Torch or Focus?

[firedancer1189]

Hoping to get some helpful input from some of you that perhaps have been in the position I am currently in.

I am currently on Alltel which is in a market that AT&T has acquired. Now I have heard all the horror stories about AT&T's service. But I live in a fairly small market so I think I should be ok.

I currently have a Blackberry 9630 Tour. It's obviously nothing fancy but has been reliable and I have become quite fond of having a physical keyboard. As part of the transition over to AT&T I am allowed to be grandfathered in on my current plan (which is insanely cheap) and choose from several phones for free as well as not being made to sign any sort of contract extension.

The three freebies I am currently debating between are the Blackberry Torch, Samsung Focus, and HTC Surround.

I have narrowed it down to the Focus and Torch as I really could never ever see myself utilizing the slide out speaker on the Surround. That being said, I realize that not only are they two completely different phones but two different operating systems as well.

I know that the Blackberrys always seem to be pretty far behind as far as specs go compared to other phones on the market. But if you have ever had a Blackberry you understand that you become attached to them because of how reliable and solid they are.

The Focus looks like a pretty unique phone. The screen looks amazing and it obviously has much better hardware in it than the Torch. Other then people complaining it has a little bit of a cheap/chinzy feel to it, the reviews seem to be pretty solid.

So before this post gets any longer I will get to my question. Have any of you guys gone from a Blackberry over to a WP7 phone such as the Focus and regretted it? I know some people really miss having a physical keyboard.

Any input on this would be great

 

[action_efn_jackson]

I've had a Pearl and currently a torch for my work phone and I HATE having to even use the torch. Email it works well but that's it. Browser blows. Apps there are hardly any. You will get use to the virtual key board very quickly.

Focus FTW.

 

[firedancer1189]

Very helpful so far, anyone else????

 

[red grenadine]

I switched from a blackberry storm to blackberry tour to an iphone 4 to a samsung focus.

I had multiple problems with the storm click screen; multiple problems with the tour's trackball, no problems with the latter two.

After switching to the iphone, I've never missed a blackberry. That said, the focus is the best phone experience I've had.

Also, they are coming out with a new Torch so I'd be hesitant to jump on the old one right now.

BlackBerry Torch 2: a Torch with significantly bumped specs? -- Engadget

 

[heterosethual]

I had a iPhone 3G. It became laggy. I got a Storm, it was good. No data though. I got a Curve 8520, was decent, got a curve 8900, loved it more. Got my Focus. And well, besides the phantom data thing taking most of my data, its an amazing phone.

 

[firedancer1189]

Also, they are coming out with a new Torch so I'd be hesitant to jump on the old one right now.

BlackBerry Torch 2: a Torch with significantly bumped specs? -- Engadget

Yeah I caught that they are coming out with a second Torch. It looks like they are making it the way they should have the first time they came out with it. It's just too bad it won't be out till 3rd quarter or I would consider it. I think I am gonna give the Focus a shot. Thanks for the reply!

 

[selfcreation]

Unless you plan on USING , blackberry messenger , DONT get a blackberry .

Blackberry are like the BIGINERS data phone . they got stuck in the past like apple with the same OS for the last 10years.

Advantage of BB: - push e-mail ( all phone do it now lol )
- BBM (blackbery messenger) only really advantage to me.
- stable OS
- good work tool (iish : easy to sync emails contacts ect... )


disadvantage: - Ugly OS
- boring OS
- the Torch is UGE! compare tot he FOCUS
- its a blackberry (lol)

BB`s aren’t what they use to be , well sorry ,,, they are EXACLY what they use to be . LOL!" the wp7 does everything BB can do except for BBM , and wp7 just has allot more potential for Entertainment purposes.

I use to have the STORM !! F**** HATED IT!!! Evant he CEO of blackberry quoated this about it `` no one gets it right the first time ```LOL!!!!

the torch is really the saviour to the storm , my friend has its , its a NCIE STABLE OS and phone , but thast prety much it , it remains a borring BB

 

[Dusteater]

I have been using Blackberries exclusive for the last 7 years and have to say that they have steadily been going down hill. Right now I am using a Tour 9630 and it is by far the worst phone I have ever owned. I am on my 5th one, they kept arriving DOA because of massive manufacturing issues. I really do not believe RIM can make a phone that works at this point in time.

