[the_sandman_454]

I am due for a new phone and strongly considering switching to an iphone 4. Is there any reason why I shouldn't?

Possibly. The biggest would be that the iPhone 5 isn't out yet. If you wait until the iPhone 5 is out, even if you don't want one, I suspect the price might get a little lower for the iPhone 4.

Another is the question of "have you used a touch screen device extensively before?" Have you typed on a full touch screen device, browsed on it, etc? Get thee to a corporate store that might have one activated and play with it for a good long while. Type some mock emails, texts, etc out on it. Do this a few different days. Be honest with yourself, is this something you're willing to do and can get comfortable with?

My use is about 50% text and BBM, 30% phone and 20% web browsing

Your use of SMS or other IM apps will increase significantly since you don't have BBM to use. There are good chat apps out there that are true cross platform apps, so you can chat with users on anything, some like Yahoo, let you even chat with or transfer files from people on their PC. I don't know how well that works on Apple, but a friend sent me a 28mb file from her PC to my Android. I suspect it works just as well.

I had talked myself out of the iphone because I use BBM all the time. Then 4 of my BBM contacts switched to iphone in less than a month! My wife - who gets most of the BBM time - is still on a BB. I had still decided against iphone so I still had BBM but then was enlightened to whatsapp? for iphone and it looks to do pretty well the same job.

As mentioned above, there are some good cross platform options. Some don't have the d/r indication but then again I wasn't necessarily a huge fan of that anyway.

I also don't know what the call quality is like on the iphone. I am very impressed with my curves call quality - best phone I have ever had as far as that goes - and don't want to end up with a phone with poor call quality.

No idea on that but they might let you try one from the corporate store while you're playing with one on the net too.

I was going to go to the Bold 9780 or Torch, but lately I have started to waiver.

If I should switch to iphone, tell me that. If theres many valid reasons to stay with BB, let me hear 'em!!! I have read and watched many reviews and comparisons and I just can't decide!

Is your current device working ok? If so, why not at least wait a bit longer to upgrade/switch to see what RIM is planning and what the iPhone 5 looks like/take advantage of potential discounts on the iPhone 4 when the 5 comes out.

[the_sandman_454]

Wow, you really have no idea about blackberry do you? Autotext is not what you think, Android doesn't have it. You can program it when you type a letter or two then hit space the text will be changed to what ever you want, even a sentence, example: type "ilt" then space and you can have it change automatically to "I'll be late tonight" or whatever you want it. Many of them are pre-programmed, try ld- locat date lt-local time, mypin- the blackberry pin and many many others.
Seriously, you really have no idea.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I hate to have to do it but I agree with you. Hopefully this is a feature Android OS will have in the future.

I used autotext to save several paragraphs I used frequently on my old BB and could bring it up with whatever word or letter combo I wanted.

That was one of the features BB has dead on perfect.

[_StephenBB81]

I am due for a new phone and strongly considering switching to an iphone 4. Is there any reason why I shouldn't?

My use is about 50% text and BBM, 30% phone and 20% web browsing

I had talked myself out of the iphone because I use BBM all the time. Then 4 of my BBM contacts switched to iphone in less than a month! My wife - who gets most of the BBM time - is still on a BB. I had still decided against iphone so I still had BBM but then was enlightened to whatsapp? for iphone and it looks to do pretty well the same job.

I also don't know what the call quality is like on the iphone. I am very impressed with my curves call quality - best phone I have ever had as far as that goes - and don't want to end up with a phone with poor call quality.

I was going to go to the Bold 9780 or Torch, but lately I have started to waiver.

If I should switch to iphone, tell me that. If theres many valid reasons to stay with BB, let me hear 'em!!! I have read and watched many reviews and comparisons and I just can't decide!

How much traveling do you do in Ontario?

You will notice a NOTICEABLE decline in Call quality on the Rogers network from a 8320 to a iPhone 4, but if you are usually in strong signal areas then it is not a major issue.

