Return to Virtual Qwerty

I had decided to try my hand at writing a word document with the Docs to Go application on my Samsung Captivate, and I was not enthused in the least bit. Only a few hours passed since I had bid farewell to my BlackBerry Bold 9000 model in exchange for the Samsung, and my grieving period over the tactile qwerty was not done. I believe this is the reason why I had reacted so negatively to the on-screen keys and made a rash decision to flee to my MacBook. 

Even after leaving behind the qwerty bar device at the AT&T store, there was still a part of me that clinged to the familiarity of tactile buttons. Sitting up into the late hours to burn the midnight oil with the backlit illumination of keys was a favorite pastime, especially with good music in my ears. Each reassuring click from the BlackBerry keyboard seemed to be weaving itself into a hypnotic rhythm that would grasp my concentration so effortlessly. In this writing trance, I could lose myself for prolonged periods of time and did not care as long as my thumbs could tolerate it. Honestly, this felt like my own private time for meditation. The first part of my going back to a virtual keypad involved my delving into an old method that seemed to almost be forgotten. Suddenly dealing with nuances of touch feedback instead of tactile keys caught me off guard, and I wrongfully cast judgment on the Captivate.

However, after over a week of getting used to typing on the larger 4inch screen, I am more at ease from the first day. The display being larger than the Nexus One was also a strength for Sony Ericsson X10. Unfortunately, it was hampered by inconsistent feedback on a UI that had the potential of being very sluggish. While it is one thing to have interface lag, it is really disconcerting when even simple typing cannot be relied upon. This led to the downfall of the X10 in my eyes, and I am grateful that the Samsung has escaped this same fate so far. There may be occasional lags in navigating homescreens and open applications, but typing on the virtual qwerty is sound for the most part. I can even go as far as to say that my Captivate rivals the Nexus One with its keyboard feedback. When one takes into account the convenience of word completion along with the extra space from a bigger display, the Galaxy S line may have a winner as a Nexus One successor.

All this praise comes from using the keyboard in portrait mode, so one can only imagine the awe of landscape mode. My naked eye may not be able to notice the initial benefit of SuperAMOLED in comparison to the Retina display, but the extra measurement of the screen is absolutely apparent! I recently decided to transfer to my phone from the MacBook my word document log of device findings for my Captivate usage. Since I no longer have to sit at my desk with the Mac, this is a more efficient way to stay on top of recording important entries for my blog post. A bit of a shocking result of this is that I no longer have a desire to try a bluetooth keyboard with the Captivate. I once considered the Logitech DiNovo mini model, but started to feel hesitant upon reading user reviews on Amazon. In addition to the risk of adopting this unit that may not work with the Android, there is also the prospect of adding another gadget to carry. 

At this point, I can say in full confidence that I am over the grief period for leaving the hardware keyboard of the Bold 9000. The more I think on the possibility of using a tactile keyboard, there is a potential con that emerges in my mind regarding the ease of use. In order to retain a display that is at least four inches, a sliding keypad seems to be most necessary. When this feature is included in the build of a phone, it is usually the case that additional bulk is to be expected. Accompanying this added bulk is the potential for more cumbersome operation of a mobile device. Sliding a qwerty may not seem to be too bad, but it is much easier to have only one primary touch surface to deal with. Considering my past history with sliders such as the Touch Pro 2, N900, Tilt, and E75, I tend to be drawn to either a qwerty bar or touch slab form factor. It seems that a touch slab is best since a qwerty bar would not allow me to retain a large display of at least four inches. The Captivate now offers the best combination of measurements and interface performance for typing, so I may have found a fitting upgrade to the Bold 9000 in regards to writing. Unlike the Nexus One, the Samsung actually encourages me to write a lot more often...hence this posting.

