BB10 or WP8..hmmmm

[sentinelsx]

I am selling my nexus 4 and was going for a S3 until i realized, why not try one of these?

A person who recently sold me a nano sim adapter showed me his blackberry Z10. I must say, i was impressed and do not understand how anyone here says that BB10 is nothing new. What is new is that it is running on mid 2012 specs, is not as restrictive as iOS, but felt way smoother than even iOS and of course android. The flow UI got me hooked instantly. He got a couple of emails and texts while i was playing with it and i LOVED the peek feature.

Apps is probably the only hindrance right now, but they should come as BB10 is the same on playbook, Z10, upcoming Q10, or future phones. So app developers are developing for one style. Another thing is i am sure they will improve the kinks out of the OS as the time goes. His only complaint was that the battery life was worse than his old iPhone 5, but he said there was no way he would switch back because the rest of the package was great.

And then the BB appstore also looks more professional than google play store metro art project IMO, with an apology to the android fans here.

Now on to the WP8, same thing. However the big issue many say it has is the lack of a centralized notification system. Since MS itself said they ran out of time on this, i have a feeling they are trying to make one for the new blue update. Again like BB10 apps might be THE main problem here.

After switching back and forth multiple times between iOS and android, i find that while one ticks some of my boxes, it takes some of the stuff i like away. I also tend to always come back to the iPhone, but that is largely in part because by then a jailbreak is out lol. There is just something about android that doesn't "feel" so great. Perhaps it is the turn off i get when i visit playstore (i actually try to avoid it after my first batch of app installations from my apps), perhaps it is the fact that email is still not so important (K9 is great yet UGLY, gmail is ok but why couldn't they copy the sparrow UI and release it on android is beyond me...)

So does anyone here own a Z10 or the ATIV S/8X/920 and has any great things to share?

 

[scott craft]

I've got an 8X and I enjoy it. I'm not going to say it's perfect though. In some ways I feel it's ahead of android and iOS, but in other areas it needs some polish. I wouldn't mind playing with a Z10, but I don't know that I'd switch to one.

 

[ChazUK]

I'd personally love a Z10 (really like the looks of it and the OS seems very intriguing) but it's too early to say if BB10 will pick up any steam.

My time with Windows Phone 7 was fantastic (performance and OS fluidity blew everything away that I'd seen on iOS or Android back then).

I'd say go for a Windows Phone 8 device if you want to try something different but remember that the app selection can be lacking sometimes. I had everything I needed on WP7 (even a third party Google Music client, gooroovster) so it wasn't at all bad for me.

I'll definitely jump on something else eventually but if I was going for some alternative hardware today, It'd be Windows Phone 8.

 

[thecurryman]

I had a windows 7 phone and i did not like it that much. The only reason was because there was no notification system and there is a large lack of apps on it.

my next new phone will be the Z10 because I really like the gestures UI and its got the best notification system out there. Its all up to you though, I would suggest (if you can) using the Z10 for a week then using something else to compare and choose which is the best for you!

on a side note, bb10 allows for Android apps to be side loaded, so you can use any app that the android store has on the Z10

 

[MRU]

Not as restrictive as iOS ? You haven't tried Blackberry world and looked for some of the most popular apps on android and iOS.

I love BB10 OS, but the lack of Apps and the amount of broken ones currently on the store is a joke. The android apps 2.3 are sluggish like your running them on mid range 2009 hardware which is a big dissapointment.

If you really don't need apps other than the stock ones (and angry birds) then the z10 is worth a try.


Windows 8 has similar issues with app selection compared to iOS & android, but at least most of the big name ones are there, and are more to choose from than BB10... But I still think just as an OS BB10 is more impressive.


Just for me, there's more to a smartphone than OS alone...

----------

on a side note, bb10 allows for Android apps to be side loaded, so you can use any app that the android store has on the Z10

Only Android 2.3 compatible apps meaning most of them are very much out of date or lacking features of current Android 4 apps, also the performance is remarkably below par....

