Here is what I gathered from this experience.

1. even a relatively long term smartphone user has a very difficult time understanding how to use BlackBerry 10.
2. There are just too many things not highlighted enough in the OS for a non techie.
3. We can't be everywhere and help everyone. For some people the bb10 experience will remain painful for a long time.
4. To a non techie bb10 just isn't intuitive.
5. It is not at all a fluid transition from bb7 to bb10.
6. The phone had become a source of frustration.
7. He has absolutely no complains about apps. For him the app situation did not even matter. He was happy to have Skype and whatsapp but said he didn't care much for them.
8. He has already discouraged a couple of his friends from getting 'the new BlackBerrys.' these guys are both legacy users

I kind of felt helpless. BlackBerry just isn't reaching out to its customers to offer help. They have a great device but people won't just know that. One must guide them with baby steps specially when the change is so big. This problem is very real and not one that I have seen with android devices ( not nearly at this level at least) and abviously not with iOS. A lot of people are staying away from BlackBerry because of the apps ecosystem we don't need more average users warning others of the phone being 'too difficult to use or understand'


Posted via CB10

[Tre Lawrence]

Cue the haughty "he's not smart enough to use BB10" comments in 5, 4, 3...

[Kris Simundson]

Did you at least get him set up on CB10? lol

[monil11]

Did you at least get him set up on CB10? lol

I did. =) But he admitted that he wont look for solutions in an 'app'. As I mentioned he doesnt think much of apps.

[bobfranklin]

Great analysis! Thanks a lot. My fiancee and her brother have the same issue. They don't like the phone because they can never figure out how to turn it on or navigate. As iPhone users, they are accustomed to it being really easy and don't like the perceived difficulty.

Posted via CB10

[monil11]

Great analysis! Thanks a lot. My fiancee and her brother have the same issue. They don't like the phone because they can never figure out how to turn it on or navigate. As iPhone users, they are accustomed to it being really easy and don't like the perceived difficulty.

Posted via CB10

Yes for the most part Apple doesnt need to help its users much with iOS as most of it is pretty 'easy to do' and intuitive. BB10 is quite advanced technically but just seems like without much awareness, well spread out simple tutorials and brilliant marketing it is just setting up to be a Niche product (and ironically this is not even the Niche that Blackberry is targeting).

[agp101]

Did you at least get him set up on CB10? lol

Haha good one.

Anyway, it's to be expected of course. I'm not sure this is for a majority of users, but it's for a significant portion nonetheless. What's interesting is that bbos itself isn't the most simple either. It can actually be very complicated. Much more so than Apple and at least as much so as Android. Bb10 definitely has a learning curve. For me it was virtually instantaneous. For others it might be a couple of hours or days or weeks, for some like your friend it may be months or even never. But at the end I don't find bb10 more complicated than bbos. Actually, I find it simpler. Where I find the contrast lies is just with how you use it. IMO it's less complicated but it just cannot be more different to bbos. The contrast is high between the two.

My point? Hmm..... I'm not so sure what my point is.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using CB Forums mobile app

[Kris Simundson]

I tried to keep a customer who walked into my kitshop on her Z10 since I noticed her with it, just only if I had more time

Posted via CB10

[monil11]

Haha good one.

Anyway, it's to be expected of course. I'm not sure this is for a majority of users, but it's for a significant portion nonetheless. What's interesting is that bbos itself isn't the most simple either. It can actually be very complicated. Much more so than Apple and at least as much so as Android. Bb10 definitely has a learning curve. For me it was virtually instantaneous. For others it might be a couple of hours or days or weeks, for some like your friend it may be months or even never. But at the end I don't find bb10 more complicated than bbos. Actually, I find it simpler. Where I find the contrast lies is just with how you use it. IMO it's less complicated but it just cannot be more different to bbos. The contrast is high between the two.

My point? Hmm..... I'm not so sure what my point is.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using CB Forums mobile app

I absolutely agree with you about BBos and BB10 being very different. I remember the time there was a huge wave of adoption for BBos devices here. Almost nobody had problems 'just getting around' or doing simple things. Even from a non techies perspective, most of it was self explanatory as long as you did not want to mess with the deeper options. I dont know if the same could ever be accomplished with BB10. I think the most important part is educating customers. As long as its not to point of being 'frustrating' a learning curve is to be expected with anything new.

