[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by ragingclue

Rely on Edge while on the road? Yeah, no thanks. Not a fair trade-off. Also, it's not just AT&T that has problems with the iPhone and dropped calls.



This.



Yeah the specs on some of Samsung phones are nice. Good luck getting updates pushed to it or support more than a couple months down the road though. Fuck Samsung.



The Storm is notoriously awful and is the redheaded stepchild of the BB family. Complete failure even after all the updates. BB can't do iPhone clone well, and they never should have tried.



The hardware in the RIM devices have been subpar and behind the curve in the past; the specs were too short even to run their own relatively simple OS. They've changed that now, but it'll be interesting to see what that's done to battery life. The batteries in the newer devices will be smaller, but supposedly the tech is improved so.... We'll see.



As opposed to what? Dual core? On an OS that doesn't even take advantage of it? A 7" screen and three separate physical keyboards? Eleventy billion fart apps? Support for mental telepathy? I'm just wondering if you could clarify how it could have been better, aside from LTE support (would have been a bad idea due to power consumption issues), and the QNX-based OS (not ready and probably won't be until middle of next year)?

RIM is growing worldwide, despite all the doom and gloom we see. Their biggest problem is the fact that their stock has dropped so low that they're in danger of becoming someone's bitch. The 9900/9930 aren't even the only devices coming out this year, there's also a "Torch 2" and a full touchscreen curve, both of which finally have specs that should make the OS snappier.

All they have to do is weather the storm until the QNX OS comes around. That will give all the iPhone sheep (let's be honest, these are the people driving the market nowadays even though they'd buy a piece of shit on a stick and say it was a wonderful device, if it had an apple logo on it) phones that they should appreciate, and at the same time will give BB a more solid and capable framework to their interface. In the meantime, they have to keep the solid base they've built up with the BES and such.

Also, the webkit browser is a huge step above the older BB browsers, so people who have been turned off by that should take a gander at the new setup. RIM is improving but they have an uphill battle against the market, because right now the market is being driven by people who only care about apps and raw HW specs. When RIM realizes that it really doesn't matter to the average joe how well his phone acts as a phone and business device, maybe then they'll become a monster again, but I don't think that's their game plan. Some people need the phone to be a reliable phone and communication platform first, and an entertainment device second. Especially now with tablets, why the hell would I want to watch videos and browse the web on a 3-4" screen when I could do it on my 7" or 10" tablet?

If you truly believe what you're saying, you should bet the farm on RIMM because it has been absolutely hammered and no one seems to care what they are doing over there. It's a takeover candidate at best. While you're at it, buy some NOK.

Even if you were exactly right, I go by the average person test. The average person thinks RIMM's phones blow and are 5 years behind. Droid and iPhone are eating their lunch. It's really as simple as that. One could argue there are 10 Droids better than the iPhone, but people love the iPhone and Apple products even if they don't have the sexy stats of an Atrix, for example. Apple has an amazing ability to make users wait and salivate for basic features. Remember copy/paste? That was huge hype but even my shitty Motorola flip phone could Copy/Paste. But when the iPhone got it, it was the cat's ass...

I'm just like you on many things...a loyal support and apologist. You have to open your eyes though...just use the phones. Blackberry doesn't suck ass or anything, but the usability, beauty, and intuitveness of Androids and iPhones really make Blackberry feel like a Nokia 1610. Blackberry has no cool factor and nothing fun going for it. They aren't fun to use, lack features, and are just an overall beating to use when you're used to simple icons and touch screens that load apps in half a second.

Sheep drive consumer sales and drive AAPL to new highs. I stopped fighting the AAPL dominance at $315 and longed some. In a month, I have cleaned up as it trades at nearly $360 and looks for breakout to new highs. They are dominating the tablet market and still dominate any single phone by leaps and bounds. Sure, Android is taking some share, but they have trouble with the average person. My 80 year old grandmother could use an iPhone. I own an Atrix and love it, but the non techy still won't like the Android as much as iOS. Apple is about to release and iPhone 5, iPad 3, and who knows what this iCloud crap can do. They are kicking ass and making products people love to use. Cool factor, beautiful, easy to use, and best of all...huge margin for AAPL thanks to their unbeatable business model, supply chain, and slave labor in China. I will ride them to $400, perhaps $450. They might got ot $600 one day. The shares are still dirt cheap based on their incredible growth and new products in the pipeline. It's insane. What will stop them? The sky is the limit and they really show no signs of slowing down. RIMM has less than a .01% chance of surviving long enough to innovate again.

