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Thanks.
Like there was ever any doubt - Weekendbum is a really good guy who recently was dragged into (and named for) something he didn't deserve. We just needed to remind each other that we're both on the same side.
Even the best of friends have occasional misunderstandings.
Now back on topic...
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Hey folks - to expand on what I said before, and have said many times in these forums, it isn't that people are getting defective phones. Rather, they are experiencing defective designs. Some manufacturers make running changes & improvements, while others don't.
An example of running changes being made to phone hardware can be found in the very capable Palm Pre. Fixes to the battery area have been made, case plastic has been upgraded (with an unadvertised slight weight increase), as well as a few other changes. It is already a much improved device, without making people wait for the next model. Nokia & Samsung are also known for making running design changes/fixes in their models. With these manufacturers, a problem in a model may vanish in a month or two - a good reason to wait a bit before picking up a new model.
Other manufacturers, like LG, RIM & Moto tend to only implement changes by rolling out an entirely new model. With Moto & LG, there have been occasional running changes, but it isn't the norm. As far as I know, RIM has never made a running model change other than in software.
Without a running change in design, staying with the same model in an exchange process means you're subjecting yourself to exactly the same problems as the sample you're getting rid of. There is NOTHING any carrier can do about it. If you don't want screen & UI problems, don't go with a Storm - it is exactly the same today as it was last November, with the exception of the OS. We can see similarly troubling design issues with the Tour - screen ripples, incorrigible trackballs & fragile battery covers. The original Curve 8300 had problems with battery latches. - buy a brand new 8330 & you will have exactly the same latch as the older ones.
Yes, there are those who've not had problems, but then again, one of the guys who works for me has a pristine Yugo GV convertible with 100,000 miles that he's never had trouble with. So bad designs can sometimes work out - it's just that the odds are against you.
I get that you like the BlackBerry interface. I do, too. But with the exception of MAYBE the latest Nokia (I love Symbian), smartphones are not perfect. They have flaws & issues. What flaws & issues each has depends on the particular device. You have to weigh the plusses against the minuses. If the plusses are that good, decide if you can live with those minuses. If the negatives are so overpowering that you cannot enjoy (or even use) your chosen device, find another.
The last BlackBerry I could love was the 8330 - but I still have a box of battery latches & trackballs for them.
In North America, RIM is currently the 800 pound gorilla with about 51% of the market - whatever they put out, they sell. If it has problems, it is no big deal to them, because BlackBerry owners are so infatuated with the BlackBerry mystique that they just get another one - and blame the carriers for RIM-caused issues. This is an incredible position to be in, but one that breeds mediocrity. As for the rest of the world, they aren't so enamored with BlackBerry - WM is still the number one platform worldwide. That says a lot, considering America's financial prosperity & market-shaping buying power.
All in all, though - if you can't live with Tour's problems, or Storm's issues, don't switch between them - you're simply trading one set of troubles for another. It doesn't matter that you know of someone who has one that has been trouble-free, because it isn't a question of if it will have problems, but when.
And there isn't much that VZW or Sprint or AT&T or T-Mobile can do about it. It isn't their fault.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com08-28-09 10:00 PM
