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Comment by someone13 | Hacker News Reader

See, not everyone wants the latest iWhatever. I quite like the BlackBerry, actually - it's not flashy, gets far more battery life than nearly any other mobile device, has BBM (which is still, in my opinion, one of the best mobile chat platforms out there), and can do email/web browsing.

Yeah, there's not as many apps, and yeah, it's not all shiny like the iWhatever, or quite as open and easy to develop for as Android, but it's very stable and reliable. And there's something to be said for that.

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Blackberry has few years of profitability at their disposal. Consider the Indian market. Blackberry is spreading here almost like a wildfire. The reason is that it is an incredible smartphone at very affordable price. iPhone is almost thrice costlier than BB and the data plans double the cost of BB data plans.

In my opinion QNX holds key to BB's future. I had opportunity to work with QNX and I know it as a very powerful operating system that can run metro rails and nuclear reactors. I feel BB should relax and take their time to build the next OS based on QNX.

I think that pegging RIM's future to QNX is a mistake. There is no single technology that will return RIM to it's former status. iOS isn't the reason Apple is succeeding, it's simply one piece of the puzzle.

I keep hearing the same thing you wrote, that QNX runs nuclear reactors so it must inherently be good as a smartphone OS. I fail to see the connection between the two.

Was that dig at Android and iOS's reliability intentional? I find iOS very stable and reliable (started with iPhone OS 3.0).

Android less so but not too bad. My Nexus One had an occasional problem with the lock screen in 2.2 that has since been fixed. It was a terrible bug when it decided to strike, had to turn the phone off and on.

Your comments about Android being "open" & "easy" to develop for and "iWhatever"s being "shiny" makes me think you're judging these platforms from afar instead of being in the trenches using them all and developing for them all. Just fyi they raised the "this guy is not objective" flags.

Completely overlooked your comment, sorry. On the off chance you read this:

Firstly, I do not own an iPhone or iPad. I own a second-gen iPod Nano, so, for all intents and purposes, I don't own anything using the latest versions of iOS. I do, however, own an HTC Desire HD.

No, the dig at reliability wasn't intentional - I've had stability issues with my Android, but I know that Blackberries aren't perfect either. No first-hand experience with iOS, so I won't comment.

And as for developing, no, I'm not a mobile developer. My comment about "shiny" was just referring to the fact that the user interface is very slick and polished, with lots of visual chrome. This isn't a bad thing, actually, and I quite like both the iOS and Android UIs (Android a bit more, hence why I own one).

My comment was simply regarding the fact that many older or less technologically-apt people don't like said "visual chrome", and prefer the more straightforward, functional feel of the BlackBerry - and this from personal experience.

Have you ever used an iPhone (or Android) for an extended period of time?

Anecdote: I don't know a single person that switch from a BB to an iPhone or Android that has regretted it or will ever switch back. This group includes some pretty hard code BB fans.

Yeah, I actually own an HTC Desire HD. It's a very good smartphone and I'm quite happy with it - but I know of more than one older businessperson who's tried both the iPhone and several Android phones, and hasn't liked either.

Again, I'm not saying that everyone will like the BB, but it does have its strengths. Case in point: my Desire HD gets about one day's worth of battery life, checking my email and browsing the web (no games or other intensive apps). A BlackBerry can run for a couple days with no problem.

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