Pulse reader, Netflix etc.. Are very sluggish and slow to update...

 

[scott craft]

In the Windows phone world a notification center is a hot topic. I like the live tiles, but I really want a notification center. Preferably something similar to android that fits in with the WP theme.

 

[MRU]

In the Windows phone world a notification center is a hot topic. I like the live tiles, but I really want a notification center. Preferably something similar to android that fits in with the WP theme.

Actually if they integrated the Nokia N9's Meego notifications as a swipe to the left of the tile screen (instead of swipe right being app drawer) and put all your notifications there it would keep the design ethos of Indows Phone but substantially enhance it. Agrigated Notifications are very helpful.

 

[mxsweb]

About the 920

For few days in last november iv'e owned a 920 and took it back. It was a nice UI but apps were crashing and Tunein was not working at all. For me, Tunein, AirVideo (or like) and podcasts need to work.

So I got an iPhone 5 and felt Apple sold me something expensive with nothing new.

End of January, I gave a try again to the 920. It was better but then, still can't get a decent podcast solution that works. And... And.. there is the weight. It's heavy man. It's like taping a tick piece of steal behind an iP5. I'm affray, no one will look sexy with it in its shorts this summer.

Worth to mention: No orientation lock. Don't think about reading something on your pillow.

One last thing. I found a solution for streaming media. But the second day, it stoped working. I resetted the phone. Na! Nothing. So it landed on eBay and I grabbed a Nexus 4.

I wish everything worked fine on WP8. It's something new, the tiles system and the swiping right left is what makes the UI differentiate between all. Feels like MS need to iron it down a bit still.

All that said, I would be worry about BBX. For all of the above. It's not easy task to adapt to a new OS.

 

[scott craft]

Actually if they integrated the Nokia N9's Meego notifications as a swipe to the left of the tile screen (instead of swipe right being app drawer) and put all your notifications there it would keep the design ethos of Indows Phone but substantially enhance it. Agrigated Notifications are very helpful.

I've never used the N9 so I can't comment on the notification system. I'm sure out would be a big improvement though.

 

[ucfgrad93]

I would go with the X8 over the Blackberry.

 

[thecurryman]

Not as restrictive as iOS ? You haven't tried Blackberry world and looked for some of the most popular apps on android and iOS.

I love BB10 OS, but the lack of Apps and the amount of broken ones currently on the store is a joke. The android apps 2.3 are sluggish like your running them on mid range 2009 hardware which is a big dissapointment.

If you really don't need apps other than the stock ones (and angry birds) then the z10 is worth a try.


Windows 8 has similar issues with app selection compared to iOS & android, but at least most of the big name ones are there, and are more to choose from than BB10... But I still think just as an OS BB10 is more impressive.


Just for me, there's more to a smartphone than OS alone...

----------



Only Android 2.3 compatible apps meaning most of them are very much out of date or lacking features of current Android 4 apps, also the performance is remarkably below par....

Pulse reader, Netflix etc.. Are very sluggish and slow to update...

That is true, however, the android player for bb10 will be updated to at least 4.0 soon and many of the big name apps are coming to blackberry in the next coming months. The phone may not be a home run, but its def worth a look at

 

[MRU]

That is true, however, the android player for bb10 will be updated to at least 4.0 soon and many of the big name apps are coming to blackberry in the next coming months. The phone may not be a home run, but its def worth a look at

I would worry about the 'soon' part.....

As a playbook owner look how long it took to get basic email features and playbook AppStore is still a disaster nearly 2 years on.


If it i could believe it truly was 'Android 4 coming Soon' I'd have kept the z10, I was trying out for a few days (assuming they worked with better performance than 2.3 Androd apps)...

The OS itself is a breath of fresh air.

However I just don't have that faith in BB sadly.

 

[Donvald]

Personally I rate windows phone slightly higher than bb10 mainly on the basis is is a more mature OS, it will be supported in the future and MS isn't going out of business anytime soon. In addition to having a far greater choice of windows devices to choose from.

