1. suncho's Avatar
    My uncle just came back from Portugal and he has a blackberry curve 8900 , which im totally in love with :P . At the moment I'm without a mobilephone (using old nokia) , as i lost my iPhone month ago.So basically , I'm wondering , whether I should wait for the iPhone 5 , or get a BB now , or wait Dakota.
    I don't play games , but i want to have something for entertainment when I'm bored.Also I have only 2-3 friends with BB's so BBM isn't that useful now.
    I find the look of a blackberry way more appealing than the iPhone , that every 2nd teen has one. Also the Dakota - a Bold with a touchscreen which doesn't make any sense to me.Basically I can't decide what to do , but I'm leaning more to getting 9700 / 9780 now Advice please.
    04-06-11 11:12 AM
  2. Chrisy's Avatar
    If you want a device for email, messaging as well as media and entertainment, I'd get the iPhone or an Android.

    BlackBerry doesnt offer much in the way of good media apps. YouTube, videos all are better on an iPhone or Android.
    04-06-11 11:24 AM
  3. sedalia066's Avatar
    The family teen and friends are most all BB users these days. Their functions work well on the device. Every person is different. If you like the form try one out. Most carriers offer a return within a few days if you are not happy. In my hands BB is the very best but I use messaging heavily with little entertainment beyond MP3. No video for me on the phone.

    Good luck with whatever you choose.
    04-06-11 11:43 AM
  4. rollingrock1988's Avatar
    I am a keyboard person. Messaging, email and music are important to me. I also take a lot of pics. For this reason, I chose a BB.

    I suggest you wait a month. At that time you can make an informed decision, do you want to get the BBS that don't have touch screens and that will be cheap, or do you want a ... touch screen blackberry.
    Last edited by Jared DiPane; 04-06-11 at 12:09 PM. Reason: language
    04-06-11 11:47 AM
  5. anon(73368)'s Avatar
    If your not real crazy about the Bold touch(which is what i'm waiting for) then I'd go with the 9780. It has the better camera,more memory, os6. It can do pretty much everything u need. pandora,Youtube,web browsing is fine,and you can't beat the messaging/battery life. Good luck
    04-06-11 11:48 AM
  6. sleepngbear's Avatar
    Depends on what you consider 'entertainment'. You ruled out games; if it's browsing, BB's are adequate, but there are definitely better devices. If it's primarily messaging (texting, emailing, etc.), it's tough to beat a BB.

    If the Curve was love at first sight for you, that says something about the form factor. As for the Dakota/Bold Touch, you'd probably be amazed at how quickly you can become addicted to the touch screen for non-typing actions; things like opening apps, browsing and scrolling/navigating screens are much more intuitive with touch gestures than with the trackpad, although the trackpad has its uses, too. If you can stand the wait for another few months, the new batch of phones should be pretty good performers. I'd hold on if you can and check them out in the nearest phone store as soon as they show up. If you can't wait, the Bold 9700/9780/9650 are still not bad phones.
    04-06-11 11:51 AM
  7. suncho's Avatar
    The look of the berry .. so masculine and stylish (hearts) , big + for BB.
    As I ruled out games , I have an iPod classic for music and just don't need anything else. Main purposes for the phone will be of course calling , txt , social stuff (fb, twitter and so on) , little bit of browsing .. that's it basically.
    04-06-11 12:08 PM
  8. rollingrock1988's Avatar
    The look of the berry .. so masculine and stylish (hearts) , big + for BB.
    As I ruled out games , I have an iPod classic for music and just don't need anything else. Main purposes for the phone will be of course calling , txt , social stuff (fb, twitter and so on) , little bit of browsing .. that's it basically.
    so with this, logically the answer would be a Blackberry. Now it's just whether or not you want the new BBs with 1.2Ghz Processors, touchscreens and 5 Megapixel cameras in a month or if you want the ones out now.
    04-06-11 12:14 PM
  9. iN8ter's Avatar
    Depends on what you consider 'entertainment'. You ruled out games; if it's browsing, BB's are adequate, but there are definitely better devices. If it's primarily messaging (texting, emailing, etc.), it's tough to beat a BB.
    It really depends on how you communicate. If you have lots of friends with BBs, then it will be very tough to beat BB because it makes communicating with those people really easy. If you don't, then it's very easy for other platforms to assert their email superiority over Blackberry - which does exist.