[KOOLWATER]

Had the same experience but with a verizon rep...

I went in last week to upgrade from 9860 to the Note 2. (Have given up on BB but thats another topic) My wife owns a blackberry 9860 also and her update is coming up soon so she was just browsing the phones. I had already schooled her on bb10 and how awesome the potential isfor this OS, and that its just not mature enough for me to risk my upgrade on. (No trust in BB. Playbook owner here) she immediately looked for the Z10. While she was playing with it the verizon rep came over and asked to help. I just stood back and listened. Immediately the female rep started telling her that the Z10 had a very high learning curve, so high that most of the Zs they sell are returned. She went on to say how most of the Z10 returners were former blackberry users who just couldn't learn the "new blackberries".

My wife is now looking at the Galaxy 4

Sent from my Galaxy Note 2 using CB forums app

[Jerale Hoard]

Get alot of those people on BlackBerry's facebook fanpage. Sometimes they want help other times they want to go back to their iPhone's and Androids or threaten to leave BlackBerry for either one.

Posted via CB10

[monil11]

Had the same experience but with a verizon rep...

I went in last week to upgrade from 9860 to the Note 2. (Have given up on BB but thats another topic) My wife owns a blackberry 9860 also and her update is coming up soon so she was just browsing the phones. I had already schooled her on bb10 and how awesome the potential isfor this OS, and that its just not mature enough for me to risk my upgrade on. (No trust in BB. Playbook owner here) she immediately looked for the Z10. While she was playing with it the verizon rep came over and asked to help. I just stood back and listened. Immediately the female rep started telling her that the Z10 had a very high learning curve, so high that most of the Zs they sell are returned. She went on to say how most of the Z10 returners were former blackberry users who just couldn't learn the "new blackberries".

My wife is now looking at the Galaxy 4

Sent from my Galaxy Note 2 using CB forums app

Its sad but true. I also had a friend switch from Bold 9900 to Galaxy S4 mini for the exact same reason. Its even more shocking as he is sort of a tech enthusiast and has a long history of tinkering with gadgets just to learn. Most people today want phones that are powerful but simple.

[robin11]

Most sales reps are in the same boat. They just recommend a Galaxy or iPhone. My business partner is a long time blackberry user, and when the sales rep at Rogers couldn't help him with contact lists or demonstrate, he bought an iPhone. I now worry that OS10 will sell more Samsung and iPhones to long time blackberry users than Z10's and Q10's.

[xBURK]

Wow, I knew some people would have problems navigating BB10, but definitely not reps who have to learn how to use all kinds of phones. I'm not the smartest of people, but after two days, I had the Z10 mastered. Is it really that hard? If you are a rep out there and can't figure out bb10 in two days, you lied on your resume. Come on, really?

Posted via CB10

[agp101]

Wow, I knew some people would have problems navigating BB10, but definitely not reps who have to learn how to use all kinds of phones. I'm not the smartest of people, but after two days, I had the Z10 mastered. Is it really that hard? If you are a rep out there and can't figure out bb10 in two days, you lied on your resume. Come on, really?

Posted via CB10

Is it that hard? Not for everyone, certainly not for me. For a carrier rep? It shouldn't be. I mean it's their job lol. A consumer gets it why can't a carrier rep or employee? It's their field. That's a little inexcusable.



Sent from CB forums app with... (you can't handle this, it's not a bb)

[mrfreetruth]

The z10 and q10 are so simple to use that it takes all but a couple of hours to learn. These stories are made up and pathetic ones at that. A Lot of these bs stories on CB as of late.

Posted via CB10

[southlander]

Lol. The old BBOS is also plenty complicated. In fact when I asked a friend why she went with an iphone several years ago she told me the keyboard with all the tiny buttons on a BlackBerry just seems complicated compared to the Iphone. Aside from that the BBOS has complications. Some apps you can back button out of to close. Some it just backgrounds and you have actually choose "Close " in the BlackBerry menu. Some say "Exit". Some like Pandora "Exit" just backgrounds the app and one has to choose "Shut down Pandora ".

I mean let's be fair. The old BBOS as wonderful as it is, is filled with inconsistencies.

