SoundPEATS Q800 Bluetooth in-ear headphones.

A week ago I was approached by Grace from soundpeatsaudio.com, and asked if I would be interested in reviewing a pair of their SoundPEATS Q800 Bluetooth in-ear headphones.

Now, I have to admit I was sceptical at first, a pair of affordable, quite cleverly designed headphones, with accessible controls. What was the sound quality going to be like? Surely can't be all that.

Over the past week I have taken the headphones to a variety of locations, in a number of situations, just to see how well they could actually do. So paired with my trust OnePlus 2 I got started.

Let's start at the beginning. A couple of days after speaking with Grace, a box from Amazon arrived on my doorstep. Inside was a neat little box, nicely packed with the headphones, a few pairs of spare and varying sized ear buds, a USB lead for charging, and of course some instructions.

Unpacking the headphones and switching them on for the first time, with the ear bud in, I was greeted with a voice prompt of "power on" followed by a voice prompt for my battery status too, which was "battery level medium". When switching them on again after you have paired them with a device, the additional prompt of "device connected"
Pairing of course is very simple. Using the instructions supplied, and the simple to follow guide of what flashing light meant what, pairing was done in seconds, partially thanks to the simple pairing process on the OnePlus2. Thankfully that is all the setting up that was needed for me, as the earbuds already on the headphones were perfect for me. I will come back to them later.
Once paired, the headphones were plugged in to the USB lead, and given a full charge.

Design wise, alarm bells were again ringing. I take forever to get used to new things on or around my person. Fitness tracker wristbands, sunglasses, and yes even new headphones, run the risk of not lasting with me for long, by irritating me too much to put up with them, regardless of how good they are. It has taken me years to get used to wearing sunglasses, and only recently found happiness with my Oakley's. So the idea of wearing a band around my neck, like a collar, with small wires running to the earbuds worried me.
That said, from the second I put them on, I instantly realised I could barely feel them there, they are so light and ergonomic for my neck. Having nice little leads that run from the band to the earbuds is a lovely solution. Not one I would have imagined would feel quite this comfortable. But in later tests when doing more active things, it was a godsend not having a trailing wire.
The collar unit also houses the controls / buttons for the headphones. With a physical slider switch for ON/OFF and a neat and discreet micro USB port for charging. Along with six buttons, three on either side.

The buttons on the left side give you control over tracks, skipping back and forth, as well as pausing and playing. To the right are 3 more buttons. A + and -  for volume, as well as a phone button for answering and hanging up for phone function, if you are using the headphones with a mobile phone of course. This phone button also doubles as a notification LED, and will flash red or blue, and in sequences depending on what it is trying to tell you.

So on to the actual testing.

First use of the headphones was for a couple of hours, while writing some emails and getting a blog entry completed. So sitting at the desk, with just the noise of my keys on the keyboard to contend with. Sitting stationary and flicking through tracks on Spotify was a good opportunity for me to get to grips with the 6 buttons on the body of the headphones.
Popping the band around my neck and taking my seat at the computer, I put the headphones in and went for the switch to turn them on. First thing I noticed, sitting in the quiet of my office was how the ambient noise from the room almost disappeared as the earbuds went in. Unlike some others I have used, the seal was very good and instant. Flicking the switch and hearing the prompts peel out, it confirmed it was connected to my OnePlus2 . Let the fun begin.

Hitting play, the headphones burst into life, with nice crisp highs, and surprisingly clear mids and highs. With a quick bit of tweaking of the EQ on the phone, and I was in my zone. As I worked at the PC, and Spotify ran through its playlist, I got a chance to put the Q800's through their paces. From regular pop, to violin drum and bass. R&B to trance, the headphones didn't fail to deliver. Even the separation of instruments with classical music was possible when relaxing and immersing myself into the music.
The one big surprise I have to say, was the quality of the bass. With all in-ear headphones, the bass quality comes down to the fitment of the buds in your ears. With the snug fit I have with the standard buds, the bass was wonderfully deep. No distortion to speak of, and clearly able to hear a range of frequencies when listening to dance or trance tracks.
After a couple of hours at the PC, I was done, so flicking the switch to the off position, the voice prompt of "power off" rang out, and that was that. They immediately showed as disconnected on the OnePlus2.

Deciding to give the battery a full workout, I refrained from putting them on to charge, and just put them on the side.

Later that day, going for a long walk, which at points would take me along busy roads, so I decided it would be another great test for the headphones. Wearing a hoodie, I was slightly concious of how the headphone band would sit and look in the wild. However on popping the band around my neck, it slipped effortlessly down and sat nicely within reach, but not too obvious.
For 90 mins at a decent pace, including up and down stairs with some gusto, the ear bugs sat firm. Not needing to be pushed back in or adjusted. Ambient sound from the streets was minimal, although I should add, that as with all in-ear headphones I use, the ability to concentrate and hear road noise when needed was there. Obviously I didn't have the volume cranked right up for safety reason. None the less, when walking even on a busy road, the sound quality was not impaired. A good balance between safety and sound for sure.

By the end of the walking test, the running time was getting close to 4 hours. Half way through the claimed battery life and there was no change in any quality or function of the headphones.