I would highly suggest you practice txting on a touchscreen phone, if 50% of your usage is texting related, you might find a touchscreen just isn't for you, so maybe going and looking at an Android phone like the Acer Liquid E
http://www.rogers.com/web/link/wirel...+11+4294948709
or the HTC Magic +
http://www.rogers.com/web/link/wirel...709+4294940593

the slide out keyboard gives you an option to try touch screens, but you don't HAVE to be without a keyboard.

[Rickroller]

Wow, you really have no idea about blackberry do you? Autotext is not what you think, Android doesn't have it. You can program it when you type a letter or two then hit space the text will be changed to what ever you want, even a sentence, example: type "ilt" then space and you can have it change automatically to "I'll be late tonight" or whatever you want it. Many of them are pre-programmed, try ld- locat date lt-local time, mypin- the blackberry pin and many many others.
Seriously, you really have no idea.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Actually Smart Keyboard Pro does this for Android. This is one of the reasons I use that keyboard instead of the native one. Yes..it isn't done natively..but it can be done.

[belfastdispatcher]

Actually Smart Keyboard Pro does this for Android. This is one of the reasons I use that keyboard instead of the native one. Yes..it isn't done natively..but it can be done.

Good to see them catching up, doesn't matter if it's standard or not, free or not as long as it works.

Does it work in any part of the phone though or just for certain apps?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Rickroller]

Good to see them catching up, doesn't matter if it's standard or not, free or not as long as it works.

Does it work in any part of the phone though or just for certain apps?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

No..it fully integrates into the phone. With Android..you can have multiple keyboards..such as the native one..Swype..SmartKeyboard PRo etc..as many as you'd like..and then you can just go into your keyboard settings and select whichever one you want to use..and then it's done. Integrates into everything as if it was the native one.

EDIT: With the virtual keyboards in android you can customize your "long press" durations, your key heights, your domain editor key's (.com key), the transparency's, layouts etc. Pretty much anything and everything can be customized to your preference.

[belfastdispatcher]

No..it fully integrates into the phone. With Android..you can have multiple keyboards..such as the native one..Swype..SmartKeyboard PRo etc..as many as you'd like..and then you can just go into your keyboard settings and select whichever one you want to use..and then it's done. Integrates into everything as if it was the native one.

How does it handle other languages? I must tell an android m8 about it.

That was one of the things I appreciated on the Storm2 by the way, suretype for portrait single handed typing and qwerty for landscape. Didn't support romanian language though and it was a right pain in the arse even for the shortest messages.

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[Rickroller]

How does it handle other languages? I must tell an android m8 about it.

That was one of the things I appreciated on the Storm2 by the way, suretype for portrait single handed typing and qwerty for landscape. Didn't support romanian language though and it was a right pain in the arse even for the shortest messages.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I'm not sure about the language support tbh. I know after installing it I had to go into the Android market and download a language pack for it (english for me obviously lol) so I'm sure there are others available..I just never bothered to look. And yes..you can also customize your portrait and landscape keyboards..be it Suretype, T9, Qwerty..whichever makes you happy.

EDIT: A quick market search shows me Arabic, Russian, Korean, German, Hungarian, Japanese, Italian, Chinese, French, Hebrew, Portugese, Danish, Swedish, Turkish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech, Polish, Finnish, Bulgarian, Icelandic, Esperanto?, and Ukranian available as language downloads. No pig latin or Leetspeak though

[lssanjose]

Actually Smart Keyboard Pro does this for Android. This is one of the reasons I use that keyboard instead of the native one. Yes..it isn't done natively..but it can be done.

I just started using it late last night, and haven't looked back.

[Mr One 2]

Not sure what so hard about typing on a touch only? I have had my storm for a year and a half and type faster than anyone in my BB group with the curves and the bold series. **** if I want I can type a freakin novel while there on one sentence. I prefer the portrait reduced keyboard. I have also picked up my buddies droid two and type his texts while he's driving without issue. I have helped a lady friend of mine with her curve and couldn't type for nothing on that cramped little keyboard and I also kept trying to touch the screen lol. Just my two cents I expect some change hehehehe !!

