Anyone use blackberry smartphones?

[desura]

How is the QNX smartphone? Is the keyboard significantly better than iOS or Android?

 

[Instan00dles]

I have a Q10 so I cant comment on the on-screen keyboard but of course the physical keyboard is wicked. I have only come across a few weird quirks with BB10.

- Says its connected to my cars bluetooth even though the car is off and I havent driven for hours. Wont disconnect when I try to force it and have to power off the phone. Went away when I installed a leaked 10.3 OS

- Sometimes I have to delete saved text messages for one contact if there is alot, when I go to that persons messages it doesnt load anything. Has happened maybe twice in the past year.

- When I swipe up on the lock screen you can see your phones program icons but cant touch anything. Have to lock the phone again then unlock it again before I can touch anything. Happens on a fairly regular basis in both 10.2 and 10.3.

Other than those little things I love my BB10 device, dont imagine that I will be changing from my q10 ever, will buy cheap used ones for parts to keep mine going.

 

[cbrunny]

I have a Z30, which has the on screen keyboard. It's pretty good. Not notably better or worse than the Android (I also have a Note 4). But I'm also not a keyboard snob.

As for the phone itself, it is a fantastic professional device that is a terrible "personal" device. Do not get one unless it is for professional use.

 

[isekii]

yea i dont think you can ever replace a blackberry keyboard. My favorite is still the javelin 8900.

 

[smitbret]

I have a Z30, which has the on screen keyboard. It's pretty good. Not notably better or worse than the Android (I also have a Note 4). But I'm also not a keyboard snob.

As for the phone itself, it is a fantastic professional device that is a terrible "personal" device. Do not get one unless it is for professional use.

Not sure why you think it is a terrible personal device. It is definitely geared towards professional use but with Snap and the Amazon App Store installed I have very little trouble with using it as a personal device. There is a little lag when opening Android .apk programs but that is the biggest frustration I have with my Z10. Looking forward to the OS update 10.3 with the updated Android Run Time that should smooth out issues with running Android apps.

As far as the interface goes, it is so much smoother an more intuitive than Android that it's ridiculous. There is a learning curve and I think one of the biggest reasons they have a hard time selling in the store. It's not a phone that is easy to pick up and just use. It is a pretty big departure from the Android and IOS systems so anyone trying to migrate won't find it completely intuitive.

The on screen keyboard is much better than anything iPhone 5 or lower. Haven't tried the 6, though. Better than Android, too, but not THAT much better. The physical keyboard is still outstanding.

 

[lupi]

Have one, but predates about anything being discussed here and has the electrical tape on it to prove it.

 

[poofyhairguy]

There is a learning curve and I think one of the biggest reasons they have a hard time selling in the store.

I think that whole you need to sideload an appstore from another OS to make it useful as a modern device thing is also part of it. I mean, Amazon couldn't sell a Fire Phone that had its app store on it stock.

 

[WelshBloke]

As far as the interface goes, it is so much smoother an more intuitive than Android that it's ridiculous. There is a learning curve and I think one of the biggest reasons they have a hard time selling in the store. It's not a phone that is easy to pick up and just use. It is a pretty big departure from the Android and IOS systems so anyone trying to migrate won't find it completely intuitive.

How does that first sentence fit in with the rest of the paragraph?

 

[shortylickens]

Mom.

She's a paralegal.

 

[cbrunny]

How does that first sentence fit in with the rest of the paragraph?

because it is SO intuitive that it requires a steep learning curve!

 

[Zaap]

because it is SO intuitive that it requires a steep learning curve!

"Easy as crashing a helicopter."

 

[ChronoReverse]

How does that first sentence fit in with the rest of the paragraph?

"Intuitive" is one of those buzzwords that have lost most of its usefulness nowadays.

 

[smitbret]

How does that first sentence fit in with the rest of the paragraph?

OK, maybe I should have used more detail.

Once you get used to the idea of having no buttons and adjust to everything being gesture based, it's amazingly intuitive.

Life without a Home button can be weird and, for Android users, the Back button is hard to live without once you've gotten used to it.

 

[smitbret]

because it is SO intuitive that it requires a steep learning curve!

The curve is only steep if you still can't tie your own shoes.

 

[smitbret]

"Intuitive" is one of those buzzwords that have lost most of its usefulness nowadays.

Buzzword is one of those buzzwords that has lost most of its usefulness nowadays.

