When is it time to give up on blackberry?
 

I like blackberry's because they are pretty simple to use but honestly with the iphone, palm, and android phones I really don't see what the advantage of having a blackberry is. I mean battery life I guess and push email and I can use it and drive. Other than that it feels dated. I can't even tell blackberries apart, I had a 8830 and nothing has changed since then.

Oh and the keyboard, best keyboards ever.

ALOT has changed since the 8830.

The biggest advantage (at least over the iphone, as im not familiar with the palm etc) is the fact you can remove the battery.
If the iphone's battery goes, you need a completely new phone, not just a battery.

Physical keypad. 'Nuf said.

Wirelessly posted (My name is Bubbles)

Because anything other than Blackberry is a fad.

BlackBerrys have stood the test of time, and have remained true to their original purpose, because they do it so well. And that purpose is business-grade communication and PIM. Like the shark, virtually unchanged by millions of years of evolution, when you have the right design you stick with it.

If you want a fad, go buy one of those genetically engineered, glow-in-the-dark goldfish. Or an iPhone.

Wow.

haha i like how you compared the consistent quality of the blackberry to the evolutionary direction of sharks.

BlackBerry = Adults

iPhone = Kids

Never, I can never quit on the bb. I have 3, yes three of them. 1 for work and 2 for personal use. I also use an iphone, so right now my 2 personal ones are do not have the batteries in them. But I am getting my fix using the 9000 from work.

I am new to Blackberry. I moved from a WinMo phone that i loved very much. But I want a little more simple UI, and MS was starting to drive me crazy with their crummy device manager software. I landed on Blackberry for one simple reason and I have friends with the iPhone.

Blackberry= Getting work done
WinMo= trying to get work done
iPhone= never get work done, because it is a glorified iPod with games and the ability to call people.

Personally I need something to keep in contact with people on a number of different levels, and also work away from my office.

I've tried to like Windows Mobile. Tons of apps, powerful/configurable OS, and in a Windows world it's nice to have something that (supposedly) integrates seamlessly with pc's. But the menus and sub-menus and sub-sub-menus you have to drill through to get some simple things done drives me nuts. And instability is still an issue, even with WinMo 6.5. It's gotten better, but it's not up to BlackBerry standards.

You gave all these good things about BB's. Good battery life, easy to use, best keyboard, with all those +'s why go with anything else. You don't wanna suckle at the trendy teet of the iphone.

nothing has changed since your 8830? I think it's time for you to give up since your already on negative street especially if you have to ask IMO.
FYI, I almost considered the Palm Pre (shame on me) but after comparing every single thing that i rely on that my BB has, that idea sailed easily.

As others have said.

I am a BB fan, and don't own an iPhone - but the iPhone has the best UI bar none still. So *if* you like touch screens and the UI has very high value for you (perhaps at the expense of the other stuff mentioned above), you may not be disappointed with an iPhone.

And having played with other devices, none seem to have the UI of the iPhone, or the utility of the BB - they seem to attempt to match one or the other, and fail. But much has also to do with what you're familiar with. I, for example, can't get on with Symbian based phones at all - millions of people do...

i admit, i switched to a winmo phone for about a week (htc ozone). it looked similar to a bberry & it had some nice features, but most of the features could not match the blackberry. the only reason i looked was because of my impatience...i want a ph w/ a physical kybd, wifi, & is global ready. at this time verizon doesn't have a blackberry that has all the that (i will wait for the tour2). IMO, if u r lookin for somethin different, one of those other phone's may work for you, but for me, i want a rock solid phone that handles messaging, & imo mmedia...i'm stickin w/ the bberry.

I believe with all of these responses you should have been convinced or at least enough to give you a thought about whether u should leave your Blackberry. If it hasn't, then I believe its safe to say then u should go try the other phone(s), and we'll wait for u when u come back. ;-)

How about...never?

I'm 24. I've been using BB's since 1999 (a 950 on SkyTel). I'm a DoD contractor, so I carry two BB's - mine (VZW Tour), and the one I'm issued (a Sprint 8830).

Nothing else compares. You'd think someone my age would prefer the iPhone, but most people appreciate push email, solid contact integration and security and consider the BlackBerry the industry standard.

It is the industry standard. There isn't anything better. Hell, we're issued BlackBerries. Think about that: not Motorola; not GE; not Samsung; not Nokias... BlackBerries. If there was something not made in Canada that could be fielded to the entire federal government and actually work, they'd use it. But there isn't.

