[Jack T. Chance]

OMG... I can't BELIEVE nobody here at BlackBerry Forums is talking about this yet!

Here's what's happened today:

1. The Boy Genius Report posted an Open Letter to RIM from an Anonymous (but verified) RIM Senior Exec!
2. RIM responded.

Wow. Just... wow. The sad thing is, everything that this RIM employee wrote is just DEAD ON. Many of us that use the phones, and many tech bloggers, have been saying much the same thing for months now. RIM has stalled... once, they pioneered the smart phone market and led the way for everyone else to follow. Now they're trailing behind, and it saddens me. While the general public may prefer their id10tPhones and their Android phones, I've yet to find a phone that is truly a worthy replacement for the BlackBerry for EMAIL, which is something I still rely on mine for.

Only time will tell if RIM can turn things around like they need to. Discuss amongst yourselves.

[BB1877]

Wow! I expected a lively discussion by now.

I've been supporting BlackBerry since 2004...I built the first server (shared with our Sametime server...yikes!) and ran the pilot..."just 30 or 40, company-wide" the CIO said.

We now have 700 some units on two BES. I have built and administered several servers over the years, seen generation after generation of handsets come and go. Different versions of BBDM, etc.

What am I carrying? An old Tour. It's roamed from Ireland to Manila to Turks & Caicos. Worked fine. Could I upgrade? Yes. Why do I still have a 5.0 Tour? Because I don't care anymore.

When we started getting 6.0 devices, I fiddled with it. "Browser still sucks" I thought and didn't bother to upgrade. I'm secretly hoping they let us get iPhone or Android devices so I'm saving my upgrade in my back pocket.

I have a collection of past devices in my office. From the stoic 7750 to the durable but clunky 7130, to Storms and Pearls. I have them all. Sitting there silently. A monument to Canadian technology.

But you know what? I can pick up a 8830 and it's very similar to a new Bold. No radical changes in four years. Four years. That's how long iPhone has been out.

My love affair with all things RIM ended with the original Storm. That thing was in Beta and they were charging for it. It was like Vista. What a horrible horrible device. I went to a dog and pony rollout breakfast and it was hard for the sales guys to hide their disappointment. Subsequent OS upgrades didn't do much for...it absolutely paled in comparison to an iPhone.

On the server and software side too, I've been disappointed. BBDM has gotten increasingly weird. There are simple functions you can't do in BlackBerry (server) Manager (like export all your phone numbers with SIM numbers for example). I was blindsided by a recent SRP infrastructure change...despite our TSupport contract we weren't notified until a week before the mandatory DNS entry change...

So yeah, I've held a Bold Touch. It exists. Had 7.0 on it. But again, it was like "Gee, that's so...evolutionary not revolutionary" I'm holding out folks...I'm an old BES admin and I'm holding out for a policy change to get an iPhone or Android.

[penguin3107]

Originally Posted by Jack T. Chance

While the general public may prefer their id10tPhones and their Android phones

I'm an idiot because I choose to use an iPhone over a BlackBerry?

[Jack T. Chance]

Originally Posted by penguin3107

I'm an idiot because I choose to use an iPhone over a BlackBerry?

That's just my pet name for the "JesusPhone", has been ever since it came out. Where it comes from is the actions of the rabid Apple Zombies that were all over internet forums during the first year or 2 after the product's introduction. Most of them were the type of people that, upon calling Tech Support, would be found to have a PEBCAK* error of the ID-10-T variety!

It also stems from my distaste for Apple's desire to have draconian control over what you can and can't do with your device and the data on it. Which is also why I don't like Verizon Wireless, either.

I refuse to own an iPod for the same reasons. I HATE DRM with a passion. I use a Sandisk Sansa MP3 player so that I have full control of my digital music files and what I do with them, not the manufacturer of my device. But then again, I also still buy my music the old-fashioned way... on CDs, and then rip it myself at the bit-rate I prefer, rather than just buying the albums on iTunes pre-ripped at 128 kbps, which sounds like CRAP to me.




*Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard.

