All Things BlackBerry - Apps, Phones, and Discussion

Can't believe this thread doesn't exist yet...or maybe my search just didn't locate it? Anyway, what do folks think of their new BB10 OS? The Z10 doesn't really excite me...it's attractive-but-anonymous hardware with a unique OS that doesn't have a ton of obvious advantages against its better-established competitors. But the Q10 looks like the best QWERTY device ever in a market where nobody else is really making QWERTY smartphones anymore. I'm surprised they're not holding out the Q10 as their flagship.

 

Research In Motion changes its name to BlackBerry - latimes.com

 

The good news is they kept BlackBerry 10 practically the same as what we've seen with the Playbook, it's a well designed OS aesthetically and function-wise. It reeks of WebOS in both good and bad ways; the OS card task switcher works much better than what Android or iOS offers, but navigating the heavily gestured based OS can prove to be cumbersome for those that are technologically challenged as there is no capacitive/physical home or menu button. I've been reading many early reviews on the Z10 and it looks like a well built smartphone, but the numerous complaints about the battery life is a bit surprising given that the device comes from a company that is known for durability and endurance of its products.

You can look at the BlackBerry application store and see what is available for the new OS, and for me it wouldn't work out for the time being. No YouTube, Netflix, Pandora/Slacker or any Kairosoft games mean this one can't keep me entertained when I'm bored.

Work place already denied these devices for field deployment due to no Salesforce app.

 

I'd like to see how the Q10's battery life fares. While I'm now sunk into the Android ecosystem through and through, I did use a BlackBerry Bold 9700 before, and its phenomenal keyboard can't even be matched by SwiftKey. It's a pity that the Q10 won't be available until March. <strike>RIM</strike> BlackBerry really should put more of an emphasis on that device, where it's truly distinct from Android/iOS/WP8 offerings.

 

Couldn't agree more. The Z10 prompted a huge "meh" from me, whereas the Q10 is something that might make me switch based on hardware alone (my primary smartphone task is email). The Q10 might not have the games selection or music service selection of an Android phone, but as an email/text messaging/social networking machine, it's arguably unbeatable.

 

I would like to try a Z10. I'll probably pick up a used Verizon unit.


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

 

I just checked out a hands-on with the Q10 and you guys are right, it should've been the pin point device for BlackBerry. What's with the Q10 coming out a month after the Z10?

FYI CNet stated that the Q10 will have a 2100 MaH battery: http://reviews.cnet.com/blackberry-q10/

This in conjunction of having a smaller AMOLED screen seem to indicate that the Q10 is the one to have for prolonged off-the-plug use.

 

I'm not convinced a hardware keyboard is going to win anyone but those who're already on their way out from corporates. I have the current Bold and I don't automatically get the 'It's a magical keyboard!' feeling in comparison to my iPhones or Windows Phones (And I think Swype is a waste of time if you can land keys fast enough).

What I'm actually REALLY interested in is the retooled BES, not particularly the handsets in themselves. What I've gleaned so far is that despite needing a license per device now as opposed to BESE there's more installation transparency and some nifty new corporate-orientated features that might also be up my alley. In fact, without the new BES I really don't see the attraction of Blackberry 10 at this point - at least for the likes of you guys - at all, that especially (among the also-rans) Windows Phone doesn't do better.

 

There were several things I loved about my BlackBerry 9700 that I'm interested to see whether the Q10 can preserve:

1.- Fantastic keyboard. By all indications, I think this will also be the case on the Q10.
2.- Phenomenal battery life for a smartphone. This could be problematic if the poor battery life of the Z10 is a software issue.
3.- Great call quality and signal strength (better reception than my current GS3).
4.- Very customizable ringtone/notification/light system. Can't see why more advanced tools aren't built into stock Android yet (ie: Vibrate Then Ring setting with adjustable vibration length/pattern).

I'll be surprised if BB messed up #1, 3, 4. #2 seems to be a concern given the Z10's subpar performance though.

 

i want the Z10, but its $800! i have the 9860 right now, also a playbook

 

The fact that the home screen widgets/tiles are actually the full application running all the time seems like it'd be an enormous energy hog.

 

Here you go.

Brand New SEALED Blackberry Z10 Smartphone | eBay

I have no idea what these goofballs are doing. Being patient and waiting a few days can get you a Canadian Z10 for less than half of what these guys are trying to unload them for.

