[CrackBerry Question]

Ok, this is a long one.

I have been using a torch for years now and my dad decided to 'help' by pushign me to get an upgrade because naturally the torch I had won't last forever. I decided on the keyone because I thought it had the same mouse curser and had never tried an Android, which people talk up.

That was a huge mistake.

I can't do anything on it. At all. It wants me to put in a google password and I refuse. I don't even want google software on my device to begin with. I can't access or move files I own onto it though the cable, the interface is a nightmare. just from basic reading I'd need a slew of new apps and I'd need to find some reputable place other than google play to get them. And it still wouldn't be enough.

I can't even put the SD card in the old phone because I'd have to switch back.

I don't need this for much. I have a 3DS for games. I want to be able to play my videos and music without buying from google. I want to be able to read my gaming PDFs without google being involved. I want firefox if possible and I want trillian. That's literally all I need the thing for besides phone calls.

On the one hand I am tempted to just tell my dad how utterly unusable the thing is, but I doubt there will be much in the way of usable blackberries in the future. Is there some hack or rootkit or something I can do to keep the basic phone but make it less of a nightmare to use?

[A Noise Annoys]

I'm not a fan of Android either, but eventually, if you really want to stay with a BlackBerry device, you are going to have to set up a Google account but that probably won't change the user experience too much. People have told me there are big improvements in Nougat and Oreo but I won't be convinced until I can try them out for myself.

For the time being you can get really good deals on new Passports and Leaps via BB's Amazon page (go to your local Shop BlackBerry page for the direct links). I think you'll find BB10 a more logical step forward from OS7.1

*EDIT*

Just so you know, I ran a DTEK60 for 2 months and couldn't get comfortable with Android during that time. I returned to my rather abused and often dropped Passport until it became too glitchy to use anymore and am now running on my trusty Leap and loving every minute of it!

[ominaxe]

If you want to upgrade from a torch and like the trackpad, try the Classic.

[Denise in Los Angeles]

Ok, this is a long one.

I have been using a torch for years now and my dad decided to 'help' by pushign me to get an upgrade because naturally the torch I had won't last forever. I decided on the keyone because I thought it had the same mouse curser and had never tried an Android, which people talk up.

That was a huge mistake.

I can't do anything on it. At all. It wants me to put in a google password and I refuse. I don't even want google software on my device to begin with. I can't access or move files I own onto it though the cable, the interface is a nightmare. just from basic reading I'd need a slew of new apps and I'd need to find some reputable place other than google play to get them. And it still wouldn't be enough.

I can't even put the SD card in the old phone because I'd have to switch back.

I don't need this for much. I have a 3DS for games. I want to be able to play my videos and music without buying from google. I want to be able to read my gaming PDFs without google being involved. I want firefox if possible and I want trillian. That's literally all I need the thing for besides phone calls.

On the one hand I am tempted to just tell my dad how utterly unusable the thing is, but I doubt there will be much in the way of usable blackberries in the future. Is there some hack or rootkit or something I can do to keep the basic phone but make it less of a nightmare to use?

Mu advice to you is give it a try. I too did not want to use Google. But I wanted the KEYone, so it was necessary for me to adjust my feelings about Google.

I had a Gmail email since 2012 that I never use for anything, so I don't get any email. NONE. Just keep your log in password in a couple of safe places, so in case you forget your password, you can get it from another source, either low tech pen and paper, or a computer.

You do not have to download any apps from the play store, so no worries there either. Disregard whatever you read about needing apps. The basic KEYone functions are good enough, and far superior to the BB0S Torch software. If you only read negative threads, you won't want to learn for yourself how good the KEYone is. The one app that you might need is a good file manager, so you can organize your photos and other files on your SD card. So, maybe you might need that... but it is not intrusive or any more horrible than using java apps on your Torch.

I use Firefox, downloaded from the play store. It works fine. I don't use Trillian so I can't give my opinion on that app. There are apps that can play music, and apps that can let you read PDFs. You can find what you need, and customize your phone to the way you like to use it.

Once you begin using your phone, it will be fun to use. But it really depends on you. If you refuse, then you won't know what you are missing.