Bb10

[scottcraft]

Will BB10 be more or less bug free than WP8? Since you guys are more level headed I figured I would get your thoughts on it. I really like WP8 but it sure does drive me crazy.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I think it's hard to say. I'm a former BlackBerry user.

From my past experience, it's hit or miss with RIM. The Storm and Storm 2 were never anything more than a buggy mess. The 9000 was very solid.

I would also have to wait and see about the apps. RIM has made many promises re: apps, and they don't have the best track record when it comes to apps.

Even the native apps have not always been that great. Back when I used BlackBerry, I was always beta testing BBM, Twitter, etc. I also ran either a hybrid OS or an OS from a carrier overseas, since AT&T was always very slow to release updated OSes.

I also remember a bug in the VZW OS for the 9630 that led to "inappropriate" sounds playing randomly. http://forums.crackberry.com/blackb...ppropriate-sound-files-playing-new-os-447431/

My past experience with BlackBerry was that I needed to tweak it almost as much as Android users in early versions of Android. Run hybrid OS, shrink the OS, etc. just to avoid the lagging, freezing, and spinning black clock.

Granted, the new BB10 is supposed to avoid all that; however, I'm not going to believe comments posted by folks using dev alpha devices. Given my own past experience with BlackBerry, I have to try the official product myself to believe it's better.

Another thing was in BBM Groups, if one person rejoined a group after loading a new OS, everyone in the group had lagging/freezing/battery drain. The groups I belonged to actually would need to ask if it was ok to load an OS and rejoin the group, so that nobody would cause another member's device to become unusable during that time.

BBM groups were buggy like that from the very start, and they never got better. I hope they will not cause those issues in BB10.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Another issue that I learned to live with on BlackBerry but never liked was truncated email. I had no truncated emails in Symbian, which I used prior to BlackBerry. Then I switched to BlackBerry and got "email truncated due to size" on a daily basis. I'd have to use the browser to view the emails or else use a PC. That was a limitation of BIS. I have no idea if the next version of BIS eliminates the truncated emails.

The other issues were the BIS outages. When BIS was down, the BlackBerry became nothing more than a feature phone.

 

[scottcraft]

I doubt I get one, but for RIM's sake I hope their new handsets are relatively troublefree. At this point I'm pretty much tired of being an early adopter. WP has so much potential, but I'm reluctant to recommend it to anyone due to random reboots, lockups and poor apps such as FB. If I do make the switch to straight talk I don't know if I'll get a WP to use with them or not.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I doubt I get one, but for RIM's sake I hope their new handsets are relatively troublefree. At this point I'm pretty much tired of being an early adopter. WP has so much potential, but I'm reluctant to recommend it to anyone due to random reboots, lockups and poor apps such as FB. If I do make the switch to straight talk I don't know if I'll get a WP to use with them or not.

Straight Talk doesn't have BIS, so you'd need Android or iPhone if you use them and don't use Windows Phone.

I wouldn't recommend Straight Talk. Walmart's Straight Talk Unlimited iPhone Plan: Neither Unlimited Nor Straight Talk | TechnoBuffalo

I'd recommend T-Mobile for cheaper plans.

 

[Laura Knotek]

How Straight Talk's TOS Makes Most iPhone Users Criminals | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

 

[scottcraft]

T-Mobile is pretty poor around here. To be honest I would rather stay with Verizon, especially since my plan allows me to tether with my phone, but I'm having a hard time with the idea of paying $190/month for service. AT&T is pretty much the same price for an equivalent plan, so I wouldn't really gain anything going to them.

 

[Laura Knotek]

T-Mobile is pretty poor around here. To be honest I would rather stay with Verizon, especially since my plan allows me to tether with my phone, but I'm having a hard time with the idea of paying $190/month for service. AT&T is pretty much the same price for an equivalent plan, so I wouldn't really gain anything going to them.

How is Sprint? If Sprint is good, you could try them.

Boost and Virgin also are MVNOs that use Sprint's network, so they would be alternatives if Sprint is good. The drawback is that they do not roam on VZW's network, so if you don't get Sprint coverage, you get no coverage at all.

If you tether, I'd stay far away from Straight Talk. If they find out you're tethering, they'll drop you like a hot potato.

