[Rootbrian]

GSM is all over the world and CDMA is scattered, maybe that's why they aren't getting as many updates to the OS releases, or carriers are just lazy.

[malyfsborin88]

Yeah, it's great, that's why i sent him in service twice in 1 month. Crappy trackpad.
I am using my 9700 bb, the 5th device in 2 years of warranty! yeah, go Rim, go !!!

As a BB fan, great fan, not an ordinary one, i can say that Rim is going down. It's incredible the way they manage the business. The quality control departament is a ruine!

Personally, the 9900 is the biggest dissapointement in the last couple of years!

Well said.

And as for people saying you should have done your research before buying, what about others like myself who bought the phone for a full price couple days before release or just after release?

Most of us including myself put our faith in RIM like we always have been and trusted them when they said this is the "greatest" Blackberry ever made. Just goes to show never trust any big company no matter how good their rep is.

[malyfsborin88]

i think from your analogy, its more like buying a ferrari but expecting the same mpg as your average saloon car.

as for dim the headlights (being a reference to screen brightness i guess) that would be the same as easing off the accelerator a bit to save fuel consumption.

is it perfect battery life? well no not for some i guess (mine always lasts more that a day) but is it comparable to what other 1.2ghz+ smartphones provide. yes.

Point duly noted.

[metllicamilitia]

Hey, I have an idea, Blackberry is a phone, use it as such. And guess what, Kindle Fire is only $200, its a data plan free tablet, just requires wifi, screen size/app issue solved. As for camera, buy a camera. Last I check this was CrackBerry.com Blackberry lovers site, not BashRIM.com. Just saying.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[malyfsborin88]

Hey, I have an idea, Blackberry is a phone, use it as such. And guess what, Kindle Fire is only $200, its a data plan free tablet, just requires wifi, screen size/app issue solved. As for camera, buy a camera. Last I check this was CrackBerry.com Blackberry lovers site, not BashRIM.com. Just saying.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Its funny how everyone takes it so personal and gets all defensive. Relax no one is "bashing" RIM just stating some facts along with their own opinion. This is a forum for everyone. It never states you need to be a fanboy of a particular company in order to register as a member.

This is not just a "phone" its called a "smartphone" therefore its supposed to do everything that RIM claims efficiently. If it doesn't then they are simply lying to us. By the way, not everyone likes carrying their "real" camera and a GPS device in their pockets everywhere they go!

Don't get me wrong though I love RIM as much as everyone else here but there comes a time when you're just frustrated cause the company you trusted for years can't be relied upon anymore.

[lnichols]

Battery: CDMA devices have always had lower battery life, and since HSPA and 3G GSM are CDMA based tech. When I was in vising my parents in WV and my T-Mobile 9900 was roaming EDGE on AT&T's network battery life was insanely good but data speeds were not. Higher speeds eat battery and battery tech hasn't progressed much. Think the fact that they have to possibly do battery pulls and the phone's thinness made this necessary. My guess is QNX phones, like the playbook will have fixed battery of higher capacity.

Camera: I doubt this is killing sales. They went for better video over autofocus. All I need the thing to do is take quick random pics while out. I use a real camera for real things.

Screen Size: I'll give you this one. They could have made the screen bigger and dropped the keyboard down and this would have made the phone perfect.

[jcp007]

I am a *relatively* proud owner of 9900 for like the last month. I was up for renewal at work and I had the option of iPhone, 9810, or 9900... I almost got the iPhone, but literally after seeing the 9900 and touching the REAL device, I fell in love with it (which is a shame as fake phones in stores doesn't do it justice)!

The form factor, materials, weight, keyboard, design ALL oozes quality and professionalism. Also, by trying a colleagues, I loved how quick it ran and basically it looked like it had everything I wanted.

Now, after a month, I wonder WHY THE **** RIM skipped just a few things to do this phone RIGHT and missed the HUGE opportunity to gain A LOT MORE marketshare, or at least STOP THE BLEEDING! I am not gonna talk about OS, lack of apps, etc... those things are just facts of life until BBX, and OS 7.0 is pretty great for majority of users.

Top three things RIM missed on BB900 BIG TIME:

1. BATTERY - This is NOT a surprise obviously, come one, it's 2011 and ALL long-term BB users are used to great battery life and I NEVER EVER had to worry about my phone running out of juice during a day. I understand that *might have* added a bit of thickness, but WHO CARES. Even within the same case they must probably be able to come up with a higher capacity battery.
2. CAMERA - Again, not a surprise. WHY not include a freaking auto-focus? Not that 9780 camera was anything special, but to go backwards in quality is not acceptable in this day and age (not counting 720P video)
3. SCREEN SIZE - This is something not too many have mentioned, BUT there is SO MUCH ROOM to make the screen 3" and even 3.2". Get rid of the Blackbery logo on top, remove the black plastic frame on the bottom, and just freaking extend the height of the screen.

