BlackBerry and the phone market

I have been a BlackBerry user for the past 4 years and it has been the only smart phone brand I have owned. It all started with the original BlackBerry Bold 9000 in 2008 and the original BB Torch 9800 in 2010. Thus I guess I am an early adopter to their new form factors. I have been a BB user out of necessity as it is mandated by my work. There have been rumors that we were going to be allowed to use the iPhone soon so I have been holding out for a new phone even though my contract was up. My phone took a turn for the worst on Saturday so I was forced to get a new one. I was really torn. Should I go with the upgrade model of my current one (the Torch 9810) or go to a new form factor like the BB Bold 9900 or the Torch 9860? I wasn’t happy that the 9810 looked the same as the 9800 even though it had different insides. I guess I expected a change when buying something two years Iater as people expect things to improve. I immediately discounted the new Bold because of its width even though I liked my original Bold and the new touch capability would be cool. It is just not very pocket friendly. I instead leaned towards the 9860 because of its great feel, size, and it looked up to date with other phones on the market. Thus I took a plunge and went with a totally touch 9860 unit that did not have a qwerty keyboard.

A day later, I am not sure if I am going to keep this phone. For someone who actually wants to use their phone for messaging and emails, a touch screen just isn’t practical. Maybe I am old school but a qwerty keyboard is so much easier to type plus it’s more natural. If your main purpose for a phone (besides talking) is media and web browsing then a full touch is all you need. But when I travel, I rarely break out my PC and instead use my BB to answer all my emails. With this new phone, it would take 4 times as long and it is just awkward. So I have 4 weeks to make a switch. I will give it two more weeks until I make my final decision.

That brings me to another point. Why does everyone hate BlackBerry so much? Even the AT&T guy asked me why I wanted a BB. BB sure is in trouble if the company responsible for selling their product is recommending against it. At a recent Windows phone event, I had a discussion with a Microsoft product manager on why I loved BB. First the qwerty keyboard is the best in the market. Everyone is on this iPhone craze and has lost their way in my mind. A good keyboard makes it so much easier. I can type with great accuracy and speed with both hands on the keyboard without even looking at it. I just don’t see this happening on a touch device. The second is the track pad. In my opinion, every phone should have this. It is the perfect mouse like device for selecting things without zooming in. I remember reading BB users reviews on the Torch when it came out and they were questioning why the track pad was still there. I think they are crazy for not utilizing it. It is so easy to select something or go back in the middle of a sentence to make a correction. Also, with BlackBerry’s trade in program I am going to get money back to make the switch as the phone cost $100 but I am getting $160 in trade-in. I don’t understand why they would do that but I’m not going to complain about it.

That is my two cents. What do you think?