The next day, another chilled out morning was called for, but so was housework. A morning of moving things, cleaning, and everyone's favourite, vacuuming. In went the headphones, on went the music. This mornings choice was ASOT, or A State Of Trance . High energy 2 hour long mix, perfect for the job at hand. Knowing I would be moving around a lot, I decided to leave the phone in one place, to avoid dropping it while doing something. So the phone was placed on a unit in the hallway. This would be a good test for the claimed 10 metre wireless range, especially through walls and doors. I can happily report that they passed with flying colours, and at no point suffered any break-up or loss of quality. From walking out front to put things in the bin and cars, to standing in the rear garden with the dogs, the quality remained solid.
As for the moving around, bending and lifting etc. At no point did an earbud fall out, although I will admit that a couple of adjustments were made. I didn't take note of when these occurred or what caused the movement. Whatever it was, it was not repetitive enough to form a pattern, or cause irritation. So they passed the housework / chores test nicely.
Two hours later the "You've been listening to A State of Trance" came through the headphones (part of the track, not a headphone feature), and that was another 2 hours clocked up on the Q800's.

My final test came the next morning, my return to my workout routine, and time for some higher energy usage. Cross trainer time, or elliptical as it is to some. A close to running pace, for 30 minutes workout awaited them. Flicking the switch on, the "battery level medium" rang out for the first time since starting the test. Or the first I noticed anyway. Possible it did it before the housework at the 4 hour point, but I most likely turned them on before putting them on this time.
So, into the home gym and onto the cross trainer, cranking up the volume to really get in the zone. This was going to be a test again of sound quality, noise pollution and sweat resistance.

With the volume a little higher than I had had it before, just in case there was going to be any whine from the Reebok cross trainer. Picking the running setting on Spotify, and letting it pick the music based on tempo for the duration, the playlist was bound to be mixed, and it was! With a variety across most up tempo genre's. Once again I am happy to report that there was no unwanted outside noise bleeding in. And also that even at higher volume, the sound quality remained solid.
With regards to sweat, heat and comfort while training. I have no negative comments whatsoever. The first concern was that the band / collar, would bounce around and irritate my neck. However they sat nicely, and have to admit at the end of training, I reached up to the sides of my head with the aim to remove my Sony bluetooth over ear headphones. Maybe muscle memory, or possibly just expecting them to be there based on the music which was currently flowing into my ears.

Being able to grab and hold the band while at running pace, to skip a track, change the volume etc is very helpful, especially for such a compact design. Far easier than trying to find in-line controls on other alternatives.
By the end of the session, with sweat pouring, the earbuds still sat tight. No irritating slip of them in the ears, and thanks to their size, not covered in sweat as with my over ears that I usually use on the elliptical.

So, to summarise.
Over all the design vs function is great. Simple but effective design, the as yet unmentioned magnets to hold the ear buds in place when not in use. See how they sit in the pictures when not pulled out. Thanks to handy magnets in the band, they remain in place even when moving the unit around.

Here is a pic of them OUT of their little stowage pods.

Sound quality in general was perfectly acceptable. There were no points while using them where distortion became an issue, not the sound quality became bad. For reference the sound quality on Spotify on my OnePlus2 is set to "extreme" (high quality). The EQ settings on the phone were set to R&B or Dance for the bulk of the time, with no tweaks made by me. Maxx Bass was turned on for a while, but I actually found the bass to be too heavy with this setting on, so off it went.

Battery life. Well in the 7 or 8 hours I have used them for so far, I am yet to get a low battery warning, suffer quality loss, or have them switch off on me. So it seems the 8 hours running time is more than realistic. No complaints from me there. With them easily and quickly recharging via an ultra popular micro USB port, charging is both easy and convenient.

Usability is great for numerous activities, and I have no doubt that I will be packing them for the next trip I take on a plane. Having bought over ear headphones for this purpose previously, it will be interesting to see if the in-ear equivalent can live up to their performance. Having no awkward wires on a plane is a dream. The only negative side I can see in this area, as well as other similar scenarios around the home, is the lack of a manual, wired jack plug. My Sony's have this option, which is helpful when using the in-flight entertainment on a plane, or wanting to plug into an audio device which doesn't support Bluetooth.
But in general, any potential buyer of these headphones would be choosing Bluetooth for a reason, and most likely primarily use Bluetooth devices. So not much of an issue at all.

All in all, I would happily recommend these headphones to anyone looking to buy compact, in-ear Bluetooth headphones. Ideal for using in other activities like cycling, or even maybe on a motorcycle, with the controls remaining accessible on the collar band under any helmet.

Thanks again to Grace from soundpeatsaudio.com, for getting in touch and giving me the opportunity to try these headphones out. If you need anything else reviewing, please feel free to drop me an email.

*All references to sound quality are based on the "bang for buck" scale. With full acceptance that my more expensive headphones deliver a richer sound, but are also in line with what I would expect for my money. The Q800's stand head and shoulders above a lot of headphones I have used around this price, including hard wired ones.

Dear Blackberry trackpad

My dearest trackpad, old friend, and great companion.
You came into my life in 2009, replacing my trackball, and making so much sense. An optical device replacing a physical ball that was oh so prone to getting clogged up when using the phone with greasy fingers or dirty hands. The way you reflected sunlight with that beautiful purple glow. Functioning with or without gloves, in all conditions, you changed the way I used my Blackberry forever.

Being able to zip around the screen with ease, selecting text, and accurately placing the pointer over the smallest of links, your accuracy was super. No more stuttering and spluttering across the screen as the trackball registered, then didn't, then did......