 

[steve31]

Windows get my vote. I picked up a cheap 920 from a friend that wanted to go back to ios. I was surprised at how nice windows 8 is. It's almost as smooth as ios. It just needs a few more key apps. Heavy phone but it feels great in the hand.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Get any Nokia phone with wireless charging (or add a wireless charging back to it) and you'll never be able to get a phone without wireless charging again.

My vote goes for the Lumia 820 or 920.

 

[Missjenna]

I had the Lumia 920 a few months ago before switching back to the iphone. Honestly, I loved everything about it, other than the app support. I'd probably go back in a heartbeat if more apps were available for it.

 

[MRU]

I had the Lumia 920 a few months ago before switching back to the iphone. Honestly, I loved everything about it, other than the app support. I'd probably go back in a heartbeat if more apps were available for it.

Therein is the biggest problem for W8 & BB10.

Yes people are willing to give it a chance, but without the necessary Apps people go back to their tried and tested handsets iOS & Android.

The problem is without people sticking with the platform developers are less likely to spend the time bringing over their application, and hence the circle remains unbroken.

I could happily live with W8 or BB10 as OS's. But need that app support and like many I'm just not prepared to play the waiting game for them, especially without any guarantees they are going to appear....

 

[Primejimbo]

I had the Lumia 920 a few months ago before switching back to the iphone. Honestly, I loved everything about it, other than the app support. I'd probably go back in a heartbeat if more apps were available for it.

I like it a lot too, and I almost traded my iPhone 5 for one. My issue is I am in so much with Mac and iOS. I want to get an iPad next when the new ones come out. I thought about getting an iPod Touch so I can use it for all my Mac stuff that my iPhone is tied into and get the 920.

 

[0dev]

If you want to go for a different OS Windows Phone 8 is your best bet, it lacks the developer support of iOS and Android but it's smooth, functional, and certainly looks the part. The Lumia 920 is a very nice phone too.

BB10 is DOA, it's just a matter of time before RIM is sold off for patents and scrap.

Personally though I'm waiting to see what Samsung have in store for us in a few days

 

[2298754]

I am selling my nexus 4 and was going for a S3 until i realized, why not try one of these?

A person who recently sold me a nano sim adapter showed me his blackberry Z10. I must say, i was impressed and do not understand how anyone here says that BB10 is nothing new. What is new is that it is running on mid 2012 specs, is not as restrictive as iOS, but felt way smoother than even iOS and of course android. The flow UI got me hooked instantly. He got a couple of emails and texts while i was playing with it and i LOVED the peek feature.

It's running early 2012 specs. It's basically a Galaxy S3, which is almost a year old now.

What is so special about the peek feature? What does it do that the drop-down notification bar in Android doesn't do? I could be watching a movie and see snippets of incoming texts, emails, messages, etc, all just by swiping down.

 

[samab]

It's running early 2012 specs. It's basically a Galaxy S3, which is almost a year old now.

What is so special about the peek feature? What does it do that the drop-down notification bar in Android doesn't do? I could be watching a movie and see snippets of incoming texts, emails, messages, etc, all just by swiping down.

Yes, the Z10 is running on older specs --- you could have gotten the same CPU on the Galaxy S3 which was released in June/July 2012.

RIM ordered many component parts in advance and then BB10 the OS got delayed. So you end up with the Z10 is running on an assortment of old and weird spec --- such as the Z10 has an unique 1280×768 resolution vs. all subsequent BB10 phones will have a different 1280x720 resolution.

On the other hand, people ignored the older specs and declared BB10 the operating system DOA because the Z10 has got a weaker sunspider score or that the Z10 GUI is not as smooth as recent Android phones. But they ignored that these recent reviewed Android phones are quad cores and have a GPU that is 3 or 4 times faster. The Z10 is a one-off running on weird spec and is not representative of BB10 the OS's performance.