Serious OS Discussion!

[A895]

I have been flip flopping between wether or not to stay with android or go get a Z10 like I want. I had this dream to have a Z10 with a BB Playbook. But I have to now step back, and realize if I do this I would miss some things. Now I ask you, knowledgable and helpful people should I get a BlackBerry or stay the course with android. If I do stay android I would like to get a tablet. Don`t flame BlackBerry please, this is a serious discussion. Straight facts. (Though I still want some opinions)

 

[DINGSTER1]

Have you been keeping up with the latest BB news? If you are alright with that info then go for it. I have a Z10 on Verizon, it does the job. I also won a Q10 that I can't use on Big Red laying around. I also have a Playbook, sitting on the charger, unused as I use my iPad3 mostly. I waiting to port to AT&T next month and I'm going for the Note 3. All the Blackberries do what you need. If you need the major and popular apps, look elsewhere.


Sent from my iPad

 

[A895]

Have you been keeping up with the latest BB news? If you are alright with that info then go for it. I have a Z10 on Verizon, it does the job. I also won a Q10 that I can't use on Big Red laying around. I also have a Playbook, sitting on the charger, unused as I use my iPad3 mostly. I waiting to port to AT&T next month and I'm going for the Note 3. All the Blackberries do what you need. If you need the major and popular apps, look elsewhere.


Sent from my iPad

I have for sure, have been keeping up with the latest news. I follow the verge, crackberry, n4bb, cnet, and Engadget. BlackBerry is going private so far as anyone knows just because the company position changes does not change the functionality of the devices. Look at webos devices they all work still. I just love phones with a smaller form factor ( such as my droid razr m). The only devices that follow this size on Verizon is, the Kyocera Hydro Elite, my phone, Z10 and and an iPhone. iPhone is out, I don`t like apple, Kyocera Hydro Elite has not gotten favorable reviews because of call quality and the camera. The Z10s only fault is that its from BlackBerry and the app situation that is a positive or a negative depending on who you talk too.

 

[FuzzyB]

Well it depends on what you are trying to accomplish with your devices. I had BlackBerry's for many years and quite frankly, I loved them.

The reason I do not use one anymore is because everything revolves around the other platforms...I would absolutely go back to BB in a minute if I knew the future of their products and had faith they were going to catch up on all fronts.

I have a GS3 now and I really like it as it does what I need but there was always something about BB that I loved...blackberry was like crack for sure.

I guess im trying to say that I would be a little leary of going back at this point.

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[A895]

Well it depends on what you are trying to accomplish with your devices. I had BlackBerry's for many years and quite frankly, I loved them.

The reason I do not use one anymore is because everything revolves around the other platforms...I would absolutely go back to BB in a minute if I knew the future of their products and had faith they were going to catch up on all fronts.

I have a GS3 now and I really like it as it does what I need but there was always something about BB that I loved...blackberry was like crack for sure.

I guess im trying to say that I would be a little leary of going back at this point.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using AC Forums mobile app

I surf the web a lot, read a lot of articles (Thru feedly, the verge app, and android centrals app), look at stuff on amazon, YouTube, and Netflix.

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[srkmagnus]

I surf the web a lot, read a lot of articles (Thru feedly, the verge app, and android centrals app), look at stuff on amazon, YouTube, and Netflix.

Posted via Android Central App

Right now there is a big unknown with BlackBerry. If there is a particular reason why you would want one, then get one. Otherwise, look towards an Android, iOS or Windows device - in no particular order.

Sent from my GT-P7510 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[emanwis]

I had a Z10 (came from iphone) but turned it in before the two week trial period ended. I really liked the phone but it didn't have the apps I needed and wanted the most. I was really on the fence until I picked up the Maxx at Verizon. Wow. I am so glad I switched. I hope Blackberry pulls through and sees a resurgence. But until then I am extremely pleased with my Droid Maxx.

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[Ry]

Too much unknown with BlackBerry. I would rather be on an iOS device stuck at iOS 6 or an Android device stuck and Gingerbread - personal opinion.

 

[JRDroid]

For your example of webOS, yes the devices still work, BUT they get no official support, no bug fixes, no security patches, nothing other than what a small dev community comes up with. Blackberry is a serious unknown. Yes, all they announced is that they are going private, but I don't see how that will change their situation that much. They will still have an OS that has nearly no future out side of MAYBE some corperate and/or government use. Not exactly the sort of thing that will have developers rushing to develop their apps for the platform. And as more corperations go BYOD and iOS and Android both get more enterprise friendly, the market for Blackberry will do nothing but further shrink. There is speculation that Blackberry is going private in order to be dismantled and sold in pieces or that the offer was only made to try and attract another buyer for the company.