As first people doubted your ability to do what the faithful trackball could, like the move from a mouse with a ball to an optical mouse, its a big leap of faith for some. But the package the 8520 offered, complete with you, made it worth that leap of faith. After months of becoming best friends, you made your way onto the 9700 which just had to be mine.

As time went on it seemed like trackpad and Blackberry were a match made in heaven, but then this happened.... That's right, you know what I'm talking about.. YOU! You left me!

The first new handset to appear without you was the Z10, and of course it made perfect sense that you were not there, its a touchscreen after all. But then rumours of the Q10 appeared, and you were no where to be seen. They told us we would be OK without you, that things had moved on, we had changed and grown apart, but I wasn't so sure. When the day came when it was time for the Q10 to come into my life I was worried, would I cope?

So a week after getting my hands on the new love of my life, I thought it only fair to write you a letter to tell you how I am getting on without you, and to be honest, most of the time I don't think about you too much. But from time to time, there are those moment when I remember how you felt to use, and how easily we did some things together. Selecting text in long emails, selecting multiple messages to delete or move, and all those delicate and intimate things that only you could do.

Blackberry have given us options to move on from you, and I have to say I think I'm falling in love all over again, but I cant deny you were an important part of my life, and I will always remember you, and occasionally pine for you.
Thank you for everything you did for me, and all the fun times we had together.






PS for those a little worried, this is just a light hearted entry, and I have not lost the plot.... I lost that a LONG time ago!

One week later... My Blackberry Q10

Well its coming up for a week now since the mainstream launch of the Blackberry Q10, and I thought it was time to hammer the keyboard of the laptop for a while and give the Q a bit of a break. So while Z and Q sit on the side and rest for a bit, lets take a look at my first week (almost) with my latest Blackberry.

So, the Blackberry Q10 is the second handset to be launched from Blackberry since they changed their name from RIM. Sporting the almost entirely new BB10 operating system, its a far cry from my first Blackberry which was an 8320. Not quite as ancient as some out there who rocked the side scroller, but certainly old enough to remember how very different the operation of a Blackberry was then. That was WAY back in 2007. In fact its only in writing this entry that I had any idea I have been using a BB for 6 years now. Then again, given just how many of them I have got through in that time, maybe that's about right.
For those not in the know, this is an 8320..

Back then I could send and receive email while I was on the move, and occasionally if needed, check things on the internet. Browsing then was more necessity  than social and passtime. Oh how things have changed. But very quickly, if there is one thing I have never got over, it has to be the contrasting keys. With the numerical keypad being reverse colours, making it easier to type numbers. Small issue, and would totally ruin the current Q10, but that's my gripe over with.

So, leaping forwards a few years, and blasting past the 8520, 9700, 9900, and Z10 that all followed the first one, and we arrive at the current day. The first fair thing to say is, having experienced the progress from one device to the next, going from a trackball to the trackpad, and then to the trackless device, the progress has been tiresome at best, sometimes sitting so still, that to be a BB user felt like you were in a timewarp and heading backwards while the world around you shot forwards.

Well those days are gone now, and finally it feels like us BB users are on an even playing field with the rest of the smartphone users out there. I would even be so bold as to say that in some respects, we are a step ahead. In one respect a Q10 user has one asset to their disposal that no other real smartphone user has, and that's a physical keyboard. Sure there are other phones out there with physical keyboards, but at this point, none have the same processing power or abilities as the Q.

So, back on track, there was a first week with a Q10 meant to be going on here...

Receiving the box from the courier, the package was very small, and remembering how the Z10 had come packaged I knew what to expect. A phone, a battery, a SIM, a data cable and charger plug, and a cheap pair of headphones. So on opening the box and taking everything out, I was delighted to find a pair of the new premium headphones in there, and a week later I am still over the moon with them. The right balance between sound quality while maintaining some awareness of whats happening around you, like traffic.

Putting the phone together it was then time to see this glass weave battery cover there has been so much talk about. Having been torn between white and black handsets and finally settling for black, I was relieved when I finally felt the back cover in my fingers. Having used a Z for 2-3 months, I have grown used to the level of grip the back of that offers. All the preview images showed the glass weave for the black, and the Z10 style textured back for the white. Having never been happy with the back of the 9900, I was concerned the Q10 would be slippery with its glass weave... WRONG. Its lovely waxy and soft feel give it great grip in the hands, and belay any worries about letting it slip. So off to a good start then.

Powering up for the first time, I knew most of what to expect, with having been baptised into the world of BB10 with using the Z for a few months. All that was left to see was how well the gestures, screens and software would work with this new, non smiling physical qwerty.
Once the introductions were made it was time to get on with the formalities of setting the device up. First up, time to set up a new account, as you obviously cant run two devices on one Blackberry account. Even with the demise of BIS, things like Blackberry World, and Protect require you to have an account for each live device you are running. Obviously a straight device swap would just require logging in with your existing details. With new username and account running, it was time to get to know the Q.

Starting with what most would consider THE important part of a smartphones soul.. Apps! Personally to me they are a nice addition, but I am pretty content with the standard package of native apps on the BB10 devices, they do most things I want to do on a day to day basis. However, having already added a good few to the Z10's arsenal of weapons, I thought it only fair to equip the Q equally.
I would have liked to have done this, but sadly there are a few apps which have not yet ported over. Yes, its that age old problem, right OS, wrong device. And with the different form factors of the two being so far apart, it would be wrong to expect all apps to work out of the box. The only one I actually pine for right now is BeBuzz, no relation to Bieber!
I did however hear that Blackberry are helping the devs out by testing and automatically porting over any Z10 apps that are Q ready, and this should take place in the coming weeks. I sincerely hope BeBuzz is in there.