    Blackberries don't support ActiveSync, which is the best way to Sync Google or Hotmail and Exchange without BES[x] deployed. BIS is inferior to ActiveSync.

    BIS truncates emails and there's no way to get the whole message without going to a computer or another device that allows you to download all of the email. If it was sent to your BIS address you are SoL. Most other phones allow you to set the threshold for truncation, and all of them allow you to Download the rest of the message if you choose to do so via the click/touch of a button/link.

    If you get large photos in email, or videos attached to emails... Then this will be an issue.

    Blackberries also depend on RIM's infrastruction which has proven itself less than reliable to a lot of users.

    Blackberries hold a lot of value in markets were Blackberries are high used. In others... not so much.

    They do have great battery life, but browsing, media (music, pictures, video), and email/messaging outside of BBM are superior on some other platforms. The keyboards are really good if you manage to get a 9780 without a defective one...
    04-06-11 02:23 PM
  10. flipkc's Avatar
    Sounds like the 9780 was made for what you want. Get it and love it!
    04-06-11 02:25 PM
  11. middbrew's Avatar
    BIS truncates emails and there's no way to get the whole message without going to a computer or another device that allows you to download all of the email. If it was sent to your BIS address you are SoL. Most other phones allow you to set the threshold for truncation, and all of them allow you to Download the rest of the message if you choose to do so via the click/touch of a button/link.
    Could you explain this to me? I seem to get all the email message on mine and don't have to download it to a computer to read.
    04-06-11 03:01 PM
  12. Chrisy's Avatar
    Could you explain this to me? I seem to get all the email message on mine and don't have to download it to a computer to read.
    Then you haven't received a large sized email. Blackberry truncates them with no option to view more.
    04-06-11 03:05 PM
  13. pkcable's Avatar
    What makes the BB worth it for me is the keyboard. It makes it so easy to bang out a message, a quick email or text, or BBM. And all of the social media services have dedicated apps on the BB that work well. It sounds to me like the BB would be the perfect choice for you. My ONLY hesitation, or caution to you would be the web browser, the BB browser does NOT compete with the iphone, or android phones.
    Daggercat likes this.
    04-06-11 03:38 PM
  14. BoldtotheMax's Avatar
    I honestly don't think the browser is as bad as some people make them out to be, especially since os6. I have been perfectly content with the speed.

    I am actually on EDGE most of the time and still browse just fine. Even streaming music is decent. Now watching a vid, that is difficult...no worries, have desktop right here, lol!

    IMO nothing multitasks as well as a BB. And it isn't like I am locked down to one brand. Wife uses a Optimus T and I have used a few Android devices. I am just currently happier with my BB.

    I do like that Atrix, just messing with it, but honestly I don't need all that jazz. Also helps that Rim compresses data and in the future if I get stuck with the Deathstar, then that will come in handy. It is awe striking the difference in data consumption from my berry to her Android and I use mine quite a bit more. She don't have the time, yet she sucks more data.

    Another reason to stick with BB IMO with these new tiered plans that are out and will eventually hit all carriers.

    Also UMA is seemless with my Berry. Wifi calling took downloading a patch from LG on wife's Optimus and still don't work right.

    Wife is going back to BB to at contract time this next March. So basically a year, lol!

    I say you would love a BB, but if you are into fitting in and whats talked about more, then iPhone and Android are more for you.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    04-06-11 04:58 PM
  15. iN8ter's Avatar
    Android multi-tasks similar to the BB (hold down home for list, go to the app by touching it). Windows Mobile multi-tasked similar. Hold down a button to bring up task manager, and going to that app was trivial. ****, even Symbian does it just as easily.

    The discussion has nothing to do with multitasking. Most platforms that provide it, the solution is good enough to get done what you want to get done, and the functionality is easily exposed so it's never a headache to use it.

    UMA only works on certain carriers that provide it. Android phones form T-Mobile has a WiFi calling app that allows SMS/Calls through a WiFi connection. UMA is superior in that it hands off much better from cell to WiFi. WiFi calling doesn't do that.

