1. anon(6098928)'s Avatar
    I came to BlackBerry, having been an avid WindowsPhone user. After two months of using the Passport, am now starting to really miss my old Nokia 930:

    * Mapping/navigation on BlackBerry (in the UK at least) is poor. Here Maps is simply awesome.
    * Cortana is so so very handy and helpful.
    * Auto responding to messages etc, whilst in a meeting, based on my work calendar alone is a real helpful feature.
    * Easy Mac connectivity/sync is nice and slight easier than BlackBerry Link
    * I really really miss live tiles. The ability to quickly glance at my homescreen and see the info I want and need.

    What should I do? I'd love to hear other people's viewpoints

    Thank you all in advance.

    BlackBerry Passport, UK
    04-25-15 01:49 PM
  2. brookie229's Avatar
    You should follow your heart/instincts and that appears to be to go back to your windows phone. This should not be an agonizing, life-changing decision. Good luck in whatever you decide.
    04-25-15 01:57 PM
  3. Kaloni Arcidiacono's Avatar
    I had a windows phone before... dont ever see myself going back... one of the biggest gripes I had was the inability to attach files other than photos to email... utterly ridiculous

    Posted via CB10
    lift likes this.
    04-25-15 02:41 PM
  4. kbz1960's Avatar
    I had a windows phone before... dont ever see myself going back... one of the biggest gripes I had was the inability to attach files other than photos to email... utterly ridiculous

    Posted via CB10
    That is bad, following Apple. I hear WP10 will have it though.
    thymaster likes this.
    04-25-15 02:52 PM
  5. Deitzanova's Avatar
    At the end of the day you have to choose the one which suits your needs the best. Give yourself a little more time with the Passport and then do what you think is best for you requirements.

    Posted via CB10
    anon(6098928) and lift like this.
    04-25-15 02:56 PM
  6. paulwallace1234's Avatar
    Plenty of maps apps out there, I use Navfree
    04-25-15 02:58 PM
  7. zombiecupcake's Avatar
    I used to have a Windows phone back in the day (HTC Excalibur with Windows mobile 6.0), and BlackBerry beat it by miles as far as apps and utilities. Then Microsoft got its crap together and suped up their mobile OS. I gotta hand it to them, some things on WP are way better than BB10: the voice assistant, navigation and social media. But I love my BlackBerry.

    I have needs that must be met: clean interface, solid physical keyboard and all-around functionality. BlackBerry meets those needs, especially the Passport. It's my little phablet. My pocket PC. I edit my work docs and novels on here. I've taken all my important pictures over the last 8 years on my BlackBerrys. I suppose my love for my phone is more sentimental than anything. Honestly, I haven't tried a Windows phone since 2005 and I'm sure I'd like it if I gave it a shot. I'm sure I'd love the iphone too, if I cared to try it. Android is great but I keep getting pulled back to the dark side again and again, because I always end up missing what my BlackBerry can do.

    Whether that convinces you or not, that's up to you. Lots of BlackBerry users move on to something that suits them better. But quite a few of them come back and, much like prison inmates, end up being lifers I know I'll be staying for the foreseeable future.

     = ♥
    04-25-15 03:20 PM
  8. tuxedo323's Avatar
    If there was a platform that would get me away from BlackBerry, Windowsphone would be it. I have a brief run with the HTC M8 for windows and it was a pretty good experience. What made me return it was the media player. My iTunes library synced to the device without a problem but only 70% of my music would play properly. I also had problems logging into archaic sites that were designed in the early 2000's. Since the music experience and web browsing gets the majority of my smartphone usage, it was an unacceptable solution for me.

    Good luck whichever way you go.

    Posted via CB10
    anon(6098928) likes this.
    04-25-15 03:46 PM
  9. vader42's Avatar
    * Mapping/navigation on BlackBerry (in the UK at least) is poor. Here Maps is simply awesome.
    Try NavFree. I came from Nokia, and it is close.

    * Cortana is so so very handy and helpful.
    BlackBerry assistant is also quite good. I find the speech recognition for dictation excellent.

    * Easy Mac connectivity/sync is nice and slight easier than BlackBerry Link
    I'm a linux user, and find the connectivity much better. You have network shares, USB, web server, scp, ftp etc as well as blend.

    * I really really miss live tiles. The ability to quickly glance at my homescreen and see the info I want and need.
    Hub?

