Is the Cult of BlackBerry Worse Than the Cult of Mac?

December 5th, 2008 by K. T. Bradford  

There have been some pretty strong reactions to David Pogue’s (negative) review of the BlackBerry Storm in the New York Times.  On the other hand, there are also plenty of people who thanked him for validating their own bad experiences:

My Storm was like something from a Stephen King novel: possessed of its own mind. Everything’s slow: Scrolling, screen rotating, selecting apps, search… everything. The most disappointing piece of equipment I have ever seen… BlackBerry has created the Zune of touchscreen phones.

There were several users who got downright angry over his assessment.  And the complainers are not just those who are loving their Storms, but people who don’t even have one:

Having you comment on technology is like having Tom Cruise comment on religion. I have serious doubts about your ability to evaluate tech. Your article is a shameful report from someone who obviously is not knowledgeable in any of these newer items. … Shame on you and on THE NEW YORK TIMES FOR SUCH INFERIOR REPORTING. In an economy like this, the world can do without ignorantly people more concerned with their own egos ripping apart an innovative and well conceived product. May the Devil find out you’re dead immediately after you’re gone.

Damn people! Pogue likens this to the inevitable angry reactions he and other tech writers get every time he says something negative about Apple products.

If you write anything that even hints at a less-than-perfect Apple effort… the backlash is swift, vitriolic and heated. We’re talking insults, vulgarities and even threats. I’ve always thought that that vocal sub-population of Mac fans make up the world’s most watchful, most hostile grass-roots lobbying arm. But now I see that I was wrong. There’s an even nastier one: the BlackBerry nuts.

BlackBerry users are really intense about their devices, but is it actually a tech-cult thing or are all of these people just suffering from denial and grief?  After all, the Storm was supposed to be the “it” phone this year and sadly did not deliver.  Maybe, maybe, if there was no iPhone to compare it to, the disappointment would not have been so great.  But even those of us who aren’t into iPhones at all had to admit that the Storm was a let down.  I can imagine it was much more painful for people who had been waiting and wishing and hoping for this device for a while. via Techmeme

Comments (7 Responses) 

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7 Responses to “Is the Cult of BlackBerry Worse Than the Cult of Mac?”

  1. Oskar Matzerath Says:
    December 5th, 2008 at 3:54 pm

    The “Cult of Apple” is nothing compared to “The Cult of anti-Apple”, that is one very moronic group.

  2. jim Says:
    December 5th, 2008 at 9:07 pm

    Watching this from the outside (I use various flavours of Linux) the common OS circles there are some linux heads that are pretty extreme. But I can most wholeheartedly say that there is a particularly rabid bunch that spew fetid foam whenever Apple/MAC is mentioned. I have two colleagues that will go on 30 minute rants whenever a MAC is mentioned. When the first iPhone came out he swore that RIM would bury them and it wouldn’t last a year before Apple would pull support and cancel all the contracts and keep the money. He’s a dyed in the wool Blackberry user. Just how far is this goes was fully illuminated back in September when a group of us were out having a long lunch at the nearby mall. As we passed the entrance of the Apple store there he yelled F*** at the top of his voice into the store, shocking us, our client, the people near the front of the store and several people walking in the mall. You should have heard him when the article on Information Week came out that read “300 Million App Store Downloads”. I really think that he’d take up arms if it wasn’t really all just saber rattling. I’ll bet there are some out there though.

    Anyway, well observed about the BlackBerry nuts.

  3. Sean Says:
    December 6th, 2008 at 6:18 pm

    (Disclosure: I’m a huge Apple fanboy)

    A few weeks ago my son and I were at our local AT&T store and decided to try the Storm out for size. I was totally shocked at the poor quality, difficulty in typing, very slow OS, and cheap screen. I turned to my son and told him “this phone sucks. Is this best Blackberry can do to stem the iphone tide?” My son, who is quite aware of my affection for Apple, told me I was simply bias in my opinion.

    Well, one week later all the reviews started flowing………… so much for my “biased” opinion.

    Moral of the story: Just because I am a fan of Apple does not preclude me from knowing junk when I see it.

  4. Intosh Says:
    December 7th, 2008 at 2:32 am

    Get real.

    The anti-Apple movement exists only because Apple fanboyism has become legendary and second to none. Go to any article about a product that happens to compete with Apple and you’ll find a horde of Apple fanboys trashing the competing product and spreading Apple propaganda.

    There is absolutely no cult as vocal and strong as the Apple Cult. The Apple Cult has redefined fanboyism.

  5. AdamC Says:
    December 7th, 2008 at 3:23 am

    @Intosh,
    You got it wrong about Mac fans they don’t thrash third party products, they defend Apple when idiots bad mouth Apple.

  6. Partners in Grime Says:
    December 7th, 2008 at 3:54 pm

    Yep, I’ve met tons more Apple haters than I’ve ever met Apple fanboys.

  7. arealperson Says:
    February 7th, 2011 at 12:24 pm

    the most unsocial device ever invented(all these blackberries)when it comes to communicating with real people that are live infront of you,call me old fashioned but heck bbs have ruined all the realness in this world,thesedays you cant even go on a date without one of the parties being stuck on the 10 other “virual dates” busy having with all their “friends” in their pocket….half my friends have forgotten how to act in normal social situations and even start getting paranoid when there are more then 3 people in there social presence…but what…i spose this is the future……i tell you what tho these new technologies is ending life as we know it….and all the people that want to hate on what i have just said,go for it,…the difference between you and me is that if i could id say it to your face whereas you will stick to saying it behind the safty of your lil’ touchscreens…

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