    No one is trying to get you to switch from Blackberry. If you have one, then most people will assume you're happy otherwise you'd have switched to another device... It's not like you're using the newest blackberry, you know...

    EDIT: Also, the Tiered Plan "justification" works now, but as RIM is forced to up the anti to compete with other platforms it will become more and more of a mute point. Opera Mini's compressed pages are great on small screen Windows Mobile and Blackberry devices, but when you're using something like a Galaxy S, HD2, Evo 4G, etc. it just doesn't work that well. Pictures are blurry due to the compression, formatting can be off for some sites, etc.

    As long as the carriers keep at least 2GB plans most people will be fine, and will simply opt to get that.

    The way blackberries are today, they are so inferior to Android/WP7/iOS and even Windows Mobile (with Opera Mobile 10+) devices for browsing and media consumption that people simply don't use them in the same ways - so they don't need a high data count. They can just use a 200MB data plan and be done with it.

    If BBOS 6.1 is as good as RIM says it is and that touchscreen BB is worth anything, people who get it will see a huge jump in their data use almost immediately - at least when they switch to that device.

    And it's a shame RIM still haven't removed the forced truncation from Blackberries and significantly increased the file size limitations in BBM. That's a showstopper for lots of people. Large HTML emails (Newsletters, etc.) are pretty normal these days...
    Last edited by N8ter; 04-06-11 at 05:10 PM.
    Chrisy likes this.
    04-06-11 05:02 PM
  16. flipkc's Avatar
    Android multi-tasks similar to the BB (hold down home for list, go to the app by touching it). Windows Mobile multi-tasked similar. Hold down a button to bring up task manager, and going to that app was trivial. ****, even Symbian does it just as easily.

    The discussion has nothing to do with multitasking. Most platforms that provide it, the solution is good enough to get done what you want to get done, and the functionality is easily exposed so it's never a headache to use it.

    UMA only works on certain carriers that provide it. Android phones form T-Mobile has a WiFi calling app that allows SMS/Calls through a WiFi connection. UMA is superior in that it hands off much better from cell to WiFi. WiFi calling doesn't do that.

    No one is trying to get you to switch from Blackberry. If you have one, then most people will assume you're happy otherwise you'd have switched to another device... It's not like you're using the newest blackberry, you know...
    You don't need to defend Android/iPhone cell phones, Bold wasn't attacking you at all. I personally agree with Bold's post 100%. The fact that I can have a 1GB Data Plan and still use my phone as much as I want and not go over (GPS, streaming music/videos, surfing, etc.) is really nice.
    04-06-11 05:08 PM
  17. BoldtotheMax's Avatar
    Android multi-tasks similar to the BB (hold down home for list, go to the app by touching it). Windows Mobile multi-tasked similar. Hold down a button to bring up task manager, and going to that app was trivial. ****, even Symbian does it just as easily.

    The discussion has nothing to do with multitasking. Most platforms that provide it, the solution is good enough to get done what you want to get done, and the functionality is easily exposed so it's never a headache to use it.

    UMA only works on certain carriers that provide it. Android phones form T-Mobile has a WiFi calling app that allows SMS/Calls through a WiFi connection. UMA is superior in that it hands off much better from cell to WiFi. WiFi calling doesn't do that.

    No one is trying to get you to switch from Blackberry. If you have one, then most people will assume you're happy otherwise you'd have switched to another device... It's not like you're using the newest blackberry, you know...

    EDIT: Also, the Tiered Plan "justification" works now, but as RIM is forced to up the anti to compete with other platforms it will become more and more of a mute point. Opera Mini's compressed pages are great on small screen Windows Mobile and Blackberry devices, but when you're using something like a Galaxy S, HD2, Evo 4G, etc. it just doesn't work that well. Pictures are blurry due to the compression, formatting can be off for some sites, etc.

    As long as the carriers keep at least 2GB plans most people will be fine, and will simply opt to get that.

    The way blackberries are today, they are so inferior to Android/WP7/iOS and even Windows Mobile (with Opera Mobile 10+) devices for browsing and media consumption that people simply don't use them in the same ways - so they don't need a high data count. They can just use a 200MB data plan and be done with it.

