Why does it feel like we are all beta testing RIM's products?

[CrackBerry Storm meh]

I used to support RIM; I have used their products for several years, but it has come to attention to me that most, if not all of their recent projects, seem far from completion.
They give us products have finished, and expect us to wait for their new OS software, as well as wait for our carriers to approve this software. By one year (usually,) any true software development has been halted, they drop this project, and pick up a new one.
Why did we receive such expensive graphics hardware, if RIM is not even going to give us the OS to use it? Why are we spending so much time upgrading to hybrids or betas? Why are most other smart phone companies releasing new completed devices, whose software can be used on previous devices without the use of creating a hybrid - In other words, RIM has it set up as one phone - one OS. It is rather inefficient... On top of that, RIM gives us poor quality hardware.
During November, I am probably going to switch from my Blackberry to another smartphone, but well... What is your opinion about RIM selling **** products?

[l.a.rossmann]

I tried a bold 9000 the other day and as I dialed a phone # it couldn't keep up with my dialing, the numbers appeared with some slight lag. It did the same on an 8703e in 2006.

I'm used to it.

[killswitchX13]

lol @ the title

[ChuckH0308]

Hmmm, I do agree that RIM still has a little work to do on the software, but the hardware quality is first rate, with the exception being not enough installed RAM.

As far as beta testing goes, it seems to be the norm, especially for cell phones...even the one from the company in Cupertino. And don't even get me started on things made by Motorola or Sony....

[DrewCSchultz]

LOL, you should try dealing with LG sometime. Talk about R & D. I remember around the time the storm came out, the LG voyager was one of the first devices to be touted as an iPhone killer. I don't think its right to say a phone flat out sucks, but they couldnt even get haptic feedback riight

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[CrackBerry Storm meh]

Originally Posted by ChuckH0308

Hmmm, I do agree that RIM still has a little work to do on the software, but the hardware quality is first rate, with the exception being not enough installed RAM.
As far as beta testing goes, it seems to be the norm, especially for cell phones...even the one from the company in Cupertino. And don't even get me started on things made by Motorola or Sony....

I can see that the hardware specs are quite good (except the amount of RAM); the problem is that the OS does not even come near to optimization of this hardware. For instance; Multi-tasking takes up a significant amount of battery - Resource managing has not been planned out by RIM (I have had the Youtube app running... It is like a hole in a gas engine, just keep draining the battery.) Another part of this, well I suppose it is a bit more of a problem with planning on RIM's part, is the low amount of RAM. They give us a high quality GPU, yet we cannot use OpenGL due to the lack of RAM.

The Storm's OS was built on a shaky foundation - that's one of the problems. They should have created this OS from the bottom up, and allow future OSes to be compatible with past generations of phones (well, if they did, we would still not have enough RAM... Well we MIGHT be able to use OS6 if RIM figures out how to run applications from a SD card, like several other companies...)

Yes, I do realize that other companies release crappy incomplete phones (for RIM, I feel that the OS is incomplete,) but then again, several companies are shipping phones whose quality is great from its initial release. There are a couple slip-ups when it comes to beta testing, such as accelerometer delay, but when the slip-ups are very noticeable, such as the phone crashes whenever one opens certain types of applications, it is a complete joke that it was released.

Whenever I compare my phone's current OS to its initial OS, I can see a large improvement. I feel that only the Storm 2 should have been released, since the Storm 1 is rather disappointing.

Originally Posted by DrewCSchultz

LOL, you should try dealing with LG sometime. Talk about R & D. I remember around the time the storm came out, the LG voyager was one of the first devices to be touted as an iPhone killer. I don't think its right to say a phone flat out sucks, but they couldnt even get haptic feedback riight

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

lol I have dealt with LG before, and I agree.

Originally Posted by killswitchX13

lol @ the title

lol

Originally Posted by l.a.rossmann

I tried a bold 9000 the other day and as I dialed a phone # it couldn't keep up with my dialing, the numbers appeared with some slight lag. It did the same on an 8703e in 2006.

