Perspective from a former Android user

I migrated to the BlackBerry Z10 three months ago. And I do not regret my choice. I love the UI, the Hub and the browser. Apps like Play Cloud and Checked! rock. Better than anything I had on Android.

But I am not too big on Apps. US$25 on BBW basically replicated all the functionality of my Android on BlackBerry 10. I studied BBW before making the move so I knew what to expect.

So you have a happy camper. But if someone asked me what phone to get, I would still recommend an Android or iPhone. For many the absence of one key app would be a real breaker and BlackBerry 10 is still missing a while lot. Many apps available have small bugs and lack the functionality of their Android and iOS counterparts. The hardware is also a fair bit behind the curve.

BlackBerry 10 still needs to mature. Some simple things. Go to the Hub, select compose and you won't see Twitter. Select the Twitter tab and you can compose a Tweet from there. Compose a BBM message and it launches the app. Small inconsistencies that need to be worked out. I can list a dozen more examples of small bugs.

BlackBerry will also have to build more compelling devices in the future.

Basically, BlackBerry 10 was late to the party and still has a lot of catching up to do.

I have read a lot of "how to promote BlackBerry 10" threads. Really there us nothing we can do, even as highly satisfied owners. BlackBerry 10 right now will satisfy a small niche market only. It is really up to BlackBerry. Double time it on the OS. Make deals with major apps to get them on board. Pay for them if needed. The other option is to bear the losses and wait. The OS and ecosystem will catch up over time.

But it does look like BlackBerry has thrown in the towel. What should we as users who want the platform to continue to exist do?

1. Stop discussing the "BlackBerry is dead" or "how do we save BlackBerry "topics. One say we may have to give up out phones and move on. We won't need a thread to tell us when that time comes.

2. Go back business as usual. Discuss the other BlackBerry 10 issues. Help other users. Talk about apps.

Every time you take your phone out in public, that is the best marketing you can do. When they ask you isn't BlackBerry dying, just say "I hope not, I love the phone" and go about your business. Keep Moving.

Even the finest wine, drunk sparingly, gets exhausted. I am going to enjoy my Z10 like a fine wine. To the last drop :)

My 2-cents.

Posted from my Zed 10

Agree with the hub. At first i was very much impressed as how the hub consolidate messages, but then those after using for more than 3 weeks i see myself most of the time trying to swipe up only to know im still inside the hub.

One for instance... go to hub>facebook>compose>attach>camera, it let me take pic, but if i happen to leave my phone that way and later comes back trying to do swipe up-right, it sends me to the active frame screen. While from that same camera app and doing the swipe up and hold i see notifcation on the right, and when i continously swipe up-left, it sends me to the active frame screen again. Those notifications on the right are just deceiving that i can open the hub.

And wait... didnt it say one can have a peek on the hub anytime frim any hub? Well it doesnt do so if im already inside one of the apps loaded from within the hub (aka above camera sample).

That is where a home buttom from android and ios comes in handy.

Anyway, end of the day, i still love my Z10. Perhaps blackberry can clear these small bugs.

Z10 STL100-2 10.1.0.4181

Well said. I had a galaxy s3 and jumped ship. The z10 is way better.


The only app I would like to see is an official Instagram app.

Posted via CB10

The twitter and bbm issues you described are not present for me. Maybe it's a 10.2 thing, I don't know your OS. When I click compose twitter is on the list and clicking bbm brings me to my bbm contact list but not the application.

Interesting post, OP. Q10 user here, also moving from Android. I basically checked my app usage on my Android phone and realized that I was using keyboard intensive apps 90% of the time. That, and the fact that I missed using my beloved BB Curve, made me curious about the Q10.

I think that the app situation on BlackBerry World is still dire for some users, but as my own usage settles down, I'm starting to reach the level of satisfaction I had with Android.


BBQ10

Originally Posted by Robin Lim

I migrated to the BlackBerry Z10 three months ago. And I do not regret my choice. I love the UI, the Hub and the browser. Apps like Play Cloud and Checked! rock. Better than anything I had on Android.

But I am not too big on Apps. US$25 on BBW basically replicated all the functionality of my Android on BlackBerry 10. I studied BBW before making the move so I knew what to expect.

So you have a happy camper. But if someone asked me what phone to get, I would still recommend an Android or iPhone. For many the absence of one key app would be a real breaker and BlackBerry 10 is still missing a while lot. Many apps available have small bugs and lack the functionality of their Android and iOS counterparts. The hardware is also a fair bit behind the curve.

BlackBerry 10 still needs to mature. Some simple things. Go to the Hub, select compose and you won't see Twitter. Select the Twitter tab and you can compose a Tweet from there. Compose a BBM message and it launches the app. Small inconsistencies that need to be worked out. I can list a dozen more examples of small bugs.

BlackBerry will also have to build more compelling devices in the future.

Basically, BlackBerry 10 was late to the party and still has a lot of catching up to do.

I have read a lot of "how to promote BlackBerry 10" threads. Really there us nothing we can do, even as highly satisfied owners. BlackBerry 10 right now will satisfy a small niche market only. It is really up to BlackBerry. Double time it on the OS. Make deals with major apps to get them on board. Pay for them if needed. The other option is to bear the losses and wait. The OS and ecosystem will catch up over time.

But it does look like BlackBerry has thrown in the towel. What should we as users who want the platform to continue to exist do?

1. Stop discussing the "BlackBerry is dead" or "how do we save BlackBerry "topics. One say we may have to give up out phones and move on. We won't need a thread to tell us when that time comes.

