1. Avenzuno's Avatar
    Right on! Welcome to the resurgency!



    Trust me when I tell you you're not alone. Lately, all the whining about the "app gap" seems hollow... I keep watching this thread, and every day, more people are posting and rediscovering what made them BlackBerry fans in the first place.



    You can always hang on to the iPhone as a camera and download the pics when you're hooked up to wifi. If you have any apps you really love that aren't on BlackBerry World for BBOS (NHL Game Center for me..!), you can use the iPhone as a tablet and connect via wifi.



    I have AT&T, and after I decided to resurrect by 9900, I walked into an AT&T store and asked for a full-size SIM card -- they just handed me one, no charge. If you get a new SIM, you could call AT&T and have them re-provision your number to the new SIM and pop it into the Bold. As far as BIS: The bad news is you'll be lucky if anyone at AT&T support knows what you're talking about, but THE GOOD NEWS IS your Bold and AT&T's network will work things out automatically, and BIS is no free on AT&T.
    I have at&t, too. How much does BIS cost, and is it mandatory? In preparation for BB10's demise, I had intended to scoop up a third such device to add to my first BlackBerry device, my Z30, and my second, the Classic. I thought first of a Q10 because of the replacement battery, but now I'm leaning on the Bold 9900.

    Posted via CB10
    06-08-16 02:37 AM
  2. anon(6038817)'s Avatar
    I have two 9900s and a 9000. Their keyboard beats the classic as both letters and numbers are equally easy to read.

    Bolds have the tool belt - larger than Classic's - so a larger touch pad (also illuminated), and of course swappable battery.

    In addition, what I value is the top left corner ringtone settings icon, needed for changing without the hassle of going into main settings menu and sifting through options. Shame no BB10 phone can do that.

    Posted via CB10
    In BB10 you can easily change the sound profile from the Quick Settings menu by swiping down from the top of any home screen with one finger or with two fingers if you are using an app.

    Posted from my BlackBerry Bold 9930
    06-08-16 06:40 AM
  3. anon(6038817)'s Avatar
    well GOOD because I got the impression you might jump ship to that new Q10 you got

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk
    Oh I've had my Q10 for a while - and I may eventually jump over to it again - but knowing me I won't be able to stay with it for long.

    I have a disorder called "Fickle Gadget Syndrome".

    Posted from my BlackBerry Bold 9930
    to boldly go likes this.
    06-08-16 06:42 AM
  4. austriker's Avatar
    New battery fitted yesterday into my lost and found 99, wiped it clean, EE sim in, BIS connected, Google email, calendar and contacts all synced, Whatsapp up and running, all with 30 minutes, BOOM! I think it took longer to set those up on my iPhone 6 (recently downgraded to iPod duty).
    whaaaaaat? howd ya get whatsapp working? mine, which downloaded from bb world, says its no longer supported..

    also i assume you dont have 2 step authentification on your gmail?

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk
    06-08-16 08:33 AM
  5. mushroom_daddy's Avatar
    .... also i assume you dont have 2 step authentification on your gmail?
    In case you don't already know, it is possible to get Gmail working on the 9900 (even when you have 2-step verification activated) by using an application specific password
    06-08-16 08:59 AM
  6. kertong's Avatar
    Trust me when I tell you you're not alone. Lately, all the whining about the "app gap" seems hollow... I keep watching this thread, and every day, more people are posting and rediscovering what made them BlackBerry fans in the first place.
    Thank you! I find this "resurgence" movement fascinating - I feel that it isn't only aided by the quality and efficiency that bb offered in the bold era, but I feel a large part of it is driven by the direction society is quickly moving towards. I'm glad to know I'm not alone in wanting to digitally disconnect, but I'm not surprised either.

