Why the hate for the 9700 + why do apps matter?

[tokie]

So I have a Blackberry 9700. It is my first smartphone, and I love it. The only 3rd-party apps I have on it are Engadget, Facebook, GMail, Google Maps, Reuters News and a Weather app. Everything else out there is pretty much useless for me.

I see people dissing the 9700 or not putting it in the same class as newer Android devices like the Droid and Nexus One, or even the iPhone. I don't understand why. They say it doesn't have many applications, but when I look at the iTunes App Store I see a bunch of garbage "fart apps", along with countless Poker games, etc. Things like that in no way add to my phone experience. The only sore point is the browser, but it is decent and it will be on the same level as the others when the WebKit browser is released this summer. I actually prefer the Blackberry Music interface to the iPod Touch interface (and it also syncs with iTunes for me as a bonus).

So, why is the 9700 dismissed out of hand by "tech geeks"? I have tried my friends phones, and have an iPod Touch, but I just don't get why people put them on a higher level compared to the 9700?

 

[DivideBYZero]

Geeks like to quote screen resolution like Intel used to use Mhz and the ability to compromise the OS as 'feature'. The BB OS has been at a max res of 360x480 for 18+ months now, so that is 'lame'. The BB OS is closed source and has not been rooted like the other two competing OSs, so that is considered 'lame'. Most if not all apps on one brand of smartphone are available on the other, but one shouts the loudest, so they invented it, hence any other brand selling apps is 'lame'. Your browser is being fixed so it will trounce all other offerings and you can rest easy at your next geek dance-off, check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIbHsrCiez8

Answer: Geeks don't buy 50m SmartPhones per qtr, people do.

 

[Spicedaddy]

The 9700 looks like a great phone, but the classic BB form factor isn't well suited for browsing. (great keyboard, but screen is just too small IMO)

I'm using a Curve WiFi right now, so for my next upgrade I'd like a touch screen.

 

[Deeko]

There's nothing wrong with it. I have a Droid and I only use a handful of apps (that really, I could get on any platform in some form) as well. The only knock against BB is the browser, but like you said, it should be improving.

The 9700 is a great phone.

 

[TheWart]

If you like it more than other phones, there is nothing wrong with it! That is the great thing about competition....

Personally, I have a horrible time trying to browse websites on the BB's small screen and using that scroll thingy they have. I find browsing on my touchscreen phone faaaar easier, but that may just be me.

As for apps, as annoying as it is to hear everyone drone on about how 'revolutionary' apps are, I do find them very, very, helpful. From buying movie tickets to keeping my grocery list, to storing my flight info or playing games during a long flight, I find them awesome. Sure, a lot of their functionality could be handled by pen+paper or just a notepad app or whatever, but it is the convenience factor that is sells me....

 

[rudeguy]

I used a Curve for quite a while and had very few complaints. BB has been around for a longtime and they have done a lot of things right. I didn't like how limited the app selection was (this was a couple years ago) and mine didn't have wifi.

If you like it...run with it! My personal preference at this time is Android but that's basically because its new and fun. I wouldn't mind having a Curve for texting.

 

[Cuda1447]

The blackberry is a reliable, awesome emailing, good battery life device. It isn't capable of nearly the things that Android is.

Have you ever owned an Android device? As an owner of 5 Blackberry phones and 4 Android devices, I can say definitively that Android is capable of a hell of a lot more than Blackberry is.


Really, the best way to describe a blackberry is outdated. It's OS has essentially remained unchanged for years, while the smartphone market has exploded with innovation. That is readily apparent in the browser (which quite frankly, sucks) as well as everywhere else in the phone.


That said, the Blackberrys were ahead of their time and an awesome device for quite awhile, so even though they are outdated, they are also reliable good quality devices. As a bonus, some blackberries offer UMA calling which is a great feature other phones don't have.

 

[DivideBYZero]

The blackberry is a reliable, awesome emailing, good battery life device. It isn't capable of nearly the things that Android is.

Have you ever owned an Android device? As an owner of 5 Blackberry phones and 4 Android devices, I can say definitively that Android is capable of a hell of a lot more than Blackberry is.


Really, the best way to describe a blackberry is outdated. It's OS has essentially remained unchanged for years, while the smartphone market has exploded with innovation. That is readily apparent in the browser (which quite frankly, sucks) as well as everywhere else in the phone.


That said, the Blackberrys were ahead of their time and an awesome device for quite awhile, so even though they are outdated, they are also reliable good quality devices. As a bonus, some blackberries offer UMA calling which is a great feature other phones don't have.

Here is a great example of why geeks don't like BB's any more. The browser. Now every smartphone OS is rated by geeks on it's in built browser. Not really a great anaysis of an OS.

The BB OS does have some pretty big issues to resolve, the long context menus, the options system that not only looks dated but can be so indepth and technical for no apparent reason as to make itself irrelevant and the UI could do with a spruce up, although this began with OS5.0. OS6.x will address many of these issues and I cannot wait to see what people think of that.

