Blackberry Bold 9900

[tHegeRm]

Paid full price for a Storm, I will not let RIM fuck my ass again.

HTC for the win, sorry Kie Motorola is in my never again group too.

[tHegeRm]

Originally Posted by m3inwaiting

http://gizmodo.com/5813617/has-rim-f...to-the-shelves

Typical Blackberry quality. RIM is a dying company.

And I'm sure they rushed it, the Storm took 6 months to get a proper firmware update.

[CJ421]

I have a BB Bold 9650, the latest Bold, and have been sorta happy with it. It's through work so not like I had a choice.

It's sluggish, which makes using the touch operated pointer thingy a PITA. E.g. you want to go left but end up going too far, yet the phone doesn't show that on the screen and you click the wrong thing.
Secondly it takes 5+ seconds to open text message conversations ... why?

Worst part about it is the pathetic battery life, mine is drained in 12-15 hours just in my pocket, BT/wireless off, no calls.

So if they fix those things ...

[BTM]

Originally Posted by CJ421

It's sluggish, which makes using the touch operated pointer thingy a PITA. E.g. you want to go left but end up going too far, yet the phone doesn't show that on the screen and you click the wrong thing.
Secondly it takes 5+ seconds to open text message conversations ... why?

Worst part about it is the pathetic battery life, mine is drained in 12-15 hours just in my pocket, BT/wireless off, no calls.

So if they fix those things ...

I have the exact opposite experience with my Bold 9700 (9650 is not the latest Bold). The optical scroll wheel is much improved over the old ball style one. It's by far less sluggish than my iphone was or my droid is, and my droid is only 3 months old or so. My iphone would take forever to switch screens, and the droid is better but the lag is still apparent. With my BB it's near instantaneous, no perception of "waiting" for the phone to catch up. Maybe you have too much running in the background, just for the hell of it I do a hard battery pull probably once a week and this seems to keep it running pretty good, though it does take too long to start up IMO.

Additionally, I leave my wifi on all day and can easily get over 24hrs of battery with a few hours of talk time and a lot of emailing/texting. My droid is the exact opposite. Maybe you should replace the battery?

[BTM]

Originally Posted by tHegeRm

Paid full price for a Storm, I will not let RIM fuck my ass again.

HTC for the win, sorry Kie Motorola is in my never again group too.

The storm was a notorious flop. Agree it's a POS, I also hate the Torch. That's why I'm pumped that BB isn't giving up on their no frills business phone with a real keyboard.

FWIW, my HTC is a piece, as is almost everyone else's in the company, so I don't think it's an isolated incident. We've had 3 warranty claims already due to the camera lens being loose and buzzing from the speaker, making the person's voice incomprehensible. It's an Inspire 4G.

[BayMoWe335]

RIMM is a short...

This is the best they could do? Wow.

[BTM]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

RIMM is a short...

This is the best they could do? Wow.

It appears as if it will fit my needs perfectly

[SchlauCow]

Originally Posted by greek335i

what do you think are some of the best phones at the moment?

Stats from consumer reports attached.

[JayKay335i]

I've had the storm since it was released and never had a problem. Replaced the battery at a little less than 2 years. Drop it all the time and never have had an issue.

The problem lies more in the software than the hardware. The OS is crap and its 6mo update wasn't much better. Constant memory leaks. Takes 18 years to open any link in an email.

I think I'm going to switch to whatever the next iphone is because I just dont trust that RIM isn't going to push out a bunch of crap just to fill their pockets.

[CJ421]

Originally Posted by BTM

I have the exact opposite experience with my Bold 9700 (9650 is not the latest Bold). The optical scroll wheel is much improved over the old ball style one. It's by far less sluggish than my iphone was or my droid is, and my droid is only 3 months old or so. My iphone would take forever to switch screens, and the droid is better but the lag is still apparent. With my BB it's near instantaneous, no perception of "waiting" for the phone to catch up. Maybe you have too much running in the background, just for the hell of it I do a hard battery pull probably once a week and this seems to keep it running pretty good, though it does take too long to start up IMO.

Additionally, I leave my wifi on all day and can easily get over 24hrs of battery with a few hours of talk time and a lot of emailing/texting. My droid is the exact opposite. Maybe you should replace the battery?