    I was born in 1980, and I grew up in an age where pay phones were ubiquitous, and stopping at gas stations for directions was a regular thing. You and your friend would set a meeting time and place, and if you couldn't make it, you stopped somewhere and made a phone call hoping your friend hadn't left yet. You could still buy cigarettes in vending machines then, restaurants asked if you'd like to sit in smoking vs non-smoking, and when sitting in traffic, there was nothing to do but enjoy the music on the radio and chill out for a while, get lost in your thoughts, etc. Maybe you'd listen to your tape, from one end to the next, before it flipped over to play side B. We were used to enjoying things back then - no frequent skipping, shuffling, playlist swapping, or interruptions back then. It was, for lack of a better word - chill.

    These days, I shuttle to and from work, a huge perk that lets me observe and "chill out". I look around my shuttle and 9/10 people have their necks bent down, glued to their phone. I look around outside, and 3/5 cars that I see stopped in traffic have people with their necks bent down, poking at their phone. At restaurant waiting rooms, same story. Even in the restaurant booths I see the lone mom or dad struggling to make conversation with his family as their spouse silently plays angry birds, and the kids are watching youtube on their ipad. I couldn't help notice that small, faint, but nagging feeling at the back of my mind that something wasn't right, that people weren't meant to live like this - something that was easy to brush aside, but once I started paying attention to it, I could no longer ignore.

    Now, maybe I'm biased, maybe I'm old and scared of change, and maybe I'm seeing all this through rose tinted goggles - but the 80s-90s weren't perfect by any means, yet I feel like people were happier.

    Today, whenever we have "downtime", we pull out our phones. We are slaves to the notifications constantly streaming into our phones, and as soon as we have a free moment, we pull out our phones to keep our minds "occupied".

    No wonder people today feel like they have "no free time" - they do, it's just that they spend it on their phone! That feeling of time being a scarce resource really ratchets up stress and anxiety.

    Ever since I turned off all the social/entertainment apps on my phone, I found myself pulling my phone out at the first sign of free time out of habit. I'd stare at my phone, realize there was nothing to do on it, and put it back in my pocket. I was then met by free time - something that made me uncomfortable at first. "What do I do now?" "I have ~10 minutes until I have to get up next." It was a foreign concept at first and I admit, the urge to open up facebook or instagram and surf to kill those 10 minutes was really, really, tempting.

    After a week or two, I got used to it. I used that time to observe my surroundings, which is where I noticed just how many people were hunched over lost in their phones, oblivious to what was going on around them. "Wow, was I like that?" I found myself wondering.

    And for the next 10 minutes, I often did nothing. Absolutely nothing. I would stare out the window slack jawed, watching the cars go by - occassionally lifting my hand to wipe off the puddle of drool that was accumulating in the corners of my mouth. But that period of "nothing" wasn't actually nothing. I noticed these periods of doing "nothing", even if it was only for 5-10 minutes at a time, reset my stress/anxiety levels. Allowed me to recompose my thoughts, baseline myself, and tackle the next segment of work and errands mentally refreshed.

    This is something that didn't come to me in one enlightening moment - it took weeks to realize, bit by bit. But I only discovered this because I struck out the biggest time filler of my life - yes, the phone occupies your time in small doses, but it fills every nook and cranny of free time and adds up to be quite a drain - time wise, and mentally as well.

    I'm just rambling now, but the reason I wrote this was because I wanted to share something that I am confident you all have felt before, and some of you may have realized this long ago.

    Either way - I look forward to my bold 9900 chapter of life. I'll finally be able to smell the roses.
    Last edited by kertong; 06-08-16 at 11:51 AM.
    06-08-16 11:39 AM
  7. anon(8063781)'s Avatar
    Today, whenever we have "downtime", we pull out our phones. We are slaves to the notifications constantly streaming into our phones, and as soon as we have a free moment, we pull out our phones to keep our minds "occupied".

    No wonder people today feel like they have "no free time" - they do, it's just that they spend it on their phone! That feeling of time being a scarce resource really ratchets up stress and anxiety.