Outside of that it can do anything Android can do. No exceptions.

 

[Cuda1447]

Here is a great example of why geeks don't like BB's any more. The browser. Now every smartphone OS is rated by geeks on it's in built browser. Not really a great anaysis of an OS.

The BB OS does have some pretty big issues to resolve, the long context menus, the options system that not only looks dated but can be so indepth and technical for no apparent reason as to make itself irrelevant and the UI could do with a spruce up, although this began with OS5.0. OS6.x will address many of these issues and I cannot wait to see what people think of that.

Outside of that it can do anything Android can do. No exceptions.

Unfortunately sir, you are very wrong on this. Curious, do you own any Android based phones? How much have you used them?


Let me outline a few things that Blackberry's cannot do (or can't do well).

1. Widgets. HUGE deal. It may be one item, but having Widgets allows a LOT of customizability and makes things a ton easier.
2. Google Voice (at least last I've tried)
3. Autosync your gmail contacts/calender to your phone. If you lose your phone, get a new one, whatever, just relogin to your gmail account. On a blackberry you have to connect your computer to the phone to backup/restore contacts. That can be a major hassle for some people. You cannot save contacts to the SIM on a blackberry.
4. Customized messaging programs, ala Handcent. Handcent enables the ability to set individual text tones for people. Again, maybe a lot of people won't use that, but I love it. And it just proves there is indeed a LOT that the Blackberry cannot do (regardless of if you want to do it).
5. Accelerometer. It's hardware related, but as far as I know there aren't any blackberries that have this (maybe the storm?). It enables a couple of goofy/cool features.
6. Barcode scanner/shopsavvy etc.. again, on last check this wasn't available for Blackberry, although it may be now.


Those are just a few items off teh top of my head. If you reall want more, I'm sure I could give you a laundry list.

Again, I'm not saying Blackberries are bad. They were tremendous devices, they are still good, reliable, but severly limited and outdated devices. There is a HUGE difference in using them vs an Android device.

And remember, I own a Blackberry 8100, 8320, 8900 and 9700. I also own one of the really old 7920's or whatever those were.

I also own a G1, Mytouch and Nexus. So, I think its safe to say I have a lot of experience with the two devices. I've used them both, A LOT.

 

[DeviousTrap]

Unfortunately sir, you are very wrong on this. Curious, do you own any Android based phones? How much have you used them?


Let me outline a few things that Blackberry's cannot do (or can't do well).

1. Widgets. HUGE deal. It may be one item, but having Widgets allows a LOT of customizability and makes things a ton easier.
2. Google Voice (at least last I've tried)
3. Autosync your gmail contacts/calender to your phone. If you lose your phone, get a new one, whatever, just relogin to your gmail account. On a blackberry you have to connect your computer to the phone to backup/restore contacts. That can be a major hassle for some people. You cannot save contacts to the SIM on a blackberry.
4. Customized messaging programs, ala Handcent. Handcent enables the ability to set individual text tones for people. Again, maybe a lot of people won't use that, but I love it. And it just proves there is indeed a LOT that the Blackberry cannot do (regardless of if you want to do it).
5. Accelerometer. It's hardware related, but as far as I know there aren't any blackberries that have this (maybe the storm?). It enables a couple of goofy/cool features.
6. Barcode scanner/shopsavvy etc.. again, on last check this wasn't available for Blackberry, although it may be now.


Those are just a few items off teh top of my head. If you reall want more, I'm sure I could give you a laundry list.

Again, I'm not saying Blackberries are bad. They were tremendous devices, they are still good, reliable, but severly limited and outdated devices. There is a HUGE difference in using them vs an Android device.

And remember, I own a Blackberry 8100, 8320, 8900 and 9700. I also own one of the really old 7920's or whatever those were.

I also own a G1, Mytouch and Nexus. So, I think its safe to say I have a lot of experience with the two devices. I've used them both, A LOT.

While I do agree with you that the two platforms are completely different, I've been blackberry dependent enough that I'll play devils advocate for a second.

1) For most intents and purposes, these aren't available. (You can get custom themes w/ unique homescreen info, but it's not even close to the same thing)

2) Google voice has a BB app.

3) Google Sync (but if you're using a blackberry in an enterprise situation, the BES server handles all that and more, you can restore a device from anywhere)

4) OS 5 handles this natively, allowing unique alerts for any contact. I've also got BB Alerts installed which lets me change the LED to blink any color depending on contact/message type (something I really miss on all other devices)

5) Storm only.

6) This is something I've never checked.

 

[bucwylde23]

Unfortunately sir, you are very wrong on this. Curious, do you own any Android based phones? How much have you used them?


Let me outline a few things that Blackberry's cannot do (or can't do well).

