As a longtime BlackBerry user I'm so disappointed that the new BB10 OS has abandonded many of the things that made it great, especially for business users - data compression with BIS, push email, instant access seperate email inboxes - and have release an OS which copies the rest. As a longtime MacBook user I really like the Apple ecosystem, and would seriously consider moving to Apple if they brought out a QWERTY phone. Yeah, I know it's never going to happen and I'm just dreaming, but please, Tim Cook, if you're reading this, please give it some serious thought.
I'm sorry but I have to disagree with OP on several points: as a long time blackberry user I am glad that BIS is finally dead. For all the benefits of reduced bandwidth usage, it did not mitigate the added latency and the show stopping single point of failure that would bring down the entire network.
Push email is still available on BB10 and it's still as fast as always. You can also still drill down into separate email accounts instantly.
As for copying other OSes... If you are referring to the grid layout; you should probably know that was on my 7100r and 7290 LONG before the iphones or android came out. Who is copying who?
There are millions of users out there who absolutely have to have a physical keyboard. No amount ridicule or condescension will make them change their minds.
Since you guys like to use car metaphors; let's look at manual and automatic transmissions. Automatic transmissions have been around for decades yet they still make cars with manual transmissions.
Why? Because even though dual clutch and automatics can be more efficient and t chnologically more advanced, people still like to feel like they have more control over their vehicule. To them it is a better driving experience.
There will always be cars with manual transmissions, and as long as there are still millions of people who want it; there will always be phones with physical keyboards.