[valueman]

If I could not have my BB the thing I would miss most is definitely the push email. The main reason I have a BB is to monitor business email while I am away from the office.

The browser is weak, but that is an auxiliary feature to me, not a primary feature.

I think touch screens will continue to evolve - that's just where the market is. I have tried several touch screen devices, but for pure email and text, I have yet to find anything that is as good as a old fashioned physical keyboard. But, the day will probably come when touch screens are just as effective.

I love the new trackpad on my 9700, but could live without it if a really good touch screen could be developed.

One of the big features about BB is the ability to easily transfrom the device (using themes, QuickLaunch, etc.) into a device that is set up for the specific needs/wants of the individual user.

[Bucsfanbryan#CB]

Rim should continue to make touchscreen phones. I really like the screen size of my storm, but its not a perfect phone and there is room for improvement. The rumored device with a touchscreen/slide out keyboard is certainly something I am interested in.

[huthur]

1. I think RIM is more marketable in North America because it seems to be something geared more toward business professionals, and has a lot more features than most of the Nokia's I've seen. Plus I don't think nearly as many carriers have as many Nokia phones as they do Blackberrys.
2. I've seen that they plan on making some kind of touchscreen simlilir to the Motorla Droid, but I think they are ugly. I don't personally like touchscreen Blackberrys as much.
3. I'm not sure what I would miss really.
4. I think RIM should modernize it to catch up with the other UI's that are out there.
5. I Have seen them. I think what differentiates them is that they have the trackpad or trackball which looks more modern and sleek than the way Nokia E72's trackpad type thing looks.

[iLovemy_bb]

This is my first year participating with the Smartphone Round Robin and I am honored to be a part of the Smartphone Experts group. This week Nokia Experts (that's me) is taking a look at the almighty BlackBerry platform and to kick things off and help me understand the BlackBerry platform I am starting this thread and plan to participate in the discussion here on CrackBerry.com.

I have some familiarity with the BlackBerry platform and some devices, but this is a platform I use the least due to my need to swap my SIM between multiple Nokia devices and I can't have it provisioned for BlackBerry service.

Here are a few questions I have for you BlackBerry owners to kick off the discussion:

1. Like Nokia, RIM has been around for many years. Nokia is the worldwide market leader, but does not do well in North America while RIM has an increasing market share here. What do you think this can be attributed to?
2. I've played a bit with Kevin's Storm 2 and am wondering if you all think RIM will continue to make touchscreen BlackBerry devices? It seems to me that QWERTY keyboard devices are the heart and soul of RIM and the touchscreen seems a bit out of character.
3. What BlackBerry feature do you think you'd miss the most if somebody replaced your BlackBerry with a Nokia smartphone?
4. Like Nokia, RIM's UI is dated. Do you think RIM needs to modernize it or are your perfectly happy and familiar with what you have now?
5. Have you seen the Nokia E71 or E72 with front facing QWERTY like a typical BlackBerry? What differentiates a BlackBerry from these devices?

....there's plenty more to talk about, so don't feel limited by the above. Remember, every day you make a post in this thread for the next week, you'll be automatically entered to win a BlackBerry device from CrackBerry.com! More details at www.smartphoneroundrobin.com

I believe RIM grabs a huge piece of the NA market because they offer devices with most carriers and you can have your BB put on any carrier as long as it supports that carriers data type GSM/CDMA/EDGE etc. Nokia smartphones aren't as common among the US for different reasons. I don't see a lot of ads or promotions for Nokia smartphones(their lower grade phones are common) and they aren't talked about as much

I think RIM will continue to develop touch screen devices because that was an untapped world at one point and people like/love touch screen devices. I personally prefer full qwerty, but when RIM makes a hybrid touch/full qertty I will jump on it. A touch screen BB is still a BB and that makes the S1/S2 good devices.

The interface, ease of use, availability. BB's are everywhere, The best Nokia smartphones are limited here and very pricey even when they are available.