    Ever since I turned off all the social/entertainment apps on my phone, I found myself pulling my phone out at the first sign of free time out of habit. I'd stare at my phone, realize there was nothing to do on it, and put it back in my pocket. I was then met by free time - something that made me uncomfortable at first.
    Why do I have this feeling that the next thing I have to do is remove Tapatalk from my phone?
    anon(6038817) likes this.
    06-08-16 11:49 AM
  8. goodayeh's Avatar
    Why do I have this feeling that the next thing I have to do is remove Tapatalk from my phone?
    Yeah , I know what you mean !
    The notifications from this thread alone are very distracting !!

    It's all Ralph's fault !
    06-08-16 11:55 AM
  9. kertong's Avatar
    Why do I have this feeling that the next thing I have to do is remove Tapatalk from my phone?
    that's what I did! I sit in front of a desktop computer 8 hours a day, plenty of time to get my crackberry fix
    06-08-16 12:02 PM
  10. anon(9721108)'s Avatar
    Yeah , I know what you mean !
    The notifications from this thread alone are very distracting !!

    It's all Ralph's fault !
    Ahhhhh yeeeaaah I'm ahhhhhh going to go over there.........ya......and stand in the corner over there.......ooooooook

    Yes but the point of this is that we like using this device so much that we look foreward to the notifications from Crackberry so yaaaaaaa lets keep it .......

    Ya thats it

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk
    kertong likes this.
    06-08-16 12:05 PM
  11. David Tyler's Avatar
    In addition, what I value is the top left corner ringtone settings icon, needed for changing without the hassle of going into main settings menu and sifting through options. Shame no BB10 phone can do that.
    To be fair to BlackBerry 10, all BB10 phones can "do that:" You can put notifications in quick settings and easily tap between various profiles you set up.
    06-08-16 12:42 PM
  12. David Tyler's Avatar
    I have at&t, too. How much does BIS cost, and is it mandatory?
    I apologize for the typo in my original post; I changed "no free" (which probably reads as "not free") to "now free" (as in, "it didn't used to be, but it's free now"). Also, you don't need to cajole anyone at AT&T to get BIS -- just put a provisioned SIM card in your phone and turn it on. The AT&T network will recognize your phone as a BBOS device, and the BIS symbol will appear. It may take a little time.

    Yes, you really need BIS to fully bask in the Boldness -- BBM and email don't come to your phone otherwise.
    06-08-16 12:45 PM
  13. David Tyler's Avatar
    These days, I shuttle to and from work, a huge perk that lets me observe and "chill out". I look around my shuttle and 9/10 people have their necks bent down, glued to their phone. I look around outside, and 3/5 cars that I see stopped in traffic have people with their necks bent down, poking at their phone. At restaurant waiting rooms, same story.
    I REALLY liked your post, kertong -- and yes; it seems like people stare into those phones like all of life's answers are in there. Ridiculous.
    anon(6038817) and kertong like this.
    06-08-16 12:51 PM
  14. austriker's Avatar
    great post kertong! i had the same thoughts as per my little rant/editorial i posted earlier..

    on a sidenote i have my calendar and contacts on outlook.com, has anyone got those to sync? id like to sync them but if necessary will export them and import them into the 9900

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk
    kertong likes this.
    06-08-16 01:18 PM
  15. anon(6038817)'s Avatar
    Thank you! I find this "resurgence" movement fascinating - I feel that it isn't only aided by the quality and efficiency that bb offered in the bold era, but I feel a large part of it is driven by the direction society is quickly moving towards. I'm glad to know I'm not alone in wanting to digitally disconnect, but I'm not surprised either.

    I was born in 1980, and I grew up in an age where pay phones were ubiquitous, and stopping at gas stations for directions was a regular thing. You and your friend would set a meeting time and place, and if you couldn't make it, you stopped somewhere and made a phone call hoping your friend hadn't left yet. You could still buy cigarettes in vending machines then, restaurants asked if you'd like to sit in smoking vs non-smoking, and when sitting in traffic, there was nothing to do but enjoy the music on the radio and chill out for a while, get lost in your thoughts, etc. Maybe you'd listen to your tape, from one end to the next, before it flipped over to play side B. We were used to enjoying things back then - no frequent skipping, shuffling, playlist swapping, or interruptions back then. It was, for lack of a better word - chill.

