[enzo4vpc]

Ready to order a Slider right now. Perfect combination to have a large screen and a physical keyboard with a Trackbar.

[Happystyle]

Just upgraded my wife to a Z30 from a 9800 and she misses her Torch, however she loves BB 10, I am still using a 9800 and if there is a BB10 slider in the works I will definitely hold off on getting the Z30

[nosco47]

the cost above that of non sliders would be $10 per device, based on published cost analysis from iSuppli. search crackberry for other slider threads.

I could believe that number from factory to consumer. Without factoring in R&D costs.

Posted via CB10

[Nature Slice]

Slider or your z30?

Posted with my BlackBerry

[SparkyBC]

It was BlackBerry's best selling phone.

Z10 on Telus

Not by a long shot.,,

[KenFletch]

Yes, when closed you get a virtual keyboard. With the new predictive text keyboard in OS10, it will be great for quick replies.

And the keyboard also worked in landscape. As did all the apps. Was only locked in portrait when the keyboard was out

Posted via CB10

[KenFletch]

I am EXTREMELY skeptical of that figure.

I liked my 9800, though frankly I found it heavy and thick. And I found the physical keyboard ever - so - slightly too narrow for my fat thumbs. It felt like heaven when I moved to a 9900.

Sliders in general are compromise devices. They DO cost more to design and build. They incur higher support costs due to the added mechanical complexity. The added weight means that when they're dropped they're more likely to incur damage. There's tons of downside.

Here's what I'D like to see as a compromise: the Z30 has that nice replaceable back. Why can't BlackBerry come out with a slide-out keyboard for the Z30 that snaps on the back?

Posted from CB10 running on my awesome Z30

And that would
Email additional engineering cost
Add thickness and weight beyond a slider
Make your phone more clumsy and thus more like to get damage to both part
And add at least $99

Sliding tech is pretty well understood
I disassembled my Torch and the mechanism is simpler than your kitchen toaster

All screens were smaller then and AL phones were heavier

A z10 based slider would probably come in between a z10 and z39 for weight now. The torch was hefty. Weighed more than a z30.

Torch was best of both worlds

Except the frikkin bezel

Posted via CB10

[MarsupilamiX]

Oh sorry, I meant:
"I like sliders!"

Would instantly buy a BB10 slider if the screen isn't too small.

Posted via CB10

[Ray III]

Then all they gotta do is add a software track pad for bb10

Yes. Or a hardware one on the side of the phone.

I will not buy a new BlackBerry without some kind of trackpad.

[extisis]

It was BlackBerry's best selling phone.

Z10 on Telus

which one? the 9810..? if so, you can say that it was RIM's best selling phone but i can't back that up. if i recall, the 9930 sold better.

[Graz]

I highly doubt that a slider is on the horizon. There is a reason there are few to no sliders on the market. Most consumers don't want them. Would be to big of a gamble for BlackBerry. They aren't really in a position to take another gamble. This of course is just my opinion. I could be wrong and in most cases I am.

Posted via CB10

[extisis]

Yes. Or a hardware one on the side of the phone.

I will not buy a new BlackBerry without some kind of trackpad.

you're missing out, BB10 works wonders without one

[Joao Oliveira]

They should make a slider, but not like torch, better than torch it has to be as comfortable to text as a 9900 or a q10


Posted via CB10

[RyanGermann]

I am EXTREMELY skeptical of that figure.

Sliders in general are compromise devices. They DO cost more to design and build. They incur higher support costs due to the added mechanical complexity. The added weight means that when they're dropped they're more likely to incur damage. There's tons of downside.

No, not compromise: the opposite: NO compromise: you want a keyboard AND a large screen? NO COMPROMISE, you get both. Yes, it would be thicker / possibly heavier, but that's a compromise I'd GLADLY, EAGERLY make.

I accept that there would be a slightly higher, not significantly higher, cost. One might think that there would be significant additional costs... but remember: "slider" technology is 20 years old, the details have been worked out and my 9800 and 9810(s) have never EVER failed in the slider mechanism: one had the trackpad die, another had the screen crack when dropped, the other is PERFECT, but the slider was rock solid.