1. Widgets. HUGE deal. It may be one item, but having Widgets allows a LOT of customizability and makes things a ton easier.
2. Google Voice (at least last I've tried)
3. Autosync your gmail contacts/calender to your phone. If you lose your phone, get a new one, whatever, just relogin to your gmail account. On a blackberry you have to connect your computer to the phone to backup/restore contacts. That can be a major hassle for some people. You cannot save contacts to the SIM on a blackberry.
4. Customized messaging programs, ala Handcent. Handcent enables the ability to set individual text tones for people. Again, maybe a lot of people won't use that, but I love it. And it just proves there is indeed a LOT that the Blackberry cannot do (regardless of if you want to do it).
5. Accelerometer. It's hardware related, but as far as I know there aren't any blackberries that have this (maybe the storm?). It enables a couple of goofy/cool features.
6. Barcode scanner/shopsavvy etc.. again, on last check this wasn't available for Blackberry, although it may be now.


Those are just a few items off teh top of my head. If you reall want more, I'm sure I could give you a laundry list.

Again, I'm not saying Blackberries are bad. They were tremendous devices, they are still good, reliable, but severly limited and outdated devices. There is a HUGE difference in using them vs an Android device.

And remember, I own a Blackberry 8100, 8320, 8900 and 9700. I also own one of the really old 7920's or whatever those were.

I also own a G1, Mytouch and Nexus. So, I think its safe to say I have a lot of experience with the two devices. I've used them both, A LOT.

Just a few comments -
2. Google Voice works just fine on my Tour.
3. My Gmail contacts/calendar sync fine as well using the Google Sync App. I believe that the Gmail plugin for BB also syncs this stuff without an app but I haven't used that.
6. There's barcode scanners for BB that work just as well as Android bar code scanners. The only exception is when they open a web site as the BB browser blows as has been said.

I agree that Android is a better OS, though I'm not sure it will always be that way if RIM really does a revamp on the OS.
I really love my Tour other than the shitty trackball, but I can't wait for the nexus one/incredible to hit VZ. I might get another BB once I feel they've caught up to the rest of the pack in every area.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Don't think for a second I don't like Android, but to respond to you accusations regarding the BlackBerry OS:

1 - Widgets are available in the OS, just up to developers to implement them. My WeatherBug app uses them.
2 - Google Voice is very much on BlackBerry.
3 - Anyone on BES or the new BES express would be quite used to that sort of functionality...but it's nice that you have some of the features we have had on BB for years...
4 - Custom tones? OS5.0 has custom tones per contact for calls and messages IN THE OS, no need for a custom apps, but if you want more you could get Ringo: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/100
5 - Accelerometers are in the 9500 series, i.e., Storm 1 & Storm 2. I have plenty of Accelerometer apps for it.
6 - Barcode scanners? There are TONS of them in App World. Not only that, but BlackBerry Messenger has QR barcodes as STANDARD for sharing BBM accounts, just point your cam at the other persons BB screen and you can add them instantly to BBM.

Again, I contest there is NOTHING Android can do that BB cannot. There are things that BB can do that Android cannot, however.

 

[Cuda1447]

I have NEVER seen a widget for a blackberry. I would be very interested in a link for one.

 

[DivideBYZero]

I have NEVER seen a widget for a blackberry. I would be very interested in a link for one.

BlackBerry OS5 supports widgets and even has support for Google Gears built right into the OS.

From BlackBerry.com:

What are BlackBerry Widgets?

BlackBerry Widgets are applications based off of the W3C widget specification as standalone applications created entirely with standard web technology (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
• BlackBerry Widgets leverage BlackBerry APIs in a secure manageable container.
• BlackBerry Widgets have the same distribution/management model as native BlackBerry applications and can be distributed through BlackBerry App World™.
• BlackBerry Widgets are supported by BlackBerry Device Software 5.0 and up.

The user interface for a BlackBerry Widget is entirely authored in HTML/CSS, allowing developers to apply their existing web development skills toward widget creation. All of the application logic for a widget is written in JavaScript which has access to BlackBerry Widgets APIs that are included as part of the core operating system. Developers can create sophisticated widgets by leveraging built in Gears support for multi-threading, local storage via SQLite and also Geolocation capabilities. Beyond Gears, developers have a whole set of APIs that allow access to capabilities such as local file access, PIM interaction, invoking native applications, data push and more.

Like I said, I run WeatherBug which uses a home screen widget.

Some random site I found when typing in "BlackBerry Widgets" into Google:
http://plusmo.com/featured?t=blackberry#

 

[webdave]

RIM even has a new widget SDK out http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/devbetasoftware/widgetsdk.jsp

 

[Rottie]

The 9700 looks like a great phone, but the classic BB form factor isn't well suited for browsing. (great keyboard, but screen is just too small IMO)

I'm using a Curve WiFi right now, so for my next upgrade I'd like a touch screen.

if you like BB with touch screen then there is BB Storm2

 

[Rottie]

I was close to buy BB Bold but AT&T convinced me to get iPhone so far I am ok with it I should have gotten BB Bold because I use email alot and IM alot...iPhone with push notification is slow and not perfect...why wait for 15 min to get email push notification??