Bold 9900 The Plastic Cover Over The Menu / Back Buttons

It has been less than a week I have purchased a Bold 9900.
(Yes, I couln't have waited for Q10, because my old phone broke into pieces)
I have noticed some design flaws. And here are my comments (for the most annoying one).

The plastic cover over the menu / back buttons.
I think, RIM wanted these buttons look as they were capacitive.
But they are not. And the plastic cover is annoying.
Because it is a little apart and your thumb feels it while using the trackpad.
(These buttons should be capacitive at the same level of the screen.)
First, I thought this plastic part is for packaging purposes and is to be removed before use.
I went to a store to check and saw the other Bold 9900s also had this plastic cover.
When I check the forums, I also found that some Bold 9900s buttons were damaged bacause of the original holsters.
First two or three days, I used the original holster. And maybe this is the reason why the plastic cover in my Bold 9900 is a little apart.
Whateever, this plastic cover is not suitable for a device supposed to be premium.
Yes, it is a verry little detail, but it affected my trust in RIM / BlackBerry.

Looking for your comments...

What the hell you talking about? Can you post a pic? I've had my 9930 since the Sprint release day, and I have had no problems at all with it.

My menu/back buttons are OK, but the chrome bar below them is very scratched up.
Might be a high-wear area on the phone.

I have never noticed any problems on my 9900...

Attachment 156316
The plastic cover mentioned...

May I ask if your trackpad is actually "sunk" inside that plastic bar? I actually had to return my very first Bold 9900 because of such an issue. The trackpad was installed so deep, everytime you used it, the thumb would have to scratch or "climb up" that plastic bar. Simply annoying. It turned out that three out of five phones in the store had that very problem. The demo unit however was perfect, the trackpad was actually raised above the plastic buttons. The device I finally got has its trackpad at roughly the same level as the button-bar. Not as good as the demo unit, but still much better than my first device.

I did some research back then, it sure was not an uncommon problem....

I think I know what he is talking about, and I hated that when I first got a 9930 from Verizon. There was a difference in "height" when using the screen and trackpad or menu buttons, so when you actually used the trackpad you could tell the variance, I thought to myself, well this can't be good in the long run, things will accumulate in there, dust, skin flakes, etc.. I returned the 9930 (not because of this, but because of coverage, speed, etc.. I went back to 9700 with AT&T)

1,5yr later I got 9900 from AT&T (just recently) it had the same feeling, but the fluctuation between the screen and the strip of plastic overlay was not as bad as 9930.

My suggestion:
1) Go and get a different one, not all of them are made exactly the same.
2) Get a screen protector to "raise" the screen to make it completely level with the plastic strip. I did this, and I can't tell that it is apart anymore..

I think this is what you are talking about, is it?

"the thumb would have to scratch or "climb up" that plastic bar. Simply annoying." - Taigatrommel

"There was a difference in "height" when using the screen and trackpad or menu buttons, so when you actually used the trackpad you could tell the variance.... Get a screen protector to "raise" the screen to make it completely level with the plastic strip." - heading4tomorrow

Yes, that is exactly what I complain about.
It is unignorable for me as I still use trackpad more than the touch screen.
When I noticed the flaw, at once I went back to store to check the demo units. The demo units had the same flaw. So I decided it was a common problem for all Bold 9900s.

As "heading4tomorrow" offered, I covered the screen with protective film. Now it is less annoying...

Thanks for your comments.

I will ask the distributor to replace my device.
At worst, I will use it this way, try to get used to the touch screen and use less trackpad.

But I still can't understand how RIM / BlackBerry has ignored such a flaw.

No every single Bold is like that. That great demo unit also was the only 9900 I've ever encountered, which featured this kinda raised trackpad. Maybe it was another bad build, however this time a positive ones. Most of the Bold 9900 I've had in my hands are like mine: Trackpad and button-bar at *roughly* the same level. Btw, I am also using a screen protector to make that bar and screen the same level.

If you are not happy with it, return it. It is an expensive (premium) phone. The store clerk first didn't know what was wrong, after showing him and explaining I want good build quality when buying a device for 500 bucks, he immediatly agreed and went back to check their storage. I also don't know why BBRY hasn't solved this problem by now. My device is one of the early Made in Mexico ones, I thought quality control would've increased to prevent such things from happening :(

Originally Posted by onderbayraktar

I will ask the distributor to replace my device.
At worst, I will use it this way, try to get used to the touch screen and use less trackpad.

But I still can't understand how RIM / BlackBerry has ignored such a flaw.

Which carrier?
Also, different screen protectors have different thicknesses. The one I got from Newegg (6 for $2, this was the only one they had, although I never ever had to replace my protector in the past) is pretty thick, and did a perfect job of "leveling" the touchscreen and trackpad/menu strip variance.
If you want, I will send you one, no charge of course.. Unless you live overseas...

By the way, give the touchscreen a chance, I was like you, using trackpad most of the time, but I find myself rarely using it nowadays. Even editing text, I got pretty used to it, thanks to 7.1's more accurate handle tabs.

I called the reseller. They told they would check the device and return in 5 - 20 days. I don' t think I can wait for that long.
Nor spend some money for a device to use for two - three weeks. I think I will have to get used to it...

Thanks again for your comments...

I have always had problems with BBs. (e.g. battery cover of 9780, etc.) But whenever I go to look for a new device, I find myself passing over all other popular devices and looking at BBs. I don' t know why. (This is some kind of sickness, or I' m getting old...)

I hope, RIM / BB pays attention to each detail of their further products.

Originally Posted by onderbayraktar

I called the reseller. They told they would check the device and return in 5 - 20 days. I don' t think I can wait for that long.
Nor spend some money for a device to use for two - three weeks. I think I will have to get used to it...

Thanks again for your comments...

I have always had problems with BBs. (e.g. battery cover of 9780, etc.) But whenever I go to look for a new device, I find myself passing over all other popular devices and looking at BBs. I don' t know why. (This is some kind of sickness, or I' m getting old...)

I hope, RIM / BB pays attention to each detail of their further products.

I never had problems with BB's that were worse than other devices. Battery cover of 9700 was a very easy fix with a small folder paper and some tape on the battery cover, helped slide snugger, holding it in place.

Good luck �nder and enjoy the 9900.