 

Exploiting human nature

Hmm. Will hold judgement until Q10 review units are sent out and some detailed impressions are posted.

 

Lol, for once Canadian are getting the goodies before the US.

 

No offence but you didn't use many (any?) of the models with the optical trackpad, did you?
Durable is not the word that springs to mind.


I don't personally see RIM/BB surviving in it's current form.
I think there's a very good chance that by the end of the year, they'll have been sold off in some way.

Also, their new product range is sorely missing something to replace the Curve models, something aimed at teenagers/kids.
Outside of business, that's pretty much their only market thanks to BBM (in the UK at least). And even that seems to be dwindling due to the success of apps like WhatsApp etc.

 

Actually I have. We've deployed hundreds of 8520 and 9300's, and I would have to estimate we've only gotten 5-10 that had to be exchanged for another device because of the optical touchpad. Most of the issues we come across are the JVM 500 errors or degraded battery life for BlackBerries.

 

The talk in the market is this product came out a year too late. Once companies started to allow personal smart phones usage and no longer have their BlackBerry-or-nothing policy, the cat is now out of the bag and never getting back in.

 

Ahh, the name change. The first sign in trying to avoid the executioner's block.

Research in Motion will always have a special place in my heart. I still have my first Blackberry smartphone (Blackberry 7520i) and the last Blackberry/Nextel phone I ever owned (Blackberry Curve 8350i). Blackberrys will always be my favorite. But even with BB10, RIM is still on the outside looking for a way in and I just don't see them ever finding an unlocked door again.

Who are we kidding, that cat clawed it's way out of the bag. And given the size of Apple, Google, Samsung, etc compared to RIM...oops, I mean Blackberry, that cat will put up a hell of a fight before it will go back in.

 

Except in this case, the name change just changed the official name to what 99% of people called it already. Except for die-hard tech-heads, most people I know I suspect have no clue who "Research in Motion" is. It sounds like a Cirque de Soleil knock-off. But EVERYONE knows Blackberry. They just didn't know it was a hardware line instead of a brand.

 

This attititude is what's going to kill RIM unforturnately, this is not a targeted insult, I just thought it's a good example and quoted you. Even one is being nostalgic about their BlackBerry days but no one is actually going to buy a BlackBerry product. This kills BlackBerry

 

I know, it was a joke. The first time I web searched for blackberry phones it took me to RIM's site. I was like, "What the **** is this? I wanted to go to Blackberry's site." It took me a little while to figure out RIM was the blackberry's manufacturer.

Uhh, no. Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie shanked their own brand by refusing to keep up with the current technology trends. Thank god neither of them are CEO's anymore. I was thrilled when Thorsten Heins took over but the damage had already been done. The Blackberry was still on outdated specs in 2011 when the iPhone and Android phones were flying ahead at the speed of light. Lazaridis and Balsillie thought the Blackberry was so indispensable because of BES and BIS that they felt they didn't need to update the Blackberry models' specs to at least match those of the iPhone. Well, they were dead wrong. They sat on their hands and let Apple and Google open the gap. And as far as BB10 goes, it's too little, too late. It took the RIM developers too long to get BB10 to market. I don't think it matters how good a quality BB10 is now because the Blackberry has lost so much of it's market share that it will always be playing major catch up. And I just don't see RIM having enough innovation to be able to catch up. It's sad to see the Blackberry fall so far since RIM is the one that pioneered the bridge between the cell phone and PDA.

 

It's the Saab syndrome. Everyone got teary-eyed about the 900S and the 9-3 SportCombi, but nobody bought them.

 

With the resources available, I think Thorsten Heins has done a commendable job turning BlackBerry around.

The new handsets' specs are definitely high-tier, although perhaps not quite top-of-the-line when compared to the latest Android 1080p heavyweights (Sony Z/ZL, HTC Droid DNA, ...). The software, while noticeably rough around the edges, appears remarkably polished given what they had before (BBOS7). It appears that most of BlackBerry's carrier partnerships are still intact, and they'll be releasing on multiple major networks internationally, all at once. That's certainly better than what WP7 had when it launched: hardware-wise, software-wise, and carrier-wise.

I think he's done an amazing job, but even that might not be enough.

 

I've seen literally hundreds of Blackberrys with faulty trackpads
Primarily 8520s and 9300s but even more expensive models.