TRENT
Sent from my Samsung Captivate

Qwerty Bar vs Touch Slab

Of course, there is much anticipation for the Samsung Captivate on AT&T, but also a bittersweet feeling in leaving the hardware qwerty again. Using this BlackBerry Bold 9000 keypad really helps me to realize just how much I have missed the qwerty bar form factor. Thumbs speeding away at the speed of light whenever I want to express an opinion in written form has been an amazing privilege. Considering how easy it is for me to get lost in this kind of activity for hours, one would think that a hardware qwerty is the epitome of mobile contentment for me. Sitting here and writing right now with such tactile comfort as music plays from connected headphones feels absolutely great from a blogging perspective.

However, from a functionality perspective, the qwerty bar form factor is not conducive to an efficient smartphone experience for my own daily routine. Being with the Nexus One and the iPod Touch has revolutionized the way I prefer to gather, create, and share content on a mobile device. Using fingertips to easily swipe one command and tap another seems to have been imprinted to the very nature of my being. A touch screen practically feels organic in comparison to a non-touch screen, and I wonder if I miss that sense more than the hardware qwerty feature itself. Even taking the Bold to use in a brief moment to check emails or Twitter feels like hard labor with the physical buttons and smaller display. With the added ease of touch can come speed, and I've learned this the hard way in learning the BlackBerry OS. While I understand that speed will eventually come from being familiar with this Bold, I am certain it will not be comparable to a touch OS. I can sit here and complain about how certain applications are not available or how some features are not present on the 9000, but it all comes down to OS performance and preference. Even if I had the Nokia E71, there is a likelihood I would be coming to this same realization.

I prefer the Android touch OS and its performance, there is no other way to declare it. This Google-blessed software along with included cloud data management has been an absolute godsend for optimum mobile proficiency. Being able to have PIM data synced without a hard wire computer connection has been such a freeing and enlightening experience after dealing with Missing Sync and .mac in past years. Adding to this priceless benefit is a growing marketplace, smooth graphics, and a huge variety of hardware and software conduits. While the latter benefit can be hampered with what is known as fragmentation, I believe it is better to have choice than to not. Quite frankly, Android touch OS grants a harmonious blend of iPhone-like touch performance and Maemo/Symbian-like functionality.

I would not be honest with myself if I did not acknowledge that hardware variety in the Android market needs refreshing with more tactile qwerty models. True, a majority of the masses may not be in the market for a physical qwerty paired with a large touch screen, but I am. A most recent phone has been the only one to manifest this desire: the Samsung Galaxy S Pro (aka Epic 4G on Sprint). To hold on to the perks of a touch screen and have the added pros of hardware qwerty buttons, the slider build pattern seems to be the sensible choice. There is a dominance of touch tablet form factors, and I am faced with hardly no choice but to accept that for now. Being financially limited to only units locked to AT&T for personal usage makes things worse, for I would even have to wait for upgrade eligibility once I get the Captivate.

While it will not be the best Android model available, this Samsung is the best that AT&T has to give at this point. Yes, I can be turned off by the prevalence of cheap plastic and lack of LED flash on the camera, but as my mother used to say, "beggars cannot be choosy". Moving back to AT&T as a new subscriber has happened just in time for me to take advantage of the subsidized pricing for this Captivate, and I can only be thankful. Despite initial complaints that may come with using it, I am aware that the full retail Nexus One option simply is not available. With that being said, there can surely be a number of potential good points. I can have a bigger 4inch screen with touch feedback comparable to (if not better than) the Nexus One, HD capable video recording, 16GB internal storage, and UI minimally mutilated by AT&T or TouchWiz. In this moment, I am reminded of a lyric from a Sheryl Crow song called "Soak Up the Sun": It's not getting want you want, it's wanting what you've got. In the situation of adopting the Captivate as my main Android device, I am hopeful for initial cons to be outnumbered by pros. Until more than the Epic 4G on Sprint is available to the public, I can only continue to wait with an Android tablet phone and be content with all that Google has created.