Keep your BB, as it's the best, get an Ipod touch to do all the iphone stuff besides phone calls.

My wife and I tried the Palm Pre as we both needed access to work email on the go. Needless to say, they were both returned within the 30 day grace period due to shutting off, locking up and overheating issues. The final kicker for me was when I couldn't call medical control for a patient of mine. Luckily we have a failed communication protocol, and I did what I needed to do for the patient, but I decided then and there that the Palm Pre was a glorified toy, and went to my local Sprint store on my next day off and traded in my Pre for the Tour. My wife traded her's in soon after. And I have been happy ever since!

imo, the Palm Pre is the best device on the market. WebOS rocks. You have a real keyboard, albeit w/ keys a bit on the small side for those w/ big thumbs. Ability to have multiple apps open and flip screens kills iPhone & BB. And finally, Sprint's Any Mobile- Anytime plan beats the heck out of any plan offered by Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile.

I can probably say that I have used 80% of the PDA's in the market, WinMO, Android (latest ones), nokia's symbian but I keep finding my way back to the blackberries and this time around I am just going to stick to tour as it is one of the best BB's ever made!

like some1 else said the 8830 is outdated alot has happend since the 8830 if i was you id check out some of the newer devices such as the 9630 8900 9000 9700 or the 9550

The time to give up on BlackBerrys is when you find something that works better for you. If email and PIM functions are not your number 1 priority, then perhaps a BlackBerry is overkill. If you're into more multimedia stuff, BlackBerry is definitely not your best choice. Just be honest with what suits your needs best.

the answer is easy. do u want a reliable email machine and the simplicity? or do you wanna download stupid useless apps like a zippo lighter on your phone? yes the iphone is fun and all but not if you mean business. also the service on att network is sad. i have sold a few Motorola droid phone. yes they are awesome. BUT it is not yet compatible with very many pop3 or IMAP emails and if they are you must dig up your incoming and outgoing servers. it has been more that frustrating to try and make all emails work on it. the blackberry 99% of the time will automatically find your incoming and outgoing servers.

I am occasionally tempted by other systems, and I always regret my time away from BlackBerrys. I ditched AT&T and my Bold for Sprint and the Palm Pre. Sprint was a win but the Pre, as cool as it is, simply can't replace a BlackBerry. So I got a Tour. Android sometimes calls out to me, but it's still not ready to compete with BlackBerry. At least not for my needs.

The one frivolous app I'd like for my Tour is still unwritten. Dilbert has it. It's an app that hurls random pirate insults at people with the touch of a single button. Maybe if Android had that......... :-)

LOL Rambo, thats hilare.

with the 9500 / 9600 / 9700 series, the screen on the bb has finally caught up to the competition... it's finally beautiful and bright, and detailed... that, combined with the sturdy hardware, and the awesome keyboard make for a very solid handset (seriously, the Droid kbd is a joke)

However (and it's a BIG however), the bb software is seriously aged compared to the iphone / droid offerings.... the ability to put auto updating apps and widgets on the home screen / desktop is missing... the bb browser is seriously like the AOL browser from 1995

and most depressing, is the lack of quality software... yes, i know it's a business device, but i use my phone for fun as well... give me stupid games that will keep me busy on my commute, or apps that will help me find a good burger near me, etc.... RIM still has it's head stuck up it's proverbial ass about the purpose of the device, and is catering to pure business professionals only when most of us would also like to use the phone outside of work

/rant

priceless.

Exactly what I am going to do. Picking up the Bold 9700 tomorrow (was considering the Storm 2, Verizon & AT&T coverage are real similar in my area.)

Selling my iphone 3Gs and picking up an Ipod touch. next thing to go is my land line phone.

Could not trust the iPhone as my only phone in the house. It is a pretty crappy phone and not much better than the original as far as phone quality goes.

water
 

ok so i dropped my phone in water.. i was told the water damage indicator is on the battery.. if i were to buy a new battery to show there waz no water damage and bring it to best buy to try and get a new phone and just claim the keypad died u think theyll know any better and give me a new phone or are the many indicators.. also im on my 3rd tour my trackball broke twice and they simply exchanged it both times.. u think theyll do it again without questioning

There are several more water damage indicators inside the BlackBerry. The one on batteries often indicates water damage simply from ambient humidity, and RIM knows this. The internal ones are a bit more reliable.

