[ocriblecoblis]

My wife and I have been BlackBerry fans for quite a while now. We started with a Nextel Curve, then finally migrated to Verizon when Sprint stopped offering current iDEN models. About a year and a half ago, I got a PlayBook.

We've hung on to our 9650s for a very long time, waiting eagerly for the Q10. They barely made it to the 10th of this month, when we finally had our new Q10s in hand.

As a longtime CrackBerry lurker, I knew full well that the Q10 would be a major adjustment for us. There'd be a lot of muscle memory to re-train, and some handy features that would be gone. I was ready for all this. I was confident that my PlayBook experience had already made me sufficiently familiar with gestures to be able to adapt quickly.

Of course, there was much to be thrilled by with the Q10 right off the bat. It's a beautiful machine, and quite an upgrade in speed from the 9650. The transfer process from old to new was horrific, but again, I anticipated that.

What I didn't expect was that the phone's response to gestures would be so bad. Specifically, the upswipe. It seldom works the first time I try it, and too frequently, it simply will not respond to any number of attempts, no matter which finger I use at whatever angle. My wife is having the same problem.

When you can't minimize a program, you can't get back home, and everything stops. The phone is rendered useless until you either finally convince the program to relent or restart the phone.

I'm willing to put up with whatever annoyances there are in terms of adapting to the new phone, but this regular temporary bricking is a deal-breaker. We can't afford to spend a bunch of money and make a two-year commitment to phones that are this unreliable. We have been BlackBerry fans because to us, phones are first and foremost communications devices, and BlackBerry has always been incomparable in this regard. We use phones to go about our daily business, not to play games or use them as TV remotes.

For this same reason, we can't commit to the Q10. It just isn't working for us. If we can't resolve this problem by Monday, we're returning them, and it will be with deep sadness.

If you all have any suggestions, I'd surely appreciate hearing them.

[ray689]

Have you tried to watch the tutorial videos? Also make sure you are swiping from the bezel at the bottom of the screen. Some people also swipe too quickly sometimes so that could be the issue as well.
Try those suggestions and let us know if you are able to get used to it. I hope it works out for both of you as it is a great OS.

Posted via CB10

[Ai Giez]

Yeah make sure you swiping up from the bottom bezel up to about 4/10 of the screen size, it works every time for me.

Posted via CB10

[ocriblecoblis]

Thanks for your quick response, Ray.

Yes, I've watched the tutorials, and I do make sure I'm swiping from the bottom bezel. Speed doesn't seem to be an issue, but I have tried varying speeds, and it doesn't seem to be the issue.

I've assumed that I've been doing something wrong, which is why I've tried every variation in terms of speed, angle, hand and finger I can think of. I've never had a problem with gestures on the PlayBook, but then, its bezel is quite ample.

I'm beginning to suspect that the problem is related to the tiny bottom bezel combined with the fret just below it. This combination makes it hard to make sure the swipe starts low enough.

[ocriblecoblis]

Thanks, Ai Giez. I'll keep trying.

[jimmyjyc]

Have you tried starting from the keyboard and going up, past the bezel, onto the screen?

[B4509]

Does this happen on both your Q10s? If it is only on one there might be something wrong with the bezel! Perhaps the best bet for you would be a Q5 if it comes out wherever you live, it seems to be much cheaper, has a much larger bottom bezel, and the only real trade offs are the camera and storage (which you would probably be expanding with a microsd card), though these might be important things for you!

Posted via CB10

[sibeans]

From my experience, the "swipe up area" (where you make 1st contact with the screen) seems to be a little higher than the bottom bezel. Try resting your thumb on the top row and swipe towards the screen, I'd say it works almost all the time

[SpencerNSO]

I too had that issue at first. If I start on the bezel it doesn't work. I noticed if begin by touching just above the bezel in the middle of the screen, just above the T and Y keys, and swipe up I have more consistent results.

[ocriblecoblis]

jimmyjyc, sibeans, SpencerNSO: Thanks! These tips are giving me much better results. I'm hoping that they will do the trick. I'm grateful to you all for your help.

