To say RIM has a lot riding on
BlackBerry 6 is an understatement. With new kids on the block like
Android and
iOS stepping in with lustworthy apps and attractive UIs, the BlackBerrys have been sitting in a corner BBMing everyone else at the party trying to convince them of its sustained utility. Regardless, the latest tease on the
BlackBerry Blogs shows off some of the "fresh, but familiar" elements that are getting polished in the jump from OS 5 to OS 6. While some features do have us intrigued -- its implementation of universal search, for example -- other headlining changes to the otherwise staid homescreen have us begging for more. New "views," toggled from a space right under the notification bar, are essentially glorified folders, and the "quick access area" is much like the functionality offered by years-old "Today"-style themes for the handset. Don't get us wrong, the refinements definitely help, but at the end of the day we just hope it isn't RIM trying to put lipstick on a pig -- guess we'll find out when we get a commercial release to really bite into.
[Thanks, Jason K]
posted July 27th 2010 3:20PM
Boring. Really, right now I see more innovation from WinPho7 in terms of UI.
@pika2000 Sure, it's boring, but at least it'll have copy and paste.
I assume.
*yikes*
@CRA1G
does it play flash?
@pika2000
Innovation?
What do you want from your OS? Fance bling or usability ;)
I love my 9700 and I would hate to get a Android or iOS power phone, because they may look fancy and have more app, but hey, I need to make calls and send texts etc, and I need it to be reliable more than anything, why would I want all sorts of gimmicks.
@Techtrino Apparently, you've never used an Android phone...at least not one made in 2010.
@pika2000
You see, not everyone is enticed by flashy animations etc and cool, new but possibly impractical and complex UI's.
I don't use blackberry and I honestly think this is a decent enough step in the right direction.
Simplify, beautify a little, streamline and they should be ok, both with the current users and their future target audience.
@spartandre217
Impractical? Complex UI? Have you even seen the Winpho7 UI? It shifts the paradigm of UI on phones, and imo it can actually be more usable and practical than iOS/Android. RIM could've thought of something else considering the primary function of their devices.
@CRA1G Unfortunately, all this fancy animations results in an EVO 4G that only last one day on a charge. I liked the iphone and all but got bored with it's simplicity after a year. I loved my bberry because it just worked whenever I needed it to and could hold a charge for days.
@pika2000 Exactly. It just looks like what all Blackberries have now, except they slapped a big fugly blue notification bar on top. Honestly does the time really need to be in font THAT big?! Jeez RIM!
@Techtrino
My Droid is pretty reliable and can make calls just fine.
@Techtrino everyone I know that has a Blackberry complains about it locking up in the middle of calls, how is that reliable?
@pika2000
I agree. Nothing new here.
I don't like those outlined icons either.
I can mostly comment on aesthetics right now, and for the moment: yuck
I think Android has been paving the way along the path Apple thinks it's too good for, and in the meantime RIM has stayed behind.
@pika2000
Did I refer, at any point to Winpho7 directly?
What I've seen seems promising, whether it'll be useful in day-to-day usage remains to be seen. The complex UI is going to make for hell for developers producing apps for it as well.
I think BB OS 6 is good enough to tide them over til they come up with something new and better.
@pika2000 But even there I don't really care for WinMo7. It looks different but I'm already tired of it and I don't have one.
As far as polish goes I like Android, iOS and WebOS.
@Techtrino Obviously you haven't used Android in the last year(i own both the HTC Evo and tour 9630) and your statement is just ignorant.
@Techtrino
Honestly, the Blackberry OS has so many bugs, it's staggering that they're able to get away with the amount of flaws I've seen in the OS. It's absolutely mind boggling. I can't tell you how many times I've seen emails disappear, apps crash and do crazy stuff like not displaying text while typing (I'm talking about the "Made by RIM" apps), random resets, operating system freezing/slowing down and the list goes on.
No, none of the other OS out there are perfect but I'm sick and tired of Blackberry zealots yelling "reliable! secure! perfect!" about the damn Blackberrys when they have issues too.
@DBX00
I just dont understand why some people are too lazy to charge their phone at night or carry a extra battery if you cant seem to remember to charge your phone at night.. Most people would agree if you can make it through one day with heavy use that should be sufficient.. Now if you cant make it through a day that totally different..
@Plazmic Flame
Blackberry seemingly peaked when they made the Curve, because they've gone downhill since. Lost phone calls, random resets, 1/2 hour rebooting times to download one lousy app, and RIM approved apps crashing and bricking the entire phone. Who can forget the recent BBM update debacle?