If you want a device that will seamlessly integrate with your E-Mail, Calendar, and Address Book and does mainly that, and does it perfectly, get a Blackberry.

If you want to play games, watch videos, and listen to music, get an iphone or other device.

I do have to say that since I had the 8830, RIM's quality has gone downhill quite a bit. I went through 2 Storms, and I'm on my 3rd Tour, all in a little less than a year.

Had a TMO Curve. Moved to a Droid w/VZW. After getting email to work, and synching, etc., finally able to actually evaluate this.

Battery is NO WHERE near my Curve...I could go 3 days, easy, w/o charging, and still use it.

At 10 hours with the Droid, I am at 15% or less battery. I am trying to figure out why.

If I can't get this issue resolved, back to a BB. Then the decision is...Tour or Storm 2?

I won't have enough time on my 30-day VZW window to wait for the Tour2, so that's not an option.

I love my Tour. The new OS makes it scream.

I, too, am curious what has changed since the 8830. I switched to a Tour a month ago. Other than the fact that it is much, much slower,* it seems like the same phone. Maybe the screen is a little clearer or the browser a bit faster, but I'm not noticing any big difference. (Not that that is a bad thing.)

*Are they planning any firmware updates or anything to speed this thing up? I put in my password and sometime can count to three before the phone unlocks. Another three count before it opens my email folder. Annoying as all get out.

I've just "converted" to Blackberry after six months with the Palm Pre. I have been a loyal Palm user since 1995, when I got my first Pilot. I can unequivocally say that the Pre is the worst PDA/phone I have ever used, and I've used several. The battery life on the Pre was laughable. Yes, I know that a touch screen draws more power than a static one, but the battery on the Pre would drain in just a few hours of use.

I've had my BB Tour for a week now, and while I'm still in the "honeymoon" phase, I really like this phone. The functionality of the PIM is excellent (reminds me of the OLD Palm OS). Of course there are things I'd like to change, but they are minor compared to the real reasons I bought the phone.

I came to my Tour just like you. :smile: I ported to Sprint from AT&T just to get the Palm Pre. Plenty to like about it, but BlackBerrys just suit my needs so much better. I missed my 'berry terribly after only 2 weeks, to the point of feeling withdrawal symptoms, and rushed out to buy an 8330m Curve. The Tour wasn't out yet. When the Tour was indeed released only a few weeks later I jumped on it. Haven't looked back.

As always seems to happen with me, I got lucky. I made one of the cardinal mistakes with cell phones: I left AT&T because another carrier had the hot new phone I just had to have. In my defense, I did check with some local Sprint users who told me their coverage here was superb. I wasn't happy with AT&T's 3G coverage and internet on my Bold 9000 was terribly slow. Like EDGE speed usually, even when I had a 3G indicator. I used that as justification to port out and get the Pre, but I'm so much happier now with Sprint. My bill is 1/2 of what it was with AT&T with a nearly identical plan. Lower price to begin with, coupled with discounts, finally true 3G speeds, and network coverage equal to and often better then AT&T's. What's not to like? (y)

After evaluating the Droid for 2 weeks, I ended up back with a Blackberry.

The battery issue was resolved by changing the screen timeout to 30-seconds...I had it set for 2 minutes, and that just killed battery life. I had it set that long because of the main reason I went back to a BB:

The "unlock" procedure.

Blackberries are easy to unlock with one hand. The Droid was awkward, at best. After removing from the holster, you had to try and find the small power button, press it, and THEN do the swipe thing to unlock the phone. It was the "wake up" portion of that which was awkward. To have to do this after a mere 30 seconds stunk. Even my BB won't lock if I set it down for a few minutes.

I was able to cobble together solutions to get the Droid to do what I needed it to do...
* receive email from my Internet business (via POP through GMAIL, not elegant),
* get my contacts onto the Droid (upload a .csv file to GMAIL, synch contacts to Droid, then delete the contacts from Gmail...I didn't want my contact's info in Gmail)
* Synch my calendar to Outlook (which I use at home for my email client). Gmail has a Synch tool, which worked, but you can't accept appointments sent to you on the Droid. (Yeah, maybe with an Exchange server, but I don't use one).

After using it for 2 weeks, one of which was at a major trade show, I decided I needed a phone that did email and calendaring really well, not a micro-PC that happened to also make phone calls.

The Droid is a very capable device, just not for me.

Never, blackberry is the best smartphone on the market!