[grover5]

I figure there are not enough contentious posts so I decided to introduce another.

This is based on my observations and use. That being said...in the words of Janes Addiction...here we go now.

I think all the platforms are good depending on preference and style. I like BB because it excels at messaging and communication. The old tired argument right? Maybe, but I think the cons are exaggerated.

The old arguments, a year to 6 months ago, were centered around a tired browser for the most part and hardware lacking in relation to the modern offering.

The current browser as well as the improved version of it are on par with what most consumers would need. The new hardware is equal to the competition as well. WHAT?????????

Yep. I said it. I have heard the arguments. In my opinion there is only so much value that can be gained from a 3.2 or 3.8 or a 4.3 inch screen. There are limits and none of these screens actually surpass them. I have used them all and none creates an advantage over the other that suggests...I want to leave my 3.2 inch screen to view this on my 4.3 inch screen as opposed to my lap top or tablet. Along the same lines I cannot get excited about gaining 4 or so seconds in my browsing speed or by pretending I can notice the difference on these phones between a 1.2 ghz processor and a dual core. I can appreciate the battery life gain in a 1.2 ghz as opposed to a dual core for my mobile device however, especially if the loss in power doesn't manifest itself in performance.

Next. I love the capability of my 9700 for email, texting, phone calls, music (the speakers are awesome), social feeds (integrated facebook, twitter, and rss), sports scores, weather updates, travel integration, gps directions (Blackberry Travel and Traffic are fantastic as are the new native or beta native twitter and facebook apps).

I am not suggesting that there are not also great examples of these on other platforms. I am saying they don't surpass the BB versions.

So given my needs and my lack of desire for a 4 inch browsing experience in place of battery life and all the other pros offered in a BB experience I choose accordingly.

Anyway, I just wanted to point out...as someone who has used the Vibrant, G2, My Touch 4G, and Nexus S...I am getting the sense that some folks prefer a larger screen and 2 or 3 seconds more speed in browser download than they do the communication benefits and battery life along with a great keyboard.

This argument is obviously incomplete and based on my preferences but I think it has merit.

[the_sleuth]

Personally, I think it is no longer about the hardware specs. More and more it's about the customization and apps.

People choose iPhone due to their experience with iPod / iTunes or Mac as a reliable product and the selection of apps. These people want a packaged user experience.

People wanting latest hardware specs, freedom of phone customization (widgets, UI and so forth), and more selection of free apps, then choose Android.

Blackberry is chosen due to belief it is a the superior communication tool: phone reception, keyboard, sms, push email, seamless integration with facebook and twitter. And yes better battery life. There is a perception that BB is falling behind.

The truth is the consumer is fickle. What is cool today will be a dog in a couple of years. One exclusive killer app and any of these platforms can leap frog the other.

[Denise in Los Angeles]

I like your points. I'd say that I personally don't play games or watch movies, so I don't want to give up on BlackBerry.

[jebulls]

As far as apps, I could care less about most the games....But the news tools and other productive apps that you see for android and iphone but not for BB is what is frustrating. I really hope they can get it right for QNX but it isn't looking too promising......

[Yell0w]

I agree with your points about the blackberry devices being great for messaging, however it's the random lag, spinning clocks, reboot times and the browser that is making me want to switch. I can't browse too much on websites since it would sometimes close down on me and definitely not on websites that use JavaScript, such as the free popcorn website from yahoo. Cannot do that on my blackberry so when I went to the theater that day, no free popcorn and had to shell out $7 from my wallet for that.

[qbnkelt]