I missed my bus stop today because of this attitude: on a busy bus route, I assumed the bus would stop at the next stop to pick up passengers, and the bus was jam packed and I couldn't reach the "request stop" wire so I didn't bother to pull it, so I made my way to the back door and the bus just sped by my stop. Even BlackBerry advocates who must acknowledge by now that "full slab" isn't the key issue with BB10 device designs, nor is "slap a keyboard on it". It's something else... but because all of these assumptions about costs and reliability that are simply unsubstantiated, people say "No, let's not do a slider".

I think there's a "a slider would be too costly and a customer service nightmare, so let's not bother" attitude that I for one would like to see simply disappear... or I would love an insider at BlackBerry to give us all a profile of how the Torch sold and how much post-sale service was required. I bet the sales were higher and the service was lower than most people think.

Anyone actually work in smartphone design / manufacturing on CrackBerry that can provide data beyond what I could scrape off iSuppli.com?

Perfectly reasonable people on CrackBerry seem very willing (for reasons I don't understand) to just rule out a slider as too costly to develop and produce, and just take it for granted that the after-sale support would be too much of a drain on resources and therefore simply there could not be a business case for a slider device. It's all conjecture: claims that can not be borne out by even rudimentary research such as I did here:

http://forums.crackberry.com/rumored...ml#post9705183

That thread is chock-full of slider goodness, including this mock up by the OP:



And I would pay any retail price for that device (that is in line with the fair-market cost of components and reasonable markup).

So why isn't there ALREADY a BB10 slider? Especially when the "Milan" was the FIRST BB10 device we heard about but then it was scuttled? I think it was a strategic decision, and a terrible one: remember it was with reluctance that they acquiesced and produced the Q10... the conventional wisdom was they had to compete with apple / android in the 'full touchscreen slab' space because "that's what people want". Turns out what they want are mostly devices running Android manufactured by Samsung, and iPhones. Their attitudes to form-factor was simply an error in judgement, a mischaracterization of where BlackBerry 10 would fit into the market.

Now, we know the truth: BB10 is a niche-market device, and "full slab" form factor ISN'T where it's at, not for BlackBerry (not for HTC or LG or Nokia either, for that matter).

[leejayh]

I absolutely loved the 9810 for a whole host of reasons.

When closed, and you are consuming content - it was the right size to be totally handled with one hand. (The Z10 fits this also) where you could reach anything on the screen with your thumb. BB had the right idea in designing the whole system around being able to navigate with just the thumb. The biggest deficiency i see in the whole Android UX is that the left tray is actioned by the top left corner. Al the big phones and phablets require two handed use.

When open, you could pound out a long email on the keyboard. I got used to the lip and the shallow keyboard - but i do agree, if it could be improved upon - that would be great. I never cared for the whole "my phone is thinner than yours" bull****. And, clearly the market has spoken with batteries getting bigger, and companies bragging less about thinness (tablets are different).

In a new slider, I think that the phone could still have a smaller screen (4.3 perhaps even 4.0) just with really high resolution. I know that is not great for those of us with ailing eyesight - but i like the ability to use just one hand.

finally, if they where to make a slider, i would bring back the physical buttons and the trackpad. The BB10 keyboard is great, and the implementation on the screen is excelllent (BB does not promote the big circle find cursor control enough - it is awesome) - but for those that hvae to pound out a longer email, that trackpad was the best for find cursor control.

And, get a better camera in there. Then it is the perfect bloggers phone. The Z10 camera is too slow.

[redantz]

good idea, maybe thats why they are suing Typo


but I agree with all the posts so far, I LOVE my torch 9810!

I am EXTREMELY skeptical of that figure.

I liked my 9800, though frankly I found it heavy and thick. And I found the physical keyboard ever - so - slightly too narrow for my fat thumbs. It felt like heaven when I moved to a 9900.

