[wincyUt]

I had the Xperia Z and there was an LED. It was fairly small, but better than HTC. It's customizable, but you have to go into each individual app and set the LED color which can be a bit cumbersome. I think the Xperia Z2 looks really neat, but I'd have to see it in person. The screen on my Xperia Z was a bit disappointing (the blacks were more gray and the viewing angles weren't great) and my battery really was the pits (it was only 2400mah, I believe). It was fine when in stamina mode and not in use, but when I was actually using the device you could see the percentages tick down. I only got about 14-15 hours with moderate use. With heavy use? I was searching for a charger after 10-11.

You seem like you are a fair and objective person in assessments. But have you ever wondered if the Xperia battery issue could have been OS related just like it might be with the battery issues on some of the BB10 phones.

[pantlesspenguin]

You seem like you are a fair and objective person in assessments. But have you ever wondered if the Xperia battery issue could have been OS related just like it might be with the battery issues on some of the BB10 phones.

You mean like if a Sony process was using a lot of battery compared to something on Touchwiz, etc?

[TioPepe78]

BB experience is not a figment of imagination as iOS experience is one, Android experience is another and WP another more, which one fits better to each user preference is another thing and there is no absolute truth about it... at the end it's all about personal preference and comfort.

BB10 is certainly nice, for me the best overall user experience.

[wincyUt]

You mean like if a Sony process was using a lot of battery compared to something on Touchwiz, etc?

Kinda yes. I mean, is it possible that maybe battery issues could be addressed by an improved or properly tweaked OS?

[PKPDBERRYADDICT]

I keep showing my colleaegues how I can do stuff on my Z10 much more efficiently than iphone they chose iphone instead of going Blackberry 10 since our IT was pushing them to do so. yes there is a blackberry experience that put getting things done before anything else they envy me how I can reply to 5 emails where they are still replying to the first I can schedule or join a WebEx with one click I have all my travel booked in my calendar and input thanks to blackberry travel. I also show intergration with box , dropbox, doc to go and fantastic adobe pdf signature
the usual question can I do that on my iphone ? which app
My answer sorry I don't know which app all of the above comes with blackberry built in I don't have time to find the app for the things I need I want all integrated not open an app and clode an app

[pantlesspenguin]

Kinda yes. I mean, is it possible that maybe battery issues could be addressed by an improved or properly tweaked OS?

I'm still not sure what you mean. Like an update from Sony or Google that tweaks the power management? Yes, that's absolutely a possibility. There have been several updates to other devices that address power management. Heck, if the Z ever gets the kitkat update it might improve the battery.

I think a better thing to do is to really pay attention to battery size and reports from reviewers before you get any device. I heard the reports that the battery life on the Xperia Z was subpar, as well as the screen problems, but I was so enamored with the rest of the device that I didn't heed the warnings. That was my mistake. I'm VASTLY more happy with my LG G2 in respect to battery, screen, and features.

[madman0141]

The "BlackBerry Experience " is the frustration of watching RIMPIRE try to get back on track and hanging in there while everyone else buys iPhone or DROID flat screen TV and calling it a cell phone. It is when you get your fanboy in an uproar!

[jdcfinisher]

The blackberry experience predates bb10 so listing bb10 features is not relevant . I started on os5 and I can feel that they are related and just moved from one phone to the next as I upgraded. Other OSes copy parts of BlackBerry , but it's like cars they're the same yet different. Put someone who likes a particular type of car blindfolded in any car and they can usually tell what they like and it's theirs.

Posted via CB10

[sigint99]

The BlackBerry experience is security and efficiency. You don't get the same level of either on other mobile platforms.

[ronfc]

I used an iPhone and an Android phone before but it didn't really "connect" to me. On my BlackBerry, it always feels like an emotional attachment, that it is a part of your life that is very dear to you, like a simple Parker pen that was given by someone important. I don't know. Maybe I'm having issues. Or maybe, this is the BlackBerry experience.

[BobWalker]

Yes, Virginia, there is a BlackBerry Experience. I'm living proof. Nothing compares to this.

It's something that has to be experienced to be appreciated... the high-fidelity real-time audio processing, the integration of all core functionalities (calendar, communication through various apps, maps, contacts and more -- all seamlessly indexed to each other), the MIRACLE of a keyboard, the smoothness of BBM, the easy-breezy-123Z connection to any type of input or output peripheral (certainly on the Z30)... it's unmatched, and anybody who says otherwise does not know WTF they're talking about.

