why blackberry users will bail on RIM
 

Don't get me wrong I love my tour, it just works for alot of things for me. Mainly keyboard and I can actully get things done faster on it. But I'm with sprint and the evo 4g is a killer and the fact that you can actully type faster with swype like seen in the samsung commerical (not that fast maybe).

Anyway I just saw this on yahoo and honestly I have to agree because RIM is getting dated everyday. I don't see how a blackberry phone can cost as much or equal to any of the other iphones, etc.

why-blackberry-users-will-defect: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

Wirelessly posted

Geeze. Another one.

Funny how the pic they put up is the Pearl.

You realise of course that more than half of the Blackberry userbase didn't actually CHOOSE to go with blackberry. It was forced down their throats by their employers who deployed the platform because it satisfied potential security/compliance requirements their business needed. In the corporate world blackberry is a centralised managed platform with granular control over services offered.

If anybody is going to flee would be part of the consumer userbase which hop from platform to platform anyway according to the current twitter trend.

Don't you worry, RIM is not going anywhere. Thanks for playing.

Be happy, it could have been the flip :-P

RIM should go back to its roots... The BB is for mobile professionals who rely on email and a phone - period. It's not supposed to be fun, so if "fun" is where the money is, then I guess they lose. If utility is more important, then RIM wins hands down. They need to focus on the original form factor of the Bold and apply all of the upgrades of the 9700 to that device. I've used the other platforms in the past and BB has been my unit for the past 4 years. They just seem lost right now by trying to please everyone. Just carve a niche and rake it in... JMHO.

It's like those guys with the sandwhich board signs that say the world is ending.

I'm not leaving BlackBerry, so I guess RIM will have me as a customer.

In my opinion, the only thing that REALLY sucks about the Blackberry, is the slow and quirky browser. We have one employee that has a Droid, and when renewal time comes, maybe more. Personally, I would love to see RIM outsource the browser. It would make it perfect for me, as I like the feel and design of the Blackberry.

RIM is working on a better browser. I just don't know how much better it can be. The opera mini is as good as it gets.

That's a matter of opinion. The iPhone and Palm Pre browsers are better than Opera Mini and Bolt for the BlackBerry IMO.

If RIM takes that route, they will be out of business in 2 years.

We use different methods of communication in my business but personally I CHOOSE BB and did so for a reason.....their reputation in the market. I dont think there is a better device out there. Keep your iJunk. The forum is full of people who left and came back. Go join them.

Interesting...check out this news article released today by the AP:

Excite News - RIM: higher 4Q profit as subscriber base grows

I love my BB, except for the browser which I use quite a bit. I hope more news come up at WES for the webkit browser where they'll announce that it will be available to the public this year!

Although if BB really screws it up and if I was to switch, I will probably switch to Android.

Or a Storm ;-)

I seriously can't see RIM disappearing anytime soon.. Granted I am getting bored with my 8330..

Palm is still keeping the down low. iPhone is limited to Once carrier (for now), and Android is the new man on the block being the newest "wow" factor.

Who else do we have out there that comes close the BB?

To be fair, all the other options come close and in some aspects they are better then the BB.

PLeasee out dated my ass... I did the dumbest move ever...

I had the 9700 for at&t and then I got the htc HD2 march 24th right when it came out...Now I'm switch back to my black berry...

The HD2 was a great phone...but their service sucks! I would get emails coming in 10-30minutes after, Sometimes MMS wont even go through...I just felt very distant and not connected like I did when my 9700...

When I had the 9700 everything just came to me so instant. And blackberry is organized way better. Im not switching from BB again.

At the end of the day....it's still a friggin' phone.

Blackberry is made for ease of use, quick, and "efficient." Phone & messaging works, you don't have to think about it.

It's like a car. You can bling it out all you want, chrome rims, flashing lights, insane stereo system, TV screens everywhere, heated seats, automatically parks itself, all that does is blind you to the fact that you have to get out of your seat just to shift gears, or turn 360 to look into your blind spot, reach uncomfortably just to turn down the radio, and turn the steering wheel with all your strength. At the end of the day, you still got to be able to drive the car easily.

All BB is missing, is the WOW factor. It help brings people in, and helps to keep people from leaving cause their wow'd by something else.

