[greyone1604]

Hi there, I am not new to the CrackBerry site, just that I have been a user rather than a contributor before now. I live in the UK and currently have a Playbook 16GB and a 9360 which is on the VirginMobile network, both of which I love and use daily, in the case of my 9360 my wife says I pay this far more attention than I pay her!!

My phone contract is due for renewal in November this year, but I don't think I can wait that long and I am going to buy a sim free phone. So for the last month or so I have been glued to CrackBerry and other BlackBerry forums, avidly following the dialogue. I have already stated that I love my BlackBerry devices [is there any other mobile phone brand that generates such passion and devotion?], I want to upgrade to a Z10. My heart tells me that upgrading to a Z10 is the right thing to do, but, my head tells me that I should jump ship and migrate to a Galaxy S device because I consume a lot of Google services and the tight integration should make this a no brainer decision. However, I am not tied to Google services in any other way than I find them convenient and easy to use, so for the sake of my BlackBerry I am prepared to migrate to other providers.

I read articles every day along with the associated comments from the CrackBerry Nation and almost without fail, even on CrackBerry, the majority are negative. People like me who love their devices staunchly defend BlackBerry, but where is the defence of the products from BlackBerry itself, come to that where is the marketing, where is the passion, the promotion, the love of the product. Nowhere. The only people marketing the products are us, the users.

What follows is my dilemma from the perspective of a BlackBerry user who is at the end of their current contract and is looking to upgrade, in fact I even want to test Thorsten Heins theory that the tablet will be dead in five years by trying to use my next smart phone as my primary device. To make this happen I have looked at what I really want from a smart phone and how it can be achieved. I do not want to go Apple, I have played with their 4 and 5 range of phones and have been steered towards them by friends who are Apple through and through [I could even say Apple to the core - sorry!], but I just do not like them. I will not go with a Windows phone because I have Windows on my desktop and it irritates me no end, especially Windows 8. Android is quite appealing because of its tight Google integration, but I really want to stay with BlackBerry. So, this is where the CrackBerry Nation comes in. I want you to convince me that all of my needs can be met by a BlackBerry Z10. My requirements will not be that much different from many others who are at the end of their contact dilemma, so if you can convince me that a Z10 can meet all of my needs maybe Mr Heins can use your responses in an advertising campaign. I need the CrackBerry Nation to convince me because the advertising in the UK seems to be about on a par with that in the US, i.e. as rare as hen's teeth [sorry that is a saying that we have in Yorkshire which means that they are non-existent, just like hen's teeth]. Even more rare [I don't think that is possible, but you chaps [generic term] will understand] is finding an assistant in any retail outlet who knows anything about a BB10 device. In fact in Carphone Warehouse yesterday I found a Z10 that I could actually play with but this was almost impossible due to the amount of security devices plugged into the phone and wrapped around it. Not surprisingly this was not the case with the Samsung devices that were not impaired with the same security impeding the screen and about which the assistants could be very informative! And we wonder why sales are so poor! I like the idea floated in another blog of the CrackBerry Nation taking up station in phone shops and 'selling' the BB10 range.

I will start my requirements by saying that I want a phone vendor who is going to be around in the marketplace for the long foreseeable future. Will BlackBerry be here in 5 or 10 years? Having read some of the recent articles on CrackBerry will BlackBerry still be here in 18 months? I really hope so. What is the road map for the future? BlackBerry seem to be very guarded about what information they release, even to CrackBerry with whom they should be working closely, they could have a very productive dialogue with users who love their product and really want the company to succeed.

My basic requirement is to be able to make a phone call, store my contacts and sync them to Google, or somewhere else in the cloud that I can also access from my PC and PlayBook. The device must be able to manage my email [I have accounts on Google, Hotmail, a VirginBlackBerry account, and an NTL account] and calendar. [this must sync to my Google account or somewhere in the cloud that I can also access from my PC and PlayBook ]. I have heard that the Z10 has issues in syncing consistently and accurately with gmail email and gmail calendar, is this true or has this now been fixed?

I want to be able to output from my new smart phone to my TV [I know that I can do this from the Z10], have a removable battery for the times when I am not near a power supply and my phone is dying [again I know I can do this with the Z10] and to be able to add additional storage up to 64GB [another tick for the Z10].

I need the 64GB memory expansion because my MP3 player has just died and I want to be able to carry my music around with me, on the memory card, or I have been experimenting with Google play which works seamlessly with my wife's S2. Is there an alternative cloud music player where I can load most of my music library free of charge that the Z10 can access from an intuitive music player similar to the Google Music Manager offering? I have just had a quick look at Cloud
Player for Blackberry, does anyone use this? Would you recommend it? What are the free alternatives?