    I'm a technically minded person, and for me there is no comparison. Each person is different however, so go with the one you like. The main thing is that it is different to what you know. It might take a while (more than 2 months) till you are completely used to everything. Until then, it will always be a case of "I used to do it this way".

    Hope this helps


    Posted via CB10
    04-25-15 08:10 PM
  10. d4691's Avatar
    I used to have a Windows phone back in the day (HTC Excalibur with Windows mobile 6.0), and BlackBerry beat it by miles as far as apps and utilities. Then Microsoft got its crap together and suped up their mobile OS. I gotta hand it to them, some things on WP are way better than BB10: the voice assistant, navigation and social media. But I love my BlackBerry.
    I have a Lumia 635 I play around with sometimes (I think its currently $50 on the Microsoft store)... and the keyboard is also excellent for being a virtual keyboard. I use swipe-type gestures, and the word-flow is pretty accurate for me. way better than swype for my iphone. And I am also a fan of the live tiles and people app (you can pull your social media newsfeed without opening up the app, and seeing the advertisements). I think each OS Android, iOS, BB, WP have pros and cons.
    zombiecupcake likes this.
    04-26-15 07:42 AM
  11. zombiecupcake's Avatar
    I have a Lumia 635 I play around with sometimes (I think its currently $50 on the Microsoft store)... and the keyboard is also excellent for being a virtual keyboard. I use swipe-type gestures, and the word-flow is pretty accurate for me. way better than swype for my iphone. And I am also a fan of the live tiles and people app (you can pull your social media newsfeed without opening up the app, and seeing the advertisements). I think each OS Android, iOS, BB, WP have pros and cons.
    Oh man, the super old Windows phones didn't even have touch screens or apps lol. What I did like about it was the synch capabilities with my Windows PC. I could just click and drag a file onto the phone without the need for software or setup. But back when I was using one, there weren't even apps or live tiles. It was bare bones mobile OS. Perhaps that's why I haven't wanted to play with the newer Windows phones. Just doesn't appeal to me, now that I have the Passport. Also, the idea of using Internet Explorer on my daily driver just terrifies me! Lol

     = ♥
    04-26-15 08:07 AM
  12. ALToronto's Avatar
    One BlackBerry feature I can't live without, not available on Windows phones, is custom ringtones for individual contacts. I have specific ringtones for my husband, my mother, my kids' schools, and especially for the spam robo-callers who often call from the same phone number - they get the silent ringtone treatment.

    Maybe Win10 will have custom ringtones - then it might be worth a look.

    Posted via CB10 from my awesome Passport
    04-26-15 08:44 AM
  13. Powdah's Avatar
    For mapping, use Aponia available through Amazon. Uses Navtec / Here Mapping.

    Posted via CB10
    04-26-15 08:59 AM
  14. Peter Johnson4's Avatar
    To each there own. For me BlackBerry has what I need to communicate best with mobility. I always evaluate gadgets weighing need vs want.

    If Windows has what you need then do the switch back. I have friends who are on that platform and will not leave and same with apple and android. I even have one who still has his Palm Treo 600 because it does what he needs it to do (makes my Passport look minuscule).

    I broke from BlackBerry and tried Nokia, Apple and Android but went back to BlackBerry because it always was the better device/os for my communication needs.

    Do whatever floats your boat.

    Good luck!
    lift likes this.
    04-26-15 09:13 AM
  15. mikedolo's Avatar
    May the force be with you...Peace Out!
    thymaster likes this.
    04-26-15 09:17 AM
  16. pittster's Avatar
    I think I would feel rather incomplete without my BlackBerry. But WP does look like it has started to understand what it takes to be a viable alternative. I just wish BlackBerry would iron out the small discrepancies with the features we have. It will retain and gain users and we wouldn't have to read a thread like this.

    Posted via CB10
    04-26-15 09:42 AM
  17. tmf06's Avatar
    One BlackBerry feature I can't live without, not available on Windows phones, is custom ringtones for individual contacts. I have specific ringtones for my husband, my mother, my kids' schools, and especially for the spam robo-callers who often call from the same phone number - they get the silent ringtone treatment.

    Maybe Win10 will have custom ringtones - then it might be worth a look.

