Why I'm giving up my Q10 to go back to the Bold 9900

Question

Hi,
I wanted to take this opportunity to detail my experiences and frustrations with the Q10 and why I have decided to return to the Bold 9900.  I'd like to stress that these opinions are my own.  I recognize that the industry has a whole has embraced the touch screen concept.  But I believe this change isn't right for everyone as I hope to demonstrate below.
I am a very stanch supporter of the traditional Blackberry.  I work in IT for a nearly 2,000 user organization.  We have 36 IT people on staff and I am the only one still using a Blackberry.  I choose to remain with my Bold 9900 for the sole reason that it is the most efficient device I have ever used.  Every operation I'd ever want to perform with the device is only 2 or three physical clicks away and perhaps just as importantly, thanks to having physical buttons, those actions are performed in exactly the same way every time. It becomes muscle memory and can be performed regardless of the current state of the device.  When the Q10 was announced, you'd be hard pressed to find someone more excited then me.  I very much wanted this phone to succeed.  
I have now been using the Q10 for a few days now and have encountered a number of what I personally consider show stopper functionality issues.  These are issues that I believe are not simply related to my lack of familiarity with touch screens but an issue innate to the touchscreen concept itself.  Some issues could be resolved through software updates while others simply cannot.
I have detailed a few of the more pressing frustrations I have below.
- First and foremost, I use an application on the 9900 called "ShortcutMe" by Fonware.  This application allows you to write custom macros and assign them to any key on the keyboard.  This provides a massively increased efficiency.  From any application I'm in, I can press the same 3 physical buttons to have the phone launch anything I want (End Key to get to the main menu, space bar to activate shortcut me, the letter that matches up to the macro).  For example, I have macros to quickly launch the flashlight as well as more complex macros to automatically toggle between enabling and disabling Caller ID.  I decided to swtich devices when I discovered that Shortcutme now exists for OS10.  Immediately after purchasing it however I received an email from Fonware stating that Blackberry currently doesn't allow access to any of the API's required for the macro functionality to work.  They apologized.  Because of these closed APIs, I can no longer map all of the functions I use the phone to physical keys which completely negates one of the biggest benefits there are to having an always present physical keyboard
- In messages, if you want to select "mark prior read" you can't because due to the nature of a touch screen, there is no concept of highlighting an object. A compromise exists where you click and hold on the date and then select "mark as read" from a popup menu that appears. However, this only appears to work for the start of each day. If you want to select all messages before a message in the middle of the day, you cannot. Additionally, the compromise forces you to select messages one at a time by tapping on them. I often receive bursts of automated alert messages that could be 30 or more messages in a row. With a track pad, I was able to quickly select just those messages mark them as read. I see no way of completing the same task as quickly with a touch screen
- A purely touchscreen interface demands restraint on behalf of the developers when building UI elements to provide a consistent experience. For example when you hold the phone in your hand, your thumb naturally rests on the keyboard and is within reach of all the keys, and where the trackpad and physical keys were. It would also be within reach of the bottom right of the screen where the back button often -- but not always -- is. For example, if you scroll through your messages and select one to read, the back button is at the bottom of the screen in easy reach. However, if you now try to reply to a message, the cancel button (which performs the same operation as back) is now at the physical top of the screen which requires you to completely shift how you're holding the phone to reach.
- Like all touchscreens, if your finger is slightly touching some other portion of the screen and you try to select an option, the phone doesn't respond until shift the phone in your hand so that you're so that you're only touching the button you intended.  This results in unintended actions that simply cannot occur with a non-touch screen device.
- You can no longer access internal memory as a USB mass storage device. I wanted to copy a traditional telephone ring tone to the phone (because one is no longer included) but could not simply copy the file to the device through Windows Explorer. I had to insert my microSD card before this was possible.
- Blackberry is not allowing apps to run in the background which means my two must have apps (Shortcutme and Bebuzz) don't work as intended. In the case of Bebuzz, you're forced to leave an active frame opened with it to function.
- The applications shortcuts functionality no longer exists. For example, I can no longer press L to get to the calendar or hold K to lock the device.  Instead it searches the device.  On OS7, I could get to the same functionality by first pressing s.  However, it was much more common that I wanted to jump between applications so why this is not a toggleable option is beyond me.  (Admittedly, I do know why.  OS10 is a completely different code base which means all of the subtle optimizations made to the legacy code base no longer exist and they are starting from scratch.)
- Memopad was replaced by Remember.  Memopad was by design a simple application that served only one purpose -- quickly make notes about something quickly.  Memopad was instant.  Blackberry Remember admittedly has many more features but those features come at a cost of efficiency and usability.  If these features were desired, they could have been made available in a separate app.  There is a reason that notepad exists on Windows despite almost all systems also shipping with Word or similar.  Also, when you do finally use the Remember application to enter text, you only get a tiny portion of the middle of the screen to actually see your entry.  On the Bold 9900, you can see 12 lines of text. In remember, that is reduced to just 5.
- It is possible to use every function of the Bold 9900 with one hand thanks to the trackpad.  This is far more difficult with the Q10.  For example, try selecting and copying text that exists at the top of the screen on the Q10 with one hand. 
- Playing solitaire and other card games on the Bold 9900 is simple enough to do and can be done with one hand and with little physical motion.  Trying to play Solitaire on the Q10 is more cumbersome as it requires two hands in order to comfortably reach both sides of the screen.  You also end up blocking the card you are trying to select with your finger.  This may seem like a more esoteric example but its representative of the kinds of issues you have when trying to use a touch only interface
I could go on but I think it's clear where my frustrations lie.  Blackberry has decided to abandon their most distinguishing competitive edge (the keyboard) and instead embrace the touch screen concept just like everyone else.  And that is a shame.  
If anyone shares any of these frustrations, please reply to this message and share your experiences.  I'm curious if I am as unique in my opinions as it sometimes feels like.
Thanks
- Robert Vance