I already use Evernote and I know that is available for the Z10. Is that a native app or a port? Have there been any improvements on the Box offer for BlackBerry on BB10? The version that I use on my PlayBook is very basic, to say the least. I have to manually download and upload any document I need, whereas from my PC the download and upload is automated. Is such automation available from Box or DropBox in BB10?

Sat Nav [I am currently using the free version of Telemap Navigator], Twitter/Blaq, Shazam, Kobo reader, Word Press and Facebook I am taking as all being available as native BB10 apps, is this correct? Also, I am using a Perixx KT-1063 blue tooth keyboard paired with my PlayBook to type this, I am guessing that I will be able to pair this with a Z10? If I am going to try to use the Z10 as my primary device I will need a keyboard for Word Press, etc.

If I do go sim only, how will I be able to load the latest os release and from where will obtain this, from the BlackBerry site? From the CrackBerry site? I am not too bother about leaked o/s releases, just the official ones.

I am sorry that this blog has dragged on and includes multiple questions but I am sure that these are just the sort of questions that many current BlackBerry users, and potentially those on other devices, on the verge of upgrading will be asking, so if we as the CrackBerry Nation can answer them and publicise our answers we may attract some more new users. By the way, if there are any other stellar features of the Z10 that I have missed please and would really convince to upgrade to the Z10 please do let me know about them as well. Don't mention the keyboard, I have already tried that and love it!

Finally, I really love the sense of community that the CrackBerry Nation offers, I don't know if Android users have the same, but I doubt it, this is yet another reason that I do not want to have to move away from BlackBerry.

I am looking forward to you giving me positive responses to my questions and convincing me not to go over to the dark side. However, I am sure that the CrackBerry Nation will also point out the drawbacks of the device as well.

Graham Walker
Blog created on my 16GB PlayBook

[Bdot-1]

Z10 is a good phone, but use your best judgement. Don't buy something because you support a company, you'll be setting yourself up for disappointment.

Buy what you need now not what you think is coming, most people here will agree to that. If bb10 works for you as it sits, then go blackberry. But Personnally I wish I skipped the first generation and came back to blackberry in the future when it's stable. I bought the Z10 with high hopes to a stable OS but what happened is I was let down and it saddens me and I've been jaded now.

I was an early adopter buying in February so it's up to you, not much has changed. The major bugs are still present. If you are a simple user, you probably won't notice them. If your a power user, your life will become stressed.

Posted via CB10

[howarmat]

First off welcome to the forum!

For some of your needs the Z10 will be fine. Others it might not.

Obviously google services work better on google devices. Contact and calender sync are a little tricky on the BB10 OS but that is becuase Google discontinued activesync support. It can be done though. You will lose your VirginBlackBerry account no matter what choice you make.

There are some apps out there that allow you to use Google Music on your BB10 device. I dont know how well they work though. There is no google maps app on BB10. You have to sideload the android port. Some of the apps you list are available as native, some are android ports available in BB world and some aren't available yet.

Either way you will have to do some more research and maybe ask specfic questions about the items that you require most. I think you can get by with a BB10 device though without an issue.

[just_luc]

Wow that was long! Crongrats on making the jump from crackberry lurker to crackberry poster!

Anyway, unfortunately my reply is not going to be as elaborate as your post, but long story short I love my Z10, there's no other phone for me on the market right now. I, like you use Google services heavily, but unlike some I am not finding that to be a problem with my blackberry. Mail, calendar and contacts integrate with the native apps flawlessly, and for more advance features like Google drive, while there is no native tie in, where there is a will there's a way, and a 7 dollar app called files and folders fills that gap nicely so I can fully access my google drive on my Z10.

We could talk for ages about whether or not I agree with certain company decisions from blackberry as of late, or whether I think their marketing is doing what it should.. but that's a separate conversation then whether or not you should buy the device in my opinion. The Z10 is the device for me. I love it. I use it what's feels like 20 hours a day and I wouldn't have it any other way. If you feel the same way, then buy it.

Posted via CB10

[scrannel]

I have never owned a BBerry in my life, so the whole fanboy crap is lost on me. I like the physical format of the Z10 (something someone must have spent a bunch of time on); and it does everything I need it to do. I find Android phones tedious and annoying. I will NEVER own an iFascist, anti-free market product. BBerry isn't going away and it's a great phone.

[greyone1604]

Thanks Bdot-1.
You don't sound like a happy bunny. I guess I am somewhere between a simple user and a power user, so somethings I would not notice but I guess others would stress me out, which is not what I want from a phone.

