I admit it — sometimes I find myself pining for my Blackberry.
I retired my Blackberry several months ago and switched to the HTC Droid Incredible from Verizon Wireless, largely because I want to write about current and future travel apps that largely have gone missing on the Blackberry.
I still have the Blackberry powered up next to my desk because it stores all my passwords and I’ve been too lazy to transfer them to my Droid. And, sometimes, when nothing else is going on, I steal a glance, heavy with nostalgia, over toward the sad, abandoned device.
The Droid has a lot of cool stuff. Don’t get me wrong.
But, mastering the touch-screen on the Droid Incredible has made me appear to be all thumbs when it comes to texting.
My kids make fun of my sometimes slow and typo-laden text responses.
And, believe it or not, half the time I can’t readily answer an incoming call on the Droid because the drag to unlock function on the home screen doesn’t always unlock.
I end up having to call people back.
Yes, apps galore on the Droid, but I have trouble receiving calls.
A friend reminds me from time to time that the Droid, after all, is supposed to be a “phone.”
Alas, the smartphone sometimes isn’t all that smart.
On the other hand, the Blackberry had plenty of problems, but at least it answered calls.
I am not alone in my feelings.
I was talking the other day to a car rental distribution guy, who’d recently migrated from his old Blackberry to an iPhone.
He said he feels my pain about the Blackberry.
The car rental guy recalled how, when driving (yes, I know), he used to be able to manipulate the Blackberry, for texting or calling, in one hand.
Can’t be done with his new iPhone, the car rental guy moans.
I’ve heard apps developers, too, saying how sorry they feel for the good, old Blackberry, how the device is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.
Still, there is a ray of hope for RIM and the Blackberry.
The Wall Street Journal reports [subscription] that RIM is on the verge of introducing what some in the company are referring to as the BlackPad to compete with the iPad and other tablet devices.
The RIM tablet reportedly would use a new operating system from RIM subsidiary QNX Software Systems, and that operating system is said to be getting rave reviews.
And there is talk that RIM will migrate future Blackberry smartphones to the QNX operating system, as well.
There’s hope at RIM that its still-unconfirmed introduction of a BlackPad — or whatever the device will be named — will help it make headway in RIM’s uphill battle to convince developers to write apps for RIM devices.
When it comes to tablets, most of the buzz in the travel industry has been about the iPad.
But, if the BlackPad gets some traction among road warriors, then maybe RIM devices won’t remain as an after-thought for travel companies as they develop future mobile apps.
However, until then, my tattered and bruised Blackberry will remain, largely forsaken, in a corner.
Dennis,
Don’t get your hopes up. RIM’s OS strategy is confused. Creating divergent paths for BB6 and the QNX-based tablet is a bad idea for users and developers. As a developer you can’t create a single app, you have to develop twice. And as a consumer you can’t share apps across devices. #FAIL on both counts.
Now will they harmonize both OS platforms as you suggest. Maybe. But it will take time and that’s the one thing that RIM doesn’t have much of.
Glenn: I agree RIM is way behind the curve, timing-wise, if they attempt to blend both platforms. It would be startling if they made a successful comeback and became relevant again for developers.
In any setting outside of work, I usually find myself “hiding” the fact that I have a Blackberry versus an iPhone… I’m a tech geek, and have had MacBook Pros since 2002 before it was trendy.
It’s not that I wouldn’t enjoy the apps I watch my husband (not to mention both of my almost 60 year-old parents) utilize on his iPhone 4 for hours each day, I just have a different goal when it comes to what I use my smartphone for… 98% work, 2% play.
It’s been a great debate over the last year, as my iPhone-obsessed colleagues even launched an official “Get Sarah an iPhone” campaign. But, alas, as the launch date of the new Torch neared, I knew I had to make a decision, as my old BB Curve was on its last leg.
I woke up that morning and hadn’t yet decided… but my car took me straight to AT&T. Including me, there were 4 people waiting outside when the store opened… and the other 3 were there for new iPhone cases. I was the only Torch-buyer. Seriously.
But I know my main goal is to be as productive as possible, and if that’s the case, BB is what I have to have.
Maybe that sounds dated and dorky, but I get on average about 300 work-related emails a day, and if I didn’t have a device that enabled me to respond from anywhere I would never sleep.
And sadly, the excerpt from your article below, Dennis, was legitimately one of the reasons I considered in the debate…
“The car rental guy recalled how, when driving (yes, I know), he used to be able to manipulate the Blackberry, texting or calling, in one hand.”
Since I drive 30 miles to and from work each day, it has to be. That’s valuable time I’m losing otherwise. But, of course, I always have my eyes on the road… the raised keys let me do that.
I still have iPhone, and even Droid, envy at times… maybe one day I can afford to have both.
Having never owned a blackberry, I don’t get what makes it so great for business? Is a physical keyboard the only thing that keeps the suits coming back for more?
My iphone is synched with my work outlook, projectwander gmail account and my home “Mail” account. Am I missing something?
I think there is some lingering misconceptions about apple products, that they’re no good for business etc., I guess it depends on your business, but I don’t see what BB users have that apple can’t do. Could someone let me know?
