Walk around any Canadian city and you'll no doubt see people tapping on smartphones, reading e-books at cafés or swiping through a game of Angry Birds.

But what devices are we toting around, exactly? Ipsos Reid wanted to find out as part of its "Mobil-ology" study, conducted across Canada in January and August of 2011. (http://www.moneyville.ca/blog/post/1083758--canadians-still-love-their-blackberrys?bn=1)

Having used both Blackberry and Android phones, this Canadian prefers Android.

+1 JamesK

I (obviously) prefer Android over IOS as well, having extensive experience with my fiancee's iPhone. Android just seems easier and SOOOO much more customizable. Although, Temple Run needs to be ported over to Android. Love that game!

Unfortunately those numbers don't reflect the reality of the market going forward. RIM saw a huge upsurge in sales following the introduction of the iPhone, and later Android phones, as smartphones began to enter the mainstream. Many of those Blackberry buyers find themselves locked into 3 year contracts that just started expiring this year, some won't be expiring for another two years. The key here is how many of those buyers will return to Blackberry once their contracts expire? I think many who have had the opportunity to compare what their Blackberry can do compared to an iPhone or Android smartphone will find themselves switching to one of the alternatives.

Depends on your needs...

If you like to have lots of apps on your smart phone and use them all then yes....IOS or Android might be the way to go.

But if your main concern is messaging (email etc) then nothing beats BB.

I've tried them all and still end up coming back to Blackberry.

I found once the excitement of the phone wears off, you only end up using a few things on a regular basis.


At the end of the day it's still a phone and it need to make and receive calls....and from my experience the BB's do that the best.

Cheers

^^^^
Actually, I found the Blackberry email app pathetic compared to what's available for Android and there are few substitutes. I was able to find only one and even though it's not yet finished, it's already far better than the BB supplied app.

Personally, I think it is all about the keyboard. I have never gotten used to typing on iOS devices. Though for non-typing uses I find iOS great. But this means that I'm sticking with a Blackberry for mobile messaging/email needs.

Currently, having an iPod Touch and a new Bold I think they have different uses, and my use of the iPod will be enhanced when I can do wifi data sharing on the Bold.

That is another great thing about Android. If you need a keyboard, there are options out there for you from Samsung, Moto (even though) they are crap and probably some others.

Personally, I think it is all about the keyboard.

I find it difficult to use the BB keyboard, without hitting more than one key at a time. On my Android phone, I can turn the phone to lanscape mode so the "keys" are much larger.

The headline should read "Onerous contracts leave Canadian smartphone users stuck with undesirable Blackberries", since that's the most plausible way to explain the delta between current POS data and what Ipsos found in people's hands.

And I'm sorry, but any report suggesting Playbook has 10% share is clearly flawed.

From my own anecdotal experience, Blackberrys seem to sell very well to Canadians still, especially to youth. When your friends have BBM, it's a big attraction. I would be surprised if most of this data was especially inaccurate.

In corporate offices around here I see lots of playbooks and almost no other real tablets


Starting to see a pretty healthy mix of every other tablet at coffee shops tho

^^^^
Actually, I found the Blackberry email app pathetic compared to what's available for Android and there are few substitutes. I was able to find only one and even though it's not yet finished, it's already far better than the BB supplied app.
Really? You find the BB mail delivery "pathetic"? Out of all the criticism leveled at BB, I have never heard that before.

I think it's corporations who are helping to keep the BlackBerry alive at this point. While some have migrated over to iPhones, there are still a large number of businesses still using BlackBerrys (and as hinted above, probably accounts for the high percentage of Playbook users). There may be a lot of teens and such still clinging onto the BlackBerrys as well due to BBM (though I expect that to start dwindling due to iMessage, KiK Messenger, etc).

As for Spike's inquiry about the BlackBerry e-mail app, JamesK may have been referring to the app itself - not mail delivery in general.

Really? You find the BB mail delivery "pathetic"?

No, it's the email client that I was referring to.

I see an "e-mail app" no differently than a word processor, how can one be any better than the other, the product is so mature now. It is more about what you get used to.

I had a storm before I got my torch I really missed the physical keyboard. I have not used either of the others except my young daughter has an iPod touch.

My step son bought an Andriod phone, doesn't do anything with it in terms of apps and said he wants a BB as his next phone b/c all his friends are on BB Messenger!!

^^^^
A big issue wa it doesn't work well with IMAP. There are other things that make it seem primitive compared to other email apps I've used.

Canadians still love their BlackBerrys

Yes, as Canadians, we also used to love our "K" cars back in the 80s. We eventually figured it out...

The thread should be titled:
"Blackberry is dying slower in Canada than most other nations"

Enough room for 4 players...

Apple, Android, Rim, MS

More then enough users for all to survive.

Cheers

Yes, as Canadians, we also used to love our "K" cars back in the 80s. We eventually figured it out...

The thread should be titled:
"Blackberry is dying slower in Canada than most other nations"
I'm really not sure what BlackBerry has done to garner such hate. If you think of them as dinosaurs - great. Enjoy your iPhone, Android, whatever.