I am just waiting for a global roaming WP7 device to come to Sprint (Though it seems I may be waiting a LONG time for that) and I will never touch another BB as long as I live.

 

[selfcreation]

I
I am just waiting for a global roaming WP7 device to come to Sprint (Though it seems I may be waiting a LONG time for that) and I will never touch another BB as long as I live.

well ANY phone with SIM card is a gloabal Phone. unless sprint strait up doesnt have SIM and is still using CDMA! witch kinda sucks for you lol

I've had a Pearl and currently a torch for my work phone and I HATE having to even use the torch. Email it works well but that's it. Browser blows. Apps there are hardly any. You will get use to the virtual key board very quickly.

Focus FTW.

FOCUS FTW??? lol really? did u finally trade in your surround? lol

 

[ninjaap]

FOCUS FTW??? lol really? did u finally trade in your surround? lol

It's not about Focus (ahem piece of...) or Surround (hot stuff). It's about WP7!!!

 

[selfcreation]

LOL!! i just find it funny that `` action_efn_jackson`` said , Focus FTW considering hes a proud owner of a htc surround ,, should of Said WP7 FTW

 

[lucazzo]

I was a BB user for a good 7 years. Started with the Pearl, moved onto Curve, and finally Bold 9700. I was sold on the vague promise of this amazing new OS 6.0 that, according to rumors and leaked videos, would be incredibly fast, snappy, jazzy, everything.

A year after having the 9700, there were no news at all on a release of OS 6 for it. Instead, they started rolling out new models.

Sorry, RIM, I got fed up. I also got fed up that WAY too many useful apps were available for iPhone and Droid, with little to no interest (or capability) to develop for BB.

So after fiddling a few times with pre-release candidates of the Focus, I went and got it.

Pro BB:
- I somewhat miss a physical keyboard, and BB makes the best.
- BBM. I do miss it.
- Tough as nails. I dropped those buggers like there was no tomorrow, and they still worked.

Against BB:
- Every single time you do anything at all, you have to restart the phone, which takes a good 3-4min.
- Dated OS. Even OS 6, which they flaunted to no end, is dated.
- It has been steadily going downhill in the last 2 years. Company is not innovating anymore.

Pro Focus/WP7:
- The screen is obscenely gorgeous.
- OS is the most intuitive, simplest thing imaginable.
- Developers are liking it, and Microsoft is putting a lot of money and time behind it.

Against Focus/WP7:
- Needs some updates, which you can read about on other threads.
- I find it impossible to type anything right on a touchscreen keyboard. Especially drunk.
- Doesn't feel as sturdy as my BB, and I won't use it without a case. Gorilla Glass, however, I can vouch for: you'll have to make an effort if you want a scratch on it.

 

[action_efn_jackson]

FOCUS FTW??? lol really? did u finally trade in your surround? lol

Heck no. Simply saying of the 2 devices it was narrowed down too which one I though should be picked. All here on WPC that know me know which ATT WP7 device I feel is superior.

 

[spitothec]

Funny this thread popped up. I've been a Focus user since 11/08 when WP7 launched, and just last night I finally was fed up to the point that I actually switched my plan back to my Torch. Everyone in here has obviously posted the positives of the Focus, so I'll list the positives of the Torch and try to explain why I switched back..

1. The Torch is faster. You can argue MHz and GHz and clock speeds and RAM ms's all you want, but the fact of the matter is that on my Torch, I can check Twitter, BBM, Facebook, and my emails in the same amount of time it takes the Focus to load the Facebook app.

2. The Torch is faster. Yes, the Focus has, IMO, the best virtual keyboard of any phone ever made, but the physical keyboard of really ANY BlackBerry will crush the overall user experience with the Focus. I can type, use proper grammar, and not have to go back to fix all of my mistakes when I'm done. It's faster and easier to communicate on the Torch.