Answer 1

Hi Robert,
I have a similar background and thought process as yourself. I have been a die hard Blackberry guy. I have had
(2) 8250's (with the side roller)
(2) 8330 Curve
8900 Torch
(3) Playbook's
My kids (2) 9360 Curve
9900 Bold
Tried the Z10 and now the Q10.
I am normally very patient with technology. My rule is that I do not use the device until I have read the ENTIRE manual before I use it for the first time.
After using the Z10 for 2 weeks and the Q10 for a week, I will be going to a Samsung Galaxy S4. I am incredbily frustrated and not even sure that the S4 is the right solution.
Nothing can beat the track pad for efficency. My 9900 is simply bogging under the pressure of my use (over 5000 contacts and hundreds of pages of notes). I even deleted everything I can off the 9900 to make it last as long as I could.
The Q10 simply lacks the refinement we were promised. At it's core, it is not effecient and I cannot see how they will make it better. Calendar additions used to be 2 clicks, now it is 5 and I have to wait for things to load. On top of that, my bridge does not work properly (no contacts, no email, no calendar, no notes).....what is the point?
Here is what I cannot do well or at all
Select specific text
back out of certain areas without closing the app and going back in
Easily tell what email address I am sending from (I have 5 address for various reasons)
Shorcuts (that might just be me not doing enough research)
Easy notes (although I did find an app, but it will not hook up with my Outlook)
Google Maps
Enter Calendar events quickly
Mark multiple messages read or unread
Turn my phone off and have the alarm go off in the morning (Bedside mode is the new "OFF")
Entering Bedside mode is not easy (That I have found)
While I am on the subject of the Playbook, it has become very slow and almost unusable. Even something as simple as bringing up the keyboard or turning down the volume has a huge delay.
I have even developed and built a company on using the Playbook, but am now thinking of abandoning the entire platform....I live near Waterloo (the home of Blackberry).
I am VERY frustrated and do not know what to do. I feel like I cannot go back to the 9900 due to the slow downs and lock ups that I was experiencing. I WILL NOT go to iPhone (my kids have had several iDevices), my only choice seems to be the S4......
Nathan