[traxx4]

Hi all, Me and my family have been blackberry fans for the last 8 years, we have 4 playbooks and 4 BB phones in the house and have enjoyed the forums and the PB;s and phones. Now I have a problem, I'm due a new phone as my contract is up for renewal and if i go down the BB10 route I loose the much loved and convinient bridge functionality . My options to keep bridge working are: I can buy a bold 990 which seems like a massive step backwards or buy the q 10 and loose bridge??? Or do I jump ship and buy a droid and windows phone and say bye bye blackberry? I feel very angry that RIM has not kept us in the loop as to wether/ when bridge will be working. Like many other long lived blackberry customers im thinking its time to jump ship. Please, please help solve the bridge issue before I jump ship to droid or windows?
As the resident tech advisor / nerd in the house my family will follow my decesion to jump ship, so RIM loose a lot of customers!
I just dont want to spend �349.00 on an older bold to keep bridge functionality. And be stuck with it on a 24 month contract and miss out on BB10 becauser of the bridge issue!!!!?

any advice??

thanks traxx4.

[ESCON]

Good morning,
Here is what i'm thinking...
1 "if i go down the BB10 route"
This Route is not down it is up to the Hill ! A total other Level !

2 " I can buy a bold 990 which seems like a massive step backwards" so you comming from a pre 9900 BB ? You realy will not "lose" nothing ! Belive me

3 you got 4 playbooks in your House so if you buying a Z or Q 10 you can Video Chat to them right now!

Wait until next week and lets see what BBlive in Orlando bring

[Chaddface]

Wait until next week and lets see what BBlive in Orlando bring

I agree. They may no news to report but since the event is days away I would wait to see what they say.

You still keep the Internet share, open on and remote functions of the bridge. Everything else is gone at the moment.

I'm in a holding pattern as well. I can get around losing the email on bridge but no BBM on the PB isn't going to work for me. My 9900 is working well so I'll keep using it until I see what direction they are heading.

[djmm2]

You don't lose all functionality of the bridge. The texting, memo pad, and task manager are gone but Internet, and file sharing are still there. I have a Z10, and I use my PlayBook everywhere, everyday. The battery on the PlayBook is amazing, lasts all day. The video chat is great too. The Remember app serves nicely as a substitute for memo pad, and task manager, plus you can use wifi to move files to /from your PC. I did not do a lot of texts from my PlayBook anyway. I actually am happy with the Z10 /PLAYBOOK combination. I love both, and now I have a kick *** phone too.

[cjcampbell]

As stated earlier, you lose the messaging and email crossover but retain the Internet, file access, and the use of your phone as a track pad for remote control. Now, should you go the Android route, you not only lose those functions, but you lose out on the opportunity to use BB10 which is a fantastic OS and a dream to use. If course this is a decision for the next few years, should you go with a contract, so choose wisely and hopefully you male the decision you can live with and are happy with.

Posted via CB10

[enthused]

Not to hijack the thread... but how do you get to the Internet via the bridge? I did not see this functionality.

[Techno-Emigre]

I, too have decided to wait on my upgrade. After what seemed liked years waiting for BB10, all I could think about was getting a Z10 within 30 seconds of being able to upgrade. I have calmed down since and decided to let this play out a little. I use Bridge heavily in my business for presentations. Plus I have confidential data and can't sync my Outlook to the cloud, so am hoping 10.1 brings back USB sync.

As mentioned, let's see if there are any great announcements this coming week. Plus, it does not make sense for BlackBerry to put a lot of time and effort into Bridge until the PlayBook gets BB10, which they have promised. When it is coming, we don't know. The thing is, BB10 is a solid, exciting OS, so I have decided to stick with it. Unless your current phone is dead, I would just wait. But you have to decide what fits for you. I just love my PlayBooks so much there is no way I am giving them or Bridge up. Bridge was brilliant, and I am sure will only get better.

[sad_old_man]

You don't lose all functionality of the bridge. The texting, memo pad, and task manager are gone but Internet, and file sharing are still there. I have a Z10, and I use my PlayBook everywhere, everyday. The battery on the PlayBook is amazing, lasts all day. The video chat is great too. The Remember app serves nicely as a substitute for memo pad, and task manager, plus you can use wifi to move files to /from your PC. I did not do a lot of texts from my PlayBook anyway. I actually am happy with the Z10 /PLAYBOOK combination. I love both, and now I have a kick *** phone too.

