Its not often that I can say this, but at this moment in time I actually feel really good. Mentally and physically. Usually when my mind is good my body is goofing around or vice versa, but I'm pleased to report that with one small exception, all is well!
So whats changed. I know, it must be that new year thing that happened a couple of weeks ago. The giant reset button in the sky that wipes away all our woes and worries of the year gone by and starts us off with a clean slate..... Errm no!
Got it, new years resolutions, they are the key to success in life. Say something daft while drunk and on your knees on NYE and of course the stars align and life becomes super sweet.......Nope!
Its simple really, a lot of my troubles of years gone by are just that, left in years gone by. Of course I miss having mum around, and a small part of me misses the responsibility I finally found in caring for her. Purpose in life is important, and gives you a bit of drive to do at least something on a regular basis. Then there is routine. As boring as they seem, they are key in some peoples lives, and help us stay on track for what we want. Talking this morning I was asked what I was up to today, and I replied joking that it was the same as previous. But honestly, that's not a bad thing, to me at least.
So that is actually the answer to the above question of what changed. Routine... I found mine again. For me life is like a perpetual motion machine, and as long as the motion and activity remains regular, the machine never stops. In fact sometimes its so in sync that it will pick up momentum and I will soon be flying along. That's where I love being.
When my mind is occupied, busy and challenged, I'm at my best. My thought process goes into overdrive, my creativity increases, and my want to get things done grows exponentially. All of a sudden for example, I have the desire to write, lots and lots. Get a couple of my blogs back up and running, and get back to that happy sharing place that I thrive.
The one thing missing from this equation is a little button covered device which once empowered me to write big long blogs on the spot, in the moment. My Blackberry!
A year ago, 75% of all my blogs came from my Blackberry's whichever I was using that day. The speed at which I can rattle off a stream of thoughts was incredible, and as much as I love Swiftkey on my Android phones, and tablets, I just cant seem to get my flow.
Same with modern keyboards, who decided that all new keyboards should be wafer thin with flat lifeless keys on them. The same way my aunt once commented that she could not use a standard PC keyboard and far preferred her typewriter, I am caught in the same bind, but a generation later. Flat keyboards are indeed sexy to look at, and for general use are fine. But for really hammering out a long blog, I find them useless. Each to their own of course, and I'm sure similar comparisons exist throughout the world of input options.
Anyway, I digress, this is about me me meeeeeeee, not keyboard and devices of days gone by. Although I should point out that I am currently using a REAL keyboard, a good old fashioned noisy DELL standard keyboard. Hardcore Old School !!
So back to me... The other part of the feel good factor is physical. Getting the get up and go to get back in shape again, buff for summer, pleasing on the eye for the ladies and all that lol. Seriously though, for me its more health than vanity, but cannot deny that I love seeing the definition start to show again, and the shirts pull tight in all the right places, for all the right reasons. Sadly with that comes the desire for more tattoos, which obviously isn't a bad thing, but it can get expensive to have good quality ink on large areas **and flex **
Over the last couple of weeks I have returned to normal dog walking routines. Avoiding my must reach #10MilesADay goal, and just doing what I can, when I can. At the moment that's about 6-8 miles a day, and slowly increasing as my body adjusts. Unlike previous times I'm not rushing in and setting myself stupid goals. This time its all about steady lifestyle changes, and getting into the groove. Along with the daily walks, there is adjusted food intake, but still plentiful, and two short training sessions a day. Once in the morning with some simple physical activities likes press ups, dips and sit ups. And a PM routine on the multi gym hitting back, chest, and arms.. Glamour, glamour!
All in all its feeling good, core tightened, body got that lovely ache to it constantly, and both sitting and standing taller and stronger.
Enough about physical training though, that's what the other blog is for, right!
I guess I just wanted to make this entry for my own sake really. Looking back over years gone by there have been some super low emotional times around this time of year for me, so I'm doing my best to break the loop, and stay on track for my own good. Early every year has historically been bad with the whole Xmas and Birthday dramas, sadness about my daughter, and in more recent years now with Feb being my aunt and mums birthdays, and with my aunt actually passing on my mums birthday, its still a bit of a weird time for me. But, that said, no sadness, just happiness and celebration these days, even managing to get a little bit excited about my own birthday, only took a few decades to care about it haha.
So here's to positivity, being who you are, showing your true colours, and being that little bit selfish and self centred. After all, if you are not firing on all cylinders, what use are you to anyone else, right?
Thank you to little Miss Sweetie Drawers for the inspiration for this entry lol.
Showing posts with label android. Show all posts
Showing posts with label android. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Im not one to Android bash (usually just Apple)
But I call bullshit somewhere here.
Now who other than the developer would benefit from getting an army of bots or fakes to put glowing reviews, and all apparently armed with the same script.
Its a shame that some companies or organisations are hell bent on faking reviews, good or bad about apps like this. But see what you think.
I stopped at 4 pages of screen grabs, but am pretty confident that there are many more.
Want to see more for yourself... Click here to have a look at the app on the Play Store, then take a shifty through the reviews.... Page after page of the same "Thank you so much blackberry team. I was waiting this app. Its really great user friendly and smooth."
Now who other than the developer would benefit from getting an army of bots or fakes to put glowing reviews, and all apparently armed with the same script.
Its a shame that some companies or organisations are hell bent on faking reviews, good or bad about apps like this. But see what you think.
I stopped at 4 pages of screen grabs, but am pretty confident that there are many more.
Want to see more for yourself... Click here to have a look at the app on the Play Store, then take a shifty through the reviews.... Page after page of the same "Thank you so much blackberry team. I was waiting this app. Its really great user friendly and smooth."
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
BBM for all.... finally!
Well , I have to say well done to BlackBerry for finally managing the rollout of BBM4ALL. After last months disaster all seems to have gone pretty well I have to say. And judging by the numbers, there has been a pretty big uptake of it cross-platform too.
I have a few friends who have reported delays in their email activation coming through, so have become frustrated and fed up with the idea of trying it out. Not a great first impression for sure. However others are managing to download it and get it rockin and rolling in no time at all.
I have been testing it myself on my Nexus 4 to see exactly how well it has ported over, and also to see the differences in services, message lag etc, and have to say first impressions are good.
With services like video call, voice call and screen sharing not available to the cross-platform users, I can understand some being a little underwhelmed by it, and why they are left wondering why everyone goes on about BBM so much.
But at the same time, with some friends who have previously used BBM now being able to get back on it, and instantly preferring the experience to that of Kik or Whatsapp, BBM have proven they 'still got it'.
Most ex BB users will have last used BBM on an OS7 or previous device, so will not have seen the slick revamped version of BBM until now. With new interfaces and features to get used to, even to the inexperienced eye, surely it must come across as a very mature IM service.
Time will tell how well BBM really does. With 60m users already, its not like its a totally new idea. But it will certainly be interesting to see how close to the 200m+ global users that Whatsapp currently has, BBM can actually get.
I look forwards to reading reviews over the coming weeks, and am sure they will vary widely from 'too little too late' to 'finally, amazing' with many others in between.
In the meantime, if you are one of the neigh sayers that simply says 'why do I need BBM'....... well if you are currently using ANY cross-platform IM service, why NOT try BBM and make your own mind up?
I have a few friends who have reported delays in their email activation coming through, so have become frustrated and fed up with the idea of trying it out. Not a great first impression for sure. However others are managing to download it and get it rockin and rolling in no time at all.
I have been testing it myself on my Nexus 4 to see exactly how well it has ported over, and also to see the differences in services, message lag etc, and have to say first impressions are good.
With services like video call, voice call and screen sharing not available to the cross-platform users, I can understand some being a little underwhelmed by it, and why they are left wondering why everyone goes on about BBM so much.
But at the same time, with some friends who have previously used BBM now being able to get back on it, and instantly preferring the experience to that of Kik or Whatsapp, BBM have proven they 'still got it'.
