[bzavitz]

Back in 2006, I bought a Palm Treo 650, and quickly discovered it was one of the most beautifully functional tools I had ever owned. Once phones with increased capabilities started appearing, every six months or so I would go out shopping, but could never find anything that was as well designed, that could handle the basic functions I used most as simply and effectively. So every time my Palm got dinged up, I would buy another one off Amazon, swap out the motherboard, and just carry on.

I replaced the phone three times that way over eight years, till finally I could find no more on the Internet, and I no longer had a choice but to move to another platform. As a physical keyboard is a non-negotiable starting point for me, Blackberry was the only viable option, so I sprung for a new Classic.

It immediately became obvious that despite the quantum leap in technological development, the device compared very poorly in terms of coherent user experience design� functional flow and just plain usability. It surprised me, and continues to astonish me more and more, that Blackberry would not have studied a device that was the apotheosis of its time, and incorporated obvious features and functions that were available so long ago.

So, just in case someone up there is listening, here is my list of things that Blackberry should have, to make it work as well as a 2006-era Palm Treo:

1 - 4, Key commands

- right off the bat, there needs to be a dedicated button to put the phone in �Airplane mode,� which is readily available without making the user flip through a menu to find it. As both the �Power off� and �End� buttons currently duplicate the same function, it would make sense to reassign the �End� button to the �Airplane mode� function, as did the Palm.

- an option is needed to silence the phone and alarms by touching any key. This is very useful when the device is in a coat pocket, for instance, so just squeezing the device through the fabric will shut it up when that needs to happen quickly.

- keystrokes for Copy/Cut and Paste, and Undo (for deleted text). Without getting into an argument about Blackberry�s unique system of manipulating text via touchscreen, if they are going to provide a keyboard, basic keystrokes should be available.

- the touch-screen numeric symbol keyboard needs to have a �0"!

5 - 13, Sync and backup

- the sync cradle is a disaster. Seating the phone properly is a very awkward two-handed process, while seating the Palm could be accomplished in one quick, smooth and positive one-handed move. The cradle charges slowly, and does not have an indicator light to show that charging is happening, and when it is complete.

- inserting or withdrawing the phone from the cradle starts up the computer when it is in Standby mode, which is extremely frustrating

- Blackberry Link is also a disaster. Poorly designed interface, and incomprehensible procedures, especially to set up custom sync relationships (and yes, I have read the documentation). The first time I tried to do a Factory Reset, it lost over 1,100 of my contacts (fortunately also backed up elsewhere). It does not back up the �Remember� app (at least not in any accessible way). When open, it prevents the Windows taskbar from popping up. I am told �Blend� is better, but frankly I am scared to try it-- and why should I need two applications? By contrast, the Palm desktop software was a simple, one-stop application to back up, manage, sync and edit everything on the phone, that never once failed me.

14 - 19, Calendar

- the input screen for �Events� is awkward, slow and error-prone. The screen for event time and date in particular is too crowded; with not enough room to swipe properly, with the result that the user often touches, and unintentionally changes, other selectors. By contrast, actions on the Palm interface were simple, quick and positive.

- this is exacerbated by the selector for alarm times in 1 min increments. Does anybody really need that? The selector for "Events" is in 5 min increments, which makes much more sense (as was the case in the Palm).

- �Events� need to have categories, those need to be able to be custom-created, and to have assignable colors, and those events need to all be visible as multiple dots per day in the �Month� view of the calendar (as in Palm).

20 - 26, Contact list

- ditto for "Contacts"� those need to have categories, those need to be able to be custom-created, and to have assignable colors. (Arguably, the �Contact groups� can be made to function this way, minus the colors, but that is a work-around, not a feature.)

- the �Company� field needs to be immediately predictive. If the user has entered the name of a company once, it should immediately be available when entering the next three contacts at the same company, without waiting for the predictive feature to �learn� it. Palm could do this.

- all the fields on the �Contact� entry window are geared towards personal info; there are no real options for business entities, like �Main� or �Toll-free� for phone numbers, or �Head office� or �Warehouse� for address fields. This is frankly astonishing for a platform that touts itself as oriented for business..

