I just bought a BB 8703e from RCOM and am comparing the design/usability with my 5 year old LG 6000 that I’m replacing since it was getting too expensive to repair.
Here are the top dozen problems that I encountered in the first few weeks of use:
1. No camera!
Not acceptable for ANY handset over Rs. 10 k these days even though the box says it was imported about 3 years ago in 2006 and probably launched in 2005.
2. No multi-alarm
Only has a single alarm, my ancient LG allows upto 5 alarms!
A software update / free download can fix this application.
3. No weekday setting
Again can be fixed with software.
My LG has a daily or weekday only frequency option.
4. PC backup did not work
I’ll contact customer care and get this resolved but after installing the CD, at least the phonebook backup should work the 1st time.
The button is disabled on the HP windows laptop.
This HAS to work eventually so I only expect this to be a temp issue for 1st time customers.
5. CD did not install in Vista
Required some compatibility mode settings.
There should be a free download for vista from the BB website but I could not locate it in 5-10 min of browsing around and gave up.
6. Only 2 ’themes’ available and both suck
This should be expanded to 4-6 themes on the handset and another dozen available online.
7. Price
Poor VFM [value for money].
Don’t buy new for over Rs. 9-10 k or used for Rs. 7-8 k
8. Keypad not intuitive
I kept pressing the SYM key to access the ’dot’/period over M.
Turns out you have to press the ALT key instead.
Why not just call it the SHIFT key to make it similar to most keyboards?
Duh!
9. No wrap-around
While scrolling through the long list of dozens of apps to get to ’options’,
you have to scroll all the way back the icons to get to ’messages’.
I counted an avg of 4 full scrolls which culd have been reduced to one if it simply wrapped around from the bottom to the top at the end of the list.
10. Low battery mode
The BB automatically switches off the mobile ’radio’ when it has very low battery that puts it into the equivalent of ’airplane’ mode in other phones.
I hate that, and would prefer to let it discharge completely to extend battery life.
Instead I have to recharge with some life left each time which reduces the operating time of any rechargeable battery due to the ’memory’ effect.
There should simply be an option to never switch off the cellular radio just like most other handsets.
11. Right side scroll wheel
Takes some getting used to since its obsolete in the newer models.
Touchscreens is the way forward.
There should be a setting to adjust the speed of scrolling since its quite slow.
12. Remaining battery life
There should be an option to also display the life left in standby time or as a % since there is plenty of screen space.
13. SMS forwarding
A relatively simple feature that’s not possible in this BB model is the ability to fwd SMS to numbers outside your addressbook/contact list.
I can fwd SMS in my LG to any number in my call logs including incoming/missed calls.
In this BB, you can ONLY fwd to phonebook numbers which is a silly restriction.
14. Call blocking/filtering
I can’t setup blacklists or ’whitelists’ for incoming calls/SMS which should at least be a free downloadable app from the BB site.
15. SMS reply to incoming calls
My only options are ’answer’ or ’ignore’ for all incoming calls.
We need an ’ignore & SMS’ option also so we can set the msg to say we’re busy etc.
16. Customer care
This is so bad that I’ve decided to copy it below:
’With reference to your mail , we would like to inform you that Blackberry device is purely made for email solutions and you will not get all the features as compared to normal Nokia, LG, Samsung etc. phones
As of now in Blackberry device there is no option available to set the alarm excluding the week days.
Sincerely,
D. J.
BB Customer Care
This would have been helpful to know BEFORE buying the device!
Not a very SMART phone...
17. Number formatting
We need an app to format Indian numbers customised by the user.
I would like to set rules like:
- For all numbers starting with ’9’, ’09’, ’+919’ etc;
display as ’(0) 9xxxx xxxxx’ for easier readability [i.e., mobiles]
- Those with ’+91’ or ’0091’ pefixes should be displayed as ’(0xx) xxxx xxxx’ [i.e., landlines]
18. Order of icons
I would like to customise the order of the icons on the ’desktop’ / home screen.
There should be an option to sort by MRU [most recently used] and MFU [most frequently used.
19. Unified inbox is not completely unified
Currently I can’t figure out how to combine my SMS with the email & call logs inboxes.
So I have to goto 2 different places to check either.
If someone has figured this out, please let me know!
20. No memory card slots
This maybe due to the age of this model but then it should be priced lower as well!
21. Badly designed belt clip
The ’reliance’ sticker on the back gets stuck in the belt clip when sliding the handset in and out.
Either the sticker should have been thinner or the clip looser.
The clip also does not swivel to accomodate you when seated so the handset starts to dig in.
The clip does rotate in distinct clicks which is not really required since its a bit noisy and attracts attention for no reason.
22. Reliance Mobile World
The phonebook download is very buggy and swaps the first & last names of all your uploaded entries.
It also adds the last name as a middle name!
It should have been tested when they launched the model.
I know this is not a BB issue but it impacts all RCOM users who are changing handsets and were counting on their addressbook downloads to work.
That’s it - I’ve only had it a fortnight so far...
Oh, there are some plus points also:
1. Unified Inbox
All you calls & emails can be viewed together which every mobile should have.
2. Configurable buttons
On the front and left sides but there should have been more.
I have set it to lock the keypad on a single click which is better than the Nokia approach.
I would have preferred the LG style long press for unlock instead of using 2 keys:
’*’ above A & the ’call’ button.
3. Push email of course
That’s the primary reason most of us even go for a BB.
As soon as other mobiles can become compatible with the BB backend [enterprise server], that’ll be the beginning of the end of BB sales!
In fact there is a crying need of an open architecture backend that can push email to any handset so we are not locked into BB’s proprietary technology.
4. Accessories
At least these are readily available in Navi Mumbai with receipts.
Original battery with 6 month warranty from Maaru for Rs. 1, 600/=
Branded charger for Rs 850/= in Vashi.
Chinese/unbranded charger for Rs 300/=
I also got a 12V car charger, scratch proof stick on screen cover which I recommend.
I plan to get an extra data cable too [one for work & one for home].