    If BBOS 6.1 is as good as RIM says it is and that touchscreen BB is worth anything, people who get it will see a huge jump in their data use almost immediately - at least when they switch to that device.

    And it's a shame RIM still haven't removed the forced truncation from Blackberries and significantly increased the file size limitations in BBM. That's a showstopper for lots of people. Large HTML emails (Newsletters, etc.) are pretty normal these days...
    Android multi-tasks better than an iPhone I give you that, but again IMO hands down the berry is the best at it. If you don't like my opinion then move on. **** IMO only reason an Android multi-tasks better than a say iPhone is because they adapted somewhat off of BB.

    As far as it not having to do with the thread, how so? It is about our experiences and opinions he was wanting to hear. You really need to hop off that huge soap box you are on your highness....

    About UMA, WTH bro...I know all about the app and the UMA being seamless integrated into my phone due to my carrier, but there are other Androids out there that do wifi-calling pretty solid, such as the G2 and don't need to download a patch. Just stating it was a headache is all.

    Who said anything about trying to get me to switch? I have had all types of phones from different brands, iPhone to BB, BB to another BB, then to Andriod and didn't like that one, so switched to another Andriod and again...after 3 of them, I said I will try the 9700...so chastise me for liking my old outdated phone? Hysterical!

    Now on to tiered plans...you call it "justification", I call it saving me money. Why, I can't see someone spending as much time as me browsing. I do many web pages, BBMing, some videos and quite a bit of Pandora and still quite low. That same type of usage on my wife's android or any other Android I would be well past that 2G a month, guaranteed.

    I honestly think you debate so much just to make you feel better about yourself. Pump that chest out big bro...whatever helps you sleep at night.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    04-06-11 06:21 PM
  18. Daniel Ratcliffe's Avatar
    I have the BlackBerry Torch. Battery life is poor on it, but apart from that it's great. If you're oging to watch movies on your phone though, then I recommend an iP4/5, or a HTC Desire HD / HTC HD7.
    04-06-11 06:27 PM
  19. middbrew's Avatar
    Then you haven't received a large sized email. Blackberry truncates them with no option to view more.
    What is considered a large sized email? I have emails that are over 15,000 characters and I'm sure it can read even larger sized ones than that. I'm not sure what the limit is and couldn't find it anywhere. I'm thinking if the email needs to be so big that, at least for my work, it should be sent as a word doc anyway.

    I just might have to give it a stress test to see.
    Daggercat likes this.
    04-07-11 05:36 AM
  20. middbrew's Avatar
    So, curiosity got the better of me and I tested my BB's email limit. I was able to receive emails that were equivalent to a 10 page single spaced 12 point font 30,000 character word document. Anything more and it truncated the rest. Personally, for me that is quite large and I doubt very many people get emails that big.
    04-07-11 06:03 AM
  21. pcgizmo#IM's Avatar
    8900......that's the one from 2009 right?
    04-07-11 07:26 AM
  22. PondHockey's Avatar
    Go 9780 and Playbook. Best of all worlds for sure!
    04-07-11 07:57 AM
  23. suncho's Avatar
    umm , my current operator offers only 100MBs traffic , is it enough?? heard that BB compress 1/5 to normal traffic
    going for a 9780 , still can't find a reason to wait for the bold touch (touch screen (for what?) , 256ram more and HD video?)
    maybe the only + is the rounded shape , looks great.
    04-08-11 06:07 PM
  24. iN8ter's Avatar
    Android multi-tasks better than an iPhone I give you that, but again IMO hands down the berry is the best at it. If you don't like my opinion then move on. **** IMO only reason an Android multi-tasks better than a say iPhone is because they adapted somewhat off of BB.

    As far as it not having to do with the thread, how so? It is about our experiences and opinions he was wanting to hear. You really need to hop off that huge soap box you are on your highness....

    About UMA, WTH bro...I know all about the app and the UMA being seamless integrated into my phone due to my carrier, but there are other Androids out there that do wifi-calling pretty solid, such as the G2 and don't need to download a patch. Just stating it was a headache is all.