Sliders in general are compromise devices. They DO cost more to design and build. They incur higher support costs due to the added mechanical complexity. The added weight means that when they're dropped they're more likely to incur damage. There's tons of downside.

Here's what I'D like to see as a compromise: the Z30 has that nice replaceable back. Why can't BlackBerry come out with a slide-out keyboard for the Z30 that snaps on the back?

Posted from CB10 running on my awesome Z30

[Bbnivende]

Those images of the BlackBerry Z15 look pretty realistic. No trackpad. They need to increase the bling factor though. All Black phones are kind of boring.

[Bolderholder]

Definitely. Just waiting for one to come to market.

[Nature Slice]

Thanks for all your replies. I did not expect so many BlackBerry users to like sliders.
I personally like a bigger screen than z10 (addicted to z30 size). I really love the touch keyboard on the z series. The auto correct is amazing and the flick typing really helps for one handed usage especially for the bigger z30 screen.

Some of you who replied reminded me that there can't be a proper case for sliders, (cases are important for me to protect my precious BlackBerry) so that's a good point.

Anyway the z30 is very good for media and work with the screen and battery life. However something I don't really like about the touch keyboard is that sometimes it appears, sometimes not in some apps. Like it is not always there so quite annoying. Also it takes up screen space (of course, we get more screen estate when watching videos)
Also, I noticed that bringing up the keyboard function is not fully integrated in the BlackBerry 10 system. We can use 2 thumbs and swipe from the bottom of the screen to bring up the keyboard but eg in the home screen, doing that does not has any effect on the search function (q10 can truly do instant action while the z series phone can't. Still have to press search) . In the music app, doing that can't search automatically for the music too. Instead we have to go menu and touch the search option then type the music. All of these you can do on the q10 and 5 in one step

If BlackBerry makes a slider phone, the bigger screen and qwerty is a very good combination.

Of course, this is coming from me who loves my z30 but just thinking about a slider phone for fun

Posted with my BlackBerry

[NinjaB]

imo, a slider z30 size would be too big, then it might make some of the size/weight concerns more valid... make it Z10 size- mayyybe push it to 4.5" but no bigger... but z10-size would actually make most sense in terms of developers and only keeping 3 resolutions to deal with...

BUT if they did that? I would snap one up in a heartbeat... Torch 2 is my second fav BB... to the Z10 of course

and they did make cases for the torch that worked fine.. snap-on ones, yeah they might come off on a hard drop but I've seen that happen on non-slider cases just as much on any hip-heighth drop to the cement... they also offered soft-shell cases i believe too...

[Nature Slice]

I see. Yes z30 size is too big especially when you have to slide out the keyboard. It makes it longer.

Z10 size is not bad but they can do with a slightly bigger screen if they cut down on the bezels

Posted with my BlackBerry

[jasonvan9]

My girlfriend who recently switched to an S4 told me yesterday that if BlackBerry brought back a torch she would switch without hesitation.

It really was the best of both worlds for BlackBerry enthusiasts, just need a more robust design for the slider than the last one and im sold

Posted via CB10

[CatScan29]

I would purchase this device in a heart beat. I like the physical keyboard (and even the touchpad) I have big fingers and with touch devices i encounter a ton of typos.. I was very fast at typing with few typos on my old 9810. I'd even prefer it with a landscape keyboard rather than a portrait. It would allow for a slightly larger keyboard (and keys) while still allowing for a large screen.

[dalight13]

I always carry my Q10 and Z10 everyday but give me a slider and it's over people..

Plus I would give my Q and Z to my parents (who still use flip phones and don't want to pay for smartphones)

So two new potential BB customers

[Drenis]

I just want to chime in and say that I loved the concept of the 9800. I had a 9700 and waited for (then) rumored 9810 with hoping they revised that bottom bezel... BB never did. I bought my 9900 shortly after. I really wanted a 9810 for the both worlds scenario of screen real estate and the BB keyboard.

I would definitely support a BB10 slider pending it was done right this time.