Those Who Have Left Blackberry: Why?

I'm trying to understand what exactly is driving Blackberry users to switch. I know there is an entire thread about this, but I want to simply ask in this thread for the reasons why you switched.

I am currently a Playbook owner but thinking as well of jumping ship, but I wanted to know the main reasons for switching for everyone else.

I'll start, as I recently switched my phone to a Nexus:

1. Lack of apps
2. Inferior hardware
3. Frequent battery pulls

P.S. Please bear in mind I am not trying to start a flame war of sorts. I just need itemized answers like the above. I'm trying to make a study on my own and co-relate it to the new CEO's recent statements.

Thanks for your help everyone.

There is already a thread. Why are you trying to start a troll war?

None of the problems you mentioned are present in the OS7 devices or OS 6. Even The Bold 9700 or going as far back as Blackberry 8800 and pearls 9100 these issues were not there. You are in need of an Apple. Go buy one and stop trying to generate stuff here.

Believe me when I tell you I'm not trying to start a troll war. The question is actually directed towards those who have left Blackberry but still linger in these forums.

I was a 9900 user prior to leaving and prior to it bricking one morning, it was becoming too laggy to use unless I did a battery pull- which happened more frequently than I would have wanted, so I don't believe your statements .

I have an iPhone 4 and I preffer for daily use my BB 9780. I don't miss my iPhone, because I can do whatever I need (Whatsapp, internet browsing, email... ) and I have for BB the apps I use (Shazam, flash lantern, TuneIn Radio, Evernote, Dropbox, etc...). Yes, there are a lot of apps that finally I don't use for iPhone (and most of the people neither) and I can't change the feeling and the confort of use and full qwerty keyboard (I hate and made a lot of mistakes everytime I have to text more thant two sentences on my iPhone).

Originally Posted by paris.williams

Believe me when I tell you I'm not trying to start a troll war. The question is actually directed towards those who have left Blackberry but still linger in these forums.

I was a 9900 user prior to leaving and prior to it bricking one morning, it was becoming too laggy to use unless I did a battery pull- which happened more frequently than I would have wanted, so I don't believe your statements .

I have been using a 9900 since launch and its running perfectly. I know of 5 other 9900's that are running perfectly. So I don't believe your statements.
Maybe you got a lemon. Get it changed and leave it there. If you are still dissatisfied then buy something else which suits your needs. You want advice on some other device go to the appropriate forum, you will get better responses and knowledge there.

But if you come to a BB fan site and start stirring sh*t then you will be called out for being what you are.

So I literally went through every post on the "For those who have left...." thread (stickied) and it seems the distribution percentage wise is like this:


Lack of apps - 48%
Software limitations � 21%
Battery life � 12%
Hardware issues (i.e. bricking)- 11%
Truncated e-mail � 3%
Lack of significant software updates � 3%
Poor support from telco � 2%
TOTAL: 100%

I wanted to create a Parreto chart using the above information and send it to Thorsten Heins himself.

You all think this is supposed to be a flame war post or troll thing when in fact, I truly want to help RIM by putting the numbers together and send it to RIM so that we can help save Blackberry.

I used to depend on my Blackberry for my work. Sadly I have moved on but have stayed to root for RIM. But I love rooting for the underdog, I really do.

It is sad to see how people instantly react to posts like these, like people are very defensive.

Originally Posted by paris.williams

Believe me when I tell you I'm not trying to start a troll war. The question is actually directed towards those who have left Blackberry but still linger in these forums.

I was a 9900 user prior to leaving and prior to it bricking one morning, it was becoming too laggy to use unless I did a battery pull- which happened more frequently than I would have wanted, so I don't believe your statements .

Looking at your post history, I would conclude that the opposite is true.

I wont say anything for you to change your mind.

Come on guys, let's root for RIM! I say we put this list together and let the new CEO know that we're behind him! But we need to put together a list of things he needs to change for RIM to succeed!

I bought the 9900 as soon as it became available last year. I was excited to have BlackBerry again. Everyone here knows all of the great aspects of that phone. I still miss the keyboard and certain phone/calling functions. But, like the OP, I changed phones. I sold the 9900 three weeks after getting it. I got a Sensation while waiting for the Galaxy S II. I have subsequently grown tired of T-Mobile and switched to a Galaxy Nexus on Verizon.