Most ex BB users will have last used BBM on an OS7 or previous device, so will not have seen the slick revamped version of BBM until now. With new interfaces and features to get used to, even to the inexperienced eye, surely it must come across as a very mature IM service.
Time will tell how well BBM really does. With 60m users already, its not like its a totally new idea. But it will certainly be interesting to see how close to the 200m+ global users that Whatsapp currently has, BBM can actually get.
I look forwards to reading reviews over the coming weeks, and am sure they will vary widely from 'too little too late' to 'finally, amazing' with many others in between.
In the meantime, if you are one of the neigh sayers that simply says 'why do I need BBM'....... well if you are currently using ANY cross-platform IM service, why NOT try BBM and make your own mind up?
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Blackberry Z10, BB10. First impressions
So its been almost 24 hours since my Z10 showed up, so I thought I would put down some thoughts onto screen and the WWW.
So where shall we start, how about at the beginning.
A call to Orange / EE on Thursday (release day) and some haggling later, I was happy I had got the best deal I could for a new phone to market etc, and it was on its way. However waiting 18 hours was going to be a nightmare, but somehow I coped lol.
Yesterday morning the courier showed up and handed me a bag with a little box in it, as pictured. Restraining myself from excitement I went back inside and started unpacking.
Retail pack / unboxing
This is where the review really starts for me, and I'm going to be as honest as a Crackberry fan possibly can be, in order to help others form their own decisions. Opening the retail box it was all neatly packed up, presented first by a very clean looking BB Z10. So what goodies would lay beneath? Well to be brutally honest, not a whole lot. The usual instructions, USB lead and separate wall plug, Headphones, there they were, the latest variant. I shall come back to those in a moment. So what else was in there. its a touchscreen, and the Playbook came with a micro fibre cloth..... Nope, no cloth in the box. Thankfully all Blackberry's have come with cases, so surely there was one..... Errm nope, no case of any sort either.
Now I know it sounds like I'm being picky already, but as a long term consumer, and someone who has unpacked MANY Blackberry handsets in my time, and the Playbook, I was disappointed to say the least to see that the retail pack doesn't include any form of case, let alone even a wipe. I know this is a new beginning for Blackberry (formerly known as RIM), but to me its a punch on the nose. I have always liked the fact that the phone gets unpacked, device swapped and can safely snuggle up in its new OEM case. Oh well, im sure I will get over it, and go buy one (or three) instead.
Continuing to be fussy about things, lets look at what else was in the box. USB lead and wall plug for charging, no issues there, the micro end of the USB is a little tight but works fine. So onto the headphones. A few generations of handset back, even going back to my original 8320, Blackberry packaged some really nice headphones. Fit for purpose, good feel to them, practical, the whole package worked for me. The ones with the chrome accents on them, and the chrome button on the inline mic. Then alas they moved over to the plain black cheaper plastic feeling ones which have been around a while now. So when I knew there was a fresh start coming, I assumed the headphones would be replaced.... And they have been. Some how with EVEN cheaper feeling headphones, which look like something you would get with a £5.99 MP3 player from a tech fair. Audio quality bearable, build quality horrible, their future is at the bottom of a drawer somewhere.
So far we have a handset and retail box which is approx £450, with no case, or cloth and terrible headphones. Just to add to things missing, there is also no form of SD memory card in there either. Now I know the carrier / network is also responsible in what goes into these packages, so to Orange and to Blackberry... Seriously? Is there anything else you could have scrimped on? One of the 3 would have been nice.
So lets get to the handset, anyone that found this blog through a websearch will be waiting for this part I'm sure.
The handset / Getting started
OK so lets get this baby up and running. Immediately out of the box the Z10 feels great in the hand. Having heard that it was far from the thinnest handset on the market (9mm I believe), and being the owner of a Samsung Galaxy S2, I wasn't sure what to expect. But it lived up to the hype, and the feel in the hand is just right, decent weight, yet noticeably present, balanced, and the shape and grip on the device for my hands certainly is great. There is hope yet after a bad start. Time to get the micro SIM in, no SD card at this time as there isnt one, and the battery in. The SD card can go in at any time as its hot swappable, so no battery removal needed. Popping the back cover off is simple enough, and experience with the S2 gave me the confidence to keep pulling even though the cover flexes slightly as you pry it off. Replacing is the same, a simple place and pop, and the job is done.
SIM in, battery in, 9900 backed up to Blackberry Protect, im ready to go. Watching the Z10 start up was somewhat reminiscent of watching a Playbook start, very clean and pretty but still takes a while. Having recently purchased a Nokia 100 handset for emergencies, I remember how far we have come from pressing the power button, waiting for the annoying Nokia tune, then its ready to go. Anyway, its a smartphone, these things take time these days, right? Once started I registered the SIM, watched the life drain from my 9900 as the G turned into a g, and the Z10 sprung into life.
Now at this point I would usually log into my carriers BB service, check the swap had taken place for my BIS and that it had the new PIN in there, validate my emails, et voila.... But NO !
Houston, we have a problem. All the right things were showing on the screen for the BIS, everything live and valid, but no sign of any email accounts on my Z10. A reboot should do the trick....nope! Ah I know what I haven't done, Blackberry ID, I have not signed into the Z10 with my ID yet, so lets do that now. All signed in, and nothing. Still no contacts, email accounts. Obviously I would just need to go to good old Blackberry Protect and choose my last restore point from my 9900. Errm, nope! For some reason Protect on the Z10 has no real function to it at all, no backup or restore, just the location on or off setting.
Great, so how am I going to do this? I guess I will have to plug it into the laptop and do it the old fashioned way. Now this is where it gets interesting. Blackberry replaced Desktop Manager with Blackberry Link. A new start was needed because as they rightfully point out, there is not one single line of script from the OS7 that makes it over to BB10, so start fresh. So I ran a backup on the 9900 on DM, which for some reason would not complete because of a file it could not read. Apparently it cant skip it, so it just hangs. So I ran a custom backup and took only the bare essentials like contacts and calender. Plugging the Z10 in and finding the restore or swap function was fun, took a while as Link seems to like to focus on the media side of things.
Come on guys, this is a new start for everyone here, no one is moving from BB10 to another BB10, we are all going from at least OS6 I would guess. Make the transition a little easier? Why doesn't Protect handle the swap like it used to be able to, why has Protect lost its back up function. So many questions at this stage and SO frustrating. Swapping on the BIS would usually purge all email accounts to my device... But it didn't.
At this stage I have to thank Google, the owners of Android for coming to the rescue. Because I use gmail fully and all my calenders and contacts are attached to that account for my S2, when I manually added my Gmail account to the Z10 it finally pulled down all my contacts and calender events. Phew, what a relief!
Right, so finally after an hour of messing about, I kid you not, I can finally start to relax a bit and get to know the Z10 and BB10.
The Device
This is where the fun begins, and maybe things will start to get a little better for the Z10.
Once up and running, getting to know the Z10 is really quite easy, especially if you have followed the developer videos, sneek peeks and other media online that has shown and explained the gesture controls for the device. Having used a Playbook and being used to gestures with no buttons is probably a distinct advantage at this stage. I wont go into too much about how each gesture works, thats more for the video bloggers to do, but instead I will focus on the over all experience.
At this early stage with a brand new device and OS, there is no previous knowledge that is going to help you, its pretty much new from the ground up. So a long time Blackberry user has no advantage getting to grips with BB10 than any other handset user. Obviously once the Q10 comes to our shelves the bias will turn slightly towards those with experience of the Blackberry QWERTY keyboards. What I am trying to say is its a learning curve for all, but not too painful at all. There are a few key gestures to get to grips with, waking the device, peek to the hub, and returning to the apps screen. Once those are mastered they become second nature quite quickly, and you are away.