[greyone1604]

Hi scrannel
I guess the Z10 is your first BlackBerry then!?
Thanks for the endorsement and like you I love the format, today I was at a Tescomobile store and was comparing the look and feel of the Z10 to the Galaxy S range and the Z10 won hands down.
Also tried out the Apple and absolutely hated it.
Thanks for your post.

[Matt J]

My response is sort of related to your post... and maybe it can help you decide. Bear with me, as there is a point to my post.... eventually.

Please bear in mind that this info is reported in good faith. If there are errors, the CrackBerry community will surely let us know

I recently purchased a Microsoft Surface RT Tablet because there was a huge discount due to poor sales. At $350 (CAD) for a 32GB tablet, I figured how could I lose since my PlayBook has been end-of-lifed? I took the Surface home and went through the setup procedure.

I have an Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync account for work, and that was set up no problem. Email, contacts and calender synced up just fine. However, when I went to setup my personal GMail, Google Contacts and Google Calender, that's where the problems started.

Most of us know that Google dropped support for Exchange Active Sync (EAS) earlier this year, but IMAP should (and still does) work fine. Not the best option, but I fully expected to have IMAP GMail, and it is push mail. However, The Surface RT did not support CalDAV and CardDAV, so there was no way to sync my Google Contacts or Google Calendar! WTF? No way... this can't be possible, could it? Yes, Google and Microsoft are have a little spat and Google will be dropping CalDAV and CardDAV support for Google services soon.... There is no workaround.

This means that even on the Z10 we will lose Google Contacts and Calendar sync. I think at the end of July 2013. So, what do we do at the end of July? There doesn't seem to be a way to sync our Google services (except IMAP email).

My point is that if you are tied to Google, Android might be the best choice. If you like EAS, Windows Phone is the way to go. Not sure about iPhone or BlackBerry. There are a lot of things happening in the background that could affect the most basic services.

So, it's really important to do research.... If Google drops support at the end of July, we may not be able to sync our Google services anymore....

Oh... and I returned the Surface because of this... total deal breaker.

[Gees97]

The Z10 requires attention. You have to constantly update the os the keep up because carriers are out of control with releasing them. But I love it. Battery life is great btw.

Posted Via My Most Used BlackBerry App

[madman0141]

Welcome to CrackBerry the land of understanding and tolerance!!!
Use your head and don't support a company that doesn't have what you need. I hope you stay with BlackBerry because overall it's a great device and in my humble opinion it is better than apple or Samsung. First off get a 64g PlayBook that's a more manly tablet and you can always use more space. People here are helpful and nice except me. Again welcome and don't get z10 get a Q10, REAL BLACKBERRY'S HAVE REAL KEYBOARDS

[Bdot-1]

Welcome to CrackBerry the land of understanding and tolerance!!!
Use your head and don't support a company that doesn't have what you need. I hope you stay with BlackBerry because overall it's a great device and in my humble opinion it is better than apple or Samsung. First off get a 64g PlayBook that's a more manly tablet and you can always use more space. People here are helpful and nice except me. Again welcome and don't get z10 get a Q10, REAL BLACKBERRY'S HAVE REAL KEYBOARDS

Real blackberries should have full function bridge lol. I'm being a bit sarcastic, it's my way of dealing with the pain

Posted via CB10

[scrannel]

The Z10 requires attention. You have to constantly update the os the keep up because carriers are out of control with releasing them. But I love it. Battery life is great btw.

Posted Via My Most Used BlackBerry App

Say... what? Constantly update? Have had one OTA OS update since buying phone on release day from T-Mo. I don't know of any carrier that's had more than one OS update, and Verizon (unless they just came through) hasn't even done that. This is a very easy phone to live with. And yes, this is my first BBerry.

[canuckvoip]

I don't expect anybody to do what I did, but I ran away from everything Google many months ago. I don't miss any of it at all. Well... the only thing I still use is Youtube.
My main email is my work Office 365 which integrates perfectly. My search engine is Bing for now. My second email is Outlook.com and that works and syncs very well also. I get music DRM free from 7Digital. As much as I hope the likes of Instagram and Netflix come to the platform I don't use or care about them personally, and you can sideload them anyway.
This phone works very well for me. I love it.

[m1kr0]

Remember the first time you stood next to the pool and mulled over the thought in your mind to jump or not? I went with my heart and got the Z 10. I used my mind to adapt and make the device work for me. Never looked back since...