Speaking of native apps and software, I thought this was the right time to mention all is NOT well. While the 'shortfallings' of the Hub have already been discussed, I thought I would quickly touch on Twitter, and its native app on BB10. Yes its simple and easy on the eye, but its also pretty bland and a touch dumb too. The way it interacts with the contacts list for composing a tweet with a mention in it, the limited actions available from the app it self. It has a habit of repeating tweets, so on opening one, as it builds it will create a long list of the same text over and over. I wont go on for ages, but in short I find the native Twitter SO irritating, I wont use it. Instead I prefer to use Blaq, with its much nicer and more user friendly interface. Mentions on there are dealt with by a progressive search, with suggestions appearing at the top as you type the names. Unlike the native app which insists on opening a contacts list.

So working with the actual device on a day to day basis, I can only say its an absolute delight to use. I still switch between the Z and the Q, depending on which is closer to hand. The other deciding factor is what I am planning to do with the device, browse, view video or having a long blogging session or forum session.
I wont say gaming as that's truly not my forte, but know it is important to some people, and appreciate their needs.
Needless to say, having been housebound for most of the past week, forums like Crackberry have been my main haunt, and with the Q being the new kid on the block, the choice was pretty obvious. Me and the Q have spent some quality time over the past few days, putting it through its paces, and seeing what its really made of. Testing the battery to see what sort of beating it can take on a full charge. The camera seeing how all the different settings work, and what gives the optimal results, and of course the most important thing to me, seeing how well I can manage going back to a physical keyboard after months away.

With regards to the keyboard, a few days before the Q arrived I picked up my old 9900 for the first time in ages, and immediately became attached to the feel of keys under my thumbs again, could the Q really match that feeling. Well the short answer is yes! And exceed it too. Even though the difference is measured in millimetres rather than centimetres, the loss of the smile from the keyboard made me wonder how different typing would be. Well maybe its coming from the flatness of the Z, or maybe its just the difference in unnoticeable, but either way the new flat lines of the keyboard work fine, and typing is a joy. I am back in my old ways of typing for the sake of typing, and not having to stare at the sensationless buttons of a touchscreen while I do it. So keyboard is a big thumbs up.

Camera, I wont go on too much about it, but as I have said in previous entries, it is a more than capable camera, and pleasing for the average point and shoot user. If you are not happy with the results of the pictures, you probably need to start looking at using a proper camera rather than the relying on the camera on a cellphone and hoping for DSLR results. Yes there are other camera phones out there which have more scope, but the emphasis here is on the simplicity of the use of the Q10's camera.
Read more here... Q10 Camera Test

Speaking of what you see, the screen on the Q, the super AMOLED display is a lovely thing. Some have complained about the whites being grey, or there being saturation of blues, but somehow with all their knowledge, seem to have overlooked the technologies behind AMOLED. It is sharp, crisp, clear and bright. Sunlight legibility is fine with the right brightness setting, although mine resides around 30%

The battery, well I think it is fair to say that it unsurprisingly manages to out perform that of its counterpart. For someone who uses their phone every few minutes for something throughout the day, the Q does a fine job of lasting out the day without a charge. Managing beyond 12 hours for me by modern day standards is really quite a feat. Of course as I have said numerous times, there are many contributing factors to how long a battery will last a day, and it doesn't take a power user to drain a battery in under 12 hours. Process sapping apps, poor network connection, unused connections NFC, Bluetooth, Wifi, etc can all lead to the early demise of the battery too.

So in summary, before this day passes me by.
The Q10 is a very capable device, and should certainly meet all the wants and needs of the die hard physical keyboard fans. You don't have to be old or a technophobe to want to use a physical keyboard. its just a preference. Its productive, its comfortable, and lets be honest, its nice to be a little different. Although with the instant success of the Q10 I'm not sure how long you will stand out for, before you are running with the crowd.
Blackberry have done well with the device, making it current, powerful, and pleasing to use. Ticking all the boxes from both looks and performance stand points, the Q is here, and ready to shake up the smartphone market just ever so slightly, and prove one thing for sure..... The days of the physical keyboard are FAR from over, and as an additional note, Blackberry is very much alive, and here to stay....

Sorry haters :)

More discussions about the Q10, and more of my comments can be found on a popular thread on Crackberry, or on link below.

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackberry-q10-f272/q10-vs-z10-screen-size-debate-802693/

Thanks for reading.

First full battery cycle on the Q10

Well after coming off a nice long charge at 8am this morning, and tolerating ten hours of almost full on use, the battery is finally coming to an end.
Over an hour of calls, NFC transfers, Wifi connection as well as 3G, browsing the net, BBM, Whatsapp, bogging lots, taking pictures and videos, and whatever else I could do with it to challenge it and get to know my Q10 a little better.

I have just enough juice left to pop this little entry up, before it dies totally and gets its first full charge from completely flat. Then the true test begins I guess.

So, not a bad run for its first go, it's certainly taken some abuse.
I should point out that the Z also came off charge at the same time and is now down to 6%, with far less use today than usual. Not sure if the signal has been a problem here today, but both on the same network.

Right, before it dies, I'm done.

An update on my Z10, day to day use.