OK so let's pursue the lack of apps. I really, truly don't find myself walking around saying "Oh, man, I WISH I had an app for that!!" except for a DC Circulator bus tracker like the iPhone has. Android market, by the way, did not have them.
When I had my Atrix and I went into the App market I did not find that my life suddenly changed for the better. When I was looking for the bus app I found a million apps for transportation worldwide which was great for those people but no bus tracker app. So all those countless apps for buses in...wherever....served me no purpose. The number of available apps yielded nothing for me to use.
But there was Angry Birds. Which I got and played a half dozen times and also found that my life had not suddenly changed for the better with Angry Birds on my phone.
So....what apps are people clamoring for that other platforms have that BB doesn't? Seriously. Because the only apps that I use on a consistent basis are news, weather, Poynt, banking, and my new gas calculation app.
Like a shopping list app....I mean....seriously.....
I may have been extremely lucky with each of my devices but I don't have any more lag than I did using my Atrix. With all the apps and the gorgeous screen I could not get a page to load between platforms on the DC Metro. Like I do on my Torch. My phones don't freeze....maybe because I do have an that performs a reset every morning at 3:30?
If I have a browser that is a marked improvement over previous phones, which the Torch browser is, I find that my browsing experience to day is no less satisfying than on the Atrix. I wanted Flash and guess what I found....even with Flash I can't play Farmville on the Atrix. So what's the big deal to me? Still couldn't do what I wanted.
A lot of very loud folks are making a h3ll of a lot of noise about the absence of apps and really, it's six of one half dozen of the other for me. Not a big deal.

[paolomusic]

My sentiments exactly. Well said OP!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[mjs416]

I figure there are not enough contentious posts so I decided to introduce another.

The old arguments, a year to 6 months ago, were centered around a tired browser for the most part and hardware lacking in relation to the modern offering.

I can see hardware having a significant impact on personal computing due to graphics editing, movie editing, high resource intensive usage, etc.

But honestly - I could get along with my 8830 and be pretty much equivalently productive. Not sure when checking email - scheduling appointments - doing some web research all of a sudden required 2 - 1 GHZ processors with a gig or RAM.

[Mark PPG]

This is how I feel as well.

I'm hoping that the release (soon I hope) of the 3 newer devices with faster processors will calm the media down a notch or two. So much bad press, so much sensationalization. I'm sure BGR will still b!tch about the 9900 and OS7...but I'm sure he'd b!tch even if it was a dual-core 4" touch device running QNX.

The doom and gloom is quite a bit of hype, mixed with a lot of truth. But people are locked in to contracts. Not everyone hates BB, not everyone wants to switch to an iphone. Most people I meet know very little about their phones (hence my bog articles), to say they want more from a device (when they don't even know how to work the one they have) is a bit over-done.

I'm not arguing that RIM made a HUGE mistake, I'm just saying that its not the end of the world as some of these sites would have you believe.

[kbz1960]

I also agree except for the screen size and not for playing games. I now have older eyes and sometimes find it hard to read squinting, reading glasses etc. I would like a larger screen just to get the font larger without having to scroll back and forth.

[Apple Crumble]

OK so let's pursue the lack of apps. I really, truly don't find myself walking around saying "Oh, man, I WISH I had an app for that!!" except for a DC Circulator bus tracker like the iPhone has. Android market, by the way, did not have them.
When I had my Atrix and I went into the App market I did not find that my life suddenly changed for the better. When I was looking for the bus app I found a million apps for transportation worldwide which was great for those people but no bus tracker app. So all those countless apps for buses in...wherever....served me no purpose. The number of available apps yielded nothing for me to use.
But there was Angry Birds. Which I got and played a half dozen times and also found that my life had not suddenly changed for the better with Angry Birds on my phone.
So....what apps are people clamoring for that other platforms have that BB doesn't? Seriously. Because the only apps that I use on a consistent basis are news, weather, Poynt, banking, and my new gas calculation app.
Like a shopping list app....I mean....seriously.....
I may have been extremely lucky with each of my devices but I don't have any more lag than I did using my Atrix. With all the apps and the gorgeous screen I could not get a page to load between platforms on the DC Metro. Like I do on my Torch. My phones don't freeze....maybe because I do have an that performs a reset every morning at 3:30?
If I have a browser that is a marked improvement over previous phones, which the Torch browser is, I find that my browsing experience to day is no less satisfying than on the Atrix. I wanted Flash and guess what I found....even with Flash I can't play Farmville on the Atrix. So what's the big deal to me? Still couldn't do what I wanted.
A lot of very loud folks are making a h3ll of a lot of noise about the absence of apps and really, it's six of one half dozen of the other for me. Not a big deal.

Well said, finally some sense is spoken, very rare indeed

After defecting from BB, nothing has worked the way I was hoping or was as useful as my BB was, I personally can't wait to get the 9900 and from what I'm reading on the forums etc the new line of BBs are going to be very very popular

[mjs416]

Like a shopping list app....I mean....seriously.....

