[NoBox]

Maybe my experience will add some grist to the conversation.

I wanted a new, but unlocked, phone that was not an iPhone. I wanted something that, maybe did not have all the "apps" because many are privacy destroying. Only one carrier last May offered an unlocked phone out of the box, Verizon. They offered it two ways, purchase on a separate contract with monthly payments, or cash up front. Up front was slightly cheaper so I did that. I immediately tested with SIMS from ATT and TMobile. Worked fine.

Plus, prices are so low you can't afford not to own a phone that matches your wants. Today's smartphone is almost literally a Pocket PC. Flip phones are so cheap as Talk and Text they are almost throw away. A big change from BB heyday. From a carrier perspective it looks like they are selling phones/devices like razor blade companies sell razors. To get the consumer in the door to buy the actual product. For one it is razor blades. For the other it is data.

Customer service from Samsung for the phone and both ATT and Verizon as carriers has been outstanding as compared to RIM. All three are focused on the non-professional user. Quite the opposite of RIM.

With Knox and Containerizing security is very good. (Now that is brought to the individual with MyKnox)

I just bought a new Samsung Tab A. It includes a Playbook like function to go with my Note 4. Looks attractive. Too bad RIM didn't have the wisdom to put a Together or Separate function like this in their system. Bad decision

I just looked at the last RIM product that interested me, BBM. No one I installed it for wanted to use it. So, we are using another product. If that doesn't work in a few months, or a year we can change easily and quickly. Definitely, not a BB strength.

RIM, to me, is a company that just got stuck with the wrong people in charge. They were always thinking of products for people like them and thought that would always continue. Something like the American Leather Company years ago. Well, like those who were wedded to mainframe style computers and put down PCs they were made redundant.