Its coming up for a week now since I started using the Z10 as my main day to day handset, and retired my 9900 for good. A true leap of faith by my standards having been a loyal and heavy physical keyboard user for so long now. But that decision was helped along as soon as I laid thumbs on the delightful Z10 touchscreen keyboard. Filling me with confidence that this could really work out well, and maybe the days of physical keyboard were really over.
The first 3 days I used the Z10 I was off work, Friday and the weekend, so use was casual, I was cycling the battery a few times to get a true picture of what it could do on a full charge, and not venturing out too much. Just a simple sit on the side until it flashed level of use.

A few irritations were found, and are on going, which I shall come back to in a moment, but for now lets look at the main situation. Daily usage levels.
For me, without even having to look at it closely, I already know that my use of the new handset is far lower than how much I would have been on the 9900. There are a number of reasons for this, but the main one is simple. Its a touch screen. Regardless of how good the screen is, its winter here in London, and using the touchscreen, with confidence is just not possible with gloves on. Yes I could wear my gloves that are for using with touchscreens, but I am a creature of habit and prefer wearing the gloves I like, rather than the gloves I NEED to use to be able to use my phone. Walking too and from the station, waiting on the platform etc, I just don't use the phone in the same way. I'm sure as the weather warms up this part of it will change.

Then there are the other reasons, which I can actually tie in with my gripes and irritations. So here goes.
The Hub. As great as it is, with the integration of apps such as Facebook and Twitter into it, it is seriously flawed at this stage. The only Twitter notifications that come in are direct messages or mentions, which kind of makes sense as The Hub is about YOUR messages and communications. However for a big Twitter user, you need to keep the main app open and refresh your feeds. Gone are the days when you will receive notification that there are new tweets to read.
As for Facebook, it seems a little hit and miss right now, you will get a few notifications through about comments and mentions, but then it stops. Quite annoying, as when you go into apps the FB icon is showing the 'splat' on it identifying that there is new activity on the account.
I am generally a bit of a social whore, using the old Social Feeds app to update BBM, Facebook and Twitter at the same time with all sorts of news feeds that I get in from Sky News app (not available) and Twitter, which we know doesn't populate my Hub now. Needless to say I am more a social misfit now, and have hardly used any social sites. Possibly not a bad thing, but has filled me with a little feeling of loneliness lol.

Lets move on before I sound too desperate for attention.

Notifications.
Stripped back to basics, and a single sound per notification type (email, BBM, twitter etc) and a simple red flashing LED. For me as I have said in previous reviews, the whole selling point of a Blackberry to me has always been the ability to know what or who is contacting me without ever needing to pick the phone up. Different sounds for each email account, and social feed. As well as BBM etc. Different colours and combination's of flashes. But alas, its all no more. Instead I am stuck with a vague notification that something on my Blackberry Z10 wants my attention. Might be an email, but no idea which account its from. Hmmm, this really needs sorting out, as I know I am far from the only person missing having BeBuzz on my Blackberry.
Same with the sounds, all the settings for different profiles are a mess, with silent being set up as default still with audible notifications, and all the other settings within being a bit hit and miss in how they will make the phone behave. For something as fundamental as the notifications, something has gone wrong here, and needs sorting out asap. Hell I was almost expecting the Z10 on BB10 to some with some sort of in-built LED colour controlling software. Instead there isn't even a 3rd part app on the market for it yet.
Notifications... Disappointed so far.

Apps
Other favourite apps that have made it to the market however have not failed to impress, with things such as BeWeather, you can see a lot of time has gone into making this app silky smooth. A pleasure to check the weather, and all view expandable at a single swipe. Amazingly this is from the same company who make BeBuzz. So much attention to one app, and seemingly nothing on another. Shame, but I hope something is in the pipeline here. The multi pane view on BeWeather is delicious, animations are on par with Android and iOS, and I don't have a bad word to say about the app. In fact its my saviour right now with regards to apps, and gives me hope that the rest that are missing will be as wonderful as this when they come to Blackberry World, soon I hope.
WhatsApp, EyeEm, and Spotify all still missing and no sign of them coming any time soon, if at all at this rate.
Google Chat has taken WhatsApp's place in my 3rd party IM app at the moment, and I am happy to say that its a nice interface on the Z10, much nicer than it was on the OS7 phones. Its notifications DO populate in the Hub which is a relief and a reprieve for the Hub in this respect.
I would really love to see Spotify appear soon, I have seen comments that it can be side loaded and runs OK , so surely the official app cant be that far away. I hope!

Battery
Now that I am back to my usual day to day weekday routine, there are no big issues with the battery life. Yes it still eats away a lot quicker than the 9900 did, and a huge amount more than older devices, but plugged in for a bit here and there, it manages a day without an issue. It certainly seems to hang in a lot longer than it did for its first few charging cycles anyway. In the world of touchscreen phones, it fairs OK really. I will survive with it, that much is sure.