No its not, not anymore. People are craving portable computing devices that also make calls.

well, in my opinion (new here), I love my BB Storm. Yes it has its issues, but I believe that for those of us that stick it out, RIM is going to bring that "wow" factor. There next line of phones for the 2010-2011 year are going to surpass your Iphones and HTCs..Lets not forget that RIM revolutionized cell phones and push emailing and in my opinion perfected it..There is a reason they are second most popular platform in the world next to Nokia and number one preferred phone in the US..and I agree with frmkt that RIM should stick with its roots, perfect what is already great, but they should ALSO take a small part in the "fun" aspect of the phone.....Storm 1 was ok...Storm 2 was what Storm 1 should have been...Storm 3 will be the WOW phone....

I agree.

I like my BlackBerry® Curve.

Wow, that sure added a lot to the thread.

In all fairness, this thread didn't really have a lot of useful substance to begin with.

I love my BlackBerry and like my (work) iPhone. Not sure I could have only the iPhone, but could easily go back to only the BlackBerry.

RIM will never cater to the teeny-boppers!

As frmkt said, xxx8220;The BB is for mobile professionals who rely on email and a phone - period.xxx8221;

Blackberries are the most reliable and secure devices on the market. Stay that way and let the teeny-boppers move on!

9700 works swell for me (so did 8900) but I sense that RIM is losing cache to the touchscreen crowd. Not just the eyefin, but those other newer models like the droid and the htc models. RIM is probably a good short at the current valuation.

I hear that the new BBM will have a lot more social networking features. I think most non-corporate users would bail on RIM if it wasn't for BBM. A non-platform specific Messenger prog based on mobile number would be killer.

You couldn't be more wrong. I see lots of "teeny-boppers" with BBs. They like BBM. And if RIM bets the farm on just mobile professionals using email and phone, then they won't last 2 years. Even the retards at RIM know they need to evolve, albeit very slowly.

i'll be upgrading my 8830 once the 9650 is released from sprint. i would consider the sprint evo 4g, but wimax won't be live in LA till 4q 2010. i think that gives enough time for a blackberry roadmap to leak and see whats down the pipeline. if nothing interesting i'll give the htc evo a try.

Sadly the above is only your personal take on the corporation's future and has absolutely nothing to do with where the company wishes to be.

Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of RIM - Earning Conference Call "Growth in the non-enterprise space is bigger than the enterprise space. The company hopes to grow further in that space with new multimedia and consumer-centric devices."

Don Morrison. Chief Operations Officer of RIM - Dow Jones Interview "We're looking to grow and expand the consumer user base using mp3 music players, digital cameras and media applications.

Mike Lazaridis, co-CEO of RIM - Mobile World Congress Barcelona, Spain "We are actively targeting the consumer user base, the company is trying to attract wider consumer audiences and the new browser along with smart applications are clearly steps towards that direction."

If you're genuinely interested in the company's future i would advice to pay more attention to the public keynotes released by RIM and try to avoid spreading personal FUD and/or personal interpretations of reality that fall far from the truth.

You're also more than welcome to acquire RIM stock and attend the investor events and stockholder's meetings like the rest of us.

The "teenies" you so hatefully bash are RIM's primary target market. And rightfully so.

Complete nonsense, like much of this entire thread. At least there's consistency.

The simple fact of the matter is that blackberries will never be at the bleeding edge of mobile hardware, from the very beginning they have always considered stuff like battery life being vital to a mobile device and as a result it means they will tend to be slightly behind when it comes to adding the biggest screen or the fastest cpu, but that doesn't matter if they keep close enough and keep their own advantages.

I actually think their hardware is pretty good. Its the OS that's behind and in need of work.

Just as much as your comment added.

Exactly, your catching on quickly!

I am definitely one of those:razz:

Like the iPad, right?

Need some advise from the pros.... BES 4.1 to BESX 5.0??
 

....

Hi - some hints...
1 - Please do not add your thread in the middle (or end) of another one.
2 - Please look in the dedicated BES Admin forum for BES assistance.

Blackberry covers the whole spectrum as far as cell phone niches are concerned. They're not going anywhere.

I have to agree with you that RIM is starting to lose the battle to Apple and other PDA phone like devices. Their App Store is very small compared to Apples, and here in Canada one of the banks, CIBC has just released a application for the iPhone allowing customers to do their banking safely and securely soon the other 3 banks will follow I am sure, on that note no one is really developing applications for RIM, all I see in the app store is mickey mouse like applications.