[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

It's a takeover candidate at best. While you're at it, buy some NOK.

"At best"? Maybe you aren't on board with who RIMM has acquired lately. They are a JUICY takeover candidate. Also, I'm not going to deal with the "average person test" when discussing the capabilities of a phone. I'm not an average phone user and won't dumb myself down for the sake of comparing different offerings through the eyes of a tech idiot. There are PLENTY of bloggers who take care of that already.

Just because average people can be herded by PR doesn't mean that I have to understand that as part of what the phone specifically has to offer a user once they actually get their hands on it. I honestly don't give even half of a shit about the market's reaction to each company; the market is driven by a large contingent of ignorant and highly manipluatable individuals. My argument was to weigh in on the tech side of things, which had nothing to do with what stock sheep were buying lately.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by ragingclue

"At best"? Maybe you aren't on board with who RIMM has acquired lately. They are a JUICY takeover candidate. Also, I'm not going to deal with the "average person test" when discussing the capabilities of a phone. I'm not an average phone user and won't dumb myself down for the sake of comparing different offerings through the eyes of a tech idiot. There are PLENTY of bloggers who take care of that already.

Just because average people can be herded by PR doesn't mean that I have to understand that as part of what the phone specifically has to offer a user once they actually get their hands on it. I honestly don't give even half of a shit about the market's reaction to each company; the market is driven by a large contingent of ignorant and highly manipluatable individuals. My argument was to weigh in on the tech side of things, which had nothing to do with what stock sheep were buying lately.

They really aren't as good technically either. Just use the phones...it's really not even close which is why RIMM is dying. I owned a Blackberry and liked it, but a Blackberry doesn't do anything better than Android (At least, not anything that matters). Consumers are sheep, yes...but this transfer of power is because RIMM can't match the user experience of Android and iOS. Consumers are right on this one and it's not all PR.

[BTM]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

They really aren't as good technically either. Just use the phones...it's really not even close which is why RIMM is dying. I owned a Blackberry and liked it, but a Blackberry doesn't do anything better than Android (At least, not anything that matters).

The exact reason I still use a BB alongside my Android is because there are numerous things it does better. The communicative aspects, calling, emailing/messaging, are easier on the BB. My reception is stronger and more reliable on the BB. I can type much easier, faster, and more accurately on the BB keyboard (yes this is subjective obviously). In battery life, there is no contest. These are not functions that "don't matter..."

The Android surfs the internet and runs apps a lot better, especially Google apps (not a surprise) but as I've said the apps that I really rely on (news, weather, banking) run perfectly fine on my BB as well. The signal is less reliable, but navigation/GPS is also leagues better than the BB.

As for speed, both from a fresh restart, having both phones side by side, I tested opening a few screens. They both open "messages" for example in the same amount of time. However, the droid gives the impression of lag as it loads the top of the screen "All messages" and "Compose message" before it does your text history; the BB shows you the whole thing at once, the transition being from the center "outward" if that makes sense. They both open their OEM browsers and return to home screens equally as fast.

[CollinsE90]

Everything here is subjective, waste of arguing. Location, carrier, user ability, amount of time used and how, size of hands/fingers etc...


It is obvious that if Brian was sent to an island, he would request milagro wine, BB 9900, and Wikipedia.

/thread

[ghosthi32]

Originally Posted by CollinsE90

Everything here is subjective, waste of arguing. Location, carrier, user ability, amount of time used and how, size of hands/fingers etc...


It is obvious that if Brian was sent to an island, he would request milagro wine, BB 9900, and Wikipedia.

/thread

and collins knows everything


/thread

[BTM]

Milagro is tequila...

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by BTM

The exact reason I still use a BB alongside my Android is because there are numerous things it does better. The communicative aspects, calling, emailing/messaging, are easier on the BB. My reception is stronger and more reliable on the BB. I can type much easier, faster, and more accurately on the BB keyboard (yes this is subjective obviously). In battery life, there is no contest. These are not functions that "don't matter..."

The Android surfs the internet and runs apps a lot better, especially Google apps (not a surprise) but as I've said the apps that I really rely on (news, weather, banking) run perfectly fine on my BB as well. The signal is less reliable, but navigation/GPS is also leagues better than the BB.

As for speed, both from a fresh restart, having both phones side by side, I tested opening a few screens. They both open "messages" for example in the same amount of time. However, the droid gives the impression of lag as it loads the top of the screen "All messages" and "Compose message" before it does your text history; the BB shows you the whole thing at once, the transition being from the center "outward" if that makes sense. They both open their OEM browsers and return to home screens equally as fast.