Keyboard
As I have already mentioned, in certain situations the keyboard is simply not usable, gloves on is a no no, as is the case with most touchscreen phones, although I must admit the Galaxy S2 does very well here and is pretty usable with gloves on. Even unlocking the Z10 with gloves on is a bit hit and miss to be fair. So my quick out the pocket, glance, and reply interactions are over with. In general though the user experience is very good. The predictive words are good, and the spelling corrections are usually spot on. I am however yet to do an extensive email, blog or Facebook update yet.
For BBM conversations and brief exchanges though it does a great job, and as it gets to know me a little better, the offerings of words on the frets for flicking is getting a lot better too. Even profanity is taken care of there, which is f***in relief !
All that said, I still think I would be more productive, interactive and use the device more with a physical keyboard. I stand by my original statement from years ago that there is simply NO replacement for a physical QWERTY keyboard. So I welcome the Q10 with open arms. Cant wait to give one a spin, and think the happy compromise will be found with one for sure. Simple things like entering silly words like 'whaaaaaaat' and 'eeeeew' and all the other rubbish I pad my conversations out with, are a chore on a device that assumes you have made a typo of some sort.

In the hand
A lot of thought has clearly gone into the design and feel of the Z10 in the hand. Everyone who has had a look at my handset has commented how it feels in the hand, decent weighted, secure and good grip on it. That got me wondering about why handset manufacturers go to so much effort to make ergonomic devices, when so many people go out and put them in cases of all shapes and sizes.
But back on track, as advertised, the Z10 performs well in the hand, and one handed messaging is indeed very simple to do, with the thumb reaching across the screen with ease. For those of us with medium to large hands anyway. The word suggestions on the frets of course make this even easier.
For games and video viewing again its fit for purpose, and does a great job of handling them. In short, gripping the handset in most situations is not an issue, and only with gloves on does the handset feel a little at risk of slipping. Shape and materials are a great match.

So I shall leave it there for now. Camera testing continues and I continue to be pleased with what it throws out. The latest example of which is sleepy Tuvaaq all curled up. This is using the flash in a dark room. And I shall also add on there my little macro shot of my Voodoo Doll Ninja, just because its a fun picture.


So back to summing up. Here are my hopes for the road ahead for my Blackberry experience.
In general the device is fine, but lacking in apps. This isn't Blackberry's fault of course, and we can only hope that they hear our calls and get a move on. Something tells me that things will be a little better by the time the Z10 and BB10 devices reach the USA and UAE markets, and not the smaller markets of the UK and other such places. By the time it launches in the US, if the apps are not up to par with the competition I would predict that BB will once again start to lose its edge. Only the die hards waiting on the Q10 are going to be the ones who can save them if this happens. The qwerty market is a pretty captive one all things considered, so this would explain why Blackberry decided to launch the contender first, and back it up with the dead cert later.
A Q10 will most definitely come into my possession, but which becomes my primary handset is yet to be seem. Overall the Z10 is a superb handset and I love owning it. I know a few people who have had handset failures, and a couple who have sent them back already, mainly because of the lack of apps.

Lets see how the story pans out from here on in, and see if the sideloaders become the unofficial saviour of Blackberry, as jailbreaking iPhones is to Apple.



PS.. My one major gripe.
A glitch I keep getting with the calender. Interested to hear if anyone has the same problem.
Going into calender and NOT selecting a calender at the top from the drop down. Add an appointment title and location, then selecting a time to start the appointment... The calender simply crashes and closes.
The two ways around this are, first select a calender to add the appointment to, which is easy enough, but pointless if I have my default set up already.
Or the other is to save the appointment with no times, then re-open and 'edit' the appointment to add times.

Either way, its something that needs sorting out, as the calender, like the email, is a fundamental part of the whole ethos of the device, so not functioning properly is a pain. Also doesn't seem to sync to Google too well either. Contacts do, calender doesn't.
Some of this may be settings, so I will take a closer look when time allows.

My Blackberry Z10, the story so far.

Blackberry Playbook and Blackberry Z10

I have been using the Z10 for a couple of days now and and really starting to get to grips with it, and see how it behaves. Having put some thought into it all and started to see whats present and whats missing in comparison to the outgoing Bold 9900. I have also had time to cycle the battery fully once now, so although its not a great indicator of overall battery life, its a first impression for sure.

On the first day, and in the subsequent review, I complained about the lack of accessories in the retail box. From speaking to friends, I am far from the only one that thinks the contents were a little sparse to say the least. I have never been gentle or kind to my phones, and never will be, its an accessory, not a prized possession, and is treated accordingly, so battle scars are inevitable. But the gesture of a small pouch, even similar material to the Playbook cover would have been nice.. Blackberry, are you listening?

So, in the real world, being used as a primary devices, how does it fair. First up, battery. Having used Blackberry's since the 8320, I am used to a certain level of battery life. Given that the devices are small with small screens, its never been an issue. When the 9900 came about, suddenly Blackberry users around the world started to understand the woes of touchscreen users, and started to experience the all too common problem. So thats about 19 hours including 7 hours of non use. This is using the phones default settings for everything from brightness to screen timeout. 2 hours 45 mins to get a full charge back in the handset after this. In general any handset I have gets plugged in while at work anyway, so battery isnt an issue on an average working day, but out in the wild for a day might be. Time will tell.

Back to actually using the device, and things get a little better. Buttery smooth is the only way I can describe it, just as seen on the demo videos, apps can take a couple of seconds to open if they are particularly big or complex ones, like higher res games etc, but thats more than acceptable given the smoothness they then play with. Im not a heavy gamer, so its not fair for me to critique this area of the device much more, but games such as Run In Crowd perform beautifully. As does streaming media.

