[Denise in Los Angeles]

I would NEVER switch from BlackBerry. I know I would miss it too much, so why torture myself in that way?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[islandfever2009]

1. The keyboard- I came from a Palm centro and I loved that form factor.
2. Data Compression
3.BBM
4. Battery Life
5.The keyboard/form factor
6. Love the communications aspect about it.

The Palm Centro was my first qwerty keyboard device, and that's one of the main reasons I've stuck with BB.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[chiefbroski]

Why I chose BB: In 2009, iphone plans were significantly more expensive than a bb plan.
Why I'm still with BB: Free tethering with PB, Wife will kill me if I don't have bbm, work email only works with BB, I can get away with 500 mb plans

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Rootbrian]

Compressed data, replaceable battery and memory card slot, great e-mail and battery life and the physical keyboard.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[BitPusher2600]

I choose Blackberry over Android because it is in every way 10x more secure a platform than Android will ever be. Also, the linux kernel is a joke, a horrible jumble of code. Android is terribly fragmented and just for fun, you have to "root" it to customize how you interact with it and how it really looks. I'm also not one of these losers that need to pirate .99 apps. I do also prefer to get a lot more than half to 3/4 a day out of my smartphone, and believe me, my usage is super heavy. So in short, comparatively speaking, superior battery.

I choose BlackBerry over iPhone because I like being able to plug my phone into any computer anywhere and be able to access my data via mass storage. Being tied to iTunes to do anything with your data is bulls*it. You have to make a lot of serious holes in your security (which I would bet a lot of these younger folks don't understand the scope of) in order to "jailbreak" their phone so they can get apps from other sources besides iTunes. Open those ssh holes to pirate low cost apps and be able to customize your gui. Rofl. There are some functions that can be performed on an iPhone that can only happen from jailbreaking and specialized apps, but for someone who practically lives and manages their life on my smartphone, the sacrifice and risks aren't remotely worth it to me.

BlackBerry allows you to install apps from anywhere that has compatible apps, and through the massive capabilities of themeing, you can drastically change the appearance and experience of your user interface.

All the reasoning in this jumble of a thread is why I choose BlackBerry, and you notice (until this sentence) I didn't say squat about BBM, and I'm not a professional or even have a college degree. Just a regular guy. Age 29.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[qbnkelt]

1: Keyboard
2: BBM
3: Google Talk (I hate how iphone operates Gtalk)
4: email interface
5: looks (I love the look compared to the other phones...the other devices are too pretty)
6: external battery/external memory vs iphone
7: interface is more organized compared to iOS/Android
8: hate the lack of a "back" button on iOS
9: lack of "better than thou" attitude associate with the iOS. Its a tool, not a lifestyle. :P

OK, this just about says it for me. Except for:

I don't use Google Talk
I dislike the insistence some users of other platforms have that I *must* love their device of choice. I don't. I don't *have* to.
Notifications on the BB are exactly what I need
Profiles are exactly what I need
I don't want to have to root or jailbreak my device to get it to do what I want. BB does what I want exactly how I want it done. Especially with OS7.
Oh yah....this will ruffle some feathers....SECURITY. 'Nuff said on that. Read the papers and you'll see monthly reports of vulnerabilities in other platforms. There have been two for BB in the whole of the time that I've used them.
Each time I've used something else I come back, begging my BB's forgiveness for my indiscretion. I think that tells me something about what I like.

[olblueyez]

Too many secrets in this world, if someone wants to sit and dig through my Blackberry that's fine, pack a lunch and make a day of it.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Iceman]

I just love the simplicity of the blackberry devices. I decided on the berry years ago and am sticking with it.

[TgeekB]

I just love the simplicity of the blackberry devices. I decided on the berry years ago and am sticking with it.

I think simplicity is the key word. What do you really want your smartphone to do for you? Sure, some of the things I could do on my Android was neat...for a while. Then I didn't use it much at all. The things I do daily are email, Twitter, calendar, notes, etc. These things are easiest and simple on BB.

[olblueyez]

I'm with Iceman & tgeekb, it is perfect at what I need without tons of useless garbage piled on more garbage. Customizing the UI is mucho importante for me.

Gotta run, Tony Bennet is singing "Just the way you look tonight" on Pandora and he needs a check mark!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[flash24]

1. Keyboard
2. BBM
3. Instant Push
4. Email
5. Simplicity
6. Productivity
7. More professional looking

[Manic99]

Ditto to that. I am totally lost without BB and Playbook at my side. Love everything about it.

[o4liberty]

I had android for over two years and bb before that. The navigation and keyboard on a bb is so much nicer. Plus its a safer device concerning your information. Don't get me wrong android devices can do so much more than a bb but bb can do things that android can't do!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[trsbbs]

I don't play games. (mind games maybe)
I must have timely emails and ease of emailing.
Texting is important. Keeps me in touch with the family and work.
I need something smallish. Not some big slab of glass.
Must have a secure phone. BB and their encryption is great.
Droids do not work with my PlayBook.

I purchased new phones for both of my daughters. One got a Droid Merge the other a Driod Mesmerize. Both seem nice, but just not for me.