I think the UI should stay the same, just give it a face lift like RIM has been doing forever. I can pick up any BB[ANY BB!] and use it as it were mine, change settings, customize etc. There are different looking devices that fit each person S2/Tour/Bold/Curve/Pearl/P. Flip but they all share that common ability to Fully customize icons, actions, commands and everything else that you may want. So it doesn't need to change, it just needs to look different i.e. theme options.

RIM doesn't clog the BlackBerry keyboard with extra shortcut buttons on the front or sides. They keep it simple. They give us a call start/end back button and main app button(BB button) + track ball/pad and a good feeling qwerty. If you've ever tried at Bold/Bold 2/Tour then you have felt a really good keyboard. The classic Curve keyboard is great too(I like it because water can't damage the phone when it hits it-keys are as one key pad). The E71 is a beautiful device, I like it. I dislike the inital cluttered look of the Nokia UI.

Overall I think Nokia has a good product just as RIM does but I think they both have room for improvement. I don't hear much comparison to Nokia by other devices(except by experts of course). The general public doesn't pay attention to what the little guys say, that' why some of us aren't aware of the Nokia smartphone platform. They have great devices but, I'm never leaving RIM(NEVER!)

I'm looking forward to learning more about your expertise with Nokia so feel free to reply to me directly or indirectly for a good discussion.

[braddyg]

1. I think there are 2 main reasons for this. The first is RIM's huge notoriety in the business world and reputation for "unhackable" devices. Businesses that need security and efficiency immediately think BlackBerry.

The second is that people in the U.S. aren't going to pay $500 for a smartphone. Even though they'd have more flexibility with regards to contracts/carriers/etc., consumers have gotten spoiled (me included) at paying <$200 upfront for the newest, hottest smartphone. Nokia's lack of carrier subsidies doesn't bode well for impulse-buying American consumers.

Playing a smaller part: the iPhone. It pretty much owns the GSM smartphone market in the U.S., and the nation's largest carrier is CDMA, unlike Europe. If you want the best network, you get Verizon. If you want the hottest GSM phone, you get an iPhone. There's just not much room for Nokia in the current market.

2. RIM's touchscreen devices will almost surely keep coming, given the market demand for touchscreens. With a lot of businesses adopting the iPhone, they need to branch out into the consumer market more and more, and touchscreen is the best vehicle for that currently.

3. From the Storm? Only the UI and push messaging. Even RIM's UI is better than Nokia's at this point. And it's pretty much a done deal that RIM owns push email.

4. I think the UI needs an update, for sure. RIM is trying to remedy this by adding themes to App World, but many themes drain memory/battery or don't integrate with most of the base UI, leaving for a half-*ssed look/feel.

Another thing that is desperately needed is a resolution to "app memory" issues. I'm sure this is a security thing, but having a (small) specific amount of memory available for apps puts BlackBerries at a disadvantage out of the gate.

5. Keyboard and trackpad. The physical typing experience on a full-QWERTY Berry is unmatched, and the trackball/pad beats the heck out of a d-pad any day of the week.

[silenttt123]

I think that RIM WILL continue to produce touchscreen BB's. They have no need to stop, the tech is pretty good that they are using, and I think that they have room for inprovement, and definitely can do it.

I would be more than happy if RIM were to modernize thier UI.. But at the same time, I like what they have already. It's just a case of getting used to something different agian.

[iLovemy_bb]

I seem to have given the impression that it does this -whenever- I install a third-party app. I did not mean to give that impression, because that's not what happens. It appears to be a totally random event, and I have installed many more apps successfully than I have had the issue I describe, but the last two times it has happened, it happened with downloads from BlackBerry App World - first was BBM 5.0, and the second was Evernote.

And this is an issue other BB users have. I have read forum posts from other Tour/OS 4.7 users, and theories about why it happens as well, right here on the CrackBerry forums, about this very problem. And while it is nice to hear that you have not had any problems, your experience does not rule out the existence of problems with the Tour's OS, or the possibility that RIM is at fault.

