View Poll Results: What's Your Opinion of the BlackBerry OS?

Voters
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  • I think it's Perfect as-is!

    3 3.53%
  • It could use some work, but it's essentially good.

    51 60.00%
  • I like it, but it needs major work.

    17 20.00%
  • It needs a major overhaul, Real Bad!

    14 16.47%
  1. ElJaguar's Avatar
    I'm not concerned about the BB OS's future.
    However much I think I made a great choice with my Tour, I expect that the future will have better products and OSs that will be more appealing. I would be disappointed if it didn't.

    I don't have a loyalty to RIM - buying a BB just means I'm locked into using a great device for at least the next year.
    09-24-09 08:21 PM
  2. smnc's Avatar
    Yeah, but that's his personal phone, not a work phone. BTW, using it as a translator sort of re-enforces it's toy status...
    Toys can be useful, doesn't mean they're not toys.

    And the military has been testing out the iPhone to be able to use it.
    Really? Got a link or source? I wouldn't think the iPhone would be durable or secure enough for any government use...

    edit:
    Hey, where'd the post go?
    09-24-09 08:33 PM
  3. Exiled Bulldawg's Avatar
    I wouldn’t call anything with an actual application a toy. I think the application that translates English to Spanish is a useful thing if one is traveling!

    As an aside, the OS X kernel used in the i-phone, i-touch and Macs is roughly the same. Now, before anyone gets too over joyed to say that I am wrong, I have seen a perfect terminal screen on an i-phone. I have seen the same terminal on HP UX machines. This scalability allows for development on one platform that is usable on another. That is far from being a toy.

    The only thing stopping development of the i-phone into a true handheld computer is Apple. There is no equivalent drag on Android.

    Viewed in that context, what is revolutionary about the Apple phone is that it truly is a computer that fits in a persons hand. Now, what will it become and what will Google learn from it? Or will it be Palm or Motorola (Android is open source) to really advance things?

    Back in 2000, we kept saying the computer was limited by our imagination! That new and innovative ways of connecting would continually become available. Where I believe we were wrong was in the speed of change. We discussed an 18 month cycle, however, that has not born out, but innovation of unimaginable magnitude has happened since. And I think the future will have innovations we have barely dreamed of today!

    Now, if we could just get back to the moon in 8 years! But that would require building a machine and going balls out. Which our society doesn’t reward anymore.
    09-25-09 12:22 AM
  4. smnc's Avatar
    I wouldn�t call anything with an actual application a toy. I think the application that translates English to Spanish is a useful thing if one is traveling!
    Would you want an iPhone as your PRIMARY mobile device? For myself, the answer is a resounding NO. I'd love to have an iPhone/iTouch as a second (or is that 3rd) mobile device, but not for my primary. That, IMO, makes it a toy.

    Look at it this way.
    Say I own two cars. One is a mid-sized sedan that I drive every day.
    The other is a Porsche 911 that I drive on weekends. The Porsche can still be useful, but that doesn't mean it's not a toy.

    As an aside, the OS X kernel used in the i-phone, i-touch and Macs is roughly the same. The only thing stopping development of the i-phone into a true handheld computer is Apple.
    Viewed in that context, what is revolutionary about the Apple phone is that it truly is a computer that fits in a persons hand. Now, what will it become and what will Google learn from it? Or will it be Palm or Motorola (Android is open source) to really advance things?
    It's fun to watch and make predictions, that's for sure. I really want Google and Palm to do well, and I think both are well on their way.
    BTW, I've had a computer that fits in the Palm of my hand for a couple years. It's called a Sony UX, and it runs a Core 2 Duo processor and has over 100GB of storage right now. Bigger than an iPhone, yes, but WAY cooler.

    Now, if we could just get back to the moon in 8 years! But that would require building a machine and going balls out. Which our society doesn�t reward anymore.
    As an amateur astronomer and cosmologist, I'd love to see mankind on the moon in my lifetime(I wasn't born yet last time).
    But right now NASA doesn't even have a REAL plan as to what to do when they retire the shuttle next year (No Orion/Constellation doesn't count).
    UGH!!!! Forget balls-out. Right now there's no Balls at all!
    09-25-09 12:48 AM
  5. Exiled Bulldawg's Avatar
    Would you want an iPhone as your PRIMARY mobile device? For myself, the answer is a resounding NO. I'd love to have an iPhone/iTouch as a second (or is that 3rd) mobile device, but not for my primary. That, IMO, makes it a toy.

    Look at it this way.
    Say I own two cars. One is a mid-sized sedan that I drive every day.
    The other is a Porsche 911 that I drive on weekends. The Porsche can still be useful, but that doesn't mean it's not a toy.
    Now that is a fun comparison, I could say the speed limit is much less than the Porsche's capability. Or I could quote some Vonnegut about the Handicapper General. Unfortunately, I disagree with the comparison. I think a better comparison would be a minivan and a sports sedan. One is practical and can haul a good bit, the other is a little more sleek. Each is meant for a different market!