Yes, the likelihood of missing these buttons on this Bold 9000 will be extremely high as I walk out of the AT&T store after exchanging it for the Samsung, but that is life: compromise. My usage preferences have changed over time and may continue to change as time continues, and this occurs in a constant quest for balance. Weighing good and bad points and attempting to make them equal have brought me to bidding farewell to the qwerty bar form factor. Writing my words in durations of prolonged sessions may be a tempting prospect on such devices, but not enough to override my desire for the Android touch interface. Who knows, maybe the bigger screen on the Captivate will make for a more pleasant experience...or maybe I should cling more to my Mac keyboard if I want to write.

TRENT
Sent via BlackBerry Bold 9000

Leaving BlackBerry OS for Android OS

Well, after some time with the BlackBerry OS and the hardware qwerty marvel that is the Bold 9000, I have decided to adopt Android as my primary OS again. No matter how great it is to be reunited with the tactile euphoria of a hardware qwerty, there are cons to RIM's OS that I cannot come to tolerate for everyday use. This is not to declare that the Bold 9000 is entirely negative in the experience it provides, it just isn't versatile enough for my needs as a smartphone user.

Truthfully, being limited to a small non-touch screen was more challenging than I thought. Aside from the glorious times I spend writing up a frenzy on these keypad buttons, I've been frustrated with the web browser and Google Maps performance of the BB OS. The Bolt browser appeared to be a godsend from one aspect, but it can never measure up to what I grew accustomed to on the Nexus One. Scrolling my thumb to death on the trackball to scale an entire website was bothersome, and I then realized the importance of a large, capacitive touch screen. Google Maps was a total nightmare in navigating to a new location for a doctor appointment. I missed the turn-by-turn directions being spoken aloud on Google Navigation with such amazing visuals on the Nexus 3.7 inch display. Since I avoided the Facebook for BlackBerry app, I was limited to posting status updates via SMS. Twitter for BlackBerry was a wonderful app to use, but still couldn't shake my yearning for the touch version.

These and other factors leading to my decision may not be fair to mention since the Bold 9000 is a device meant for a totally different market. While a part of me fits that market of messaging connoisseurs and writers, there is another part that somehow dominates it. This is the part addicted to UI graphical eye candy, multimedia, and the connectivity of the web and social networks. Despite the awareness and certainty of being able to do these same things on the BlackBerry, I just like how Android gives its polish on a large touch screen. This could be a product of the iPhone generation when it seemed that hardware qwerty keys and small non-touch screens were suddenly deemed obsolete for a majority of the public. I may have been sucked into the hype of the touch screen and lost total sight of my want for a tactile keyboard. There is still a fraction of that desire to write on physical buttons, for I wouldn't be on the wait for an Android device equipped with the same. However, I do realize that compromising with a device that cannot at least grant me a touch experience is worse than having touch without tactile keys. This is why I am due to exchange my Bold 9000 for an Android touch device as soon as possible.

This situation is made interesting with the fact that I am limited to AT&T devices since I cannot afford an unlocked phone at full retail value. Even though it looked like I was at a disadvantage at one point with AT&T's paltry lineup, the Samsung Captivate had been announced and my interest was piqued! Once again, my hands were tied to go ahead and take a chance on this network-locked version of the Samsung Galaxy S. Honestly, if the Captivate wasn't available I probably would have figured out some way to get the Nexus One for AT&T, but I'd be lying if I claimed to not be intrigued by the Captivate's 4inch screen.

I can recall the 4inch display of the Sony Ericsson X10 and how much I liked it in comparison to the Nexus One. Aside from its issues, watching movies, using Google Maps, browsing websites, and navigating UI menus just felt better on its larger screen. I am hoping that initial reviews of the UI performance on the unlocked Galaxy S will bring success to the Captivate model.

Of course, there is always the risk of AT&T tarnishing the Android experience with its onboard software. For instance, I cannot understand why AT&T would want to provide its own apps for GPS navigation and web-based contacts management when it has already been taken care of by Google apps. Either way, if I cannot delete or hide the AT&T app icons, I had still better have access to Google Maps/Navigation and the typical Google services that come stock on Android devices. Being unable to download apps outside of the Android Marketplace is not an issue for me, but being forced to use AT&T definitely is. If necessary hacking and voiding of the warranty won't fix being in this potential problem, I would most certainly have to consider alternative options at that point.