I for one would not buy a Blackberry until at least a few weeks or a month after the buyout becomes final so we can have a better idea of what Blackberry's future will be. Even then, go into it knowing you are on an OS unlikely to get many of the apps you see your friends and family enjoying. IMO, if you really want to switch to another OS, wait until Windows 8.1 launches and get a Windows Phone 8 and a Windows tablet. There is a much more certain future there than there is at Blackberry.

 

[A895]

For your example of webOS, yes the devices still work, BUT they get no official support, no bug fixes, no security patches, nothing other than what a small dev community comes up with. Blackberry is a serious unknown. Yes, all they announced is that they are going private, but I don't see how that will change their situation that much. They will still have an OS that has nearly no future out side of MAYBE some corperate and/or government use. Not exactly the sort of thing that will have developers rushing to develop their apps for the platform. And as more corperations go BYOD and iOS and Android both get more enterprise friendly, the market for Blackberry will do nothing but further shrink. There is speculation that Blackberry is going private in order to be dismantled and sold in pieces or that the offer was only made to try and attract another buyer for the company.

I for one would not buy a Blackberry until at least a few weeks or a month after the buyout becomes final so we can have a better idea of what Blackberry's future will be. Even then, go into it knowing you are on an OS unlikely to get many of the apps you see your friends and family enjoying. IMO, if you really want to switch to another OS, wait until Windows 8.1 launches and get a Windows Phone 8 and a Windows tablet. There is a much more certain future there than there is at Blackberry.

My main problem with windows phone is that they are kinda like apple. Limited in some ways, you know that you can do it easily on android but on windows phone its an extra step. For one thing, there is still that "other" storage problem, which IMO is pretty major.

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[TeknoBug]

At this point, you're probably better off avoiding Blackberry. I'm a long time BB user since 2002 and these days I'm glad I'm with Android.

 

[tgp]

My main problem with windows phone is that they are kinda like apple. Limited in some ways, you know that you can do it easily on android but on windows phone its an extra step. For one thing, there is still that "other" storage problem, which IMO is pretty major.

As you can see from my signature I actively use Android, iPhone, and WP. Your points about WP are spot on. It's a beautiful and smooth UI, but it's very inefficient. It takes a lot of tapping and/or scrolling to do almost anything, compared to Android & iOS 7. But to be fair, iOS 6 was almost as bad. I don't have many apps on it, but I can't imagine how much worse it would be if I had as many apps installed as I do on my Android. I haven't had a big problem with the "Other" storage on my phone, but it's my 2nd phone and I don't use it very much. Other users have reported that it's a serious problem, in some cases making the phone almost unusable.

 

[A895]

As you can see from my signature I actively use Android, iPhone, and WP. Your points about WP are spot on. It's a beautiful and smooth UI, but it's very inefficient. It takes a lot of tapping and/or scrolling to do almost anything, compared to Android & iOS 7. But to be fair, iOS 6 was almost as bad. I don't have many apps on it, but I can't imagine how much worse it would be if I had as many apps installed as I do on my Android. I haven't had a big problem with the "Other" storage on my phone, but it's my 2nd phone and I don't use it very much. Other users have reported that it's a serious problem, in some cases making the phone almost unusable.

Exactly, have you read some of the posts on the Nokia Lumia 810 forum on wpcentral? Those sound like harrow stories, since the phone came with 8GB of memory with most of it used up. Some of those posts sound down right scary. That's what made me realize its a serious problem. Its not the lack of apps that's really the problem for windows phone for me, as you can see I'm suggesting a blackberry device, its the fact that there are no stand out devices that meet my own device criteria on my carrier Verizon. The 928 comes close but it does not have a microsd card slot.

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[A895]

At this point, you're probably better off avoiding Blackberry. I'm a long time BB user since 2002 and these days I'm glad I'm with Android.

Why does the company structural situation affect what device you have? As I know, BB supports its users with updates all the time and, big name updates leak out and are installable on any compatible device. So its not updates that would change anything. What would actually change if BlackBerry actually slows up on devices and goes private. They are still making phones regardless, the Z30 is coming for Verizon soon. What would make you really hesitate to get a BB10 device regarding the company's situation?

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[Golfdriver97]

Why does the company structural situation affect what device you have? As I know, BB supports its users with updates all the time and, big name updates leak out and are installable on any compatible device. So its not updates that would change anything. What would actually change if BlackBerry actually slows up on devices and goes private. They are still making phones regardless, the Z30 is coming for Verizon soon. What would make you really hesitate to get a BB10 device regarding the company's situation?