I'm used to it.

My 9530 still has issues keeping up with my typing after a complete battery pull. I am a fast typer, so that might be a problem. I remember my 8703e - It was pretty good, and helped me pass the time with brick breaker

[F0nage]

I don't have any problems, but then again I run the OS that came on my phone and I don't plan to upgrade unless I need something new (so far, I don't.)

You want to know what it's like to alpha test a phone OS? Buy a Nokia

[killswitchX13]

I loled hard when the voyager was touted as the iphone killer. that POS phone can't even kill the pearl flip

[MobileMadness002]

No better way to beta test than to leak your OS. MS did it in a different way. They provided RC software for testing. At least RIM does not lock the OS to stop after a certain date.

[CrackBerry Storm meh]

Originally Posted by F0nage

I don't have any problems, but then again I run the OS that came on my phone and I don't plan to upgrade unless I need something new (so far, I don't.)

You want to know what it's like to alpha test a phone OS? Buy a Nokia

I do not have any significant problems other than constant lag. I have used several operating systems - The current official OS for Verizon resulted in poor call quality.

Originally Posted by killswitchX13

I loled hard when the voyager was touted as the iphone killer. that POS phone can't even kill the pearl flip

The "iPhone killer" - That term has been used so much lol. Unfortunately, the way I see it, unless it uses a physical keyboard or has something innovative/exclusive, such as pinch to zoom (Thought to be patented by Apple) or BBM, there will never be an iPhone killer since Apple keeps adding more and more to their well coded OS. Its only significant competition in terms of performance is the new Palm products, which will be outdated as soon as the next iPhone comes out.
I hated the iPhone due to certain parts about it, such as its email and lack of multitasking, but with OS4 coming out... Its multi tasking/browser/battery management/hardware are all significantly more efficient than any Blackberry, and its rumored to come out on a network with pretty good reception. We might be able to see if Verizon can 'handle' it.
I will only miss BBM, and some nostalgic values of a Blackberry, but RIM is living in the past - Java is outdated, and they need to provide a potentially 'golden' OS on release since wireless carriers take forever to approve OS updates.

Originally Posted by MobileMadness002

No better way to beta test than to leak your OS. MS did it in a different way. They provided RC software for testing. At least RIM does not lock the OS to stop after a certain date.

RIM does not intentionally leak their OS though, whereas MS provided betas. Apparently RIM loses some $$ from leaking OSes, so meh. It is just best overall if they provide us with a quality OS at lease. By 'locking the OS to stop after a certain date,' do you mean by setting a timebomb? Well, they provide their testers with an OS which could potentially be released - there would never be a timebomb added to an official OS for obvious reasons. Most time bombs can be overridden anyways, like the W7 timebomb could be inactive due to someone changing the date :P

[F0nage]

Originally Posted by CrackBerry Storm meh

I hated the iPhone due to certain parts about it, such as its email and lack of multitasking, but with OS4 coming out... Its multi tasking/browser/battery management/hardware are all significantly more efficient than any Blackberry

It's silly to assert Apple's hacked-in, slapped-on "multitasking" (which is not multitasking at all) is more efficient than BlackBerry's. Battery, not user replaceable. Hardware? Not even as capable as a cheap Nokia.

Apple = /fail

Choosing a touch screen BB is like buying a peanut butter sandwich in the best pizza place in town. If you want to get the BlackBerry experience, the Storm isn't going to be the answer. BB didn't update their OS for touch and their heart is obviously not in it. My 8900 and the 9700 for example walk all over iAnything and they always will.

Unless you want to play games and watch movies- then get an iPhone. It costs more than my cheap Nokia and doesn't even have near the screen resolution. And my Nokia can multitask as much as 50 iPhones bolted together. Maybe iPhone isn't even good as an iPhone

[avacomputers]

To the people that think rims hardware is top notch, have you every heard of the blackberry tour? Now that's a piece of ****.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[CrackBerry Storm meh]

Originally Posted by F0nage

It's silly to assert Apple's hacked-in, slapped-on "multitasking" (which is not multitasking at all) is more efficient than BlackBerry's. Battery, not user replaceable. Hardware? Not even as capable as a cheap Nokia.

