[sam_b77]

As the title suggests, I've been thinking this question over for a few days now. What makes us Groupies of mobile platforms like Blackberry, Apple and Android?

From my own experience, I've noticed that my love for Blackberries is transforming into an obsession. I'm trying to be more objective towards various other devices and the logical part of my brain forces me to try to be Platform Agnostic but I fail on that front.

I would pick up a cousin's iPhone, admire its looks, play with it for a while and then just think to myself "meh" and pick up my BB and be on my way. I have played enough with Androids, its quite cool. Would I buy one...NO.

I find myself being obsessed with news about RIM, from checking its stock price (I don't own RIM shares), to hearing Kevin's interview with Thorsten Heins to checking CB forums every free minute that I have. I would be constantly defending RIM and espousing its advantages over other platforms and generally being dismissive of other platforms. So this would be like being a RIM groupie.
As a RIM fan I dismiss iPhone Apps and make fun of them. But some find it very useful. My cousin makes all her presentations on iWorks on her iPad. It works for her. I however don't have a need to do so and would rather use Powerpoint on my Mac. It works for her and there are many more Apps on iOS that people actually use professionally yet those Apps are dismissed by most most BB owners mostly because people who buy BBs have a different use factor and hence have little need for making presentations on a tablet.
If a friend was to buy a a car I don't like, I would be polite and find nice things to say about it. If he were to buy an iPhone I would be on him/her like theres no tomorrow.

Thing is that every platform evokes its own loyalists. You have the same responses and actions from iPhone and Android owners. A part of us knows that we have bought what we liked and others are free to choose what they like, but the little voice in our head is quickly dispensed with and our groupie voice rises up to defend whatever we have.

And this is seen mostly on Mobile Phone platforms. The rhetoric for and against mobile devices is huge. No where are we more aggressive. We respect other peoples choice in cars, audio equipment and even the Mac Vs Windows debate is more rational and less rabid. I have yet to see an Xbox owner call a PS3 owner a troll or vice versa.

I'm just not able to figure out what it is about the iPhone that riles me up so much and why I don't treat Androids more than a passing curiosity. And Apple and Android owners are the same.

I haven't been able to find a rational explanation. Anyone else want to take a shot on finding one?

[mca312]

People get defensive over the choice they made. Most people who like to badmouth other phones (iPhones are toys, iPhones are chick phones, iPhone users are sheep, Android users are nerds, Apps are dumb, etc.) have never owned an iphone or an android device.

Also, people try a friends device for 2 minutes, and decide they don't like it right away.

In the end, I think it is people just trying to defend their choice

[lewis71980]

Not sure. I'm not on a BES I do feel a little outside the platform . I do tend to check these forums quite regularly.
What about that TEDx video 'David Logan on tribal leadership' what level is our community? What can the BIS community create?

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[avt123]

I like all platforms. I just prefer Android or iOS at this time. I am waiting for BB10 to come out (and hopefully meet my expectations) so I can buy another device from RIM. BBOS7 and WP7.5 don't do anything for me at this point.

[cntrydncr223]

People get defensive over the choice they made. Most people who like to badmouth other phones (iPhones are toys, iPhones are chick phones, iPhone users are sheep, Android users are nerds, Apps are dumb, etc.) have never owned an iphone or an android device.

Also, people try a friends device for 2 minutes, and decide they don't like it right away.

In the end, I think it is people just trying to defend their choice

Perhaps the tendency to belittle other platforms is an effort to feel good about/justify their decision.

Or perhaps it is an attempt not to be swayed from their decision.

Or maybe, it's guilt over a rash decision.

[BitPusher2600]

I believe the title "groupie" may be more of a "passing fad" label of fandom vs something deeper, but barring that, I would otherwise be a "groupie" here because I live on my smartphone, it is my computer and best friend (commence with the laughs if you will), and having used them all (Android, iOS, WP7, and several BB's), I in the end chose to remain loyal to BB.
If the question you mean is "why are you 'here' ", that's why

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[anon3396357]

This phenomenon doesn't just happen in the smartphone market, it's in many other places as well. You (OP) responded to my thread as well and I supposed you read the articles written about this, but I'll just point you there again:

http://forums.crackberry.com/general...nsight-669230/

It's not that easy to be platform agnostic as you mentioned you'd like to be, especially when real resources are poured into a platform we decide to invest in - time (researching, setting up, joining communities), money (apps, accessories) - and many times it's not just a mere couple of dollars. For some it amounts to $50, $100 and it starts to approach the amount of money people spend for a smartphone itself on contract.

If I were to give you a piece of advice, it would be to make gadgets and smartphones a smaller part of your life. I used to be an avid BB fan, my life revolved around it. Even more so when I joined CrackBerry forums. One day when work piled up and I just didn't have the time to argue about "fart apps" or whatever nonsense on online forums, I started to lose my emotional connection to my phone. It was easier to take a step back then to survey the "scene" and I went to explore other alternatives while keeping an open mind.

Long story short, I arrived at this understanding: Life is short. If you don't want to waste time on these kind of stuff, just choose what works for you. If you want to get involved in geekery or at least tech news, go with the flow. I'll join whatever platform is on the top now and enjoy it. One day Apple will fall, and I'll just move on to the next hottest thing.

[louzer]

This is proof that smartphones have officially taken off. Not long ago tech news and bloggers would often pause to reflect on the small percentage of smartphones relative to the total number of wireless devices used globally. Well now we've reached a point where that percentage growing exponentially.

With the technical capabilities of a mobile device today even at the lower end of the pricing spectrum, they've evolved way beyond just phones. Different platforms tend to emphasize certain capabilities over others. Blackberry, iOS, Android, and WP7 are all very good and capable of most everything that you would want to do. They all, however, choose certain aspects of technology and user experience, to emphasize to differrentiate and identify their brand.

Once you associate yourself with a brand, you've made a statement about who you are. You have not simply purchased a phone - you've adopted a lifestyle. I won't even begin to try to describe attributes of people who like each of the different platforms. But when you buy that phone, you've made a decision that you want to BBM, iChat, Google Talk, or WLM with others.

When you realize that there are people that you can't [substitute your own group app] with you realize that you only have three choices: 1. get them to change to your platform. 2. you change to their platform. 3. realize that they don't mean enough to you to maintain the friendship because they choose to use an app that excludes you based on platform. Your choice of platform has now introduced an element of conflict.

If you're actually following this post, you have the potential to become a fanboy/girl of some sort. You spent a lot of time researching and thinking about what you want a smartphone and it's associated platform to do for you. But you also think about what platform other people you know are using. You've identified yourself as the type of person who carries an XYZ device that runs on ABC platform. Your use of it is visible in public. Today, smartphones go so far as to be considered in first impression when you meet someone.

This is a very interesting topic. My thoughts, recently, have been that smartphone platform is getting dangerously close to politics, religion, and sports (not necessarily in that order).

[southlander]

I think it is the natural end result of brand marketing. Companies want nothing more than for you to ally yourself to their brand. NOT a product, not their product but their brand. A lot of effort goes into this type of marketing.

And this plays into peoples' natural tendency to want to feel community with others about *something*.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

[bbmme]

as a Canadian I am proud to use blackberry as my mobile phone=)