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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want to use my old Blackberry phone?

19 replies

AliceinBunnyland · 18/07/2020 12:43

(Lighthearted)

I always liked Blackberry phones over iPhones but I moved over to iPhone at least 5 years ago.

In a clear out I have come across an old blackberry and it's just so cute! I'd happily get one again.

I considered whether I could use this but I recall the sims are different and it must be so old that I can't imagine the software would be what I'm used to on a newer iPhone.

I think it's such a shame they're not making them any more.

OP posts:
BF888 · 18/07/2020 21:45

I agree!y last phone before my iPhones was a blackberry. It broke on my and I was never able to turn it back on, I loved it at the time and would use one again.

BF888 · 18/07/2020 21:45

If you do decide to use it you could try giffgaff they have all the simcards for different phones you just have to snap off the parts you don’t need.

Germolenequeen · 18/07/2020 21:46

I loved my Blackberries 😥

labyrinthloafer · 18/07/2020 21:49

I was also a blackberry fan and contemplated getting one again but they weren't cheap. But I loved it. And indestructible!

Sparklesocks · 18/07/2020 21:52

Ahh yes I loved my blackberry - especially the BBM feature!!

I also have fond memories of it because my dad had one for work - he’d come home and would sit on the sofa tapping away on it.

According to The Sinner series 3 they were also very easy to encrypt which made them very secure and so they’re still very popular in the criminal underworld!!

labyrinthloafer · 18/07/2020 22:01

Yes BBM was totally secret wasn't it so featured in the riots? I just used it to moan to dh about boring stuff, but gchq will never know what!

Original poster
AliceinBunnyland · 18/07/2020 22:11

I have the phone but no charger. Presumably I could order one. And yes Id need a sim. Funnily enough I just ordered a new sim for my iPhone today to get a cheaper sim only deal.

I'm tempted to get a sim and charger and try it. I expect some apps wouldn't work on it.

I loved BBM too bit I probably don't know anyone else with it now...

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Original poster
AliceinBunnyland · 18/07/2020 22:12

And it is probably locked by a password I have long forgotten.

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HubbabubbaT · 18/07/2020 22:30

I'm pretty sure BBM doesn't work any longer...? Or if it does it's glitchy?? Remember seeing something about it about 18m ago... I used to love my little BlackBerryConfused

thecapitalsunited · 19/07/2020 09:37

BBM has been turned off now so you won’t be able to use that. Unless you want to pay for the enterprise version which I imagine will be pricey.

Unfortunately Blackberry went from a sought after phone to old hat pretty quickly after the iPhone (I know Androids we’re generally more advanced but the iPhone was the turning point for general consumer awareness of smarphones) came out. Consumers got used to full screen touchscreens which Blackberrys didn’t have. They thought they could rely on enterprise sales and didn’t realise that people would want to use the same phones they did at home. Big shot execs didn’t want to get out a BlackBerry that wasn’t as attractive as their regular device - BlackBerry thought that the keyboard was a really sticky feature that people would want to use but they preferred to have a bigger screen and a touchscreen keyboard.

Other phones getting security right was also a problem for the BlackBerry because it couldn’t be sold as the god standard for enterprise or government security any more.

Essentially, they didn’t read the room well enough at a time of significant upheaval in the market.

Nokia was also killed by misreading what the consumer wanted and not making changes quickly enough.

PigletJohn · 19/07/2020 10:25

Sim size is not a problem. You can buy a plastic holder that is the same size as a big Sim and the little Sim fits inside it. When I bought one, it came in a set, I think there were three sizes in the pack. I used one and gave one to an overseas friend who bought a PAYG sim for his own phone.

Called Sim card Adaptor, or Converter.

Around a pound on Ebay. Probably also in high street shops.

Original poster
AliceinBunnyland · 19/07/2020 10:36

I don't think BBM would be any use anyway as no one else I know has it. I think it's a shame Apple killed everything off because I don't think an iPhone is that special and I only ended up getting one as I couldn't get a blackberry. And then I got another iPhone and frankly it's boring as they are all v similar.

Good to know I can get a sim adaptor on Amazon. I might put one into my next order along with a charger and power it up Grin

OP posts:
RedRosie · 19/07/2020 10:45

I've never wanted an iPhone. I had a Blackberry Priv for a couple of years. This was a Blackberry running Android. Very expensive. Beautiful massive screen, fantastic camera, all the benefits of running Android.

I dropped it and it couldn't be fixed (or replaced) and I was so upset! I now have a basic Motorola and am still searching for the right phone ... Sad

Original poster
AliceinBunnyland · 19/07/2020 10:49

@RedRosie There's a gap in the market surely. We can't be the only ones who love Balckberrys and think iPhones and all the identical plain rectangular phones are boring!

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thebees · 19/07/2020 10:50

Next step will be the revival of Sinclair C5s! I have the brochure somewhere.

My boss would agree with the OP- his old Blackberry was framed. They were done for with the two (or was it three) day outage.

DGRossetti · 19/07/2020 10:54

BBM has been turned off now so you won’t be able to use that. Unless you want to pay for the enterprise version which I imagine will be pricey.

Going back, you used to be able to host your own BBM server. It was one of the reasons BBs were used by governments.

But unless it's been maintained, even if you could now, there would be security holes you could fly a plane through.

I guess there is a gap in the market if anyone feels brave ?

That said, the current move, for various reasons, is to remove server centred messaging.

I have a soft spot for BlackBerries. Never liked them, and they weren't that good. But Blackberry did support them pretty well, and the developers SDK with phone simulators and tools was a godsend for getting websites working on them.

Original poster
AliceinBunnyland · 19/07/2020 11:00

Had to look up what a Sinclair C5 is!

I looked at the blackberry website yesterday and the more recent ones almost looked standard iPhone shape but with the keyboard. I suspect it was touch screen so you'd get the best of both but it was uglier than the one I've got. I'll have to get it out and post a pic!

I don't see why another phone company can't make something like it. It's so small and cute. Mobile phones are getting bigger again!

OP posts:
DGRossetti · 19/07/2020 11:05

Mobile phones are getting bigger again!

They'll have to, as the bulk of the user base gets that bit older needing that much more screen to see and that much better interface to control the phone. Manufacturers aren't going to suddenly say "well, we can lose 5% of the market every year".

Original poster
AliceinBunnyland · 19/07/2020 12:10

*Manufacturers aren't going to suddenly say "well, we can lose 5% of the market every year"."

No but they can have different sizes available and I would have thought a lot of people would go for something cono act

I have an iPhone X (nearly 3 years old but I don't feel lien upgrading to something almost identical!) and they are quite a bit bigger than an iPhone 5, which my mother has just got rid of

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