Inb4 Blackberry is dead. I know it is and I don't care.
Anyway, just replaced a couple of aging BB Bolds.
The 9700 is still running like a champ as it closes in on its 4th b-day in December and we'll keep it as a backup.
The 9780 (3rd b-day coming up) has had a rough life. It's been swimming in kiddie pools on 3 or so occasions, hit the pavement from ear level or just been flung through the air when I lost grip as I took it away from the ear or whatever. Even spent some time in the farm being lost overnight in cow$hit or just dropped in the mud. GPS stopped working about 8 months ago and the WiFi signals come in about half as strong as they used to. The earphone is only working on occasion, too, and phone calls are barely audible even when it does. That being said it has never been in a protective case and when I look back on the abuse it has been through, I can't believe it works at all. I have lost and seen others lose phones (iPhones, Samsung Galaxies, Samsung Phones, Motorola Droids & Razrs, etc.) to much, much, much less. Of those the only devices that I thought have been able to run with my BBs were some Nokia phones and a Lumia 710 that is still going strong for my brother-in-law.
The battery life on these old BB batteries was just so poor that we were looking at new batteries for old phones (and maybe a couple of other parts for the 9780) or just get new phones. I had tried an inexpensive battery for the 9780 over a year ago and I wasn't impressed so rather than drop $50 each for new batteries, we picked up a Nexus 4 16GB and a BBZ10.
It's only been a week or so, but the Z10 just feels more rugged than the Nexus 4. The removable back of the Z10 feels a little light and breakable, but I really think it was designed to wear out and be replaced when the tacky surface on the back wears down so I will have no problem making provisions to replace it every year or so. I say this because they could have easily used a harder, smoother, slicker surface like the Nexus 4, but if it means the real parts of the phone can stay intact because I stopped dropping my smartphone on the ground then I call that good engineering. Otherwise, it just feels more "tight" than the Android phones I was checking out. The Xperia Z and HTC One wer pretty good in this regard, but otherwise nothing else felt in the same class when I held it; i.e. GS3, GS4, iPhones, LG Optimus L9, F3, F6, Lumia 521, 925, Nexus 4. The Android phones and the Lumias just felt creaky in general.
Don't get me wrong, there's a reason that the wife is getting the Nexus 4. It is easier to use and, of course, the big reason is the app store. Aside from that, there is nothing that would make believe it is a "better" phone. It feels like a toy.
Time will tell, though.
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