mity88 wrote: Ok...I need to know...

What are your thoughts on blackberry's?

Like em or hate em?

""President of the United States Barack Obama became
known for his dependence on a BlackBerry device for
communication during his 2008 presidential campaign.
Despite the security issues, he insisted on using it even
after inauguration,[30] becoming the first President of the
United States to use mobile e-mail.[31] This was seen by
some as akin to a "celebrity endorsement," which marketing
experts have estimated to be worth between $25 and
$50 million.""
As stated, the word DEPENDENCY jumps out,and I'm blame to blame too

After a dead trackball and two dead screens (3 different phones) I've thrown in the towel and moved to Android on a Galaxy S. Once you go Swype you never go back either...

I've recently gone from tiny Nokia simple phone to BlackBerry.
I really do like the extra features of a "smartphone".
BUT ... my BlackBerry usually ends up on a table ... my Nokia was somehow always in my pocket.
I've missed some key appointments & calls because of this.

I have 2 blackberries and I must say I love them! One for work and one for personal life.

But in my opinion it's like all other smart phones. SMART PHONES ARE AWESOME! You can't have someone that says that they don't like their BBs but they only use them to send sms and call... That is what cellphones are for... Smart phones are for smart people that will learn how to get the smartness out of them!

I have one and dont believe the hype.. I actually miss my nokia.. just can not get used to the qwerty keypad, it makes trying to sms, smoke and drink coffee whilst driving extremely difficult.

but then again, I only use it to sms and call, so I am not too smart.... but i will only post this message once. ?

I recently acquired a Blackberry Torch.
The idea of a touch screen along with a QWERTY keyboard, seemed to make huge sense to me. The Built in Subscription of R60 for unlimited Web Browsing also shook my tree.

I have had it for 5 months and must say it's a more User Friendly than most other mobile devices that I have experienced, The Symbian, Windows Mobile and even Apple OS phones. I think the old Palm Treo could have possibly topped Blackberry for the complete device though.

BUT I wish I had gone Android, The HTC Desire HD was my first choice but I let "Unlimited Browsing" make the decision for me.

Android would have suited me because I am a bit more technical and a Open Source operating system, with Free Apps would have done it for me

Having said all of this, I am pleasantly surprised with the Blackberry Torch and would recommend it to those who do a lot of Social Networking, Emailing, checking facts and information on search engines etc.(It can make phone calls as well ?

The processor is a bit slow, 624 MHz , But there is a Torch2 on the cards with a 1.2 GHz processor.

[Exactly what Squonk said, less the want for the HTC].


The only problem with the Torch is the processing speed. I can't see myself ever working on a touchscreen only phone, WAY too fiddley.

I've always been a Nokia fan, my e71 is awesome for emails on the move and stuff like that. However a lot of my work attachments don't open in quick office so it's a little frustrating. I really considered Blackberry for my next upgrade, I have a few friends who swear by them, but I've already seen one go with a stuffed track ball, and the battery life is shocking, my brother's manages about a day tops.

On the other hand I won't go for Nokia again either, I have friends with the N8, and while it's a nice phone with some cool features, I don't like the aging Symbian OS on there. I had an HTC s710 with Windows Mobile for a while and it really, really, really suuuuuucked.

So with my upgrade due any day now I was seriously considering a Dell Streak (Which is a bad idea because I've only heard people moaning about it, but it has Android and I'm a Dell fan ?) or any 2.3 Android phone. I wouldn't touch an iPhone with a barge poll. (Not trolling I swear, just too many tickboxes left unchecked for me :/ )

Here's an interesting article on the state of affairs internationally with market share in the mobile market. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/apr/18/smartphone-market-android-win-nokia-rim-lose

G-Man wrote: the battery life is shocking, my brother's manages about a day tops.

My brothers HTC Hero (Albeit a little dated) manages less than a day.. But yep my biggest issue with phones in general is speed/response and battery life. Odd how those go hand in hand ? My last few phones (BB 9700 Bold, SE C902 - the James Bond jobby, W850, 6230 etc) have all usually ended up only lasting a day after my use.. And that's not that much really.

MikeM wrote:

G-Man wrote: the battery life is shocking, my brother's manages about a day tops.

...usually ended up only lasting a day after my use.. And that's not that much really.

Yeah, but that's where my e71 shines. I'm glued to my phone all day with calls/internet/email etc and I get 2 - 3 days out of it. (My phone bill is scary, but it's for company use luckily...)

Another thing is service. I'll admit that my e71 did give me some big problems after about 18 months - it just died. When I tried to switch it on after missing my wake up alarm in the morning (doh) it just made a high pitched whine and then died. Long story short I waited a week and a half and Nokia replaced it with a brand new phone. My brother's Blackberry with the dead track-ball has been away for nearly a month and a half.