Hi Graham,
I am personally a big fan of my bberry for business mainly due to the fact that it has a keyboard which allows me to type a lot faster than on touchscreen.
Aside from that it synchs perfectly with my Lotus Notes (not just my inbox, but also the entire corporate directory) and also automatically includes our internal company IM network of sametime. I also understand from our IT department that bberries are a lot more secure than iphones which is important, especially for large corporations.
Apart from that, I have to admit that I am personally a bit fed up with the iphone/ipad/mac craze as a large amount of users have no clue why they are buying that technology aside from the fact that they are being influenced by (excellent) marketing techniques which makes me a bit stubborn to move to the apple family for personal use – if anything it would be a droid
Denis you are missing out on Swype because that didn’t come on the Droid Incredible. It think it is faster at writing e-mails and text messages then the Blackberry full keyboard. You should sign up for the Beta, it is coming on many of the Android devices these days but for some reason Verizon didn’t put it on the incredible.
Drew: Swype looks interesting. Bring it on:)
Graham: I don’t have an easy answer for you since I am not a road warrior. A lot of businesses gave out Blackberrys….that could be one reason. I’ve read that the encryption software is good. And, it is certainly reliable.
I got my Blackberry before the iPhone was big.
Hopefully a business traveler or two can add some perspective.
I work in an office with AppleHeads. They love their iPhones, iPads and MacBooks. I love my MacBook… but I ADORE my Blackberry. I had a Droid and gave it to my college freshman. I’m more than a social texter – I need to type intuitively and like @saykay I have a 30 mile commute. I can push a text with my qwerty raised keys and never look at the screen. I have everything I need and want on my BB – work and play, and it’s stable and works.
- Pandora, with my Jabra Halo for wireless rocking out.
- Remember the Milk (sync’d with the native task app on BB)
- Gmail, in the native email program in real time
- Facebook (notifications only come to my BB, I turned off email updates after a year since it worked so well)
- Fandango – gots to have those flick tix.
- Google Talk – for live chat, no one knows I’m not at my desk
- Ubertwitter
and at least 10 more that I don’t use daily, but work when I do fire them up.
I’ve got a great camera, GPS navigation, YouTube & best of all… I can make and receive calls.
Final analysis for me: BB is a workhorse, and iPhone is a showhorse. Both my business partner and a colleague have bricked theirs in the last year.
All of Dennis’s points are correct about why, and here are my specific findings of the differences. They may sound tiny, but lack of any could cause business users inconvenience that isn’t worth the trade-off. What BB has that iPhone doesn’t:
-Allows you to logon to VPN/Msft Communicator and chat in real time showing “available” as if you are sitting at your desk.
-View Outlook calendar availability of all meeting attendees which allows users to update meetings while mobile accurately.
-Calendar sync is real-time & seamless, and while I know the iPhone does this too, it’s not as reliable for meeting updates made close to the original meeting time. Even one missed important meeting isn’t worth the risk to some.
-Keyboard, trivial as it may sound. Bottom line, even if it saves some just seconds per email, that adds up over hundreds each day.
I expect all of these reasons to be resolved by Apple over time, which I’m waiting for with money in-hand.
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@Graham: it’s all about the keyboard for me – and it’s not just for saving time. I can write really quite long and detailed emails from my BB.
In fact – I wrote this entire blog on a BB: http://beardedcyclopath.blogspot.com/
I just wish internet browsing was less clunky.
@Dennis: “I agree RIM is way behind the curve,” Boom! Boom! – Good gag for us Blackberry suits.
This is almost like a session of AA – so I am a BB addict.
OK before my colleagues at TNooz crucify me – I just took a step to the dark side. I have a BB9700. I have had crackberries when they were on the old Sprint Mobitex network. I am addicted and will not change. At least not yet.
I carry 3-4 phones and have several 3G devices as well. Not because I am trying to be geeky but because it is a cost issue. I travel extensively out of a single home area. Currently I am writing this on a 3G connection attached to a hub that I am sharing with 6 developers in what used to be called the Soviet Block. Everyone who has the iPhone I know and has travelled outside of their home country has been bitten by the absurd data roaming charges. Apple’s policy and set up of the iPhone is a license to print money and they should be severely punished for it.
I just acquired a hand-me-down iTouch 3 from my son. I have loaded Skype and its OK – but frankly I share the fat finger thing issue. And even on a great wifi the main functions are horrid. But I am going to pursue it when I have the time.
I had a Nexus One on trial. What a frightful mess. But now I have acquired the “right” size/type Android phone. I have the Sony Xperia Mini-Pro which is just a little fatter than my last UK phone – the Sony C902. it comes with a slide out keyboard. WOW this is actually a phone I can use. the call quality is great. the texting is good. So far not much call for data access as I have been out of the UK which is the home base since I got it. But the wifi connections are good – I cannot complain – it works just like… my BB.
So Dennis… I strongly recommend you return that POS. If you had the AT&T plan you could have returned it after 30 days – no questions asked.
I agree with Dan and the other BB+ people. It comes down to practicality. What amazes me is the sheer number of kids I see using the BB. My 14 year old niece covets my device in such a bad way.
So back to the meeting……………
hows the battery life of an iphone compared to a bb?