Quote:
Originally Posted by NoBox
I see your points. It took me forever to get used to a solely touchscreen device. BUT, I soon realized that for handheld devices I was a dinosaur. Plus, everywhere I went, in whatever business, touchscreens were it.
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I understand that this is the case for Joe Q. Public, Moron At Large™. But that is not now, nor has it ever been, me.
Let me give you a little more info about me. I graduated from High School in the Class of 1991... 25 years ago. Back then, it was still possible to take TYPING as an Elective Class, and I did. I learned the art of Touch Typing in my Senior Year. And after that, I used it from time-to-time, often enough to stay in practice with it. Then, right around 1999, I began using it every day of my life, once I finally had a PC in the house with internet access.
At this point, the 2 most useful classes I ever took in school were Typing, and Driver's Ed. I use those skills every day of my life. I may not be as fast as a secretary, or a Data Entry Specialist, but I'm faster than most people I know. I also got my first "smartphone", a T-Mobile Color SideKick, in 2003, earlier than any of my friends. And I've had nothing but smartphones ever since. Every one of them has had a physical QWERTY keyboard either built-in, or added on in the case of the Galaxy S4. In 2005, I upgraded my Nextel phone to a BlackBerry 7200-series phone, and I stayed a loyal "CrackBerry Addict" for 7 years, only leaving in 2012 for Android once it became clear to me that BlackBerry's phones could no longer "keep up with the Joneses". When it was taking my phone 5 minutes to do even the simplest tasks, I knew it was time for a change.
At this point, Touch Typing is hardwired into my brain to the point where I could probably do it in my sleep. I am physically unable to use the touch screen keyboard for anything more than a very short note, or to dial a phone number. All because I can't FEEL THE KEYS.
Hell, take a look at this. This is my newest "toy" that I just bought a couple weeks ago, to use with both my Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 AND my BlackBerry Priv:
What you're seeing there is a full-sized Bluetooth keyboard that can be paired with 2 devices, and you can switch between the 2 devices at the flick of a switch. It's roughly the same size as the keyboards on most 17" Desktop Replacement laptops, with the same features: All the standard Windows/OS X keys, a standard Numeric Keypad, and a small, but usable, multi-touch trackpad.
I use it at home, or at work, when I know I'm going to be using either the tablet or the Priv as my main device for the day, and will want to either reply to emails, or post on message boards (such as this one) from the device.
It was $30 on Amazon. Only things I would change about it, if asked for input for a new version, would be 2 things:
- The keys could be back-lit, for use in low-light environments.
- I would have the manufacturer switch from the permanently sealed-in battery the current model has, to using either AAA or AA batteries that the user can change out whenever they need to.
Luckily for me, the Amazon Marketplace Seller that I bought it from not only has the lowest price, but they also resolve the second issue by giving the product a Lifetime Warranty (as opposed to the manufacturer's standard 1-year warranty.) So, when the battery loses its ability to hold a charge, I'll just send it in and have it exchanged for a new one!
Quote:
Originally Posted by aiharkness
Use what works best for you, Jack. We have our different needs and different preferences.
Agree BlackBerry didn't help itself with that price point. But truthfully BlackBerry has a lot going against it, much self-inflicted, that it's hard to say whether the price point was a big factor or just one more among many others.
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Frankly, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsille (sp?) ran their innovative, market-making company into the ground by clinging too hard to a dying business model. And to make matters worse, they compounded the problem by appointing a successor who'd worked directly under them for years, and would therefore have the same mindset as they did. So that's made the company's turnaround take even longer. In the cell phone business, as in ALL customer-driven businesses, as the customers' needs, wants, and buying patterns change, you either evolve, or you DIE.
At this point, Chen has a big, uphill battle ahead of him to bring the company back to profitability. It may be too far gone at this point. Maybe 2 years from now, when it's time to upgrade my phone again, I'll have to choose a Samsung phone, and buy their OEM QWERTY Keyboard Case to go with it, because that'll be the only option that's available. If that ends up being the case, I hope to hell they'll have gotten rid of these idiotic glass backs on the phones by then.
But in the meantime, I'm back in Black(Berry) and here to stay as long as my Priv keeps working. And when the day comes that it's time for an upgrade, if BlackBerry is still around and has an upgrade path for me, I'll take it. 'Cuz no one else wants to make a phone for Touch Typists like myself any longer. They all want to make phones for Joe Q. Public, Moron At Large™... who most likely uses an id10tPhone!