    Who said anything about trying to get me to switch? I have had all types of phones from different brands, iPhone to BB, BB to another BB, then to Andriod and didn't like that one, so switched to another Andriod and again...after 3 of them, I said I will try the 9700...so chastise me for liking my old outdated phone? Hysterical!

    Now on to tiered plans...you call it "justification", I call it saving me money. Why, I can't see someone spending as much time as me browsing. I do many web pages, BBMing, some videos and quite a bit of Pandora and still quite low. That same type of usage on my wife's android or any other Android I would be well past that 2G a month, guaranteed.

    I honestly think you debate so much just to make you feel better about yourself. Pump that chest out big bro...whatever helps you sleep at night.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    The G2 is on T-Mobile, just like my Vibrant which has WiFi calling. T-Mobile offers UMA for free for Blackberries.

    Go to AT&T and tell me how great your UMA is. It's totally carrier-dependent, and it's not a "standard" Blackberry feature unless you're on a carrier that offers it for free.

    Same with WiFi calling. Get a Captivate and tell me how great your WiFi calling is on AT&T (or any Droid Phone on Verizon, or Sprint for that matter).

    UMA isn't a Blackberry feature, it's a carrier feature. WiFi calling suggest that building UMA functionality into Android (or probably any other platform) is more than possible.

    WiFi calling is great if you are stationary. If you initiate a call over WiFi and have to go check the mail and your WiFi signal goes weak it will drop the call (yes, it doesn't have to not have WiFi at all, the signal strength just needs to drop below a certain threshold, then it will drop the call and suspend WiFi calling and switch back to cell towers - there is no handoff). That's why UMA is such a great feature - it accomplishes this and you never have to think about it.

    As far as the tiered plans... The newer blackberries will not be as friendly to those ridiculous 200 MB plans as the current ones are... That's just the way it is. Use a Windows Mobile 6.5 device with IE6 Mobile (largely a WAP browser) and you will not use that much data. Move to a better platform with better media/browsing/streaming functionality and your data use goes up dramatically. Most people who use their smartphones moderately can attest to that.

    Going from a Samsung Jack (Curve-formfactor WM6.5 device) using 600 MB a month to an Aria (Android) my data usage doubled. When I went from the Aria to the Vibrant, my data use went up to ~2GB a month.

    There are lots of things that Blackberry users simply can NOT do on their phones right now, that they will happily start doing when it is possible with the newer devices. Unless, of course, they love watching low quality streaming video from YouTube/etc. on a 4" WVGA screen (which can be unintelligible at times).

    Yes, NOW the BBs are great for those data plans. But if RIM does plan to catch up then their devices will become data hogs because people like doing things on their smartphones that hog data - else that platform becomes niche and non-factor.

    T-Mobile's data plans aren't expensive. You really don't save much by going with such a small data plan unless you have a whole family on blackberries with 200 MB data plan. In that case, yes, the savings to add up to something factorable.

    But when they new, better devices, come out... It will be hard to stay on a 200MB data plan unless you hardly use your phone as anything other than a phone... But then again, better phone capabilities can, and often do, change consumer usage patterns. That is why the full touch screen phone design has taken off so well in the last 5 years or so.

    I don't need to defend Android. I don't use it as my Daily Driver and it's growth, sales numbers, and marketshare speak for itself. Android doesn't need any defense, and defending Android on a Blackberry forums is largely done for laughs (so many people respond so violently to pro-Android/iOS/WP7 posts, it is hillarious at times), not to be 100% serious because you can't hope to have a serious discussion about that here :P
    Last edited by N8ter; 04-08-11 at 09:03 PM.
    04-08-11 08:55 PM
  25. Daggercat's Avatar
    Go to your carrier and physically handle the phones you are interested in. I had a very old blackberry that someone lent me when my touch screen broke on my LG Chocolate. When update time came, I thought I wanted a Motorola X or one of a few other 4G phones. I came away with a Blackberry Bold 9650. I text a lot and hate, hate, hate virtual keyboards. You need to decide whether texting or game playing when you are bored is most important. You might want the bigger screen. Put your hands on the phones before you decide. Oh, and read the reviews. Most of them have a lot of useful info.
    04-08-11 09:34 PM
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