Keyboard
Let me skim through a few points about the Z10 and using it. First up I have start with the keyboard. Honestly, WOW! I have read so many reviews saying its the best touchscreen keyboard experience out there, so natural to use, almost comparable to the physical keyboard of the Bold etc. But honestly, it really is great to use. I regularly use the S2 keyboard, the Playbook, have a lot of experience with the iPad, and the iPod touch 5th Gen, and have to say the Z10 with BB10 does indeed have the best touchscreen I have used to date, period!
Putting to one side the flick capabilities of its predictive word suggestion, the accuracy and usability of the Z10 keyboard is really very nice. If I was to be told I would not be able to use a physical keyboard every again, for the first time I would just be annoyed and not petrified. Then include the flick, and spell check, and you realise just where all the focus and research has gone with the BB10 project, and just how worth it it has been. The reassuring click of the physical keyboard is missing, and that is something that is strange getting used to, so I look forwards to getting my hands on a Q10 to get that feeling back. But for now, I can happily speed along through long text entries, without getting frustrated by the 3rd line, as I would with the S2 and Playbook. An iPhone, Apple argument made that point nicely for me last night. 70 replies or so into the epic Facebook discussion I realised that I was knocking out long replies on a device I had only been using for 5 hours or so, and wasn't thinking twice about it.
So the keyboard gets 2 thumbs up from me, if you can catch them not in use for a moment.
Gestures
As mentioned there are a few key gestures which enable you to interact with the device fully, flicking the screen up to get back to your active panes, and back and forth from the hub to the apps is all pretty straight forward. There have been points made about what state the hub is in when you return to it from an app with peek, should it been the main hub screen or the last message you were in. In reality its no hardship. If you left a BBM open for example, and are returning to the hub for a notification, at worst its one extra swipe to the right to get back to the main hub past the BBM. Switching between multiple conversations takes a little bit of getting used to though. Yesterday morning with 10+ BBM convo's going, and a constant update from Facebook and Twitter, while getting to grips with the handset, that was a challenge to say the least. But its one that I came out of victorious.
Apps
This is said to be the make or break point for BB10, and hearing there were 70,000 to launch with was interesting. But as most critics have said, 69,000 would be junk, like the majority of apps in a Google Play, and App Store. So it was always going to be the main apps that counted. There are a few apps on the 9900 that I have grown used to having, such as multi coloured LED notifications from BeBuzz, and Whatsapp to stay in touch with non BB users. Sadly neither of these are to be found right now, but I was sure I had heard Whatsapp WOULD be available after all the initial concerns. So to anyone I speak to on Whatsapp, for now, text or email me if you need me lol.
As for the rest, there are some good apps out there for all categories, including some very good games. Not that I play games of course. But its only fair to say that there are some key players that are indeed missing, and thats something I am hoping to see change very soon. For such a long build up to such an important product, its sad that some developers have chosen to abstain. Like any mobile platform, it is only as good as the app developers make it. If they dont produce, the platform slowly sinks. Apple being first to the market with the true smart phone beat the crowd and single handedly invented the modern day app developer. With such a huge user base, you can see why they focus on iOS and Droid apps. Lets just hope that the ease in which some Droid apps can be ported over to BB10 proves a success, and that more and more port their apps too. For now I reserve my judgement, I will still be using my S2 for a long time to come, so am not without apps. But the BB apps are getting there, slowly.
Battery
Well its removable, thats a good start. A good start because like all smartphones these days, no matter what claims the manufacturers make, the battery life isnt the same as my trusty Nokia 100. Understandably so, they do so much more, and we interact with them so much these days, no tiny battery could possibly give us great usage and still hold out. We the consumer demand certain things of manufacturers, such as weight and size we are happy to hold and carry, and this dictates what we get as the end users. I am currently running my first full cycle with the battery, so will reserve judgement for a week or so until it has cycled a few times. Worst case scenario, I will pop a spare in my man-bag for when I am out all day. Never too far from a micro USB plug these days though eh.
Camera
Oh the camera. Coming from the 9700 to the 9900 I was devastated to see they had thrown a fixed focus, poor quality camera into the 9900. For 18 months I have been disappointed with most pictures coming out of the 9900, with the occasional gem being worth sharing with @blackberry themselves for #BlackBerryPhoto. And I am grateful that some even got retweeted or featured on their blog. But it was never a great camera.
So on to the Z10 camera. The early reviews have been quite harsh about it, poor low light, grainy shots, faded colours etc, so I prepared myself for disappointment when I finally got to use it.
First up, any pictures I take with the Z10 are instantly compared by thinking, is it as good as my S2 camera. The S2 has a fantastic camera on it, and this was going to be what the Z10 got put up against. Later on today I will be going out to do a side by side test with them both.
But straight off the bat, wow, its actually a really good camera in the Z10. Good colours in natural light, amazing depth of field for close up shots. Gets crazy close for macro. And who can forget TimeShift. Is it as good as it says... hell yes ! Simple to use, great results. As are all the other features on there, like burst mode, something I didn't even know it had. It can just rattle off shot after shot. And yes I know other smart phones have this, its just pleasant to see on a Blackberry.
The rest
By the rest I mean email use, BBM , notifications and all the other things Blackberry are known for. So here we go.
BBM, yet another great step forwards with this application, and given all its features and function it now has, screen sharing, video calls, voice calls, broadcasts, joint conversations etc, it has just stepped its game up yet again. BBM certainly goes from strength to strength.
Email, to be honest I haven't sent too many as its the weekend, but its function is comparable to that of OS7, smooth, easy to use and manage, and pleasant to work with. Add to it the new functions and how it integrates into other apps like calender and BBM, and it remains one of the most powerful email platforms out there.
The Hub, the unified inbox as its known to some. This takes some getting used to in the way it functions, and can get a little crazy at times when incoming notifications are going a bit wild. Lots of notifications coming in can confuse you for a bit, and not having that simple option to mass highlight in a single stroke of a trackpad takes a bit of getting used to. But once you learn to mass select and prune back whats happening in the Hub, its all ok.
Notifications, once again all the sounds have changed, as have the options of how you manage notifications. Gone are the OS6 days where you could select from a simple long list of sounds, now it has suggested tones, or you can browse for more. gets quite tedious when setting up 5 email accounts, Facebook, Twitter, BBM, you get the gist! Also with the lack of a decent LED notification app at the moment, I am stuck with a red LED, which feels like part of me has been removed. I dont want to know I just have a notification, especially if I missed the sound. I want to know WHAT it is, specifically. Give my BeBuzz or something comparable soon pleaser Blackberry, before I go mad!
There is plenty more to talk about but this will do for now, so I will leave you with my closing summary, and some pics both of the device and from it.
In closing I have to say BB10 and the Z10 have really changed the image of Blackberry. As well as changing from being RIM, they have also changed from being a satisfactory handset and OS maker, to something fully fledged and ready to take flight. Its not ready to fly with the eagles just yet, but its up and out there, and ready to start growing for sure.
Was all the hype worth it? Mixed emotions there, my reaction is tainted still by the battle to get everything set up and running. This isnt something im used to as a Blackberry user, and found myself frustrated. So I am hoping that I simply did something terribly wrong, and that I missed a trick somewhere along the line.. Swapping from a totally different device like an iPhone I would accept issues, but from Blackberry to Blackberry, there should have been more certainty in what was happening. The BIS login and Protect services that I am used to dealing with 90% of it didnt, and im not comfortable with that.
But the hype was so worth it when it comes to the OS, how it flows, and the effortless operation of the device once up and running. I have no doubt that I will be using a Z10 for a while yet, at least until I give the Q10 a damn good going over. The keyboard is a triumph for BB, and the key component that restores my confidence in using a BB touchscreen.
Worth the wait, YES, plain and simple.
More to follow as it get to know my Z10 more.
So where shall we start, how about at the beginning.
A call to Orange / EE on Thursday (release day) and some haggling later, I was happy I had got the best deal I could for a new phone to market etc, and it was on its way. However waiting 18 hours was going to be a nightmare, but somehow I coped lol.
