[DamianWarS]

I've hear the Bold 9900 is one of the best phones BB has ever made. I own a Passport and it is my daily driver however I do a lot of overnight outdoor travelling and I'm not interested in bringing my passport. Typically I just bring a flip phone which has works out fine. Battery life is key and I need a device that will last a few days without a charge but still be functional. I thought perhaps legacy BB might be a good alternative because I can get smartphone features without the modern smartphone footprint like having a battery that needs a charge every night. Does this seem plausible? How long does the battery last on the 9900 or is it a "charge every night" device too.

[anon(9721108)]

I doubt you could get "a few days" out of it, BUT the good thing about the 9900 is you can carry a few batteries with you and you WILL get that much.

Battery life is subject to many factors, how many apps, apps running in the background, do you leave bluetooth on, if your encryption is on it will drain faster (my experience in the last 2 days), if you text, email a lot of pics, if you take a lot of pics with flash (this really drains my battery) is there a weak wifi signal and the phone is always searching for a stronger signal, etc, etc.

my 9780 had a bigger battery (1500 MAH) than the 9900. Back in 2011 when the 9900 was released, most if not all the tech reporters talked about the dissappointing battery life compared to say......the previous 9780, but still liveable. You WILL need to top up in the afternoon/suppertime if you plan to go to midnight or so. But again, this depends on your useage and other things.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[David Tyler]

I've hear the Bold 9900 is one of the best phones BB has ever made. I own a Passport and it is my daily driver however I do a lot of overnight outdoor travelling and I'm not interested in bringing my passport. Typically I just bring a flip phone which has works out fine. Battery life is key and I need a device that will last a few days without a charge but still be functional. I thought perhaps legacy BB might be a good alternative because I can get smartphone features without the modern smartphone footprint like having a battery that needs a charge every night. Does this seem plausible? How long does the battery last on the 9900 or is it a "charge every night" device too.

The 9900 is the Boeing 727 of the smartphone world: A ridiculous number of them were built and sold; and they're Incredibly durable, not like anything else, and still to be found if you know where to look. I also use a Passport as my daily driver, but find a reason to use my 9900 almost every day.

Some things to note: First, the browser is a real dog -- as far as a "modern smartphone feature," it's barely usable. Second, the BBOS devices were all meant to be used with BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS); and if you can't get BIS on your plan (it's free with AT&T in the US -- and you don't even need to formally get it added: AT&T and your phone should simply figure it out once you provision the SIM), you won't be able to use BBM (a real bummer). You CAN set up email without BIS, but it's less straightforward than with. Finally, relative to the Passport, the 9900 can blaze through a battery with extended calling, BUT (as Ralph pointed out) one of the things people love about the old phones is being able to swap batteries. It's like the airstairs on the 727 -- ya just don't see those on anything else.



Passport SE: All the snooty prestige of a device with a precious metal in the name at less than half the price!

[DamianWarS]

double post

[DamianWarS]

Hmm maybe the 9900 is not the right phone. However I would only use it for email/texting and maybe phone but only if needed so most stuff like GPS and wifi or background apps are not needed. This is for a throw in a bag hiking phone and I have a dedicated device for GPS not a cell phone. Basically I want a legacy that has good battery life and some what more ruggedized then a typical smart phone. I live in Indonesia and although the BlackBerry market share is decreasing BIS is still active and I can pretty much buy any new legacy at a cell phone shop. Any ideas for a good fit for what I want? What about that BlackBerry flip phone... I think it was called the style?

[Blackerthanblack]

The Style is CDMA only, there's no GSM variant of it (at least that I know of). I wanted one to get one just for fun but no luck finding one in Europe.

If you want something rugged, get a 9780. I had one for 3 years now and it's still perfectly functional. If it gets scuffed, you can get a full housing from ebay (non-oem but who cares) for 4-5 dollars, keyboard included. The battery lasts for 2-3 days easily.

Returning to the 9900, that is a gorgeous phone, but with a poor battery life. If you aren't bothered by adding extra thickness, I'd recommend an extended battery case. I posted somewhere from where I got mine, you can search my posts. Also, it was super cheap, 4 dollars if I remember correctly. It's advertised as 2000mAh, but I doubt it has that capacity, I'd lean towards the same 1230mAh as the original Bold battery, but even so, you'll get 1.5 days, maybe more with it.


Posted via my Black Passport

[David Tyler]

However I would only use it for email/texting and maybe phone but only if needed so most stuff like GPS and wifi or background apps are not needed. This is for a throw in a bag hiking phone and I have a dedicated device for GPS not a cell phone.