3. It's more refined. OS6 has it's bugs. Every OS has it's bugs.. but no OS available right now has more bugs than WP7. In fact, it's almost embarrassing to receive an SMS in public because not only does the phone choke when trying to play the SMS sound, it them follows it up with another, unknown beep for no reason. People ask "umm.. wtf was that?" "Oh, don't worry, my phone just tried to let me know that I got an SMS but it's confused."

4. It's faster. It's painfully slow to do nearly anything on the phone. Yes, the animations when switching screens is beautiful, but I don't want beautiful. I want to get in and get out.. the crazy part is that this is what Microsoft is preaching in all of their ads, yet the BlackBerry is truly the better phone for this.

5. It's faster. You can copy and paste text. You can switch between apps without having to back out to the homescreen. You have speeddial numbers. You have universal search. Absolutely EVERYTHING about the BlackBerry is faster than on the WP7.

So, let me wrap this up by saying.. if you have a phone because you HAVE to get work done, get the Torch. If you have a smartphone because you want to have fun with it, get the Focus. It's an AMAZINGLY fun phone. I have an Xbox Live sub and a Zune Pass and it's truly a gratifying, joyful experience.. until you actually NEED to do something, and do it fast. They're both amazing phones, but for someone who uses their phone primarily for email and on a nearly minute-by-minute basis, the Focus just doesn't get the job done. That's what the BlackBerry was designed for and nothing can compete with it.

For your final questions, did I regret going to the Focus? No. Will I regret leaving it? No. The good news for you is that no matter what you decide, you have 30 days to change your mind. Best of luck!

 

[soomuch]

Let’s see, I can safely say that there is no right answer to this comparison other than it really depends on how you use your smart phone. I’ve used Black Berry’s since 2003 and I went through many models. My last one was Black Berry 9000 “Bold” and as much as I liked it very much for the clear reasons (qwerty keyboard, exchange integration, a reasonable pool of pre-existing apps and a rugged design). The moment I started to use it beyond email and BB messenger it became very unusable. Browsing the internet was so painful that I wasn’t able to justify paying for my Data plan because the only time I was really using it was either through an application that would run very slowly (Loading times and navigation) or loading maps for the GPS app. It took me 3 major OS updates to get a reasonable stability and to not have to reboot twice a day. Finally, the straw that broke the camel’s back was RIM announcing the release of their new OS 6.0 and come to realize that my 1 year old Black Berry Bold doesn’t have the hardware specs needed to run the new OS. Fast forward to present and now I own a Focus and all I can say is the best decision I’ve ever made. Even though it is faster over all as a phone and as an OS the true triumph here is the ability to use the phone the way I need to use it, not having to reboot my phone in a month and a full justification for my monthly data plan cost. So I guess the answer for me was the Focus but for you its really all based on your experience with BlackBerry and if you really want to continue having it. Good luck deciding.

 

[selfcreation]

yeah thats a thing about BB

- browsing internet SUCKS!!! HARD!! man if 1 thing i hated it was that.

- sure BB are faster , they lack 50% of the options the new DATA phoens have ( laod it witht he same type of interractive interface or give it a phew more aps and it slows right down ) Dont talk to me about copy-past BS ether cause wp7 WILL have it soo including IM clients

- if u dont have a DATA plan they are know to BUG out ( accourding to RIM , i dotn see how but w/e)

 

[firedancer1189]

Thanks for all the responses!!! The information you guys have posted has been more then helpful and I am really enjoying this site.

As of right now I have the Focus on order. After all the responses here I realized that although I have enjoyed my Blackberry I think the Focus can offer me a better multimedia experience. I know that Blackberry is still king for heavy email usage but at this stage in my life it's just something I need my phone for.

I won't receive it until the first part of February so the wait is going to be anguishing but I think I will survive. Until then I will continue to browse the forums and interact with everyone.


Thanks again for all the input!!

 

[action_efn_jackson]

WP7 FTW!

You have chosen... Wisely.

 

[selfcreation]

WP7 FTW!

You have chosen... Wisely.

loL!!!

 

[action_efn_jackson]

loL!!!

I'm sure you noticed the "WP7". Just for you pal.