As one new to BlackBerry and well versed in the old school (and currently fashionable) ONES, I calls 'em like I sees 'em. *shrug*

[Tre Lawrence]

For some of the major platforms, one thing to consider is that the experience goes way beyond just smartphones, which some would argue make those platform experiences even more compelling.

[trwallace]

99 percent of smartphone users only use about 5-10 percent of the phones capabilities. Its important they are capable of having all the features but no so important that they actually use them. I think with a blackberry the majority of the users use more of the capabilities of the phone then most phone users and that is because its for business if its just for pleasure other then texting and maybe a few games maybe the camera what else actually even gets used. What the fingerprint scanner. Ha what a joke most people probably dont even have it activated. what about gestures non touch. almost not even used is my bet. Most of the stuff is pure gimick. Thats what happens when people buy phones based purely on personal needs.

[southlander]

To me the hub and cascades give BlackBerry 10 a pretty unique feel l. Yes.

Z10STL100-4/10.2.1.2141

[xBURK]

For myself, BB10 brings efficiency in a mature layout that can't be matched. After trying every operating system out there, BB10 is the only one that provides an experience that omits unnecessary cumbersome actions and graphics that don't remind me of an 80's corner arcade. Of course Android, Apple and Windows are amazing in their own right. But again, it's just not for me.
Experience matters. The problem with BB10 is that you need it in your hands for a few good weeks to figure this out. BlackBerry's negative perception in the press and among carrier sales reps will make this near impossible.
I'm still hoping for the best. I will always demonstrate BB10 when the time presents itself.

Posted via CB10

[--TommesJay--]

I had the Xperia Z and there was an LED. It was fairly small, but better than HTC. It's customizable, but you have to go into each individual app and set the LED color which can be a bit cumbersome. I think the Xperia Z2 looks really neat, but I'd have to see it in person. The screen on my Xperia Z was a bit disappointing (the blacks were more gray and the viewing angles weren't great) and my battery really was the pits (it was only 2400mah, I believe). It was fine when in stamina mode and not in use, but when I was actually using the device you could see the percentages tick down. I only got about 14-15 hours with moderate use. With heavy use? I was searching for a charger after 10-11.

Yeah, and with the Z2, Sony adressed those exact points. They upgraded the display from TFT to IPS and pumped up the battery to 3,200 mAh (which is 400 more than the Galaxy S5). Which is why in my books the Z2 is the best Android device so far.

[--TommesJay--]

I'd like to add that the biggest differentiatior for me with BB10 is the way how the OS handles multitasking. Android, iOS and WP are all very similar in this department:

1. You have a customizable homescreen as the center of the OS
2. Underneath this is an all-apps-pane, which you access from the homescreen with a single interaction (menu on Android, swipe right for WP; iOS doesn't have #2).
3. The paradigm of launching apps, having a back button and a home button for main navigation
4. Multitasking is handled through a button click or long press, which opens a multitasking layer that shows open apps

With BB10, multitasking isn't just a convenience option that sits in a nirvana between opened apps. Multitasking in BB10 is your homescreen and the center of the OS. It's like you press home on Android and see open apps rather than set up icons and widgets.

I know many people feel like this isn't a big deal and that "Android, iOS and WP do the same thing", but for me BB10s approach is a whole different paradigm. And it's exactly why I don't understand Active Frames as widgets and why I don't want to pin them. Going home on BB10 shows me exactly what I'm doing right now and what's on my "desk".

[wincyUt]

I used an iPhone and an Android phone before but it didn't really "connect" to me. On my BlackBerry, it always feels like an emotional attachment, that it is a part of your life that is very dear to you, like a simple Parker pen that was given by someone important. I don't know. Maybe I'm having issues. Or maybe, this is the BlackBerry experience.

Hahaha. I don't think you are having issues and guess what? you are not alone. It's that intangible feeling that's very hard to articulate when confronted with the question of "what is BlackBerry experience".

[wincyUt]

99 percent of smartphone users only use about 5-10 percent of the phones capabilities. Its important they are capable of having all the features but no so important that they actually use them. I think with a blackberry the majority of the users use more of the capabilities of the phone then most phone users and that is because its for business if its just for pleasure other then texting and maybe a few games maybe the camera what else actually even gets used. What the fingerprint scanner. Ha what a joke most people probably dont even have it activated. what about gestures non touch. almost not even used is my bet. Most of the stuff is pure gimick. Thats what happens when people buy phones based purely on personal needs.

that's fine and dandy but that doesn't describe the "BlackBerry experience", or does it in your opinion?

[BobWalker]

For some of the major platforms, one thing to consider is that the experience goes way beyond just smartphones, which some would argue make those platform experiences even more compelling.