Evernote truly sucks man...I had that early on and removed after a few days. It has never worked for me and I have a 8900. The Tour had it's issues like some BB's initially but RIM cleans that up with fresh OS releases. I agree with you though, these things can happen to all of us, but don't fault the OS, fault the app dev's. It's not like you turned your BB on, sent a text and it bricked on you. Just some food for thought.

[BerSerX]

1. I believe that RIM's market shares have been increasing due to businesses of most types realizing the benefits of having a BB. The superior security when sending & receiving sensitive info. The push email feature helps when there are last minute meetings or changes.

2. The touchscreen is sort of a evolutionary branch in tech that consumers have grabbed onto. The way they did when QWERTY keyboards debuted. Everyone likes options & not being forced to have just one choice. It's just another piece of the foundation that holds up the house of RIM.

3. I would miss the push email feature. It greatly helps when I'm working, need certain info sent to me, & not near a computer. More convenient than just loading & bloating my phone with every bit of info I have stored on my pc/laptop.

4. RIM does need to modernize & improve the UI. They've made great leaps w/ upgrades but it shouldn't take longer to reboot my BB compared to my laptop(Vista).

5. The E71 keyboard is too cramped due to the bar form from older models. The E72 has a much improved & sleeker form factor that improves on the keyboard. The BB keyboard has much better usability & efficiency due to the closeness of the layout to a regular keyboard. Nokia shouldn't have shifted everything towards the left. It makes it almost as difficult as trying to use multi-tap on a basic keypad.

[nvious]

Sorry to hijack as such but here's something I'd like you guys to look at :

Mobile Users � Blackberry vs Nokia: The Email Battle

What do you guys think? (I know its a hard-core blackberry community here but competition = improvement!)

Oh and answer to 5. Mobile Users � E71 vs 8900: The Battle for Business Market

[Blkbear]

1. Like Nokia, RIM has been around for many years. Nokia is the worldwide market leader, but does not do well in North America while RIM has an increasing market share here. What do you think this can be attributed to?

I think many cell phone users gravitate to what happens to look good. And many will only buy what is advertised as cool and something to show off, and "they" are not going to want to show off a beater phone. Over the years Nokia phones have been one of those "Free Beater" phones with many of the US carriers. Good and sturdy but cheap, drop it, scratch it up, don't care about it starter phones, that you keep until you get something better.

2. I've played a bit with Kevin's Storm 2 and am wondering if you all think RIM will continue to make touchscreen BlackBerry devices? It seems to me that QWERTY keyboard devices are the heart and soul of RIM and the touchscreen seems a bit out of character.

I think RIM's bread and butter will always be QWERTY keyboards, even if they have to make a dual keyboard device and a touch screen only device that is the same, just without a physical keyboard. But they do have do better with what they offer in the way of touch screens, because right now, it's just not there yet. Computer keyboards have been around longer than BlackBerry phones, and while there are virtual keyboards and touch screen pads, they are not the norm, and won't be any time soon. So for now QWERTY is going to be safe with RIM.

3. What BlackBerry feature do you think you'd miss the most if somebody replaced your BlackBerry with a Nokia smartphone?

You know there are no Blackberry only features that I'd actually miss, other than RIM's Qwerty style keyboard. The people I know, can reach me using texts, phone, efax or email. I have had email filters that have been setup for years. PUSH mail isn't a big deal for me.

4. Like Nokia, RIM's UI is dated. Do you think RIM needs to modernize it or are your perfectly happy and familiar with what you have now?

It would be nice if RIM did a overhaul on their UI, or allowed for it to be user customizable to a greater level than it is now. The ability to install fonts would be a great option for many users. But once you get past flicking and scrolling screens, pretty backgrounds and LEDs that flash morse code, to let you know that a message, text or email has just arrived or some sort of attention is needed because you didn't pay attention the the reminders the first few hours it's been blinking or to warn you that the battery is drained and you need to plug in now or miss all those important messages you have reminders blinking on and on, which have gone ignored. (Which was the reason for the apps you installed to remind you of messages and phone calls every time you got a new one).