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[BoldtotheMax]

IIRC wasn't that worlds fastest typing on a phone done on an Android device, but using swype?

It just wouldn't work well for me, I should know had both a Cliq(granted had physical KB as well.) And a Mytouch 3G and couldn't type for nothing as the keys were not that big, no matter what app for KB virtually I was using. Oh and swpe, that was a no go. It just seems to come down to my big hands/thumbs...Just don't get along well with them.

I can bat out a good 40 to 45 wpm...good enough for me.

Pertaining to the OP, if you only browse 20% of the time, then I for certain say stick with BB. Not to mention we "should" be getting some more current phones to keep up with the Jones' in 11'...

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[Xopher]

I did a lot of typing on my Tour. I mean a lot. Between nine e-mail accounts, chatting on BBM, AIM, GT, MSN, YM, Skype........ SMS messages to my kids, and so on, my BB rarely ever left my hand. During phone calls, I would take notes (awesome BB feature BTW). "I Love BlackBerry" app showed me averaging close to six hours per day of use, but I was running my business off of it.

I can definitely say two things:
1) I was a lot faster at typing on my BlackBerry, especially with all of the extra autotext entries I created.
2) The tips of my fingers were always numb by the end of the day. They felt like they did after my first week of guitar lessons.

I still carry the Tour with me, even though it isn't my daily driver. I still use it to take notes now and then, and pull up reference information that I haven't transferred over to my SGS yet.

With Android, I notice a few things:
1) I do type slower. Maybe it is just having the SGS for a month now, maybe it is me trying out different keyboards, but it is a slower process for me to type.
2) I miss autotext. I'll have to try Smart Keyboard out (I've tried a few others).
3) I'm getting to like Swype. It's pretty wild that it can figure out what I am typing, and I don't have to worry about spelling as much.
4) My fingers don't go numb by the end of the day.
5) Typing on the Tour keyboard seems a little bit cramped. I still type pretty quick, but my fingers don't seem to flow as quickly as they did when I used it for hours every day.

If what you do is mostly typing, I would probably stay with BlackBerry. If you can try out a touch-screen keyboard for a week or so, you might get a feeling of what it will be like to not have a physical keyboard. If you browse the web, play media, want games, then moving to a device with a larger screen might be a good option.

[iN8ter]

Wow, you really have no idea about blackberry do you? Autotext is not what you think, Android doesn't have it. You can program it when you type a letter or two then hit space the text will be changed to what ever you want, even a sentence, example: type "ilt" then space and you can have it change automatically to "I'll be late tonight" or whatever you want it. Many of them are pre-programmed, try ld- locat date lt-local time, mypin- the blackberry pin and many many others.
Seriously, you really have no idea.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

The Android keyboard has a list on top of it. Hitting the word you want is as easy as hitting space on the Blackberry keyboard. The Android keyboard's implementation of this is better because it does not rely on the user "programming" it. In most cases nothing needs to be done. You can type 90% of your emails/texts on the Android keyboard, misspell half of the words on the keyboard, and omit 90% of the punctuation (double space to put a period and a space like on Blackberry works on the Stock Android 2.1 keyboard) and your text will come out correct.

I know what AutoText is. I've tried it and I used it to get my mother's pin over to my device when I was there the other day.

Most people use more than a few phrases when they communicate with others :P

AutoText is nice and all but it's worse than predictive text because any new phrase you can think of putting in the phone is likely not to be there when you first need to put it, and then it causes you to have to memorize countless letter combinations (as intuitive as you may make them) to maximize your efficiency with the keyboard.

[iN8ter]

IIRC wasn't that worlds fastest typing on a phone done on an Android device, but using swype?

