[jimboyarguelles]

Oh and to add. Im not sure where you got the idea that the screens lose sensitivity but the Nexus screen is brilliant. I actually type more comfortably as there are no physical buttons so my thumbs just tap with ease.

Again, I hope you end up with the phone that suits you.

[FuzzyB]

To the OP.

Im not sure why you are limited to an HTC phone. But if I were you, I suggest you get a Galaxy Nexus.

I have both the Nexus and the 9900. I use the Nexus as my primary phone and the 9900 as a secondary phone as I have contacts who use BBM.

Until recently the 9900 was fine, it was pretty good with emails and BBM. The LED notification light is also cool. However recently it has started to reboot during phone calls and it seems I have done all steps to resolve. I was hoping to get help on this site and started to read other threads and there have been so many complaints. Also I have a cousin with a 9810 and she regrets the purchase.

The Nexus on the other hand has been flawless. It is running Ice Cream Sandwich which is the latest Android build. Aside from a very slick and sophisticated UI, it has been flawless and bug free from day one. No reboots, no bricking, and surprisingly battery wise it outlasts my 9900.

It can do everything my 9900 can do except BBM. Im not sure if video calling is important to you but no Blackberry can do that.

The phone is so fast that you get more done. At first I didnt care about apps but now that I have this, it seems like a bonus to have an app for everything- something the Blackberry also lacks.

This is an unbiased recommendation. I really wanted to like Blackberry again, but sad to say Im starting to regret it. So if you want a reliable phone with advanced technology and a healthy ecosystem, I recommend the Nexus.

Hope this helped.

It depends on what you are trying to get done....I communicate a lot on my bb (phone, text, email, bbm, etc.) and I will say there is no way Android is faster and more efficient than the Bold 9930 at this. It may be better at other things, but this is not one of them.

[jimboyarguelles]

Do you own both a Blackberry and Android? Not to be argumentative here, but I own both and can make an objective statement here.

My Nexus has practically every single instant messaging application there is, and does it faster and better than my 9900. It runs seamlessly in the background and multitasks very well (look at ICS videos to see).

I get better e-mail experience as there is none of the truncated e-mails that happen on my 9900. I get to send very large attachments. I get all my e-mails faster at times, if not the same time (I have email accounts set up on both).

Aside from the phone being faster and more fluid (my 9900 for some reason has gotten slower, I have to kill several apps to make it okay again), the UI just looks heaps better too, but that is a bit subjective I have to admit.

Phone calls? Oh yeah my Nexus can do it very well. My 9900 has been rebooting in the middle of every call and I tried to come here to seek for help and I'm amazed at a lot of the negativity happening around here.

I'd be glad to see what you say about it though- objectively, how is the BB better at communicating?

[jimboyarguelles]

And speaking of security, does BBOS allow me to password lock individual apps such as photos or text messaging?

Another concern I have is that I read somewhere that when you lock the screen and put the phone in your pocket, the phone will wake up if a button on the keyboard is pressed and run the battery down. Is there a way I can have both the screen and keyboard be unresponsive when I push the lock key at the top?

On the 9900 I couldn't find an app to lock individual apps and hide SMS, or maybe I just missed it.

On the Nexus (or Android for that matter), there are a number of free apps that do this very well.

[FuzzyB]

Currently no. But have in the past. Sounds like Nexus is a nice machine that I have yet to experience...but it also sounds like you have a problematic 9900. Mine on the other hand is flawless (except Bluetooth)...I know the truncated email is still an issue but frankly, I don't deal with many large email attachments. With the keyboard/ touch combo and the os giving me absolutely no trouble I can't see how any device can be faster or more efficient...also, my emails are instant most of the time....I also can't see how you could possibly type out an email, text, etc on a droid nearly as fast as a 9900 with that keyboard.

Again, no knock on any other device but for my situation bb reigns supreme.

Do you own both a Blackberry and Android? Not to be argumentative here, but I own both and can make an objective statement here.

My Nexus has practically every single instant messaging application there is, and does it faster and better than my 9900. It runs seamlessly in the background and multitasks very well (look at ICS videos to see).

I get better e-mail experience as there is none of the truncated e-mails that happen on my 9900. I get to send very large attachments. I get all my e-mails faster at times, if not the same time (I have email accounts set up on both).