That's it! Come on! I am not asking 1 milion apps, music/movie downloads, new OS, etc... just the SAME freaking phone could have been a PERFECT messaging, web device, with GREAT phone capabilities, good for 90% of the typical users of BB AND casual non-professional users. All most ppl care about is a phone that doesn't die half-way through a day, can take good picture, and has a decent size screen for web browsing, messaging, pictures.

The above 3 items are NOT engineering feats, or crazy technologies not available easily to RIM or difficult to implement... While they did some amazing stuff on 9900, for the LIFE OF ME, I do NOT GET IT why they missed such obvious items?!

BATTERY LIFE Yes, a larger battery would have been nice but upcoming OS updates should help. Be glad it is better than the i4S.

CAMERA Yes, AF would have been nice but, after all we are talking about a PHONE.

SCREEN SIZE If you wanted a larger screen size, get a 9810. i have both devices. The BBX 99xx may have the larger screen.

Posts offering suggestions that would save RIM are so annoying. RIM has always been a slower than their competition but they are still in business. If RIM isn't making the right decisions, buy enough stock to get their attention as a major holder. Otherwise, stop complaining unless you have some skin in the game. If RIM devices don't meet your needs, then buy another device.

[Sirhill]

If you buy a ferrari do you buy it for its fuel economy (yes I know someone has posted someting silimar) or do you buy it for its rich history in auotmotive standards, because if you drive it on normal road ways you do have to limit the way you drive due to road laws. You do not drive the car the way it was meant or desgined. So if I do have to make a few tweaks to the way I use my device to make the battery last a little longer than so be it. This is by no way a dig at RIM of their devices.

Many people buy iphones to only jail break them to get more out of the device and they do have to make sonsessions to make their devices last half as long as a blackberry. The same goes for android and WP 7 phones as well.

[shanny186]

So on point with EVERYTHING!

[shanny186]

I recently upgraded to the BB 9900. At first I was like most hyped about the device and its alleged capabilities. Can't lie, my first impression was "wow this feels great". Then it began to reboot the very next day. It rebooted and rebooted. I later found out this was a defective device a.k.a "bricked" device. Exchange one happened. Received a 2nd BB 9900 only to have that one 2 days later freeze to the point where even the track pad didnt work. After a battery pull, and no luck, I received a 3rd device. On the 3rd device after almost a week of use it began to freeze. Not to the point where it wasn't working, but freezing and some other hardware/technical issues occurred. So third one gone and I am currently using the TORCH 9810. I've been a BB user for quite some time now and NEVER been through any issues like I went through with the BB 9900.

[skynny70]

The battery does fine for me and always gets me through the day. I have an extra charger at work if I think I need to recharge for some reason. The camera is pretty weak but not that big of a deal to me. More of an annoyance really.

I do agree with the screen size point. I wish they would have squeezed a little bigger on the 9900/9930. I came from a 9550 and was used to the larger screen. Missing it more than I expected.

Overall I love my Bold though and wouldn't trade it for any other device currently on the market.

[stockpimpin]

The first day I had my 9900 i noticed the bat was crap which was a real worry as I spend a fair bit of time on mine daily and don't really like car chargers etc. I purchased a bunch (10) of batteries for my previous bold and kept them them in different locals (briefcase car office etc) which helped plus i had the car charger for emergencies. I found with the 9900 that a month into it my battery life has actually started to improve and what was once dead half way through the day is at least now making it through to the evening when i get home. not sure if others have seen the same but there you go (and yes I did the full charge to start with along with discharge etc etc). one enormous miss for me is the wifi phone issue. I was actually told that this model had it and about a week later when i needed it of course... turns out it does not. Crazy, in this day and age why build a flagship device with out it? other than that love my BB. Great quality, reliable, looks great and is what i have come to expect from BB since buying my first 9000 a few years back.

pimpin

[paulsdv]

No! I buy one mobile phone and i do expect to use it accordingly with the specs declared by the producer:
9900
GSM Talk Time: up to 6.3 hours
GSM Standby Time: up to 12.8 days
Audio Playback Time: up to 50 hours
Video Playback Time: up to 7.4 hours

If i want to buy a Ferrari, i have the consumption declared and real:
Ferrari MPG (Fuel Consumption) & Emissions

So, RIM lied to me! We are waiting for leaked os, and we do discuss how to twick the phone. Bad joke!

I don't care what processor are they using and why. I do care for a honest partenership between me and RIM. They produce, i buy.
I don't want excuses and late solutions, i want a normal, reliable phone.

excellent point, 12.8 days, how can they quote that??? more like 12.8 hours which is apples and oranges... did not realise that rIM was advertising 12.8 days!!!