It just wouldn't work well for me, I should know had both a Cliq(granted had physical KB as well.) And a Mytouch 3G and couldn't type for nothing as the keys were not that big, no matter what app for KB virtually I was using. Oh and swpe, that was a no go. It just seems to come down to my big hands/thumbs...Just don't get along well with them.

I can bat out a good 40 to 45 wpm...good enough for me.

Pertaining to the OP, if you only browse 20% of the time, then I for certain say stick with BB. Not to mention we "should" be getting some more current phones to keep up with the Jones' in 11'...

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Some college kid beat it on youtube using something that resembled the iOS keyboard in portrait. I have never seen anyone type so fast. The Sound Feedback from the keyboard sounded like a machine gun.

I linked the video in another thread I'm too lazy to look for atm :P

[ModderXstatic]

I just dropped my HTC Touch Pro 2 for my Blackberry 8330. The touch screen was very nice but it is very unproductive if you are not on a smooth ride. Not only that but the Blackberry's are much more sturdy, not to mention much more easy to repair if something does break. (If you are handly and want to do it yourself. They are very simply to work on and change housings.) The Touch Pro 2 has a Windows Mobile OS on it and it was very laggy, and that had a faster processor than the iPhone 4 does. But maybe the OS on that makes it better.

[captmorgan1975]

The Iphone is pretty awesome, but does have a big pricetag. To me it's not worth the money. I have a Torch and absolutely love it. It to me is just as good as the Iphone AND it has a key pad, which to me is important. I do not like all touch screen.

[belfastdispatcher]

I would imagine the OP has made a decision by now

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[zwoof]

I'm definitely getting the iPhone as soon as possible now that verizon is carrying them. The BB Bold is definitely the wrong phone for me.

1. Terrible webbrowsing experience which is unacceptable with an expensive data plan. What's the point having a lousy browser where web surfing is nearly impossible. The new webkit browser is nothing to write home about. That's the biggest reason

2. Small keyboard makes typing difficult. Touch screen keys and screen blows away my current Bold.

3. All I find the BB is, is just an expensive way to text and e-mail. I could do the same functions with a RAZR and the RAZR has better display and bigger keys.

Definitely assess what you want in a smartphone.

[Jean-luc_Picard]

Lol..not sure what world i'm living in..but I can assure you..MOST people can type quicker using a virtual keyboard using some sort of predictive text software than people on a physical keyboard. I know SOME people prefer the physical..and for them they can type quicker..but don't make assumptions.

Here's a link comparing Swiftkey (on Android) vs the native virtual keyboard (on Android).



EDIT: This dude is crazy fast on his BB though..I will say that!

So your excuse for why Android is better is that it does one of the same features as BB, but done differently? Blackberry keyboards are good enough to make up for that small amount of speed you'd gain from that, and who would actually be able to quickly read all of the suggestions and pick the right one quickly but wouldn't be able to type quickly? I comfortably type at around 60 wpm on my BB, but on my iPod touch (which I've used for around 5x as long) I can only do 20-25 wpm, and even that can be pushing it depending on the words... Use whatever keyboard you want, but I just find that the only virtual keyboard that works for me is the SureType one. I can't even use landscape keyboards very well, and the SureType one is terrible for web browsing, so I need a physical one for that, so the Torch is the only phone that works properly for me.

[Jean-luc_Picard]

Not sure what so hard about typing on a touch only? I have had my storm for a year and a half and type faster than anyone in my BB group with the curves and the bold series. **** if I want I can type a freakin novel while there on one sentence. I prefer the portrait reduced keyboard. I have also picked up my buddies droid two and type his texts while he's driving without issue. I have helped a lady friend of mine with her curve and couldn't type for nothing on that cramped little keyboard and I also kept trying to touch the screen lol. Just my two cents I expect some change hehehehe !!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

That's because you were using your SureType keyboard. Perfect for messaging, horrible for browsing.

[Blacklatino]

I am due for a new phone and strongly considering switching to an iphone 4. Is there any reason why I shouldn't?