Aside from the phone being faster and more fluid (my 9900 for some reason has gotten slower, I have to kill several apps to make it okay again), the UI just looks heaps better too, but that is a bit subjective I have to admit.

Phone calls? Oh yeah my Nexus can do it very well. My 9900 has been rebooting in the middle of every call and I tried to come here to seek for help and I'm amazed at a lot of the negativity happening around here.

I'd be glad to see what you say about it though- objectively, how is the BB better at communicating?

[sleepngbear]

The fact that BB keeps my info secure and allows me to backup my phone daily is a huge appeal to me. I hear that RIM is thinking of switching to an Android platform in the future though, will that make the current Bold worthless when it happens?

Absolutely no way RIM is going to switch to Android. It's a pipedream that has zero basis in reality, so just put that thought right out of your head.

I've been a BB user for several years and I personally have no desire whatsoever to use an Adroid device, so my opinion on your original question will be extremely biased. However, I will say that my 9900 has been perfectly solid, and each new OS I've installed has only made it better. It just works and does whatever I need it to do simply and intuitively.

Beyond that, the best advice has already been given - try a bunch of models yourself and see which one calls out to you.

[Tre Lawrence]

I've owned both, and I am way more efficient on an Android touchscreen too.

A lot of BB users cannot wrap their mind around it, but I type faster on either of my virtual keyboards than I do on a physical BB.

But again, depends on one's needs.

Mobile post via Tapatalk

[_StephenBB81]

I've owned both, and I am way more efficient on an Android touchscreen too.

A lot of BB users cannot wrap their mind around it, but I type faster on either of my virtual keyboards than I do on a physical BB.

But again, depends on one's needs.

Mobile post via Tapatalk

Very much depends on what users type,
swype has made typing in a single language using primarily dictionary words as fast or faster than the average typing speed.

Start mixing languages, and start mixing alphanumeric and currency into long emails and the typing speed swype adds is gone, but isn't gone for the physical keyboarder.

[sam_b77]

Very much depends on what users type,
swype has made typing in a single language using primarily dictionary words as fast or faster than the average typing speed.

Start mixing languages, and start mixing alphanumeric and currency into long emails and the typing speed swype adds is gone, but isn't gone for the physical keyboarder.

True. In India we routinely type Hindi words in the english alphabet. SWYPE goes nuts there.

[Sawyerdoodle]

My son and I both had/have the HTC Incredible 2. I do alot of texting and receive a ton of e-mail and did not like the virtual keyboard (and battery drain) I bought a bb8530 and gave mine to my son who is in college. He recently had an upgrade and after testing the 9930 dropped the htc. He has had no problems with his phone and loves it. My other son also hates his htc but has another year and a half till an upgrade. He is also looking for a replacement. If you do go to test them my advice is to tell the representatives you are just looking. I went in looking to buy a curve and went home with an htc. Don't let a rep pick your phone. Good luck with whatever you end up with!

[FuzzyB]

Don't let a rep pick your phone. Good luck with whatever you end up with!

With any 'big ticket' item you should research it extensively first. With all the information available today a salesman should not be able to completely change your mind...if you've done your homework!

[Sawyerdoodle]

With any 'big ticket' item you should research it extensively first. With all the information available today a salesman should not be able to completely change your mind...if you've done your homework!

Ya know I always do my homework. The htc got good reviews but I liked the keyboard of the curve. All I can say is that he was a good salesman and cute. I was blinded by the looks, lol. When I took my son in I put the blinders on and rebuffed all salepersons. Then went home and bought the 9930 off of amazon for 99 dollars.

ps I am not opposed to another os. I have a mac and I touch but prefer the bb phone. Personal preference.

[noemibendo]

I don't know if I am on the right thread..I am in desperate need of a convincing explanation to my fiance', I told him I broke my blackberry torch 9800 and replaced it with a new one but the problem was, the bbm pin was exactly the same and he seemed not convince and he said I lied to him... O please please help me get a convincing explanation why I have the same pin on my bb, I am an at&t subscriber. HELP!!!!!

[bluz]

Again, why? What exactly makes bbos obsolete?

The OP asked a legitimate question. So far he has been answered by BB users that are able to tell him why they think BB is a viable option and by Android users that offer a statement with nothing to back it up.

use an ANDROID device for a week and you"ll understand !!