Browser
The biggest surprise for me so far is the browser. Now the S2 browser loads pretty quickly on 3G and quite a bit faster on WiFi, but the Z10 BB10 browser is all new as we have all heard, so how would it fair. Well I thought the best way to test them would be to get them on the wifi and search the web for a few sites at the same time, as most do on their video demo's.
The first thing I noticed when doing this was that the Samsung, where one was available, would connect to and load the mobile site, where the Z10 would load the full site. When testing on Sky News for example, the S2 loaded the mobile site, smoothly and quickly, and the Z10 went for the full site, with all its flash content. Before loading the site a pop up appeared advising it was a data rich site with a large amount of Flash content, and asking if I wanted to proceed, which I did. One OK'ed, it loaded the site very quickly and the content was great on the eye and well displayed. As I ran through the various sites, the S2 would again and again go for the mobile site. When one wasnt available, it would load the full site, still very quickly, but noticably slower than the Z10.Then it was time to test against the iPod Touch 5th Gen, running iOS6. Again it was a very close matched affair, but the iPod would like the S2 choose to load mobile sites first.
It is fair to say that loading the mobile site isnt a bad thing at all, less data, and quicker loading, but it didnt give a very accurate comparison.
The summary then is simple. All 3 devices are very capable at displaying feature rich content on their browsers, on the sites I tested with, the Z10 was marginally quicker over wifi than the other 2, but very little in it at all. So if nothing else, BB10's browser is 'on par' with the others, if not a little quicker. Personally I would say the Z10 came out on top, by a hair.

While testing though, one thing I did notice was the differences in screens of all 3, and how they display colours and fonts. I have to openly concede that the screen of the iPod seems very sharp in comparison, and whilst both screens are perfectly readable with small fonts, the sharpness of the smallest lettering on the iPod seems just that little bit clearer. And for the record I have just had my eyes tested and had a perfect result, so no, im not blind. That said, all 3 give nice easy to read displays with the smallest of fonts. The differences are more to do with how the browsers work, and choose to display the websites, with each using a slightly different layout to enhance certain parts of the website. Again their behaviour differs completely when tapped to zoom.

One thing I have learned from these comparisons, is that accurate comparisons are simply not possible. Even with the browsers, some will claim to be fully loaded, but still sneekily be loading more content like links, roll over images, and other banner images, so a loaded site is not always as it appears.
So right now it is not really possible to say one is better than the other. All 3 are great devices for browsing with, and once you get familiar with their actions, you can have a great browsing experience on any of them.
Over all though, as far as the Blackberry experience goes, even compared to the Playbook, the BB10 Z10 has an amazing browser, and one most BB users have been waiting a LONG time for.

Battery
Its still early days, and only one complete cycle has been done, as I said in the intro. But I will be sure to keep a close eye on things over the coming days and let me opinions be known, honestly.
Today for example, since the phone came off charge yesterday evening, it has had a fair bit of use, and as I write now, at 12.15pm, its down at 35%, which is certainly no triumph. Lets hope things are going to improve a bit after a few cycles of the battery. At this stage, I would certainly be considering a spare battery if things are staying like this. Just for days when im out in the wild so to speak. One advantage over close back handsets for sure.

General use
As I have previously said, this is not a simple change from one Blackberry to another, its not just a slightly different keyboard or OS to get used to, its starting over. New behaviours, interfaces, inputs, the whole nine yards. I am however happy to say that once you get using the Z10 it becomes second nature, the gestures just happen, comfort and security is found in the keyboard, and the worry of not being able to swap over passes. One thing I will say though, and I was thinking about this while walking the dogs last night, this isnt for everyone. I really dont think the die hard qwerty users will transition over without a fight, and the Q10 is still going to be their saviour. Just a shame its 2 months away yet. Some of my friends are far from impressed by this gap in release dates. I have to agree, now knowing how far apart they are going to be, even the markets have reacted badly. The early indications were that the Q10 would follow shortly,but this 'shortly' is like missing a bus and waiting another day for it. Its NOT a short wait.
I do however look forwards to getting to grips with the Q10 when it launches, and seeing how the 2 months have changed my perspective on using a touchscreen.
I can say with confidence that while doing the browser test, I remembered why I dislike touchscreens so much, or have done up until now.

Keyboard
As I say above, the keyboard, for me anyway, is a real breakthrough. Having used the Galaxy S2, the iPod Touch and the Z10 all within second of each other, I can categorically say my preference is the Z10 without a second thought. Next being the S2, which just seems more compatible with my thumbs, and its behaviour somehow seems to know which letter I was going for when its too close to call. The iPod however is a nightmare for me, constant typo's, even when I go back to correct. On the S2 I use Adaptxt for a keyboard, which has a pretty good predictive text dictionary, so the occasional typo is forgiven. On the Blackberry however the BB10 keyboard is truly brilliant in many ways.
First, using the whole area of the bottom of the screen helps with larger fingers for sure. Rather than the other 2 devices which choose to narrow and have smaller keys because of this.
Secondly there is how the keyboard and device behave when typing. There are of course the predictive word assists, which appear on the frets between the rows of keys, which can be flicked to the message above. For a while you find yourself looking for the right words to appear, and this slows you down, but after some time has passed you just type messages the same way you would on a qwerty, and when you see the long word appear you are able to flick it up. This quickly becomes second nature.
Then it is only fair to say, that BB10 seems to have probably the most adaptive and powerful correction service out there at the moment. Watching the message appear can sometimes look like you are typing perfectly, and most of the time you are, but from time to time you will hit dptn instead of from, and somehow from this BB10 realises you mean FROM, and will replace it. Occasionally I look at the word I am currently typing, and realise its totally wrong, but when I look at the space bar, there is the word I was meaning to type, all ready to jump into its place when I hit the space.
Of course, this can be annoying early days when typing fast without noticing the word substitutions, and like all other devices, can lead to some very interesting messages being sent. Although fair to say, less than those of the iPhone which has a site dedicated to it.
All that said, I DO still think that the Z10 and its fantastic keyboard is still a step too far for some out of their comfort zones. However its fair to say that if a Z10 keyboard is not good enough for them to ditch their 9900 or 9700, no other touchscreen device out there is going to cut the mustard either.

