[fschmeck]

Awhile ago I posted for opinions of anyone who tried going from BB to Windows phone. Well, I finally made the switch... Or at least have been trying to. So far this has been an interesting experience, and has made me see some BB10 issues in a new light. In case anyone is considering this move, here are my thoughts so far.

Grabbed a Lumia 650. It really is a nice device for the price... Not flagship, but more bang for the buck than many devices in its range I find. Phone is too thin for my liking, but otherwise makes me wonder what might have been if BB10 took off.

The good stuff:
Great screen, nice size, decent camera, removable battery. The live tiles are awesome, and it really all feels so much better put together than WP8 was. The office apps are great, email and calendar just work, and the browser is nimble. Much like my BB, and unlike my experience with Android, there is one of everything essential built in, and it all just works. The live tiles help me customize everything, and it just makes the device feel like my own. Offline maps, as always, remain excellent. And I don't get pestered to give away my first born with every feature, the way I feel I do with Android.

The not so good:
Boy is it hard to get accessories for this. Cases are non existent at retail, and most online are cheap non,-brands. There is much more selection in the BB world.

The apps store is... Hard to believe, much much worse than BB. Reebee? Nope. Myfitnesspal? No. Last pass? It says it is there, but does not appear to actually work at all... I can't even get the correct log in prompts. BBM is of course absent, but WhatsApp is there at least...and FB, though I don't use that.

I figured I would have to put up with some sacrifices, and to be fair there are some excellent apps. The WP ui is amazing and really does feel different from everything else. But for my relatively simple needs: reebee, GPS, WhatsApp, BBM, myfitnesspal... Only 2 are met. Some bonus items are cool (xbox steam), but it is otherwise lacking. Such a shame.... The stagnant BB10 ecosystem feels years ahead.

I'm going to continue trying to make this work, and hopefully things will go uphill from here, but so far any discussion of BB10 being the 4th platform feels incorrect. For now, I've had to pop the sim back into my BB to stay productive.

[Invictus0]

Great to hear your thoughts. I've pinned reebee to my start screen, it doesn't compare to an app but the site works pretty well through the browser.

Windows Phone still gets mentioned as a BBM platform so who knows, it might return to the store one day.

Ensuring a Bright Future for BBM in Indonesia | Inside BlackBerry

[sjoreilly]

On Cyber Monday the Microsoft Store was clearing the Lumina out 650s for $99. I picked up one as a 'toy' to see how it worked

The OLED 5 inch screen is nice it's super thin and has dual Sims and a steel bezel . Removable battery is great too. It kinda seems like the Z30 of Lumina I guess. I like the media content on it. It runs Windows 10, has 1 Gig of RAM 16 Gig onboard, and expandable slot to 200Gig.

This is a toy and is a backup to the Mothership BlackBerry Classic and super portable Q10n but for $99 it's fun to use

Posted via CB10

[fschmeck]

I took advantage of the Cyber Week deals too, and I am thoroughly impressed with the device itself (but need a decent case). But wow that store....

Posted via CB10

[nohope4me]

No apps on both, no future on both. Go iPhone or android.

[MrScotian]

Thanks for these posts. I am seriously considering moving to a Win10 phone after my Z30...someday! Blandroid and Android are a no-go for my tastes and I want to avoid an iPhone if I can (it's a last resort device for me). I'm not an app person at all and so I don't have the restrictions that most people have.

[JulesDB]

I use Lumia 650 for work, as it is a corporate phone.

I receive 20 to 60 mails daily and countless whatsapp.

I don't like Window's UI at all, i find it somekind of stupid-simple if this word can explain, not Smart at all. And I don't know why but Windows OS seems to me as an incomplete effort.

Anyway, as a working phone, it is absolutely inconsistent and moreover, with only 1 G RAM, it is very slow, which makes it completely unbearable in switching between applications. It totally lacks the grafic clarity of a BlackBerry.

This is supposed to be a smartphone of a generation later than our BlackBerry10 Z30's or Passport but really after only one week with that Lumia as a daily driver and dreaming of returning to BlackBerry10 will become true day and night ...

Sorry for my bad english

Posted via CB10

[fschmeck]

So far my experience is that the perhaps the next gen of WP will be better, if there is one at all. I love the UI, and in spite of 1 Gig of ram I find performance just fine. But my BB is just more functional, at least so far.

