What Do You Think? Am I Crazy To Buy One?
I like my iPhone. I really do. There was a time where I used to have to look in the mirror and practice saying it. But now, it flows smoothly off my tongue. But, while it’s a device I rely on heavily (and couldn’t do without) and I really like it, I consider it more of a “best of breed”. Bottom line? I’m not in love. With it or any other smartphone. I’ve tried a handful of Android devices and found them all to be significantly harder to use consistently than the iPhone. Sure, they have some cool bells and whistles. But at the end of the day they don’t work reliably enough for my taste.
There is one phone I love. I just can’t have it. Because it just doesn’t have a strong enough signal.
Yup, a Blackberry. I loved my Blackberry. Not the current version, the largely failed Q10. An old-fashioned Blackberry with a tactile keyboard. I often used to tell folks I could type the Magna Carta blindfolded at 70 words per minute with my Blackberry.
I think I’m probably the only person to switch to an iPhone because the signal was too week on my Blackberry in my house. You’ll likely recall that people used to complain about signal strength with the iPhones. They don’t so much anymore, but that problem made me switch to an iPhone. But, I kept looking longingly back over my shoulder, hoping my old friend would get a new groove.
Then, I read this article in the Wall Street Journal. And my pulse started to race a bit. I think my leg even thumped a bit. Was that my Blackberry keyboard on an iPhone?
It looks identical. And gets pretty good reviews for performance. But, it encumbers the iPhone somewhat. Here’s the thing. I don’t need to use my iPhone for lots of things other folks use it for. I’m not saying their wrong. They can certainly be great for watching movies, playing music, reading books, playing games and checking Facebook (I’ll figure out how to do that last one someday). But, I have this nifty invention called an iPad that allows me to do all that and with a much bigger screen.
So, am I crazy to consider turning my iPhone into a Frankenstein for that tactile keyboard?
Not at all crazy. Do it!
It took me a REAL long time to get over the loss of my bby keyboard. I still miss it. Please keep us updated if you do get the keyboard.
Read/Watch Joanna Stern’s review here:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304549504579320682797043104
There appear to be two options. Which you like is up to you. I wouldn’t go near the Spike myself given all the screen real-estate you give up, and the flipping/unflipping involved.
I would have a lot of trouble giving up the auto-correct. But you might not, being a previous BBM user. Sounds like it does a good job of emulating the feel etc. Good enough they’re getting sued by BlackBerry (valid or not it will hurt them financially). Buy one sooner rather than later.
Joanne got better typing results with the Typo. I’d give it a shot if it appeals to you.
Glenn, I would only do the Typo. The other one looks like a disaster waiting to happen. And I agree, likely to order one soon before they disappear.
In experimenting with Droids, did you try the Droid 4? I’ve had mine for 2 years and LOVE it. With a slide out physical keyboard and a large screen, it’s the best of both an iPhone and a BB. Sure the OS takes some getting used to, but Google has come a long way since the early days of Droid.
I tried one of the Droids with the slide-out keyboard but not sure if it was the 4. I know Android is better now, but it was pretty meh when I was using it 12 months ago. I think I’m done playing in that pool.
I felt the same way until I realized what a great job iPhone does with voice recognition. Now I just dictate everything with more than four words. It even does well in noisy environments.
Paul, Siri and I are getting along better than we used to but I still have an awkwardly strong man crush on that BB keyboard.
Stick with BB. They keep getting better.
John, the devices themselves were never the issue for me. I loved them. But, the signal strength in the last few models rendered them unusable in my home office. Even with a signal booster in my house I wasn’t able to overcome this obstacle.
The most important question not posed in this post is…will it still fit in your belt clip?
Sadly, the belt clip broke. But a new one will be here Monday. 🙂
Its so close to the Blackberry keyboard that Blackberry is suing them for patent infringement. So, if you want one, you should probably get one sooner rather than latter. 🙂
http://press.blackberry.com/press/2014/blackberry-files-suit-against-typo-.html
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/03/blackberry-files-lawsuit-against-seacrests-typo-keyboard-startup-for-infringement/
I missed my old BlackBerry too, but now I can’t imagine life without my Z10. Have you tried the Q10 or do you just not like the keyboard on it?
Kodoma, I tried the Quick. The problem was signal strength in my home office, unfortunately.
I still miss my Palm Treo
Suzy, I had 3 or 4 different Palm devices including a Treo.