Not sure what Android you're using, but the Atrix is literally instant on every function. Speed of service depends on your location and carrier. Blackberry is really good at text/email, but Atrix does them equally well (at least for my purposes) and the apps, internet experience, talking GPS, speed, and screen size are miles ahead.

[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

They really aren't as good technically either. Just use the phones...it's really not even close which is why RIMM is dying. I owned a Blackberry and liked it, but a Blackberry doesn't do anything better than Android (At least, not anything that matters). Consumers are sheep, yes...but this transfer of power is because RIMM can't match the user experience of Android and iOS. Consumers are right on this one and it's not all PR.

Oh I wasn't aware that you had hands-on experience with the upcoming BB OS7 phone lineup.

[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Not sure what Android you're using, but the Atrix is literally instant on every function. Speed of service depends on your location and carrier. Blackberry is really good at text/email, but Atrix does them equally well (at least for my purposes) and the apps, internet experience, talking GPS, speed, and screen size are miles ahead.

Atrix, huh?

Are you really using the Atrix as a benchmark for anything in the phone industry? That thing has been plagued with so many issues from the start, and for what turns out to be marginally better speeds and a second core that's waiting for the industry to be able to utilize it fully. Not to mention the locked bootloader.... At least the Thunderbolt does real 4G speeds and isn't a pile of QA-neglected hardware. THAT should be the bench for Android, not the Atrix.

There are tons of people who traded their Atrix back in for a Captivate because there were so many hardware and software issues on release. Also, FroYo does NOT do email and text equally as well. Does the bug which sent texts sent to the WRONG PERSON ring a bell to you? Continually losing sync with the exchange server, does that ring a bell? No Android phone I've ever used has found/held signals better than the Blackberry devices we've had. That is pretty damn important IMO.

My Captivate with FroYo had to be retired as my work phone because of all of those issues. Please don't tell me Android does those things as well as BB, because I can tell you they absolutely don't. I love my Captivate for the use of apps, watching videos, etc.... But it can't hold a candle to a BB for reliable work tasks. Also, my Captivate's GPS is about as useful as a shit flavored lollipop. "Android" can't control when manufacturers come out with shit hardware, and it seems to happen every once in a while. Apple has one product line to monitor and QA which helps them out a lot (although they're far from perfect as well).

Look, BB is not perfect and they have plenty of issues. I personally didn't like them all that much except for work emails and whatnot, until they finally grabbed the webkit browser and some decent hardware. If you haven't had seat time with the 99XX (or the other new BBs), you have no idea what it's like to use it. It beats the at least the iPhone in web browsing benching, and absolutely is much snappier than any BB device you've ever used before. Unfortunately, this will probably come at the expense of battery life.

[achien]

RIM will get bought out...

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by ragingclue

Atrix, huh?

Are you really using the Atrix as a benchmark for anything in the phone industry? That thing has been plagued with so many issues from the start, and for what turns out to be marginally better speeds and a second core that's waiting for the industry to be able to utilize it fully. Not to mention the locked bootloader.... At least the Thunderbolt does real 4G speeds and isn't a pile of QA-neglected hardware. THAT should be the bench for Android, not the Atrix.

There are tons of people who traded their Atrix back in for a Captivate because there were so many hardware and software issues on release. Also, FroYo does NOT do email and text equally as well. Does the bug which sent texts sent to the WRONG PERSON ring a bell to you? Continually losing sync with the exchange server, does that ring a bell? No Android phone I've ever used has found/held signals better than the Blackberry devices we've had. That is pretty damn important IMO.

My Captivate with FroYo had to be retired as my work phone because of all of those issues. Please don't tell me Android does those things as well as BB, because I can tell you they absolutely don't. I love my Captivate for the use of apps, watching videos, etc.... But it can't hold a candle to a BB for reliable work tasks. Also, my Captivate's GPS is about as useful as a shit flavored lollipop. "Android" can't control when manufacturers come out with shit hardware, and it seems to happen every once in a while. Apple has one product line to monitor and QA which helps them out a lot (although they're far from perfect as well).

Look, BB is not perfect and they have plenty of issues. I personally didn't like them all that much except for work emails and whatnot, until they finally grabbed the webkit browser and some decent hardware. If you haven't had seat time with the 99XX (or the other new BBs), you have no idea what it's like to use it. It beats the at least the iPhone in web browsing benching, and absolutely is much snappier than any BB device you've ever used before. Unfortunately, this will probably come at the expense of battery life.