There's a similarity of sorts to Panasonic.
Panasonic was one brand of the Matsua Corporation but it was the only name anyone knew, so eventually Matsua was renamed to Panasonic.

I've read something recently that likened RIM's relationship with the networks to that of MS when WP7 was launched.
It mentioned Verizon and Sprint, how they both carried WP7 handsets at launch but their support for the OS disappeared pretty quickly and is only just returning now. If the same thing happens with BB10, that could be curtains.

 

My question is "as a person that is content with android, what is there in BB10 to make me want to switch?" I haven't seen an answer to that yet.

 

The consensus seems to be 'nothing'.

BB10 is simply Blackberry catching up with Android and iOS.

 

Two spring to mind: (1) the Q10's keyboard, and (2) better corporate-oriented security. They may not apply for everyone, but they apply for some.

 

Neither of those things are exclusive to Blackberry, and the q10s keyboard comes at the expense of significant screen real estate.

 

But Blackberry Enterprise Server is still a very popular (and viable) solution to corporate email and stuff.

 

I think the consensus is indeed the Q10's keyboard. I'm already a bit too invested in Android to switch, not to mention my contract, but had my dad known of the Q10's release before he got his Note II, he would definitely have gone for it for that reason alone.

 

40% of Blackberry 10′s apps are repackaged Android APKs

This is going to end up being a problem for BlackBerry. The Android emulator works well for the Playbook when its QNX based operating system was not widely adopted, but they need to break away from this to make BB10 unique and really show what it's capable of. This is just lazy porting and given the quirky emulator issues, hurts the operating system from a performance perspective and makes some crude first impressions.

 

I disagree. I think having a total dearth of apps at release is a bigger problem than having slightly-crude emulated apps as a stopgap. App selection crippled WP7 in its first year.

 

I recommend actually trying an emulated Android app on a Playbook. It's very bad, especially with games. The 'quantity over quality' viewpoint is still a major issue with Windows Marketplace.

 

During the verge review, they tested NewsRob, a fairly simple RSS reader and a repackaged Android app.

It was sluggish and slow, even worse, the Android emulator on Blackberry 10 isn't Android 4.0...it's Android 2.3.

That. Is. An. Issue.

 

It's also a short-term stopgap, not an intended long-term solution.

 

True but with the majority of the apps being Android apps at the moment...and no way to determine which is a native BB10 app and which is a Android app...it has the potential to lead to disappointing experiences early on...something that BB10 can't afford to have.

 

A lot of new apps are bad regardless of whether they're ports or not. This was an issue both with Windows Phone and with Windows 8 (PC). User reviews are good for separating the wheat from the chaff, regardless of whether the chaff are ports or just poorly-executed original designs.

 

But the argument is "does it matter if you have a bunch of apps if a large chunk of them are slow, clunky ports?" There are a lot of reviewers who feel that the Android emulation actually detracts from the overall experience.

 

This is definitely a step in the right direction:

PSA: BlackBerry 10 doesn't need a special data plan

 

Agreed. The Blackberry only plans were confusing to the average consumer.
That and since BlackBerry 10 supports Exchange ActiveSync, people who want one for work use can (in theory...if a IT dept. refuses blackberry 10 regardless then oh well...) get one even if their workplace isn't running a BES.

I'm really liking BlackBerry 10. Honest to goodness it looks like a great effort, app issues not withstanding. Lets hope patches will come out quickly to address the issues people have noticed on their review devices.

Personally the Q10 is the more interesting handset out of the two...the larger QWERTY than previous models is something I can get behind: the smaller QWERTY on previous BlackBerry models proved far too small for my fat thumbs.

Then again, I'm typing this via a on screen keyboard and tying s ...nvm its falling apart....I still need my phyicka keys....

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

 

The "Keep Moving" ad is really very excellent for a smartphone commercial. Shows off features without being a boring tech demo, and talks up their own product instead of badmouthing competitors.

 

BB10 gets updated today, with some performance improvements and bugfixes, as well as improved low-light camera functionality, a few additional minor features, and--very importantly--improved battery life.

BlackBerry pushes out first BB10 software update with performance, camera improvements | The Verge

 

That sounds awesome!!!

Just bought mine today from the amazonUK (unlocked), if people are interested I can provide pictures etc a small review (review as in, what I think of it bla bla bla)

 

I would be interested to read your thoughts on it.