Yeah I used the older Bold with the scroll ball for a short while, the touch one on mine is far better. Still doesn't change the fact my phone is sluggish. It feels like it needs more memory for the OS.

I'm on Sprint, connected to email via MS Exchange, that's all I have running. I don't use any apps.

I'll try that hard reset ... never done that.

[BTM]

Originally Posted by CJ421

Yeah I used the older Bold with the scroll ball for a short while, the touch one on mine is far better. Still doesn't change the fact my phone is sluggish. It feels like it needs more memory for the OS.

I'm on Sprint, connected to email via MS Exchange, that's all I have running. I don't use any apps.

I'll try that hard reset ... never done that.

I wonder if the 9650 is really that different from the 9700...I'm always on wifi and at least running weather and news along with messaging...

I will admit that my Curve was pretty bad with lagging, but so for so good with the Bold

[08rookie]

i have the bb torch...not a bad phone...i had the iphone and got rid of it...not necessarily the dropped calls but when i would converse my cheek would either hit the speaker buton or end the call. touch screen was too sensitive...regardless of what you use/need a phone for i think bb os has emails down to a science! i think the iphone/droid try to do too much and something becomes compromised...at least in my experience. i run a business by my cell phone. im a business owner and need a reliable phone (network too...ATT sucks balls!)

[BTM]

Originally Posted by 08rookie

i have the bb torch...not a bad phone...i had the iphone and got rid of it...not necessarily the dropped calls but when i would converse my cheek would either hit the speaker buton or end the call. touch screen was too sensitive...regardless of what you use/need a phone for i think bb os has emails down to a science! i think the iphone/droid try to do too much and something becomes compromised...at least in my experience. i run a business by my cell phone. im a business owner and need a reliable phone (network too...ATT sucks balls!)

It sounds stupid but I've tried them all (even a windows phone lol) and there are really 2 things that stand out to me about the Blackberry that I really prefer.

I cannot live without the menu button. If you're in a screen and need to do something, chances are it's a choice on the menu button (and not symbols, text telling you exactly what the choice is!). No need to go to a home screen, find whatever it is you want, and fumble around like that. It's hard to explain, but in that sense I find the Iphone and Droid very cumbersome.

Real keyboard. I've had phones with touch screen keyboards for over 2 years. I'm still not comfortable with it, it takes me what feels like forever to get what I mean to say typed on the screen. I don't have small hands, but I've played piano my whole life so I don't think it's necessarily me being ham fisted. The positive feel of pushing a button and having that come up on the screen makes messaging a breeze.

When I need to search something, the browser is adequate. It leaves a lot to be desired when compared to the competition, but I'm usually in front of a computer anyway. My BB gets emails about 2min before they appear in my outlook and gmail which I have open all day. Like you, apps are a nice auxiliary feature for me, but far from my primary reason for having a phone. The apps I use work fine on BB, though they might not looks as slick as they do on the other interfaces. I'll gladly trade the sleek factor for the way BB handles basic communicative functions.

[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by yakev724

You're on the wrong network. I've used 4/5 iPhones since they first came out and haven't had an issue with dropped calls/reception. On T-Mobile btw. Yes, if 3G is important to you, move along...I've got wifi in 90%+ of my natural habitat and save a ton of money.

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.

Originally Posted by BTM

Definitely a larger issue than this. I've had one of each all on the same network. BB signal and call reliability has been far superior to iphone/droid

This.

Originally Posted by SchlauCow

Had a few BBs in the past, I will never go back to them... Purchased a Samsung Droid Charge -- very nice phone, 4G, awesome display, fast...

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.

Originally Posted by tHegeRm

And I'm sure they rushed it, the Storm took 6 months to get a proper firmware update.

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.

Originally Posted by CJ421

I have a BB Bold 9650, the latest Bold, and have been sorta happy with it. It's through work so not like I had a choice.

It's sluggish, which makes using the touch operated pointer thingy a PITA. E.g. you want to go left but end up going too far, yet the phone doesn't show that on the screen and you click the wrong thing.
Secondly it takes 5+ seconds to open text message conversations ... why?

