Everybody knows touchscreens are “in.”
Whereas BlackBerry dominated the smartphone marketplace just a few short years ago, its button-based preeminence has since been quickly and aggressively usurped by others – namely the touchscreen-based iPhone and Android devices.
Although these newcomers are clearly beating the BlackBerry in terms of both market share and “cool” factor, does RIM’s device still have anything to offer? Could there be something –anything – that BlackBerry does better than its touchscreen rivals?
As we’ll see, the answer to that question is “yes” – at least for some people. Here are a few reasons you might want to keep your ‘Berry.
1. Overall speed
Ask anyone who has used both a BlackBerry and an iPhone about speed, and they’ll probably tell you that the former device was faster.
Completing more tasks in less time is critical in fast-paced business environments. For everyday consumers, it also makes using the smartphone a lot more fun.
So the BlackBerry is faster. And faster means it can save you several minutes every day waiting for apps to load or sitting through screen lock. To be fair, Android phones vary from model to model, and they’re getting faster with each release.
But for the time being, BlackBerry still wears the crown when it comes to overall processing speed.
2. Email & notifications
When you have a notification on your BlackBerry, you press one button and you’re there. On iPhones and Android devices, you’re first sent to a blank screen. Then you see the app. Then (finally) you see the notification. Sigh.
The touchscreen email experience is similarly disappointing. With a BlackBerry, you get a consolidated inbox that includes all of your notifications. On the other devices, you just get your email. Not only that, but it can take awhile before your message actually appears (see “Overall speed” above).
3. Steps
It seems like everything on touchscreen devices requires extra steps
Take the calendar, for example. The iPhone requires several steps and screen change periods just to schedule an event. The BlackBerry lets you do it with just a couple of button presses.
What’s more, the very nature of a touchscreen device requires you to actually pick up the phone and look at the screen just to mute the device when you’re on a conference call.
BlackBerry’s Shortcomings
For all the efficiency gains that BlackBerry’s processing speed, intuitive user interface, and lower lag times offer, there are still things that many touchscreen devices do better.
When it comes to sharing music and photos, using maps, browsing the Web, and playing around on social networks, BlackBerry doesn’t come close to what you get with iPhone and Android. These touchscreen phones were built to do those things well, and they definitely deliver the goods.
But if you need to get things done fast, BlackBerry is still the way to go. That’s why it remains so popular with the business community. And it’s why you might not want to let go of yours – at least not yet.
image credit: juanpol
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I always found blackberry’s slower than the iphones on the internet, but far quicker when typing responses to text and emails.
For business, the blackberry is better due to this reason… Typing on a touch screen takes much more getting used to.
Good article – nicely balanced argument.
Well…I agree with your comment that they may be slower while working on net but i still prefer my blackberry because of its Royalty as in They are particularly used for business purposes and really found them more cooler than I-phones !
blackberry is still a solid kind of smart phone on all both ends. It’s speed and other features such as emails are not way to far behind to the latest touch screen smart phones. Plus it’s design is solid base and anti shock resistant. Over all it’s still not a bad phone and the only difference perhaps is the touch screen feature.
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Your not wrong, touchscreens seem to be pushed into everyones faces, but we survived before without them.. :)
Coolest mobile with great features…
You have given some good details about pros and cons of blackberry. Honestly, I would go for An Android phone because a person can download so many apps and it also has some other features that I like.
Nice effort, very informative, this will help me to complete my task. Thanks for share it keep it up.
It’s speed and other features such as emails are not way to far behind to the latest touch screen smart phones. Plus it’s design is solid base and anti shock resistant.
Fresh perspective. I have a Nokia E63, which is similar to Blackberry (i.e.full qwerty keyboard), and I still use it as my _phone_. Quick and easy-to-use as you make minimum type o mistakes compared to touchscreen devices. Well, I have one of those too for mobile web browsing. But as a mere phone I tend to like non-touchscreen better.
I agree, that’s why I always using my black berry querty pads rather than my iphone,
Thanks for sharing such valuable information
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I have a blackberry. so, your information will be every important to me.
Thanks for sharing this info. It’s speed and other features such as emails are not way to far behind to the latest touch screen smartphones.
Not all people want a touchscreen phones so i think Blackberry don’t have to worry about this issue because some people still want a kind of features and style that a blackberry have.
I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article. I am hoping the same best work from you in the future as well.
Enterprise based use of Blackberry’s are much better than other smart-phones. iPhone and Android are based on providing more user-interactive experience while Blackberry was initially designed for the business people, who wants to finish their tasks as early as possible. This is where blackberry roots at, the corporate.
Fancy touchscreens, like multi-touch provides fun experience to individual, but business people are more objective oriented. Objective to finish up with work rather than having a fun experience with their device.
Thanks you so much for your article
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