Dakota's carbon back is a big mistake - here's why

Blackberry always has good industrial design..all are nice to hold..don't think they will slip on their new flagship bold..

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Originally Posted by crackcookie

Im gonna have to say...please shut up on this one.

Have you even held this phone yet? You know whats slippery...glass finishes, smooth finishes. Cold....you wanna know whats cold? Glass.

Gut level....this isn't a choice of picking meatloaf or pasta for dinner, this is a well thought out design. And at the end of the day, 80% of people are going to get a case for their phone and will never really see the back of it. And you SHOULD get a case. It would be akin to having a car with no insurance.

The back is one of the least important designs...as long as it looks like a blackberry from the front thats what matters. Don't you hold your phone..from the back? When are you looking at the back of your phone? Who looks at the backs of phones? Why is this even a topic?

If they decided to put the trackpad in the middle of the keyboard, I could understand. But you make something so non important, sound like it actually matters. If anything, the only problem people have had with backs, were they slide off from being clasped in a flimsy manner. They wanted stronger latches or hinges. Or durability after falls so that it stays on even after 40 drops.

This is why I hate going to forums for new devices, people always bring up the silliest (non) points to make topics just to talk about something.

If anything, talk about the processor or memory.

YES! thank you for saying that. all these complaints are stupid. who cares about the back cover. there are other more important factors that trumps this minor detial, like: the processor, memory, keyboard, or screen resolution

besides, the cf will look great in my car :D then both my phone and car will have cf. hehe

and besides, the pleather looks bad after its worn out.

Watch out free thinking forum lovers .... the Thought Police have two new weapons ..... arise Crackcookie and Pearl9100.

I suggest sending all your draft posts to them in a private message for approval.

I much prefer the the carbon fiber as I'm much more swayed by aesthetic appeal than tactile. I've had slippery phones, the 9700 is no less because of it's pleather and instead it's a terrible look once used even slightly.

I agree with the OP, look at that.. Its gonna get scratched up within a week of use, plus the leather IS what made the 9000's audio one of the best

I rock all my berry's naked, the statement that a case is like insurance is stupid.. These phones weren't designed to have cases..

Originally Posted by rayzian

I agree with the OP, look at that.. Its gonna get scratched up within a week of use, plus the leather IS what made the 9000's audio one of the best

I rock all my berry's naked, the statement that a case is like insurance is stupid.. These phones weren't designed to have cases..

Not to be argumentative, but no phone was designed to have a case, rather cases are specifically designed to have a phone. Talkin' bout a stupid statement... eesh! :D:p Sorry, just had to call ya out on that. Trust me when I say I've made much more idiotic comments myself, and I took the ridicule with a smile of humility, hope you can do the same.

Also, the original statement about cases being like insurance for your phone is a very accurate assessment, they provide a varying margin of protection, which is exactly the point of insurance.

That said, I'm totally with you, I sport all my phones clothing free as well, as I hate the added heft and bulk that they provide, which isn't worth the slim amount of protection for me.

I will be curious to see what texture these backs have and how easily they may or may not scratch. My guess is that, it being such a big phone for RIM, the aftermarket suppliers will produce all kinds of cool battery door replacements, including something with leather, for those lookin' for something more nostalgic and reminiscent of the original Bold series! Just a thought... So don't fret to much, it's way too soon to jump to such conjecture.

Thank you Razian and BeyondTheBox, it's good to see some sanity creeping back into this thread.

A picture above tells a thousand words. The carbon back looks like a scratch magnet, offers no grip, and gives the phone a 'flashy' look that undermines Blackberry's understated style.

To all those folks who say the back doesn't matter because you can just buy a case - why should we have to? I have always used my phone without one as do many of my colleagues. Also, many people who do use protectors often choose a 'pouch style' case which they slip their phone in and out of. So the feel of the back does matter for them.

As for the wear factor - the back of my Bold 9000 looks as good today as it did nearly 3 years ago, despite constant and quite rough use.

I stand by my claim that it would be a mistake for RIM to replace the tactile leathery-feel back with a cold, slippery, flashy carbon back.

If you are not persuaded, try this simple test. Hold an original Bold 9000 in one hand, and any other phone with a glass or carbon style back in the other (ie iPhone 4). Now close your eyes and feel which is better in the hand.

Keep in mind also, that one of the biggest reasons people choose a Blackberry over others is because it has a 'tactile' keyboard. They like to feel the press of the keys under their fingers rather than a virtual keyboard on glass. This 'tactile' feel should not be confined to the front of the phone, but should also apply to the back. Done well, it can further enhance the attractiveness and useability of the new Bold Dakota.

