A frustrated blackberry fan

I am just plain frustrated with RIM, dont get me wrong and i m no troll either, i love my bb and have been using bb for a long time, about a few months back i had to upgrade my phone( i had a bb bold 9000) and inspite of the temptation to go for the other fruit phone i decided to stick to bb bold 9780, when playbook released i was soo excited that i got it immediately even though it was not available where i lived. Yesterday i was playing around with my wifes fruit phone(read iphone) when i discovered facetime and the huge availabilty of voip softwares. Why dosent RIM make a front facing camera and involve video chat?there are 2 real voip softwares for bb and most of the time they dont work, i wouldnt have been complaining here if they would have been releasing something but even the new releases like bold 9900 do not have a front camera? is it so difficult to implement, i guess we all have to wait for qnx magic on bb, till then make compromises..... the only reason i continue to have a bb is because i am a diehard bb fan, and the keyboard period.i really am not sure how much longer i can hold on....

I feel your pain, but I think this forum needs ...-Loyal BB fan section for this kinda stuff

I think Kevin should write an open letter to RIM with our concerns. They can hear directly from the CONSUMER base and what we want and need.

He seemed open to it but it hasn't come around again.

What i would really like to know is why havent they included video chat into the new phones they are about to release?Is it difficult or impossible to do it, if you guys have any idea about this please do let us know.

Originally Posted by aryan77

What i would really like to know is why havent they included video chat into the new phones they are about to release?Is it difficult or impossible to do it, if you guys have any idea about this please do let us know.

Because it's been available on phones ever since 3G came out and nobody used it, the market for it is very very small.

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Originally Posted by belfastdispatcher

Because it's been available on phones ever since 3G came out and nobody used it, the market for it is very very small.

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Which BB phone had video chat or a front facing camera for video chat? i am not aware of any?

Originally Posted by aryan77

Which BB phone had video chat or a front facing camera for video chat? i am not aware of any?

Not blackberry, dumb phones had this feature for years, at least in Europe they did, 3 mobile UK were trying really hard to push it and never took off, i have a feeling they gave up on it completely now.

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My phone before I had a blackberry and before the first iphone was launched, notice the front facing camera.

Originally Posted by belfastdispatcher

Not blackberry, dumb phones had this feature for years, at least in Europe they did, 3 mobile UK were trying really hard to push it and never took off, i have a feeling they gave up on it completely now.

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but now its kind of standard on almost all new phones to have the option. i might not use video chat all the time but i would definetly like the choice of having it and using it.moreover it is soo difficult to get a voip client on bb,

Originally Posted by aryan77

but now its kind of standard on almost all new phones to have the option. i might not use video chat all the time but i would definetly like the choice of having it and using it.moreover it is soo difficult to get a voip client on bb,

I'm not saying they shouldn't have one, I'm explaining why maybe they never made one.

Real voip is almost impossible to find but there are solutions for cheap international calls, I use an app called Vopium that makes a local call that then is connected trough voip.
It does cost money but it's very cheap, excellent quality and you can actually call phone numbers. My experience with pure voip hasn't been the best but internet connection is a bit slow here.

On the iPhone though they pushed that dreadful Facetime app in some clever commercials as like a must have feature. But for me personally, I almost never use Skype and that works really well and works across all computers!

These video conferencing apps seem to need the moons to align with wifi hotpots, same platform running the same app at the same time, just to get these damn things to work.

Ask yourself, is that an important or practical feature in your every day life? For me, its a resounding no.

I agree with you though that RIM should listen to the consumer more and get more apps and features CONSUMERS want. I can def live without video chats though...

I like the face time app. It isn't used often, but when needed, it's nice to have. I was recently TDY in Hawaii for a week, and was able to face chat with my 3 year old. She and I loved it. Really can't imagine owning a phone without a front facing camera at this time.

Absolutely, since a technology is not that popular it does not mean that a manufacturer should abstain from it. For the complete business proposition BlackBerries should have a camera integrated via which video conferencing or chat can be done. Blackberries are now no longer text only devices, if they have to stay in the market, they should evolve further.

This is exactly what i am talking about.. my friends do video chat with their family and i am left holding the bb in my hand and cursing the iphone... i want to be in touch with my parents who are in a different country, and that also is possible with iphone and that too in a country where voip is blocked. I am not bothered about hurling some birds on to some thing, or some great game... what i am bothered about is my mails, keyboard, and the option to keep up with the other guys out there with different phones...

Eventhough I would most probably not find video chat useful but yes, there are lots of people who need/want this feature.

Maybe its because video chat would clog up RIM's servers? the servers aren't quite capable of handling the load yet perhaps?

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I think you nailed the issue. Since everything has to go through RIM they can't handle the additinnal band width of video chat. RIM's biggest advantage continues to be their biggest liability.

VOIP is one thing that I do think should be included. If I remember correctly, the Marvel chipset could handle both recording and playback at the same time, so recent GSM phones have some VOIP options. The Qualcomm chipset can't do both, so VOIP hasn't been available for CDMA carriers. It will be interesting to see if the new chipset they are switching to can do it.

Video chat is one thing I really like. My daughter is stationed in Iraq. We will chat via Skype, as well as video chat. If I'm away from home, I can still talk with her via Skype (on my Android device), which is definitely a plus since I never know when she is going to have time to chat (between missions and the time difference). It would be very hard for me to pick up another BlackBerry and break that link to my daughter.

I'm a person who loves video chat. I can spend endless hours a day with a certain far-away loved one on aim, yahoo, and skype. It even works in my car using my Sprint usb 3G modem. The person I chat with and I often just leave video chat open even if we're doing other things; it's like being in the same room together. But the laptop and home connection is for that. When it comes to phones, I love my BlackBerry more than mobile device video chat capability (or lack thereof). I wouldn't even be able to use video chat in the way I'm accustomed to on any phone. It's like watching a movie: I simply won't do it on a mobile phone. I'm not "in airports" or "on planes" enough, and even if I was, I wouldn't do it.

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Personally I prefer a constant BBM connection with regular status updates and photo sharing with loved ones to video chatting. I find it to be a much more personal connection, especially when you create a personal group, where you can share photos, calendar events etc.

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Originally Posted by RollingRock1988

I think Kevin should write an open letter to RIM with our concerns. They can hear directly from the CONSUMER base and what we want and need.

He seemed open to it but it hasn't come around again.

Bless you I agree with that
Kevin should
But he should create a thread, asking loyal bb fans if there is anything thhey would like to add

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I agree that the servers might be heavily burdened but if it is just that excuse then i really think RIM should rethink their strategy... apple uses dedicated servers for facetime so if they can do it why cant we..... just because all the traffic goes through bb servers is no excuse.... i am sure there are ways to get past this hurdle.