The X is not an iPhone killer, it's a Blackberry killer

[beasleybiz]

Is it really that great? I get along fine with my phone and its messenger app.

For me it was awesome. It is the one feature I am going to miss the most from my Tour. Think of it as a one stop shop for messaging with other Berrry users. Send simple text, pictures, files, etc. With the newest implementation you created groups to share calendars, and message multiple users at once.

 

[showson1]

I personally feel any Android phone is an iPhone killer.
I had the original iPhone and then the 3G.. then I switched to the crappy MyTouch and even after THAT phone I couldn't go back to iOS.

Actually, any phone not on AT&T is an iPhone killer if you want to complete a call without dropping it.

Back on topic though.. I work with about 10 BB users (that I know of) that have or are in the process of switching to Android phones.
RIM is going to go the way of Palm very soon... Unless they start making Android phones... haha

 

[ottscay]

No one phone can kill a company with almost 50% market share (or even the 41% it was reported to have this last quarter). But when you have the majority of the market and others are growing faster they will always be largely eating from your customer base.

That said, the reason Android is outgrowing RIM (and iPhones for that matter) is because Google only has to develop the OS, while many different (and competing) hardware vendors develop/integrate the phones (and several other manufacturers of underlying system hardware, like Intel, are also competing to make better parts). It's the same way that Windows beat the snot out of Macs the first time the PC wars were fought, and the fact that Apple hasn't learned its lesson (and is in fact making it worse by excluding software they don't like also) shows their complete inability to learn from the past.

As for RIM...they didn't fight in the PC wars. They make a very solid set of products based on some pretty good technology, but if they keep fighting a war against an entire set of companies that can afford to specialize for one aspect of the competitors' products...then ultimately it will be a war of attrition.

Although I do think that with some good decisions RIM could make this fight interesting for some time to come. Guess we'll see in the next 18 months.

 

[kilofoxtrot]

It's the same way that Windows beat the snot out of Macs the first time the PC wars were fought, and the fact that Apple hasn't learned its lesson (and is in fact making it worse by excluding software they don't like also) shows their complete inability to learn from the past.

Mean while..... Apple continues to make record profits. Their stock is north of 200 while MS is south of 25 as of closing Friday. You are mixing your passions with reality... they dont match.

Just sayin.

 

[Topweasel]

Ottscay, I agree with you but the answer isn't coming in 18 months. BB6 isn't the solution they need. Its a step in the right direction but its more like WinMo 6.5 then their W7P. Luckily even if the consumer market drifts away from BB for the next couple years, the 100k BES setup that companies have will keep RIM going for a long while.

 

[Topweasel]

Mean while..... Apple continues to make record profits. Their stock is north of 200 while MS is south of 25 as of closing Friday. Your mixing your passions with reality... they dont match.

Just sayin.

No he is being realistic. Their strength is in "style" not competition. Android itself gives the world something no one else does, which is an effective OS to compete with the OS on the Iphone. Now that you have that, having 4-6 good hardware companies designing phones for it, means its that more likely that there will be a phone that meets a particular persons needs.

Apple may win some battles, they may continue to have the best singular device for a while. But they are never going to maintain a market penetration lead by selling 1 phone on 1 network. They have also had lots of hits all over the place in terms of design wins. But this policy 1 phone 1 network, could lead to an almost automatic and single generation drop in penetration if they end up with a miss on one of their releases. That is an incredible amount of pressure on both their OS and hardware designers.

That doesn't even take into consideration what may happen if AT&T finally pisses people off to the point that even an Iphone can't keep people on their network.

 

[kilofoxtrot]

No he is being realistic. Their strength is in "style" not competition. Android itself gives the world something no one else does, which is an effective OS to compete with the OS on the Iphone. Now that you have that, having 4-6 good hardware companies designing phones for it, means its that more likely that there will be a phone that meets a particular persons needs.

Apple may win some battles, they may continue to have the best singular device for a while. But they are never going to maintain a market penetration lead by selling 1 phone on 1 network. They have also had lots of hits all over the place in terms of design wins. But this policy 1 phone 1 network, could lead to an almost automatic and single generation drop in penetration if they end up with a miss on one of their releases. That is an incredible amount of pressure on both their OS and hardware designers.

That doesn't even take into consideration what may happen if AT&T finally pisses people off to the point that even an Iphone can't keep people on their network.