I would love to be able to see all the traffic cams between Toronto and Windsor Ontario like I can on an iPhone. (yes there is an app for the iPhone), so I know what area's to avoid on my way home from the office, but no one will write such an application; I believe RIM is simply making it too difficult for people to develop software or aren't giving enough incentives to the developers.

I think once Apple releases the iPhone 4G I am going to bail, I just don't find RIM's QOP to be on the high-end level that it use to be.

I love how you quote RIM's CEO's who are very good at putting their own "SPIN" on things. CEO's say one thing about a product while the manufacturing floor says the complete opposite. Sure RIM might be positioning themselves to provide better devices but that's a long-term commitment meaning it will take them years to get to the level which they can compete against someone like Apple (which btw their CEO's keep them hush hush) as an example.

Oh and the CEO's "SPIN" also is to keep their investors from walking out the door and dropping their stock on the market; which would cause RIM to fall apart.

Every company positions themselves to deliver a better product if they wish to stay in business. That's irrelevant though to what has been discussed. My comments were directed to the fellow members that claimed RIM would stay away from the teen userbase. And we clearly established that to be wrong since the company and the stockholders strongly support targeting the said market.

As for RIM competing directly with Apple that would also take place in that exact userspace. The corporate clients can't activate Apple Inc products on their BES infrastructure so they won't be playing Assassin's Creed nor downloading fart applications to their corporate issued handsets anytime soon.

You think that's going to stop companies from using the ActiveSync in Exchange to hook up their iPhone employees?

You forget it costs companies $100 per user to operate BES, were chances are they have already paid for the licensing with Microsoft for Exchange; they will start to wonder why they should have to pay twice.

Current companies using BES may still switch to iPhone's if it's true about the economy and they start to hire more people.

A lot of things "may" happen. Cost reduction is not a panacea nor the ultimate
decisive factor for infrastructure decisions. There are tons of government agencies and private corporations that need to satisfy compliance and security requirements and maintain granular control and accounting over the use of the handsets. Currently we don't have anything in the market remotely close to BES. In the future? Who knows..

IMO the iPhone isn't RIM's most feared competitor. I think the android phone is more apt to cut into the BB business. The iPhone isn't going to change (much). They pimp their app store and all the cutesy apps you can use to read golf greens check your bank balance with. Those are nice for people like me, but the business people really don't mess with that stuff. If they do they have a second phone for that. Iphone's Achilles heel is ATT's weak 3G network, and they'd pay a fortune if they could roll it out on Verizon today. Because they're getting shot at by the Droid, the eris, the Incredible and once you've gone Android you won't be back for an iPhone.

Maybe. But once you've gone Android, you may return to Blackberry.

I've seen mixed reviews, I've had friends go from BB to Android and back to BB, while others have went from BB to Android and are happy with the Android.

Solely depends on the user and their needs.

I will admit my list BBM contacts has shrunk a little bit in last 6-8 months.

I actually haven't had any of my friends or coworkers ditch BlackBerry for other devices yet (meaning the ones that already have one). I've had one say he might, but hasn't yet.

My friend with the Pre really likes my phone :)

Are you KIDDING? A typical battery charge for a BB lasts at BEST a bit more than two days. An inexpensive LG that does just fine for most things {messaging, pics, etc} has a much smaller battery that easily lasts twice as long!

I've looked at the Android, and the ONE THING keeping me from jumping to it is that it is not a "world phone". It's astonishing to me that for all the acclaim of BB's vaunted "enterprise" roots, that they have never added the capacity to USE a BB overseas! What's up with that?

Some of the BB's are world phones.

8830, 9530, 9550, 9630, the later ones have dual bands I believe.

Although I have not taken my BB over seas yet :-( Not yet anyway.

I would like to add another three cents to this forum. There's been a lot of discussion over some fairly mundane issues here, but I would like to voice concern over something that I see as a fundamental weakness in the RIM OS: It forces one to have our most important data- contact list, SMS and MMS messages and such- held as virtual hostages in the "device memory" buffers. Why on earth is it so difficult for RIM to just ALLOW users to keep that stuff on a removable media card, along with the music, ringtones, etc? OBVIOUSLY if they can facilitate storage of one form of data on media cards, they could do so for any and all of it.

I submit that there is NO DEFENSIBLE REASON for RIM to maintain this antiquated constraint! I can get all I want of that BS from Microsoft. Remember all the garbage over IE being an 'essential and embedded component' of the OS? Hah!