Tim

[nickdalzell1]

My reasons:

I had both iPhone and an Android tablet. The Android was slooow. With even an 800 MHz CPU, (the BB Curve has a 300 MHz and is much faster go figure!) The resistive touch screen could not tell the difference between a scroll swipe and a tap. To add insult it had a tendency to lag as well as freeze and self reboot. (Which happened on a post as large as this one which would be lost of course) and it just lagged and if playing an MP3 and browsing the web, it cut out and was unplayable. Keep in mind this is an 800 MHz CPU compared to the Curve's paltry 300 MHz and I can play MP3s as well as Madden NFL 2011 without choppiness or lag on my Curve

The iPhone, while faster, lacked true multitasking. ITunes is required to transfer music to the iPod app. No SD card slot (c'mon Apple!) And a seriously weak battery. While typing was easier (due to a capacitive vs. The droid's resistive touchscreen) things meant to save time like autocorrect made things actually harder. Unlike the 'Berry, though, you could download apps with just wifi only (for reasons unknown, App World won't work with wifi it needs cellular coverage, and 3G at that)
My Curve is my first BlackBerry and the only one affordable as well as sporting a simple yet efficient OS which I prefer, as well as a seriously cheap, unlimited BIS plan for places lacking wifi coverage. I LOVE how easy it is to type on it, the memory card is a godsend, and the battery beats any other smartphone out there. I think my Curve is one that is a keeper.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[bricenm]

1. Efficiency
2. Simplicity
3. Keyboard
4. Security
5. Stylishness (is that a word? LOL)
6. Data compression
7. Blinking LED message indicator
8. E-mail
9. Reliability
10. Battery

and for #11....it's an awesome companion to my PlayBook. I feel naked at the office without the two of them together or near each other.

[nickdalzell1]

sadly my blinking LED quit. it still lights up and pulses if the device is off and charging, but for reasons unknown it quit flashing for messages. i have to unlock the keypad or hit 'back' to check it if locked

[thecolorifix]

I was last on this site Sep 13th 2008, and I've just come back after many years of Androids (got the G1 as soon as it came out).

The reason I'm using a Blackberry right now is cause I could get one on Craigslist for 70 bucks after I bricked my Vibrant trying to load a new bootloader. Now, I can get an Android on CL for $70, but not one that is halfway decent at this point.

So when I killed my android I borrowed my old Curve 8320 from my mom (who has a Vibrant now) and remembered how much I loved physical keyboards and how much quicker/easier messaging and other basic functions were on a BB. Also, I was really enjoying the limitations of the platform, on my Android I was constantly getting distracted with an app or a setting or something else I wanted to do. Most people wouldn't count it as a positive but I tend to waste hours playing with my phone so to have the scope of what I can do limited a bit is actually good for me. But the 8320 is ancient in 2011 mobile terms, and I'd like to be able to do a LITTLE bit more. Plus it kept freezing up on me.

So I hit up craigslist and found a Curve 3G 9300 for $70. Now it turns out that the speaker is a bit messed up and the call quality is very tinny because of it, but luckily talking is what I do the LEAST on my phone. I got a phone with 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi, UMA (which I REALLY missed in my t-mobile deadzone) for 70 bucks! The GPS works faster than ANY Android I've used (never used an iPhone for more then a minute) and is very accurate. I'm writing WAY more on my phone now that I have a physical keyboard again, and I really like the KB on this Curve. So I was pretty damn satisfied with the phone when I come back to look at Crackberry and realized there was an OS upgrade that I didn't have, from 5 to 6. Now I've got a few gripes about 6 (menu button behavior on the homescreen) but I haven't done enough research yet to know if I can tweak the things I don't like.

So overall it's been a pretty pleasant experience coming back to BB but I have a feeling when I have a little more money and there's a sweet Android with a physical keyboard (though I think I like BB keyboards the best) I'll probably switch back. Especially since I've invested a fair amount of money in apps. Though I've also thought of just keeping my phone a BB and getting a 7 or 10 inch Android tablet for surfing. Cause lord knows I'm not buying that playbook POS until email/calendar works without tether and it's like $200 or less.

[Rootbrian]

@thecolorifix Why call the playbook a piece of **** because it lacks those two features?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Solidus433]

I use BB's because iPhones have never impresssed me, and Android, in my opinion, is geared for the people who have to one up their friends with the "best phone in the world" (for about two days until a new one is released.)

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[thecolorifix]

@thecolorifix Why call the playbook a piece of **** because it lacks those two features?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Oh that's not the only reason.

Don't get me wrong, QNX seems like it will be rad when it's actually finished, but the Playbook seems like a rush job to me. There's no apps, battery life isn't great, no size option, and then the worst decision I've ever heard of, which I mentioned above.

[csickgrind]

Qwerty keyboard, bbm, flow in between apps, emails, bbm, texts is seamless, the menu button is god, and I like the over resources on the phone, and the option to ota download instead of always hitting the app store

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[blackberry-unlocking710]

I like the keyboard and the secured network but those things are not what's makes me a Blackberry fan - what i really like is the style, it's not iphone "toy-like" and it's not samsung "like others like" it's a Blackberry - it's smart, slick, easy to use, got all what i REALLY need from my mobile phone and it's works great for me.

[msd58]

I have BB because the Droids have tough time connecting to our MDamon pop server at work. If that were not the case I would a Droid in heartbeat. I have a new Blackberry Torch 9850. Drastic improvement over the Storm 1 I had but the iPhone and Droids phones have nothing to worry about as competition from BB at the moment .

[jerry12]

Key Board
Security
easy to use
Stability of the OS