Apple sells the iPhone to many different providers overseas. Granted, the US is a different story, but that will change when the CDMA version is released most probably early 2011.

"That is an incredible amount of pressure on both their OS and hardware designers" .... I totally disagree here... since there is 1 OS and 1 Platform there is LESS pressure on designers and developers as opposed to many platforms with different OS versions. Apple understands this and exploits this to their advantage. While enthusiasts may not like it... shareholders do. Marketshare with thin profits vs modest marketshare with big profits.. which one whould you prefer?

I am happy with the X and Verizon, but that doesnt blind me to the fact that from a business aspect Apple is a great company. Their profits and stock proves it... emotions and fanboism aside.

 

[milominderbinde]

With Droid X, another bomb just went off in the Blackberry bunker.

iPhone is like a shark moving through the water.

Android is like a thousand piranhas, with another attacking every week, each ripping out another bite.

Help Blackberry come up with a new slogan: http://forum.androidcentral.com/motorola-x/23201-blackberrys-new-slogan-fight-droid-x.html

 

[Topweasel]

By pressure I mean one mistake and the market falls out from below you. These skinned Androids, and 5 different manufacturers with entry into every major provider means stability and ability recover from missteps.

Its why Palm is dead and MS/RIM are busy making minor changes as they redesign their image.

As for the Market. The US is by far the biggest market and without it, the Iphone doesn't succeed.

 

[markdek]

So far, i feel like my Droid X is superior to my iPhone 3Gs... I also feel its superior to my DInc i returned..

I suppose this depends whether you prefer Apple's OS, app store, itunes, build quality, updates, customer service, etc., over the Android world.

I think Android will catch up, but they're not there yet, and the rapid growth curve of Android phones is going to be frustrating for some....the real indicator (test) will be how folks feel about the Android phones they're buying today (on contract), in about 6 months to a year from now.

 

[darreno1]

Apple sells the iPhone to many different providers overseas. Granted, the US is a different story, but that will change when the CDMA version is released most probably early 2011.

Android is slowly penetrating the overseas market as well so the competition will heat up all over, just not in the US.

"That is an incredible amount of pressure on both their OS and hardware designers" .... I totally disagree here... since there is 1 OS and 1 Platform there is LESS pressure on designers and developers as opposed to many platforms with different OS versions. Apple understands this and exploits this to their advantage. While enthusiasts may not like it... shareholders do. Marketshare with thin profits vs modest marketshare with big profits.. which one whould you prefer?

You're thinking from an App perspective and not from a technology perspective. There is no way Apple will be able to keep up with several heavy-hitters that are releasing new high-end phones every 6 months. Not only are they competing with Apple but with each other and clear battle lines are being drawn. Right now, aside from the screen and maybe the camera quality (big, big maybe), the iPhone 4 is already outclassed. And with this recent Antenna scandal, they have been beaten down a notch or 2 on the consumer confidence scale. Believe me, people aren't going to forget this very easily and the competition isn't going to let it go either.

So yes from an App / developer perspective Apple may have an advantage right now, but with Froyo and Gingerbread and a barrage if high-end Android phones on the horizon, there will be developers very willing to take advantage of the higher-end hardware and because of the better hardware, there'll be a greater uniformity across all carriers and phones with regards to Android and the old, tired fragmentation argument will be slowly put to rest.

I am happy with the X and Verizon, but that doesnt blind me to the fact that from a business aspect Apple is a great company. Their profits and stock proves it... emotions and fanboism aside.

True and no one's denying that. The question is however, can they sustain it?

 

[tpatru]

I've had an HTC Incredible for a month now, and I've decided to switch back to a Curve 2 or Tour. The droid is great, but as a heavy emailer/texter, it has a few annoyances which I just can't live with. The virtual keyboard is slower and harder to type with than a BB, even using swype. Plus, the blackberry was nice because I could type without looking (useful for driving or watching TV), whereas you simply can't do that with a touchscreen. The battery life is abysmal whenever I'm using the screen, and I simply hate how hard it is to check texts or emails 20 times a day. Having to push the lock button on the top of the phone, swipe the bottom of the screen to unlock, swipe the notifications panel at the top of the screen, and click on the one I want...and repeat all this each and every time I get a new email or text (through google voice). There really aren't any apps to make this easier, and I can't even use the trackpad button on the front of the phone to wake the screen. The phone is much more capable than a BB, but I simply can't describe how inconvenient and infuriating it is to have to go through 4 steps simply to see why my phone just vibrated. With the BB, I'd simply pull it out of the holster, and the screen automatically opened to the last text or email. Plus, the vibrate alert is a lot stronger than the droid's.

