The BlackBerry Thread

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I got the joke.

Unless I am mistaken he gets mad when the iPhone is called an Iphone, but I could be confusing users.

No I do. Iphone I normally leave alone. I-phone though drives me nuts.

[Russic]

I've never used one so can somebody explain to me the glory of BB email? I've heard so many great things about it and it's a feature most BB users say keeps them there ... what kind of magic does it spew?

[GreenLantern]

My plan is up this month and I am thinking of getting a Blackberry.. if I want an iPhone I have to switch to Rogers.. and I would prefer to stay with Sasktel.

Which Blackberry should I buy ?

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

My plan is up this month and I am thinking of getting a Blackberry.. if I want an iPhone I have to switch to Rogers.. and I would prefer to stay with Sasktel.

Which Blackberry should I buy ?

Both my sister and roommate like their Bold 9700. Random freezing issues aside.

[Regorium]

When I was choosing a phone, BBM was the only reason to consider getting a BB. I decided against it and went with the droid since I felt a lot of my friends have a lot of issues with the blackberry, but everyone just says BBM is the only way!

However, with all that discontent, I feel like they could be easily swayed when they change phones next, and I don't want the usefulness of my phone to be tied with the choices of my friends.

I will say the physical keyboard is the best. I will guarantee I can type faster and more accurately on a physical keyboard than any on-screen equivalent. However, I do feel I'm not as up to date with the newest technologies, since I still use the browser and type in the address to various sites, rather than finding the app for it.

[OilKiller]

Originally Posted by Russic

I've never used one so can somebody explain to me the glory of BB email? I've heard so many great things about it and it's a feature most BB users say keeps them there ... what kind of magic does it spew?

It's quick and arrives when it hits the server. There is no delay or waiting for you phone to check every 15 minutes or whenever. It arrives the second it is sent and the server gets it. In business, that's a necessity.

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

My plan is up this month and I am thinking of getting a Blackberry.. if I want an iPhone I have to switch to Rogers.. and I would prefer to stay with Sasktel.

Which Blackberry should I buy ?

I picked up the Bold 9700. It's basically the top of the line right now from what I can tell. Everyone I talk to is happy with it.

[Mazrim]

The email set up on the BlackBerry is very easy to use and I've always been impressed with the speed of it. The same goes with BBM, which is bar none the best messaging service on a mobile device that I've tried. Very easy to use, very fast, and has lots of features.

I have an iPod already to listen to music and a DS to play games, so I don't need an iPhone so much to do it all. I like the physical keyboard and while it's not as important, I like that the BlackBerry is quite efficient with browsing the web, in terms of data use. Sites load pretty quickly too when there isn't a huge amount of images.

I have to wait 5 months to ditch the Pearl Flip I have. What a terrible mistake getting that was. Definitely switching the Curve or Bold when it's done.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

I'm looking at trying one of the golf GPS apps for the Blackberry - either Golflogix or Greenfinder. Anyone have experience with these? Have you found them accurate?

Hopefully they will run on my slow as molasses 8830....going to try a trial.

[narbeZ]

Blackberry's are awesome. Puckluck, it sounds like you bought your BlackBerry for all the wrong reasons. To put it in simple terms by giving out a small analogy, James Bond uses a blackberry, Spencer Pratt uses an iPhone. James bond needs something that is consistent and never fails. Spencer Pratt on the other hand needs a phone that can edit video, and take pictures so he can sell them to US weekly.

Which side do you fall into? By the sounds of it the Spencer Pratt side. If you wanna drink beer on your phone, or have a candle for those amazing concerts you go to, the iPhone is for you. If you need up to the minute news, immediate email PUSH, and reliable connections, you need the BlackBerry.

I have to admit though, after a few months on my Droid, i'm pretty impressed with its performance even in comparison to a Blackberry. I'm waiting for a BB/Android hybrid device which im sure will come in the near future to crush apple.

There is a reason the BlackBerry is still the number one BUISNESS phone in the world.

[Nuje]

Am I the only one in here with a Storm (well, Storm2 that is...and it is considerably better). Touch screen's great on the browser (in fact, I have 2 browsers, because I'm just that good!). Doesn't have all the apps of an iPhone, but I have yet to find any app on iPhone that just makes we want one so bad. Plus, the fact that you have to jailbreak it to do everything is a risk.

Cons of the thing...the media player could be better, and I'm still waiting for a better one. The Opera browser I have works on all blackberries, but won't zoom on the storm...

Pros? This being my first phone that counts (everything else was just a regular phone) maybe I'm just excited over normal stuff, but definitely the push technology and BBM. Such great things to have. Setting up my email was the easiest thing in the world.

While the Storm was sort of designed with a slight departure from a "business phone" and more to a casual market, those technologies are still in it, so if you're an iPhone sort of person, but ridiculously successful, it's a great phone. Note the lack of the word "compromise', as it really isn't one. Plus, since the iPhone is so popular, you can get themes to make it look like an iPhone, you can get a slidelocker identical to the iPhones (but I have something EVEN better). For me, there is none better.

Oh, and on that lock, pattern lock. 9 dots on the screen arranged 3x3, and you set a pattern to unlock your phone. I've had iPhone owners proclaim jealousy, then send a text commenting how cool that looks on their phone. Today, I've found an app to mimic that.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

I have a Bold 9000, I wanted it for e-mail, and then apps are a bonus.

I do find the internet slow on it, however I never come even remotely close to my data plan's allotment.

As for apps:

Facebook
The Score Mobile
The Weather Network (I wish Environment Canada had one)
Thompson Reuters
Blackberry Messenger
Google (awesome)

I also have

Dictionary.com (not great)
Flash On
Analyze Me (kinda neat, but overall meh)
Air Canada App (very useful at the airport, haven't used it to fly with yet)


Any apps that people recommend and they like?

