First of new BlackBerrys ditches physical keyboard: RIM

Crap.........

The keyboard is the best part!

I'm looking forward to the new model and new OS.

Having physical buttons you can feel is important. How else are you supposed to send text messages under the table during meetings if you have to look for each key you press?

I still don't get the texting addiction.

I mean, okay, for a short message it seems fine. But for ongoing conversations? Geez, you're holding a f*cking phone! Call them!

Apparently it's not that important the the majority of the market, hence the growth of the other OS's.

That's the thing I liked best about the BB - I have a touch keyboard on my tablet and it takes up half the damned screen - making it hard to see what you've written. If it's a short message, it's no big deal, but if you write more than a paragraph, it becomes an issue.



I don't get it from a conversation standpoint either - but from a monetary one, it makes a lot of sense. Text messages are cheap/free depending on your plan, but airtime can really add up to a lot of money.

Yup!

I have a 9900 Bold for work, and it's fantastic. Slightly larger than my 9700 Bold, but a larger touch screen. Slight tweaks to the OS as well.

All my co-workers have iPhones. They ask what is so great, and whine when they have to carry the oncall BB.

I say, "I can pop off the back, and change the battery and add a SD card to it if I want. And I don't have to wonder if the guy who built it jumped off the roof after his shift."