Evaluating a Q10... 12 days left to decide if I want to keep it...

Question

Hello,
I am on day two of evaluating a Q10 (AT&T) and I have 12 days to decide if I want to keep it.  I'm on the fence.  I loved my 8330 Curve back in the day but as of today there isn't a mobile device I am found of.  I've been begrudingly using the Galaxy S3 for the last two years.
This post is going to seem negative since I'm trying to find a way to deal with several issues and options I expected to have on the Q10.  I have little time to search and read although I plan on doing as much of that as I can.  What I'm looking for here are workarounds, planned changes or the best threads discussing an issue. 
Before I get into the issues, I'll start with the postive.  The size is right.  The S3 is uncomfortable to me and easily slips without a case.  A few benchmark times: 
Place call to saved contact: 
  Q10: 5 seconds
  S3: 13.5 seconds (using Dialer One)
Lookup contact in Outlook Global Address List (ActiveSync): 
  Q10: 12 seconds  - and it's simple to save as a contact
  S3: 40 seconds - (using Touchdown) - this is just to lookup, good luck saving as a contact... I usually end up looking up multiple times
Taking a photo of a cat and accidently emailing it to your boss through Outlook Exchange Activesync: 
  Q10: 15 seconds
  S3: 45 seconds (using Touchdown - did not send to boss in this case)
That last benchmark brings me to my first issue: 
1. The Q10 have an option to deactivate the "predictive" email addresses that show up when composing a new email.  If I send a thousand emails to a few "junk" email accounts, will the predictions change?  How long until they change back?  It is simply a count of the number of emails sent?  If so, I can work around this.
2. The Q10 Should have cursor movemenet/text selection keys.  I forgive RIM when I have trouble selecting a textbox or button on screen — I know they're new at touchscreens.  However, text selection on the Curve outperformed any iOS or Android device that I've used.  If the programmers at RIM don't understand what needs to be done then RIM need to hire someone who has worked extensively in text environments.  I don't care if I have to push some strange combination of asdw for left/down/right/up with alt, z, shift or other keys held for word/sentence jumping and selecting.  The "white circle" is simply unusable for rapid text manipulation. 
3. The Q10 should have an option to never mark email as read on server (leave unread on server).  Similar to the "do not delete on server" option, that many are complainig about.  I'm amazed at how few settings the phone offers, especially in email.  I still find myself looking for an "advanced settings" button that perhaps I haven't found yet.  I thought it was Apple that simplified devices to the point that settings don't even exist...
4. The Q10 should allow for selectable snooze times.  This is one area where I've been spoiled by the very useful Andoid app "Calendar Snooze."  Even before purchasing the Q10 I realized that I might need to carry around a wifi enabled Android device just to have the extensive appointment/reminder functionality that I've come to depend on. 
5. There should be a method to activate the Q10 with the spacebar.  Lock screens have become popular to prevent inadvertent screen taps but key presses are much more difficult to do by mistake, especially with holsters.  The whole "swipe up" is horrible in my opinion - I need to do it two or three times in some cases.  Pressing the button on the top is just awkward.  This is one of my biggest complaints, along with #6.
6. The Q10 should have the ability to launch apps from the "home screen" or when off.  I'd prefer when off.  If not, then home screen should be something I can jump to anytime the phone is turned on.  Again, more options.  To be as usable as the Curve was, this phone needs to have a quick way to power on (space bar or any key), an option to turn off the "swipe up to unlock" and support for loading apps like memopad, calendar, contacts, email with the press of one character on the keyboard.  This is the main reason I wanted a keyboard again!  Since apps like memopad have been removed, the keys should be programmable to allow for launching of third party apps. 
This list of issues makes the Curve's "need to dial 911 and hang up when the battery is low to make a call" problem seem insignificant.  However, I'm hoping that there are some work-arounds that others have figured out.
I may have more than 12 days to evaluate since I have a "creaky/sticky" space bar which neccesitates a replacement phone.  Either way, two weeks is not long and if I had to decide today I would be sending the phone back and probably just sticking with the S3 until something that is worth the cardboard box it's shipped in becomes available. 