Apple = /fail

Choosing a touch screen BB is like buying a peanut butter sandwich in the best pizza place in town. If you want to get the BlackBerry experience, the Storm isn't going to be the answer. BB didn't update their OS for touch and their heart is obviously not in it. My 8900 and the 9700 for example walk all over iAnything and they always will.

Unless you want to play games and watch movies- then get an iPhone. It costs more than my cheap Nokia and doesn't even have near the screen resolution. And my Nokia can multitask as much as 50 iPhones bolted together. Maybe iPhone isn't even good as an iPhone

"Apple's hacked-in, slapped-on "multitasking" (which is not multitasking at all) is more efficient than BlackBerry's." - It is not multitasking? I do not quite understand what you mean - Of course it is multitasking, and it is far more efficient at it than the Blackberry's multitasking... Not in terms of how to open your multitasking windows or the graphics behind it, but in terms of battery life. It is a joke if you believe that RIM's multitasking is great - Yes, usually there is no lag in it (which is normal) but the amount of power it uses lol :P I really do not understand the argument that you are trying to make in terms of multitasking - Have you even seen the OS4 preview and demo? OS4 introduces real multitasking in the form of expose`. With the Blackberry OS, certain inactive applications can drain a large amount of battery life.

I stopped using the physical keyboard blackberries because 1) Track-wheels are a pain to use 2) Trackballs break easily (responsiveness etc.) and I have not tried the optical trackpad, but I really dislike the current feedback, such as being inoperable due to heat/sunlight.

I laughed a bit reading the last part about comparing an iPhone to Nokia etc :P I really feel that you do not know what you are talking about when it comes to the iPhone's multitasking abilities. Blackberries are primarily known for email, correct? The next generation of the iPhone is going to provide users with a great quality email service, and if RIM loses in that category, what does it have left? A crappy browser, phones that last for only one generation of updates, java based OS, low RAM, several bugs... RIM has really lost its touch, or actually... RIM is not adapting to the current needs of smartphone users. We want fast browsers, not something that is painfully slow.

I am not some Apple follower, I merely look for the best products, and soon the best product (for Verizon) will be either the iPhone HD/4G or the Droid Incredible, not some blackberry with a crappy OS. I love Blackberries due to their nostalgic value, but I really need to look past that and make a justified purchase.

Originally Posted by avacomputers

To the people that think rims hardware is top notch, have you every heard of the blackberry tour? Now that's a piece of ****.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Haha I have heard several things about the Blackberry Tour. I am speaking moreso about the hardware inside the phone actually, hardware which is no where near optimization. Well, as times go on, the hardware is becoming out of date, but for its time, it was pretty decent quality. I am only talking about certain parts of the hardware, such as its graphics card.

[CrackBerry Storm meh]

Ugh... OS6 is merely bringing up the Storm to par with previous devices in terms of features and fluidity. While OS6 has implemented new features, has it corrected several of the problems that we experience? The coding for multitasking is inadequate - although we can switch applications with ease, the battery consumption is just awful. Also, there needs to be a quicker method to close applications rather than entering that application and pressing close. RIM is not going to be able to keep people from crossing over the fence by introducing features which other companies have always perfected. Also, are we going to receive a relatively complete operating system? Give us a gold code rather than a beta, and force us to wait a year or so before we receive an imperfect OS.

[chrisy520]

i'm more annoyed at VZW for releasing the buggy OSs. i only use VZW official OS and the past two have been a failure. 4.7 had constant Reload Software 552 errors when i had a certain number of apps installed, and 5.0 gave me a white screen tech issue error. BlackBerry does what i need but if the official OSs being released continue like that, i'll be looking at an iPhone.

i haven't had any hardware issue. Trackball always worked, love the keyboard, camera, screen. But having a buggy OS negates some of the Tours good qualities.

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