[greyone1604]

Hi Howarmat
Thanks for the post and your advice. Look out for the specific questions!
A bit surprised about the Google answers because on the 9360 on BB o/s 7 I simply typed in the account details and away I went. What has changed in BB10?
Graham

[greyone1604]

Hi just_luc
Thanks for the post.
I was hoping that the Google stuff worked out of the box.
I will have a look at files and folders.
Graham

[greyone1604]

Real blackberries should have full function bridge lol. I'm being a bit sarcastic, it's my way of dealing with the pain

Posted via CB10

Not scarcism, I totally agree, the Bridge function should be fully restored, I use it a lot.

[bgregory902]

I was an early adopter buying in February so it's up to you, not much has changed. The major bugs are still present. If you are a simple user, you probably won't notice them. If your a power user, your life will become stressed.

Posted via CB10

I disagree, not saying this is the phone for the OP, because quite honestly I got tired of reading his incredibly long post and skimed down to the comments. I'm not sure where you are from, but in my part of the world most of the issues have been worked out and a lot has changed since release. There still are some issues in certain locations and from certain carriers more than others, but personally I have no issues anymore and I am considered a power user and I am stress free when it comes to my device.

Posted via CB10

[gregorylkelly]

I didn't read past the 2nd paragraph, but I will tell you that aside from apps, I don't understand how people could use a Z10 and not think it is the best phone available. I have used almost all of the newer phones and I truly believe that the Z10 is the most efficient phone available.

That being said, we live in an app world, and the sad truth is that the lack of apps on BlackBerry 10 is the main thing hurting BlackBerry right now.

Posted via CB10

[gregorylkelly]

Welcome to CrackBerry the land of understanding and tolerance!!!
Use your head and don't support a company that doesn't have what you need. I hope you stay with BlackBerry because overall it's a great device and in my humble opinion it is better than apple or Samsung. First off get a 64g PlayBook that's a more manly tablet and you can always use more space. People here are helpful and nice except me. Again welcome and don't get z10 get a Q10, REAL BLACKBERRY'S HAVE REAL KEYBOARDS

The Z10 is a real keyboard! It's the only one that can be as good as a physical keyboard.

Posted via CB10

[Duvi]

I enjoy my z10, but also enjoy my iPhone 5 and Lumia 920.

I can tell you, all have their pros and cons... you just have to figure out which has all that pros you need and no cons that you can live with not being on BB10.

[deltact]

My response is sort of related to your post... and maybe it can help you decide. Bear with me, as there is a point to my post.... eventually.

Please bear in mind that this info is reported in good faith. If there are errors, the CrackBerry community will surely let us know

I recently purchased a Microsoft Surface RT Tablet because there was a huge discount due to poor sales. At $350 (CAD) for a 32GB tablet, I figured how could I lose since my PlayBook has been end-of-lifed? I took the Surface home and went through the setup procedure.

I have an Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync account for work, and that was set up no problem. Email, contacts and calender synced up just fine. However, when I went to setup my personal GMail, Google Contacts and Google Calender, that's where the problems started.

Most of us know that Google dropped support for Exchange Active Sync (EAS) earlier this year, but IMAP should (and still does) work fine. Not the best option, but I fully expected to have IMAP GMail, and it is push mail. However, The Surface RT did not support CalDAV and CardDAV, so there was no way to sync my Google Contacts or Google Calendar! WTF? No way... this can't be possible, could it? Yes, Google and Microsoft are have a little spat and Google will be dropping CalDAV and CardDAV support for Google services soon.... There is no workaround.

This means that even on the Z10 we will lose Google Contacts and Calendar sync. I think at the end of July 2013. So, what do we do at the end of July? There doesn't seem to be a way to sync our Google services (except IMAP email).

My point is that if you are tied to Google, Android might be the best choice. If you like EAS, Windows Phone is the way to go. Not sure about iPhone or BlackBerry. There are a lot of things happening in the background that could affect the most basic services.

So, it's really important to do research.... If Google drops support at the end of July, we may not be able to sync our Google services anymore....

Oh... and I returned the Surface because of this... total deal breaker.

Interesting about the potential drop of CalDAV and CardDAV. I wonder if it's also to take a crack at Apple. Can you post a link for further info on this please.

I use Gmail synced on IMAP push as one of my accounts. My contacts and calendars are routed through CalDAV and CardDAV. This has worked well for me, since I can get multiple calendars and even my wife's calendar. Don't use much Google outside of that. I used to use Maps more, but now I use the BlackBerry mapping app since there is no native Maps app. If I really need Gmaps I go to the browser for a passable version. I wish there was a Drive app to edit docs because I do some collaborative work with Drive users.