Intuitive is intuitive. It's hardly a buzzword.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Once you get used to the idea of having no buttons and adjust to everything being gesture based, it's amazingly intuitive.

Intuitive is intuitive. It's hardly a buzzword.

Sorry, did I step on sensitive platform cheering toes there?

By definition, if it's something that I have to get used to and be told how it works, then it's not intuitive. What you're probably meaning is that it's an _efficient_ interface.

 

[smitbret]

Sorry, did I step on sensitive platform cheering toes there?

By definition, if it's something that I have to get used to and be told how it works, then it's not intuitive. What you're probably meaning is that it's an _efficient_ interface.

No, you're just ignorant and have no idea what you are talking about.

By your definition, basic things like driving and taking a shit in the toilet aren't intuitive since they have to be learned. Then again, maybe you struggle with those things.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Well if you think driving of all things is intuitive (I can see the case for the steering wheel being intuitive) then being called ignorant by you really has no weight.

 

[smitbret]

Well if you think driving of all things is intuitive (I can see the case for the steering wheel being intuitive) then being called ignorant by you really has no weight.

You're right, you win.

 

[soccerballtux]

No, you're just ignorant and have no idea what you are talking about.

By your definition, basic things like driving and taking a shit in the toilet aren't intuitive since they have to be learned. Then again, maybe you struggle with those things.

hahaha WOW that was a hard burn

 

[Morbus]

As far as the interface goes, it is so much smoother an more intuitive than Android that it's ridiculous. There is a learning curve and I think one of the biggest reasons they have a hard time selling in the store.

Does not computer. What is it? Intuitive or hard to learn?

 

[smitbret]

Does not computer. What is it? Intuitive or hard to learn?

Try one for a week and let us know

 

[Doomer]

Damn you 10 year olds are funny.

 

[3chordcharlie]

The setup is very simple. First you learn that 'swipe up' is your task manager. Then swipe to the right for the hub, or left for icons of 'all applications'. Swipe down in any of these areas for system menu stuff (notification modes, radios, flashlight, etc). Swipe down in an app for the app-specific menu. That's it. That's the whole phone.

The keyboard has a learning curve too. Not for you, but for it. It definitely picks up on your patterns, and the multiple word suggestions make typing faster all the time.

After a day, it didn't seem very helpful. After two weeks, I love it.

There is a bit of an app gap, but with 'snap' installed for google play store access, there isn't much missing.

For communication (sms/bbm/email/twitter/whatsapp/etc) it's spectacular. The hub (inbox) is completely customizable, has great filtering options and it is really, really good. Device-wide search is also a killer feature. OS 10.3.1 added reply or delete right from the inbox, which is surprisingly useful.

There are lots of good things about iOS, Android and WP, but if you aren't currently using BB10, and you consider communications important in a mobile device, you are missing out.

 

[smitbret]

The setup is very simple. First you learn that 'swipe up' is your task manager. Then swipe to the right for the hub, or left for icons of 'all applications'. Swipe down in any of these areas for system menu stuff (notification modes, radios, flashlight, etc). Swipe down in an app for the app-specific menu. That's it. That's the whole phone.

The keyboard has a learning curve too. Not for you, but for it. It definitely picks up on your patterns, and the multiple word suggestions make typing faster all the time.

After a day, it didn't seem very helpful. After two weeks, I love it.

There is a bit of an app gap, but with 'snap' installed for google play store access, there isn't much missing.

For communication (sms/bbm/email/twitter/whatsapp/etc) it's spectacular. The hub (inbox) is completely customizable, has great filtering options and it is really, really good. Device-wide search is also a killer feature. OS 10.3.1 added reply or delete right from the inbox, which is surprisingly useful.

There are lots of good things about iOS, Android and WP, but if you aren't currently using BB10, and you consider communications important in a mobile device, you are missing out.

This is almost exactly my experience. Unfortunately, a lot of people think it's as difficult as flying a helicopter. It's different, yes. Difficult, no. There are still a handful of Android apps that won't work properly on OS v10.2 (non-Passport & Classic models) but the upgrade to v10.3 and the updated runtime should fix most, if not all, of these.

Snap isn't really even necessary as the Amazon App Store comes preloaded on v10.3. I prefer to use Amazon where necessary just to keep everything "official", but I do have a few apps from Google Play that aren't available on Amazon, yet.