Posted via CB10

[stlabrat]

OP, at least you will have linkedin... hopefully jump ship not just the phone made easy... ;-).

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

I really wanted Windows Phone to get some traction..... still rumors of a Surface Phone coming.

But the ecosystem just isn't there for a mobile device. I have a Surface Tablet and LOVE IT, and get by becuase I can use the FULL websites or FULL Applications. But I really wish the App market was better, but it's dying....

[kvndoom]

I really wanted Windows Phone to get some traction..... still rumors of a Surface Phone coming.

But the ecosystem just isn't there for a mobile device. I have a Surface Tablet and LOVE IT, and get by becuase I can use the FULL websites or FULL Applications. But I really wish the App market was better, but it's dying....

We can always go back to that video of Ballmer slamming the iphone and not recognizing the dramatic change it was about to create. Kinda like BlackBerry. Those two companies failed to act and are still struggling in the mobile space because of it. Google saw the writing on the wall and acted accordingly and has made tens of billions of dollars for doing so.

Blackberry Poptart SE - Cricket Wireless

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

We can always go back to that video of Ballmer slamming the iphone and not recognizing the dramatic change it was about to create. Kinda like BlackBerry. Those two companies failed to act and are still struggling in the mobile space because of it. Google saw the writing on the wall and acted accordingly and has made tens of billions of dollars for doing so.

Blackberry Poptart SE - Cricket Wireless

Never understood why Google who wasn't really even in the mobile business very far.... other than the apps. Was the only one who really reacted to what Steve Jobs did with the iPhone. Too be honest it wan't all that impressive at that point, but Google could see the potential in an all touch phone. And most importantly in a platform that focused on DEVELOPERS.

[hobgoblin1961]

Switching to a Windows phone?
Isn't that a larger downgrade?

Posted via -Passport -Classic / OS-10.3.++ is all you need

[fschmeck]

Switching to a Windows phone?
Isn't that a larger downgrade?

Posted via -Passport -Classic / OS-10.3.++ is all you need

So far it feels like it. The hardware itself is an upgrade, but the eco system... I was frankly pretty surprised. Even the accessories like cases, etc are harder to find.


Posted via CB10

[MrScotian]

Switching to a Windows phone?
Isn't that a larger downgrade?

Posted via -Passport -Classic / OS-10.3.++ is all you need

Well, hopefully my switch, if it happens, will be a year or so from now and perhaps (insert wishful thinking here) Win10 phones will look more promising.

[Prem WatsApp]

Never understood why Google who wasn't really even in the mobile business very far.... other than the apps. Was the only one who really reacted to what Steve Jobs did with the iPhone. Too be honest it wan't all that impressive at that point, but Google could see the potential in an all touch phone. And most importantly in a platform that focused on DEVELOPERS.

Developers....?

Oh Ballmer... ;-D...uh!



•   10.3.3 - that's the go for me... ;-D   •

[Ment]

Never understood why Google who wasn't really even in the mobile business very far.... other than the apps. Was the only one who really reacted to what Steve Jobs did with the iPhone. Too be honest it wan't all that impressive at that point, but Google could see the potential in an all touch phone. And most importantly in a platform that focused on DEVELOPERS.

Google was already had a vkp phone project when the Iphone was demoed, its just the pkb phone project was further along. The plan was to get the Android name out there with the pkb device using existing prototypes with partner HTC, kind of like DTEK60(whats old is new again!) then shock the world with the vkb phone, but the Iphone trumped them. The pkb only phone was scrapped with only prototypes existing, then every resource was devoted to what became hybrid Tmobile G1/HTC Dream.

Another tidbit. Tmobile G1/HTC Dream didn't have a headphone jack. You had to use an adapter to the charging/data port like the new Iphone.

[Prem WatsApp]

Google was already had a vkp phone project when the Iphone was demoed, its just the pkb phone project was further along. The plan was to get the Android name out there with the pkb device using existing prototypes with partner HTC, kind of like DTEK60(whats old is new again!) then shock the world with the vkb phone, but the Iphone trumped them. The pkb only phone was scrapped with only prototypes existing, then every resource was devoted to what became hybrid Tmobile G1/HTC Dream.