Yesterday morning the courier showed up and handed me a bag with a little box in it, as pictured. Restraining myself from excitement I went back inside and started unpacking.
Retail pack / unboxing
This is where the review really starts for me, and I'm going to be as honest as a Crackberry fan possibly can be, in order to help others form their own decisions. Opening the retail box it was all neatly packed up, presented first by a very clean looking BB Z10. So what goodies would lay beneath? Well to be brutally honest, not a whole lot. The usual instructions, USB lead and separate wall plug, Headphones, there they were, the latest variant. I shall come back to those in a moment. So what else was in there. its a touchscreen, and the Playbook came with a micro fibre cloth..... Nope, no cloth in the box. Thankfully all Blackberry's have come with cases, so surely there was one..... Errm nope, no case of any sort either.
Now I know it sounds like I'm being picky already, but as a long term consumer, and someone who has unpacked MANY Blackberry handsets in my time, and the Playbook, I was disappointed to say the least to see that the retail pack doesn't include any form of case, let alone even a wipe. I know this is a new beginning for Blackberry (formerly known as RIM), but to me its a punch on the nose. I have always liked the fact that the phone gets unpacked, device swapped and can safely snuggle up in its new OEM case. Oh well, im sure I will get over it, and go buy one (or three) instead.
Continuing to be fussy about things, lets look at what else was in the box. USB lead and wall plug for charging, no issues there, the micro end of the USB is a little tight but works fine. So onto the headphones. A few generations of handset back, even going back to my original 8320, Blackberry packaged some really nice headphones. Fit for purpose, good feel to them, practical, the whole package worked for me. The ones with the chrome accents on them, and the chrome button on the inline mic. Then alas they moved over to the plain black cheaper plastic feeling ones which have been around a while now. So when I knew there was a fresh start coming, I assumed the headphones would be replaced.... And they have been. Some how with EVEN cheaper feeling headphones, which look like something you would get with a £5.99 MP3 player from a tech fair. Audio quality bearable, build quality horrible, their future is at the bottom of a drawer somewhere.
So far we have a handset and retail box which is approx £450, with no case, or cloth and terrible headphones. Just to add to things missing, there is also no form of SD memory card in there either. Now I know the carrier / network is also responsible in what goes into these packages, so to Orange and to Blackberry... Seriously? Is there anything else you could have scrimped on? One of the 3 would have been nice.
So lets get to the handset, anyone that found this blog through a websearch will be waiting for this part I'm sure.
The handset / Getting started
OK so lets get this baby up and running. Immediately out of the box the Z10 feels great in the hand. Having heard that it was far from the thinnest handset on the market (9mm I believe), and being the owner of a Samsung Galaxy S2, I wasn't sure what to expect. But it lived up to the hype, and the feel in the hand is just right, decent weight, yet noticeably present, balanced, and the shape and grip on the device for my hands certainly is great. There is hope yet after a bad start. Time to get the micro SIM in, no SD card at this time as there isnt one, and the battery in. The SD card can go in at any time as its hot swappable, so no battery removal needed. Popping the back cover off is simple enough, and experience with the S2 gave me the confidence to keep pulling even though the cover flexes slightly as you pry it off. Replacing is the same, a simple place and pop, and the job is done.
SIM in, battery in, 9900 backed up to Blackberry Protect, im ready to go. Watching the Z10 start up was somewhat reminiscent of watching a Playbook start, very clean and pretty but still takes a while. Having recently purchased a Nokia 100 handset for emergencies, I remember how far we have come from pressing the power button, waiting for the annoying Nokia tune, then its ready to go. Anyway, its a smartphone, these things take time these days, right? Once started I registered the SIM, watched the life drain from my 9900 as the G turned into a g, and the Z10 sprung into life.
Now at this point I would usually log into my carriers BB service, check the swap had taken place for my BIS and that it had the new PIN in there, validate my emails, et voila.... But NO !
Houston, we have a problem. All the right things were showing on the screen for the BIS, everything live and valid, but no sign of any email accounts on my Z10. A reboot should do the trick....nope! Ah I know what I haven't done, Blackberry ID, I have not signed into the Z10 with my ID yet, so lets do that now. All signed in, and nothing. Still no contacts, email accounts. Obviously I would just need to go to good old Blackberry Protect and choose my last restore point from my 9900. Errm, nope! For some reason Protect on the Z10 has no real function to it at all, no backup or restore, just the location on or off setting.
Great, so how am I going to do this? I guess I will have to plug it into the laptop and do it the old fashioned way. Now this is where it gets interesting. Blackberry replaced Desktop Manager with Blackberry Link. A new start was needed because as they rightfully point out, there is not one single line of script from the OS7 that makes it over to BB10, so start fresh. So I ran a backup on the 9900 on DM, which for some reason would not complete because of a file it could not read. Apparently it cant skip it, so it just hangs. So I ran a custom backup and took only the bare essentials like contacts and calender. Plugging the Z10 in and finding the restore or swap function was fun, took a while as Link seems to like to focus on the media side of things.
Come on guys, this is a new start for everyone here, no one is moving from BB10 to another BB10, we are all going from at least OS6 I would guess. Make the transition a little easier? Why doesn't Protect handle the swap like it used to be able to, why has Protect lost its back up function. So many questions at this stage and SO frustrating. Swapping on the BIS would usually purge all email accounts to my device... But it didn't.
At this stage I have to thank Google, the owners of Android for coming to the rescue. Because I use gmail fully and all my calenders and contacts are attached to that account for my S2, when I manually added my Gmail account to the Z10 it finally pulled down all my contacts and calender events. Phew, what a relief!
Right, so finally after an hour of messing about, I kid you not, I can finally start to relax a bit and get to know the Z10 and BB10.
The Device
This is where the fun begins, and maybe things will start to get a little better for the Z10.
Once up and running, getting to know the Z10 is really quite easy, especially if you have followed the developer videos, sneek peeks and other media online that has shown and explained the gesture controls for the device. Having used a Playbook and being used to gestures with no buttons is probably a distinct advantage at this stage. I wont go into too much about how each gesture works, thats more for the video bloggers to do, but instead I will focus on the over all experience.
At this early stage with a brand new device and OS, there is no previous knowledge that is going to help you, its pretty much new from the ground up. So a long time Blackberry user has no advantage getting to grips with BB10 than any other handset user. Obviously once the Q10 comes to our shelves the bias will turn slightly towards those with experience of the Blackberry QWERTY keyboards. What I am trying to say is its a learning curve for all, but not too painful at all. There are a few key gestures to get to grips with, waking the device, peek to the hub, and returning to the apps screen. Once those are mastered they become second nature quite quickly, and you are away.
Keyboard
Let me skim through a few points about the Z10 and using it. First up I have start with the keyboard. Honestly, WOW! I have read so many reviews saying its the best touchscreen keyboard experience out there, so natural to use, almost comparable to the physical keyboard of the Bold etc. But honestly, it really is great to use. I regularly use the S2 keyboard, the Playbook, have a lot of experience with the iPad, and the iPod touch 5th Gen, and have to say the Z10 with BB10 does indeed have the best touchscreen I have used to date, period!
Putting to one side the flick capabilities of its predictive word suggestion, the accuracy and usability of the Z10 keyboard is really very nice. If I was to be told I would not be able to use a physical keyboard every again, for the first time I would just be annoyed and not petrified. Then include the flick, and spell check, and you realise just where all the focus and research has gone with the BB10 project, and just how worth it it has been. The reassuring click of the physical keyboard is missing, and that is something that is strange getting used to, so I look forwards to getting my hands on a Q10 to get that feeling back. But for now, I can happily speed along through long text entries, without getting frustrated by the 3rd line, as I would with the S2 and Playbook. An iPhone, Apple argument made that point nicely for me last night. 70 replies or so into the epic Facebook discussion I realised that I was knocking out long replies on a device I had only been using for 5 hours or so, and wasn't thinking twice about it.
