Blackberry Bold 9900: How good?

[LouisMoore16]

I'm looking into getting the Blackberry bold 9900 and I was wondering if people could tell me how good it is? Good points and bad points? Is it as bad as previous Blackberrys where they always go wrong?

[Beyond Godlike]

I'm looking into getting the Blackberry bold 9900 and I was wondering if people could tell me how good it is? Good points and bad points? Is it as bad as previous Blackberrys where they always go wrong?

Do you want to buy a phone from a company thats expected to tank this year?

[LouisMoore16]

Do you want to buy a phone from a company thats expected to tank this year?

Yes I heard this! But I also read that's blackberry are working on a new OS this year and it will basically be 'make or break' for them

[what]

http://www.google.co.uk/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=blackberry+9900+review&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&ei=kLQBT5CBJY-2hAfb9uiyAQ

I don't know if they've fixed the issue now but there were stories a while ago of the 9900 frying its mobo after a few months.

[pack34]

Do you want to buy a phone from a company thats expected to tank this year?

Why should it matter how many other people use the phones? If he or she likes them then there's nothing wrong with getting a Blackberry. Just like there was nothing wrong with getting an Android device a couple years ago or a Windows phone this year.

I've played with the Bold in the store and it felt solid. One of my in-laws has one for work and he really likes it.

[tsupersonic]

Why should it matter how many other people use the phones? If he or she likes them then there's nothing wrong with getting a Blackberry. Just like there was nothing wrong with getting an Android device a couple years ago or a Windows phone this year.

I've played with the Bold in the store and it felt solid. One of my in-laws has one for work and he really likes it.

For Blackberry quite a lot actually. For example, when more and more people migrate from BB, that's one less person you have to communicate on BBM (granted you can text...). It's as good as a dead platform, and it's time to leave it. Even if the new OS is somewhat good, iPhone and Android devices will sell better.

[DeadEndAccount]

IMHO I would wait till Blackberry 10 is released - based on past experience I doubt you'll see Blackberry 10 being ported to 9900 thus it would have a very limited life if you bought it.

[andrew_f]

I'd personally stay away from Blackberry. They just aren't up there with the quality of the other three OS's and the company looks to be in a dodgy position.

Perhaps if we knew why you're keen on the 9900 we could point you in the direction of a decent alternative?

[what]

For Blackberry quite a lot actually. For example, when more and more people migrate from BB, that's one less person you have to communicate on BBM (granted you can text...). It's as good as a dead platform, and it's time to leave it. Even if the new OS is somewhat good, iPhone and Android devices will sell better.

Maybe the hardware design matters to the OP as well? :rolleyes: Nobody makes a portrait qwerty as good as RIM does.

[LouisMoore16]

Perhaps if we knew why you're keen on the 9900 we could point you in the direction of a decent alternative?

Thanks everyone for their comments! So basically the main problem with blackberry is the fact that their unstable?

Basically my reason behind the bold 9900 is that I'm coming to the end of my 2 year contract with a iPhone 3Gs. Unfortunately I can't afford the new iPhone as I am only a student. All of my friends and family have Blackberrys and the bold 9900 is affordable so that's basically my reason behind me looking into it

[javagreen]

I personally wouldn't get into a contract with *ANY* BlackBerry phone.

[andrew_f]

Thanks everyone for their comments! So basically the main problem with blackberry is the fact that their unstable?

Basically my reason behind the bold 9900 is that I'm coming to the end of my 2 year contract with a iPhone 3Gs. Unfortunately I can't afford the new iPhone as I am only a student. All of my friends and family have Blackberrys and the bold 9900 is affordable so that's basically my reason behind me looking into it

You might find that buying something like a Nexus S (~?200 sim-free - http://www.carphonew...-GOOGLE/HANDSET) with a 30-day ?15 rolling contract works better for you. Having long contracts as a student is never fun.

That'd work out at around ?560 over two years compared to ?720 for a 2 year contract with the 9900. Also, the Nexus S is a considerably better phone imo.

[LouisMoore16]

You might find that buying something like a Nexus S (~?200 sim-free - http://www.carphonew...-GOOGLE/HANDSET) with a 30-day ?15 rolling contract works better for you. Having long contracts as a student is never fun.

That'd work out at around ?560 over two years compared to ?720 for a 2 year contract with the 9900. Also, the Nexus S is a considerably better phone imo.

Thanks for your suggestion but if I had the ?200 straight off I would get the iPhone 4S as its only ?100 for the hanset + ?37 a month. The blackberry is free + ?32 a month which is what I can afford.

I personally wouldn't get into a contract with *ANY* BlackBerry phone.

And why's that?

[patseguin Global Moderator]

I'd personally stay away from Blackberry. They just aren't up there with the quality of the other three OS's and the company looks to be in a dodgy position.

Perhaps if we knew why you're keen on the 9900 we could point you in the direction of a decent alternative?