You know, it's funny you should say that because one of the things I've found in my BlackBerry experience is that it's a joy how nicely it plays with anything I connect it to. It's smooth as silk in the car. I can connect to any cloud service (except iCloud). I've watched a lot of movies on my Samsung TV in stunning 1080p. It's easy to get files off my work network - from anywhere I happen to be. I can game on a big screen using a Bluetooth controller. Etc.

Add to that the fact that I can download and work with just about any type of file, the fact that I can install and run most Android apps better than my Android phone did (that thing was a nightmare to use after a few months! )

The BlackBerry experience is pretty cool. It pleasantly surprised me.

[cgk]

I agree.

While I believe there is a reasonable degree of parity with regards to out-of-the-box functionality across platforms, I think they have their unique quirks that make them special. Each of the Big 4 platforms has an identity of sorts. That's what makes them all so much fun to explore.

I wouldn't disagree but once you get outside of the smartphone obsessive bubble that we live in, that difference is irrelevant to most people - no normal person gives a crap what 'real multi-tasking' is.

[pantlesspenguin]

With BB10, multitasking isn't just a convenience option that sits in a nirvana between opened apps. Multitasking in BB10 is your homescreen and the center of the OS. It's like you press home on Android and see open apps rather than set up icons and widgets.

Think of it this way: From wherever you are within Android it's just one gesture away from your open apps, just like BB10. You can even treat the open app button as the home button, and use that as your home screen if you'd like. You don't have to use the home button until you need to open an app that you haven't used recently.

Plus various Android manufacturers have their own additional ways of opening/using apps at the same time like split screen, floating apps, slide aside on LG, etc.

Like I mentioned earlier in the thread, I don't think any of these is necessarily better than the other. They're all just different ways of handling the same thing.

[pantlesspenguin]

Yeah, and with the Z2, Sony adressed those exact points. They upgraded the display from TFT to IPS and pumped up the battery to 3,200 mAh (which is 400 more than the Galaxy S5). Which is why in my books the Z2 is the best Android device so far.

So I just checked some videos on the Z2 and I agree with your assessment!! Looks like Sony has really stepped their game up from a year ago!! Very impressive.

[wincyUt]

I'd like to add that the biggest differentiatior for me with BB10 is the way how the OS handles multitasking. Android, iOS and WP are all very similar in this department:

1. You have a customizable homescreen as the center of the OS
2. Underneath this is an all-apps-pane, which you access from the homescreen with a single interaction (menu on Android, swipe right for WP; iOS doesn't have #2).
3. The paradigm of launching apps, having a back button and a home button for main navigation
4. Multitasking is handled through a button click or long press, which opens a multitasking layer that shows open apps

With BB10, multitasking isn't just a convenience option that sits in a nirvana between opened apps. Multitasking in BB10 is your homescreen and the center of the OS. It's like you press home on Android and see open apps rather than set up icons and widgets.

I know many people feel like this isn't a big deal and that "Android, iOS and WP do the same thing", but for me BB10s approach is a whole different paradigm. And it's exactly why I don't understand Active Frames as widgets and why I don't want to pin them. Going home on BB10 shows me exactly what I'm doing right now and what's on my "desk".

Just curious, have you used Android or WP or Apple phones extensively?. Personally, I haven't and therefore can't make an objective and or unbiased judgement/comparisons.

[--TommesJay--]

Think of it this way: From wherever you are within Android it's just one gesture away from your open apps, just like BB10. You can even treat the open app button as the home button, and use that as your home screen if you'd like. You don't have to use the home button until you need to open an app that you haven't used recently.

Plus various Android manufacturers have their own additional ways of opening/using apps at the same time like split screen, floating apps, slide aside on LG, etc.

Like I mentioned earlier in the thread, I don't think any of these is necessarily better than the other. They're all just different ways of handling the same thing.

It's not that I'm new to Android as a system, I have a 2013 Nexus 7 running Android 4.4 and owned an Xperia T. Sure you could "abuse" the Android taskswitcher to somehow resemble the BB10 experience, but that doesn't really work, the user experience is still not the same. One part of this is the fact that in most Android launchers like the stock Vanilla UI the taskswitcher is a one column vertical list. Second part is that it gets way more cluttered than BB10, as any communications app as well as the settings [edit: the settings in BB10 also show up in the multitasking pane] will show up there. Third thing is, when in the taskswitcher on Android you can't swipe left to access something like the HUB and you can't swipe right from there to access your whole app drawer. Fourth part is that accessing the multitasking pane via an upswipe is far easier and convenient one handed (at least for my taste) than how it's solved in most Android phones. It feels faster and more natural.