Sorry, I wasn't aware. I have a Storm2 and chose it because it /supposedly/ offered the most options for user management of it's various data buffers.

It being the case that /some/ BB's do have dual band capability, one wonders why it isn't available on all models. Perhaps it has to do with the 'captivity' of certain models with specific service providers?

I've lost my calendar a few times :-( (Well maybe more then a few times)

But the newer BlackBerries are coming with a decent amount of on board memory where hopefully this issue will be nonexistent. Of course nothing stops people installing too many apps to cause the issue again. If RIM can simply add a "protected" memory space for PIM data that would be a bit more logical in my opinion.

I think that comes down to "what the carriers want" VZW has lacked Wi-Fi for years while other carriers have had it.

On the flip side VZW has had World Phones for years.

Just thought and I could (and probably am) wrong on that one.

The "world phone" issue only lies with CDMA devices (BlackBerry and non-BlackBerry alike). Most of the world uses GSM frequencies. BlackBerry made the first CDMA "world phone" with the 8830. It added the ability for it to be used on international GSM frequencies.

Carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile always had international capabilities.

At best two days being roughly twice as long as android or iphones though.

There are plenty of reasons, two that spring immediately to mind are security and performance.

One other word that springs to mind in response to this little rant would be backup.

The 8830 was the first blackberry cdma worldphone, I find it very unlikely that it was also the first cdma worldphone though.

I think you are attributing malice to a decision that is simply financial, some blackberries are aimed at a lower pricepoint so some features are omitted from them e.g. the 8520 and 8530 are budget models with lower rez screens, the 8520 isn't 3g and the 8530 isn't a worldphone.

All gsm devices are inherently world phones, it is only cdma that needs to use the term to distinguish between their models that have just cdma or cdma and gsm radios.

I think you misunderstood my post or maybe I wrote it incorrectly. I didn't mean that The 8830 was the first CDMA world phone. I meant to say it was the first CDMA world phone BlackBerry.

IMO, I think RIM will be staying in the market, people will always come back. I know because I let my Blackberry go to get an iPhone and had more problems than I ever did with my blackberry. Not to mention the service was spotty, so most of the time it was a paper weight. I then switched to an HTC Pro.

I'm back and loving my blackberry, others will be back as well and RIM will always have a userbase that will return or remain.

"Security" ought to be an option of the user, not a mandate of the provider. "Performance"? Seriously? I strongly doubt that. "Backup"? I can backup 'mass storage' a lot more easily than the device data.

Still- as I've said- there is no *functional* issue that requires this constraint. It OUGHT to be OPTIONAL.

CT

I'm a bit confused by your statement. How can a CDMA device be a 'world phone' when GSM is the default standard outside the US?

To clarify, did the 8830 add GSM capability? If so, I wonder why RIM didn't choose a higher-end model- like the 9530 for example- for this introduction? Isn't it reasonable to assume a GSM option would be used more on a higher end device?
:x

I completely disagree with this statement. If security is not important to you, then you can move to a different platform. For example, a SideKick. Wasn't that what Paris Hilton had that was hacked, then she went to the BlackBerry?

I think most people take security for granted until something happens.

You're not alone in that as a brief perusal of other pages on this site will show. IMHO the iPhone is grossly over rated. The Android beats it easily in most categories. Plus- it isn't held hostage by "licensing" issues (DRM, etc.).

See also here:
://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109225/why-blackberry-users-will-defect

;-)

You need to do some research prior to making assumptions. The 8830 was released years before the 9530. The 9530 was only a pipe dream at the time the 8830 was released. The 8830 has a spot for a SIM card to allow for GSM frequencies. The Storm, Storm 2, and the Tour all have this same capability as well. How do you think there are users with the Storm and Tour on AT&T and T-Mobile?

One reason for these forum pages is to have a place to share opinions, and I can respect your perspective, but don't assume I have not given any thought to this notion.

I am easily capable of adding protection to a media card. It is after all, a mass storage device that can be used in much the same manner as a 'thumb drive' for example, with a similar range of options.

I stipulate that the awareness and the knowledge regarding security is a significant issue, but I still refute your claim that it should not be allowed as a USER option- and clearly it is an option that, if available, could be blocked or removed in enterprise applications.
8-)

Security is an option on the BlackBerry. You can choose to add a password. You can choose to add content compression and content protection. You can choose to encrypt your media card.