You also forgot no BBM! I notice you mention the amazing battery life of the pb but how many times a day do you charge your Z10 because I can't get mine to go past 4hrs of either bridge connection or WiFi hotspot connection?

[enthused]

Not to hijack the thread... but how do you get to the Internet via the bridge? I did not see this functionality.

Oops. I figured it out. I was expecting "Browse" or something to show up as an App when you open the Bridge on the PlayBook, but it doesn't. You just establish a connection via the Bridge, and use the regular browser as you would for a wi-fi connection. Great!

[FF22]

Hi all, Me and my family have been blackberry fans for the last 8 years, we have 4 playbooks and 4 BB phones in the house and have enjoyed the forums and the PB;s and phones. Now I have a problem, I'm due a new phone as my contract is up for renewal and if i go down the BB10 route I loose the much loved and convinient bridge functionality . My options to keep bridge working are: I can buy a bold 990 which seems like a massive step backwards or buy the q 10 and loose bridge??? Or do I jump ship and buy a droid and windows phone and say bye bye blackberry? I feel very angry that RIM has not kept us in the loop as to wether/ when bridge will be working. Like many other long lived blackberry customers im thinking its time to jump ship. Please, please help solve the bridge issue before I jump ship to droid or windows?
As the resident tech advisor / nerd in the house my family will follow my decesion to jump ship, so RIM loose a lot of customers!
I just dont want to spend �349.00 on an older bold to keep bridge functionality. And be stuck with it on a 24 month contract and miss out on BB10 becauser of the bridge issue!!!!?

any advice??

thanks traxx4.

I fully agree with you. BBRY has left a lot of unanswered questions. Whether they are answered in the next few weeks at their newest shindig will be interesting - I fear that the Bridge question will not be answered.

But at this point in its life, can't you find a good deal on the 9900 bold so that you don't have to extend your contract and lock in to an older device - thereby, buying more time for the decision.

But I fully agree - Rim/bbry is still playing games with its loyal users by keeping all of this close to the vest. Individuals as well as corporations like to be able to plan. Yes, I know there are fanboys who can afford to purchase multiple devices and test them all out and dump them at their leisure. So of us are a bit more constrained with out dollars and pounds and other currencies (I would have said euro but I still don't know how to pronounce it: oy-row or your-o )

[xamdam]

What is bridge really for? Yeah I know what it can do, but READ.

So its nice to be able to text from PB using the bridge option...... so what get a program like TEXT ME as its free and can be sideloaded onto the playbook, hey text to whomever ever you like not just TEXT ME ppl.

Use your data connection through bridging...... so what USE HOTSPOT feature of the Q10 or the Z10 if you have one, problem solved.

See your files, photos and such through bridge.......... so what USE a program called WIFI EXPLORER its awesome and can you can browse and transfer wirelessly from playbook to z10 or q10 through the BROWSER and GUESS WHAT you CAN do so from your PB to the PC and Z10 to PC, just use the BROWSER on PC to view files....... OHHHHHHHH but wait there is in 10.1 FILE TRANSFER OVER WIFI FROM ANYWHERE OPTION now in BB LINK......... WOW EH????????


So what is NEEDED FOR>>>>>......... it isn't now.

By the way I have the LTE version of playbook and that's the mobile version its has a SIM which SHARES my 5GB data Connection on my Z10 Plan, so I not need bridge or hotspot for it.

[sad_old_man]

What is bridge really for? Yeah I know what it can do, but READ.

So its nice to be able to text from PB using the bridge option...... so what get a program like TEXT ME as its free and can be sideloaded onto the playbook, hey text to whomever ever you like not just TEXT ME ppl.

Use your data connection through bridging...... so what USE HOTSPOT feature of the Q10 or the Z10 if you have one, problem solved.

See your files, photos and such through bridge.......... so what USE a program called WIFI EXPLORER its awesome and can you can browse and transfer wirelessly from playbook to z10 or q10 through the BROWSER and GUESS WHAT you CAN do so from your PB to the PC and Z10 to PC, just use the BROWSER on PC to view files....... OHHHHHHHH but wait there is in 10.1 FILE TRANSFER OVER WIFI FROM ANYWHERE OPTION now in BB LINK......... WOW EH????????