[jimboyarguelles]

use an ANDROID device for a week and you"ll understand !!

I wouldnt call the Blackberry OS obsolete, as RIM continues to develop and update it.

However I have to say that compared to both iOS and Android, it is very limited. The web browser for one, while improved, is still inferior to the stock web browser on ny Nexus. It is less customizable and the App World offers few options whereas on iOS and Android, there is an app for everything you need. Mind you they are not just web applications but full functioning apps.

And going back to the OP's question, I still find my 9900's OS very unstable compared to Ice Cream Sandwich which has never lagged nor frozen.

[jimboyarguelles]

I have never used Swype as Ice Cream Sandwich does not support ot yet. There are similar keyboards that we can download but I havent.

As another poster has said, a lot of us didnt really believe typing on a full touchscreen would be better and faster until we tried it.

[jimboyarguelles]

Currently no. But have in the past. Sounds like Nexus is a nice machine that I have yet to experience...but it also sounds like you have a problematic 9900. Mine on the other hand is flawless (except Bluetooth)...I know the truncated email is still an issue but frankly, I don't deal with many large email attachments. With the keyboard/ touch combo and the os giving me absolutely no trouble I can't see how any device can be faster or more efficient...also, my emails are instant most of the time....I also can't see how you could possibly type out an email, text, etc on a droid nearly as fast as a 9900 with that keyboard.

Again, no knock on any other device but for my situation bb reigns supreme.

Prior to the reboot-while-on-a-call issues of my 9900, it was already showing signs of trouble. Navigating through app world was a big cumbersome experience. Swiping through photos was quite laggy. And by coincidence, I was having intermittent problems getting it to connect to my Mac via bluetooth (what is your bluetooth issue?)

I agree that not all Androids are built equally which might explain your thoughts on the subject, which is why I specifically recommended the Nexus running Ice Cream Sandwich to the OP.

I have a slight injury on my thumb at the moment which explains why I need the best typing experience. The Bold keyboard is awesome but still requires some pressure from your fingers. The Nexus has an extremely responsive screen and the keyboard is frighteningly accurate- and it is full touch screen.

Even on paper and specs alone my 9900 is behind the Nexus and the iPhone4s in terms of processing power. The dual core 1.2ghz processor of my Nexus makes everything lightning fast and efficient. I have played a full 1080HD video on it with several apps running simultaneously and a phone call came in- the video paused as I took the call and resumed beautifully when the call ended. And mind you I was downloading a big email attachment at the same time.

Believe me I tried VERY hard to like the 9900. I have tried to be as objective as possible, which I can do as I own both phones to make a recommendation to the OP.

You say you cant imagine anything being more efficient and faster when I dont think you've truly experienced the power of an Android or iOS device to make an objective observation.

Well, Im happy though that your 9900 works for you Ü

[FuzzyB]

The bluetooth issue is when I pair it with my truck it times itself out. No matter how often I repair it it doesn't hold.

As for my experience with others, you are probably right with android but not ios. I honestly like bb's UI better than either. I have an ipad and quite frankly apple just isn't my preferrence.

Its been awhile since I've used android but honestly I always thought most of their devices seemed kinda "cheap". I have yet to look at the nexus though...this is not a flame on droid at all its just been my initial reaction

[SRR500]

use an ANDROID device for a week and you"ll understand !!

I have on two seperate ocations. I'm familiar with android and fail to see what makes it "more advanced" than BB 7.

You still haven't answered my question.

Exactly what makes BB OS "old and stale"?

[tack]

My son and I both had/have the HTC Incredible 2. I do alot of texting and receive a ton of e-mail and did not like the virtual keyboard (and battery drain) I bought a bb8530 and gave mine to my son who is in college. He recently had an upgrade and after testing the 9930 dropped the htc. He has had no problems with his phone and loves it. My other son also hates his htc but has another year and a half till an upgrade. He is also looking for a replacement. If you do go to test them my advice is to tell the representatives you are just looking. I went in looking to buy a curve and went home with an htc. Don't let a rep pick your phone. Good luck with whatever you end up with!

I just traded the Dinc2 for an iPhone due to wanting to unifying the family and just wanting to trade. I thought the Dinc2 was a great phone and with Swiftkey, a great phone for typing. I would say the form factor is the best I have ever experienced. To each his own.