Da Bear's Blackberry Basics:

The ability to make and receive phone calls is #1 in my mind. If this means putting a beefier antenna in the phone along with a beefier battery, so be it.

Power hungry smartphones should ship with the most robust batteries available out of the box. If it adds weight too bad, if it adds cost, so what? If you advertise 3G, 24/7 news feeds, talk any time, text until your fingers bleed and surf until your eyes fall out..... you better have a battery in the phone that can live up to at least 16 hours of that between charging, because the main reason people have cell phones, is so they can move around and not be trapped at the end of a six foot cable , like their grandmother's old rotor house phone, with the powdered end in jammed into a wall, computer or handy Art Deco Lamp with USB ports (a friend has one).

More processing power. (yeah yeah I know needs a better battery)

A snappier web browser that does not bog down when viewing non WAP web pages.

Min memory size after OS and native apps are installed should be 512MB for the app crazed fans out there.

SIM card and SD card should be accessible without removing the battery on all future Blackberries.

And for those times that you must remove the battery, booting from ROM should be a tad faster than it is now on most BB's. I can just about get a power shower done in the time it takes most BB's to boot from having the battery out.

5. Have you seen the Nokia E71 or E72 with front facing QWERTY like a typical BlackBerry? What differentiates a BlackBerry from these devices?

Having not seen them in hand, so can't comment.

[onlineaddy]

1. Capitalism in NA results in more business use for BB's.
2. RIM has got to improve its touch technology or else it needs to go back to physical keyboards.
3. Corporate mail integration.
4. BB OS sooooo needs an update!
5. No, I have not seen them.

[rboren0119]

Rim has been a decsent phone for me but I would like to try the nokias because I've heard that the OS is much better than the Blackberry OS. I would love a chance to see how a Nokia phone works.

[gtstang462002]

I think that you will see many more touchscreen Blackberrys from RIM. I think that also in the coming years there will be a major overhaul to the UI on the Blackberry platform as well. The core components will likely remain the same but the upper layer that the user interacts with will likely get a face lift.

[Sanch0]

1. I think that theres a generational gap among cell phone users. It hasn't been long since cell phones have gone from calling people to full out multimedia connectivity devices. I almost couldn't call a Blackberry a cell phones, its much more than that. To me, companies like Nokia, Palm, and Motorola have been consistent with their older phones, but I don't usually associate these companies with high end multimedia feature packed devices. I think more of the Samsungs, the HTCs, the LGs, etc as featured packed devices. I was very surprised when Palm came out with the Pre, quite a leap for a company that kind of feel off the market for many years. Motorola came back with the Droid, which is doing very well for the company. Even though Nokia has the N97, I wouldn't really associate Nokia with the high end smartphone market, but then again the other two have surprised me as well.

2. There has been a lot of discussion about this and I believe that the physical keyboard is the heart of the Blackberry, but that doesn't mean that the company is confined to that mold. Look at companies like GM, who continued with the same practices for decades, refusing to change or comprise, to move with the tide. Sometimes this means taking risks, as RIM did with the first storm. It became the precursor to the Storm 2, which is an outstanding phone, but sometimes we have to make mistakes to get it right. I wasn't particularly fond of a clicking touchscreen, but since i've gotten used to it. Perhaps the "click" is still inherent from the physical qwerty blackberries with the trackballs.

3. There's nothing RIM has done feature wise that cannot be duplicated by Nokia. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and Apple was an early adopter for the touch screen cell phone (and look how many more there are now).

4. As much as i'd like to see something new from the company, i'm currently happy with the UI. I think the selling point of a Blackberry is primarily the functionality. Can you guess why the Storm did so poorly the first quarter it came out? You will always be faced with cynics that are resistant to change.