I got rid of the 9900 due to:
1. Poor battery life
2. Lack of basic top-tier applications
3. The improved browser is still seriously lacking
4. Reliability
5. Cost of service
6. Camera
7. Overall experience

There are still things BlackBerry does better. Sadly, that list is getting quite short at this point.

Thank you SO much JNM! I will compile this list as we go along. I need more answers like these, they are truly helpful!

P.S.- The words "top tier" applications actually caught my attention. What for you are "top tier" applications? This will be VERY helpful for me in my research.

Originally Posted by Qbnkelt

Looking at your post history, I would conclude that the opposite is true.

I'm not going to convince you otherwise.

But can I just say that you have such an adorable dog!!! :-) What breed is that?

Originally Posted by paris.williams

So I literally went through every post on the "For those who have left...." thread (stickied) and it seems the distribution percentage wise is like this:


Lack of apps - 48%
Software limitations � 21%
Battery life � 12%
Hardware issues (i.e. bricking)- 11%
Truncated e-mail � 3%
Lack of significant software updates � 3%
Poor support from telco � 2%
TOTAL: 100%

I wanted to create a Parreto chart using the above information and send it to Thorsten Heins himself.

You all think this is supposed to be a flame war post or troll thing when in fact, I truly want to help RIM by putting the numbers together and send it to RIM so that we can help save Blackberry.

I used to depend on my Blackberry for my work. Sadly I have moved on but have stayed to root for RIM. But I love rooting for the underdog, I really do.

It is sad to see how people instantly react to posts like these, like people are very defensive.

Everyone knows that BB has less apps than the others, but most of us are not in an app race with our friends. It's all about what you use your smart phone for and how it works for you. BB does everything I need it to do efficiently and securely.

Nothing personal but I don't think the CEO needs us to compile a list for him, if he is not aware of this he shouldn't be in the position.

I left because of poor service/support (related to AppWorld). If I'm spending money and investing in their eco-system I expect AppWorld to work as advertised and not merely be told "you'll have to purchase the apps again". Hopefully this is a rare occurance or RIM will be in big trouble.

I am not due an upgrade as yet but currently in addition to my 9800 that I'm still using on contract I have an HTC Desire to test out Android.

It's fair to say (other than the keyboard) that Android seems to do or be able to do what my BB does but that's not quite the same the other way round.

On the Android I have a Dropbox app that I can upload to and from, I have Skype, I have Teamviewer not to mention a much better Facebook app.

The options for the BB are just not there. The dropbox app doesn't allow me full upload and download except photos, there is no option of Skype, there is no option of Teamviewer and the FB app doesn't even handle my inbox messages never mind the rest of what the Andriod app does.

And yes I know that my 9800 is now an old model but to be fair so to is the HTC Desire. And my girlfriend has a 9900 running OS7, this is the current flagship model and that makes no difference to the issues I've pointed out above. The only thing the OS7 phone can do that my OS6 phone doesn't is Wi-Fi hotspot but doesn't address the Teamviewer, Skype issues.

One word: MARKETING

Originally Posted by paris.williams

I'm trying to understand what exactly is driving Blackberry users to switch. I know there is an entire thread about this, but I want to simply ask in this thread for the reasons why you switched.

I am currently a Playbook owner but thinking as well of jumping ship, but I wanted to know the main reasons for switching for everyone else.

I'll start, as I recently switched my phone to a Nexus:

1. Lack of apps
2. Inferior hardware
3. Frequent battery pulls

P.S. Please bear in mind I am not trying to start a flame war of sorts. I just need itemized answers like the above. I'm trying to make a study on my own and co-relate it to the new CEO's recent statements.

Thanks for your help everyone.

I can think of a pile to compose. :rolleyes:

So far you've come to a BlackBerry forum, and post after post has been directing it's members to switch over to another platform. I suggest you gather together an understanding of why you've done that, and put it into words. Shoot that over to Heins,not that he needs your input.

What should have happened, was you coming to this forum to find out how to resolve your issues with your 9900. Would have made this all much more believable.