So the keyboard gets 2 thumbs up from me, if you can catch them not in use for a moment.
Gestures
As mentioned there are a few key gestures which enable you to interact with the device fully, flicking the screen up to get back to your active panes, and back and forth from the hub to the apps is all pretty straight forward. There have been points made about what state the hub is in when you return to it from an app with peek, should it been the main hub screen or the last message you were in. In reality its no hardship. If you left a BBM open for example, and are returning to the hub for a notification, at worst its one extra swipe to the right to get back to the main hub past the BBM. Switching between multiple conversations takes a little bit of getting used to though. Yesterday morning with 10+ BBM convo's going, and a constant update from Facebook and Twitter, while getting to grips with the handset, that was a challenge to say the least. But its one that I came out of victorious.
Apps
This is said to be the make or break point for BB10, and hearing there were 70,000 to launch with was interesting. But as most critics have said, 69,000 would be junk, like the majority of apps in a Google Play, and App Store. So it was always going to be the main apps that counted. There are a few apps on the 9900 that I have grown used to having, such as multi coloured LED notifications from BeBuzz, and Whatsapp to stay in touch with non BB users. Sadly neither of these are to be found right now, but I was sure I had heard Whatsapp WOULD be available after all the initial concerns. So to anyone I speak to on Whatsapp, for now, text or email me if you need me lol.
As for the rest, there are some good apps out there for all categories, including some very good games. Not that I play games of course. But its only fair to say that there are some key players that are indeed missing, and thats something I am hoping to see change very soon. For such a long build up to such an important product, its sad that some developers have chosen to abstain. Like any mobile platform, it is only as good as the app developers make it. If they dont produce, the platform slowly sinks. Apple being first to the market with the true smart phone beat the crowd and single handedly invented the modern day app developer. With such a huge user base, you can see why they focus on iOS and Droid apps. Lets just hope that the ease in which some Droid apps can be ported over to BB10 proves a success, and that more and more port their apps too. For now I reserve my judgement, I will still be using my S2 for a long time to come, so am not without apps. But the BB apps are getting there, slowly.
Battery
Well its removable, thats a good start. A good start because like all smartphones these days, no matter what claims the manufacturers make, the battery life isnt the same as my trusty Nokia 100. Understandably so, they do so much more, and we interact with them so much these days, no tiny battery could possibly give us great usage and still hold out. We the consumer demand certain things of manufacturers, such as weight and size we are happy to hold and carry, and this dictates what we get as the end users. I am currently running my first full cycle with the battery, so will reserve judgement for a week or so until it has cycled a few times. Worst case scenario, I will pop a spare in my man-bag for when I am out all day. Never too far from a micro USB plug these days though eh.
Camera
Oh the camera. Coming from the 9700 to the 9900 I was devastated to see they had thrown a fixed focus, poor quality camera into the 9900. For 18 months I have been disappointed with most pictures coming out of the 9900, with the occasional gem being worth sharing with @blackberry themselves for #BlackBerryPhoto. And I am grateful that some even got retweeted or featured on their blog. But it was never a great camera.
So on to the Z10 camera. The early reviews have been quite harsh about it, poor low light, grainy shots, faded colours etc, so I prepared myself for disappointment when I finally got to use it.
First up, any pictures I take with the Z10 are instantly compared by thinking, is it as good as my S2 camera. The S2 has a fantastic camera on it, and this was going to be what the Z10 got put up against. Later on today I will be going out to do a side by side test with them both.
But straight off the bat, wow, its actually a really good camera in the Z10. Good colours in natural light, amazing depth of field for close up shots. Gets crazy close for macro. And who can forget TimeShift. Is it as good as it says... hell yes ! Simple to use, great results. As are all the other features on there, like burst mode, something I didn't even know it had. It can just rattle off shot after shot. And yes I know other smart phones have this, its just pleasant to see on a Blackberry.
The rest
By the rest I mean email use, BBM , notifications and all the other things Blackberry are known for. So here we go.
BBM, yet another great step forwards with this application, and given all its features and function it now has, screen sharing, video calls, voice calls, broadcasts, joint conversations etc, it has just stepped its game up yet again. BBM certainly goes from strength to strength.
Email, to be honest I haven't sent too many as its the weekend, but its function is comparable to that of OS7, smooth, easy to use and manage, and pleasant to work with. Add to it the new functions and how it integrates into other apps like calender and BBM, and it remains one of the most powerful email platforms out there.
The Hub, the unified inbox as its known to some. This takes some getting used to in the way it functions, and can get a little crazy at times when incoming notifications are going a bit wild. Lots of notifications coming in can confuse you for a bit, and not having that simple option to mass highlight in a single stroke of a trackpad takes a bit of getting used to. But once you learn to mass select and prune back whats happening in the Hub, its all ok.
Notifications, once again all the sounds have changed, as have the options of how you manage notifications. Gone are the OS6 days where you could select from a simple long list of sounds, now it has suggested tones, or you can browse for more. gets quite tedious when setting up 5 email accounts, Facebook, Twitter, BBM, you get the gist! Also with the lack of a decent LED notification app at the moment, I am stuck with a red LED, which feels like part of me has been removed. I dont want to know I just have a notification, especially if I missed the sound. I want to know WHAT it is, specifically. Give my BeBuzz or something comparable soon pleaser Blackberry, before I go mad!
There is plenty more to talk about but this will do for now, so I will leave you with my closing summary, and some pics both of the device and from it.
In closing I have to say BB10 and the Z10 have really changed the image of Blackberry. As well as changing from being RIM, they have also changed from being a satisfactory handset and OS maker, to something fully fledged and ready to take flight. Its not ready to fly with the eagles just yet, but its up and out there, and ready to start growing for sure.
Was all the hype worth it? Mixed emotions there, my reaction is tainted still by the battle to get everything set up and running. This isnt something im used to as a Blackberry user, and found myself frustrated. So I am hoping that I simply did something terribly wrong, and that I missed a trick somewhere along the line.. Swapping from a totally different device like an iPhone I would accept issues, but from Blackberry to Blackberry, there should have been more certainty in what was happening. The BIS login and Protect services that I am used to dealing with 90% of it didnt, and im not comfortable with that.
But the hype was so worth it when it comes to the OS, how it flows, and the effortless operation of the device once up and running. I have no doubt that I will be using a Z10 for a while yet, at least until I give the Q10 a damn good going over. The keyboard is a triumph for BB, and the key component that restores my confidence in using a BB touchscreen.
Worth the wait, YES, plain and simple.
More to follow as it get to know my Z10 more.
Monday, December 31, 2012
EyeEm the app
OK, its been a long time since I blogged anything, and I thought it was about time I did another random, pointless (or almost) blog.
It takes a bit to impress me with apps, I'm a simple guy that likes the full physical keyboard of my Blackberry, the simplicity of simple communication, and as a whole I really don't subscribe to this 'amazing app' mentality of most smartphone users.
I'm writing this on my beloved Blackberry Bold 9900 as typing is a joy on it, and day by day I stare longingly at the BB10 devices of 2013, the N and L series, aka the X10 and Z10. But until then, for apps I use my Samsung Galaxy S2, Android phone.
A few apps here and there manage the final cut and stay on the phone, but 90% get chopped within a week.
Instagram, the amazing image app that everyone was and is so addicted to lasted about a week too. Before the novelty of applying a filter to a picture to in some way make it look cool, retro, hip or funky wore off. Other than the filters it didn't really do much.
However while watching BBC's Click the other day I discovered EyeEm, and my world changed.
Allow me to explain. At surface EyeEm applies filters to pictures, as does Molome, Twitter and a million other apps. But take a second a look deeper at it, and EyeEm is different, very different.