2. Go back business as usual. Discuss the other BlackBerry 10 issues. Help other users. Talk about apps.

Every time you take your phone out in public, that is the best marketing you can do. When they ask you isn't BlackBerry dying, just say "I hope not, I love the phone" and go about your business. Keep Moving.

Even the finest wine, drunk sparingly, gets exhausted. I am going to enjoy my Z10 like a fine wine. To the last drop :)

My 2-cents.

Posted from my Zed 10

You need 10.2. Most of the critisism is corrected in my build many many more features.

I recommend getting a 10.2 leak

Z10_10.2.0.1xxx

Originally Posted by toobs623

The twitter and bbm issues you described are not present for me. Maybe it's a 10.2 thing, I don't know your OS. When I click compose twitter is on the list and clicking bbm brings me to my bbm contact list but not the application.

Latest official 10.1 MR1. Used yo root and install ROM's on my Android. Something I hope I won't have to do wit BlackBerry.


Posted from my Zed 10

Originally Posted by ezapper2

You need 10.2. Most of the critisism is corrected in my build many many more features.

I recommend getting a 10.2 leak

Z10_10.2.0.1xxx

I will wait for the official 10.2. My phone is running well. Never had a Random reboot, battery lasts me 12-20 hours design on use.

Getting leaked ROM's is not a solution for BB, in the same way that the availability of the third party ROM's is not a solution for Android fragmentation.

The day I feel that I must have the leak, I am picking up an iPhone.

Posted from my Zed 10

I have to come in here. I've tried Android on and off, along with iOS since 3mths after BB6 debuted.

Sony Xperia S, Galaxy Nexus x2, LG Optimus G, HTC One (the latest using that name), and finally the Nexus 4 by LG. This encompasses 2.3 Gingerbread to 4.3 last 14 days roughly.

I can whole heartedly say, that with Android I HATE IT!! I loathe it! Good riddance. It's rise to 75% global market saturation to which the likes of only Nokia's Symbian S60 has seen in all of mobile history, is simply due to the fact that users don't know aby better, majority of them are feature phone dim wits that hardly ever used j2ME apps to the fullest, and the cheap pricing. I'm not talking about the experience power android users, these guys and gals only make up about 20% of global android users - an out of my *** wild guess.

Google Apps:
Why are there so many damn apps?
- Google+ should be combined with Messaging.
- Messaging gives two odd connotations in its name yet it does sms only.??
- Gmail compose or reply or forward causes the buttons to be on the top or bottom of the screen, I'm left guessing!! Y?? It's line their designers are on ritalin. This hasn't changed since 2.3 to 4.3. Appling.

Call log sucks ***!
Chrome:
Great bookmark sync feature and open tabs I love it and wished BlackBerry had some backup and sync for this via BlackBerry ID.
- page rendering is dismal and 9 tabs 4 of which is on forums,this site, mac rumors, and other news sites and it freezes the entire OS to a sloths pace!! Arrfgh.

Signal strength:
Same line, sim card and carrier in the Nexus 4 vs Z10 for just sms, calls and data - browsing and it cannot hold anything to my Z10! Yes Rogers doesn't support DC-HSPA but why should this exist in the first place if each carrier built their networks properly and didn't wait on CDMA too long in the first place?!!!

There is so much more but just one thing alone on my Z10 that enjoyed beyond anything on Android .... i have complete confidence in using it for ANYTHING!

Calls: and the logs for it.
SMS/MMS: cleanly laid out easy to view items and execute.
Emails: composing, sending, replying to one or all cleanly done!
App updates: I get to choose when to update not automatically. This way I know if an app misbehaves it's due to the update on my OS.

Battery Efficiency: I can get through a 10hr shift with 3hrs of calls, 1hr of CB10 reading/replies, 100 reading/40 filing/30 composed emails, twitter and Facebook updates about 20mins of this 30mins of BBM, and 2hrs of web surfing non flash and 10tabs open/updating.

BOx.net and Dropbox auto uploads KNOWS about filename conflicts alerts me about them and automatically appends an extra digit in parenthesis so I van easily track it. Well done here BlackBerry, well done.

Warns me both via a quick and dismiss able pop up, and led change of colour when I'm both at 20 then 10% of battery life left! Thank you BlackBerry thank you.

There is so much more than I have been able to post here, yet you all know how productive, efficient and just hoe easy BB10 is.

Attachment 203669

I'm sticking with bten and will watch it grow. It's business as usual and with so many Canadian carriers backing the z30 shows the confidence that BlackBerry will

Posted via CB10

I certainly hope so, I love my Z10.

Posted from my Zed 10

The hub issues you mentioned don't happen to me I can compose any message, e-mail , post, etc from the hub and I stay in the hub it doesn't launch any apps. I'm running the 10.1 MR

Posted via CB10

Well spoken and a great positive note on all the "Blackberry is dead"-doom sayers. If you truly love your BB: keep enjoying your phone, spread the love and BlackBerry will survive.

Will post a pair of pictures later when I can blur out the personal info.

Options from Hub when set to display all accounts and I select compose:

1. BBM
2. Text Messages
3. Gmail
4. PIN

I can compose Tweets. If I switch to the Twitter Tab of the Hub I can compose a Tweet.

I can reply to a GTALK message from the Hub, but to start a new message I need to go to the app.

Most messages can be composed from the Hub without launching a dedicated app.

I love the Hub. There are just some inconsistencies that BlackBerry could and will probably fix.

The company has no debt and 2.2 billion US dollars in cash reserves. They could give BlackBerry 10 a serious go, if they are willing to risk depleting their value.

Posted from my Zed 10