Something else that could bring an issue to getting the Captivate could be the overall build quality of the handset. Samsung insists on using flimsy, lightweight plastics in the build of its devices, and this can only make them feel horribly cheap. However, to have an Android device that can finally stand up to the iPhone 4 may be worth me swallowing my pride and getting off my high horse. At the end of the day, as long as Android works in the way it was intended that may be all that matters.

TRENT
Sent via BlackBerry Bold 9000

Returning to AT&T

Due to challenges in the current job market, it was extremely imperative that I attempt to save every single dollar when possible in addition to minimizing expenses. In lieu of this, I had to make the necessary decision to consolidate household cellular lines into one family plan. However, there was an interesting twist thrown into this situation: moving back to AT&T from T-Mobile. As much as I would have liked to stay on T-Mobile and start a family plan, it would have been unfair for me to expect an iPhone user to leave AT&T 3G to be stuck on EDGE. I honestly knew I wouldn't be willing to do that, so it would be senseless to ask that of my household.

Another factor was access to more 3G compatible handsets since AT&T's 3G frequency seems more popular than T-Mobile's. Using the Nokia N900 and Google Nexus One when they were exclusive had its own appeal, but that soon wore off with time. I simply felt cut off from most 3G devices on the market as I kept my T-Mobile account active, and didn't like being limited to EDGE speeds on review units.

There were definitely cons to returning to AT&T such as being locked to a contract with a $350 ETF and a 2GB data cap, but the benefits seemed to outweigh them nonetheless. If I could save money on an annual basis by using a family plan, that appeared to make the most sense. As much as I didn't want to admit it, another way to save even more money was to buy a network-locked model at a subsidized price. Yes, I did mention using network-locked device for a change! Honestly, if I could afford to buy another unlocked Nexus One I would have done so, but I could not.

At the time the move was made to AT&T, there was a sad and pitiful collection of Android devices. The Motorola Backflip amounted to nothing more than a Fisher-Price toy hampered with the overcrowded Motoblur UI, and the HTC Aria had a screen that was much too small and cramped. That inspired my move to BlackBerry as a temporary stopgap to await a worthwhile Android device with a hardware qwerty. If it weren't for Google Sync being compatible with the BlackBerry OS, the Bold 9000 wouldn't have been considered at all. I am hoping to one day have a dream Android phone with all that I'm looking for in hardware, but seems a long way off in the future. The only potential candidate at this moment is the Epic 4G coming to Sprint, but moving to a CDMA carrier is absolutely out of the question. One can only pray that an unlocked GSM model would be available for the Samsung Galaxy S Pro, for I would certainly save up for it.

To see people gravitate to one device with such enthusiasm for its simplicity and functionality feels great, and I hope to one day have the same feeling. For right now, the Android OS is my preferred software of choice as I wait for a suitable hardware model. AT&T may not be the best carrier, but it's all I have to work with in the greater good of managing household finances.

TRENT
Sent via BlackBerry Bold 9000

Nokia Rant

In the midst of Ricky Cadden closing down Symbian-Guru.com after years of running it with Rita Khoury, there was indeed some shock for a quick moment. To imagine one of Symbian's greatest blog supporters shutting down his own site seemed to be very unlikely in the course of countless reviews and postings, but alas it happened anyway. When I read the words of Ricky and Rita in the final post and thought of why I had lost faith in Nokia a while back, I could only agree with every single point that was made.