    These days, I shuttle to and from work, a huge perk that lets me observe and "chill out". I look around my shuttle and 9/10 people have their necks bent down, glued to their phone. I look around outside, and 3/5 cars that I see stopped in traffic have people with their necks bent down, poking at their phone. At restaurant waiting rooms, same story. Even in the restaurant booths I see the lone mom or dad struggling to make conversation with his family as their spouse silently plays angry birds, and the kids are watching youtube on their ipad. I couldn't help notice that small, faint, but nagging feeling at the back of my mind that something wasn't right, that people weren't meant to live like this - something that was easy to brush aside, but once I started paying attention to it, I could no longer ignore.

    Now, maybe I'm biased, maybe I'm old and scared of change, and maybe I'm seeing all this through rose tinted goggles - but the 80s-90s weren't perfect by any means, yet I feel like people were happier.

    Today, whenever we have "downtime", we pull out our phones. We are slaves to the notifications constantly streaming into our phones, and as soon as we have a free moment, we pull out our phones to keep our minds "occupied".

    No wonder people today feel like they have "no free time" - they do, it's just that they spend it on their phone! That feeling of time being a scarce resource really ratchets up stress and anxiety.

    Ever since I turned off all the social/entertainment apps on my phone, I found myself pulling my phone out at the first sign of free time out of habit. I'd stare at my phone, realize there was nothing to do on it, and put it back in my pocket. I was then met by free time - something that made me uncomfortable at first. "What do I do now?" "I have ~10 minutes until I have to get up next." It was a foreign concept at first and I admit, the urge to open up facebook or instagram and surf to kill those 10 minutes was really, really, tempting.

    After a week or two, I got used to it. I used that time to observe my surroundings, which is where I noticed just how many people were hunched over lost in their phones, oblivious to what was going on around them. "Wow, was I like that?" I found myself wondering.

    And for the next 10 minutes, I often did nothing. Absolutely nothing. I would stare out the window slack jawed, watching the cars go by - occassionally lifting my hand to wipe off the puddle of drool that was accumulating in the corners of my mouth. But that period of "nothing" wasn't actually nothing. I noticed these periods of doing "nothing", even if it was only for 5-10 minutes at a time, reset my stress/anxiety levels. Allowed me to recompose my thoughts, baseline myself, and tackle the next segment of work and errands mentally refreshed.

    This is something that didn't come to me in one enlightening moment - it took weeks to realize, bit by bit. But I only discovered this because I struck out the biggest time filler of my life - yes, the phone occupies your time in small doses, but it fills every nook and cranny of free time and adds up to be quite a drain - time wise, and mentally as well.

    I'm just rambling now, but the reason I wrote this was because I wanted to share something that I am confident you all have felt before, and some of you may have realized this long ago.

    Either way - I look forward to my bold 9900 chapter of life. I'll finally be able to smell the roses.
    Oh, wow, can I appreciate and relate to this post!!

    I was born in '81. And 35-36 years of age is NOT old, but at the rate technology has advanced it sure feels like it, sometimes.

    I, too, remember when times were more "chill". I would ride my bike with my best friend to the local mall on a Saturday and we'd just spend hours walking through the shops, getting $.50 tacos at the food court for lunch, and blowing our allowance on Star Trek: The Next Generation toys (which I still have). We'd find a payphone if we needed to call home.

    Nobody had cell phones, let alone smartphones. Email existed, but my family didn't even have an internet-connected computer until I was 17 or 18 (it was custom-built with a Pentium 266 running Windows 95). And somehow, everyone survived. Most people even managed to be happy and enjoy life.

    Every home had at least one phone. Most also had answering machines. You'd just call the home of the person you wanted to talk to, and if they weren't available you left a message. They'd return your call at their convenience, and that was perfectly fine. Sometimes, you'd just stop by their home and have a face-to-face conversation if you really needed to talk to them.