In this regard, RIM could learn a lot from premium car makers like BMW and Audi who now spend a fortune on developing 'tactile, soft touch materials' for their interiors. It's the same with their steering wheels - people prefer some soft, leathery grip in their hands, not some slippery plastic material. BMW do not expect people to buy steering wheel covers to correct what should have been done right at the factory.

Lol yeah, you're whining about a battery cover and we're the 'insane' ones. How can you say it offers no grip when you haven't even held it yet? Is comparing it to an iphone4 a true comparison when both the size, and shape of both phones will be different. Perhaps the black part around the carbon is rubberized? Perhaps the carbon itself has some texture?

Originally Posted by BBPP

Oh you poor baby ... did someone start a thread that wasn't what you would have posted about ? The horror !

People can post about whatever THEY want to. No one is forcing you to read anything. If you want to talk about processors why don't you stop having a tantrum and start a thread about it.

Telling people to shut up is rude, intellectually lame and the proper domain of pre-teens.

And BTW ... the antonym of important is 'unimportant'.

Eh, look at the end of the day this is what I am saying. Before a device is released, people always say they won't buy a device because of some moot feature or find the simplest things to pick at. However, the moment the device is released and they have it in their hands or are able to see it in real time all of those fears and complaints go away.

Case in point, the Style. Its message board was flooded by BB users and abusers claiming how ugly it was and how its specifications were so outdated. Then once it came out people loved it, wondered why RIM took so long to release such a phone and were mad that only Sprint has it.

All I am saying is, such threads make me shake my head. Now if the guy would have said, such and such phone had a carbon casing and was terrible because of this, we would have ourselves a topic.

A few funnies in there ,but I'm just gonna put a phone condom
On it anyway.

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Like the OP I too hope the cover is leathery like the current bold. But I won't say it is a big mistake..hey RIM is known for industrial design..for their flagship product like bold 3 I can't believe they will make it a slip because it is slippery to hold (like the igod 4)..I believe the design would have good tactile grip..I just don't know enough what the battery cover feels like to say it is a big mistake.

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Originally Posted by crackcookie

Eh, look at the end of the day this is what I am saying. Before a device is released, people always say they won't buy a device because of some moot feature or find the simplest things to pick at. However, the moment the device is released and they have it in their hands or are able to see it in real time all of those fears and complaints go away.

Case in point, the Style. Its message board was flooded by BB users and abusers claiming how ugly it was and how its specifications were so outdated. Then once it came out people loved it, wondered why RIM took so long to release such a phone and were mad that only Sprint has it.

All I am saying is, such threads make me shake my head. Now if the guy would have said, such and such phone had a carbon casing and was terrible because of this, we would have ourselves a topic.

you make so much sense, its crazy. ppl love to pick at the most minute details.

Originally Posted by Cuthbert

As for the wear factor - the back of my Bold 9000 looks as good today as it did nearly 3 years ago, despite constant and quite rough use.

I stand by my claim that it would be a mistake for RIM to replace the tactile leathery-feel back with a cold, slippery, flashy carbon back.

If you are not persuaded, try this simple test. Hold an original Bold 9000 in one hand, and any other phone with a glass or carbon style back in the other (ie iPhone 4). Now close your eyes and feel which is better in the hand.

Keep in mind also, that one of the biggest reasons people choose a Blackberry over others is because it has a 'tactile' keyboard. They like to feel the press of the keys under their fingers rather than a virtual keyboard on glass. This 'tactile' feel should not be confined to the front of the phone, but should also apply to the back. Done well, it can further enhance the attractiveness and useability of the new Bold Dakota.

In this regard, RIM could learn a lot from premium car makers like BMW and Audi who now spend a fortune on developing 'tactile, soft touch materials' for their interiors. It's the same with their steering wheels - people prefer some soft, leathery grip in their hands, not some slippery plastic material. BMW do not expect people to buy steering wheel covers to correct what should have been done right at the factory.

leather and pleather suffer from wear and tear. mayber your 9000 is the exception?

your whole auto arguement is kinda...well...off. ppl USUALLY buy covers to protect or for aestetic reasons, which is why ppl buy phone covers too. not to correct design flaws that should have been done right by the factory. and btw, i dont think bmw was the best choice to use in your example. many ppl are criticizing bmw for being one of the biggest sell outs for incorporating all those luxury junk. :mad: but thats a whole nother discussion....

im glad rim is incoroporating cf. its light weight, looks sweet, and is a more modern interpretation of the bold line. the bold is supposed to be the caddy of bbs, thus wouldnt it be fitting for them to use cf? :D its flashy and is the new hotness, which is great for a flagship phone.

lastly, we dont know if rim is going to put a scratch resistant coating on the cf to protect from scratches. if i were a phone designer, and i put cf on the battery cover, a place that often rubs on many surfaces, i would put some protective coating on it reduce scratches. iono, well see if they did. would be stupid if they didnt.