Posted via BlackBerry 10

[spoonman9696]

Had the same experience but with a verizon rep...

I went in last week to upgrade from 9860 to the Note 2. (Have given up on BB but thats another topic) My wife owns a blackberry 9860 also and her update is coming up soon so she was just browsing the phones. I had already schooled her on bb10 and how awesome the potential isfor this OS, and that its just not mature enough for me to risk my upgrade on. (No trust in BB. Playbook owner here) she immediately looked for the Z10. While she was playing with it the verizon rep came over and asked to help. I just stood back and listened. Immediately the female rep started telling her that the Z10 had a very high learning curve, so high that most of the Zs they sell are returned. She went on to say how most of the Z10 returners were former blackberry users who just couldn't learn the "new blackberries".

My wife is now looking at the Galaxy 4

Sent from my Galaxy Note 2 using CB forums app

This is one of the biggest problems we're facing. The total disregard that many reps have for doing their homework and learning how to properly operate the bb10 os. I learned everything simply from crackberry and experimenting with the phone after I got it. I've helped about 7 people recently with their phones that were strugglingpreviously with them. Now they love them. One friend couldnt even figure how to unlock her z10. Even the rogers rep had no clue. We need people in place that can help demonstrate all the wonderful things that bb10 has to offer. And as easy as ios is supposed to be, when I try using my dads iphone, im completely lost. I dont know which way is upmor down. My z10 just feels so natural. I do think though that its easier going from a legacy device to a z10 then it is from legacy to q10. I kept finding my self trying to revert back to how I would access things on my 9900 when trying my friends q10. Z10 was more of a fresh clean slate

[Bbnivende]

The z10 and q10 are so simple to use that it takes all but a couple of hours to learn. These stories are made up and pathetic ones at that. A Lot of these bs stories on CB as of late.

Posted via CB10

Sometimes perception is reality. My wife sought my guidance on a new phone purchase ( her first smartphone) . Since she is a happy Ipad user the suggestion to stay with Apple was easy. Zero learning curve, she is happy . Headaches averted.

[m1a1mg]

The z10 and q10 are so simple to use that it takes all but a couple of hours to learn. These stories are made up and pathetic ones at that. A Lot of these bs stories on CB as of late.

Posted via CB10

I'm not sure where you live, but the VZW reps where I've been haven't known anything about BBOS10.

[farskija]

I totally agree. I played around with some android devices while I was at Verizon and they seem more difficult to navigate to me; too many screen or menu options. It's a myth that BlackBerry 10 is too challenging

Posted via CB10

[Jahmal A]

When The Z10 first came out in Canada, BlackBerry had reps in movie theaters to show off the Z10 and how to use it. Though they weren't experts, they knew enough to demonstrate general operation of the device. It's a shame that the salespeople at these carriers can't have this same level of knowledge about BB10. If only BlackBerry could have one in every store....

[Jahmal A]

I totally agree. I played around with some android devices while I was at Verizon and they seem more difficult to navigate to me; too many screen or menu options. It's a myth that BlackBerry 10 is too challenging

Posted via CB10

BlackBerry 10 is not challenging to us CrackBerry users that probably knew how to use a BB10 before they were launched. General population has no clue and people make assumptions. When they see BlackBerry Q10 they assume it is like the legacy BlackBerrys. If they tried the Z10 first, they would not make any assumptions since there is no base to start with (in terms of a BlackBerry). This applies to anything new and different than what you are used to. I find Android more complicated and fragmented (operations aren't as easy to flow to each other for lack of a better description) since I'm used to the Z10.

Question is how does BlackBerry tackle this? Maybe more tutorial options throughout the OS? As we can see the carriers are not enforcing or encouraging training for BB10 to their employees since Android and iPhone sales take majority of the sales. So that is not a viable option. BlackBerry stores (or retail booths) in select malls and shopping centres would help but this would not reach all the potential buyers.

[Chicago777Guy]

Fantastic article OP...i agree with you...People are going to find it very confusing (non techies I meant)
And with lack of training from BlackBerry and limited carrier support its going to be a real challenge....
It's a very real concern.

Posted via CB10

[QuickDime]

I really hate to add to this but I have also heard stories like this as of recent too!

There next marketing campaign has got to change this perception with education fast!

Swiped On My Zed10