Another tidbit. Tmobile G1/HTC Dream didn't have a headphone jack. You had to use an adapter to the charging/data port like the new Iphone.

Ride the Retro waves... ;-D

•   10.3.3 - that's the go for me... ;-D   •

[LuckyMies]

In 2005 I bought Qtek 9100 with Windows Mobile. It was good business communicator with lots of options and QWERTY keyboard. Today Windows 10 have not many apps, but there are all top apps like everywhere. I like it. But why no one their phone have physical buttons? They have 5 manufacturers!

[kvndoom]

For under 60 bucks I think I'm gonna get a 650 as well, if nothing else just for watching Netflix on slow days at work (I'll SIM swap with my Passport, workarounds and sideloading be damned). Be good to play with a new OS.

[kvndoom]

Bought a 640 actually. I hope I get it before I have to pull another weekend shift!

Blackberry Poptart SE - Cricket Wireless

[anon(9078980)]

Few weeks ago I decided to move from BB10. I love the OS but the lack of support, and no development news for the near future pushed me to a change. After BB10 any other OS seems to be a downgrade but definitely I didn't want android or ios, then Windows phone was the only realistic choice, I was also afraid that W10 could be dead but the hard facts are that while the last phone with BB10 was launched in April 2015 (Leap), the last W10 is from November 2016 (Alcatel Idol 4S). Also they are releasing updates in a regular basis (I am still waiting for 10.3.3 arriving to my Z10).

So yes, a Lumia 650 is a very safe way to try a different OS since its price is very affordable. Here I will tell you my experience with it:

What I like: As they said above, the phone is very easy to customize with the live tiles, colors positions and size of the icons, that is great. Availability of applications is also better in my opinion than in BB. I have much better versions of LinkedIn, or twitter. My banking app is also there, I finally could use Uber for the first time, and although I am not using them you have there official versions of whatsapp, telegram, viber, facebook. I have no complains about apps! The phone is working OK, some people report that the processor is not that powerful but if you need so you have more expensive alternatives such as HP Elite, the alcatel idol or the lumia 950. And about accesories @fschmeck, I just bouth a very nice case in mozo accesories.

What I miss: Notifications. Forget about led notifications, but actually this can be a positive point since I was all time checking if a light is blinking on my phone. Gestures: The BB10 gestures are just unbeatable, I think you need always one step more in Windows to access your stuff. Keyboard: Also a very high point of BB10 is the predictive keyboard, on W10 you can also install several languages but writing long texts is not that fluent and easy as in BB10.

What is strange for a BB user: You can't charge your phone while is off, if you plug in the cable is turning on automatically. You can't really kill applications, you can't stop an application which is playing sound, you can close the app but the sound will still be there, and there is no stop button, only pause. Weird!

In summary, if your BB10 device is getting old and you want a newer phone but you dislike android or ios, the windows 10 alternative is more than ok, especially at the price of a Lumia 650.

Best regards!

[Invictus0]

What I miss: Notifications. Forget about led notifications, but actually this can be a positive point since I was all time checking if a light is blinking on my phone.

It's not an LED but have you checked out Glance screen?

https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/...ur-lumia-phone

[fschmeck]

I checked out the mozo case. Is it the one that replaces the back cover? I was hoping for something with a bit more protection, like the official BB Q5 flip case that protects all around. Terrapin makes one like that (though it opens sideways), and they make a leather one too but some of the reviews make it seem like most of the non-name cases I've bought that simply break. Was hoping for something better (like the Monaco case I had for my Z10...that was awesome).

Will keep looking.

[anon(9078980)]

I checked out the mozo case. Is it the one that replaces the back cover? I was hoping for something with a bit more protection, like the official BB Q5 flip case that protects all around. Terrapin makes one like that (though it opens sideways), and they make a leather one too but some of the reviews make it seem like most of the non-name cases I've bought that simply break. Was hoping for something better (like the Monaco case I had for my Z10...that was awesome).

Will keep looking.

If you want flip cases for Lumia 650 you have Black Golf flip cover for Lumia 650 – Mozo Accessories and Cognac flip cover for Lumia 650 – Mozo Accessories I bought the latter, and I am very happy with it. Nevertheless I think now we are getting off topic and you can get more comments and help about this in the Windows Central forums. Best regards!