- it appears to be impossible to assign contacts to contact groups on creation. The user has to create the entry, close it, then search for it, open the side menu and select �Add to group.� Duh?

- after receiving a call from unknown number, an option is presented to add to the contact list, but after dialing a new number, no prompt appears. My Treo did both

27, Texting

- no alert appears if a text is submitted while in �Airplane mode,� meaning an important text can inadvertently not get sent. Again, this is an astonishing oversight in a device geared for business use.

28 - 29, Marketing

- Blackberry is fighting an uphill battle to regain market share, and unfamiliarity with the platform is a major hurdle to consumer acceptance-- yet they don�t seem to be doing the basic things to encourage their user base. I purchased my phone March 17, registered it probably on the 19th, but the first welcome e-mail with suggestions of resources only arrived on the 24th, the next on the 26th and the 28th. This is a surprisingly slow response when their target demographic presumably comprises largely power users.

- one of the major factors in my almost ditching the device after the first week was the poor product knowledge at the dealer. I had to go to four different outlets of the same carrier before I could find someone who could tell me anything about the device, and even then, he knew very little. By contrast, years earlier I had been told by a sales associate at the same carrier that every few months a rep from Palm would come around to demonstrate the phone to sales staff, and solicit user feedback.

30 - 31, Amusement

- while the default sounds for notifications, alarms, etc. are quite appealing, I am disappointed that the other options are not. I realize that it is possible to upload custom sounds (which the Palm couldn�t do) but I would appreciate some pre-loaded options that are not harsh techno.

- and last but not least, while a good Solitaire game may not be a priority for everyone, I have searched Playstore in vain for a well-designed (esthetically and functionally) Solitaire game like the one that came pre-loaded on my Palm, and that I still use almost daily to unwind for a few moments.

32, Documentation

- inevitably, the good people on this forum will point out that one or more of the flaws I have mentioned is in error, and there is a simple answer. While very much appreciated, that underscores my final complaint, that the documentation is scattered and sometimes obscure, and the guidance available on the phone is neither complete nor clear enough.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

So, that is my list of gripes just compared to my old Palm Treo. I have a much longer list of bugs and deficiencies for the Blackberry/OS 10 just on its own, which I may post some day if I survive the death threats this post will likely elicit.

So why do I keep using it? Basically, as the only mature device with a physical keyboard, there is no alternative. Yes, there are many things to like about the Classic. It is a beautiful machine� no-one can fault the engineering or manufacture. I love the �Agenda� calendar view; I love the way it effortlessly sets up e-mail accounts and connects to Wi-Fi. I love the screen. But quite frankly, if I could go back to the Palm, I probably would. And as a Canadian who would desperately love to see Blackberry succeed, that makes me sad.

[Soapm]

Most of what you mention was the strength of BBOS yet they redesigned the OS and left out the good parts of the old.

But gave us a HUB which is really a renamed combined mailbox but I won't tell...

[Ducca683]

If you need still working Treo 650, let me know! I still have one and original box with accessories. And the device is like new... ;-)

Posted via CB10

[muindor]

I found some Palm Treo 650 at amazon.de
About 100-160�.

32 ways that thing was better leads me to: get it again and ditch the classic.

You definitely have some points which I agree with. The calendar and contacts of BB10.3.1 are really horrible. The calendar is about to get better (again) with the coming 10.3.2 though.



[skstrials]

You can switch your phone profile by long pressing on the Q key.

And you can customize these keyboard shortcuts from the setting.

Posted via CB10

[bzavitz]

If you need still working Treo 650, let me know! I still have one and original box with accessories. And the device is like new... ;-)

Posted via CB10

Thanks. That's very kind of you, and very tempting, but it would only delay the inevitable. The writing is on the wall, and Palm is a dead end. I have to accept that. ;-(

[alb101]

I used to use a pay phone... let me list all the ways a pay phone is better than the classic.

