Why I Don’t Use RIM

As I was driving around last night I heard a repeat broadcasting of the Jeff Allen Show on 570 news. He was discussing RIM and how we should all be supportive of the company since they are local and provide a lot of jobs and charity to our community. While I agree with the sentiment, I have a hard time with the idea of supporting something just because it is local. I feel that RIM has an inferior product to the iPhone and the Android. Why should I support an inferior product just because it is local? I am pretty sure Jim Basillie with all his cash wouldn’t support my business just because it was local. He would support it if I provided a good product or service.

I first got a Blackberry about 10 or more years ago. This was when they looked like little pagers and had only two lines of text available to see. They also only did e-mail and weren’t phones or anything else yet. I loved the device. It was very useful for work and I was happy that RIM was from Waterloo. As the time went on, I was able to upgrade to the first phone version where I learned what a PIN message was and started really text messaging with a phone. Again, I loved the product and was thrilled to own one. I eventually left that job and left my phone behind too. I owned a crappy Nokia phone for a few years that could text but that was all. I sort of missed the Blackberry and wanted one again. So when it came time to get a new phone plan, we got Blackberries. I loved BBM and I loved texting on the phone. It was awesome to get e-mails on my device and it was great to communicate with. I saw the iPhone as a crappy product and I hated the touch screen. Nothing was better than my Blackberry!

Then the internet was on the phones. I realised that surfing the internet on my Blackberry was slow and pathetic. I grew tired of it pretty quick and I didn’t even bother. It was weak and sad. I saw a friend with an iPhone viewing YouTube videos and surfing the internet and my Blackberry seemed like that old Nokia flip phone that I gave to the boys to smash in the street. As time went on and I learned about apps and other benefits of the iPhone, I began to hate my Blackberry.

The time came to renew my phone and my wife surprised me and said I should the iPhone. They were offering the 3GS at a great deal since the new iPhone 4 was about to be released. I picked up the iPhone 3GS and never looked back. Within an hour I had the thing configured and I was downloading apps and music and surfing the internet. It was fast and smooth and nothing like the Blackberry. Sure, texting was a little difficult at first but the features of the phone made the Blackberry look like it was from the past. This phone was awesome. I could download videos and keep them on the phone. It took superior pictures and took good video. My son could play on the phone during long drives or just watch a Wallace and Gromit movie or a SpongeBob episode. The phone was and is amazing.

I missed using BBM but I got over it quickly.

My wife loved her Blackberry and thought my fascination with the iPhone was stupid. When I eventually got a deal to replace my 3GS with a iPhone 4, I jumped at the chance and my oldest son took over the 3GS. He dumped his Blackberry like it was diseased as well.

Time went on and Blackberry’s weak internet surfing, sporadic BBMing,  and overall slow operating system made my wife start thinking about the iPhone. She watched as we used ours and could play music and games and videos. We could surf the internet and text quickly. Then she caved. Her Blackberry was slow again and the iPhone came into our house.

She got used to it quickly and now we don’t own a single RIM product. Why should we?

I wish I could support RIM and their devices but something happened where they just lost touch with the average user. Sure, the Blackberry has better security and the business types love it, but that’s not what I use mine for. While I am not an Apple junkie or a RIM hater, I just use what I think is the best product for my lifestyle and the iPhone is it. I am sure I would probably love an Android phone as well but I will stick with the iPhone (and besides, I can’t change phones for a while).

So that’s my RIM story. I used to love it and now I don’t.

I will make one final comparison. If you liked a local restaurant and served great food and the service was great, you would keep going back to that restaurant. However, if the food became a little dull, the service was weak you make question returning. And then a new place opened up that was a little further but the food was better, they gave you more for your money and the service was fantastic. Where would you eat? Keep going to the place that gave sub-par food and service or the new place that wanted your business and made great food?

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