Thanks, 
Dave
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Answer 1

daved31415 wrote:
Hello,
I am on day two of evaluating a Q10 (AT&T) and I have 12 days to decide if I want to keep it.  I'm on the fence.  I loved my 8330 Curve back in the day but as of today there isn't a mobile device I am found of.  I've been begrudingly using the Galaxy S3 for the last two years.
This post is going to seem negative since I'm trying to find a way to deal with several issues and options I expected to have on the Q10.  I have little time to search and read although I plan on doing as much of that as I can.  What I'm looking for here are workarounds, planned changes or the best threads discussing an issue. 
Before I get into the issues, I'll start with the postive.  The size is right.  The S3 is uncomfortable to me and easily slips without a case.  A few benchmark times: 
Place call to saved contact: 
  Q10: 5 seconds
  S3: 13.5 seconds (using Dialer One)
Lookup contact in Outlook Global Address List (ActiveSync): 
  Q10: 12 seconds  - and it's simple to save as a contact
  S3: 40 seconds - (using Touchdown) - this is just to lookup, good luck saving as a contact... I usually end up looking up multiple times
Taking a photo of a cat and accidently emailing it to your boss through Outlook Exchange Activesync: 
  Q10: 15 seconds
  S3: 45 seconds (using Touchdown - did not send to boss in this case)
That last benchmark brings me to my first issue: 
1. The Q10 have an option to deactivate the "predictive" email addresses that show up when composing a new email.  If I send a thousand emails to a few "junk" email accounts, will the predictions change?  How long until they change back?  It is simply a count of the number of emails sent?  If so, I can work around this.
These addresses cannot be turned off or deleted.  They should go away after you email someone else regularly but it does seem to take a while.  I haven't figured out the exact time it takes.  You get used to ignoring them after a while until all of a sudden something usable pops up.  My wife's email address is finally in mine now. 
2. The Q10 Should have cursor movemenet/text selection keys.  I forgive RIM when I have trouble selecting a textbox or button on screen — I know they're new at touchscreens.  However, text selection on the Curve outperformed any iOS or Android device that I've used.  If the programmers at RIM don't understand what needs to be done then RIM need to hire someone who has worked extensively in text environments.  I don't care if I have to push some strange combination of asdw for left/down/right/up with alt, z, shift or other keys held for word/sentence jumping and selecting.  The "white circle" is simply unusable for rapid text manipulation. 
Cursor movement/placement:  Touch the cursor where you want it.  If you are off by one letter just tap it again and a circle will appear.  You can then tap any side of the circle to  move the circle/cursor one space in that direction.  You can go up/down/right/left, etc.  To select text simply touch and hold where you'd like to select.  It will select the word first.  Continue holding and it will select the sentence.  Continue holding and it will select the paragraph, and finally the entire document.  You can also move the dots on either end of the selection to move it manually.
3. The Q10 should have an option to never mark email as read on server (leave unread on server).  Similar to the "do not delete on server" option, that many are complainig about.  I'm amazed at how few settings the phone offers, especially in email.  I still find myself looking for an "advanced settings" button that perhaps I haven't found yet.  I thought it was Apple that simplified devices to the point that settings don't even exist...
With the latest OS update (not yet released by ATT but see below for more info on upgrading anyway) you can choose to delete on handheld only, server and handheld, or prompt each time.  Reads are sync'd and can't be controlled but I don't know of any device that uses the same email protocols (iOS, Android, etc.) where the reads syncs can be turned off.
4. The Q10 should allow for selectable snooze times.  This is one area where I've been spoiled by the very useful Andoid app "Calendar Snooze."  Even before purchasing the Q10 I realized that I might need to carry around a wifi enabled Android device just to have the extensive appointment/reminder functionality that I've come to depend on. 
There is no adjustment for this.  There was a secret way to do this on the old BB devices that I didn't learn until after I went to BB10.  It would be nice to have that option for calendar notifications.