5. Yes I have seen the Nokia E71. What differentiates the two, besides the size and feel of the device, is the functionality of its menus. Here is an example of when the software is more important than the hardware. Blackberries come with a very consistent menu system that anyone who has used a blackberry will feel at home with. Whether or not the E71 mimics the Blackberry OS, I don't know, i've never used the device. Probably what differentiates it the most would be the Blackberry network, which has been very well maintained. I don't know if you can get that kind of experience

[wiseolddragon]

1. Like Nokia, RIM has been around for many years. Nokia is the worldwide market leader, but does not do well in North America while RIM has an increasing market share here. What do you think this can be attributed to?

Worldwide phones are sold without carrier contracts, but in North America the public is not used to paying $100-300 for a phone with minimal features. I think that Nokia has been pushing out too many low budget phones with nothing that grabs attention in hopes of competing on price with contract deals. I see so many $0 phones with 3-year contracts at my Rogers retailer, that they all sortof seem the same to me regardless of cell phone brand. With all of the low budget phones that Nokia has made in the past, it seems the public has now associated Nokia with 'phones that are plain & ordinary'

2. I've played a bit with Kevin's Storm 2 and am wondering if you all think RIM will continue to make touchscreen BlackBerry devices? It seems to me that QWERTY keyboard devices are the heart and soul of RIM and the touchscreen seems a bit out of character.

I think that RIM will always continue to make qwerty phones. Its just faster and more accurate than any other type of interface. Until mind reading devices come out, i dont think RIM's going to give up on QWERTY anytime soon.
I like how RIM is diversifying with touchscreens though, it just gives consumers more choice.

3. What BlackBerry feature do you think you'd miss the most if somebody replaced your BlackBerry with a Nokia smartphone?

I think I would miss the apps I have grown to use. Especially BBM.

4. Like Nokia, RIM's UI is dated. Do you think RIM needs to modernize it or are your perfectly happy and familiar with what you have now?

I'm satisfied with RIM's interface, it gets the job done most of the time. I would rather have RIM use their resources developing security, efficiency, and speed then the appearance of their UI

5. Have you seen the Nokia E71 or E72 with front facing QWERTY like a typical BlackBerry? What differentiates a BlackBerry from these devices?

I just do not like Symbian phones. Sure everything is fast and efficient, but it lacks something I cannot descibe. Since moving over to BB I find that there there is always something interesting about BB's Os. Like.. random reboots and freezes. But it brings me great satisfaction whenever I figure out how to fix it
If Nokia had Android based phones, with elegant designs I would seriously consider them as a serious contender in the smartphone market.

[papped]

BB interface is easier to use than Nokia's, particularly s60v5 which is very terrible on devices like the 5800 and n97. Storm's interface blows those two phones out of the water. Certain Nokia phones have very restricted today screens that make the interface very annoying, like the 5800/5530.

Nokia's email client and chat client are pretty terrible also (particularly email).

As far as Nokia's touchscreen devices, they should seriously give up on any of the s60 based touchscreens because their offerings are fairly terrible. They have a pretty decent offering on the s60v3 devices and the maemo based stuff (but maemo doesn't have much traction right now).

[abezapata]

Lets see if you can bring us to the rebel side from the dark side lol. Okay now for your questions:

1. Like Nokia, RIM has been around for many years. Nokia is the worldwide market leader, but does not do well in North America while RIM has an increasing market share here. What do you think this can be attributed to?
Well BlackBerry has been integrated to many professional and business companies. Also, Blackberry markets its phones to a more professional crowd that has the ability to fork over the money. Nokia on the other hand tries to advertise itself to a more broader audience. Something that also attributes to BlackBerrys increased market share is its prestige as a reliable (the best) email phone producer.

2. I've played a bit with Kevin's Storm 2 and am wondering if you all think RIM will continue to make touchscreen BlackBerry devices? It seems to me that QWERTY keyboard devices are the heart and soul of RIM and the touchscreen seems a bit out of character.
I really do not like the touch software RIM has to offer. I have played around with the Storm and Storm 2, and I found that it was not a welcoming experience. I had an iPhone 3G before my BB 8900 and I think that the iPhone does touch the best in my opinion. RIM should stick to their amazing physical keyboards and the new and impressive tackpad.

