Well, it’s coming.
https://www.launchticker.com/story/blackberry-to-launch-slide-out-kb-phone-venice-w-top-4-us
Google has won. Resistance was futile. They will all be assimilated. BlackBerry. Then Nokia as soon as their contract with Microsoft expires in 2016. All that will remain to withstand the all-consuming Borg will be Apple.
Lol… This is overwhelming… I mean, it sounds really cool that BB is resorting to Android but mehn more is yet to come… really 4ny. Android is the borg and the bug. really eating deep into the fabrics of mobile tech. Can’t wait to grab one.
Short answer: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPE
Really? If BlackBerry keeps their unbeatable email, with the power of Android, I would seriously consider it.
Please explain this unbeatable email thing I keep hearing of in 2015.
I wish I could explain it in the appropriate tech speak, but I don’t know how. All I know is I’ve used email on Android, iOS and BlackBerry, and none of the former experiences come close to the latter. Currently iOS, and I try to my mobile email activity to just looking at it because it sucks so much.
BlackBerry was first to provide “push” email, whereby messages are delivered to the device as soon as they come into the email server, rather than the device having to be periodically synchronized. This has been an edge so far.
The BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) sits behind a corporation’s firewall and talks directly to a mail server, in realtime. While other phones (Android and iOS, specifically) asks every few minutes, “is there any new email?” or the phone does its best to maintain a connection with the mail server(s) directly, waiting for a change in the inbox.
If you crave for fast, efficient and battery life based on email function, then BlackBerry cuts it.
@MrASulaiman I hear you, but you didn’t notice the 2015 bit of my question. Newsflash, that “push” feature has been mainstream in Android devices for years now. Also, when BBM launched on Android two years ago or something, it couldn’t keep itself from getting killed by the OS’ memory manager (leading to delayed messages) without having to maintain a persistent notification on your screen - something WhatsApp and other IM applications have never required. They (BlackBerry) have only just begun working on this. As such, what makes you think the email experience wouldn’t be lackluster on a completely new platform… since that’s what is being discussed.
So the capabilities have narrowed right?
iPhone and Android emails world has however advanced thanks to both native and third-party ways. Cool!
Compared to Blackberry, iPhone/Android are late in the game by several years. If you’re also keen on security, note that Security was one of the fundamental design parameters for every Blackberry device, which is why businesses and virtually most government around the world trusted them for their most sensitive communications.
I have devices running on most Mobile OS and I know for sure that the ‘push’ system on my BBM is damn superb. Also, organizing business information, sorting my address book entries and memory capability is unbeatable for now.
Try using your iPhone/Android without an Email Client for GMail, Yahoo Mail et all and see if you’ll maintain a happy face.
LOL! Let’s hope we won’t have to bother about ‘LackLuster’ on a new platform. I sincerely hope BB will maintain their Email Standard or better, improve.
Just offload the sync to the cloud with an app like Mailbox or something. Job done. I didn’t intend to start a platform war. Let’s not turn this into one.
Of cause not @xolubi; we’re all sharing ideas. We all can extract comparative advantage from shared thoughts. Cheers.
Mailbox will however be cited as ‘third-party’ yeah?, and might require one to be tech savvy in order to fly through an email.
What I’ve always loved about the BB phones is their continued support for a tactile keypad, and from the look of the new design they seem to follow tradition. I’ve had a Samsung Galaxy S4 for almost 3 years now, and I still can’t type a sentence without mashing the backspace key or autocorrecting every other word.
When I had the BB Curve (and later, the Torch) I was typing almost faster than I would on a computer keyboard. It was flawless. My contract is about to expire soon so I’ll wait and see how the BB handles before I make a decision. But I would absolutely consider switching back if I get the same Android goodness with a rock solid keypad.
Ewww hell no. I love Blackberry’s OS. And the physical keyboard.
For me, I only care about the battery. Lol
I am actually unsure whether to be happy about this or not. I am unhappy because, generally speaking and in terms of flexibility and efficiency, BB10 is arguably the best OS out there. They were very very late to the party, hence developers don’t bother making apps for the platform. Going the android route means we might lose that awesomeness of an mobile OS forever. On the other hand, I should be somewhat happy because, it actually increases their chances of getting a lot more sales and recognition they deserve which they need to stay alive and that may improve value for investors. I will definitely buy an android BlackBerry because, it will offer something different from all the phones we have out there today. personally, I rate android os below ios & blackberry 10 os.
I would definitely use it. I have always loved BlackBerry’s devices.
Wow…
After months of unending rumors, Blackberry finally did it. Blackberry has
finally announced that the rumors and speculations about the Blackberry Priv
running on the latest android 5.1.1 Lollipop are true. Blackberry priv
is sported with a sleek body chasis and also a decent QWERTY slider
keyboard which is sure to get many Blackberry fans excited.
Watch video: https://youtu.be/5nO8EdLtJj0
Never…
Nothing beats using a pure android device… Even Samsung et al cone with unnecessary uninstallable bloatware
nailed it.
the BB10 os is just smooth too navigate compared to any other os, with the hub just a swipe away i can view all my notifications and reply from the hub . even though the hub is coming to the Priv , from the demo it takes too many steps to access. and the BB mail is just the best for work mail, i tease my colleagues all the time cos i receive mails few minutes or sometimes seconds before them. on my q10. Try replying a mail on iphone with an attachment and tell me how smooth it is.
personally i would prefer the BB10 version of Priv ,some peeps call it Venice.
@lordbanks well, I wouldn’t. For one, I don’t do common hence by overly conscious efforts to use all things #MSFT. I detest apple. they are the big bullies who tell stories and everyone believes i.e. it just works.
Besides that I like differentiation and niche products, also I’m rooting for Oracle in the Oracle VS Google patent issues over android.
Guess I’m just a hater.
But seriously NO way to Priv