So what is NEEDED FOR>>>>>......... it isn't now.

By the way I have the LTE version of playbook and that's the mobile version its has a SIM which SHARES my 5GB data Connection on my Z10 Plan, so I not need bridge or hotspot for it.

Apart from the fact that the LTE Version never officially hit the UK that means absolutely nothing apart from move to the USA and buy an LTE version?

[Bbnivende]

There are so many PB/BB07 combo lovers who post on Crackberry. I have such a combo myself. I fail to see why Blackberry should concern themselves with the bridging to the Playbook unless they are going to bring a new tablet to the market place. If the bridge is so fantastic ... why did Android/Apple not follow suit ?

OP is threatening to leave BB for Android or iOS. Will he be able to use his many PB's more effectively then ?
The bottom line on BB legacy devices is that if you like them - buy them or keep on using them. Perhaps there may be enough of you to keep BB07 alive for many years to come.

[FF22]

What is bridge really for? Yeah I know what it can do, but READ.

So its nice to be able to text from PB using the bridge option...... so what get a program like TEXT ME as its free and can be sideloaded onto the playbook, hey text to whomever ever you like not just TEXT ME ppl.

Use your data connection through bridging...... so what USE HOTSPOT feature of the Q10 or the Z10 if you have one, problem solved.

See your files, photos and such through bridge.......... so what USE a program called WIFI EXPLORER its awesome and can you can browse and transfer wirelessly from playbook to z10 or q10 through the BROWSER and GUESS WHAT you CAN do so from your PB to the PC and Z10 to PC, just use the BROWSER on PC to view files....... OHHHHHHHH but wait there is in 10.1 FILE TRANSFER OVER WIFI FROM ANYWHERE OPTION now in BB LINK......... WOW EH????????


So what is NEEDED FOR>>>>>......... it isn't now.

By the way I have the LTE version of playbook and that's the mobile version its has a SIM which SHARES my 5GB data Connection on my Z10 Plan, so I not need bridge or hotspot for it.

With Bridge I don't have to go out and find yet another application which creates its own data. I can use an app that uses the exact same data - no duplication of storage and no additional data to sort through and clean up and no additional data to backup. I don't need to try creating Memos on both devices when the SAME EXACT MEMO is on each of them. When I close Bridge, my private data remains on the phone and is not duplicated on yet another device.

Regarding Hotspot use - many carriers in the US do not throw that in free-of-charge. You have to pay for it.

I don't have an lte pb (Sad-old - I'm not sure that we in the US have it either - I think is might be a Canadian exclusive)

It was one of the most, if not the most unique feature. And I will admit UNIQUENESS is not necessarily a selling point - folks want what they are comfortable with.

[Harryl6134]

One further question...my free Z10 from the ATT contest arrives on this Thursday. Today my wife and I explored our new neighborhood,
and I was using Osmund maps on my PlayBook, bridged to my 9800. It's never worked this well before. Will this still work?

Harry

[cadoll]

Those of us on AT&T used to be able to get the Internet via Bridge and Rroyy pre BB10... Now, I have a Z10 and have lost all Internet abilities via the Bridge. It doesn't matter that the phone was purchased off contract without branding. I am really bummed about that!!! The only redeeming quality is the Z10 is amazing!!! I can do just about everything I ever did on the PlayBook on my Z10...

[NFLPLAYBOOK]

There are so many PB/BB07 combo lovers who post on Crackberry. I have such a combo myself. I fail to see why Blackberry should concern themselves with the bridging to the Playbook unless they are going to bring a new tablet to the market place. If the bridge is so fantastic ... why did Android/Apple not follow suit ?

OP is threatening to leave BB for Android or iOS. Will he be able to use his many PB's more effectively then ?
The bottom line on BB legacy devices is that if you like them - buy them or keep on using them. Perhaps there may be enough of you to keep BB07 alive for many years to come.

