[therock003]

Ok so this phone is expensive, its from Porsche Design, which i have grown to like their products.

My single previous BB experience consists of the BB9000. What i thought of it, at the time i operated on, was that Battery was weak, BBOS4-5 was buggy. Other than that, BB phones are professional looking, have good contact database, and neat calling features.

What i'm looking for at this time.

High Capacity battery. I don't want to have to charge my phone every couple of days. I want it to at least 4-5 days on Standby.

High Call Quality and clear speaker, so i can hear it when its ringing, and its on my shoulderbag.

Also what are its disadvantages against the leading 9900?

Would you recommend to someone this phone? Or will my hard earned money amount to nothing?

[houshinto#IM]

If you use the phone fairly heavily the battery will not last as long as you'd like. But if you always have a spare on you, you'll be fine.

As for the rest of your requirements it'll suit them just fine. But the 9900 I feel has the better keyboard.

Overall the 9900 is a better workhorse of a phone. But if you want something luxurious at the slight expense of function then the 9900 is a good phone.

[therock003]

If you use the phone fairly heavily the battery will not last as long as you'd like. But if you always have a spare on you, you'll be fine.

As for the rest of your requirements it'll suit them just fine. But the 9900 I feel has the better keyboard.

Overall the 9900 is a better workhorse of a phone. But if you want something luxurious at the slight expense of function then the 9900 is a good phone.

I dont plan to use it heavily, like run apps all the time, or play games, or internet (I have an iphone for that). Just Calls and texts mainly. But the BB9000 lasted less than 2 days even on StandBy!

Have you tried the 9981 already? Do you also have an opinion on call quality and speaker for ringtones?

[houshinto#IM]

Unfortunately due to the battery design I don't think the 9981 will last more then a day, two max. I know it's a pain but I manage with a combination of the beautiful charging pod they give you and an extra battery just in case.

I have Kevin's 9981 actually and I can say the call quality and speaker are great! Crisp, clear, and loud.

I have yet to be disappointed whenever I make calls with it.

[BaranE]

You can get an extended capacity battery, turn off 3g and not use whatsapp in order to get a longer battery life. Call quality is good but very dependant on your operator. Speaker is better than 9900 imho.
My biggest problem is with the camera. Given the price of the phone they could've at least given us auto focus.

[donnation]

You are paying for a 9900 in a different form factor. It's up to you if you want to pay for the different design and the Porche name. Internally and software wise there is nothing different than the 9900.

[therock003]

I'm still hooked to get it, but have trouble with the money. Do you know of the cheapest way to get it? I think it costs around 1500 on retail stores right? I found a used model around 1100-1200 do you think its worth it? The user told me that its been bought from inside a Porshe Store from Saudi Arab. Would that matter?

A couple of additional questions.
-Does it have a trackpad? Cause a see Up/Down, l/R arrows on -where the trackpad seems to be.
Is the keyboard customized for each country with language specifics keys?

[BaranE]

Yes it has a trackpad. There are only 2 KB's worldwide. The standard english and the arabic.(arabic has red letters right next to the abcd... like the original numbers) other than that they're the same.

[therock003]

ISnt that though what a trackpad lookslike, or does it not matter?



As for last question i ask, cause i would prefer it if it came out with greek characters... So definitely english/arabic, not greek?

[filoinstyle]

I reckon it'll be better to buy a brand new one as most of these units especially those first released ones got some problems both external and internal which sadly happened on mine I bought one of the first released ones and after couple of months it broke so had to send back to RIM and got replaced after three weeks and it sucks not having it for three weeks when you're so hooked into it then all of a sudden it broke. So buying a brand new one at this time will be good because it'll be the improved units that's gonna be on the stores.

The P9981 now built with a trackpad that's different from the bold 900 but works exactly the same you just move your thumb around (up, down, left and right) it'll follow. The keyboard yeah depends where you will buy the phone, there are some with arabic letter printed under the main letters/number or could be the plain English keyboard. I know this phone is a little pricey but hey it's worth it anyway because it a luxury piece.

[filoinstyle]

ISnt that though what a trackpad lookslike, or does it not matter?

Click to view quoted image


As for last question i ask, cause i would prefer it if it came out with greek characters... So definitely english/arabic, not greek?

I don't thinks that there's a Greek unit for this phone but I would say getting the English keyboard would be the best alternative. It looks neat and better.