100% agree here. I'd say go Android or iOS.

[johnporter29]

Blackberry aren't considered cool anymore and there is doubts whether there going to be around much longer, so people tend to enjoy hating them for the sake of hating them citing that Andriod / IOS are better, yes they may be better, but you can do the roughly the same on blackberry that you can on a Android / iPhone in a sense.Blackberry lags behind in the terms of how many apps are available etc but the functionality of the device itself is there. My advice is, goto a shop and try it out and then decide from there or just do what you feel comfortable with or want to do.

[LouisMoore16]

If I was to fork out the ?100 for the IPhone 4S handset is it worth it? And I'm not going to pay this money then apple release the new one a couple of months down the line? Also what android would you recommend?

My use of a phone is simply texing, ringing, email, listening to music, use of camera, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Internet browsing! I'm not a big games player! I have a iPhone now and I hardly play games on that!

[andrew_f]

If I was to fork out the ?100 for the IPhone 4S handset is it worth it? And I'm not going to pay this money then apple release the new one a couple of months down the line? Also what android would you recommend?

My use of a phone is simply texing, ringing, email, listening to music, use of camera, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Internet browsing! I'm not a big games player! I have a iPhone now and I hardly play games on that!

What is the cost over the contract? It's important, especially as a student, to make sure you're getting the best deal over the lifetime of any product rather than just the jump-on cost. If it's hundreds of pounds more over two years, can you really afford that over a cheaper one?

I'm a 4S owner and I love it, it does all of what you ask for but it might be overkill for your needs. It is worth remembering that you don't need to upgrade. Based on what you've said the 3GS is a perfectly adequate phone, so perhaps keep that and drop down to a cheaper rolling tariff?

[javagreen]

And why's that?

I work for a prominent provider in the UK and I've lost count of the number of customers coming in checking for early upgrades, or to buy a new Phone because their BlackBerries've given the ghost on them. BlackBerries have a bad reputation for getting slow, and I mean REAL slow over time, take ages to boot up, face issues like a white screen on boot up and a number of other niggles.

If you're planning to enter another contract with a BlackBerry phone, don't. You can thank us later.

[javagreen]

What is the cost over the contract? It's important, especially as a student, to make sure you're getting the best deal over the lifetime of any product rather than just the jump-on cost. If it's hundreds of pounds more over two years, can you really afford that over a cheaper one?

I'm a 4S owner and I love it, it does all of what you ask for but it might be overkill for your needs. It is worth remembering that you don't need to upgrade. Based on what you've said the 3GS is a perfectly adequate phone, so perhaps keep that and drop down to a cheaper rolling tariff?

I agree here. I own a Sony Ericcsson Xperia X10 and iPhone 3GS. The 3Gs is perfecrly capable to run iOS 5.0.1 .. I've even Jailbroken it. I don't plag games either and have some use for a Camera, the 3GS does all what I want perfectly.

If you *must* get a new Phone, then go for any of the new Androids (Sensation XE looks great, better screen resolution than the XL too). Anything but a BlackBerry really.

[kagaku]

I have an iPhone 4 (not a 4s) and a Blackberry Bold 9930 (basically a 9900 on Verizon). The Blackberry is a work-provided phone, which is why I carry both the iPhone and BB around. I'd never purchase a Blackberry on my own - I had a bit of curiosity before I was given the phone and definitely was open to giving it a shot. After using it for a few months I have to say - it excels at a few things (things you're probably not interested in) like corporate email, calendar and task management and remote management in a corp. environment (BBES). Otherwise, it's a terrible phone. The hardware keyboard has small buttons that make typing difficult, the small touch screen (and most apps don't seem really "designed" for a touchscreen, they just support it) makes you wish for a much larger screen. The camera sucks, completely sucks. Pictures are noisy, blurry and the colors are a bit off. Form factor wise the phone is a bit on the wide side, in my opinion anyway.

I understand your budget, but if you're coming from an iPhone I think you'll be very unhappy with a Blackberry. Unless you've used one extensively and you have some feature you like on it, the negatives outweigh the positives.

[LouisMoore16]

Okay thanks for your help guys! I looked a little more into getting a iPhone 4S and found one my friend showed me on a website. The handset is free (exactly what I wanted) and its at the same price as what I pay now so I can easily afford it! I was reading over what you get with the deal and I noticed something called '3GB bt openzone wifi access'. Now on my current I phone deal I have 'free wifi' so I'm wondering if this is similar but only 3GB amount? Surely that can't limit how much I can use on my own wifi and then charge me after?

Also quick question (may be a bit stupid) do prices shown on Internet phone sites include vat? So if it's advertising at ?36 it is ?36 I'm going to pay and not ?36 + VAT right?

[+Fahim S. MVC]

BT Openzone is a public wifi hotspot service from BT available at a number of locations such as Starbucks and the like.

http://www.btopenzone.com/find/uk/index.jsp

On your wifi connection, you can use as much as you like.