We gave you our iPhone list, and while this probably has many more minor annoyances than actual feature omissions, we still thought it would be fun to put a list of our gripes together. Some of these might be device-specific, but you’ll get a general feel for the direction we’re going and why these things piss us off to no end.
1. The ridiculous limit on file sizes when downloading from the browser. Look, if I want to download a friggin’ video file, let me.
2. Attachments are pretty bad and it has to do with RIM’s ever-so-sneaky compression. We’ve heard that when data is sent over their network, it literally can take a 100kb file and compress it to around 7kb. (A carrier’s dream). Just let us get the entire file without having to constantly wait for it to render when we zoom it, etc.
3. Specifically speaking for the Bold, the “R” shortcut key no longer takes you to the Alarm. This pains me.
4. Actually, about shortcuts… for a product that excels on making your life easier and offering up a ton of user-customization, there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to program our own shortcut keys. If I want the letter “B” to take me to the Memo Pad, then let me do it damn it. I’m tired of being stuck at the mercy of RIM’s shortcut key assignment. They make no sense and they are hardly integrated in 3rd party applications.
5. When you get a pop-up menu, there are no boundaries to where you can scroll. Let’s use one of the Application Permissions screens. Why am I allowed to scroll above “Yes” and below “No”? There are only two options yet it seems as if you could scroll to China before selecting one of them.
6. Horrible APIs that developers can’t access. If RIM opened these up, we’d have a much better set of applications on there than we do now. I’m not sure anyone can say 3rd party apps are one of BlackBerry’s strengths.
6 and a 1/2. One of the reasons the OS is so bad at times is because of the nature of the device — security. We know this is why over 50,000 of them are deployed across the U.S. Government for instance, but look, RIM either needs to deploy a consumer brand or find a way to make this work. Security is great and all, but stick to what you know. You’re either the businessman’s savior or the tween’s IM machine. It’s incredibly difficult to be both. Don’t try and conquer the music industry or take on Apple’s App Store. It won’t work and you’re diverting precious resources away from other serious projects.
7. Build quality has been declining. That’s not to say there aren’t some BlackBerrys that will last forever, but from personal experience, every device since the Bold has suffered countless production issues and problems. (Anyone get the screen freak out on their Bolds? I bet you have.) I’d be interested in seeing the average lifespan of a BlackBerry now compared to two years ago. I think it would be shocking.
8. When sending an email with a local file attachment, show me the status! I want to watch it go from 1%-100%! It comforts me.
9. Desktop Manager shouldn’t take forever to update the operating system. I think it’s fair to say RIM has the longest OS update time in the biz.
10. Stop with the “More” crap. Let me get the entire email message when I want it. Also let HTML emails load external images automatically. Yes, yes, we know. It’s for security. But you know what, if I want to venture out on a limb and *gasp* download external .jpgs automatically, let me!
