I just picked up a new BlackBerry Tour today, which is exciting because it means I can dump the BlackBerry 8900 I've been using on T-Mobile the past month and get back to my Verizon roots (and wonderful coverage).
Everything was going well, until I went to charge it.
Here is the device in it's holster:
Notice anything yet? Here is the device next to its holster.
Still don't see it? How about now:
This isn't some knock-off OEM holster I ordered online, it is the holster that ships with the device from RIM. Way to push the limits of good design.
Every other BlackBerry I've owned (and I've owned many) was able to charge while holstered1. A shot of my 8330 is below.
Don't get me wrong, I love RIM, but shit like this won't help you compete against Apple.
The problem isn't that this is bad design (although I would argue it is), the problem is that it isn't GREAT design. Apple makes wonderful elegant products that are a joy to use, and even touch. I doubt there is a single person who could touch a MacBook Air and not be enchanted by it. Covering the charging slot feels sloppy and unfinished, like the designers couldn't be bothered to complete the last 10% of the job. That final 10% is what makes the Apple experience so special, and it's something that very few manufacturers are able to achieve.
- Apparently the Bold also doesn't have a spot to connect the charger while it's holstered either, and the secret is to use Bedside Mode in the Clock. The Bold actually does let you plug in a USB cable while it's holstered, meaning you need to remove the Tour from it's holster to charge it, and put it in Bedside Mode . In Bedside Mode you can choose to disable the the LED and radio, choose a profile and dim the screen. That's great, but I don't want to manually do anything, hence Auto On/Off. I can set my device to turn off at night, and turn on in the morning, but I can't control the blinking LED while it charges. I also really don't want to take my BB out of it's holster, because then I have to put it back into it's holster in the morning. [back]
Tags: 9630, BlackBerry, Is this a joke?, Tour, UI, UX
July 14th, 2009 at 3:50 am
Fortunately, should a Bold user choose to do so, they can indeed charge their Blackberry while it is holstered in the OEM swivel holster included with the [AT&T] Bold. Here's an image of said holster with exposed mini usb port: http://files.zathland.net/i/bb/blackberry-bold-holster.jpg
July 14th, 2009 at 9:47 am
the 8310 curves have the same issue. i have to take my berry slightly out of the holster while charging.. but since getting an iphone i hardly use the berry
July 16th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I agree with you RIM should fix that problem at least with their OEM holsters. @Drew is right the Bold can charge fine while still in the holster
July 20th, 2009 at 11:52 am
My Bold's holster, that came in-box with the Rogers Bold kit, allows me to charge while holstered.
July 27th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
This is my second in a row that wouldn't charge in the holster, it baffles me how it gets out of QA with this. Sure it's a case of the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, but it's still pretty sad considering.
If I were a RIM Product/Project manager this would never happen.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
BlackBerry 9700 – Two Millimeters of Awkwardness…
When I got my BlackBerry Tour a few months ago the first thing I noticed was that it was physically impossible to plug in the micro-USB cable to charge it while it was holstered. I solved that problem with a hot nail, but it left my holster looking li…