RIM seems like it’s spinning out of control. Having posted terrible losses last night, the internet has been awash with rumours that the company is going to cease making BlackBerry devices for consumers in favour of a renewed focus its business-y strengths. Now that appears not to be true, but one obvious question remains: Would you ever dip your toes in the BlackBerry waters again?

This morning, RIM has told Pocket-Lint that – contrary to numerous reports – it will continue to produce consumer-facing BlackBerry products. The misinterpretation all seems to have come from quotes by the company’s new CEO Thorsten Heins, who said that RIM will be shifting to focus on its strengths – but not that it’ll ditch any areas of business.

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Either way, the road ahead for BlackBerry looks rocky. The PlayBook has been a dramatic failure, the BB10 OS is still a long way off and RIM’s had some serious company reshuffling. With all that in mind, would you still be willing to buy a BlackBerry?

Whether or not you’ve got one now, had one before or have never owned a BlackBerry device, we’re asking you to take a look at the current situation and weigh in with your thoughts. Answer the poll below to have your say:

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  • http://twitter.com/lexplex_ lexusperplexus

    I probably wouldn’t buy one for personal use, but almost ALL of my tech-savvy female friends and colleagues have them and generally swear by them.  They’re constantly BBMing each other with them.  There’s a really key reason why the blackberry is so popular with the female crowds and it seems obvious in hindsight: fingernails.  The presence of a physical keyboard makes it really easy for girls with long/fake fingernails to type and navigate.  Capacitative touch screens are apparently aggravating to use with fake fingernails, and having no button options at all is terrible.  So there you go.  There’ll always be a market for physical-button smartphones. 

    • Anonymous

      Good shout, that!

    • Anonymous

      Good shout, that!

    • http://gizmodot.com/ Bex

       While I normally hate such stereotypical comments, I think you’re right lol. My partner’s mum dislikes her LG Cookie and couldn’t use a newer phone or tablet with a capacitative touch screen due to fingernails. As a fully fledged tech girl and finger nail biter, I don’t have that problem though :p. Even if I did, I’d be hard pushed to get one, I’d rather buy a stylus for my S2 or similar. For several reasons though. Firstly, they were initially aimed at the business market but, over the past year or so, more and more teens have been buying them, because of BBM. In a “all i could afford” sort of way unfortunately which has put me off BlackBerry. Thirdly, younger/teen cousins and even same age friends who do have them, like to share their photos on Facebook as many people do. I can instantly tell when it was taken on a Blackberry though before I even see the “posted via Blackberry” message based on the terrible picture quality. Even my K800 which I had years ago took better pictures than 99% of the blackberry photos I see.

      • http://twitter.com/lexplex_ Lexplex

        I didn’t mean it as a gender stereotype – I’m just going off what I’ve been told by my female friends :-) I’ve never liked Blackberry phones but I was surprised actually by the respectable quality of the camera on my wife’s Blackberry – I don’t know what model it is but it’s a year old.  Pre-Android/iPhone I preferred the Nokias that had QWERTY keyboards – perhaps that’s where the fingernailers will go next.

        • Anonymous

          Do you now which model exactly? I’ve never come across a BlackBerry with a decent camera.

          • http://twitter.com/lexplex_ Lexplex

            I think it’s a Blackberry Torch 9800 or 9810.  The camera isn’t stunning, but as a snapshot camera it does the job pretty well.  The picture that surprised me was one she took of me eating an ice cream – there was strong bright light behind me but the camera exposed for my face rather than the bright background, but the background wasn’t blown out either – it actually kept a lot of detail, so the sensor had a decent dynamic range.  It’s not going to win any photography competitions, but it’s better than I was expecting for a phone with a less than sterling reputation. 

  • Anonymous

    I think that i would.  The new bold is a lovely piece of kit.  Now i have a tablet, i use my Desire HD for less and less….. Maybe a keboard would be a nice advantage….

  • Anonymous

    I think that i would.  The new bold is a lovely piece of kit.  Now i have a tablet, i use my Desire HD for less and less….. Maybe a keboard would be a nice advantage….

  • Anonymous

    I think that i would.  The new bold is a lovely piece of kit.  Now i have a tablet, i use my Desire HD for less and less….. Maybe a keboard would be a nice advantage….

  • A Degnan

    They were never a consumer device, this is where they lost sight and went wrong. They should have focussed on Enterprise and developed that area. Apple devices will takeover for business email etc when RIM finally stops clinging on and accepts its inevitable route down the pan.

  • anonymous

    i like blakberrys and wan one

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