[HK Low]

You can get an extended capacity battery, turn off 3g and not use whatsapp in order to get a longer battery life. Call quality is good but very dependant on your operator. Speaker is better than 9900 imho.
My biggest problem is with the camera. Given the price of the phone they could've at least given us auto focus.

Hi....you mentioned an extended capacity battery. It seems like after market batteries do not work on the P9981 especially software after 7.1.0.267. Can you let me know which extended battery you are using.

[BaranE]

I'm using the Mugen extended battery for 9900. 25% more juice.

[HK Low]

I'm using the Mugen extended battery for 9900. 25% more juice.

Thanks a lot. I ordered it and hopefully it arrives soon.

[callenm]

I'm using the Mugen extended battery for 9900. 25% more juice.

The Mugen website has two extended batteries (re Bold 9900) for sale. One is 1500 mAh, which you referenced, and the other is 3600 mAh. I wonder if OS 7.1 would allow the 3600 mAh to power the device. If it would, the P9981 would have a lot more battery power. What do you think? callenm

[HK Low]

The Mugen website has two extended batteries (re Bold 9900) for sale. One is 1500 mAh, which you referenced, and the other is 3600 mAh. I wonder if OS 7.1 would allow the 3600 mAh to power the device. If it would, the P9981 would have a lot more battery power. What do you think? callenm

The 1500mAh is about the same as the P'9981s original battery size. the 3600 mAh is much bigger. I do not think you want to put a 3600mAh battery into the P'9981. It would be too bulky and you will not be able to find a battery door cover to close up the P'9981.

[callenm]

Thanks for your quick reply. I guess that is why they are offering a battery cover along with the 3600 mAh for the Bold 9900.

[therock003]

Ok so i might have found a godd deal for a used unit, and i could be buying it after all. Before i make any haste decision, are there any reasons not to buy this? Since i'm not big on money and this goes beneath my spending habits, i plan on buying if it means i will be using it for a very long time. As i said i dislike touch-screen smartphones and this looks like it is going to be one of the last keyboard phones out there, build quality looks fine, i only wonder if phone like capabilities are what they should be. That means, good network coverage, lasting battery, clear speakerphone, software features should be rich. Am i covered in all of the above?

[filoinstyle]

Ok so i might have found a godd deal for a used unit, and i could be buying it after all. Before i make any haste decision, are there any reasons not to buy this? Since i'm not big on money and this goes beneath my spending habits, i plan on buying if it means i will be using it for a very long time. As i said i dislike touch-screen smartphones and this looks like it is going to be one of the last keyboard phones out there, build quality looks fine, i only wonder if phone like capabilities are what they should be. That means, good network coverage, lasting battery, clear speakerphone, software features should be rich. Am i covered in all of the above?

just make sure to inspect the phone too because the first units thats been released got some flaws on it, my device was one of the firs batch they've release and had some imperfections on it, there are also some users that experienced same/different problems. BlackBerry Porsche is pretty convenient though, they have the porsche design card with your special PIN and over the back side there are different contact numbers I can ring in case something happen to your phone. I bought my first one brand new, after a month it two I started to have some issues and it ended up not being able to function proper so I contacted blackberry and they replaced my phone instead.

Battery wise I'm not a heavy user either, I use a different device for entertainment etc...but the battery based on my experience only last atleast 2-3 days max. Call quality is okay but could be better, camera is good on daylight, its okay at night but its not as crisp clarity. Over-all the phone is something worth having due to it being exclusive, convenience, security and functionality, top notch design to finish it off

[therock003]

Okay thanx for that. So what am i supposed to look for to make sure everything works OK? In case something is the matter i can return it for a full working model? I'm told first owner bought from UK. Can i return it to any Porsce authorized seller, or will i have to do it from the original shop its been purchased?

Also does it have features like samsung galaxy 3 has, where you can cover the phone with your hand to silence it or flip it over to reject calls, and other such advanced phone specific features, that i would be interested in?

[filoinstyle]

Okay thanx for that. So what am i supposed to look for to make sure everything works OK? In case something is the matter i can return it for a full working model? I'm told first owner bought from UK. Can i return it to any Porsce authorized seller, or will i have to do it from the original shop its been purchased?

Also does it have features like samsung galaxy 3 has, where you can cover the phone with your hand to silence it or flip it over to reject calls, and other such advanced phone specific features, that i would be interested in?