[ifonline]

Originally Posted by Jack T. Chance

I refuse to own an iPod for the same reasons. I HATE DRM with a passion. I use a Sandisk Sansa MP3 player so that I have full control of my digital music files and what I do with them, not the manufacturer of my device.

Odd. I have an iPod and can do whatever I want with my music... and there is no DRM. Apple doesn't control my iPod, my music, or my life. But, I guess it's easier to keep the misinformation flowing to justify your use of the terms "JesusPhone" and "id10tPhones" and to make it easier to go with the masses and hurl insults at people that enjoy Apple products.

It's so chic to bash Apple, Apple products, and consumers that use Apple products it's nauseating, especially when those that do the bashing have no actual clue what they are talking about.

[Jack T. Chance]

And... moving back ON topic...

here's the latest news today...

More letters to RIM; employees rally alongside anonymous exec

[jsconyers]

The first letter was well written and offered solutions to the issues they're having. The second letter just sounds like a disgruntled employee whining. Offers nothing in the way the first letter did. Many companies have employees that feel that way. Nothing specific to RIM. The third letter was alight, not as good as the first. I just hope this doesn't become a trend. Otherwise, it will be more and more like the second letter repeated. I am not really interested in hearing about people whine.

[ArgonNJ]

Originally Posted by Jack T. Chance

That's just my pet name for the "JesusPhone", has been ever since it came out. Where it comes from is the actions of the rabid Apple Zombies that were all over internet forums during the first year or 2 after the product's introduction. Most of them were the type of people that, upon calling Tech Support, would be found to have a PEBCAK* error of the ID-10-T variety!

It also stems from my distaste for Apple's desire to have draconian control over what you can and can't do with your device and the data on it. Which is also why I don't like Verizon Wireless, either.

I refuse to own an iPod for the same reasons. I HATE DRM with a passion. I use a Sandisk Sansa MP3 player so that I have full control of my digital music files and what I do with them, not the manufacturer of my device. But then again, I also still buy my music the old-fashioned way... on CDs, and then rip it myself at the bit-rate I prefer, rather than just buying the albums on iTunes pre-ripped at 128 kbps, which sounds like CRAP to me.




*Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard.

I have news for you, the iphone may have been a curiosity when it first came out, but now it has over taken and surpassed the BB in almost every way. Keep clinging to the past, but the iphone is what a smartphone should be.

[NJBlackBerry]

You still using your iPhone? Did you switch to the latest consumer trend or are you back in the fold like a good sheep?

[aiharkness]

I'm afraid our good friend Argon only knows one song, and it isn't even original.

[Jack T. Chance]

Originally Posted by ArgonNJ

I have news for you, the iphone may have been a curiosity when it first came out, but now it has over taken and surpassed the BB in almost every way. Keep clinging to the past, but the iphone is what a smartphone should be.

Unless you're a touch-typist and prefer a PHYSICAL KEYBOARD!

Luckily, there are iPhone cases that include a flip or slide out Bluetooth QWERTY keyboard to solve that problem. But IF I switch away from a on my next phone upgrade, it will most likely be to go to an Android phone w/ a QWERTY keyboard BUILT-IN. Why should I have to buy a real, tactile keyboard separately? That makes no sense to me.

[ifonline]

So wait... are we back off-topic again? I think I'm starting to see how this works for you.

[juwaack68]

Still got that popcorn handy?

[ifonline]

I do. I went with cheddar this time. That's what you like, isn't it? Or was it caramel. Dang... now I'm starting to think I got the wrong kind.

[juwaack68]

Cheddar will do, but caramel would be better.

I'm sure there will be a next time....

[ifonline]

Hold on... I'll be back in a few minutes. Running down to the warehouse store to grab a pallet of caramel popcorn.

[juwaack68]

*waiting*

[ifonline]

Give me a bit longer. I didn't realize how many boxes of popcorn came on a pallet. I'm trying to get them to fit in the trunk, but I feel like I'm trying to stuff a clown car.

[juwaack68]

I'm gonna need a visual of that.

[applauz]

There is a new letter that has come out from another employee. Both are DEAD ON!