G-Man wrote:
Here's an interesting article on the state of affairs internationally with market share in the mobile market. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/apr/18/smartphone-market-android-win-nokia-rim-lose

Here is some stuff on the future

http://www.infosyncworld.com/reviews/cell-phones/a-real-smartphone-market-prediction/11949.html

And watch out for the Nokia/Microsoft collaboration which could bring Windows Mobile back into the market

G-Man wrote:

MikeM wrote:

G-Man wrote: the battery life is shocking, my brother's manages about a day tops.

...usually ended up only lasting a day after my use.. And that's not that much really.

Yeah, but that's where my e71 shines. I'm glued to my phone all day with calls/internet/email etc and I get 2 - 3 days out of it. (My phone bill is scary, but it's for company use luckily...)

Another thing is service. I'll admit that my e71 did give me some big problems after about 18 months - it just died. When I tried to switch it on after missing my wake up alarm in the morning (doh) it just made a high pitched whine and then died. Long story short I waited a week and a half and Nokia replaced it with a brand new phone. My brother's Blackberry with the dead track-ball has been away for nearly a month and a half.

This is the problem with people in General, HTC was so kak a few years back and so they think HTC is useless now, This is definately not the case.

All the Nokia's that my wife and I have had, have not lasted 2 years, So obviously I would be a bit more put off by Nokia.

most people I know cringed when I got the Samsung Omnia saying it wouldn't last 6 months, but yet I have passed it on to my son and it's still working 100%.

Take motor cars for instance, you buy an Opel, have a bad experience, you most probably wont buy another one again!

It's the same with Cell Phones, and South Africa has this wrong impression that Nokia is the ONLY phone, yet the N8 has had worldwide recalls, The disastrous N range, N95 etc spent a lot of time in repair shops! On the other hand they have some brilliant models e.g. E71.

The chances are that it is possible to get a BAD phone whatever the make and model

smartphones are the way of the future, it's only a matter of time before we begin wiring them directly into our brains and become the hivemind etc... but I just hate how it turns everyone into a thumb jockey. I don't own (or particularly want) a smartphone, but most of my friends do, and it seems that everyone is always focused on their little screens.

I'm not a luddite for not owning one - I just like not being 100% connected all the time, and I know that as soon as I get a smartphone I'll also be assimilated into the thumb club. So I'll do without until it's necessary ?

raithza wrote:
I'm not a luddite for not owning one

+1 for the luddite reference ? (Did you read the Dark Tower series by Stephen King?)

G-Man wrote:

raithza wrote:
I'm not a luddite for not owning one

+1 for the luddite reference ? (Did you read the Dark Tower series by Stephen King?)

hmmm no...

wikipedia wrote: The Luddites were a social movement of British textile artisans in the nineteenth century who protested – often by destroying mechanized looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life. It took its name from Ned Ludd.

raithza wrote:

wikipedia wrote: The Luddites were a social movement of British textile artisans in the nineteenth century who protested – often by destroying mechanized looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life. It took its name from Ned Ludd.

Brilliant name for a band NED LUDD

I've been fighting getting one, but I know I will when I next upgrade my phone. My problem is that I work from home so end up checking my emails anyway before I go to bed - with a blackberry I'll be checking them in bed...

you dont need a blackberry to check your email... anywhere, ever!
you can do it quite easily on any nokia, or samsung even.
blackberry only has built in push email.
its by no means revolutionary though! Its just that the americans think its the best thing since sliced bread!

Hell, my nokia 7600 was receiving my email way back when...
so was my 6630...

To some people, BB might be great... but i have to laugh and shake my head when people tell me about their free internet and messaging with bbm, even though they admit to paying R60 a month for it.
Free, in my books, means NOT paying for it! Not paying R60 and then saying its free!
Its just a phase anyway... Soon there will be a new one and then we wont have to hear how "great" blackberry's are with their free internet!

raithza wrote:

G-Man wrote:

raithza wrote:
I'm not a luddite for not owning one

+1 for the luddite reference ? (Did you read the Dark Tower series by Stephen King?)

hmmm no...

wikipedia wrote: The Luddites were a social movement of British textile artisans in the nineteenth century who protested – often by destroying mechanized looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life. It took its name from Ned Ludd.

He makes reference to them in one of the books (long story, literally...), if it wasn't for that I don't think I would have heard of luddites at all.

Norman86 wrote: you dont need a blackberry to check your email... anywhere, ever!
you can do it quite easily on any nokia, or samsung even.
blackberry only has built in push email.
its by no means revolutionary though! Its just that the americans think its the best thing since sliced bread!

Hell, my nokia 7600 was receiving my email way back when...
so was my 6630...

To some people, BB might be great... but i have to laugh and shake my head when people tell me about their free internet and messaging with bbm, even though they admit to paying R60 a month for it.
Free, in my books, means NOT paying for it! Not paying R60 and then saying its free!
Its just a phase anyway... Soon there will be a new one and then we wont have to hear how "great" blackberry's are with their free internet!

Yea I have been receiving email on my phone since the 6230. Just it's far easier and better integrated on BB.

Free internet? Let's rephrase that as uncapped if it bothers you that much. I was spending R300/R400 a month on download bundles a month, so R60 is pretty decent in comparison.