And, as you have stated, all of these choices can be set in stone by a BES.

So your claim that not ALLOWING users to move their contacts list out of device memory is a security issue means what, exactly?
:razz:

I sit corrected. :smile:
Although I have not used it yet, I was told at the VZN store earlier today (stopped in for unrelated issue) that the 9530 does indeed have GSM, and that is what the SIM card is for.

As for Storm at other SP's- I have no idea. I was with Ameritech before VZN bought them out and been there ever since. They're not perfect, but IMHO they're easily better than Sprint or T-mo from what my friends tell me about their services.

Where in this thread did I claim that? :?

It is how their OS is designed. The media card is for only media. If that is a feature you need, then I am sure there are devices out there that will suit your needs. Obviously BlackBerry doesn't. No one is forcing you to use one.

Update:

I am told by a VZN tech support person, and corroborated by a VZN store worker, that the contacts list can probably be moved to the SIM card. There is a catch tho: the SIM card is uniquely registered to each phone (at least for BB's I gather) and can not be transferred to another device. That should provide some level of security. More importantly, if the device itself fails (as happened to me recently), contents of the card might still be recoverable. Also not sure if SIM gets backed up with Device Manager. Some things I have to look into a bit more...

CT

You're confusing the SIM card with the media card.

Yes, contacts can be moved to a SIM card. This can only be done one contact at a time. However, only one number per SIM contact. So for your contacts with multiple numbers, it will only store one. You will have to create duplicates for each number.

Contacts cannot be stored on a Media Card. The media card can be backed up manually using Windows Explorer. It is not backed up using Desktop Manager. If you have encryption enabled, then only the device that the media card was in when the files were written to the card will be able to be read/accessed.

Either you or the VZW rep are confused. Maybe the both of you. Who knows?

You're confusing the SIM with the media card.
Assuming you're really referring to the media card...

Both of those individuals are incorrect.

Partly true... depending on the method you choose to encrypt the contents of the media card.
You can encrypt it to the device, the password or the device+password.
Still, you can't load your address book contacts on the media card.

You obviously have more experience with BB's than I, at least from the # of posts ascribed to you. But I find it insulting when folks in the BB forums say things like "if you don't like it then get something else."

You are not alone in this Conyers. I have seen and encountered it in many instances elsewhere on BB-forums and it is contrary to the expected spirit of an online community. I do not understand why this 'buzz off' attitude is so common on BB-forums.

I do like my Storm2 and, as far as I can tell, it is the best device overall for my preferences, but as soon as Android launches GSM capability, I will get one. The ONLY thing that irks me about RIM is their stonewall attitude towards BB owners. Note I say OWNERS, not "users", which is quite a different category. You, Conyers, seem party to that RIM attitude.

Thanks for your comment. For the instances I cited, our discussions also explicitly included the media card, so it is clear there was no confusion about which was intended.

It is easily possible that both individuals were incorrect. The RIM OS is fairly complex. On top of that, the various customizations by each service provider make it exceedingly difficult for one individual to have absolute knowledge of all possibilities. But that keeps forums like this active.

8-)

There are GSM Android based phones :?

AT&T Motorola Backflip
Motorola Backflip (TM) Cell Phone - Wireless from AT&T

Tmobile G1, Motorola Cliq, Motorola Cliq XT, Samsung Behold II, TMobile My Touch
TMobile Android phones

It is quite obvious from most of your posts in this string that you don't do much research, just throw statements around.

With respect to the comment about a buzz off attitude by some, here's the issue:

I have seen calm, objective exchanges about the pros and cons of the way RIM does or does not do something, or about device design and function choices RIM has made, etc. And devoted blackberry users can indeed be critical. But the irritation for a lot of us longtime forum members happens in rants where the gripes are obviously about something that is just the way it is by design, and most users either take it for granted or in fact chose the device because of that characteristic. And when the complainer measure the blackberry against some other product which is intended for users with a different focus and need, then it's only natural to ask the individual why the heck they chose the blackberry if it doesn't suit their needs, or why if XYZ device is so much better for them, why not use it instead.

And then we have the broken record types that seem to rush here to post some news they think adds to their arsenal of facts that support the obvious conclusion that RIM is on the wrong track, or RIM IS DOOMED!!! And we end up with another thread like this one.