3. What BlackBerry feature do you think you'd miss the most if somebody replaced your BlackBerry with a Nokia smartphone?
BlackBerry Messenger of course. This app keeps me from running back to the iPhone or to the android platform.

4. Like Nokia, RIM's UI is dated. Do you think RIM needs to modernize it or are your perfectly happy and familiar with what you have now?
The RIM OS is dated but it works. I would love to see what RIM would hope to do if it updated its OS but like they say,"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

5. Have you seen the Nokia E71 or E72 with front facing QWERTY like a typical BlackBerry? What differentiates a BlackBerry from these devices?
Yes I have seen them but the Blackberry stands out with the appearance of the hardware and the os. BlackBerry phones look sexy and professional at the same time.

[Matthew Miller]

What a friendly and helpful community Kevin has here at CrackBerry.com! Thank you all for the very interesting replies. I did have the chance to play with the Bold 9700 and as a T-Mobile USA customer I am VERY tempted to go pick one up because I really do like QWERTY keyboards and that display is beautiful.

I have a couple further questions that concern me before I add a BB device to my collection.
(1) I use Exchange at work and my company is small so they will NOT add a BES. Is there a way to sync Exchange Calendar, Contacts, and Email with a BlackBerry without a BES wirelessly?
(2) If I purchased a BB on T-Mobile USA could I still pop out that SIM card and use it in my Nokia devices without a problem?

I recently purchased a B&N nook and see there is a BlackBerry client so that is very intriguing to me as well.

[ADGrant]

1. Like Nokia, RIM has been around for many years. Nokia is the worldwide market leader, but does not do well in North America while RIM has an increasing market share here. What do you think this can be attributed to?
2. I've played a bit with Kevin's Storm 2 and am wondering if you all think RIM will continue to make touchscreen BlackBerry devices? It seems to me that QWERTY keyboard devices are the heart and soul of RIM and the touchscreen seems a bit out of character.
3. What BlackBerry feature do you think you'd miss the most if somebody replaced your BlackBerry with a Nokia smartphone?
4. Like Nokia, RIM's UI is dated. Do you think RIM needs to modernize it or are your perfectly happy and familiar with what you have now?
5. Have you seen the Nokia E71 or E72 with front facing QWERTY like a typical BlackBerry? What differentiates a BlackBerry from these devices?

1. RIM builds devices that meet the needs of large corporate IT depts and email/message centric uses. Nokia not so much. The email/messaging clients appear to be a bit of a mess. Also Nokia has very little carrier support here.

2. Personally I hate touch screen keyboards. I don't see the point in buying a storm. It's not like the BB browser is very good.

3 The email and third party app support.

4 The RIM UI works very well and the 4.6 and up OS versions are very polished compared to older version.

5 The 71 is a nice phone except for the low res screen and 2.5mm jack. Shame Nokia messed up the E71x. The E72 seems to have downgraded the keyboard. The big problem with these phones is the email software and the perception that S60 is a dead end.

[redman213]

This is my first year participating with the Smartphone Round Robin and I am honored to be a part of the Smartphone Experts group. This week Nokia Experts (that's me) is taking a look at the almighty BlackBerry platform and to kick things off and help me understand the BlackBerry platform I am starting this thread and plan to participate in the discussion here on CrackBerry.com.

I have some familiarity with the BlackBerry platform and some devices, but this is a platform I use the least due to my need to swap my SIM between multiple Nokia devices and I can't have it provisioned for BlackBerry service.

Here are a few questions I have for you BlackBerry owners to kick off the discussion:

1. Like Nokia, RIM has been around for many years. Nokia is the worldwide market leader, but does not do well in North America while RIM has an increasing market share here. What do you think this can be attributed to?
2. I've played a bit with Kevin's Storm 2 and am wondering if you all think RIM will continue to make touchscreen BlackBerry devices? It seems to me that QWERTY keyboard devices are the heart and soul of RIM and the touchscreen seems a bit out of character.
3. What BlackBerry feature do you think you'd miss the most if somebody replaced your BlackBerry with a Nokia smartphone?
4. Like Nokia, RIM's UI is dated. Do you think RIM needs to modernize it or are your perfectly happy and familiar with what you have now?
5. Have you seen the Nokia E71 or E72 with front facing QWERTY like a typical BlackBerry? What differentiates a BlackBerry from these devices?

