Goodbye BlackBerry
First, I have to be clear, my initial decision to make a BlackBerry my primary mobile device three years ago was in part driven by curiosity (let's try this...!), and in part (the more significant part) by the fact BlackBerry was the only smartphone platform back then supporting UMA, or calls over WiFi. I cried a river over UMA, especially after Orange decided to turn the service off last June. Something I can explain only by huge misunderstanding and mishandling by the MNO. But simply after UMA had been turned off, my incentive to continue with BlackBerry has significantly diminished. As most of the users, I started judging the platform without any UMA - derived handicap over the others. And the advantages did not and do not look that strong.
Actually I have started seeing more disadvantages of sticking with the BlackBerry platform. There have been two major ones.
The first - carrier control and overcomplicated handling of network connections. Not digging into technical details, it is enough to say many BlackBerry applications do not work, because the MNOs do not allow them to. One such example have been Glympse. It simply would not work on Orange PL network, period. There were also numerous cases when applications refused to work when no GSM network was present (WiFi alone did not suffice for things like the BlackBerry AppStore). It does not feel good when there is connectivity and you cannot make use of it, because the platform requires another *specific* type of connection. And it is a nuisance to have to check with the MNO whether particular app works or not.
The second disadvantage is the lack of Apps. Yes, I have been a long time HTML-5 advocate, drinking the "you don't need an app for the Web" cool aid. But the HTML-5 reality is not here. At least not yet. There are no decent HTML-5 equivalents of applications like Skype, Evernote, Google Reader or Schwab mobile banking, to name just a few I use every day. Google Reader is I think the best indicator of HTML-5 affairs. By design and function, this is the app that should be the crown example of HTML-5 craftsmanship. Yet Google has just released the new version of the app, which by the way is phenomenal. But this is an app, not a HTML-5 web page. So if Google cannot make a good HTML-5 Reader, we are still far from the mainstream HTML-5 adoption.
So why didn't I go for the iPhone then? Two reasons. The first one is religious. I simply do not buy the Apple mantra 100%. I do not like to feel like a lemming. For all my life I have been choosing less popular, but promisingly more exciting paths. The iPhone today is too easy a choice. I wanted something more unique. The second reason is very practical. iPhones do not have and will never have physical keyboards, and I somehow just can't use the touch one.
Considering the above, the only choice has been Android. Fortunately there are just a few Android handsets with QWERTY keyboards. I picked the Sony Xperia Pro. It is a lovely phone. Light, with round edges, fits nicely in a pocket. Fast Qualcomm 8255 chip inside. High resolution screen. Slide out physical keyboard. Good camera. The web browser is very fast and capable, including Flash. Apps work great, the Google Reader being my absolute favorite.
Cons? There are two.
The expected one is battery life sucks. But so it does on the latest BlackBerry Bold. Seems like I need a USB, rechargeable emergency battery (which will be the subject of the next week's post). But so do the iPhone 4s users to survive the night after a busy day. Otherwise I consider the Xperia Pro, and Android as a platform in particular, a huge step forward.
The unexpected one is Sony elected to use 3.5mm headphones with incompatibly wired jack. It is 3.5mm, but does not work with iPods, iPhones, ThinkPads, MacBooks and all single-jack Airliners (including the dual-to-single jack airline adaptors). Geeezzzz... It is difficult to comment, but yes, this is Sony Style. Over the years they have never learned being compatible is the way to go...
Comments
Post a Comment