All carriers do this. In California it's 30 days.

Thanks for the info. I did run out to the Verizon store to check out the BB 9930 (Very nice phone by the way.) I Also checked out a friend's Galaxy S and a couple of the Android offerings Verizon had on display. I really like the BB, and it felt GREAT in hand, but I was very disappointed with the camera and I was told not to expect much support for the OS since RIM is almost ready to release QNX based phones and QNX will not work on their current phones. Since I will be stuck with it for at least 20 months I figured I would have to go with either Android or iPhone.

I did have every intention of going with the new BB. I am more comfortable with the OS and love the keyboard, plus I have been a BB user and fan for years. I was just very disappointed with the non-focusing camera and the lack of a WIFI hotspot. I could have probably overlooked the lack of apps, but the poor camera, no hotspot and lack of long term OS support pushed me towards other options.

The auto syncing is a VERY attractive feature and I definitely see an advantage to that when I am on site with clients or vendors.

I also talked with a few people about their Android phones. A couple people said that they were hacked and lost all of their data, and couldn't figure out how it happened. They are not heavy users or into tinkering with their phones at all. They think they may have downloaded something from the app store. I really warmed up to the large screen once I played with it for a little while, but I was more concerned with the possibility of getting hacked, especially since I will have a lot of business information on the phone.

Thanks for all of the feedback though everyone. In the end I decided on the iPhone 4S. I placed my pre-order and I am just hoping that I can easily make the transition from my trusty BB. I almost went with a Bionic, but had an uneasy feeling about it.

One thing I have noticed is that there are a lot of people on the Android side who seem to have a bit of an insecurity complex about the success of the iPhone. Shortly after reading that all iPhone pre-orders were sold out in 12 hours, people started hitting the blogs and forums about how all iPhone users were just dumb sheeple, or brainwashed non technical users. Yes, there is a some of that from both sides, but it seems like the Android fans have been more mean spirited and condescending recently.

I am by no means a non-technical user. Before I bought my company I was a software engineer and systems analyst. I have always liked the newest high tech gadgets and I am sure that I would have LOVED to have a Bionic or a Galaxy S and probably would have had a lot of fun with any of the newer Android phones. I am just at a point in my life where I need almost immediate productivity, seamless integration and I really don't have time to tinker with my phone and worry about someone hacking it.

Samsung, Motorola, and Apple all offer incredible phones. I can clearly see why people would want to go with any of them over the BB. But, I also understand why some people would stick with the BB.

I was also told by a couple friends in law enforcement and the military that the iPhone has come a long way and is much more secure than it used to be. They switched from BB when the iPhone 4 came out and said they never looked back.

That being said, I probably wouldn't have gone with either the iPhone or Android had the BB not disappointed me so much and dropped the ball, imho. My Tour is on its last leg and my contract was up almost a year ago. It was time to upgrade and the iPhone seemed to fit the bill best. :)

A little late for this, but I have been a longtime Blackberry user on Sprint: first the 8830 Worldphone, then the 9650 Bold. This year I upgraded to the Motorola XPRT, which is essentially a Droid Pro with a bigger battery.

The XPRT's advantages over the 9650 are basically fixes for the things I hated most about BB: (1) airtight integration with Google Apps (GMail, Calendar) and (b) better apps. As a bonus, the XPRT has a huge 1860 mAh Lithium-ion battery. Initially the only thing I didn't like about the XPRT was the keyboard layout and tactile feel, but I have gotten used to it and have never looked back.

I actually like the form factor of the Droid Pro and started looking at them originally when my contract was up. I preferred a slightly larger screen and in the end was a little hesitant to go with the Android OS. But, I did like the Droid Pro from the beginning. If I don't like the iPhone for some reason, I may return it and go back to my search. I have been told that a Droid Pro 2 may be in the works as well as a Samsung Galaxy S LTE phone with a QWERTY Keyboard. But, I'm going to give the iPhone a shot first.

The Wifi hotspot is an outstanding feature that has saved my professional bacon multiple times this year. Much as I like BB stability and productivity focus, I would have a hard time going without this feature now.

It should be noted that there is not a lot of gatekeeping going on at the Android app store, consequently a high number of crap apps, some malicious. Apple runs a much tighter ship, and BB really runs no ship at all, competitively speaking.

My ideal phone would have BBerry OS stability, email chops and battery life; Android form factor and screen size / clarity; and iPhone usability and app dependability.

I can't do it...

I want(ed) to switch several times, but the usability is still King on Blackberry.

As I write, I got a BB Bold 9700, a ZTE Blade (Android) a SonyEricsson Xperia Mini Pro (Android) and an HP Veer (WebOS)....

and I only use the Blackberry!

A couple of years ago, I used to be a mobile geek and switched phones between once a week and once a month. Now I have my Blackberry for almost 2 years already and am really keen on something new, just for the sake of having something new, but nothing comes close in my opinion!

My last phone prior to the BB was an iPhone 3G which I lost (fortunately, else I wouldn't have taken the expense of the Bold without contract).

- I never liked Touchscreens, so that's a big factor. I sent some disturbing mails to customers and colleagues when (for example) rain triggered the "send" button. Also I like to be able to type blind (without looking at the phone) which is simply impossible on a touchscreen.

- I do like Android very much. The variety of apps is wonderful and there's an application for just about everything you can think of, that's why I bought the new Xperia Mini Pro (offering Android, small form factor and a physical keyboard)....

But it just doesn't work for me. The battery life is killing me. My BB runs 2 days with WiFi and heavy usage, 3 days with medium usage and a week with low usage (intercontinental vacation).

The Xperia (as any other Android phone I had before) has to be charged daily, sometimes the Battery drained in as little as 5 hours with maybe 30 minutes of calls but a couple of emails.

