So, how bad are modern Blackberry's?

[Weetabix]

Hm. Opinions seem to vary.

Writer of that piece has a 'tl;dr' problem, as well as a very narrow tactical outlook. They seem to think Blackberry is doing just fine because they didn't lose too much money last quarter. The flaws in that outlook, and argument.... they run deep.

Meh. This guy sold his internet hosting & something-else-related company and now makes his living trading with the money. I'm not buying RIM, but I'm also not willing to say that because his piece was too long he doesn't know what he's talking about.

[PawPaw]

I had a Blackberry Curve and was happy with it for a long while, but my daughters-in-law kept showing me phones that were sleeker, more user-friendly, and had many more apps than my Blackberry. They made my Blackberry seem .... clunky..? Then I noticed that when I wanted to check something and did a Google search, it took two days for the answer to show up. (I jest, but only slightly).

Two weeks ago my wife and I went to Best Buy to see what was available, and came home with matching Samsung Galaxys. This thing is light-years ahead of Blackberry. RIM needs to seriously get their act together, or they'll continue to hemorrhage market share.

[Greg]

Hm. Opinions seem to vary.

Writer of that piece has a 'tl;dr' problem, as well as a very narrow tactical outlook. They seem to think Blackberry is doing just fine because they didn't lose too much money last quarter. The flaws in that outlook, and argument.... they run deep.

Meh. This guy sold his internet hosting & something-else-related company and now makes his living trading with the money. I'm not buying RIM, but I'm also not willing to say that because his piece was too long he doesn't know what he's talking about.

He doesn't actually appear to talk about RIM's long-term health as a business at all. All he looks at is profitability going back a quarter or two. Not that that type of analysis can't make you money in today's business world and stock market, but it has precious little to do with that *we're* talking about w.r.t. BlackBerry dying.

[Denis]

Slightly OT...

I don't like blackberrys, but I also detest typing more than a sentence or two on a touchscreen.

What I wish someone would do is make a modern palmtop device using the fantastic PSION hardware keyboard. IIRC Sony/Ericsson took over PSION to get hold of the OS, but let the best part of the package - that divine little keyboard - die a death.

[Greg]

Slightly OT...

I don't like blackberrys, but I also detest typing more than a sentence or two on a touchscreen.

What I wish someone would do is make a modern palmtop device using the fantastic PSION hardware keyboard. IIRC Sony/Ericsson took over PSION to get hold of the OS, but let the best part of the package - that divine little keyboard - die a death.

I've been desperately desiring a device in that form factor too, but it pretty much seems to be a dead end. And it was Nokia who bought them out for the OS, which became Symbian (and just recently died the final death, btw).

Hmm, actually I'm not sure they bought Psion proper, or just their interest in Symbian. Psion might still exist as an independent entity, though ISTR they may have switched markets into something like ruggedized handhelds for delivery drivers.

[Rich Jordan]

Maybe something like the Tactus tactile touch screen will become feasible as an alternative...

[Denis]

The thing is, a touch keyboard is cheaper to make, allows for thinner, lighter, and less expensive devices; and is both more reliable, and INFINITELY more versatile.

Yes, BUT, they are still crap to type on. I must have typed over ten thousand pages on my Psion, on trains, planes and pretty much everywhere. No way I'd even try it on a touchscreen. Serious typists need clicky keys. If somebody would sell the PSION keyboard as a bluetooth add-on, I'd buy one tomorrow.

[esa5444]

The thing is, a touch keyboard is cheaper to make, allows for thinner, lighter, and less expensive devices; and is both more reliable, and INFINITELY more versatile.

Yes, BUT, they are still crap to type on. I must have typed over ten thousand pages on my Psion, on trains, planes and pretty much everywhere. No way I'd even try it on a touchscreen. Serious typists need clicky keys. If somebody would sell the PSION keyboard as a bluetooth add-on, I'd buy one tomorrow.

I used to use, and still have somewhere, an original Motorola Droid, with the slip out keyboard. It is quite honestly the favorite phone I ever owned. Part of it was it was my first smartphone and the difference between my flip phone and that was amazing. However, the fold out keyboard feature is something I sorely miss. I loved it. On the flip side, the reason I had to replace that phone was the fold out keyboard. Apparently mechanical stresses, sweat, and humidity got the better of the ribbon cable connecting the screen to the keyboard. The on-screen keyboard is, as Chris said, a much more reliable design, but it does leave a lot to be desired in terms of typing.

[JustinR]

Of course if you wanted a full size keyboard without the bulk, you could go with one of these.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/e722/
Flashy, might get mistaken for a Cylon, but only somewhat practical.

[Greg]

The thing is, a touch keyboard is cheaper to make, allows for thinner, lighter, and less expensive devices; and is both more reliable, and INFINITELY more versatile.

Yes, BUT, they are still crap to type on. I must have typed over ten thousand pages on my Psion, on trains, planes and pretty much everywhere. No way I'd even try it on a touchscreen. Serious typists need clicky keys. If somebody would sell the PSION keyboard as a bluetooth add-on, I'd buy one tomorrow.

I used to use, and still have somewhere, an original Motorola Droid, with the slip out keyboard. It is quite honestly the favorite phone I ever owned. Part of it was it was my first smartphone and the difference between my flip phone and that was amazing. However, the fold out keyboard feature is something I sorely miss. I loved it. On the flip side, the reason I had to replace that phone was the fold out keyboard. Apparently mechanical stresses, sweat, and humidity got the better of the ribbon cable connecting the screen to the keyboard. The on-screen keyboard is, as Chris said, a much more reliable design, but it does leave a lot to be desired in terms of typing.

My first smartphone was a G2 that I bought specifically for the hardware keyboard. It was great, though it did have its limitations.

But the keyboard on a Psion isn't a thumb keyboard, it's in a totally different league. You can type on it, properly. It's more like just a really small laptop keyboard.