5 Reasons to Stick with BlackBerry, and 5 Reasons to Bail

PC World —

BlackBerry customers are at a crossroads: Either stick with BlackBerry or switch to some other smartphone platform.A If you're still using a BlackBerry, then you've probably grown tired of watching the smartphone world pass you by.A However, the new BlackBerry 10 OS is here, and the BlackBerry Z10 is selling fairly well out of the gate.

Slideshow: The New BlackBerry 10 Smartphones

BlackBerry Z10 Review: Hands On with the First BlackBerry 10 Smartphone

Video: BlackBerry Q10 Preview

Let me be clear; I'm not arguing whether people in the market for a new smartphone should consider a BlackBerry Z10 over, say, an iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy SIII. That's certainly a debate worth having, but I'm focusing specifically on whether existing BlackBerry customers should stay the course. If you're on the fence, here are arguments both in favor of and against staying loyal to BlackBerry.

Reasons to stay the course

1. Balance

Businesses that either provide BlackBerry smartphones, or that allow workers to use their own smartphones through a BYOD ("bring your own device") policy, need to be able to protect company data. Thankfully, BB10 includes a feature called Balance, which segregates personal apps and data from business apps and data.

Balance protects company apps and data from being accessed by personal apps on managed devices. It prevents business information from being copied and pasted into personal apps or email messages, and enables IT admins to ensure business data stays separate and secure. The apps and data still appear together seamlessly, though, so the user doesn't need to be concerned with which is which, or switch back and forth between business and personal apps.

2. Peek-a-boo

The Peek feature in BlackBerry 10 allows you to sneak a peek at your latest notifications and messages without actually switching apps or exiting the current app you're using.A Peek will help users work more efficiently and be more productive with the device. Smartphones are overloaded with apps and data, so any feature that makes it easier to navigate among them and get things done is welcome.

3. Innovative typing

One of the defining characteristics of a BlackBerry smartphone has always been its physical QWERTY keyboard. Apple's iPhone and the vast majority of Android smartphones, however, rely purely on a touchscreen display.

With the Z10, BlackBerry also embraces touchscreen input, but BlackBerry has developed a unique intuitive typing technology that BlackBerry fans will probably appreciate. As Melissa Perenson reviewed the BlackBerry Z10, "This keyboard essentially eliminates the need for acronyms and text-speak such as "OTW," "BRB," and "OMG," as typing full words takes much less time."A And, she continues, it will still take some "coordination and muscle memory to switch between tapping letters, swiping upward, and occasionally moving your thumb to see the words it's suggesting." But the technology should help BlackBerry loyalists transition from a physical keyboard.

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