    It's fun to watch and make predictions, that's for sure. I really want Google and Palm to do well, and I think both are well on their way.
    BTW, I've had a computer that fits in the Palm of my hand for a couple years. It's called a Sony UX, and it runs a Core 2 Duo processor and has over 100GB of storage right now. Bigger than an iPhone, yes, but WAY cooler.
    I am not sure you could put the Sony UX in the palm of your hand. Bet it won't fit in your pocket! But that is the wild card. What if Apple or Microsoft go ahead and push their tablet form factor? What does that change? Imagine having the ability to surf the full web with something the size of a small novel. Does that change anything? What about the machines it can connect to? What possibilities does it open? Does it mean we can finally surf the web while truly mobile? Or does it mean no gain?

    As an amateur astronomer and cosmologist, I'd love to see mankind on the moon in my lifetime(I wasn't born yet last time).
    But right now NASA doesn't even have a REAL plan as to what to do when they retire the shuttle next year (No Orion/Constellation doesn't count).
    UGH!!!! Forget balls-out. Right now there's no Balls at all!
    I think many have forgotten to reach out requires sometimes reaching beyond one's grasp. In my opinion too many times we as the "modern" people are afraid to reach and fail. Sometimes we learn more from our failures than we would ever learn from our successes. When JFK made his famous speech that by the end of the 60's, the US would send a man to the moon and bring him back safely, NASA had only succeeded in launching a man about 330 miles. Not even one Earth orbit.

    The same thing can be said for a lot of applied mechanical projects. We spend twice as long building structures half as big as the Empire State Building and Hoover Dam. The SR-71 was flying about seven years after the U-2, and what a leap it was!

    I wonder if we could do the same things today. Are we lacking the same fire? Or imagination? We have much better computers. We have a better understanding, but we seem to be paralyzed at the idea of going all in.
    09-25-09 01:07 AM
  6. smnc's Avatar
    Now that is a fun comparison, I could say the speed limit is much less than the Porsche's capability. Or I could quote some Vonnegut about the Handicapper General. Unfortunately, I disagree with the comparison. I think a better comparison would be a minivan and a sports sedan. One is practical and can haul a good bit, the other is a little more sleek. Each is meant for a different market!
    Fair enough.
    It really depends on how you'd use the iPhone I suppose.
    For me, if and when I get one, will be 100% toy.
    I'll be using it for games, and fun apps. Again, I'm not denying its usefulness, but for me, it wouldn't replace any of my other devices... well maybe the PSP.

    I am not sure you could put the Sony UX in the palm of your hand. Bet it won't fit in your pocket! But that is the wild card.
    See the attached pics... I guess it depends on your idea of "palm", and yes my pants do look very happy, but there you are.
    BTW, I do carry it in my pocket with a fair bit of regularity.

    What if Apple or Microsoft go ahead and push their tablet form factor? What does that change? Imagine having the ability to surf the full web with something the size of a small novel. Does that change anything? What about the machines it can connect to? What possibilities does it open? Does it mean we can finally surf the web while truly mobile? Or does it mean no gain?
    Personally I find my UX incredibly useful while on the road. I use my Curve as a modem and I have internet everywhere I go.
    I'd love if it was even smaller, but that's not practical with a "real" processor (I don't count intel Atoms).

    I think many have forgotten to reach out requires sometimes reaching beyond one's grasp. In my opinion too many times we as the "modern" people are afraid to reach and fail. Sometimes we learn more from our failures than we would ever learn from our successes.
    This is something I never admit to my clients, but ALL my early technology training consisted of tinkering/disassembling/breaking things. I was about 5 years old.
    I didn't start putting things back together until I was about 7, and I didn't get any good at it until I was about 12.
    There is a quote often attributed to Thomas Edison, that is along the lines of "I didn't fail to make a light bulb 999 times, I learned 999 ways NOT to make a light bulb".
    While the quote is dubious, the sentiment is very true.

    The same thing can be said for a lot of applied mechanical projects. We spend twice as long building structures half as big as the Empire State Building and Hoover Dam. The SR-71 was flying about seven years after the U-32, and what a leap it was!

    I wonder if we could do the same things today. Are we lacking the same fire? Or imagination? We have much better computers. We have a better understanding, but we seem to be paralyzed at the idea of going all in.
    +1

    Not all hope is lost. Look at the big dig in Boston? That was a HUGE undertaking in the same grand vein as the others you've mentioned.
    Last edited by smnc; 09-25-09 at 02:26 AM.
    09-25-09 02:24 AM
  7. smnc's Avatar
    So basically we're sitting at 2/3rds of users mostly or completely satisfied with the BB OS, and about 1/3 mostly or completely unsatisfied...

    Interesting...
    What suprises me most is the 17% of users who think BB OS needs a COMPLETE overhaul.

    Here's a question for those folks:
    If you dislike the BB OS that much, why do you own a Berry at all?
    Is it the apps? Hardware? a Contract commitment? Work?
    09-28-09 08:47 PM
  8. noto220's Avatar
    The blackberry OS is decent but it needs a browser update ASAP!
    09-28-09 08:50 PM
  9. smnc's Avatar
    The blackberry OS is decent but it needs a browser update ASAP!
    At least that's one area we can be reasonable assured will be improving, since RIM bought Torch Mobile (makers of the Iris browser)...
    09-28-09 11:45 PM
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