1. It has big physical buttons!! So easy to use compared to the crammed keys of the classic!

2. It is very secure!! No one will be able to hack your phone or know where you are calling from!

3. Making collect calls is so easy and its free!!

4. The physical shape is what a phone should look like and what a phone is meant to look like!

5. It comes with a private room! You can speak to people in your own personal space!!

6. There are no commitments! You simply pay whenever you want!

....

Hope you all can see that it is very easy to make something �h�ty seem really good. The palm trio was crap compared to the old blackberrys let alone the new classic. Stop trying to sound unique and all hipster by pointing out things which you think old phones do better than new phones because you all sound very uneducated and simply unable to adapt to technology and a new OS. I can list 10 folds on ten folds on things better on the classic compared to the walkie talkie youre talking about.

Posted via International Passport

[nivon]

Hope you all can see that it is very easy to make something �h�ty seem really good. The palm trio was crap compared to the old blackberrys let alone the new classic. Stop trying to sound unique and all hipster by pointing out things which you think old phones do better than new phones because you all sound very uneducated and simply unable to adapt to technology and a new OS. I can list 10 folds on ten folds on things better on the classic compared to the walkie talkie youre talking about.

Posted via International Passport

Granted this is BlackBerry site, but this sort of fanboism shows who the "hipster" really is. If you read the post, you'll see what the OP is asking for is pretty valid and it is not just about adapting to "new" technology - we all are using the new BB10, but there are enough shortcomings that BlackBerry should address. Period.



Posted via CB10

[Dave Bourque]

Have you read the Help app and done the tutorial in full? Advanced interactions answers some of your issues. Instead of a dedicated button you turn the phone face down and it mutes.

Posted via CB10

[tracks914]

I bought a Z10 a couple of months ago. My last phone was an HP/Palm Veer. It is an awesome phone on an even better OS. But it (OS) is dead.HP shut the servers down in March. You can still use the hardware but there are no more backups. Some of the things WebOS did are still better than other platforms out there, but BlackBerry 10 is pretty close. When I pull out my old Veer or Palm Pre I love the feel, the rounded corners, the sliding physical keyboard. It just fits into my pocket better than any phone with square corners. The OS was great and ahead of its time but it didn't catch on. So it died.
Time to move on. Embrace the BlackBerry. Make it work for you.

BTW, typing on the Z10 keyboard is nowhere close to the physical keyboard of my tiny Veer but it is better than my Samsung or my daughter s Iphone. And if the new BlackBerry Slider comes out I will likely give it try as long as it isn't too big for my pockets.

Posted via CB10

[mad_mdx]

Not another one of these..

[anon(3983727)]

Have you read the Help app and done the tutorial in full? Advanced interactions answers some of your issues. Instead of a dedicated button you turn the phone face down and it mutes.

Posted via CB10

I was just thinking the same thing. I love the advance interactions and customizable quick settings options. Airplane mode is just a down swipe away and silent mode cant get any simpler that just flipping the phone over.

[bzavitz]

Have you read the Help app and done the tutorial in full? Advanced interactions answers some of your issues. Instead of a dedicated button you turn the phone face down and it mutes.

Posted via CB10

Yes, and yes.

However, you seem to be confusing issues. The dedicated button I wish BB had is to put the device in "Airplane mode," not to mute notifications. And I have turned on the "Flip to mute," which is a good feature in itself, but unfortunately even when already resting face down, the phone still burps before it gets silenced.

[Q10Bold]

Yes, and yes.

However, you seem to be confusing issues. The dedicated button I wish BB had is to put the device in "Airplane mode," not to mute notifications. And I have turned on the "Flip to mute," which is a good feature in itself, but unfortunately even when already resting face down, the phone still burps before it gets silenced.

I know what you feel- got the same but with my Nokai E72!!
Now, I love my Q10 + Z30 + 9900 Mix

To silence the ring tone just press volume up or down

[anon(3983727)]

Yes, and yes.

However, you seem to be confusing issues. The dedicated button I wish BB had is to put the device in "Airplane mode," not to mute notifications. And I have turned on the "Flip to mute," which is a good feature in itself, but unfortunately even when already resting face down, the phone still burps before it gets silenced.