 

I would LOVE a user review. Post as soon as you've done one. Also, register over at Brighthand and post over there! With me defecting to Android, we don't have anyone over there who primarily uses something besides iOS or Android. We need more diversity!

 

started here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/off-topic/708284-new-smartphone-blackberry-z10.html ended here

Okay I got my Blackberry Z10 in the mail today! It was purchased on Amazon (UK), the unlocked version (I made sure it was unlocked by throwing a few messages towards the seller ).

Now with that assured I ordered a microSIM and eagerly moved everything from my old Nokia 6300 Slide onto the actual microSD card that I had in it. Everything was set!

I (naturally) unpacked everything today, and boy was this thing gorgeous, I ordered a white version in case you were wondering (it was cheaper for some reason?), furthermore I got it 5% off too, so yeah, awesome. Now everything was packed neatly and nicely.
As I went on with the unpacking, I by nature took some pictures so you guys would know what I experienced (just to clarify, the pictures were taken on my Nokia) but don't forget there's always ULTRA HD 4K PPI pictures on the internet somewhere (say you hate my pictures).

On the outside of the box we've got a ACTUAL sticker that says that the mobile phone is UNLOCKED throughout EU, which is nice to know say I didn't know before hand... moving on on the back of the box we've got the "manual" as such and sticky information.

Now to the PHONE itself! Picking it up, with no idea how it'll feel I must admit it's VERY LIGHT, did not expect that, and by far the best handheld I've had in my hand, the back is smooth and tacky at the same time making it soft, without the usual slipperiness one might be used too from iPhone (common example).
The backcover pops off easily, nothing to be scared about, the simcard slids right in and so does the microSD card. Oh and the battery too, slidy slidy Now to the software!

2-3 hours into the future and I've installed all of the geeky usual stuff, made my BB-ID, Wi-Fi etc etc, my simcard decided to work after activation, BB hub filled with my hotmail,fb, linkedin etc

Everything went smoothly and nicely, but it takes a while to get used to though, the whole gesture-based intuitive system is DIFFERENT, nothing like it, still hard to get used to, but my god is this thing BLAZING FAST. I cannot believe it, I had 8 programs lit up, 5 installing, watching a youtube movie, listening to music and at the same time facebook and twitter was being updated (BIP BIP BIP) and not a single hickup.... Really Blackberry, really? This is the king of the social media, I mean sure "only" 70k apps but man who the hell needs 70k anyways? Or 700k for that matter.

I installed the useful applications, set up 3 games and groupped the rest of the applications to make room for the beauty of the wallpaper I decided to put still uploading my school schedule (since it can read PDF's, excels etc) and my whole Dropbox is preloaded too! Insane.

There might not be a ton of options that the usual iPhone or Android (maybe Windows Phone?) is used to, but the ability to do so much else just puts it in perspective. The sheer engineering behind each and every Social Network integration is beyond me! Let me give you a example (just go with me on this one )
- since I liked facebook and hotmail to my BB z10 the whole system of fb automatically went onto my Contacts list, how? Well remember saving your number etc. on fb? It's integrated! I only had to DIAL 4 people from my old phone onto my z10 due to this so called, symbiosis of social networking, if you will. I mean the people I have on FB and LinkedIn now are connected? How? Well say my friend Andreas Z. is 23 years old, and has the tlf. num: ######## and lives where ever, it then combines it with LinkedIn and says that he works at ****** and has been doing so for so long etc etc or is maybe looking for a job.

Now you might be asking about the screen? The most insane screen every, just absolutely astonishing! Just to pinpoint it, the z10 has a feature that enables one to zoom in at ANY given point (works for disabled people and hey shows the awesomeness of the screen too)


Okay I will keep you guys updated as I keep learning more about this awesome machinery, do keep in mind that I biased since I've not had a big love for iPhone's... Also I'll upload the pictures ASAP

p.s. I am sorry if it's messy, reviewing and making order has never been my thing

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kanmri0x39nhx05/jlMslX8dGz

 

Nice song.

 

Then I don't think you've used BB10 or a Playbook. I feel it's extremely intuitive... but it IS different, MUCH different.

 

Well it's really hard to put words on it... if you've seen any reviews you'd know, virtually impossible to explain how the system works without actually doing it yourself.

Let me put it this way, you won't learn how to bike by watching videos online, it's impossible (not a challenge, don't prove me wrong), you have to do it on your own physically- a great relation to BB10.