First up, there is no mandatory cropping of pictures, the days of square only images are gone! You camera doesn't take a square pic, so why does Instagram insist on them? Next up there are tags. Woo I hear you say, hardly groundbreaking. BUT.... Careful use of tags teaches EyeEm what sort of things you are interested in. Use tags such as 'skies', 'lights' and 'sunset', and you will find your feed updates with images from other users using the same tag words.
The tags go on to form the key to the whole app, showing you images in your interest area, inspiring you to take more, diversify, or maybe even teaching you a trick. Like a picture or want to know more about how it was taken, that's simple, you can show your feelings by 'liking' the picture or leaving a comment. Start a conversation, make a friend.
If you find yourself admiring a picture, take a look through the gallery of the person who snapped it. Like more, then why not follow the person, and receive their new images in your feed. A little like Twitter in that respect.
From using EyeEm for just two days I have found myself recommending it to everyone, trying to convert people away from Instagram, and most of all I have found my love for photography reignited, and my desire to snap more and more images is once again keen.
On thing I am loving about the users of the app is the number of untouched images. Not everyone applies a filter and frame to their image, some just share raw quality images of amazing things. I prefer not to mess with my images, so its nice to see like minded people. As well as being able to share and feel some appreciation for my pictures.
So if you use an iOS device, or an Android device, go to your respective store now and search for EyeEm. Give it a go, get some tags on your images, and watch your feed populate.
Word of warning, the more tags you use, and the more general phrases, the more images you will receive, so choose carefully :)
Regards
Michael
Sent via Blackberry®
It takes a bit to impress me with apps, I'm a simple guy that likes the full physical keyboard of my Blackberry, the simplicity of simple communication, and as a whole I really don't subscribe to this 'amazing app' mentality of most smartphone users.
I'm writing this on my beloved Blackberry Bold 9900 as typing is a joy on it, and day by day I stare longingly at the BB10 devices of 2013, the N and L series, aka the X10 and Z10. But until then, for apps I use my Samsung Galaxy S2, Android phone.
A few apps here and there manage the final cut and stay on the phone, but 90% get chopped within a week.
Instagram, the amazing image app that everyone was and is so addicted to lasted about a week too. Before the novelty of applying a filter to a picture to in some way make it look cool, retro, hip or funky wore off. Other than the filters it didn't really do much.
However while watching BBC's Click the other day I discovered EyeEm, and my world changed.
Allow me to explain. At surface EyeEm applies filters to pictures, as does Molome, Twitter and a million other apps. But take a second a look deeper at it, and EyeEm is different, very different.
First up, there is no mandatory cropping of pictures, the days of square only images are gone! You camera doesn't take a square pic, so why does Instagram insist on them? Next up there are tags. Woo I hear you say, hardly groundbreaking. BUT.... Careful use of tags teaches EyeEm what sort of things you are interested in. Use tags such as 'skies', 'lights' and 'sunset', and you will find your feed updates with images from other users using the same tag words.
The tags go on to form the key to the whole app, showing you images in your interest area, inspiring you to take more, diversify, or maybe even teaching you a trick. Like a picture or want to know more about how it was taken, that's simple, you can show your feelings by 'liking' the picture or leaving a comment. Start a conversation, make a friend.
If you find yourself admiring a picture, take a look through the gallery of the person who snapped it. Like more, then why not follow the person, and receive their new images in your feed. A little like Twitter in that respect.
From using EyeEm for just two days I have found myself recommending it to everyone, trying to convert people away from Instagram, and most of all I have found my love for photography reignited, and my desire to snap more and more images is once again keen.
On thing I am loving about the users of the app is the number of untouched images. Not everyone applies a filter and frame to their image, some just share raw quality images of amazing things. I prefer not to mess with my images, so its nice to see like minded people. As well as being able to share and feel some appreciation for my pictures.
So if you use an iOS device, or an Android device, go to your respective store now and search for EyeEm. Give it a go, get some tags on your images, and watch your feed populate.
Word of warning, the more tags you use, and the more general phrases, the more images you will receive, so choose carefully :)
Regards
Michael
Sent via Blackberry®
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Blackberry vs Android
**edited for those who feel it should have been written and formatted in a more professional manner. **
I have been meaning to write this for a while now, and thought the time had come to jot it all down before I forgot what I was going to say. So here it goes.
I spend a lot of time talking about mobile devices, and moaning about the shortfalls and glorification of certain brands. Yes, Apple, I said it, so what! lol
But I like to keep my hand in and see what the manufacturers of the world are offering. Attached to my Blackberry by the palm of my hand, I thought it was time to take an adventure, and see what was going on in the world. Having recently had an iPad, and swapped to a Blackberry Playbook, and having previously had an Android handset, I decided it was time to take the plunge back into Android. The last handset I had was a Motorola DEXT, which was good, but nothing to write home about. In fact I think I may have mentioned it briefly a couple of years back.
Having done a few hours research, I decided that out of the 2 handsets on the market, the Samsung Galaxy S2 was the one to have. Without any messing about it was ordered and in my hand within days. Yes yes, another contract phone.
So let me start this of by saying. I have been a Blackberry user for years now, and am loyal to them purely because they provide a handset and service that matches my needs almost perfectly in every way. When you are set using one particular brand for a long period of time I think it is fair to say that you become blinkered to the world around you, and are at risk of believing there are no alternatives out there. The only way to truly avoid this is to keep your options fresh, and in my case I use various devices to keep my eyes wide open.
I can say without any doubt that Blackberry is still the device I would choose if I could only have one handset. The Blackberry 9900 offers everything I could NEED, and delivers it in a great package, and with power and punch. The speed and reliability of it suits me fine, and its adaptability to carry out the various tasks is excellent.
For me, the past month, having had access to use the S2 has been great, for a number of reasons. Allow me to explain in a little more detail. Having used both at great length I have been able to identify once and for all what it is about Blackberry that I like so much, and that keeps me hanging in there with them, even when they appear to be falling way behind the competition. While at the same time, it has allowed me to experience first hand what the touchscreen world of phones really offers the end user. The 9900 is also a touchscreen but has a full QWERTY keyboard too, so its not the same, much smaller real estate for the screen.
First up, the Blackberry Bold 9900.
Pro's:
Physical QWERTY keyboard
Solid build
Nice size and weight for the hand
Simple connectivity
BBM applications
Reasonable battery life
Notifications /LED
Touchscreen interaction
Trackpad
Con's
Reduced battery life compared to OS5 and 6 devices
Limited apps available
Browser still slow compared to some
No Flash
Poor camera due to no autofocus
Slippery and easily scratched battery cover.
Keyboard and input
The things I love and hate about it. The good stuff first. a full QWERTY keyboard is the making of a great phone for me. Perfect sized little buttons even for my quite large fingers makes writing long emails and errm blog entries a walk in the park. Chatting on BBM is also a delight, and leads me neatly onto the next plus point of Blackberry. I would be lost these days with BBM, and chatting to my friends around the world at all times of day and night. The build and feel of the phone in the hand makes these chats and extended uses of the handset great
Having the choice between using a trackpad or the touchscreen is a great improvement to the use of the handset. Added to this that the trackpad can mimic almost anything you can do with the touchscreen, and here you have a great hybrid which can be used with normal gloves on of your choice, and not specific conductive finger-tipped gloves. So the overall input to the 9900 is borderline perfection.
Application integration/BBM
Then there is the hassle free integration with Facebook, Twitter and other social network sites. I am a bit fan of taking random pictures and sharing them, and love taking my Blackberry on holiday and on trips with me to record ever lasting memories via social networking and blogging. New to some of the apps for OS7, there are a lot more options for sharing information via BBM. Instantly sharing web pages, sports scores, tweets, music with other contacts on BBM is a great improvement and shows RIM and developers are heading in the right direction to create their very own social network within BBM.