....there's plenty more to talk about, so don't feel limited by the above. Remember, every day you make a post in this thread for the next week, you'll be automatically entered to win a BlackBerry device from CrackBerry.com! More details at www.smartphoneroundrobin.com

My uncle live in India and the N97 is probably one of the biggest phones there right now. Having grown up in America I've never owned a nokia phone but the N97 does look promising. I think Nokia's "current" image is poor because of the lack of innovation in their line-up. Nokia doesn't really have a Nokia only anything in America and their products don't do anything special or have the hardware appeal like many LG and Samsung phones do. That being said for the average consumer.

RIM would have gone touchscreen sooner or later but I like think of their click screen concept is kind of like making up for missing the keyboard. But hey they have potential and to really unleash it they need to start putting up more consumer ready phones.

I don't know how fast the web browsing is on Nokia phones but if its any slower I'd cry. The only thing I would miss is the familiarity but the was the Blackberry OS works just makes sense to me...if only this business woman of a phone would take off her glasses and let her hair down lol.

People judge books by their cover no matter what people say even I do and with that statement I would really push more companies to improve of the UI of their phones while keeping the same familiarity with the OS and cry tears of joy to how far that would take them.

RIM has really researched their customers preference on keyboards and made something people generally find easy to use. I've used a tour keyboard in-store and was very fond of it. I can't comment on a Nokia keyboard however.

[Hunts99]

First off, welcome to the world of BB's. I have owned the Storm1 for a year now and this was my first smartphone and I am not tied to BB or Nokia, or Android, or even the iPhone. But what I will say is that I will never go back to an 'old school' phone again. The smartphones offer too much convenience and options to go back now.
So my answers to your questions are on a limited basis as I only know what I have learned from the Storm1 (which has been WAY more than I could have ever though).

1) I would assume that this could be attributed to corporate phones (see BES). My employer does not offer BES support and I got my Storm1 knowing full well it wouldn't be on my work network. It was a pure toy for me to play with.

2) It does seem to be out of character for BB and yes I (among others) seemed to be the test subjects for the first touchscreen. With that being said, I personally will never go to a phone with a keyboard. I am in love with the touchscreen and prior to betting the Storm1 the other option for me was the Samsung Omnia which I didn't like nearly as much. But I really like the touchscreen no matter the brand of phone or OS.

3) A lot of people seemed to say BBM but I only have 3 contacts on there and most of my friends that have BB's don't even know that BBM exists! So honestly the thing that I would miss the most if I had a Nokia would be the battery pulls and staying up late at night on Crackberry looking for the latest software leak.

4) I was actually okay with the original hardware that was on the Storm1 when I got it (.75). As I stated earlier, this was my first foray into smartphones so I was unaware of how they should act and should respond. Upon finding Crackberry.com my whole world changed. Knowing that you can install other software, leaked software made a world of difference on my phone and now with the addition of 5.0 the phone is a lot different than when I first got it. But just as you said Nokia needed to do, software is the hardest to do an overhaul for. Android seems to be the newest kid on the block so a lot of the attention has now been put on companies and brought the OS to the forefront of peoples minds.

5) I have not tried any of the Nokia smartphones, the last Nokia I owned was one of the 'brick' style phones that everyone seemed to have back in the day. I never had a bad experience with Nokia. I would say that the difference would be the security behind the phone, not necessarily the phone itself. BB has made a name for itself with the email and security of that email and its integration with corporate America. Personally, I am not tied to my BB and my next phone would probably not be a BB depending on what is on the market when I am up for my next 'new every 2'.

