Bye Bye BlackBerry. How Long Will Apple Last?

[microrobert]

Bye Bye BlackBerry. How Long Will Apple Last?

Just five years ago, “BlackBerry” was virtually synonymous with “smartphones.” It was well on its way to becoming a generic trademark, like Kleenex or Band-Aid, that would seemingly forever be associated with its entire sector. “For many, the Blackberry is a must-have gadget, a wireless hand-held computer that can send e-mail and make phone calls,” noted a 2005 NPR story on the “CrackBerry,” as some BlackBerry addicts referred to the device. (Incidentally, the story compared the BlackBerry to the Palm Treo, an equally popular device at the time.)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamthierer/2012/04/01/bye-bye-blackberry-how-long-will-apple-last/

[Albion]

Research In Motion (makers of Blackberry) aren't doing too well, people are saying the company will go bust quite soon.
For years Blackberry haven't kept up with the trends and other phones such as iphone and Androids started taking their business market. In Britain they have started selling well though - mostly young people started buying them because of Blackberry Messenger, but it seems like it is too little too late.

I bought one a few months ago because I got fed up with the touchscreen keyboard on the Android phone I had. When it's hard to do basic things such as typing out a text you know that touchscreens aren't for you. I got a Blackberry primarily for the beautiful qwerty keyboard and subsequently unlocked it and reset it.
It is important to note that with Blackberrys there is a charge to use the browser that is built into the phone regardless of whether you already have paid for internet from your network provider! When I reset it though the network sent firmware to the phone which took that off anyway, but I have always used Opera mini and so use that.

All in all it is a good phone - not many apps or any special features but it does what I want well - calls, texts, tethering and browsing.

[Queen B]

Ι love my BB. I m not the app-freak, I just want my emails to be in real-time, to have compressed data, send texts easy (qwerty is much faster than touch screen)...
WHile I also though that BB ''died'', and while in Greece is not popular, half of the British tourists in Greece have BB (the other half, Iphone)

[Fortis in Arduis]

Ι love my BB. I m not the app-freak, I just want my emails to be in real-time, to have compressed data, send texts easy (qwerty is much faster than touch screen)...
WHile I also though that BB ''died'', and while in Greece is not popular, half of the British tourists in Greece have BB (the other half, Iphone)

A tiny qwerty keyboard cannot be any faster than the Apple iPhone touch-screen.

Does the Blackberry not just have a cult retro-ish following? I'm trying not to knock it, but I don't see the advantage over the iPhone. Are they cheaper?

I think that, in Britain, they represent a sub-cultural fashion/brand statement, rather than a practical choice.

[Queen B]

A tiny qwerty keyboard cannot be any faster than the Apple iPhone touch-screen.

Does the Blackberry not just have a cult retro-ish following? I'm trying not to knock it, but I don't see the advantage over the iPhone. Are they cheaper?

I think that, in Britain, they represent a sub-cultural fashion/brand statement, rather than a practical choice.

Faster real-time emails, and compressed data.
Also, I have tried iphone, I find the qwerty way faster. Maybe its my fingers