BB actually has one of those -OurGroceries. Its awesome - also available on the iphone and droid so it allows me to make a grocery list on my BB (for example) and my wife can also see the list on her iphone.

[mjs416]

Well said, finally some sense is spoken, very rare indeed

After defecting from BB, nothing has worked the way I was hoping or was as useful as my BB was, I personally can't wait to get the 9900 and from what I'm reading on the forums etc the new line of BBs are going to be very very popular

Same here. Tried to switch to a Droid and it fell flat.

Just emailed my Verizon rep and pumped him for information about release dates, prices, etc on the new BB phones. Got nothing...

[anon(3733516)]

You make some great points.

I focus less of specs and how the company is doing and focus more on what I need personally in my phone. One can't just say "a 4 inch screen is best" because that is purely opinionated.

[qbnkelt]

BB actually has one of those -OurGroceries. Its awesome - also available on the iphone and droid so it allows me to make a grocery list on my BB (for example) and my wife can also see the list on her iphone.

See, I use BBM for that!

Not too long ago I sent the list to someone else by mistake. Luckily I didn't request anything embarrasing!!!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[mjs416]

See, I use BBM for that!

Not too long ago I sent the list to someone else by mistake. Luckily I didn't request anything embarrasing!!!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Would love to bbm my wife but she has a stupid iphone.

[qbnkelt]

Hee, hee...that'll save you from any embarrasing shopping list items!!!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[DenverRalphy]

Like a shopping list app....I mean....seriously

I get a ton of use out of a shopping list app.

With 4 people in my household, each of which can add items to the shopping list from their own device or laptop/desktop, and whomsoever goes to the store the next time knows what to get. I don't know how many times one of us had a craving for a certain dish, just enter the meal itself into the shopping list and it populates with all the ingredients needed. Next person to go to the store knows what to get. It's nice too when the app provides coupon barcodes based on what you get, and has rewards/loyalty barcodes too.

[qbnkelt]

You are MUCH too organised!!!! My meal planning consists primarily of opening cupboards, spice cabinet, freezer, and throwing it all in a pot.
Kinda works best with Cuban food! So lucky for me....hee, hee...

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[FMB8900]

Would love to bbm my wife but she has a stupid iphone.

Show her a video of the upcoming Bold 9900 Touch, and maybe it'll intrigue her enough to switch

[sivan]

We should see and re-evaluate this argument when the 9900 is out.

Although I think the BlackBerry does everything I need like no other phone, I need it to be lag free and the browser to work every time.

Right now (on a 9780), I avoid the webKit browser because I hate waiting for a page to load and finally end up with a memory error message. Simply tired of this crap. So I use Opera.

Why can't RIM fix the browser on OS6? It's the most important feature, arguably the main driver for OS6, and it's broken. How can a company ignore the state of its most important asset? A year after launch and it feels like beta. I really don't know what to say.

Aside from that, I'd like universal search to be lag free. I don't have the patience to tap a letter at a time and wait. This needs to be as natural as if I'm messaging with the OS. Faster hardware is probably needed.

Same for Twitter. Don't have the patience for the choppy scrolling.

I'm hoping the 9900 and OS7 will finally address these issues. I'd be happy to support this argument.

[grover5]

We should see and re-evaluate this argument when the 9900 is out.

Although I think the BlackBerry does everything I need like no other phone, I need it to be lag free and the browser to work every time.

Right now (on a 9780), I avoid the webKit browser because I hate waiting for a page to load and finally end up with a memory error message. Simply tired of this crap. So I use Opera.

Why can't RIM fix the browser on OS6? It's the most important feature, arguably the main driver for OS6, and it's broken. How can a company ignore the state of its most important asset? A year after launch and it feels like beta. I really don't know what to say.

Aside from that, I'd like universal search to be lag free. I don't have the patience to tap a letter at a time and wait. This needs to be as natural as if I'm messaging with the OS. Faster hardware is probably needed.

Same for Twitter. Don't have the patience for the choppy scrolling.

I'm hoping the 9900 and OS7 will finally address these issues. I'd be happy to support this argument.

I think the faster hardware will help with some of the current moments of lag. But I do agree that we can't definitively say until they are released. I'm excited to get the 9900.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com