[qbnkelt]

"the bricking issue" is seriously like 1% of the customers, usually people on these forums who have been messing around installing leaked software etc.

the bold is fantastic phone.

Absolutely incorrect.

I've had my 9810 nuke with no leaked OS. I've had my 9930 nuke twice with no leaked OS.

In neither instance was I using any side loaded application. In all three instances I was actively using a phone with plenty of battery using "normal" apps and browsing on stock browser.

Incorrect to summarily discount an existing issue by laying blame on users. As far as the prevalence, I am not aware of any actual numbers, so I don't know where the 1% quoted comes from.

OP - the 9930 is a stellar phone. I am using a refurb and it has been solid since Nov 19th...or thereabouts. It *was* disheartening to suddenly have my phone nuke itself on me.

As far as Android, can't speak to the HTC devices. As far as my Atrix, once I learned how to load certain apps and how to use Task Manager, it has been solid.

Don't know whether your carrier has a grace period to try out devices, but I would take advantage of any such trial period. Be aware that Android devices take effort to customise as you like. BB is ready out of the box.

[Chrisy]

Yeah, the bricking issues isn't from messing with the device. They're spontaneous re boots and then brick or nuke. It happened t CrackBerry Kevin and Chris and I think Shao too.

Not sure why some 99xx owners try to minimize the issue. Some have had their 99xx brick or nuke after 4 months of owning it. You never know when it will happen.

As far as set up out of the box, neither BlackBerry nor Android is. You really have to customize both. But Android offers way more customization so it does take longer initially. Once Android is set up how you want it is super personalized and efficient.

To me, BlackBerry is just a screen with icons on it. Android offers widgets which make it really user friendly and fast to see live info right on the screen.

Both have their strengths and weaknesses. You just have to decide what factors are most important to you. Think about device size, keyboards, notifications, screen size, browser experience, what type of email you have, battery life, spell check vs predictive text, etc.

[jimboyarguelles]

The bluetooth issue is when I pair it with my truck it times itself out. No matter how often I repair it it doesn't hold.

As for my experience with others, you are probably right with android but not ios. I honestly like bb's UI better than either. I have an ipad and quite frankly apple just isn't my preferrence.

Its been awhile since I've used android but honestly I always thought most of their devices seemed kinda "cheap". I have yet to look at the nexus though...this is not a flame on droid at all its just been my initial reaction

The Nexus has a very sleek look but the back cover is flimsy plastic, but feels very sturdy.

My experience with Android has been excellent, but it started with the latest iterations of Gingerbread and now, Ice Cream Sandwich. Maybe years ago they weren't as sophisticated.

I know you were not really flaming Android, I guess we just have difffering experiences on both platforms.

[jimboyarguelles]

To the OP- realizing that you are getting a lot of recommendations here, I thought of helping you out further by making a comparison of three devices that I have observed. I own both the 9900 and Nexus, and have used the iPhone4S for a week.

I tried to make this comparison as objective as possible. Let us know what you decide.





(I made a list of apps that are quite essential, well at least for me, and availability on each OS.)

Also, if you are curious to see how each phone can go beyond the mere phone basics of calling, e-mails and SMS, I also made an app grid availability for you. Some of these apps might be helpful to you, some may not- if you have questions about what these apps can do, let me know.

If you are on unlimited data plan (if you are a student I'm not sure, but who knows), you might like Skype if you have friends / family across the States (or wherever you are from) to call with video.

If anyone sees anything here that is incorrect, please let me know.

[qbnkelt]

Interesting research.
Considering the OP's statements that the primary interests are phone, email and text and not apps, what would be the logic of such a collection of apps, like....say....Skype? Which as a student, given that the app is a data hog, it may be cost prohibitive unless on an unlimited data plan?

Edit: Oh, forgot to add....my 9930 has Skype. I don't use it. It's a data hog that I consider an unnecessary personal luxury.

And last I checked Angry Birds did not aid in communication. As a matter of fact, it hinders communication, since most of those I've ever seen use it are completely absorbed by it. I have it on my Atrix and haven't found it to aid in phone calls, texting or emails.

What I'm saying is that what is "essential" to you is not at all "essential" to everyone. People differ in what they want. And given the OP's own desires, apps such as eBay, Shazam and IMDB are not at all "essential."