Tuesday, June 15, 2010

BlackBerry Woes

This is my rant about BlackBerry's. I have had one for about 4 months now and I have to say I am not impressed in the least bit with it. I was due for a new phone and my family had all already switched over to the smart phones and I was the only one left with "outdated" technology. I had the EnV Touch and I couldn't rave more about that phone. Although I couldn't check my e-mail, browse the internet, or download apps, I think it was the greatest phone. The quality was about as top notch as you can get for a mass produced phone. It texted wonderfully with the roomy keypad and the touch screen was just fine for me. It took clear, quality pictures and the sound quality on it was fantastic.
So I'm standing in the Verizon store and I am literally able to get whatever phone my little heart desires. My sister and dad already had the droid and really liked it however, I wasn't sure about the all touch screen factor. For me, I needed some buttons. I had been eyeing up the BlackBerry Tour which seemed to me like it would be a great phone. I would say about 90% of my friends already had either the BlackBerry or the iPhone (which wasn't an option since I have Verizon) so I was settled on getting the Tour.
Low and behold, the salesman comes over to discourage me from purchasing the Tour because he says the little ball that is used to control the phone breaks very easily and it takes a while to order a new one. So I asked about my other options and he sent me to the Curve 2 (a.k.a the BlackBerry Curve 8530). In my opinion, it was not as sleek and stylish and the Tour and it felt so light weight and cheap to me that I had a hard time taking his word on it. He explained that the Curve 2 had updated software and everything that the Tour offered except world-wide capabilities. So, all in all I finally settled to get the Curve 2. Taking the knowledgeable sales person's word. Especially because the Curve 2 was almost half of the tour's price, I just figured why would he try and sell me something cheaper if I was going to purchase something twice the price.
The Cons: So fast forward to right now. I've had this phone for 4 months and I absolutely detest it. The camera on it is AWFUL. It takes very pixelated, low quality pictures (as most of you have witnessed.. see below for the outfit of the day)
As you can seen, and as you have seen in past posts, the color and resolution of the camera is just horrible. Also, when I am on a phone call it is hard to hear people and people sometimes have a hard time hearing me. It has volume and I turn it all of the way up, but I am unimpressed. Also, unless you talk directly into the mouth of the phone, no one will be able to hear you at all. As for the internet browser, for 3G I wouldn't consider it fast by any means. Unlike the iPhone, you can only have one internet page opened at a time. Another bad thing is that when you are texting the buttons click so loudly compared to any other phone I've ever seen. So whenever I am somewhere I shouldn't be texting (I don't do it that often, I swear!!!) everyone can hear me clicking away on my phone! I think the noisy buttons are because the phone is made of cheap-y plastic. When I hold it, I can just feel that it is "Made in China". Not to mention, the Facebook app is terrible! I know that is not Blackberry's issue, but the app really stinks!
Now for the pros.. and there are not many.. There is a pretty wide variety of apps available. I love the Twitter App, the Weather channel app, and the Pandora app...especially because you can plug your BlackBerry right into any sound dock system or even into your car and you can have Pandora run through any speakers! It's especially great if you are heading to the gym and you forget your iPod because then you can just listen to your BlackBerry. The e-mailing feature works very well, I'm not impressed, but I don't have anything negative to say about that. Also the speaker phone is great. Unlike a regular phone call, a phone call with speaker is clear and crisp. Plus the little pad instead of the track ball is a lot better.
All in all I understand that BlackBerry's are for the "executive" type and that they are not really meant to be a "social" phone. However, in my opinion, for anyone looking for a good phone, the BlackBerry Curve 2 (BlackBerry 8530) is not a good choice at all.

Sorry for the novel of a post but here is my question for all of you. If you have this BlackBerry, do you like it? Also, if you have any tips or suggestions or things I may not know about this BlackBerry please comment or e-mail me and let me know! Also if you have the BlackBerry Tour, do you like it? Should I have gone with my instincts and purchased the Tour instead? Others that do not have any of the phones I mentioned what is your favorite Smart Phone besides the iPhone (that is for SURE what I am going to get when my next contract with Verizon expires). Have a fabulous day!
Yours,
sCe

14 comments:

Lipstick said...

I feel your pain....
I have the blackberry because we got a massive discount. I love it in the sense that it does way more than my previous phone so I love by comparison
But...
I can't wait until it is time to change to a touch screen with more apps, etc.

It is great, but it is not the best IMHO.

Miss Southern Prep said...

I have been trying to decide between a Blackberry and a Droid for a while, and after this post, I am definitely getting the droid! Sorry about your bad experience!

Annie said...

