-
I'd been torn between upgrading my 9800 to a 9900 now or waiting for BB10 devices, but I took the plunge last Friday; now that I've had a weekend to get acquainted, I've developed these impressions:
- It's a lovely piece of industrial design; in its way as good as anything Apple produces. I'd handled static models in the store and was completely unprepared for how truly nice this thing is. It feels very much like the kind of high-quality piece it purports to be. I'm looking at it right now as it charges, with the analog clock face up, and I can't help but love the overall design language; current and new with just a hint of retro formality.
- Performance is gratifyingly zippy. I'm impressed how responsive this thing is.
- The keyboard ROCKS. I know the keyboard has its fans, and I've had a Curve for work so I thought I had some sense of why. I didn't like the slider keyboard on my 9800, and almost never used it; the keys felt great but they were too small to be truly useful for me. The 9900 kb is phenomenal, though. Easy to use with my right hand, amazingly speedy with both hands.
- The 9800 was a good multimedia device, but the 9900 is brilliant. If the screen is smallish, the resolution is fantastic and video is very viewable. I've spent a huge chunk of my weekend streaming music through both BBM Music and Slacker, and was very pleased with the performance of both.
- As boring as the kb form-factor may look, it has some distinct advantages. It's wide enough to allow for a great screen, and there's no need to shift between portrait and landscape. You can do literally EVERYTHING one-handed if you have to, from text entry to picture-taking. I'm finding I really like not having to turn my phone sideways and hold it with both hands to accomplish some tasks.
I've found 2 cons so far: lack of auto-focus and underwhelming battery life. Neither of which are dealbreakers for me.
This is my third personal BlackBerry handheld, after a Storm and the Gen 1 Torch, and I finally feel like I "get" what Blackberry is supposed to be. What pushed me over the edge to get this one instead of waiting on BB10 was the realization that this really represents the pinnacle of the "traditional" BB platform, and that none of us outside RIM is really clear on what the new platform is going to be in terms of usability and app variety.
Not sure if this is the same device President Obama uses, but it's kind of nice to think I might have this in common with him
03-04-12 11:56 PM - I'd been torn between upgrading my 9800 to a 9900 now or waiting for BB10 devices, but I took the plunge last Friday; now that I've had a weekend to get acquainted, I've developed these impressions:
- It's a lovely piece of industrial design; in its way as good as anything Apple produces. I'd handled static models in the store and was completely unprepared for how truly nice this thing is. It feels very much like the kind of high-quality piece it purports to be. I'm looking at it right now as it charges, with the analog clock face up, and I can't help but love the overall design language; current and new with just a hint of retro formality.
- Performance is gratifyingly zippy. I'm impressed how responsive this thing is.
- The keyboard ROCKS. I know the keyboard has its fans, and I've had a Curve for work so I thought I had some sense of why. I didn't like the slider keyboard on my 9800, and almost never used it; the keys felt great but they were too small to be truly useful for me. The 9900 kb is phenomenal, though. Easy to use with my right hand, amazingly speedy with both hands.
- The 9800 was a good multimedia device, but the 9900 is brilliant. If the screen is smallish, the resolution is fantastic and video is very viewable. I've spent a huge chunk of my weekend streaming music through both BBM Music and Slacker, and was very pleased with the performance of both.
- As boring as the kb form-factor may look, it has some distinct advantages. It's wide enough to allow for a great screen, and there's no need to shift between portrait and landscape. You can do literally EVERYTHING one-handed if you have to, from text entry to picture-taking. I'm finding I really like not having to turn my phone sideways and hold it with both hands to accomplish some tasks.
I've found 2 cons so far: lack of auto-focus and underwhelming battery life. Neither of which are dealbreakers for me.
This is my third personal BlackBerry handheld, after a Storm and the Gen 1 Torch, and I finally feel like I "get" what Blackberry is supposed to be. What pushed me over the edge to get this one instead of waiting on BB10 was the realization that this really represents the pinnacle of the "traditional" BB platform, and that none of us outside RIM is really clear on what the new platform is going to be in terms of usability and app variety.
Not sure if this is the same device President Obama uses, but it's kind of nice to think I might have this in common with him
That's a brilliant account and I'm in total agreement with your observations.
Several months ago, a fellow senior CB member, having Bold 9780, 9900 & 9790 pointed it out that after RIM launched the Bold 9000, the next all-out efforts from RIM was towards the 9900. I have to agree to this.
The negatives of 9900 can be handled with some care. For starters, if one's a heavy user, he/she must get hold of a 2nd J-M1 battery (Original) along with a desktop charger available for it. This will always allow one to slip-in the backup battery (as & when required).
I'm planning to get one of these (but looking at the ebay, there seems to be after-market Chinese varieties - hence I need to do more research into this).
This is what I need :
Last edited by audio_engr; 03-05-12 at 09:22 AM.
03-05-12 09:00 AM - I used to have the Bold 9700 and that is the best battery life I've ever gotten out of a bb without having to switch to 2G. Changed to a 9800 and battery life decreases but it's the 9900 with the worst battery life. I have to bring the usb cable to work and switch it to 2G to get the most juice out of it.
I finally gave in today and got the extra battery with charger.
Now I feel empowered to take on the world lol
That said, the 9900 is the best bb ever (until BB10 blow our socks off)
03-05-12 10:38 AM - I share the same great impressions as the OP, except the battery is wonderful. I'm now a medium to heavy user, I accept the camera for what it offers and what it is, as I do have three fixed focus digital cameras that work so great! So that is no dealbreaker either. The keyboard is wonderful, the smoothness, the speediness. I love it!03-05-12 02:50 PM