Modify your quick settings to add airplane mode to the swipe down list. Better than a physical button because its less likely to get accidentally pressed. The flip silence works great for me. I get no burps or false rings when flipped.

[InfinityBob]

My biggest issue with bb10 is not the functionality of copying/pasting/editing text, but the tiny box/screen space you have in which to work. For example, the sms screen has a insanely small box for text entry, with smiley/attach/send buttons taking up half the screen width. The text entry box is more akin too a web search bar. Totally spoils user functionality. How hard whould it be to give you a nice big box? You could still scroll up to refer back to the message you are replying to if needed. I love blackberry but this is a MAJOR flaw for a so-called 'number one for communications' range of smartphones. Notably the Q10/Q5 suffer from this mostly having the smaller screens, and no doubt so does the classic not being much larger.

Z30 / Q5 / Q10 / 10.3.1.2582

[Soapm]

You can switch your phone profile by long pressing on the Q key.

And you can customize these keyboard shortcuts from the setting.

Posted via CB10

Right, it goes between normal and silent. Who uses silent and why can't we make vibrate an option??? We could with BBOS...

[Soapm]

Granted this is BlackBerry site, but this sort of fanboism shows who the "hipster" really is. If you read the post, you'll see what the OP is asking for is pretty valid and it is not just about adapting to "new" technology - we all are using the new BB10, but there are enough shortcomings that BlackBerry should address. Period.



Posted via CB10

Exactly, the old calendar and contacts were much better on BBOS. Try making an appointment for a week from now. What a cluster they made of that...

[bzavitz]

Modify your quick settings to add airplane mode to the swipe down list. Better than a physical button because its less likely to get accidentally pressed. The flip silence works great for me. I get no burps or false rings when flipped.

I have it on the swipe down list, but still prefer it right up front. No danger of accidental activation, as it would be "press and hold" that would be assigned. That action now turns off the whole device, and doesn't seem to pose a danger.

[dwdino]

Not another one of these..

See the pattern?

Posted via CB10

[Dave Bourque]

Yes, and yes.

However, you seem to be confusing issues. The dedicated button I wish BB had is to put the device in "Airplane mode," not to mute notifications. And I have turned on the "Flip to mute," which is a good feature in itself, but unfortunately even when already resting face down, the phone still burps before it gets silenced.

That's why I said some and not airplane mode specifically. Airplane mode you can access in the quick menu.

Posted via CB10

[alb101]

Right, it goes between normal and silent. Who uses silent and why can't we make vibrate an option??? We could with BBOS...

You can add vibrate too... again people just dont know how to use the OS and this is a perfect example. Complaining about features that are already there.

Posted via International Passport

[gokulesh]

I have it on the swipe down list, but still prefer it right up front. No danger of accidental activation, as it would be "press and hold" that would be assigned. That action now turns off the whole device, and doesn't seem to pose a danger.

If this is a preference that's ok. I am not sure I would like a dedicated key. But one of the things that is likely is that as the Os matures the available apps/os feeatures that can be mapped to a key via the. Settings menu will increase.

It is already better than bbos in that you can choose what to map in BB10 Vs bbos where you got the basics and anything more you had to use an app.

Posted Via The Classic

[chaddt]

It's kind of funny that many of the things you mentioned were part of legacy blackberry. Many of us long time blackberry users complain about how BlackBerry totally missed the boat with OS10 because they stripped so many things away that made BlackBerry what it was. They have brought back some of the existing functionality to OS10 but there are still many things missing.

That is why the legacy devices were outselling OS10. I just don't get why they don't make OS10 more customizable so that the legacy users can make their OS10 device function the same as legacy OS.

Posted via Passport

[Soapm]

You can add vibrate too... again people just dont know how to use the OS and this is a perfect example. Complaining about features that are already there.

Posted via International Passport

Explain how to add vibrate as an option to the Q shortcut and make sure it works on your phone first...

I would like it to alternate between vibrate and normal. We could do that with BBOS and should be able to do it now...