Yes, you should have definitely got the Tour. I love mine more every day! Ahh, I hate this for you though! I use and abuse mine (aka it has fallen on concrete and many bar floors) and I've never had a problem with the little ball. That is weird why he would try to sell you the cheaper one! I'm sorry girl!

Gracie Beth said...

I went from a blackberry to a "non-smart" phone called the samsung solstice which is a touchscreen however I have NEVER regretted it. Especially because AT&T has $10 unlimited data if you have a "non-smart" phone so I can do everything I need to do from it especially because it has gmail, facebook, and twitter applications. After my bb I will NEVER have another phone made my them.

preppyplayer said...

Fortune mag did a nice review of smart phones. I LOVE my iphone ( most of the time) Folks swear by the droids... No worries- new phones, BETTER smart phones are always coming out!

Anonymous said...

I went from a Blackberrry Pearl to the EnV Touch that I have now. I love this phone, aside from minor glitches (like resetting itself and poor battery life. I also realized that I hate touchscreens! lol). Like you said, it takes awesome pictures, and I love how I can have several web pages opened at once!

I'm due for an upgrade in a few months with Verizon- I think I'm gonna go back to a Blackberry. I miss the computer type layout.
I have debated the same thing as you- my friend has the Curve like you've got, and it feels so cheap! I like for a phone to have a sleek look, and a little weight to it! Another friend of mine works for Verizon and says for me to get the new Tour that has the touch pad instead of the ball? I'm not sure if it's even out yet, but I think it may have been renamed the Bold? Idk, lol.

Sorry for such a long comment, lol! I wonder if they'll let you trade it back in for the Tour? Sometimes I feel like they try to sell the cheaper phones, to get rid of their current stock?

Sassy In The South said...

Switch to AT&T and get the iPhone. You will never look back. I am telling you. I know it seems like a big hassle, but you should seriously ask your parents about it. The iPhone is AMAZING!!! I've had 4 different blackberries, and I would never have one again over the iPhone.

Ashley said...

I have a BlackBerry storm...I've had it since it came out in Nov 2008 and I LOVE it...I know it's had mixed reviews though. The camera takes great pictures though

Beaufort Belle said...

Everyone I know locally hate their BlackBerry. Everyone I know that has the Droid raves about it. Especially since the add on price per month is the same between the 2. My brother and SIL bought them last fall and use it for everything from the navigational feature to the price comparison feature to pictures that are pretty clear to calling which is much clearer than their old phones. The also were unsure about the touch screen because they were so used to typing on a computer and were not sure about not having keys. They have no problems using it. If I am correct, the EnV touch (assuming you have Verizon) can now do much more. I have the Voyager (I am 99% sure) and if I wanted to use the apps, I could pay between 9.99 and 29.99 extra a month and access email, internet browser and much more. And I love the keys - a little larger than normal. What I have decided to do is set up my phone for Facebook and for Twitter with the SMS codes, choose those that I want to read about the most or know when they post on FB and I receive those as text message (FREE) and don't use the megabyte charge as the apps do. My daughter (which has one of the latest smart phones from Verizon) chose the 9.99 a month plan and she was getting hit hard every month with MG usage fees. I showed her how to use the SMS and she loves it. It also takes excellent photos because she takes many and most are sent to me.

Good luck if you decide to start searching again.

Maddie Kay said...

I have the Samsung Omnia but they don't have it anymore.. They now have the Omnia II. Which you would think is better than the first.. But anyways I LOVE IT! I get my email, I can go on the internet, there's a built in navagator. The top is touch screen and it slides open with a full keyboard. My older brother has a Droid and he loves it but I need some buttons too so that's why I went with the Omnia. Hope this helps.

-Maddie
http://sippinsangriainsundresses.blogspot.com/

Katie Walpole said...

I feel your pain. I just had to get a new blackberry today. I had the orginal curve. it was horrible lately....it wouldn't turn on and it started to type by itself. I just got the Bold...let's hope nothing goes wrong.

Beaufort Belle said...

One thing I remembered if you can wait just a little longer, Verizon (if that is your provider) is coming out with the iPhone this summer.

Kate said...

I absolutely love my blackberry -I am not sure which version it is though (not the same as yours). I don't like the keypad (is that what it's called) on the iphone and the battery life is bad (my best friend has an iphone and she always has to bring her cord to charge it-even when she is just here for dinner!). I think everyone is biased though. Iphone people usually love the iphone, droid people love the droid, etc.

mFw said...

Such an interesting post and sorry I'm just now commenting! I have the old BB curve but am due for an upgrade in a month or so. I thought about getting the new curve but now I will not be. We're also on verizon. I will either go with the world BB one or a droid we will see.

 

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