    When we went on long car trips, we would purchase maps and plan our trip in advance. We'd stop and ask for directions when needed. When services like MapQuest became popular, we'd print out the maps we needed from our home computer.

    Organizing your time, pending tasks, and contacts was done using DayTimers, Franklin Planners, Address Books, Roladexes, Wall Calendars, etc. My father still has boxes and boxes of his old DayTimers - every square inch of them filled with notes and writings.

    While I vacillate between going "retro" and "bleeding edge" when it comes to my smartphone and the other technology I use, my general trend has been "retro". Back in January, I permanently deleted my personal Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts and haven't looked back. And I'm using a 9930 as my daily driver at the moment. It hasn't been easy, coming from BB10 devices and having used Androids and iPhones, as well. There are some things I really do miss that can be done on newer devices.

    Thankfully, your post and threads like this in general keep reminding me why I am going this direction in the first place.

    I believe digital distraction is a problem. It drains us of one of our most precious resources: time. Time can be exchanged for far more valuable, meaningful things than a game of Candy Crush or posting a picture of what we are eating to a social media account.

    In December of last year I went "ultra-retro" and downgraded to a "dumbphone" for a few weeks. Phone calls, texts, and blurry photos - that was all it could do. I found it to be an enlightening, fulfilling experience. One evening during that time I took my family to a Christmas concert featuring an amazing choir and orchestra. Waiting in line to get in, I had pleasant conversations with my family. After we took our seats, I looked around the magnificent venue we were in, noting the ornate decor from the tapestries to the murals on the walls, enhanced by additional decor appropriate to the season. I snapped a single photo with my phone and turned it off. I listened to the orchestra as it warmed up and tuned. I observed the people around me - many of them engrossed in their phones, but many who were just enjoying the ambience and taking it all in like me, too.

    Because I had no hope of distracting myself with my phone, I was able to live and exist in that moment - to engage with my environment and the people in it. I found the experience to be supremely enjoyable and memorable, down to the last poinsettia, the last exhilaratingly triumphant musical note of the encore. It's a precious memory that I may have missed entirely had my attention been on my phone.

    This is why I dare to use a 5-year-old phone.

    I dare to cut out meaningless distraction from my life.

    I dare to reclaim my invaluable time and spend it on things of greater worth.

    I dare to be Bold.
    kertong, Stufer, Wmsi and 1 others like this.
    06-08-16 01:34 PM
  16. oldsoul123's Avatar
    I'm sure KK would love to see them come back!
    06-08-16 01:38 PM
  17. Michniks's Avatar
    Funny thing. About 20min before I read your post KERTONG I deleted Tapatalk from my BB10 device.

    PS. I hate my Bold 9900. When I look at it, I can swap my sim card 2 or 3 times a day... it's awful feeling...

    Posted via CB10
    kertong likes this.
    06-08-16 03:03 PM
  18. Michniks's Avatar
    Yesterday I realised one thing. I had two similar situation - conversation on one quite important topic. First case was when I had 9900 in hand. It wasn't a problem to discuss it via text messages although it was about 30 messages in 20min? Second case was, when I had Z30 - after 3 text messages I choose to call this person. I Couldn't type any more on vkb...:/

    Posted via CB10
    anon(6038817) and idssteve like this.
    06-08-16 03:12 PM
  19. anon(9721108)'s Avatar
    you guys missed out on the 1970's, as kids we used CB radios to make new friends and talk to strangers and no one was worried about "security" back then either. Kinda like an early version of the internet.

    Just 2 years ago I sold myt dad's Realistic brand "walkie talkie" for $50!!!!! That thing made you look like you were calling in an air strike in WW2 or something! For laughs I took it to the cafe once and the girls there NEVER saw anything like it before! The antenna must have been 8 feet fully extended

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk
    kertong and Doug_M like this.
    06-08-16 04:01 PM
  20. MikeLip's Avatar
    you guys missed out on the 1970's, as kids we used CB radios to make new friends and talk to strangers and no one was worried about "security" back then either. Kinda like an early version of the internet.