 

[Dave Blake]

I would imagine at launch BB 10 hardware will be very good but it will be like any other launch. No way can any company anticipate and test for everything everyone will do with a device. The number of different devices and forum factors available will be low. I think this will really hurt BB maybe even more than the new OS will. The first people getting BB10 devices will those who want it to succeed so it will sound great but days and weeks in when people start to get annoyed by things that don't work great or things they are missing the complaints will start.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I would imagine at launch BB 10 hardware will be very good but it will be like any other launch. No way can any company anticipate and test for everything everyone will do with a device. The number of different devices and forum factors available will be low. I think this will really hurt BB maybe even more than the new OS will. The first people getting BB10 devices will those who want it to succeed so it will sound great but days and weeks in when people start to get annoyed by things that don't work great or things they are missing the complaints will start.

I agree.

I also think that a lot of BB diehards will be upset by the change. The folks who have used BB from the beginning won't like how different BB10 is compared to what BB used to be. It will be a lot like the WinMo folks who don't like WP (kind of like Byzantium's rants). I expect to see a lot of Byzantium clones on Crackberry once BB10 comes out.

 

[scottcraft]

How is Sprint? If Sprint is good, you could try them.

Boost and Virgin also are MVNOs that use Sprint's network, so they would be alternatives if Sprint is good. The drawback is that they do not roam on VZW's network, so if you don't get Sprint coverage, you get no coverage at all.

If you tether, I'd stay far away from Straight Talk. If they find out you're tethering, they'll drop you like a hot potato.

Sprint has mixed reviews. It seems like people around here love them or hate them, not much middle ground. I called Verizon and my etf is $590. I might cancel my home connect line I have. The etf is around $100 and that would save me $20/month.

 

[palandri]

T-Mobile is pretty poor around here. To be honest I would rather stay with Verizon, especially since my plan allows me to tether with my phone, but I'm having a hard time with the idea of paying $190/month for service. AT&T is pretty much the same price for an equivalent plan, so I wouldn't really gain anything going to them.

You can use this utility to see which carrier has the most towers in your area: CellReception.com

 

[palandri]

Sprint has mixed reviews. It seems like people around here love them or hate them, not much middle ground. I called Verizon and my etf is $590. I might cancel my home connect line I have. The etf is around $100 and that would save me $20/month.

That's why I never sign service contracts. 30 days and out for me.

 

[scottcraft]

That's why I never sign service contracts. 30 days and out for me.

The concerns I have about prepaid are data limits and no tethering. I can deal with those things, but a large etf plus buying different phones eats up some of the advantages of prepaid.

 

[palandri]

Something else, I remember one guy saying he wanted to cancel his Verizon contract and was floored by the ETF. Verizon then offered him a 100 minute plan with no data for $20 a month for the remainder of his contract. This was a few years ago, but if they can still offer that to you it might make paying it off easier. Just a thought.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Another option is finding someone to take over the remainder of the VZW contract.

 

[palandri]

Another option is finding someone to take over the remainder of the VZW contract.

Wasn't there a website for doing that?

 

[Laura Knotek]

Wasn't there a website for doing that?

There are a lot of them actually.

How to Get Out of a Mobile Phone Contract | eHow.com

Ditching Your Cell Contract - SmartMoney.com

 

[scottcraft]

There are a lot of them actually.

How to Get Out of a Mobile Phone Contract | eHow.com

Ditching Your Cell Contract - SmartMoney.com

Thanks for the links. I'll read through them in a bit. I really think my best bet is going to be cancelling my home connect line for now. Looking through past bills it used to be $10/month for it, but now it's $20. Leaving Verizon would probably be best when all my lines are due to upgrade.

 

[HeyCori]

I'm interested in all the ecosystems except for iOS. Nothing against it, I've just found iOS to be boring and bland since the original iPhone. Which in turn made me uninterested in Android because Android is essentially a copy of iOS. Fortunately for Android, it has blossomed into its own unique platform. Unfortunately for Android, I'll never buy one until Google stops with the d-baggery.

But if I wasn't a poor man I'd have a PlayBook, a Surface, and maybe, just maybe, even an iPad. But I'm not a rich man so I'm gonna stick with Microsoft. I've been having a blast with WP8 and W8. My Xbox gets used nearly everyday. I plan on starting some writing projects so OneNote/Office/SkyDrive has to be in full effect. And I might grab a Surface once I get my tax return because Office comes free.