I'm really looking forward to coming back to android in the future, but they will have to tweak it a little to make it more usable for professionals and heavy emailers. There should be an option to have any new notification appear on the screen for a few seconds. A magnet wake switch in a holster like the blackberry has would help save battery life, but that's probably not going to happen. Also, they need to make a phone with a usable keyboard. I had the Motorola Droid for a few weeks, and that keyboard was a joke. Simply unusable. I'm looking forward to trying out the Droid 2, but from pictures I saw, it's probably not going to be a whole lot better.

 

[kilofoxtrot]

You're thinking from an App perspective and not from a technology perspective. There is no way Apple will be able to keep up with several heavy-hitters that are releasing new high-end phones every 6 months.

Technology and Apps go hand and hand... one without the other renders the one useless. Saying there is no way Apple can keep up is a mighty tall order. Its been over 3 years since Apple released the iPhone and they are still leading the pack in design elegance, application development and hardware development. They have the $$$, the will, the singular focus and the vision to keep them in the forefront of the smartphone business.

Their stock, sales and profit margins backup what I have said. However, what you have said is speculation...... until things happen otherwise.. thats all it is ... speculation.

The proof is in the pudding my friend.

 

[kilofoxtrot]

I've had an HTC Incredible for a month now, and I've decided to switch back to a Curve 2 or Tour. The droid is great, but as a heavy emailer/texter, it has a few annoyances which I just can't live with. The virtual keyboard is slower and harder to type with than a BB, even using swype. Plus, the blackberry was nice because I could type without looking (useful for driving or watching TV), whereas you simply can't do that with a touchscreen.

I just left the Bold 9650 for the DroidX ( I have owned a Incredible too ) .... I can type faster with the X... the Bold 9650's keyboard is too cramped for me. I did have the Bold 9000 on ATT a couple years ago... now that was keyboard. To me the Bold 9000 is the perfect BB, but I need VZW as my provider

The battery life is abysmal

Agreed.. the Droid Inc had poor battery life for me too, even with the 2150 mAH battery. I am getting way better battery life with the Droid X's stock battery than I did the the DI's extended 2150 battery.

.... whenever I'm using the screen, and I simply hate how hard it is to check texts or emails 20 times a day. Having to push the lock button on the top of the phone, swipe the bottom of the screen to unlock, swipe the notifications panel at the top of the screen, and click on the one I want...and repeat all this each and every time I get a new email or text (through google voice).

Why swipe the notifications panel? You can see the icons for each message type in the banner. Just launch the corresponding app from your home screen. After you open each new email/SMS, the notification icon goes away automatically.

I can't even use the trackpad button on the front of the phone to wake the screen.

That sucks.. agreed.

The phone is much more capable than a BB, but I simply can't describe how inconvenient and infuriating it is to have to go through 4 steps simply to see why my phone just vibrated. With the BB, I'd simply pull it out of the holster, and the screen automatically opened to the last text or email.

Some of this is your own doing. Going back to the Notification Panel... there is no rule that says you have to go to it first to open your email or text message. The icon itself in the notification banner tells you enough information to simply launch the appropriate app from the home screen.

I can understand your frustrations... I hope you come back if you decide later, if not... RIM is still good (even if its a little boring)

I have never used BES... only BIS with my 'Berries. Gmail is pathetic on the BB/BIS. Synchronization is slow.. if it happens at all. I am a heavy Gmail/GCal user... RIM doesn't do Google better than Google/Android does. JMO

 

[darreno1]

Technology and Apps go hand and hand... one without the other renders the one useless. Saying there is no way Apple can keep up is a mighty tall order. Its been over 3 years since Apple released the iPhone and they are still leading the pack in design elegance, application development and hardware development. They have the $$$, the will, the singular focus and the vision to keep them in the forefront of the smartphone business.

Their stock, sales and profit margins backup what I have said. However, what you have said is speculation...... until things happen otherwise.. thats all it is ... speculation.

The proof is in the pudding my friend.