    Just 2 years ago I sold myt dad's Realistic brand "walkie talkie" for $50!!!!! That thing made you look like you were calling in an air strike in WW2 or something! For laughs I took it to the cafe once and the girls there NEVER saw anything like it before! The antenna must have been 8 feet fully extended

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk
    My parents got me that back in '73. Still works. I got my first class radiotelephone license so I could work on them. Dream was to become a broadcast station engineer. I was qualified, but never did it. Worked on weapons systems instead concentrating on computer controlled test of analog and digital systems - using a computer with 12K of memory and a teletype. So I've been around technology for a while and the Realistic CB walkie-talkie (3 channel! 5 watts!) got me there. Now I carry a phone with more horsepower than all the computers i used throughout my first 20 years put together. And it's not as much fun
    Doug_M likes this.
    06-08-16 04:19 PM
  21. anon(9721108)'s Avatar
    My parents got me that back in '73. Still works. I got my first class radiotelephone license so I could work on them. Dream was to become a broadcast station engineer. I was qualified, but never did it. Worked on weapons systems instead concentrating on computer controlled test of analog and digital systems - using a computer with 12K of memory and a teletype. So I've been around technology for a while and the Realistic CB walkie-talkie (3 channel! 5 watts!) got me there. Now I carry a phone with more horsepower than all the computers i used throughout my first 20 years put together. And it's not as much fun
    Cools. You must be a fan of Art Bell then? If you don't know about him Wiki his name, pretty interesting stuff! If you have the TuneIn Radio app on your 9900 (excellent app) then search his name and check out all the reruns of his show, commercial free, fun stuff. He got started in Ham Radios, etc.

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk
    06-08-16 04:22 PM
  22. anon(9721108)'s Avatar
    I should add that the Realistic was a 23 Channel from about 1977

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk
    06-08-16 04:25 PM
  23. Stufer's Avatar
    whaaaaaat? howd ya get whatsapp working? mine, which downloaded from bb world, says its no longer supported..

    also i assume you dont have 2 step authentification on your gmail?

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk
    Yeah Whatsapp normal download from bbw, although can confirm no 2 step authentication in place, been that way for a long time with no issues, I don't use gmail for anything sensitive.
    06-08-16 04:25 PM
  24. idssteve's Avatar
    Yesterday I realised one thing. I had two similar situation - conversation on one quite important topic. First case was when I had 9900 in hand. It wasn't a problem to discuss it via text messages although it was about 30 messages in 20min? Second case was, when I had Z30 - after 3 text messages I choose to call this person. I Couldn't type any more on vkb...:/

    Posted via CB10
    Lol! BTDT!! VKB exhausts me. Not physically, but mentally. Z30 feels like one constant distraction. A constant battle to coax the thing into doing ONLY what I want & when. Mentally akin to herding cats, if that makes sense. Nothing relaxing about it. I'm mentally exhausted by day's end.

    I can focus like a laser thru text with coworkers & clients on my 9900. Concepts verbalize on the screen without cognizant distraction. AND i feel relaxed & ready for more, at days end. Very subjective but very real.
    06-08-16 04:56 PM
  25. Wmsi's Avatar
    you guys missed out on the 1970's, as kids we used CB radios to make new friends and talk to strangers and no one was worried about "security" back then either. Kinda like an early version of the internet.

    Just 2 years ago I sold myt dad's Realistic brand "walkie talkie" for $50!!!!! That thing made you look like you were calling in an air strike in WW2 or something! For laughs I took it to the cafe once and the girls there NEVER saw anything like it before! The antenna must have been 8 feet fully extended

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk
    I was born in the 70s and had several CB's in the early 80s!

    Fondest memory is going for an "eyeball" with some girls that lives about 25 miles away when I was 13. Fun times!

    This thread is the best btw, and I'm loving the second week of using my 9900.
    anon(6038817) and Frehley like this.
    06-08-16 04:56 PM
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