As far as your other questions (first one I am interested in as well) there does seem to be programs out there that you can hook up with exchange for email and contacts. I believe that it is called Astrasync. However it does run a yearly cost. Your second question is beyond me as I am part of the big Red.

I do appreciate you taking the time Palmsolo in jumping ship if only for a little bit to jump into something completely different. The round-robin seems to make all the experts feel how I did a year ago and its nice to read and watch their struggles. Its definitely something that I can relate to.

[McNibbler]

1. I think that the business world was the founding fathers of bb, and now teen love them. Physical qwerty / ease of use are prob two major factors.
2. I think that the touchscreen will always have a place in bb. There needs to be variety and I enjoy a closer keyboard rather than keys spread out. Variety is the spice of life.
3. I love bb messenger. I love knowing when messages have been sent + read + the speed of it. Not only that, I like that you don't have to have a messaging plan for it.
4. I like the UI now, but I do love change. RIM needs to stay competitive-so bring it on!
5. I haven't used the Nokia keyboard. Sorry.

[essex80]

1) BlackBerry has more appeal to the enterprise, business users, the push email it provides, and along with the lack of carrier support makes RIM a tough act to beat.
2) Since RIM devices has entered into the consumer market (with the original Storm), the Storm 2 is their 2nd attempt to catering to the consumers want/need of touchscreen devices (thanks to the iPhone). I think they will continue to make touchscreen & QWERTY devices to cater to everyone's needs/wants.
3) Can't live without my BlackBerry Messenger.
4) I think the UI is fine. It's simple & functional but the browser is in dire need of a major overhaul. Thank God they are working on a Webkit-based browser to catch up with the other popular devices.
5) Slightdifferences form-factor, screen size-wise, but I think it's RIM's keyboard-layout & spacing is the deal breaker.

[foggylemon]

1. Like Nokia, RIM has been around for many years. Nokia is the worldwide market leader, but does not do well in North America while RIM has an increasing market share here. What do you think this can be attributed to? It's just been popular as a business device, so forward-thinking young professionals and college students want one. I've always only used the cheap dumbphone Nokias back in the day, but I've heard their UI is significantly more complicated.
2. I've played a bit with Kevin's Storm 2 and am wondering if you all think RIM will continue to make touchscreen BlackBerry devices? It seems to me that QWERTY keyboard devices are the heart and soul of RIM and the touchscreen seems a bit out of character. Everybody wants a touchscreen phone, and BB is just playing to the market. Touchscreen BBs will probably never take over the business market, because just as front-facing QWERTYs are the heart and soul of RIM, so is the business market.
3. What BlackBerry feature do you think you'd miss the most if somebody replaced your BlackBerry with a Nokia smartphone? Different notifications based on in holster/out of holster. Ability to automatically sleep and wake when you put it in and take it out of the case/holster.
4. Like Nokia, RIM's UI is dated. Do you think RIM needs to modernize it or are your perfectly happy and familiar with what you have now? Doesn't NEED to modernize--and changing the UI may hurt their business partners--but as a consumer I think they should.
5. Have you seen the Nokia E71 or E72 with front facing QWERTY like a typical BlackBerry? What differentiates a BlackBerry from these devices? E71 is a slick device with wonderful size and weight. I personally think BlackBerries are more attractive but can often feel too cheap (I can't speak much on Nokia's UI, since I haven't actually tried it out for more than a second.

[williamsbh76]

1. I have not owned a Nokia since the 90's when everything was still analog (yikes!) My first Nokia was slim and had and easy to use phone book and even a couple of games (light years ahead of the old Motorola that I had before). For BB right now it all comes down to functionality: A user friendly interface and OS that is similar between models. The fact that all BB devices have a similar look and feel helps. You can play with a curve 8300 series and move seamlessly to a Bold.
2. Touchscreen is the next step in the evolution of electronics. From computers to cell phones. Qwerty will be a long time from going away if ever but, I think we will see more touchscreen Berry's as time goes on.
3. shortcuts and the apps.
4. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Just upgrade it and make it better!
5. I have not seen those messages yet.