Worst part about it is the pathetic battery life, mine is drained in 12-15 hours just in my pocket, BT/wireless off, no calls.

So if they fix those things ...

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.

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

RIMM is a short...

This is the best they could do? Wow.

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?

[chinoxs203]

deff a sweet device. and the OP is right with calls and emails the blackberry wins hands down all because of the physical keyboard and the phyical phone buttons. The only downfall of the BB is the lack of being able to view your email folders. i recently switched to the Moto Atrix although i do love my Mac products i cant stand the iPhone douches who think their phone is god and nothing can be better. the fact is most probably came from a standard flip and did not touch a smartphone till steve jobs saved the world, or they just did not know how to properly use their current device as in shortcuts or what not.

i dont think OS 7 is going to make much of a difference, screen res still crap. they really need QNX OS like now and stop developing old stuff.

the productivity apps and just all the cool shit on my tiny lil Andriod are what keep me from turning back to BB now as i did when i first for the iphone 3g.

[Augenbrauezug]

Originally Posted by BTM

At least two fucks are being given by myself and ragingclue

I'm giving a fuck, I'm fed up with my iPhone, and don't haven't had much better luck with droid and I'm afraid I'll hate the blackberry keyboard

[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by Augenbrauezug

I'm giving a fuck, I'm fed up with my iPhone, and don't haven't had much better luck with droid and I'm afraid I'll hate the blackberry keyboard

I think you'll find there is no perfect device.

I've had extensive seat time with all the platforms out right now to include the iPhone, WP7 devices from Samsung and HTC, and Android 2+ phones HTC/Samsung/Moto, and also BB devices.

The 9900/9930 keyboard is the same size as the one from the 9000, in fact it looks like it's ever-so-slightly increased due to a bit of shrinkage from the bezel area. I couldn't use the 9700-sized keypad worth a shit because I have Irish sausage fingers (and no, I'm not fat, I've just got a genetics issue). I wasn't a huge fan of the buttons on the 9000 when it came out but you get used to it. I still like the old Curve style buttons better but it's not really that big of a deal.

With the Android and iPhone platforms, they offer you incredible potential IF you go ahead and JB/root and if you want to dig up info (e.g. xda-developers forums, etc...). With the BB, you pretty much have to like it out of the box. I generally keep one reliable communications device and one techy snazzy flashy device to play around with, but I can tell you that most of the snazzy phones have some serious issues with what should be considered basic functionality. This was especially true on the Android phones I tried, but like I mentioned before, most of that can be overcome with rooting/ROM/radio/kernel manipulation.

[BTM]

Originally Posted by Augenbrauezug

I'm giving a fuck, I'm fed up with my iPhone, and don't haven't had much better luck with droid and I'm afraid I'll hate the blackberry keyboard

The keyboard on my bold is the best I've had on a phone. The buttons have little ridges that makes it very easy to feel when your directly on a letter, moving over to another one, etc...my main problem with all the touch-keyboards is accuracy, you don't know exactly where your finger is and rely on the phone to "guess" for you it seems like. I type much faster on my BB with fewer mistakes

[Dave]

honestly you can't beat the battery life of a blackberry. between 2 iphones a bb and an 1 month droid user, my bb always was the back up phone that always worked.

[ZoomZoom]

Originally Posted by BTM

The keyboard on my bold is the best I've had on a phone.

I do love my Iphone...but this is very true. Typing on my 9700 was so easy.

Originally Posted by comeback1

honestly you can't beat the battery life of a blackberry.

This.

[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by comeback1

honestly you can't beat the battery life of a blackberry.

This is one of the concerns on the new devices. Because people care so much about the HW specs, BB put some serious power in these devices yet decreased the sizes of the batteries. Adding a touch screen and blazing hardware will not allow you to keep the same battery life. I'm betting the life will be comparable to other devices on the market already, causing BB to lose that asset.

[nightfx]

Already made my mind up; I'll be going back to android when the Samsung Galaxy S2 comes out.

My Bold 9700 has served me well for the last while but I'm excited to go back to a phone with far superior media/entertainment capabilities. The only thing I'll really miss is my BBM buddies.