That's pretty much it for me, I'm a pretty simple user who just does lots of email, first and foremost. My Z10 is mostly a productivity device; I installed a few games mostly to demo the phone if needed, but I have racked up maybe less than 30 minutes of game time in the 3+ months since I got the phone.

Posted via CB10 on Z10

[greyone1604]

My response is sort of related to your post... and maybe it can help you decide. Bear with me, as there is a point to my post.... eventually.

Please bear in mind that this info is reported in good faith. If there are errors, the CrackBerry community will surely let us know

I recently purchased a Microsoft Surface RT Tablet because there was a huge discount due to poor sales. At $350 (CAD) for a 32GB tablet, I figured how could I lose since my PlayBook has been end-of-lifed? I took the Surface home and went through the setup procedure.

I have an Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync account for work, and that was set up no problem. Email, contacts and calender synced up just fine. However, when I went to setup my personal GMail, Google Contacts and Google Calender, that's where the problems started.

Most of us know that Google dropped support for Exchange Active Sync (EAS) earlier this year, but IMAP should (and still does) work fine. Not the best option, but I fully expected to have IMAP GMail, and it is push mail. However, The Surface RT did not support CalDAV and CardDAV, so there was no way to sync my Google Contacts or Google Calendar! WTF? No way... this can't be possible, could it? Yes, Google and Microsoft are have a little spat and Google will be dropping CalDAV and CardDAV support for Google services soon.... There is no workaround.

This means that even on the Z10 we will lose Google Contacts and Calendar sync. I think at the end of July 2013. So, what do we do at the end of July? There doesn't seem to be a way to sync our Google services (except IMAP email).

My point is that if you are tied to Google, Android might be the best choice. If you like EAS, Windows Phone is the way to go. Not sure about iPhone or BlackBerry. There are a lot of things happening in the background that could affect the most basic services.

So, it's really important to do research.... If Google drops support at the end of July, we may not be able to sync our Google services anymore....

Oh... and I returned the Surface because of this... total deal breaker.

Hi Matt J

I am really confused by your post. Do you mean that all BlackBerry devices will loose the ability to sync their information from Google services?

My set up is very simple. I created the sync when I first got my BlackBerry device using the native BB calendar, email and contacts apps. I linked them all to sync with the relevant Google database. Are you saying that this functionality will be removed from all BlackBerry phones or is it simply that the support for issues will be dropped?

Where can I find some more details on this potential development, preferably in simple terms in plain English.

Many thanks for the detailed, if somewhat worrying, post.

[greyone1604]

Remember the first time you stood next to the pool and mulled over the thought in your mind to jump or not? I went with my heart and got the Z 10. I used my mind to adapt and make the device work for me. Never looked back since...

I do remember the time when in Greece and was stood on the side of the pool, the weather had just broken [first day of sunshine since I arrived following 3 days of storms], the pool guy had just finished cleaning the pool and I was the only one stood on the side. I took a deep breath and dived in. The water was ice cold, took all my breath away completely and I struggled across to the other side trying to keep my composure and keep breathing. I stayed in the pool for the rest of the day and thoroughly enjoyed it.

If your analogy is right I will dive in and love the Z10.

Many thanks for the post.

[greyone1604]

Interesting about the potential drop of CalDAV and CardDAV. I wonder if it's also to take a crack at Apple. Can you post a link for further info on this please.

I use Gmail synced on IMAP push as one of my accounts. My contacts and calendars are routed through CalDAV and CardDAV. This has worked well for me, since I can get multiple calendars and even my wife's calendar. Don't use much Google outside of that. I used to use Maps more, but now I use the BlackBerry mapping app since there is no native Maps app. If I really need Gmaps I go to the browser for a passable version. I wish there was a Drive app to edit docs because I do some collaborative work with Drive users.

That's pretty much it for me, I'm a pretty simple user who just does lots of email, first and foremost. My Z10 is mostly a productivity device; I installed a few games mostly to demo the phone if needed, but I have racked up maybe less than 30 minutes of game time in the 3+ months since I got the phone.

Posted via CB10 on Z10

Hi deltact

Your set up sounds not too dissimilar to mine, if I am correct in assuming that the CalDEV and CardDAV are the transport that the native BlackBerry email, calendar and contacts use to sync with Google. I am also guessing that you are syncing the native BB10 apps to Google, if that is right then I will be relatively happy.

I was looking at streaming my music from the web, but it looks like a purchase of a 64GB card and copying it all across, so not a deal breaker.

Thanks for the post.