    Posted via CB10 from my awesome Passport
    Same here...also custom LED colors for calls, texts, and emails (pink for my wife, blue for work emails, etc). I do miss the custom vibration profiles from bbos, though.

     Posted via Z10 
    04-26-15 10:01 AM
  18. prplhze2000's Avatar
    BeMaps is pretty good.

    Posted via CB10
    04-26-15 10:03 AM
  19. anon9347040's Avatar
    Had a Windows Phone for all of one week. Couldn't stand it. That Metro UI reminds me of a Rubiks Cube. If the OP wants to switch to that, good luck with that. Not my cup of tea. If I had a Blackberry device with all those issues, I would seek service for it before switching to something like Windows Phone.

    -- Passport, VMO, Toronto CA
    lift and thymaster like this.
    04-26-15 10:03 AM
  20. KermEd's Avatar
    I've been slowly moving to a win phone as well for development.

    The one concern is building and testing apps for it is a nightmare. Like really. I'd rather be chased and eaten by the undead in my sleep than lose days to installing... and updating... and reinstalling... and rebooting for 2 days and downloading 20 GB of garbage and troubleshooting a bazillion installer issues... just to write a hell world app that I can't actually test because their testing license system is a mess gah!

    That said bbry is making me nervous with their recent changes. The big downside to me is windows doesn't have a galaxy class flagship ready. I want specs - I want to trade in my passport for something better. And the only way to do that is to go 'droid.

    So for me, I'll wait until windows phone is mature enough to get serious and provide something worthy of the change - the current lineups tell me they are testing the water themselves and haven't taken it seriously yet. The other thing, is when they test the water and things don't meet expectations for sales, Microsoft has a history of just giving up and axing the whole branch. I'd rather see them a little more invested than R+D funds before I make the hop. Look how fast they went 7 = 7.5 = 8 = 8.1. And each iteration has little to no backsupport for new apps - when it doesn't work they tend to just walk away and ignore users while following the shiny thing.

    Posted to CB via my Passport | FileArchiveHaven
    ALToronto likes this.
    04-26-15 10:17 AM
  21. whatsever's Avatar
    Just go I have other experience with windows and not saying it's bad but like bbos more

    Posted via CB10
    04-26-15 10:38 AM
  22. d4691's Avatar
    Oh man, the super old Windows phones didn't even have touch screens or apps lol. What I did like about it was the synch capabilities with my Windows PC. I could just click and drag a file onto the phone without the need for software or setup. But back when I was using one, there weren't even apps or live tiles. It was bare bones mobile OS. Perhaps that's why I haven't wanted to play with the newer Windows phones. Just doesn't appeal to me, now that I have the Passport. Also, the idea of using Internet Explorer on my daily driver just terrifies me! Lol
    Considering going back to Windows Phone-reliance-ppc-6700.jpg

    This was my Windows phone, pocketPC. Lol. Everyone laughed because they called it a "Brick" X years ago, when everyone else had the small flip phones. Now a 'brick' is the common phone to have. lol. But you're right, I made my own ringtones, and did a lot of stuff that other people couldn't do.. plus a full keyboard, which was nice.... Plus it had a stylus in the antenna! Ha!
    04-26-15 12:33 PM
  23. tavisdunn's Avatar
    Hey I get it, I currently have a nexus 5, lumia 1020 and my beloved Passport. I keep reaching for the Passport on a daily basis, but the symbiosis of windows on phone/tablet/PC is hard to ignore. Was hoping Blend was going to fill the gap for BlackBerry devices, but it's just not quite there (though it's getting better).

    I for one love the tile base UI and the metro design language. Though I keep coming back to the passport because it can just "do more". I find I get stuck on a task pretty frequently and have to go to my PC to rectify an issue.

    The Passport feels like on the first phones I've had where I really truly can do the majority of my work on it...

    But like I said, I get it...I'm a fan of windows phone too.

    Posted via CB10
    anon(6098928) likes this.
    04-26-15 12:46 PM
  24. Shashikantiyengar's Avatar
    Please go back to Windows. We are all used to some systems and are comfortable with it. But I am sure that you will Come back to passport

    Posted via CB10
    04-26-15 01:25 PM
  25. thymaster's Avatar
    Seems to me your mind is already set. Why bother coming to a BlackBerry fan site to confirm your decision to go back to Windows?
    04-26-15 01:48 PM
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