Design elegance is a purely subjective matter. After playing with one I was left disappointed. As for hardware development, up until the iPhone 4 they were playing catchup in many areas. The screen, processor, camera and ram were all outclassed by other phones on the market. IMO their profit speaks little of the true quality of their products and more about the nature of their loyal fanbase.

 

[tpatru]

Some of this is your own doing. Going back to the Notification Panel... there is no rule that says you have to go to it first to open your email or text message. The icon itself in the notification banner tells you enough information to simply launch the appropriate app from the home screen.

True, you can skip the notifications panel and click on the app, but for example, if you have a missed call, an email, a text, and a facebook message, the notifications panel will summarize all of these quite well at a glance. The icons alone are nice, but don't have enough information. It would be nice if they could auto-expand on the home screen to show you a snippet of each notification, or even continuously scroll through them one by one, ticker-tape style. At the very least, I would like to be able to click one well-placed button and see all my notifications right there on the lockscreen, you know? Executive Assistant does this, but it never worked very reliably for me. I really did miss the blackberry sleeper holster function, where I can just pull it out of the holster and see the last message without pushing any buttons. Extremely convenient.

I appreciate the info about the Droid X; I'm excited to hear that the battery life is improved. (what kind of battery does it have?) Hard to believe, considering the screen is bigger and is LCD, but I'll take your word for it. I'll probably pick one up whenever 2.2 comes out, and hopefully there will be some apps available to solve my notifications gripe. There are a lot of huge advantages to Android over BB, so I'll definitely be coming back to it. Right now though, I sold my Incredible and picked up a Curve 2, and have enough money left over to buy a decent netbook.

One other question: I see the Droid X has 4 buttons at the bottom of the screen. Can you wake the screen using those buttons, or only the lock button at the top? That was a big annoyance with the Inc, having to unlock at the top of the phone and then swipe the bottom. Too much fingerwork.

 

[ClaudiaP]

I am seriously considering switching from my BB Tour for several reasons. First off I am not a techie kid I'm a 62 year old grandmother and yes I am a tech addict. I have a number of similarly aged friends who are also tech addicts.
I was lucky and got a good Tour without the trackball issue, or at least only the software based one. No matter what I (or anyone else) do the screen on the Tour is just too small for me to see easily, the browser is soooooo slow, but a year ago it was a lot better than what I had been using.
I am old enough to have numerous memory leaks. lol but still love playing with gadgets and learning almost anything related to computers or photography.
I remember everyone saying that all of the problems would be solved when OS5 finally arrived, now those same people are saying "wait til OS6 then it will be good".
I haven't ordered my DX yet but the more I read the more I think I probably will within the next day or so.

 

[problem0atique]

One other question: I see the Droid X has 4 buttons at the bottom of the screen. Can you wake the screen using those buttons, or only the lock button at the top? That was a big annoyance with the Inc, having to unlock at the top of the phone and then swipe the bottom. Too much fingerwork.

Yes, you can hit the Home button to wake the screen as an alternative to the top/power button.

 

[Topweasel]

Technology and Apps go hand and hand... one without the other renders the one useless. Saying there is no way Apple can keep up is a mighty tall order. Its been over 3 years since Apple released the iPhone and they are still leading the pack in design elegance, application development and hardware development. They have the $$$, the will, the singular focus and the vision to keep them in the forefront of the smartphone business.

Their stock, sales and profit margins backup what I have said. However, what you have said is speculation...... until things happen otherwise.. thats all it is ... speculation.

The proof is in the pudding my friend.

Much like the Ipod, Apple had a massive head start. It took 2 years before an OS was ready to take on what Apple had from Day 1. Its taken Three years for phone makers to get to a point hardware wise where they could find some common ground on design and cost. The advantage is HTC, Motorola, Samsung, and LG don't have to sit on a single design for a year and they can differentiate enough that they can design a phone for everyone. 2010 is the year the Android market caught up with Apple. It looks like 2011 will be the year Microsoft will do the same.

The fact that with a 2 year head start that they are now behind the 8 ball should be clue enough that unlike their Ipod development, that they haven't been quick enough on the phone market or progressive enough.

 

[ogpanic1]

I have been with verizons bb from curve to storm to storm2 and this thing blows them out of the water. the only downside so far is the facebook app and twitter not instant notifying you but its almost the same the email is push, maybe soon they will fix the app