[I-Hate-Hulse]

To that list I'd add:

- Bloomberg - great for checking stocks and the markets. The newsfeeds from Reuters in are are pretty good.
- Air Canada App is awesome for checking flight status and checking in.
- Time Magazine
- Opera Mini

I'd have more but I'm chained to this 8830 with it's pitiful memory.... Ironically I don't use BBM as most people I know just email each other or SMS.

The BB is a workhorse for me, and I need to be fully integrated with my Outlook at work. Unfortunately, because of that and other crap I'm tied to this ancient 8830 World Edition. I so very badly want one of these when it comes out:





The Blackberry Bold 9800. OS 6.0. Physical Keyboard. Touch Screen. Might be worth taking on our Acceptable Use Policy Trolls over it....

[psicodude]

I have a Bold 9700 on the new Telus HSPA (?) network and it's great. Easily the best Blackberry I have owned. I can't believe they didn't ditch the trackball earlier. It was a nightmare on my Tour.

Our rep from Telus told me he has seen one of the 9800's and claims it will bridge the divide between the business needs of the Blackberry and the great features of the iphone. He says they should be available late Q3 this year, so we shall see.


As for apps not already listed, I recently installed CrunchSMS and really dig it. It is a hardcore ripoff of the iphone's texting and is way easier to read. It is free if you don't mind the ad's.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

The Blackberry Bold 9800. OS 6.0. Physical Keyboard. Touch Screen. Might be worth taking on our Acceptable Use Policy Trolls over it....

I never thought I would be a fan of a phone with a slide out keyboard but if they pull of that touch screen with anything close to as good as an iPhone screen I may change my tune.

Those screens look like they are different dimensions to anyone else? or is it just the bars on the screen that are giving it the illusion?

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I never thought I would be a fan of a phone with a slide out keyboard but if they pull of that touch screen with anything close to as good as an iPhone screen I may change my tune.

Agreed.... that's a beautiful looking phone.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I never thought I would be a fan of a phone with a slide out keyboard but if they pull of that touch screen with anything close to as good as an iPhone screen I may change my tune.

That and quality of the slider mechanism. I'm wary of these things going back to "The Matrix" Nokias and the POS LG I had where the electrical contacts of the slider mechanism get loose and it cuts in and out (usually disconnecting your call).

Lets hope RIM has learned. It would be sure nice to see Canada have at least one flagship Technology company...

[HotHotHeat]

This thread is cute.

Blackberry is a lesser phone than Apple's device because (somehow,despite being in the phone business much longer), aspects of their OS still look as ugly as MS-Dos. It's rather embarrassing. They also don't seem to have much in the way of innovation. Their hardware is also lesser quality. Never liked the bulky look of the handsets. Even this new 9800...A slider phone? Really? Did RIM buy out the patents for the Sidekick?

As for BB Messenger, people only rave about it when they have it. As soon as you have any other phone you realize it's a glorified Text/MMS program with fancy icons. Apple has chosen not to match the service because, frankly, it isn't worth it.

[Nuje]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

This thread is cute.

Blackberry is a lesser phone than Apple's device because (somehow,despite being in the phone business much longer), aspects of their OS still look as ugly as MS-Dos. It's rather embarrassing. They also don't seem to have much in the way of innovation. Their hardware is also lesser quality. Never liked the bulky look of the handsets. Even this new 9800...A slider phone? Really? Did RIM buy out the patents for the Sidekick?

As for BB Messenger, people only rave about it when they have it. As soon as you have any other phone you realize it's a glorified Text/MMS program with fancy icons. Apple has chosen not to match the service because, frankly, it isn't worth it.

Post thanked for hilarity, especially the completely condescending remark to start with. Now let's remember something about MS-DOS (if you ever used it on a regular basis), it rarely ever went wrong. I'd freak whenever it did crash, because those computers hung once or twice a year. I agree with that part of it though, as the iPhone definitely has a sleeker looking OS, but definitely disagree about the handsets. My Storm (2, I agree the 1 is awful for that) feels better put together than the iPhone.

What's wrong with a slider phone? A friend of mine has one of the android phones, and it's got both a touchscreen and a physical slide-out keyboard, and it works great.

BBM is very useful due to how instant it is, the ability to conference, and it works on WiFi. I was in England recently, and even with my text plan, I'd still pay $0.10 for each text there.

As for the iPhone, people only rave about it when they have it. As soon as you have any other phone you realize it's nothing more than a well packaged interface with fancy icons. The competition has chosen not to match the interface because, frankly, you can customize it to your own tastes yourself, or download one of many available free themes that you like.

[Nuje]

Oh, and that new Bold looks awesome!
Now as far as a screen as good as the iPhone, I haven't owned one, but I've done a decent amount of dicking around, and I don't find the screen itself any better than my phone. Some people don't like the click, and I wish the screen (mostly for the keyboard buttons) was bigger, but it definitely helps me type quicker/more accurately.

I just installed crunchSMS myself. So far, looks good. Certainly easier to read.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

This thread is cute.

Blackberry is a lesser phone than Apple's device because (somehow,despite being in the phone business much longer), aspects of their OS still look as ugly as MS-Dos. It's rather embarrassing. They also don't seem to have much in the way of innovation. Their hardware is also lesser quality. Never liked the bulky look of the handsets. Even this new 9800...A slider phone? Really? Did RIM buy out the patents for the Sidekick?

As for BB Messenger, people only rave about it when they have it. As soon as you have any other phone you realize it's a glorified Text/MMS program with fancy icons. Apple has chosen not to match the service because, frankly, it isn't worth it.

This isn't an Apple forum, get over it and stop trolling.