[Machzy]

I'm reaching out to the community to help me with a decision - any constructive posts will be appreciated. I should re-iterate again that this is not a troll post - I've been a BB fan for years and have defended them where it was due.

I recently went on a trip to DC for a work conference and I brought my Torch & my iPod Touch - since I live in Canada, I didn't get the US data plan and just figured I would use Wifi at the hotel to get anything I would normally get. So I turned off my Data on my Torch and had it on Wifi just like my iPod.

On my Torch:
- Couldn't get email
- Couldn't get BBMs
- Couldn't use foursquare
- Twitter & facebook worked

On my iPod:
- Emails came through
- foursquare worked fine
- Twitter & facebook worked fine

I thought that was really weird considering BB's are known for email advantages, etc.

Either way, let's move on.

Got to the conference, talked to some developers of an international CRM system and they said they would be rolling it out on mobile devices this summer. Starting with iOS, Android OS and finally BBOS - in that order. When I looked at their road map, BBOS was clearly the least of their priorities.

I talked to another company who was in the business of developing & selling project management tools - they showed off their new app for iOS and were really excited. I talked to them after the presentation and they said they have no plans for an app for BBOS in the immediate future. Wtf?!

I love my Torch - it works great.
- Great Battery
- Awesome keyboard
- Never slow for me
- Instant email

But I was finding that I just kept leaving it in the hotel room and kept my iPod on me because it was more functional.

String that together with the new features of iOS5 (Notifications, better multi tasking, etc.) - all the things that I hate about iPhone - are getting fixed and improved by Apple.

Switch over to RIM - to be honest, I'm not that excited about BBOS7 - not at all. Yay, liquid graphics? Wtf? How about a Skype app? How about a better browser? How about more & better apps? How about I don't have to do a battery pull after deleting an app?

All these things are the same things that really made me angry as a BB user 2 years ago and still to this day. I don't understand where the priorities are for RIM.

I want to post an ad on Kijiji to trade my Torch for an iPhone 4. But I wanted to consult with people here first.

Thanks for any feedback.

[newcollector]

Sounds like you have already made up your mind on this issue.

[Machzy]

Maybe you're right.

[lunaticwithin]

Just a point on the using wifi when away from your home carrier - you should have left data switched on but turned off roaming data - this would allow you to access email/bbm etc via wifi where available.

[Machzy]

Just a point on the using wifi when away from your home carrier - you should have left data switched on but turned off roaming data - this would allow you to access email/bbm etc via wifi where available.

Aw! Are you serious?! I wish I hadda known that!

[kbz1960]

I say try an iphone and see if you like it that much better or play with a friends iphone.

[newcollector]

Just a point on the using wifi when away from your home carrier - you should have left data switched on but turned off roaming data - this would allow you to access email/bbm etc via wifi where available.

+1 for Blackberry, or at least now the OP has less of a reason for switching. Now some of the main issues for switching leaving BlackBerry are not platform issues, but user knowledge.

Isn't it great to learn something new everyday? Don't you wish you knew it before all the frustration of your trip to the States?

[Mark PPG]

Data off... Means data OFF :-)

http://www.allaboutmybb.com/2010/12/...lackberry.html is a guide to traveling with a BlackBerry.

We hate to see you go.

Mark
@allaboutmybb
www.allaboutmybb.com

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[scottae316]

I own both an iPhone 4 and a Torch. I use them both but I do find that each do different things better. It depends what is most important for you. If messaging and email are a priority then it is BB. If media and gaming the Apple is the choice. If you want both they both can do it but again what is your priority? For me I am new to BB and actually like them but do get frustrated with some of the apps (Facebook for example) and the browser on the BB although it is not as bad as many make it out to be. If I had to choose one, I do not know which one but at the moment it would be iPhone 4 by a small margin. We need to see RIM get the QNX phones out, this will show the true potential of the BB. Then I would probably pick BB.

[Machzy]

I sawa the road maps for QNX and they're saying early 2012 - so I definitely can't wait. But I don't want to be disappointed again. That's getting to be a played out story for RIM.

Hopefully that next 6 month 'evaluation' of Co-CEO's will light a fire under them.