Just buy a faux leather cover, you know they will be available somewhere

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I personally think that the pleather looks tacky. The CF looks really kewl IMHO.

I have to agree with others here who say that this is one of the stupidest things anyone could complain about. Good grief! If you don't like it, feel free to buy a different battery cover when the aftermarket comes on stream. Or you can use your brain a little, take a small swatch of leather and glue it on yourself!

I would urge RIM to have a few different accessory battery covers ready to go on launch when it happens.

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I'm holding my 9000 next to that photograph and the battery cover looks pretty much like the back of my slightly worn 9000. Back part of the bezel is obviously different material, but I think the battery cover is the same pleather. Am I wrong?

Originally Posted by sk in cv

Am I wrong?

Yes, you are!

The carbon back looks much better than the pleather to me. But I strongly encourage anyone who is not liking it to pass on the purchase.

I think battery door finishes on BlackBerry Smartphones is a bit of a can't please everyone situation.

I for one loved the faux leather door on the Bold 9000 (even if it did tend to fall off a bit too easily). I feel the door on the Bold 9780 by comparison seems more like the dashboard on any car interior these days. But on the Bold 9000 what made the leather work so well was that it was literally the entire back cover.. the full width. While on devices like 9700 the artistic part is left to the inner area, so the finishing touch, be it leather or carbon or whatever, is more like decoration than integral to the design.

What I can guarantee though is that it probably won't take long for third party battery doors (and maybe even OEM ones) to pop up. Even if you prefer to go naked vs. use a case, I'm sure with a little bit of time there'll be a door for it that you like.

My question is WHAT IS WILL THE WHITE BOLD TOUCH going to look like? Can they do this sort of faux-carbon look in white? Would that look good? I wish RIM would release this baby in white at launch. :)

I feel honored the CEO of Crackberry has stepped into an augmentative topic I partook in.

Originally Posted by crackcookie

I feel honored the CEO of Crackberry has stepped into an augmentative topic I partook in.

It's funny... somehow I fell off posting in the forums on a regular basis, but I've found myself getting re-addicted to the CB forums again this week. It is the best community on the net. With PlayBook coming and Bold Touch hopefully not far behind, I'm just excittttted these days.

Oh, and I just thanked you. Now you should feel double honored! lol :)

Originally Posted by Kevin Michaluk

It's funny... somehow I fell off posting in the forums on a regular basis, but I've found myself getting re-addicted to the CB forums again this week. It is the best community on the net. With PlayBook coming and Bold Touch hopefully not far behind, I'm just excittttted these days.

If you are on the forums more does this mean that you will be cracking the whip with your mods who on the whole seem overly forgiving of even the worst trolls as cb used to be a place to talk about blackberry and all to often it seems to be a place where people get shouted down if they don't agree that blackberry is useless and iphone/android are going to kill rim.

Originally Posted by Kevin Michaluk

It's funny... somehow I fell off posting in the forums on a regular basis, but I've found myself getting re-addicted to the CB forums again this week. It is the best community on the net. With PlayBook coming and Bold Touch hopefully not far behind, I'm just excittttted these days.

Oh, and I just thanked you. Now you should feel double honored! lol :)

I do, I even told my girlfriend about it. She doesn't truly understand because she is french...but she has a berry so its okay!

And you thanked me, so I believe that goes into the Hall of Fame of thanks.

I feel the same way, this site only truly thrives when new phones come out. The Torch and Style weren't really the new phones everyone was looking forward too, but with the playbook and 6.1 on the horizon I am sure there will soon be a lot of new people as well as old members posting on this site with questions, experiences, thoughts, and comparisons about blackberry!

Originally Posted by Kevin Michaluk

I wish RIM would release this baby in white at launch. :)

UGH!!! That's all I have to say... maybe with a side of "Na-na-na-nah"! I want this badboi in some crisp clean white and will wait until it's released... while nibbling my nails naked!

Originally Posted by Kevin Michaluk

My question is WHAT IS WILL THE WHITE BOLD TOUCH going to look like? Can they do this sort of faux-carbon look in white? Would that look good? I wish RIM would release this baby in white at launch. :)

It can be done :)

http://www.skinstronic.com/iphone/im...ite_carbon.jpg

http://www.truesupplier.com/images/D/2dt-18.jpg