I've come back! My story.
Hi!
I thought I would post this, simply so that if there is anyone thinking of switching - here is the story of someone who switched to Android, and has come back.
It all began when I bought a relatively high end Android smartphone, big screen, high specs, everything! It was on offer and I thought - well everyone else is switching (turns out they aren't) so why not! This was the biggest waste of money I have ever made. Without naming and shaming the phone as this is not intended to be a argument - but the phone was terrible. The software wouldn't update as there was a big problem with the latest version (2.3) The battery life was a joke and honestly - it just wasn't that great. The games were fun, the big screen was nice, it looked nice too but writing a lot of messages, whatsapp, twitter, email, it just became a chore. The screen became smaller than a BlackBerry when the on screen keyboard was on which defeated the object and for some reason, the phone just did not like typing in two languages. This made the whole process really long. And I hated the size, why would I ever want such a big phone to put in my pocket. In my jeans, it just won't fit! (Granted I'm a guy who wears slim jeans but still!) I can't even use the whole screen one handed!!! It is a like a tablet not a phone and that's not what I want!
So I sold this and bought another from a brand perhaps better known in Android. But again, I realised that I wasn't really using the 90 apps I had installed. Did I really need to have my airline's app which tells me everything I got in the email? Not really. Did I want an app that tells me when the next bus is coming in the city? Well not really when the bus times are at the stop and to be honest, it wasn't accurate on the phone. Am I really going to be playing temple run, angry birds, and a few other games forever? I got bored of them pretty soon.
And to be honest, they weren't that fast and smooth. I found in honesty that when a lot of apps were open, they both were lagging and freezing and slow in games. And these were dual core Android phones.
For me, getting my Tour 9630 out the drawer and using it just beats all of it. And that's BB OS5 and my last BB was the Bold 9900 which I stupidly sold :( The calendar just works, email is fast and efficient, Twitter works better, Whatsapp, BBM, it's all there. I can type fast on a touch screen but I am so much faster on the physical keyboard.
The hype of Android and iPhone may seem like they are the only phones that matter. But if you are thinking of switching, think hard about it. Honestly, what apps will you use and compare. It's nice for a while, but when the apps start to become boring and you use your phone for what a phone really is for - communicating. You'll see that BlackBerry really is the best for that.
One thing I will miss on Android is the Google intergration. The calendar syncs (I'm not sure if I can do that with BB). Google Docs was very useful on the phone for reading, and a few other Google things.
I won't switch again and I am going to try to save for a Bold 9900 and be proud when I pull it out my pocket. I don't care of the negative press anymore, all the "hundreds of thousands of apps", all the media drama is just not worth worrying about! BlackBerry is an amazing phone. I only used Twitter, Whatsapp, and the email apps from Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail. The rest, I used once and then not again.
If you use a phone for communicating, being in touch, on the go, with people - I honestly can't see why you should switch. BlackBerry does it in such a way, it really is adddictive.
If anyone at RIM is reading this, I want to say Thank you. You make an amazing product, and I support you all the way. I love it! Even my Tour 9630 which is much older than my two Android phones (both gone now!) beats them hands down.
Proud BlackBerry user. #BeBoldAllTheWay