Many of my longtime readers know I am was a Blackberry team member. When it came to a smartphone device, I was all about RIM’s Blackberry. Since 2006, I had rocked the Blackberry Pearl, the Blackberry Curve, and the Blackberry Bold. I never thought I would ever leave the Blackberry OS. And then it happened.
I have nothing against the Blackberry, but for me, the OS had become antiquated and there just wasn’t enough apps to compete with the iPhone or Android. So I moved onto greener pastures.
As a former Blackberry user, I was recently able to review the new Blackberry Bold 9900 with the newest Blackberry OS 7. This phone blends the best of two worlds—qwerty with touchscreen. It brings together the qwerty keyboard that Blackberry is known for (and is awesome for emailing on the go) with the touchscreen that has made Android and iPhone soar in popularity.
I will say that the Blackberry touchscreen is very fluid and better than my current Android touchscreen. It’s very intuitive and easy to use. The Blackberry screen is a little bigger than past phones, but still not as wide as the iPhone or most Android phones because the qwerty keyboard takes up the space.
The OS 7 is a little better than previous versions but still has a slow start up—battery pulls are inevitable. The lack of apps available for the Blackberry make it a bridesmaid and not a bride when it comes to being able to compete with iPhone and Android. You also have to leap through hoops to do simple things that make me love my Android. Try tethering with the Blackberry Bold 9900? You have to go through several steps or use a USB, when on an Android, you hit a button and it instantly turns into a wifi hotspot.
RIM should be making it easier to use their phones—instead, it seems harder.
The phone is a little big and chunky for my taste. Again, the qwerty keyboard makes it bigger than it should be. It would be better if the qwerty was retractable.
The device is 4g and has impressive speed when surfing the net or switching between apps. I can definitely see an improvement from past OS.
What do I miss about the Blackberry? I miss BBM and the secret convos that I used to have. But it’s not enough to make me switch back to Blackberry.
The Blackberry Bold 9900 from T-mobile retails for $599. Is it worth it? No. Especially when there are iPhones and Androids out there killing the game.
I, The Cubicle Chick, was given a Blackberry Bold 9900 to review for a short period. This is not a paid nor compensated review, and the opinions reflected in such are my own.
“Blackberry Bold 9900 with OS 7”, I have been every bit of saving to lay my hand on one. It’s literally a dream now. Jealous of you. And Did you just fell in love with android? Well, better late than never.
Yes, I am Team Android now. I still have a love for Blackberry, though. And when they get their apps and OS together, I will be back. Thanks for commenting.