Messaging
A very different experience indeed, from email to BBM, adding attachments, and formatting etc has all changed. Thats not a bad thing, but is yet another thing to get used to. It took me a while to realise that the options to attach, send image, format text etc, are all at the bottom of the message compose page, which is accessible by a long press on the space bar to make the keyboard disappear, or in BBM, swiping down from the text entry window. A little annoying that 2 native applications have different behaviours for removing the keyboard from the screen. Composing the message from the hub is pretty simple though, with a single press of the compose button at the bottom, you are neatly presented with the options from which you can compose a message, BBM, Text, Email, Twitter, LinkedIn. The clever thing here is that whichever option you choose, it does not need to launch the app. So a Facebook status will be sent from the hub directly, without having to first open Facebook. Same with Twitter and so on. Sounds a bit petty, but its one less action, and by not opening the app, you will not automatically repopulate the news feed either. Pretty nifty if you ask me.
Handling multiple messages through the hub, if you have text, email and BBM, as well as other notifications coming through, is seemless. Flicking in and out of each message rather than switching from app to app constantly. Im sure in some way this will also save on data use and battery too, not having 4 apps all running at the same time. The Hub certainly gets the thumbs up from me, now that I can use it how it was intended. Takes a while to get used to, but learning is worth it for sure.

Screen and icons
Blackberry has come under heavy criticism for its decision on the look of the screen with the app icons looking somewhat dated. Coming from an Android device, which without a doubt has the most configurable, customisable and freshest look, the Z10 screens do without a doubt look a little lame and dated. Beta if nothing else. But that said, you dont want fancy fonts on the keyboard of your PC do you? The appearance of a qwerty physical keyboard is uniform and functional, and its functional that I think Blackberry have gone for here. Dont judge a book by its cover so to speak, its what lays behind the icon that matters at the end of the day. Had Blackberry chosen to follow the trend and have 'pretty' icons, im sure Apple would have found some sort of patent infringement there, and a long court case would ensue. Instead this is very unique, very original, and most of all practical. And indeed, what lays behind the icons is nothing short of beauty. Smooth apps, with great interaction, and for me, I could not ask for more.
That said, I am not a huge app lover. There may be millions available, but I am happy with just a small fistful of apps on my Blackberry.

Apps
Now speaking of apps, this is where things get a little itchy for me. At the launch Thornsten cleverly said apps like Skype, Whatsapp etc were 'committed' to Blackberry10. I can tell you now, at this point, as committed as they are, they are NOT yet available. Which is a little disappointing, its not like QNX and BB10 is a surprise or anything, so something tells me these were late decisions. However there are others too, which have not yet announced if they will be coming to BB10.
Spotify, EyeEm, Google Maps.. 3 examples of apps I do actually find helpful to have on my Blackberry, none of which are available, and some which may never be available. We have heard so much about how Android apps port over with ease to BB10, so why are these apps not there yet? I subscribe to Spotify, so am keen to know if I will get it back on my Blackberry or not. And Whatsapp is great for staying in touch with non BB users. Its not a great app, laggy to say the least, but its handy for the occasional hi message. For now, I will have to rely on my good old fashioned SMS messages, of which I have unlimited. Thats a relief.
One other app I NEED to have back is BeBuzz or similar. A flashing red LED just doesnt do it for me. I need my colours back. Someone please port over a decent app for this ASAP!

Summary
So now I am getting used to the Z10, everything is fitting into place. Happy with the camera, but will never be as instant to use as my trusty 9700 and 9900. Software is a delight, BB10 really is a change of direction and hopefully fortune for Blackberry. The Hub, simply brilliant concept which works well in the real world, once you get used to how it functions.
Its just seeing how this battery will pan out, and getting a few more mainstream non business focused apps out there for the end user, and asap.

PS...

Dear Blackberry, (and EE)
I am STILL not impressed by the lack of accessories with the Z10. For a new device on the market I was really hoping to get something to slip the handset into. For now I will have to use one of the funky socks for the iPod.
Once I get a chance I shall accessorize with some new headphones and a decent case. Although the battery cover flip case for the Galaxy range would be ace for the Z10 *wink wink

Right thats me done, thanks for reading, and I shall report back with more next time there is something to tell.

In the meantime be sure to check out the camera test blog. More camera tests will follow shortly with different subject matter and lighting conditions.

Z10 Camera test against Galaxy S2

First impressions of the Z10

Introducing the iPad NANO!

Nevermind the iPad or the iPad2, forget the 'new iPad' or iPadHD as its been called.. its all about the iPad Nano.

Yes, you read it here first, it slipped under the radar on launch day, but its here and its real.  

Watch the review here.

Thanks to SlurpyJ aka Chris Cohen for this amazing insight into Apple, iPad Nano, and the Applati

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.