Smartphones

Bunch of people at Blackberry are giving each other high fives thinking they got a winner on their hands. I wonder if they'll act surprised when it doesn't sell like the rest of their garbage.

Really? That was the best design they could come up with?

I am really enjoying the Sony Z2. Battery is pretty awesome as well. Stamina mode and queue background data really lowers idle battery usage. At 14+ hours idle with 3.5 hours on screen time, the phone still has 59% battery left.

And this is why blackberry is almost dead. Idiots run their company.

I hate the passport (that's the big square thing) - they are segregating their already small subset of smartphone users (keyboard people) when imo the classic that is coming out will give the keyboard people what they want- and they should be putting out a new all touch to advance on the Z10 and Z30 that are actually nice devices.

The passport has a buncha contextual popups for while your typing and the entire keyboard is touch sensitive so you can scroll with it etc... but it still to me, is going to go over as well as the Storm did for em.

Their argument is that, while the standard cell phone ratio is good for media, it isn't good for productivity. They claim if you are working from your mobile (using spreadsheets, reading documents, etc.) that their phone will be much better for that. (Again, their argument, not mine).

I guess what they didn't consider is that people who are working from a mobile device generally still keep said device in their pocket.

They also apparently didn't consider the fact that devices can be turned on their side...

Those corners look painful as hell to have in a pocket is the most alarming thing - I would not want that cutting into my thigh or crotch.

It seriously isn't a joke? Who the hell in their right mind thought that that thing would be a good idea?

how many millions did they sink into developing that thing? didnt anyone at the company question its practicality? maybe nobody at blackberry uses pocketses

Maester Chuk_sl said:

how many millions did they sink into developing that thing? didnt anyone at the company question its practicality? maybe nobody at blackberry uses pocketses

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I don't know- but the few hands on reviews all make sure to say, every few sentences "IT FITS IN YOUR POCKET" From the first leek pic of the dumb thing I have been against it and hoped that they did not put any real money behind it (again...the storm) the company has been on a decent slow climb back to 0 - their market share is stabilizing and that can lead to the ability to have better growth.

They have stated they are not going to focus on consumer markets yet (in the US/Euro- the Z3 is a big product for them in asia minor etc. and has been doing well) and refocus on their corporate customers etc. thus the new Classic that should be out (slightly larger screen Q10 with the tool belt added back in for scrolling, text selection etc.) The Classic is perfect for their target customers and new vision- the Passport is not going to be adopted by the corporate users over the Classic (thus why I think the Passport comes out 2 months before the Classic)

They are going to stroll into places with the Passport and get turned around and kicked out the door... then when they come back with the Classic they are not going to be given a chance to walk in the door... now if they walked in the door with both devices then they would be fine- the few nitche people that want the "cool" captive touch keyboard and advanced prediction of the passport - fine, everyone else the Q10 or Classic.

To keep an arm in the consumer market without much R&D just release updated versions of the Z10 and Z30 - say Z10x or Z15 whatever- alittle more processer and ram, less screen bezel and keep the form factor the same- upgrade materials some(z10) and your good to float around in the "we exist" space in the consumer land.

Chen is seen as the golden savior of BB... but he came from the same roots that Leo did for HP... I remain extremely skeptic of him.

Anyone in this thread happen to have a Sony Xperia Z2? I received some treats from the guys at dbrand and was going to offer up a skin to throw on their device.

I currently own a Tracfone flip-phone. Let me preface this by saying I barely use a phone (I have no friends, hate talking to people, and despise social media) and can't justify spending $70+ a month on some fancy phone with a contract. That's why the Tracfone prepaid service has worked out reasonably well for me. However, I wouldn't mind having a smartphone. It would be nice to have access to the GPS map features, plus other random apps that might suit my fancy.

Any recommendations here? I know Tracfone offers Android versions of their phones. But since I'm so ignorant on the subject I might be missing out on some better options out there.

ShakyJake_sl said:

I currently own a Tracfone flip-phone. Let me preface this by saying I barely use a phone (I have no friends, hate talking to people, and despise social media) and can't justify spending $70+ a month on some fancy phone with a contract. That's why the Tracfone prepaid service has worked out reasonably well for me. However, I wouldn't mind having a smartphone. It would be nice to have access to the GPS map features, plus other random apps that might suit my fancy.

Any recommendations here? I know Tracfone offers Android versions of their phones. But since I'm so ignorant on the subject I might be missing out on some better options out there.

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Ting.com might be an option for you as well - not sure how feature rich Tracfone data is and Ting.com is the full thing with "pay only what you use"

Denamian_sl said:

That will depend entirely on how good Sprint's network is in his area. A friend of mine pays around $40 for 2 lines through Ting, but network coverage is mediocre.

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$40 is quite some usage with them, wife and I punched ours up and with our heavy usage between is it's like $30 before taxes average across our last couple bills. But yea, network does matter, Sprint isn't bad in too many places anymore though since the big Japanese investment thing.

Thanks for the infos. Unfortunately, Sprint is not an option for my area. Coverage is spotty at best. I think Verizon would be my best bet. The Tracphone I have is fine, but not sure which network it's on.