I love the BB Holster - Slide in and forget, switch off the screen, save battery, lock the Keyboard and have dynamic audio profiles...

The only thing that *really* annoys me is the fact that you have to have a BB Contract to use it's features (which on my German contract costs about $11 extra per month and prevents you from swapping sim cards).
When I travel intercontinentally, I take my Android with me so I can just pop in a local pay as you go simcard for data.

To sum up:

Pro Blackberry:
- Smart Holster
- Excellent Battery Life
- Excellent build quality (my BB survived some drops where other phones shattered)
- Excellent Keyboard
- Excellent Usability (just type Name / Number you want to call, press the green button. You don't need to open a "dialer" first and do 50 steps just to make a call

Con Blackberry:
- Lack of Apps
- Lack of Games
- Mediocre Browser
- Blackberry option required on contract
------------------------
Pro Android:
- Apps Apps Apps
- Video Calling with Skype (on some devices like my Xperia)
- WiFi Hotspot capability

Con Android:
- The basics (making a call, sending an email) are too inconvenient for me - too many steps are required.
- Battery Life
- The requirement to have a touchscreen (personal opinion)
- Much higher data traffic (particularly annoying if you want to roam abroad and pay big $ for your traffic)


Completely Outside is the HP Veer (WebOS)
I quite like it. Nice Apps (but tiny selection compared to Android), "decent" Battery Life (nowhere near Blackberry but a lot better than my Android experiences), decent usability (slide open and start typing)...

The reason I can't use it: No BA App! With (average) 1-2 flights per week, I want my mobile boarding pass and am not willing to use an unsupported phone. :(

If you're keen on a gadget / toy / multimedia thing: Get Android.
If you want to do the basics (Calls, Emails, Calendar, Textmessages, Battery life) and do them right - stick to a Blackberry!

Agreed.

I had an interesting conversation at Verizon though about the new BB OS. They said that the new OS is going to be able to run Android apps, BUT, Blackberry will not offer the entire library of apps, only ones that are cleared or screened first. I am not sure how they would do that or how much truth there is to it, but it was an intriguing idea.

Thanks for the info. I did put off the decision for about a year because I was hesitant to switch to another OS and i wanted to see what RIM would come out with. But, my Tour was limping through the day and I had to make a move. The new Bold's poor camera and lake of a WIFI hotspot were the deciding factors.

I always said I would never switch and would always be a BB user. I just found myself needing features that were not available. I was using the camera far more than I ever expected, and was being limited by BB. I also liked some of the apps other people were using on the iPhones that would be really nice to have. I was actually having people that were with me with iPhones take the pictures or videos and send them back to my office because I couldn't get good shots.

The whole sending disturbing e-mails is kind of a concern actually. One of my employees recently switched to an iPhone from her Droid with a keyboard and she has sent more than a few unintentional risque messages because her auto-correct misinterpreted her. It's kind of funny...until I do the same thing with a vendor or client.

I'm still holding on that too...

Rumor is that RIM will add WiFi Hotspot functionality through a BB7 Update.
No idea about the camera, I use my Bold (9700) cam for the odd snapshot for Facebook or to photograph drawings that have been made on whiteboards at work or customer sites for that it's good enough. Is the 9900 cam supposed to be worse?

Yes, it is a non-focusing camera. I tried to take a couple close up shots at the Verizon store and they were horrible. A lot of what I am taking pictures of are things that are very close to the camera, such as a bolt, gear or thread pattern. Or even a close up of notes, estimates, etc. The new Bold 9930's pictures were unusable. I am not sure what they were even thinking. Did RIM actually think that a non-focusing lens would be a step forward??

For those of you wanting to do the move over to Android, I found this document pretty interesting (it gives apps that provide similar features to make your Android experience more BB-like):

http://www.companionlink.com/whitepapers/WP_bb_and.pdf

So WiFi Hotspot is supposed to be coming:
http://crackberry.com/wifi-hot-spot-...erry-7-devices

The lack of Auto-Focus is however really shocking...

So compared to the 97x0 the 9900
- is bigger (wider)
- has a lower capacity battery
- has a touchscreen (which I don't want)
- does not have auto-focus

Great, I guess I am stuck with my Blackberry forever... *sigh*

I have a Sprint Moto XPRT (I think it is Driod Pro on Verizon), the battery life is BETTER than my BB Tour ever was.
The email stock app on android, leaves a bit to be desired, but I bought Kaiten Mail, and it is doing push as good or better than the BB. Only webOS phones do it better, and on options there anymore.
There is no LTE, but that isn't much of an issue for me on it, and the hardware keyboard is very easy to adjust coming from BB.

What I miss more than anything else was the BBM Groups chats, but at this point the group is so small it isn't that big of a deal, everyone is leaving BB these days.

what I DON'T miss is the daily or multi daily 5 minute long reboot of BBOS!

I've never understood the Android market objections... The fact that it's more open is, for me, by far the biggest positive. I hated being stuck with only those things Apple wanted me to use (and having apps that worked fine, and were clearly not malware, being pulled seemingly at random), and having zero other options, outside of a root. It's been fantastic not even needing to use the standard market (or the amazon one) and still being able to find 3rd party apps that function just fine. It does, generally, take an extra 15 seconds to read through the permissions the app wants and a few reviews to make sure it sounds legit, but it's hardly an imposition, given that I'm generally spending a few extra seconds reading the description in the first place. I'd add that, in general, I've experienced far less frustration using the Apple store than the standard Android market, but the 3rd party options generally more than make up for that.

I think the 9930 camera is halfway decent. Then again, my OG Droid camera ain't working no more, after it fell close to 5ft on to my kitchen floor :o