Yeah, that's exactly how I use my 9900: The Passport SE is too big to fit in the under-seat pouch on my bicycle and a little bulky for my gym shorts. When I'm out being active, all I really want / need is phone and BBM. The 9900 seems reasonably rugged to me -- I've dropped both this one and my older 9900 onto hard enough surfaces that the battery cover popped off and the battery flew out. I just put the battery back in and it booted right up, each time. I think if you throw in some spare batteries or get a a high-capacity battery, you'll be fine with a 9900; but as you can tell by reading the previous post, there some other great BBOS phones that would also suit you.



Passport SE: All the snooty prestige of a device with a precious metal in the name at less than half the price!

[anon(9721108)]

This is for a throw in a bag hiking phone and I have a dedicated device for GPS not a cell phone. I live in Indonesia and although the BlackBerry market share is decreasing BIS is still active and I can pretty much buy any new legacy at a cell phone shop. Any ideas for a good fit for what I want?

I think you would be fine with the 9900, just buy an extra battery. My friend in Jakarta has a 9900 and she only used it for a short time before getting an iphone (which are apparently very expensive there) but I would love her 9900 as it is mint .

She told me there are so many islands in Indonesia that they have to carry 2 or 3 phones at times because the cell companies do not always share coverage if you travel (I think she said) and that BBM is pretty essential.

Indonesia has been and are a HUGE part of the reason Blackberry has been successful as a company.

Also....if hiking, I would power the 9900 off so that it is not constantly searching for a signal and this might also help the battery last much longer. Besides when you are hiking you don't want to be constantly answering phones

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[DamianWarS]

I think you would be fine with the 9900, just buy an extra battery. My friend in Jakarta has a 9900 and she only used it for a short time before getting an iphone (which are apparently very expensive there) but I would love her 9900 as it is mint .

She told me there are so many islands in Indonesia that they have to carry 2 or 3 phones at times because the cell companies do not always share coverage if you travel (I think she said) and that BBM is pretty essential.

Indonesia has been and are a HUGE part of the reason Blackberry has been successful as a company.

Also....if hiking, I would power the 9900 off so that it is not constantly searching for a signal and this might also help the battery last much longer. Besides when you are hiking you don't want to be constantly answering phones

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

It would be a private number for emergencies.

[anon(9721108)]

It would be a private number for emergencies.

That's fine. 9900 should be ok then, if you plan to leave the phone turned OFF until you need it.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[anon(9721108)]

This review had positive things to say about the battery life of the 9900/9930, kinda cool....

http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/RI..._id2802/page/4

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[idssteve]

9900s with OEM batteries are pretty much a charge every night proposition. Spare OEM JM1s are quite compact, tho. Also, a good 5000mAh monster batt will safely power 9900 several days, but adds thickness to 9900's compact form factor. Power off, or remove battery, while not in use will certainly prolong battery life, if that can be an option?

Latest OS version & turning off wifi, Bluetooth, NFC, when not needed helps batt life, also.

Native browser is pretty marginal but still functional for basics. Opera Mini helps fill in. EBay app still works.

BIS might, or might not, be available depending on where you're hiking. I get into some pretty remote locales in North America but have had zero BIS problems, myself. Fwiw.

Overall, compared with a "flip phone", I'd expect you'd find 9900 & spare batts to be a nicely compact and capable communicator on the trail.

[David Tyler]

9900s with OEM batteries are pretty much a charge every night proposition. Spare OEM JM1s are quite compact, tho... Native browser is pretty marginal but still functional for basics. Opera Mini helps fill in... Overall, compared with a "flip phone", I'd expect you'd find 9900 & spare batts to be a nicely compact and capable communicator on the trail.

A colleague of mine BBM'd me a link to a conference program on my Bold, and before I thought about the fact that I was using the Bold, I clicked on the link. The browser handled it just fine -- so I agree: It's OK, and the Opera does help.

That battery case that used to be available on Amazon would have been nice for OP -- long life and more rugged, to boot -- but I agree: I think the 9900 would be a great phone for the trail.



Passport SE: All the snooty prestige of a device with a precious metal in the name at less than half the price!

[evodevo69]

The 9900 is definitely not a phone you can use for a day without charging it.

The battery life is pretty poor if you use it moderately to heavily. And I mean texting and email.

It might not even last a day if you work 8-4 for example.

But it does have those spare batteries for swapping so you should be good.



#dirtythirty #naturalsound #CB10 #glassweave