I can recall when Nokia first announced its Symbian touch interface and aired that unforgettable promo video at a conference. An attractive European brunette was depicted at a harbor town with a phone resembling the current XpressMusic model or even the upcoming N8. The close up rendering shots of the interface were engaging with a black background, white Nokia font, and turquoise highlights. This was made all the more intriguing by a smooth touch response with every finger swipe and press onscreen, and I was instantly hooked! My mouth had hit the floor in shock upon seeing the flawless performance of the onboard camera recording a dog briskly walking by. After being so attached to Symbian 3rd edition for a while, I was excited to believe Nokia was taking initiative and bringing competition to a market mesmerized by the iPhone's debut. Practically being a crazed Nokia fan, I recorded this promo and watched it repeatedly in hopes of the next great gadget that would revolutionize the market. Nokia had done it before with the N95 being hailed as a mobile computer for its time, so there was no reason to doubt the company at that point. This enthusiasm I had for the brand was eventually tested when I saw footage of a prototype tablet running Symbian touch. To this day, my reaction to the performance of that video example can be recollected as if it occurred yesterday: utter disbelief. I refused to believe that the clunky aesthetic and jittery movement of this tablet was to be the destined path of the Symbian OS. After the amount of time I had spent gushing over units from the ESeries and NSeries line, there was absolutely no way that mediocrity would take hold at Nokia. Upon reminding myself of this tablet being only a prototype, I simply moved on with expectation of a better final product to be unveiled to the awaiting public.

N97 debuted with the Symbian 5th edition touch OS and caused a stir with vendors taking preorders, but was soon realized to be a curse in disguise. After much agonizing over calls to Amazon, reading blog articles, and watching photos and videos both official and unofficial, I finally got my hands on one! My first unboxing took place with usual surge of emotions as if it was Christmas day and I was back to being five all over again! As I opened the retail packaging, I was so eager to have my underwhelmed perception be proven wrong from first sight of that Symbian touch prototype. It was not. From first grip I was put off by the plastic construction and hollow weightlessness, but still I decided to consider its potential pros. In retrospect, bringing ridicule to the plastic build may have been too harsh since it was not an ESeries device. However, having great size dimensions for optimum portability, 32GB internal capacity, stereo speakers, Carl Zeiss optics camera, and a solid slider were not enough to downplay other pet peeves. The three row qwerty was limiting and hampered by soft tactile feedback (if any at all), and the touch interface was nowhere near polished or smooth in daily performance. In addition to unpredictable self resets and freezes, there were the irritating memory errors. After a good while with the N97, I hated it with a passion and no longer wanted to have anything to do with Symbian 5th edition. A brief stint with the N97 mini introduced a qwerty with improved feedback, but the damage had already been done by a clunky OS and poor hardware defects. I remembered looking back to those alluring N97 commercials and feeling absolutely cheated as a Nokia customer. True, a certain amount of caution should be given to watching promos for upcoming products, but the difference between the marketing and real world use was too huge for words! I could have been guilty for expecting too much of an iPhone experience, but this expectation was set by the flawless and speedy UI simulations on the promos. With time, I gradually pulled away from Nokia completely in search of a reliable touch OS. I won't even waste time with speaking of Ovi services which turned out to be an utter failure in software execution.

As time goes on with mounting competition from industry challengers, Nokia appears to not have a prayer in hell with Symbian, Maemo or even the upcoming Meego OS. I understand not rushing to avoid an incomplete product, but Nokia is dragging its feet at a glacial pace!! If it is going to improve its touch OS, there needs to be more than just smoothing out fonts and adding minor graphical changes. If it is to build a major fan base, it needs to announce products only shortly before public release to maintain interest. Manufacturing different hardware builds with the same, predictable, sub par Symbian OS only perpetuates the notion that innovation is dead and has no place at Nokia. If this company has a top spot as a reigning manufacturer in the world market, why can't its resources manage to give the perception that progress is being made?! Even though I've lost faith in Symbian touch and still have some respect for 3rd edition, there was a recent story stating that Samsung surpassed Nokia in feature phone sales in western Europe. The clock is ticking and ticking fast, Nokia seems to think that time is on its side. There needs to be a collective wake up call at those headquarters in Espoo, Finland to light the fire of urgency to at least take on Samsung and upcoming Windows 7 if not Android and iOS!!! The Nokia ship is continuing to sink with long-time fans and supporters bailing on lifeboats as competing ships surge on by, and this company doesn't seem to give a damn! In addition to online accounts of horrible N97 failures, a close friend had to tolerate his N97 being sent back to repairs FIVE times!! There is no excuse for this, and the best kind of protest is with one's wallet...which is why I refuse to purchase another Nokia product until worthwhile improvements have been made. Even after Maemo on the N900 and my conversion to Android and BlackBerry, my optimism is at an all-time low for Nokia's comeback. If I'm not mistaken, the term "ovi" is Finnish for door, and it is a shame that Nokia could be closing that door on opportunity as well as its well-meaning consumers.