Battery
With a pretty good battery life for a smartphone, I can do the things I love like taking and sharing pics, and chatting to my hearts content for hours on end. The tech world accepted a long time ago that smartphone, and great battery life were never going to be found in the same sentence again. Compared to the handsets of a few years ago smartphones have terrible battery life. However given what they do for us day to day, the battery on the 9900 does a pretty good job.
Notifications
The one thing I didn't realise I loved so much about my Blackberry is the LED. With a simple app added it can flash a wide range of colours, and at different speeds. OK not very exciting you think, but it is a game changer, for me at least. One thing Blackberry seems to do like no other is notifications. Being able to assign a sound and a colour flash or pattern to many contacts, as well as various different email addresses and applications means that I don't have to keep checking my phone to see if someone has text and I have just missed the alert. Instead I can look at the phone on the side, and if the LED is flashing I know something has occurred, and by simply looking at the colour of the LED, I will know what application or email address I have a notification for. From that I can decide if its worth checking, or simply ignore it.
No more picking my phone up every 5 mins. Just to add to this amazing function, the phone can be told to behave in a COMPLETELY different way once it is inside its holster or case, if you so choose to use one.
Remember these opinions are based on 2 handsets within the range offered on both the BB OS7 and Android 2.3 Gingerbread platforms. To recap that's a Blackberry Bold 9900 and a Samsung Galaxy S2. So now,the S2.
Samsung Galaxy S2 (Android)
Pro's
Screen size
Resolution and brightness
Decent touchscreen
Weight
Spec, great speed
Application availability
Con's
Build quality / plastic feel
Handset size
Lack of physical keyboard
Screen size / display.
One of the larger screens in the pure handset market at the moment, and certainly brings quality to the game. Big screen in this case does not mean poor resolution. Bright and colourful and capable of displaying websites and apps in good colour and detail even when zoomed out. Amongst huge competition out there with higher resolution displays etc, for me the S2 gives me all I need.
Touchscreen/ input.
Given my experience with other touchscreen devices, such as the Playbook, the iPad and a long while back the MotoDEXT, I consider this one of the nicest I have used. Compared to the DEXT which seems like a decade ago now, things have improved no end on touchscreen devices. The Android interface offers itself well to this responsive touchscreen, and the options for touch and hold within apps are easy to use and plentiful. All in all, a pleasure to use, and one of the first touchscreens I have used that convinces me they are not evil.
The lack of any kind of physical input is quite daunting to me though. For my personal uses of a smartphone, no physical QWERTY is a real downfall for me, but I guess it IS a touchscreen phone, so ....
Weight / build
Quite an imposing size for some users, the Galaxy appears to be a bit of a heavyweight, until you pick it up that is. The weight for such a large and powerful device is really quite shocking, and it manages to weigh very little, while not feeling cheap. OK so its plastic, and not the robust solid feel of the iPhone or 9900, but it doesn't feel delicate or fragile, and you are happy to use and abuse it like any other phone. In fact in the short time I have had it, I think it has taken more falls than any of my other phones of the past, and come out the other side unscathed. So as far as build and ability to perform go it certainly scores well in my books.
Spec / Apps
With a decent spec under the hood the speed of the S2 is really quite something. No lag, no messing, just apps on demand that run smoothly. With a handset full of applications, and a whole bunch running in the background, the device still manages to plough on through whatever you throw at it, and deal with things in lightning fast time. The software build seems to be pretty stable, with no sudden closures of apps, or other sorts of hiccups. The availability of apps for the device is mindblowing, especially for a Blackberry user. And gone are the days of all the apps being novelty fart apps etc. Now the market is full of useful applications for every day use. So the number of pages available for putting apps on, and the use of folders is great on the S2
So that's the two devices. Now for my opinions on how they fit into my everyday life.
The overall point that makes my proper decision for me is my smartphone usage is HUGE in one area above all others, IM and email. As you can tell from a lot of the entries in this blog, most are done via the berry. For typing long emails, or having flowing conversations on BBM, Whatsapp etc, the only way is berry for me. This was proven when I reinstalled Whatsapp on my berry this weekend after using it for a week on the Android. Just the sheer speed I can conduct a conversation is unreal compared to on a touchscreen.
Interaction with the applications is a similar matter. For apps that just supply information for me, such as SkyNews, the format in which it is delivered on both devices is fine, however the Blackberry seems to receive a smoother more regular feed of updates than the S2. For applications that require a small amount of input, such as ticket booking or social networking like Twitter, the way the info is delivered is far superior on the Android, friendly to the eye, and with the use of dropdown menus etc, the input time is quick on both devices. However the more input required, the less appealing the Android becomes for me.
And finally there are apps such as blogging apps, Facebook and forums which require a much larger amount of input. As pleasing as they are to the eye on the S2, there is no competition, and the Blackberry wins this fight without any competition.
So I think I have said all I can on the matter. I can round up by saying a few other one liners... RIM, you idiots taking autofocus off the 9900, what were you thinking! 9700 amazing camera, 9900, PANTS! The S2 camera wins hands down.
Battery life... If any smartphone user thinks the batter life of their device is 'good' you are crazy. Given what they do,I concede its amazing how long the battery lasts. But given that the idea is to stay in touch, the battery lives of all devices don't do much for me. Especially when comparing them to BB's of a year ago, 2-3 days of heavy use no problem. Just goes to show pretty apps are a PITA!
SUMMARY
Summing up I can only say that both handsets are more than capable of what is thrown at them day to day. Crossing over using the same apps on both has fizzled out now, and I have clear favourites on both. There is no winner or loser as such, and if I were a one handset kinda guy I would be happy with either depending on my input preference more than anything. To anyone in the market for a new touchscreen phone, I would recommend the Samsung Galaxy S2 any day.
However, for me a physical QWERTY is a must, so if one had to go and one was staying tomorrow.... The Blackberry Bold 9900 would be safe in my pocket any day. No winners of losers here, but the Bold 9900 is my handset of choice.
Right, I'm going to leave it there, otherwise it will sound like I'm obsessed or something..... Doh!
Thanks for reading and feel free to share your comments.
I have been meaning to write this for a while now, and thought the time had come to jot it all down before I forgot what I was going to say. So here it goes.
I spend a lot of time talking about mobile devices, and moaning about the shortfalls and glorification of certain brands. Yes, Apple, I said it, so what! lol
But I like to keep my hand in and see what the manufacturers of the world are offering. Attached to my Blackberry by the palm of my hand, I thought it was time to take an adventure, and see what was going on in the world. Having recently had an iPad, and swapped to a Blackberry Playbook, and having previously had an Android handset, I decided it was time to take the plunge back into Android. The last handset I had was a Motorola DEXT, which was good, but nothing to write home about. In fact I think I may have mentioned it briefly a couple of years back.
Having done a few hours research, I decided that out of the 2 handsets on the market, the Samsung Galaxy S2 was the one to have. Without any messing about it was ordered and in my hand within days. Yes yes, another contract phone.
So let me start this of by saying. I have been a Blackberry user for years now, and am loyal to them purely because they provide a handset and service that matches my needs almost perfectly in every way. When you are set using one particular brand for a long period of time I think it is fair to say that you become blinkered to the world around you, and are at risk of believing there are no alternatives out there. The only way to truly avoid this is to keep your options fresh, and in my case I use various devices to keep my eyes wide open.
I can say without any doubt that Blackberry is still the device I would choose if I could only have one handset. The Blackberry 9900 offers everything I could NEED, and delivers it in a great package, and with power and punch. The speed and reliability of it suits me fine, and its adaptability to carry out the various tasks is excellent.
For me, the past month, having had access to use the S2 has been great, for a number of reasons. Allow me to explain in a little more detail. Having used both at great length I have been able to identify once and for all what it is about Blackberry that I like so much, and that keeps me hanging in there with them, even when they appear to be falling way behind the competition. While at the same time, it has allowed me to experience first hand what the touchscreen world of phones really offers the end user. The 9900 is also a touchscreen but has a full QWERTY keyboard too, so its not the same, much smaller real estate for the screen.