Veterans here have seen it over and over and over. If you want to objectively discuss pros and cons about the way something is, fine. But don't try and do it in a rant thread like this. Start your own thread and ask questions or ask for comment on an opinion in such a way to encourage respectful responses. I guarantee you will get them. Not that you won't get sarcastic responses too, but even those often provide information as well.

Just for what it's worth.

If rim ignored security they might lose those security ratings that allow people in governments to use the thing. You might doubt performance, do you also doubt that virtual memory is slower on your pc than actual memory as thats about as sensible even before you take into account the huge range in speed you see on memory cards.

As you have said there are no functional reasons that you understand and/or want to believe, your own limitations rather than reality.

Worldphone is cdma code for also includes a gsm radio, the 8830 was the first cdma device to include that and since it came out you have had other devices such as the 9530, 9550 and 9630 that also support include the feature, the only one that hasn't been a worldphone lately has been the entry-level 8530.

The main reason for a somewhat less helpful attitude these days is that on most forums like this you get a lot of people who just want to troll blackberry owners and advocate iphone or android.

Incidentally, people have responded to your complaints and questions giving answers, you have simply not liked the answers and continued to complain because you want your blackberry to do something it doesn't do, especially when a blackberry is simply synching the data in concern, its very easy to synch another device to outlook and get the same contacts and appointments.

Given the context in which he was using the term I think he actually means an android worldphone device and is simply phrasing it badly.

The first Android phones in Canada were gsm devices.. There are many Android gsm devices out there right now.

Guess I sit corrected again. I will definitely look into that. Do you happen to know which particular models? I don't think it's available on the newer Motorola Droid.

I don't see it as RIM 'relaxing security' in a realistic sense to just allow owners of their product an option. As I've already stated, it's clearly an option that would be over-ridden in most enterprise, and certainly government uses. But those users are not owners, so the "security" argument doesn't really make much difference.

I do take your point on relative speed, and that's not something I'd claim to be an expert in, but I have not observed any delay when browsing stuff on my inserted media card. I am certainly comfortable with my contact list and text messages operating at the same speed. I can't read as fast as the data can display anyway.

More to the point on this general topic, it is abundantly clear that RIM can not maintain market share doing "business as usual". They have clearly taken a turn toward more 'bling' (to put it crudely) in some of their most recent products. The trend is away from a staunchly utilitarian device and aggressively towards a more mass-market appeal.

RIM will probably retain a few no-nonsense products in its lineup. The Storm, Curve, and certain other models are no longer in that category. IMHO, if they have their 'ear to the ground', cracking open some of the more tightly-held features in their OS is not an unreasonable path to take.

CT

Happily you don't accuse me of being a troll. :razz:

And It's not that I just don't "like" some of the answers. I do yield when a reasonable correction is made. I certainly have homework to do regarding the Android/GSM thing for instance.

But I prefer to view my position as an argument, as much as a complaint. I am arguing the point that RIM does not provide something that I feel it is reasonable for them to do. True, "synching" is a feature that is pretty much a given, at least as far as emails are concerned.

That is not the case with SMS and MMS messaging. I did try a couple third-party apps, but they don't work very well. As for synching my email contacts and my telephone contacts, well, I bought my Storm outright, it was not provided to me for business, and I don't have a lot of crossover between my email contacts and my telephone contacts anyway, so I have never even considered merging them just to get synchronization. In my particular case, there just isn't much reason to do that, so I am focused on being able to have more control over my own data.

This is reminiscent of exchanges in previous years over parallel issues with Microsoft; eg, if you have to pay for the software to access your own data, then who really owns it? In today's world, the lock Microsoft used to have on applications for word processing, spreadsheets, etc, etc, that would run on Windows machines no longer exists.

I fully expect that, in time, the same sort of "liberating" applications will be available for BB devices. We're not there yet, but there are a few options that have cracked the shell, such as "Barry" and "Funambol" for Linux. More will come.

CT

Move to Canada were the GSM and CDMA networks are far better than the ones in the USA. I have friends who have accounts on both networks and don't have any problems.

The big problem is how these networks are structured in the USA, which isn't an iPhone problem instead it's an carrier problem. When AT&T couldn't release the BOLD because the iPhone's had eaten up all the 3G network bandwidth us Canadians were "LOL" at you guys because the carrier at the time Rogers Communications didn't have any such problems carrying both devices, why?, because we know how to properly structure our networks to support both effectively and efficiently.