TRENT
Sent via BlackBerry Bold 9000

Bold 9000 impressions

So far, I am definitely pleased to have exchanged the Bold 9700 for the older 9000 model. It is now a little after 1AM and I have finally completed setup of my device after updating it to the latest fifth version of the BB OS. With the help of some online resources, I was able to successfully bypass the fact the AT&T did not provide a network-approved update to this OS. Not only do I have a BlackBerry device that is almost perfect in hardware, but it is now worthwhile in its onboard software. Turning on the 9000 to a later version of BB OS 4 was not exactly a misfortune, but I did miss the updated look of OS 5 from the 9700 model. After spending a good amount of time with the Nexus One and its touch interface, it still feels refreshing to have simplicity with the BlackBerry OS.

This is made all the more pleasant in finally getting a hardware qwerty that can satisfy my need for prolonged writing. While the Bold 9700 was not terrible by any means, it was unable to grant me a comfortable typing platform due to its small form factor. Although I had previously been turned off by width from the likes of the HTC HD2, I am now loving this element on the Bold 9000. The extra widening of the previous generation model seems to grant larger keys. There is no doubt that quick thumbs can potentially get lost in a blur when speeding across these tactile buttons. There is certainly a clicking sound that emanates from the qwerty in swift typing, but I don't mind it all. The qwerty clicks remind me of an old fashioned typewriter and give a welcomed break from the soft, spongy feel of past keyboards. A pronounced curvature along with chrome row separators really lends an ergonomic and professional upper hand to the Bold 9000's design. More so than even the former E71, this device helps the time to pass by when I get into a writing frenzy. Yes, this phone has a better keyboard than the ESeries device that had my allegiance once upon a time.

In addition to having a welcoming environment for prolonged writing, there is also more substance to the build of the 9000 model. Being larger than the 9700, it has a more masculine construction even though it feels hollow and much cheaper. One has to be honest and call attention to the fact that this certainly doesn't have the solid feel of the 9700, but this isn't a dealbreaker by any means. Minor creaking is present over the headphone and miniUSB ports, but this is a non-issue in daily use. The added bulk is not as bad as I thought it would be for portability due to the abundance of plastic. Unlike Samsung, RIM has cleverly offset this plastic with a leather-like backing. While I can understand the potential for gaudiness with this design cue, it really isn't as bad in person as I thought it would be. There is a serious aura radiating from this phone that departs from the typical touch only slabs that have been dominating the mobile industry. I truly understand how RIM can be seen as the business consumer supplier in a market seemingly saturated with media-centric mini tablets. By the sturdy make of the qwerty buttons and its sizable platform of a body, the Bold 9000 is a certified writer's dream (or at least my dream).