[PHughes]

I was actually going to switch to an iphone when my Torch was damaged. About that time I was out with a friend looking for a covered bridge we were going to photograph. We wanted to access the Google directions we had pulled up on the computer since we both were not having a lot of success with the Google maps on the Torch and the app on her iphone. I tethered my Torch to the computer and called up the directions on the bigger screen. She wanted to know how to do that with her phone.

Once we got home we got her Mac out and I paired it to her iphone. We both use Macs although I also have a PC that I used before my Mac. I tethered on both.

I successfully paired her iphone to her Mac but we found you cannot tether with it unless you either pay AT&T or unlock the phone. No problem, I said, "At least you can use the bluetooth to transfer files like images to your iphone from the computer." Nope, you cannot do that either. I thought it was odd that you could pair the iphone to a Mac but could do absolutely nothing with it. I actually really like the iphone for many reasons. Unfortunately I use the bluetooth for transferring files and tethering quite often. I transfer files more often. If I cannot do that with the iphone without unlocking it it would really be pointless.

Since I travel internationally often, I also like being able to change out the battery. I often do not have access to a plug so a second battery is often a godsend.

I will second, third or fourth the suggestion of leaving data turned on so you can use WiFi.

I hope Apple will rethink the data transfer option via bluetooth. For the life of me I cannot fathom why it is not an option.

[Machzy]

Yeah, I hear a lot of US users complain about the 'tether fee' - We don't have that in Canada....yet.

[Masahiro]

Switch over to RIM - to be honest, I'm not that excited about BBOS7 - not at all. Yay, liquid graphics? Wtf? How about a Skype app? How about a better browser? How about more & better apps? How about I don't have to do a battery pull after deleting an app?

All these things are the same things that really made me angry as a BB user 2 years ago and still to this day. I don't understand where the priorities are for RIM.

A better browser is coming with OS7. Battery pulls after deleting an app is an issue that is ingrained into BBOS and will require a completely new OS (QNX) to resolve.

As for the apps, that has little to do with OS7.

[PHughes]

Yeah, I hear a lot of US users complain about the 'tether fee' - We don't have that in Canada....yet.

It wasn't just the tether fee. The iphone wouldn't even let you send a file to it. Too bad, it's a nice phone, I'm just not too happy about Apple's stranglehold over apps and function. Unfortunately RIM is getting to be the same with Appworld. You used to be able to download apps that "wouldn't work" with a particular phone and install them, now if it "won't work" Appworld won't let you even download it. Viigo was like that. I used to download the Storm version from their site, now you have to go through Appworld and RIM has basically killed that program anyway.

As far as the tether fee goes, I can tether with the Torch without a fee. The difference with the iphone is that it won't even let you set it up, it is blocked by the OS. AT least on a Blackberry you can set it up and take your chances.

[cesonmez]

i'd wait for iphone 5, just a few more months.I don't think i'll ever use a blackberry again. the only way to use this phone is rebooting which takes 2-3 mins every time.. And apps of course. NO SKYPE? OH C'MON..

[PineappleUnderTheSea]

I just got a Torch, mainly for the larger screen while keeping a physical keyboard, but what surprised me is how much I do miss the large selection of apps that I have on my iPod: I didn't think it would be *that* important with this phone, my thoughts were mostly that I would enjoy the larger screen for a better email and messaging experience, but as it turns out once I do go through emails, etc, I find that I just pick up the iPod to entertain myself, the Torch sits on the counter. So now I carry both the Torch and the iPod, which is ridiculous.

So in my case, apps are equally as important as a good email experience. The Torch is a disappointment in that regard, but that's my fault since I thought what I really wanted to replace my 9700 was just a bigger screen, but all along I was looking for a better app / entertainment experience.

I know there are better BBs coming out soon, but that doesn't solve the app issue. A fancy new operating system also doesn't solve that issue. It's a little tough to accept that a BB might not be in my future, but I shouldn't have to carry 2 devices.

[palomartian]

There are a number of blogposts out there from frustrated developers who have realized there is no profit in writing BBOS apps and given up trying. It's a limited market and the OS and RIM suck to work with. RIM is like Apple without a a Jobs. Quirky and very good at certain things, but lacking vision. They dumped a ton of resources into the gaybook while their phones were lagging the market by years. WTF?