wilson8586 wrote:
I am interested in a blackberry, how long of a life cycle is the usual blackberry, is the usual life of a blackberry the two year contract? Has the quality degraded like other phone companies in the past? Where does blackberry stand in your minds? Will they just keep getting better or can they improve and they dont seem to notice their mistakes. Thanks, wilson8586.
Hi, Wilson,
Welcome to the forums. You have some very good questions and I will give a try to answer. First I will give you some background on Blackberry, give you an idea of how they stand now as a smartphone producer, and then give you an idea of where the company is going. I will end by giving my personal experience with the Blackberry.
Blackberry, a company or Research In Motion, or RIM, is a Canadian company who started in about 1999. RIM actually had been around for about a decade before that working in the wireless pager field. The first Blackberry device was actually a paging device. The first big Blackberry smartphone as we know it came about in 2002. The roots of the Blackberry was developed for corporate clientel who wanted to keep in touch with their data via their wireless device.
Blackberry started to cross over to the "average Joe" consumer just a few years ago with the introduction of the Pearl and the Curve. Users like myself could have my email sent to my phone as well as sending text messages and picture messaging. The devices also syncronized well with desktop applications such as Microsoft's Office, keeping the user's contacts and calender information at hand.
With all that history aside, it shows to me that RIM realizes the need for the "average Joe" to have a smartphone at a reasonable price, with quality workmanship and can perform basic functions as texting, messaging, and keeping the user in touch with email and personal information such as calender and scheduling, is what the public demands. They see the need and you can tell they have answered that call by making products such as the Storm, Tour, Bold, and others coming soon. I had a Pearl 8130 for 2 years and it performed well. It was sturdy and handled my needs. I only recently changed to a Tour because I wanted a bigger screen and a phone with more memory. I think the quality of the Blackberry has evolved to a higher state due to the fact of increased memory, higher resolution screens, and more applications for a user's specific needs, such as GPS mapping. To me, Blackberry represents a company committed to quality at a resonable price. They are here for the "long haul." As far as improvement, I personally beieve if anyone or any company thinks they have no room for improvement, they don't need to be in business. Everyone learns from mistakes. It shows we are human. Blackberry and RIM are no exception. I think the development of the new Storm2, soon to be released, is a prime example. They learned what mistakes they make with the first release of the Storm and improved on that idea.
Wilson, if you are looking for a good, quality smartphone, just ask any Blackberry user and they will tell you what they like or dislike about their Blackberry. One good thing about Verizon Wireless is that they have a Worry Free Quarantee. If you do not like your phone, bring it back or return it within the first 30 days and you can cancel your contract without any penalty or early termination fees. In Mississippi, we like to say, "You can't beat that with a stick." Good luck on your decision and thank you for reading this response.
Sincerely,
Doc