If you will pick it up from the seller just see the physical condition perhaps, some units have a wiggly battery cover so check that one however it doesn't really affect the functionality anyway but worth checking, try the phone, check the speaker, the earpiece and mouthpiece if it works okay during calls...and ask if the first owner had any problems with it before..when mine broke I contacted the porsche design boutique and they told me to contact the number on the porsche design card it comes with and they'll organise a repair for you, chances are they will either fix the problem or replace the unit but then if they end up replacing it you will have a new pin...

Unfortunately it doesn't have those features that Samsung has...its just exactly the same as a bold 9900, it doesn't come with a leather holster (but you can buy them sseparately, unlike other blackberries it doesn't turn on/off automatically when u put it in a holster.

[therock003]

Than again. Some follow-up questions i came up with

-Why does the holder not interact with the call status?
-Also it seems that headphone jack is on the side. Does that mean i wont be able to connect wired headphones when i have it on the holder?
-Will it be possible to upgrade to BB10?
-What's the usual warranty for the device? Seller says it was given to him as a gift, so there's no receipt to pass to me. Am i still covered by Porsche official Resellers on my country?
-What are the exact contents of the packaging, so as to make sure nothing is missing?

[filoinstyle]

Than again. Some follow-up questions i came up with

-Why does the holder not interact with the call status?
-Also it seems that headphone jack is on the side. Does that mean i wont be able to connect wired headphones when i have it on the holder?
-Will it be possible to upgrade to BB10?
-What's the usual warranty for the device? Seller says it was given to him as a gift, so there's no receipt to pass to me. Am i still covered by Porsche official Resellers on my country?
-What are the exact contents of the packaging, so as to make sure nothing is missing?

-I'm not sure entirely about the phone not being able to respond when being pulled out a holster, the phone doesn't come with a holster when purchased
-Porsche design boutiques has leather holster especially designed for the P9981 that gives u a cut out on the volume rocker and headphone area so I would be able to use the phone when it's inside, the only downfall is that the holster is too firm that it ends up scratching the leather back cover right at the headphone jack area (I will post a pic so you can see)
-Unfortunately it won't be updated with BB10
-I think it doesn't matter, I've had my first P9981 and its been almost 8months till I encountered problems, they will just look up your PIN and other information about the phone e.g serial number. You just need to call the number based on what country you at. This number can be found on the porsche design card that comes with the phone.
-The box will include the phone, charger stand placed on the first layer, second layer you will find the battery, manuals and instructions, your porsche design card and down the bottom layer you will find the charger, different charger adaptors for different countries, USB cable and earphones

I will upload some picturea of the phone and the box so you have the idea.
-

[therock003]

You're being really helpful, i appreciate it.

Aside from lacking some features that the galaxy has, i now feel more confident purchasing it, now that you gave me the answers.

Although why wouldn't it upgrade to BB10? Does the company not allow it, in order to force newer models on the market? Cause this phone should be more than capable in terms of hardware, wouldn't you agree?

BTW should i purchase an extra battery to carry around in case the first one dies? Cause i'm used to having long standby on my current phone, and having to charge more often is going to be one of the first disturbances after purchasing this phone!

[filoinstyle]

You're being really helpful, i appreciate it.

Aside from lacking some features that the galaxy has, i now feel more confident purchasing it, now that you gave me the answers.

Although why wouldn't it upgrade to BB10? Does the company not allow it, in order to force newer models on the market? Cause this phone should be more than capable in terms of hardware, wouldn't you agree?

BTW should i purchase an extra battery to carry around in case the first one dies? Cause i'm used to having long standby on my current phone, and having to charge more often is going to be one of the first disturbances after purchasing this phone!

It's okay im glad I could help

Im not quite sure yet as to why it won't be updated with blackberry 10, but I think no previous smartphones will be updated for blackberry10 except the BlackBerry playbook (based from what ive heard in here)

Purchasing a spare battery probably is one best option if you use your phone alot but make sure though that the battery is original and not the after market one as sometimes it affects the phone and it can also damage it in the long run, ive never used an extra battery for mine, I own a bold9900 too which has the same battery as the p9981 but I never tried using it as a back up battery for the P9981. I tend to just use the actual battery the P9981 came with. (PS the battery of the P9981 is porsche design branded too )