[cfx_will]

I complained about the screen at first as well saying the exact same things. You have to realize that means they are taking the logo off, and the plastic frame off which is supposed to be easier on your hands when you are typing. They are supposedly important things. Other than that, the screen gets extended into an awkward square looking screen which probably wouldn't sit well with the designers. The dimensions of a screen has to a lot to do with the attractiveness of the phone. On top of that, i think they really wanted to go back to the class 9000 model like it's "hip to go old school" or something haha.

[AlexBC]

1: The battery is actually incredibly good. Probably the best battery life of any smart phone on the market. In my environment, guys with androids only last about 6 hours and they are looking for a charge. Guys with iPhones last about 10 hours and they are plugging in. I can go 2 full 12 hour days on my 9900 and still have juice left. It's best in class.

2: For me the camera is good enough, I rarely use it anyways. I guess having a slightly better camera wouldn't hurt. But I wouldn't want the device to be any thicker because of it.

3: The screen size is perfect. The resolution is perfect. The brightness is perfect. Colors are perfect and clarity is perfect. The only reason you might want a bigger screen would be for playing games and stuff.

Can u send me your Bold 9900 that last TWO FULL 12 hour days?! I call that BS! There is absolutely no way mine would last 2 days, even on days that I have not used it AT ALL, it may make it through the night without charge, but that's it!

Camera is *ok*, but it definitely could have had AF as that's easy/cheap technology these days.

Screen size is *ok*, but they had room for making it bigger, that's what I meant.

[AlexBC]

Are you kidding? The 9900 is a frigging great device with tons of qualities. Only problem is with the battery life that doensnt last too long. But I guess a slightly more powerful battery would fix any troubles and I really hope RIM is gonna make 1800 mAh or something batteries in the future.

And hey, I've had a 8520 Curve for one year. As soon as I dimmed the screen light, that battery duration just blew me away. This goes for every phone.

I agree it's a great phone, but it could have been even a GREATER phone with just minro tweaks and attention to details and not much extra costs. There is NO ROOM for error these day, RIM has to GET IT RIGHT on every single device.

PS. My screen is at 30% and that doesn't change battery life that much.

[AlexBC]

Yeah, it's great, that's why i sent him in service twice in 1 month. Crappy trackpad.
I am using my 9700 bb, the 5th device in 2 years of warranty! yeah, go Rim, go !!!

As a BB fan, great fan, not an ordinary one, i can say that Rim is going down. It's incredible the way they manage the business. The quality control departament is a ruine!

Personally, the 9900 is the biggest dissapointement in the last couple of years!

Now that's just non-sense, 9900 is arguably THE BEST BB device of the last few years. They could have made it even greater with some minor tweaks.

[AlexBC]

I read the title and was really hoping to read something intuitive and thought out, to my luck, it was obviously not, I didn't even bother to read the majority of your post, but skipped straight to what you 'think' RIM should have done.

Battery, if they produced a thicker phone, sure the battery would have been a higher capacity, you have alternative options, go buy an extended slim battery from Seidio. RIM's objective was to keep the phone thin this time.

Camera, going back to the phone being thin, a auto focus camera would have increased the thickness of the phone. And I haven't had any issues taking pictures with my 9900. You want a better camera, by a DSLR, can't afford it, buy a point and shoot. It's a cell phone.

Screen. If you want a bigger screen on the 9900 it would increase the width of the phone, you can't just make it taller, the aspect ratio needs to be kept.

Quit your bit*ching and crying, these factors have all been discussed countless times and you don't need to start another thread to rant. Finally, if you don't like the phone, jump ship.

Oh really? Do you think they got it ALL right?! Hence how amazing RIM is doing?

Dude, all I am trying to say, and I said "no surprise", is that with little small tweaks here and there the 9900 could have been SO AMAZING that I didn't have to try to convince friends/colleagues to pick it! I had 3 ppl not adopting it due to camera, JUST for that AF fact. A few ppl at work are trying to return it due to battery... and 2 people just thought it's screen is not large enough (I understand the limitations, but they could have achieved a larger screen with different aspect ratio, 9810 aspect ratio is different than 9900 while having the same resolution).

There are many phones in the market just as thin, with 8mp camera with Autofocus, so what RIM has claimed might be true for trying to fix the *old* sensor in 9900, but there are sooo many new sensors that would and should fit in the same body!

[AlexBC]

If they had fixed these "top 3" issues, it wouldn't have changed anything for RIM. None of the BB7 devices would turn this situation around. These are stopgap devices, not transition devices...

I agree 100%... however, they would have sold A LOT MORE in the meantime to top the bleeding.

Perfect example is ppl at work returning it for poor battery life and not adopting it due to no AF camera. Display is perfect for typical BB users, but a larger one could have convinced some non-BB users to switch.