There are indeed some flaws to be tolerated, but I was fully aware of the risk I was accepting in purchasing the 9000. Downgrades from the 9700 model include low internal memory for app downloads, lesser 2 megapixel camera, and supposed weaker battery life. I have had to be careful with what apps I choose to download from BlackBerry App World and be sure to only include the most essential. I did have an Endomondo app for GPS tracking on my runs, but then uninstalled it after deeming its redundancy with my iPod Touch Nike Sport. The low grade camera is of course not that great for even snapshots, but it works nonetheless. However, I won't even waste time with attempting to record any video footage with this kind of camera. As for the battery life, it has been simply amazing! Since there is no large touch screen or 1GHz CPU to power up, this Bold can last easily for a 1.5 days with Wi-Fi constantly running. One particular down side that I've noticed is the voice call quality that seems sub par in comparison to the Nexus and E72 I recently reviewed. Tinny sounds from the earpiece have no trouble getting distorted in upper volume levels despite the strong signal reception. Speakerphone works just fine with little fanfare, but could use a bit more volume. Facebook for BlackBerry has not been the best of experiences on this handset or the previous 9700 due to its unpredictable nature. After changing settings to have no effect on my contacts and calendar, the app insisted on integrating itself anyway. This caused a great deal of chaos with my PIM data, and I had no choice but to do a hard reset and vow to never use the Facebook app again. Even with the cons of this older Bold, my primary want is for comfortable writing and its broad qwerty provides that for me.

Nice surprises have emerged from the first few days with the 9000 in regards to making the most of its features and apps. While it is of course not a direct resemblance to what I was accustomed to on the Nexus One, it is certainly not too bad. The stereo speakers are a delight to have for media playback, and it causes me to wonder why so many current devices haven't had this feature in a while. A large touch screen with a Snapdragon CPU and a measly speaker opening just doesn't seem like a worthy combination for a flagship. This is not to say this Bold has outstanding speakers with flawless audio, but it can still give plenty of sound with them. Browsing the web is an absolute nightmare, but the new-found Bolt application brings a worthy substitute. Rendering desktop layouts for sites in a quick manner is Bolt's strong suit, and there's also support for playing online video files. While video is not that great and best supported with a wifi connection, it is still nice to have this resemblance to the Skyfire app. Moviefone gives a familiar function in the absence of Fandango, and Dictionary.com always rescues me in times of writer's block. Tether is a promising app that is self-explanatory, but at this point I'm not sure if it is worth the premium price after the free trial is over. One Touch Flashlight V2 from JaredCo comes in quite handy in using the camera's LED light, and ShareIt provides a convenient way to share content with both Facebook and Twitter. Having the Amazon Kindle app really eased the pain of an Android version being released just after I had sold my Nexus One. There may not be much amazement from the smaller screen, but I am glad to have the ability to read my Kindle books on the go without my first gen reader. Twitter for BlackBerry continues to be reliable with its non-touch interface, and Google services such as Sync, Mobile App, and Maps remain priceless for efficient mobile functionality. Last but not least is the DataViz Docs to Go application which has been nothing short of incredible with the Bold's hardware qwerty. While the default MemoPad app is sufficient for writing my thoughts, I must admit that I prefer the advanced options available on a bona-fide word document editor. To my favor, DataViz is now running an $18 sale on the mobile office app, and I of course had to take the offer while the getting was good.

With all that I have gained with the qwerty bar form factor from the BlackBerry brand so far, I admit that I do miss the E71 and its Symbian 3rd OS. While its qwerty may not be as impressive as the Bold 9000, the OS seems more intuitive. One can think this stems from my being familiar with Symbian after so many years, but I would have to disagree. The truth of the matter is both RIM and Symbian offer antiquated OS models for non-touch devices, but Symbian provides a more balanced usage experience. Oh well, maybe this is simply my own lamenting over no longer having the E71. There are plenty of good points about the BlackBerry Bold 9000 that I would not get with the E71: 3.5mm jack, stereo speakers, wider qwerty, better qwerty shortcuts, better tactile feedback, 2 shortcut keys, a dedicated messenger app (made for only correspondence between like devices), and a worthwhile app store.

At the end of the day, this 9000 is not a permanent device at all, but merely a stopgap as I continue to wait for a worthy Android device with a hardware qwerty. As much as I'm hopeful for an unlocked GSM version of the Galaxy S Pro to be available for AT&T's 3G network, this may not happen. Until the day comes for this, I will have to hold on and try to manage without the Android OS and enjoy the time allotted with this tactile keyboard.

TRENT
Sent via BlackBerry Bold 9000