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I think the point they were trying to make is like this: Let's say Toyota laid off 40% of it's workers in an attempt to restructure, due to continually slumping sales. And also in 1 quarter they lost 50% of their revenue. Would you look at getting a Toyota? I probably wouldn't.
The same happened with Blackberry.
BlackBerry Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2014 Results - Press Releases
http://bgr.com/2013/09/18/blackberry-layoffs-40-percent-of-workforce/

 

[TeknoBug]

Why continue to support Blackberry when Lazaridis sold stocks before laying off 4500 employees while it's still up for bids, not to mention not knowing how the company will hold up with the new owner.

 

[A895]

I think the point they were trying to make is like this: Let's say Toyota laid off 40% of it's workers in an attempt to restructure, due to continually slumping sales. And also in 1 quarter they lost 50% of their revenue. Would you look at getting a Toyota? I probably wouldn't.
The same happened with Blackberry.
BlackBerry Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2014 Results - Press Releases
http://bgr.com/2013/09/18/blackberry-layoffs-40-percent-of-workforce/

How does that affect product that is already out though? Its still a car regardless if the company isn't doing as good as it was, it does not change the functionality of it. Like how people still have hummers and still buy them even though Hummer went out of businesses years ago.

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[A895]

Why continue to support Blackberry when Lazaridis sold stocks before laying off 4500 employees while it's still up for bids, not to mention not knowing how the company will hold up with the new owner.

I'm asking though what does the company's plans and structure have to do with a device that is already there. It seems to me it does not change what the device already is and does. Like when Google bought Motorola, did everyone say "don't buy anything Motorola, they were bought out"?

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[npark2012]

I'm asking though what does the company's plans and structure have to do with a device that is already there. It seems to me it does not change what the device already is and does. Like when Google bought Motorola, did everyone say "don't buy anything Motorola, they were bought out"?

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My two cents here: What the company's plans and structure has to do with the device is that the device and the company are linked. If one fails, the other will lose most if not all usability and/or satisfaction. If you bought a BB right now, sure it will work and it will have everything but I doubt you would be able to enjoy it all very long. Unless you just want to use BB for a year or less then by all means go for it. And for the google thing, I thought it was the opposite, since motorola was dying people were like dont buy it. Then google took over and rumors of moto x started to thrive and people were filled with excitement and curiosity. At least from what i've read.

To your question though I'd say get an android or any of the other top OS. iOS, Android, etc. People love ios and android because the user experience is fresh and constant. People tend to buy something they think will last them for a long time. no one thinks apple and google will go under in a year or two. For BB in my opinion is TOO unpredictable at this moment. IF they go under then what you have is a device that will no longer be supported officially. That means you are at risk with security breaches, device will get slower due to lack of efficiency updates to the device, and so on and so on. If they dont go under then you still don't get a full user experience (app wise) as the others. Developers will go to the most popular of them all. That means apps will go to where ever the developers go. BB is not that appealing to an average developer. There's not much revenue. So BB already has a lack of apps as someone stated above. If you want something that just works with little customization then go with iOS, if you want slightly less quality app selection but with more customization go with android. But it all boils down to what you want. If you REALLY love BB then just do it. Get what you love.

 

[A895]

My two cents here: What the company's plans and structure has to do with the device is that the device and the company are linked. If one fails, the other will lose most if not all usability and/or satisfaction. If you bought a BB right now, sure it will work and it will have everything but I doubt you would be able to enjoy it all very long. Unless you just want to use BB for a year or less then by all means go for it. And for the google thing, I thought it was the opposite, since motorola was dying people were like dont buy it. Then google took over and rumors of moto x started to thrive and people were filled with excitement and curiosity. At least from what i've read.

To your question though I'd say get an android or any of the other top OS. iOS, Android, etc. People love ios and android because the user experience is fresh and constant. People tend to buy something they think will last them for a long time. no one thinks apple and google will go under in a year or two. For BB in my opinion is TOO unpredictable at this moment. IF they go under then what you have is a device that will no longer be supported officially. That means you are at risk with security breaches, device will get slower due to lack of efficiency updates to the device, and so on and so on. If they dont go under then you still don't get a full user experience (app wise) as the others. Developers will go to the most popular of them all. That means apps will go to where ever the developers go. BB is not that appealing to an average developer. There's not much revenue. So BB already has a lack of apps as someone stated above. If you want something that just works with little customization then go with iOS, if you want slightly less quality app selection but with more customization go with android. But it all boils down to what you want. If you REALLY love BB then just do it. Get what you love.

Well said and I understand your points. I would never go to iOS personally. Its way too limiting in functionality for someone who started out on android with a Samsung Gem over 2 yrs. ago. If not BB, then I will definitely stay with android. My only question now is what's an awesome Tablet for android that is also inexpensive? I am saving for a laptop as well.

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