My use is about 50% text and BBM, 30% phone and 20% web browsing

I had talked myself out of the iphone because I use BBM all the time. Then 4 of my BBM contacts switched to iphone in less than a month! My wife - who gets most of the BBM time - is still on a BB. I had still decided against iphone so I still had BBM but then was enlightened to whatsapp? for iphone and it looks to do pretty well the same job.

I also don't know what the call quality is like on the iphone. I am very impressed with my curves call quality - best phone I have ever had as far as that goes - and don't want to end up with a phone with poor call quality.

I was going to go to the Bold 9780 or Torch, but lately I have started to waiver.

If I should switch to iphone, tell me that. If theres many valid reasons to stay with BB, let me hear 'em!!! I have read and watched many reviews and comparisons and I just can't decide!

As stated, you've read and watched many reviews and still can't decide. but, it's your money and your decision. Blackberries are not for everyone. So, your best deciding factor is "hands-on" with the devices. Most on here will tell you to get a Blackberry. I say get whatever best fits your needs for a smartphone.

[johnkey]

If the Storm 3 (or whatever they call it) were to be released the same day as the Iphone, I wouldn't even consider the Iphone.

[Wamp Wamp]

If you can live without BBM and the hardware keyboard then to me it's a no brainer to switch to the iPhone 4.

[djphotography]

I am leaning heavily towards the 9780.

Realistically, I need a phone thats durable and functional for text, email etc. The more I look at it, the iphone4 is a "cool to have" gadget, that may not necessarily fit my need for functionality in my main areas of need (phone, text, email), but I think its flashiness and wide range of apps caught my attention more than anything.

I have starting reading through the 9780 forum, and see alot of similiar complaints about "stuttering" keyboard issues, quality control with assembly, and other small problems that seem common. Is this stuff that BB has addressed? I can't seem to find anything to that effect, but I am sure like anything else, once the issue has been fixed at the manufacturing level the people who get the new, problem free devices never post about how "normally" their phone functions.

I have a few small wear & tear, and age related problems with my Curve. Nothing terrible but am able to upgrade my device with my carrier so I thought I would take advantage of it. I just don't want to give up my BB that works perfectly 95% of the time for a new device and find out I have more issues with the new phone than I did the old.....

[BoldtotheMax]

I'm definitely getting the iPhone as soon as possible now that verizon is carrying them. The BB Bold is definitely the wrong phone for me.

1. Terrible webbrowsing experience which is unacceptable with an expensive data plan. What's the point having a lousy browser where web surfing is nearly impossible. The new webkit browser is nothing to write home about. That's the biggest reason

2. Small keyboard makes typing difficult. Touch screen keys and screen blows away my current Bold.

3. All I find the BB is, is just an expensive way to text and e-mail. I could do the same functions with a RAZR and the RAZR has better display and bigger keys.

Definitely assess what you want in a smartphone.

Yep it assesses how different each person is and what you value more.

I have had quite a few phones, even an older iPhone that lacked basic features...Androids in mytouch3G and Cliq, many BB's and IMHO a lot of people really do need to just get what is the latest and greatest and fall for a lot of market BS, especially the iPhone sheepers...

I browse along just fine on os6 on a 9700, which is a small screen and I am on the browser all day on work related days. ****, dare I say I browsed fine on os5...

We are talking several seconds in speed people...I have compared a lot to the phones I used and even with friends and while I may be behind some in speed, it is only a matter of seconds...so that renders a phone useless? Lol!

Some people need to come down to this thing called reality or just have a tad bit of patience. Is the browser saving a life or something? (Waits for it!)

Oh and my computer is lighting fast....like flipping a page...and yet the speed on my BB don't bother me....

Now onto the keyboard...I highly doubt RIM would have done so well if it wasn't for the awesome keyboards they put out. So you my friend would be in the minority....that or just clumsy...I wear a 13" ring finger, so you can imagine how big my thumbs are...I just typed all of this on my 9700 and in a matter of a minute or so...gasp! Must have Frankenstein hands!

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