[metllicamilitia]

Its funny how everyone takes it so personal and gets all defensive. Relax no one is "bashing" RIM just stating some facts along with their own opinion. This is a forum for everyone. It never states you need to be a fanboy of a particular company in order to register as a member.

This is not just a "phone" its called a "smartphone" therefore its supposed to do everything that RIM claims efficiently. If it doesn't then they are simply lying to us. By the way, not everyone likes carrying their "real" camera and a GPS device in their pockets everywhere they go!

Don't get me wrong though I love RIM as much as everyone else here but there comes a time when you're just frustrated cause the company you trusted for years can't be relied upon anymore.

I'm not taking it personally, I just hate listening to people bash on anyone/anything. RIM is in no imminent danger of going under, BlackBerry is still the highest selling smartphone in the UK, they're going to make it. I understand voicing complaints/issues, but that doesn't mean saying RIM is going to fail as a company because they took out auto-focus, put in a smaller battery and increased the size of the screen on their flagship device and that bigger screen is too small for some people.

AF: I think I've only used one android phone that actually had auto-focus on it. Its not a major demand.

Battery: My 9930 still gets the best battery life out of every phone I've ever owned except for maybe my 9700. Other than that it was the Thunderbolt I just switched from, which I had undervolted, overclocked, had juicedefender running and an extended battery for, I'd still be lucky to leave work with 50% battery left. With the 9930 leave with at least 80% left. Major difference. Battery is not a killer.

Screen Size: STFU, you saw videos/specs/pics and maybe even held the damn thing before buying it. You want a bigger screen buy a different phone. That's all that can really be said there. The only way to keep the keyboard and have a bigger screen without making a fugly awkward device is to make a slider, and its called the Torch, go buy one.

These things that "could have saved RIM" are still better than the competition except for image size on camera (MP's). That's all I'm saying, don't bash RIM because you don't like a few things, just say you don't like them. RIM is more likely to respond to that than people saying they're worthless and will lose their jobs if they don't fix this. Can I make it any clearer?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[AlexBC]

Hey, I have an idea, Blackberry is a phone, use it as such. And guess what, Kindle Fire is only $200, its a data plan free tablet, just requires wifi, screen size/app issue solved. As for camera, buy a camera. Last I check this was CrackBerry.com Blackberry lovers site, not BashRIM.com. Just saying.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

First off, I am NOT bashing RIM AT ALL! I said at the outset that I LOVE my 9900... and just am peeved they couldn't have just tweaked very so slightly to make it PERFECT transition phone until BBX/BB10!

Your suggestions are BS, like I have to carry 3 devices in my pocket. I do own 2 cameras, an iPad and a Playbook... but when I get around just have 9900 in my pocket and I can't be bothered carrying other devices.

[AlexBC]

Posts offering suggestions that would save RIM are so annoying. RIM has always been a slower than their competition but they are still in business. If RIM isn't making the right decisions, buy enough stock to get their attention as a major holder. Otherwise, stop complaining unless you have some skin in the game. If RIM devices don't meet your needs, then buy another device.

I didn't say what could save RIM, just stating the obvious as to what small features could have made the device great, I still wouldn't pick another device, but it just makes me wonder WHY they missed on these tiny things on such a great device. I wasn't asking for more Apps, new OS, 10mp camera, dual core CPU, etc... eventhough those are all on other devices, I was simply stating the 3 things that could have been added to existing phone that would have closed the gap and things that were easy/cheap to implement!

[AlexBC]

I recently upgraded to the BB 9900. At first I was like most hyped about the device and its alleged capabilities. Can't lie, my first impression was "wow this feels great". Then it began to reboot the very next day. It rebooted and rebooted. I later found out this was a defective device a.k.a "bricked" device. Exchange one happened. Received a 2nd BB 9900 only to have that one 2 days later freeze to the point where even the track pad didnt work. After a battery pull, and no luck, I received a 3rd device. On the 3rd device after almost a week of use it began to freeze. Not to the point where it wasn't working, but freezing and some other hardware/technical issues occurred. So third one gone and I am currently using the TORCH 9810. I've been a BB user for quite some time now and NEVER been through any issues like I went through with the BB 9900.

That's unfortunate. Mine's been solid.

[jamesbondOO7]

Battery not an issue after a couple of weeks and the upgrades. I get full working days with 20% left with 3G, Wifi, Bluetooth and bridge to the PlayBook.
For me the camera is so good, I use it for my real estate activity.

Some examples











Size of the screen, well it is a phone, and it has the best keyboard in the world. If I want to browse the web or if I need a bigger screen, I have my PlayBook with me all the time.

[EvilmasterMMA]

Great pictures Bond!