5. There should be a method to activate the Q10 with the spacebar.  Lock screens have become popular to prevent inadvertent screen taps but key presses are much more difficult to do by mistake, especially with holsters.  The whole "swipe up" is horrible in my opinion - I need to do it two or three times in some cases.  Pressing the button on the top is just awkward.  This is one of my biggest complaints, along with #6.
There is no option to wake with the space bar.  The only option given for anything like this is the ability to turn off swipe to wake.  If you turn that off then swiping up does not wake the device and you have to press the lock button on the top.  Not really what you're looking for.  Having used the device for over a year now I don't even think about the swipe to wake and I love it.  There is no "home" button to fail like so many iOS users complain about.  The button either fails or gets very sticky.  I find myself swiping up to wake my iPad sometimes it's so natural now.
6. The Q10 should have the ability to launch apps from the "home screen" or when off.  I'd prefer when off.  If not, then home screen should be something I can jump to anytime the phone is turned on.  Again, more options.  To be as usable as the Curve was, this phone needs to have a quick way to power on (space bar or any key), an option to turn off the "swipe up to unlock" and support for loading apps like memopad, calendar, contacts, email with the press of one character on the keyboard.  This is the main reason I wanted a keyboard again!  Since apps like memopad have been removed, the keys should be programmable to allow for launching of third party apps. 
Not quite sure what you're asking here.  Launch apps when device is off??  This may help, though.  On the home screen and any icon screen you will see a row of small dots, four tiny squares, and a small envelope icon.  The envelope icon is the hub, the four dots are the active frames page, and the small dots are your screens of app icons.  You can touch any of those small icons and jump directly to that page.  You can swipe left and right across those and move to any of those pages, as well.  You can find info about the available keyboard shortcuts here:  http://docs.blackberry.com/en/smartphone_users/deliverables/61550/shortcutList.jsp
This list of issues makes the Curve's "need to dial 911 and hang up when the battery is low to make a call" problem seem insignificant.  However, I'm hoping that there are some work-arounds that others have figured out.
I may have more than 12 days to evaluate since I have a "creaky/sticky" space bar which neccesitates a replacement phone.  Either way, two weeks is not long and if I had to decide today I would be sending the phone back and probably just sticking with the S3 until something that is worth the cardboard box it's shipped in becomes available. 
Thanks, 
Dave
Dave, I've answered your issues in the quote above.  I don't usually do it that way but it seemed easiest in this case.
Most of what you post about have workarounds and is actually possible in most cases.  I mentioned the OS 10.2.1update above which ATT has not yet released.  There are many new features included in 10.2.1 that make the device much more feature-packed.  I recommend updating the device to the newer OS, even though ATT doesn't yet support it.  It will give you a much better "test drive" of the device.  Here is a link on how to do it.  Just follow the instructions exactly and it's really easy:
http://supportforums.blackberry.com/t5/BlackBerry-10-OS-Device-Software/Upgrading-BB10-OS-Using-Sach...
Once updated you can install almost any Android app using the BB10 app called Snap.  I included a link on how to install that in the post with the OS update instructions.  Again, I HIGHLY recommend installing the update.  It doesn't void ATT's warranty, however, their support line personnel can't support it because it's not officially released by them.  The official released OS can easily be re-installed should the need arise.  If you return the device they likely won't even know you updated it anyway. 
All that said, since you're using the S3 I really recommend the Z10 over the Q10.  I have both (as well as a Z30) and absolutely LOVE the Z10/Z30 devices.  I was on a 9810 before the Z10 and wasn't sure I'd like the virtual keyboard but that keyboard is far better than any other touch device keyboard on the market.  It blows away the S3 keyboard and my iPad keyboard.  I am much faster on the virtual keyboard than I ever was on the 9810 virtual keyboard.  It is like magic how it knows what I wanted to type instead of what I really typed.  I have the bad habit of entering the letter b instead of the space key and I can type a whole sentence like that and it will change it automatically.  Can't do that with a physical keybaord.  Additionally, the bigger screen on the Z10/Z30 makes everything better. 
Hope all this helps.
John
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