First up, the Blackberry Bold 9900.
Pro's:
Physical QWERTY keyboard
Solid build
Nice size and weight for the hand
Simple connectivity
BBM applications
Reasonable battery life
Notifications /LED
Touchscreen interaction
Trackpad
Con's
Reduced battery life compared to OS5 and 6 devices
Limited apps available
Browser still slow compared to some
No Flash
Poor camera due to no autofocus
Slippery and easily scratched battery cover.
Keyboard and input
The things I love and hate about it. The good stuff first. a full QWERTY keyboard is the making of a great phone for me. Perfect sized little buttons even for my quite large fingers makes writing long emails and errm blog entries a walk in the park. Chatting on BBM is also a delight, and leads me neatly onto the next plus point of Blackberry. I would be lost these days with BBM, and chatting to my friends around the world at all times of day and night. The build and feel of the phone in the hand makes these chats and extended uses of the handset great
Having the choice between using a trackpad or the touchscreen is a great improvement to the use of the handset. Added to this that the trackpad can mimic almost anything you can do with the touchscreen, and here you have a great hybrid which can be used with normal gloves on of your choice, and not specific conductive finger-tipped gloves. So the overall input to the 9900 is borderline perfection.
Application integration/BBM
Then there is the hassle free integration with Facebook, Twitter and other social network sites. I am a bit fan of taking random pictures and sharing them, and love taking my Blackberry on holiday and on trips with me to record ever lasting memories via social networking and blogging. New to some of the apps for OS7, there are a lot more options for sharing information via BBM. Instantly sharing web pages, sports scores, tweets, music with other contacts on BBM is a great improvement and shows RIM and developers are heading in the right direction to create their very own social network within BBM.
Battery
With a pretty good battery life for a smartphone, I can do the things I love like taking and sharing pics, and chatting to my hearts content for hours on end. The tech world accepted a long time ago that smartphone, and great battery life were never going to be found in the same sentence again. Compared to the handsets of a few years ago smartphones have terrible battery life. However given what they do for us day to day, the battery on the 9900 does a pretty good job.
Notifications
The one thing I didn't realise I loved so much about my Blackberry is the LED. With a simple app added it can flash a wide range of colours, and at different speeds. OK not very exciting you think, but it is a game changer, for me at least. One thing Blackberry seems to do like no other is notifications. Being able to assign a sound and a colour flash or pattern to many contacts, as well as various different email addresses and applications means that I don't have to keep checking my phone to see if someone has text and I have just missed the alert. Instead I can look at the phone on the side, and if the LED is flashing I know something has occurred, and by simply looking at the colour of the LED, I will know what application or email address I have a notification for. From that I can decide if its worth checking, or simply ignore it.
No more picking my phone up every 5 mins. Just to add to this amazing function, the phone can be told to behave in a COMPLETELY different way once it is inside its holster or case, if you so choose to use one.
Remember these opinions are based on 2 handsets within the range offered on both the BB OS7 and Android 2.3 Gingerbread platforms. To recap that's a Blackberry Bold 9900 and a Samsung Galaxy S2. So now,the S2.
Samsung Galaxy S2 (Android)
Pro's
Screen size
Resolution and brightness
Decent touchscreen
Weight
Spec, great speed
Application availability
Con's
Build quality / plastic feel
Handset size
Lack of physical keyboard
Screen size / display.
One of the larger screens in the pure handset market at the moment, and certainly brings quality to the game. Big screen in this case does not mean poor resolution. Bright and colourful and capable of displaying websites and apps in good colour and detail even when zoomed out. Amongst huge competition out there with higher resolution displays etc, for me the S2 gives me all I need.
Touchscreen/ input.
Given my experience with other touchscreen devices, such as the Playbook, the iPad and a long while back the MotoDEXT, I consider this one of the nicest I have used. Compared to the DEXT which seems like a decade ago now, things have improved no end on touchscreen devices. The Android interface offers itself well to this responsive touchscreen, and the options for touch and hold within apps are easy to use and plentiful. All in all, a pleasure to use, and one of the first touchscreens I have used that convinces me they are not evil.
The lack of any kind of physical input is quite daunting to me though. For my personal uses of a smartphone, no physical QWERTY is a real downfall for me, but I guess it IS a touchscreen phone, so ....
Weight / build
Quite an imposing size for some users, the Galaxy appears to be a bit of a heavyweight, until you pick it up that is. The weight for such a large and powerful device is really quite shocking, and it manages to weigh very little, while not feeling cheap. OK so its plastic, and not the robust solid feel of the iPhone or 9900, but it doesn't feel delicate or fragile, and you are happy to use and abuse it like any other phone. In fact in the short time I have had it, I think it has taken more falls than any of my other phones of the past, and come out the other side unscathed. So as far as build and ability to perform go it certainly scores well in my books.
Spec / Apps
With a decent spec under the hood the speed of the S2 is really quite something. No lag, no messing, just apps on demand that run smoothly. With a handset full of applications, and a whole bunch running in the background, the device still manages to plough on through whatever you throw at it, and deal with things in lightning fast time. The software build seems to be pretty stable, with no sudden closures of apps, or other sorts of hiccups. The availability of apps for the device is mindblowing, especially for a Blackberry user. And gone are the days of all the apps being novelty fart apps etc. Now the market is full of useful applications for every day use. So the number of pages available for putting apps on, and the use of folders is great on the S2
So that's the two devices. Now for my opinions on how they fit into my everyday life.
The overall point that makes my proper decision for me is my smartphone usage is HUGE in one area above all others, IM and email. As you can tell from a lot of the entries in this blog, most are done via the berry. For typing long emails, or having flowing conversations on BBM, Whatsapp etc, the only way is berry for me. This was proven when I reinstalled Whatsapp on my berry this weekend after using it for a week on the Android. Just the sheer speed I can conduct a conversation is unreal compared to on a touchscreen.
Interaction with the applications is a similar matter. For apps that just supply information for me, such as SkyNews, the format in which it is delivered on both devices is fine, however the Blackberry seems to receive a smoother more regular feed of updates than the S2. For applications that require a small amount of input, such as ticket booking or social networking like Twitter, the way the info is delivered is far superior on the Android, friendly to the eye, and with the use of dropdown menus etc, the input time is quick on both devices. However the more input required, the less appealing the Android becomes for me.
And finally there are apps such as blogging apps, Facebook and forums which require a much larger amount of input. As pleasing as they are to the eye on the S2, there is no competition, and the Blackberry wins this fight without any competition.
So I think I have said all I can on the matter. I can round up by saying a few other one liners... RIM, you idiots taking autofocus off the 9900, what were you thinking! 9700 amazing camera, 9900, PANTS! The S2 camera wins hands down.
Battery life... If any smartphone user thinks the batter life of their device is 'good' you are crazy. Given what they do,I concede its amazing how long the battery lasts. But given that the idea is to stay in touch, the battery lives of all devices don't do much for me. Especially when comparing them to BB's of a year ago, 2-3 days of heavy use no problem. Just goes to show pretty apps are a PITA!
SUMMARY
Summing up I can only say that both handsets are more than capable of what is thrown at them day to day. Crossing over using the same apps on both has fizzled out now, and I have clear favourites on both. There is no winner or loser as such, and if I were a one handset kinda guy I would be happy with either depending on my input preference more than anything. To anyone in the market for a new touchscreen phone, I would recommend the Samsung Galaxy S2 any day.
However, for me a physical QWERTY is a must, so if one had to go and one was staying tomorrow.... The Blackberry Bold 9900 would be safe in my pocket any day. No winners of losers here, but the Bold 9900 is my handset of choice.
Right, I'm going to leave it there, otherwise it will sound like I'm obsessed or something..... Doh!
Thanks for reading and feel free to share your comments.
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