Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Hanging up BB Sneakers: Blackberry Tour 9630 is improved but not enough

I've owned and loved blackberry phones since the very first 950 pager but it's time to move on. The times it worked during 9/11 and NYC blackouts were priceless. The single double A battery that lasted a month was incredible. But technology and user demands have evolved into a new era where companies have to deliver more than reliable email. Real time email isn't the key it's real time data the Twitter Age.

I recently upgraded to the Blackberry 9630 from the previous 8830. While the 9630 has a improved 480/360 screen, 3.2MP Cam, 528Mhz chip and one of the best blackberry keyboards it's still not enough for today's "attention economy". The OS to be much slower and less snappy than older phones and battery drains a lot quicker. Steve Jobs in the iPhone presentation mentioned 3 simple things yet most phones today still can't do them well(Phone, Internet and Media Player(Youtube, Music, Video). While the blackberry browser is improved I still find my self using the Opera mini browser to cope. Also still have to get to a computer to watch a youtube link. Visiting simple online photo albums lacks clarity.

I know I'll spark debate with loyal blackberry owners. But thousands of blackberry hardcore fanatics have jumped ship. Simply because RIM hasn't done a good job at evolving to meet higher consumer expectations. For those that need a basic email, text and phone. The Blackberry is perfect and does that best. However those who expect more from the Facebook, Twitter, Applications, Youtube etc... Will have to start finding other phones that have stepped up to the plate.

The phone I will be switching to is the HTC Hero on Sprint. I've tested all available Android phones on the market(Motorola Droid, Samsung Moment etc...) HTC seems to get it, the OS, the design and hardware feel. The Samsung Moment for lack of a better description looked like a fisher price phone. It was done without care another phone of their thousands on their to do list to make. Google may have to do something to control the quality of phones that come out. Or they will wait for the market to tell Samsung that the Moment is another badly play game of 'BlackJack".

In short it may not be fair to compare the Blackberry to the iPhone or Android phones as they aren't cut from the same cloth. The Operating System is the heart of the issue and dictates mostly what's possible. Apples OS X and Googles Android are built ground up from a Unix base that gives it greater possibilities. Android the newest comer even at 2.0 is enough to make their competition take a hard long look. And consumers enough to take the leap to a new home for their PDA experience...

I welcome comments and feedback...






Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

2 comments:

  1. I've played with the Hero, Eris, and Droid (Moto) and I am hooked on the Droid. I really loved the Eris, but wanted 2.0 with the advanced Nav features that the Droid offered. I can't put the Droid down. I was very skeptical about Droid being an iPhone killer, but at the very least this will force iPhone and AT&T to stop locking out features and improve in a hurry.

    I am very tough on phones - very picky - and I still can't find anything wrong with the Droid. The free apps are incredible and do more than I expected to see in a phone for years. It's like we jumped 4 generations ahead of current tech. Having it all easily and automatically synch with all of my Google stuff is a huge benefit.

    I can't believe I am saying this, but I am in love with a Verizon phone! This is a first.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've had a blackberry for 4 years now (5 models). I use email a lot and this function is just perfect on the RIMs, but...I also use twitter and FB a lot and my phone cannot keep up. I've checked out the Hero, the Droid and the Eris and they still don't feel as friendly as the iPhone. The one answer I do have is that my Blackberry days are over. I've made the decision to get the Eris ($99) just to hold be over until the 1gb processors, 4G and the new iphone come to Verizon.

    ReplyDelete