Gingerbread will unlock the bootloader and will be released this month (that didn't take long). It also promises to use the second core more effectively and allocate resources better. Never experienced the issues with email/text you mention. I like that my phone has room to grow. Plus, the speed is already phenomenal.

[jpsum]

[BTM]

UK looks like it's getting the 9900 in August...

http://www.rethink-wireless.com/2011...-uk-august.htm

Also, not really feeling the faux CF back...

[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Gingerbread will unlock the bootloader and will be released this month (that didn't take long). It also promises to use the second core more effectively and allocate resources better. Never experienced the issues with email/text you mention. I like that my phone has room to grow. Plus, the speed is already phenomenal.

Didn't take long? Over four months since release is a long time in the cell phone market, especially these days. Also, the text and exchange bugs I mentioned were very well publicized and very prominent. The Atrix has room to grow, yes. And it will be a great device in the future, provided the HW doesn't take a crap on you. I also hold ill will against that phone and AT&T because of the fact that HSPA+ as it is available to the consumer should NOT be considered 4G.

Originally Posted by jpsum

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Need some Valium here.

Originally Posted by BTM

UK looks like it's getting the 9900 in August...

http://www.rethink-wireless.com/2011...-uk-august.htm

Also, not really feeling the faux CF back...

I don't really care what it looks like too much. The faux CF is tacky (I'd probably Otter Box the bitch anyway), but the two things I'm concerned about are the reliability and the longevity of the battery. I can always take an extra battery with me when I travel, but if it has problems with geting through day-to-day use, that's going to be a big strike against it. My wife's Torch is a great device but has issues with freezing, and if OS7 and the 99XX continue that, I will not be on board at all.

I got to fool around with one for a very limited amount of time and it seemed like a device that was completely on par with the Android and Apple offerings as far as how quick you can get around between screens and browsing speed. The 2.8" screen isn't exactly big though, but it may be big enough that I won't care too much. Just simply navigating around the OS and browser, it feels like a completely different experience (speed wise) than any previous Blackberry. It's on par with a two generation jump (two to three years), which it should be anyway, since they've been lazy about developing new devices lately.

Plus I might just give in to the tablet craze soon. I don't need one, but for simple browsing while on the go, the 7" designs are perfect for me.

[BTM]

lol it's certainly not going to stop me from buying one...but I generally don't like phone cases

For whatever reason yesterday evening my messages folder wouldn't open twice (bbos6), had to pull battery each time. Everything else on the phone worked totally fine though...kinda strange. It's been fine all day today, so hopefully just an isolated incident. Other than that, can't really report any freezing issues...

[BTM]

CNET - Hands-on with the BlackBerry Bold 9900, BlackBerry Torch 9810 and 9860

BlackBerry Bold 9900
As a former BlackBerry Bold owner, I was particularly interested in this model and at the end of the day, it might be my favorite of the three. The Bold 9900 (Sprint's version will be the 9930) takes the slate QWERTY design that made the BlackBerry famous and adds a touch screen. The 2.8-inch, 640x480-pixel display looks sharp and feels responsive. The addition of the touch screen is particularly useful when browsing the Web and viewing pictures, since you can now use the pinch-to-zoom gesture to easily zoom in on text and images. Though we never had problems navigating through the BlackBerry interface (which doesn't change much between OS 6 and OS 7) on a non-touch display, it's nice now to have the option to simply swipe or tap the screen to complete an action.

The keyboard remains excellent. Similar to previous Bold models, the keyboard has a roomy, wide layout with good-size buttons. They have a slight ridge to them, so they're easy to press, and it, along with the navigation controls, is also brightly illuminated so it's easy to type in darker environments.

The general design of the smartphone takes after its predecessor, but RIM says that the Bold 9900 is its thinnest BlackBerry yet at 10.5mm thick. It indeed feels pretty slim and lighter, while still keeping a premium feel with its brushed stainless steel accents and smooth back. BlackBerry loyalists should find a lot to like in this refresh of the Bold.

[Blake]

checking out these leaked pics of the new blackberry...fucking sick!!

[ragingclue]

Was looking at the Canadian 9900 listings on eBay (it's been released up there), and check out the hook on this auction.

[BTM]

[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by BTM

Eight people bidding on a phone that has a shipping cost of $1300. Yikes.

[M3Bahn]

Another review

http://www.bgr.com/2011/08/11/blackb...d-9900-review/