Also I failed to add that the networks in South America which are all GSM/3G didn't have any problems supporting both iPhone and the BOLD as well when they first came out. This problem you are talking about only happened in the good old US of A! :)

Um, you also have to conisder that there are more people in California then there are in all of Canada, which is why there is so much network to around :wink: It's also why our prices are higher, if we had more consumers we could support lower costing plans.

Very few networks run of CDMA now in Canada with Telus and Bell switchin to HSPA as well as their subsidieries Virgin, Koodoo, and there is one more that is under Bell as well... They are still running a CDMA network beneath their new one as well but eventually they will boot anyone who will not migrate over.

But yes, Rogers has a great network and that's why I've been with them since I was 17 :) I had a breif stint with Telus paygo and it was so so.

Yeah Fido sucks though, you'd think Rogers would help them be more stable. :)

You also forget that companies in Canada have the mentality that Canadian's are happy to pay more for their products and services. It's not just cell/pda usage but our cars cost more, our drugs cost more, etc. At least the drugs costing more is soon to change thank god! :)

But one thing is for sure the US cell/pda plans aren't as good as the Canadian ones. They don't get complete txt msg plans, or feature plans like we do in Canada, instead they have to pay extra for each thing even though it's still pretty cheap!

Links provided in previous response.

Also, if you are serious about Android, the BB forums equivalent is at http://androidforums.com/. You will learn everything you want or need to know about Android there. Why do I know this? I had the Droid for 3 months. Nice but the relief at returning to BB was major.

Oh forgot to mention that Apple's last quarter results came out today, they sold over 9 million iPhones.

I would be interested in knowing what features we have on BB's that you found lacking on the Android. Or was it more of a look-and-feel thing? :shock:

I sincerely doubt that! A brief review of pricing histories for cell phone companies, ISP's and cable networks will show one thing: a consistent increase in pricing, regardless of underlaying service structure.

Of course, that's obvious in the US. It may be that in Canada things would be more equitable, but I doubt it.

CT

Different people have different priorities. Mine are email and PIM functions (contacts and calendar) and being able to sync with Outlook. I find BB much better for these. Syncing contacts between Droid and Outlook required third party software (for two way sync). Calendar could be synced through gmail but gmail messed up all of my recurring annual appointments like holidays and birthdays. Droid liked to combine contacts (and sometimes it made no sense the way it decided to combine them).

Internet was great on the Droid. That is only a secondary priority to me. Sure there are a LOT of apps for Android -- and a large number are pure crap. Any App that I need for the BB I've been able to find -- but then I don't need a large number of aps.

I have previously likened the Droid to a summer fling. Fun while it lasted but just not anything to stay with long term. But that is me and YMMV.

Almost forgot -- I hated the security on the Droid. No native password lock. I ALWAYS pw lock my BB. Droid has this stupid pattern lock thing that I felt was insecure. You get to create a lock pattern using 9 dots. I always figured if someone found the Droid, it wouldn't be too hard to look at the screen and figure out what the pattern was.

For what it's worth, a co-worker (who happens to be young enough to be my daughter) got a Droid at same time I did. When she heard I had returned to a BB, she asked me how she could do the same thing because she hates her Droid as being too complex. This from a person who is a brilliant programmer and is able to outperform anyone else I know. Her hubby on the other hand (another brilliant person) loves it. Everyone needs to chose what they want/can afford. And there is no reason that we all have to want the same thing.

I agree with everyone on the first page blackberry's are not for teens in my opinion, when I first got my tour I thought I was going to have a fun experience like I did on my iphone but i soon found out that your fun is restricted when you think of all the iphone possibilities, basically what I am trying to say is the iphone (is where the fun is at) and blackberry's (are where the professional and security side is at).
Teens go iphones
Business People go Blackberry

I went from an Iphone 3G S to a Bold 9000, from there to a Droid on Verizon, my son got the 9000, after using the Droid for about 2 weeks I went back to my Bold 9000 (My son now has the Droid), the 3G S and Droid are very nice phones but they feel fragle and the touchscreen interface is not for me, i didnt like it on the 3G S nor the Droid, the other bad thing is that I have a Droid on Verizon to pay for for just under 2 years and I personaly really dont like Verizon. I suspect that there are others that feel the way I do, I do wish the 9700, 9700a or 9710, whatever it will be called, was as wide as the 9000 though, i really hate that tiny 9700.