BB users call Android and iOS phones "toys" and "unreliable", but at least they spend most of their time actually functioning and not rebooting.
@Techtrino Animations can be turned out.
And it's the monster processor and 4g that hurts it's battery, buddy.
Too little too late. Check out a Samsung Galaxy S with some of the better homescreen widgets. No contest.
At least its better than WM 6.5.. Just saying
@Cainhunpi To be honest, WM6.5 probably looks a tad nicer.
I never thought I'd write that...
@Cainhunpi Am I the only that loved WinMO 6.5?
I truly believe all the people that diss WinMo never used it. Otherwise they'd know of it's practicality and customization freedom.
@Cainhunpi
There's a lot on the journalist's side to make you interested. An iOS 4 with an underwhelming multitasking attempt was cooler because they've used flowery words for it. This is an improvement to a current product that shouldn't get "we hope it's not trash" because the renderings are whatever. There are people who are excited after seeing these changes.
Then there is the fact that it's a product, not a child that you need to be attached to.
@Cainhunpi Anything has to be better than winmo 6.5 I would say its the worst phone OS ever
@bingster
congratulations
BB is boring!!
@GoGoENGADGET
I have one and I agree.. although the touchscreen versions look so much better.. I have the trackball and hate it
@ruby
What smartphone would you upgrade to? Just wonderin
@GoGoENGADGET
I like the Droid X on verizon but I'm getting sick of smartphones to be honest..
The ultimate upgrade phone would be a 2010 StarTac made out of titanium, with a pull out antenna and high-res grayscale lcd.
@ruby
like the E-Ink displays.. that would be simply amazing
@GoGoENGADGET
What makes it boring? Is it because when you open an app/email you can easily read actual information you requested on the screen without giant animated half words across the top killing the battery and processing power?
@bingster douche. There, I finished your sentence.
I want to be impressed/optimistic... I Really Do
But...
I know BB is still huge and big within the business/enterprise market but good god, it's boring.
@Scape3d
for a second there i thought that comment applied to microsoft...
@TomSawyer
Nope, it applies to BlackBerry. Even considering how terrible Windows Mobile has been (all the way up to 6.5), BlackBerry has been lost in the shadows of the late 90's with their OS and functionality.
@Scape3d yeah its boring but it works. its a very functional OS. the web browsing might suck but other that that it works just as well as anything else if not better.
that said i am dumping my Bold 9700 on AT&T for a Samsung Epic on Sprint ASAP. i don't hate BB, i just really want something with bigger screen. the web browsing on that small BB screen gives me a headache.
Sounds like you guys really like BB's eh?
@Psyclotr0n
Yeah, they really seem ready to tell it like they see it here...yet their "glorified folders" comment didn't seem to be the same when Apple introduced their folders implementation.
Tes, so true.
I really don't understand why so many teens and young adults want Blackberry phones for non-business use. What's the incentive besides BBM?
@Shadow08
BBM makes the phone
@Shadow08 You sort of answered your own question there...
@Shadow08
I think people use Blackberry phones because it makes them feel/look smart .. that's just my guess, kinda the same reason people wear non prescription reading glasses...
I have a BB9630 and it will probably be my last unless sprint gets any of the touchscreen versions
@Shadow08
I think it's just the fact that it's a "blackberry" makes them look important but the value a blackberry once held is shooting downward fast unless they find a way to keep up with ios and android..i will say for business people like myself they make good back-up phones...my iphone does everything and more a BB does
@d0mth0ma5 @aliensix
Yes, but with unlimited texting plans at decent prices now and threaded text messaging on almost every phone, I don't understand the appeal of BBM. You're limited to only other BB users and I wouldn't buy a phone based off of one program.
@Shadow08
As a teenager myself, I can tell you. They are the new sidekick. They have good keyboards and they have good messaging capabilities.
(Although, they are quickly losing favor, because of trackball issues).
@Shadow08 Totally agree, but people seem to be stuck in the mind-set of 3/4 years ago when you didn't have the unlimited threaded SMS like you do now. It's amazing how people can get stuck in their ways.
@Shadow08 my thoughts exactly. i'm in college and so many of friends have them but they dont do anything with it besides make calls and BBM. no one uses the apps (except for ubertwitter) because they're crappy and expensive and the browser sucks so whats the point? get an android phone or an iPhone. BBM is seriously not that great.