I'm just waiting quietly in the background. There's nothing worth upgrading to so I have time to decide what is best for me. I have the functionality I need right now keeping the OS7/PlayBook combination. The longer BB takes to improve my experience the closer others are getting to surpassing them.

[d.roc]

OP, I have owned the playbook since it's inception and we have two Z10's in our house. While I still use the playbook and was not happy about the bridge, I have used the playbook quite less. I had the 9900 and enjoyed it. I think the Q10 will be amazing. However, I am just noting that I have used my playbook less and I am not bothered by that, in part because of the quality of BB10.

[FF22]

Those of us on AT&T used to be able to get the Internet via Bridge and Rroyy pre BB10... Now, I have a Z10 and have lost all Internet abilities via the Bridge. It doesn't matter that the phone was purchased off contract without branding. I am really bummed about that!!! The only redeeming quality is the Z10 is amazing!!! I can do just about everything I ever did on the PlayBook on my Z10...

So rroyy.com has not found a way to work around the AT&T nonsense. No bridge browsing is available under AT&T?

I have been reading about leaked versions - can those be loaded on the AT&T branded devices and avoid the limitation?

[canuckvoip]

One further question...my free Z10 from the ATT contest arrives on this Thursday. Today my wife and I explored our new neighborhood,
and I was using Osmund maps on my PlayBook, bridged to my 9800. It's never worked this well before. Will this still work?

Harry

Should be good to go Harry. If BT doesn't run Osmand wifi hotspot will...

[mkelley65]

Those of us on AT&T used to be able to get the Internet via Bridge and Rroyy pre BB10... Now, I have a Z10 and have lost all Internet abilities via the Bridge. It doesn't matter that the phone was purchased off contract without branding. I am really bummed about that!!! The only redeeming quality is the Z10 is amazing!!! I can do just about everything I ever did on the PlayBook on my Z10...

There are probably 10 threads on getting the bridge to work on AT&T on CrackBerry. I still share data with my Z10. I don't need the other bridge functions as my Playbook is Active Synced. All email, calendars, contacts, etc are real time.

[cadoll]

So rroyy.com has not found a way to work around the AT&T nonsense. No bridge browsing is available under AT&T?

I have been reading about leaked versions - can those be loaded on the AT&T branded devices and avoid the limitation?

I have not seen a workaround posted, yet. I have not given up hope. However, using the PlayBook on the go is now a dead issue since I got the Z10. The good news, though, is that the Z10 can do just about anything I can possibly want it to do.

[BerryWife]

I don't mean to be harsh but people who say they will jump ship from BlackBerry to iPhone or android because of lack of bridge on the BlackBerry 10 phones...how are you further ahead by jumping ship? at least with BlackBerry 10 you retain some functionality of bridge and have the possibility of more, where if you jump ship you will NEVER get these things?

I miss my old Bridge (9700 then 9790) and do use my PB less since I got the z...but not because of anything the PB is lacking, but because the Z is so freaking awesome!!

I would guess BlackBerry will be updating the bridge to be what is was on OS7 as people miss the old way (sort of like enough complains about the outlook sync brought a fix to that issue).

Anyway, just stating the obvious but I would stick with BlackBerry.

Posted with my Zed via CeeBeeTen

[cadoll]

I didn't think about "jumping ship" as I would end up "in the same boat" (how long can we keep this going?) Anyway, the idea is that I would still be without my beloved bridge. The Z10 truly is a really small tablet in itself. By the way, I did just discover, finally, how to get around AT&T! (Yeah!) Thank you CrackBerry! Uninstall bridge and install it over wi-fi. WITHOUT your sim installed. If your sim is installed, you will still get the terrible message from AT&T.

I enjoy having the bridge when following my son out on the golf course and I am placing our lunch orders on-line at nearby restaurants. (There is no wi-fi out on the course!) I also enjoy the bridge when I am at conferences and everyone is using whatever tablet they brought to hook up to the wi-fi, it crashes, and I am still able to get on-line. Then everyone wants to know what kind of amazing tablet I have that still works when their's doesn't... It's a cool feeling.

[Bbnivende]

OP just purchased the 4 PB's last fall because they were cheap.

Sorry, not much demand for a tablet bridging with a phone on the golf course... Basically I am yet to hear of any use of the PB bridge that is truly necessary after the Z10.