[ocriblecoblis]

B4509, I'd thought about this option, but timing is the problem. I don't think the Q5 will be available here for some months yet, and our window to return the phones closes pretty soon. But that red one would be kinda cool.

[robsteve]

Start between the T and Y keys or any comfortable spot on the keyboard top row. Make sure you have enough pressure that your finger touches the glass just as it leaves the fret. I think the fret can make your finger skip over the first bit of the screen/bezel.



Posted via CB10

[B4509]

B4509, I'd thought about this option, but timing is the problem. I don't think the Q5 will be available here for some months yet, and our window to return the phones closes pretty soon. But that red one would be kinda cool.

Yeah I suppose so, hope it gets better though!

Posted via CB10

[ray689]

So OP, any luck with these tips? Are they working for you and your wife?

Posted via CB10

[sbx9900]

I played with the Q10 yesterday at a TMO store. there seems to be nothing wrong with the swipe up gesture....also, the screen brightness was fine for me in contrast to those who say that the screen was too dim for them....

the camera was great! it can take close up pictures and the pictures can be edited outright without further need of a third party app.

However, I find the Q10 ugly...the 9900 looks more beautiful and more elegant...the Q10 seems more rugged in its appearance and looks more masculine....

But of course, the Q10 still beckons....

[adamhusband]

I have noticed the same issue with the upswipe. With time it has gotten better for me. I too developed the form of starting at the T and Y and swiping straight up towards the top of the screen. Maybe in an update they'll improve this but I am still happy with my Q10. Most of us have had many cell phones and we know we have to give it time and continue to learn. Some peeps say the physical keyboard is so 90's but for me I love it. Touch keyboards for me always made too many errors and then fixing the errors was even more work. I am happy to be back with a BlackBerry Q10 and a different carrier(Verizon) compared to iPhone5(Sprint) with no 4G in my area. Again we all know its just PREFERENCES. My opinion is to give it time and work with it. I miss my games like Spades and Euchre but it will come with time.

[Emaderton3]

I haven't had any issues with this. That being said, it is the number one issue I saw that was a problem in almost every video review I have seen. I will say it is a slightly different touch and swipe speed for me, but it works well on my phone.

[TSY-CB]

Start between the T and Y keys or any comfortable spot on the keyboard top row. Make sure you have enough pressure that your finger touches the glass just as it leaves the fret. I think the fret can make your finger skip over the first bit of the screen/bezel.



Posted via CB10

This is how I do it too. And it's produced better results. I'd say the trick is "lightly, lightly, lightly". Also noticed that the tip, rather than pad, of your finger is better. But having said ALL this, I'm still only getting it 8/10 times, which in my opinion is 2/10 times too low. This is not acceptable, and I, having commited to this device, am diligently trying to enbrace the whole "swipe" lexicon.

Posted via CB10

[ocriblecoblis]

As a matter of fact, Ray, I've had great luck with these tips. This is no longer an issue for me. My wife hasn't really given the tips a good try yet, but we'll find out as we enter the new week and she's back to using her phone a lot. But I expect she'll want to keep the Q10s. She's quite jazzed with the hotspot capability; as we had hoped, it's allowed her to use her iPad wherever she goes.

As for me, now that you all have helped me past this problem, I'm very happy with the Q10. I still have some responsiveness problems with the screen, but I expect that I'll figure them out with time. The Twitter app is abysmal, but I expect that BlackBerry will figure that out with time.

[ray689]

That's great to hear. I'm glad you are enjoying your q10. It truly is a wonderful device with a great new OS.

Oh and my wife loves the hot spot on my z10 for her ipad when we travel as well.

Posted via CB10

[ocriblecoblis]

As I told Ray above, your tips have solved my problem completely. Now that I begin my upswipe below the top fret, it works every time. I feel silly not having figured that out for myself, but I was taking the BlackBerry instructions far too literally.

I'm very grateful to you all for your kind assistance.