Any (former) Blackberry Users?

[SixT7VDub]

I definitely don't miss the long boot times with bb.

Oh my God your telling me! "Crap! My BB froze while uploading a pic to facebook. I guess I don't have anything to do for the next 20 min!!!!!" I just miss the great push email and notifications for everything.

 

[KENNECTED]

I've been using BBs for the last 5 years. I switched because I was tired of the same OS and and I wanted more customization and a larger screen. BB's are really good communication devices. I loved how I could customize my notifications and the push email was excellent! The phones were easy to use and the keyboards were good. I switched because I wanted a better internet experience on a large screen. The Evo gives me that and more. Communication services are not as good as BB's but I can live with that because the phone offers so much more. The specs on the Evo are a big upgrade from any BB out there IMO. I have had the Evo since Friday and I am loving the phone. I wish it could have the communication capabilities of the BB but nothing is perfect.

Not sure what you're referring. I too switched from BB and if anything I think the communication capabilities are better (TIKL, GMAIL, all of the IM's, skype, Google Voice, Fring, the list of free communication apps are a mile long.

I agree with celeste9000 in regard to ring tones. I moved my personal ring tones to my EVO and I can assign them to a contact but they only work for a an incoming phone call.

On my BB I could assign a personal ring tone to a contact and that ring tone would play when the person sent me a email, text or called. This is my one negative about the phone.

My email accounts are now in sync and if I read it online at work, at my mac at home or on the EVO itself, everything syncs.

When I had a black berry if I read an email on my Mac, it would be unread on my blackberry. It was painful. Also, I love that my contacts and tasks list (using the Gtasks app) sync effortless in the cloud.

 

[stevcha]

Interesting news:

http://phandroid.com/2011/03/03/breaking-rumors-say-blackberry-messenger-to-be-launched-for-android/

 

[dan330]

^^^ ???

 

[paintisnthere]

yessir...i came from a tour...imo BB isn't anything great after android
except BBM!!!! still going crazy without it miss my bbm buddies that sucks real bad if Android had ACTUAL BBM it would be ridiculous (and yes I know it will never happen cause it isnt possible =/)

edit: GTFO!? if thats true id be ecstatic that would be INSANE

 

[smokin3000gt]

I had the BB Curve 8350 (I think) w/ nextel. I could never go back..

 

[Tre Lawrence]

I am an old BBM user that is completely nonplussed by the news. It's supposedly a stripped down version that is coming to Android, which dilutes most of the positives of porting it in the first place.

 

[theboz1419]

Came from AT&T, had the BB bold

Loved the keyboard, BBM, Email

Hated the trackball(liked at first)
slow downs
battery issues- would show as being charged full, but would die a hour later
no apps
had a lot of problems with last ATT OTA upgrade to the current operating system

And I really hated the fact i was paying 126 dollars a month for a smart phone that did not seem to smart. I thought i would have to pay a ETF for leaving ATT, but they never charged me.

I am glad I switched to the EVO, 2 of my Roommates had them and i was hooked after seeing what it could do for a lot less then what I was paying per month. Rooted it, and switched roms, and im a rom addict now. lol

 

[L8AGIN]

I had the BB Curve 8350 (I think) w/ nextel. I could never go back..

I also had an 8350i. It was actually a pretty good phone, my first smartphone. But all my ptt contacts migrated away from bb. So coupled with the fact i got horrible coverage at my house, I also made the switch.

 

[SmokinBiz]

I had an 8530 with Sprint, so I fortunately only had to wait the 1 year to upgrade and was itching to pull the trigger on the Evo after so many months of hearing/seeing how sick this phone is! I have had it for about a week now and still can't get over how much of a leap this phone is over the BB. Miss BBM like most others, and really, don't understand why a cross platform messenger app has not been developed yet! Other than that I am not sorry to see BB go. The future is bright with Android and the Evo!

 

[dan330]

I had an 8530 with Sprint, so I fortunately only had to wait the 1 year to upgrade and was itching to pull the trigger on the Evo after so many months of hearing/seeing how sick this phone is! I have had it for about a week now and still can't get over how much of a leap this phone is over the BB. Miss BBM like most others, and really, don't understand why a cross platform messenger app has not been developed yet! Other than that I am not sorry to see BB go. The future is bright with Android and the Evo!

guess what???

Android Will Likely Be Getting A Blackberry Messenger App | Android News, Reviews, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets, Tips, Mods, Videos, Tutorials - Android Police

 

[driftin240]

I too, made the switch from a Blackberry. I had the 8900 Curve, which was okay, until I found out they released the 9700 Bold 2 weeks after which made the curve look like a pile of dump.

Got the Evo on Wednesday, and love it so far. The only thing I would love to be able to do, is delete all the apps I wont use on it without rooting the phone.

 

[stevcha]

I too, made the switch from a Blackberry. I had the 8900 Curve, which was okay, until I found out they released the 9700 Bold 2 weeks after which made the curve look like a pile of dump.

Got the Evo on Wednesday, and love it so far. The only thing I would love to be able to do, is delete all the apps I wont use on it without rooting the phone.

One of the many reasons why you should root

 

[Tre Lawrence]

I had an 8530 with Sprint, so I fortunately only had to wait the 1 year to upgrade and was itching to pull the trigger on the Evo after so many months of hearing/seeing how sick this phone is! I have had it for about a week now and still can't get over how much of a leap this phone is over the BB. Miss BBM like most others, and really, don't understand why a cross platform messenger app has not been developed yet! Other than that I am not sorry to see BB go. The future is bright with Android and the Evo!

There are a few cross-platform apps.

 

[kilogramz718]

Can't wait for the official bbm but you guys should try out liveprofile its the closest thing to bbm imo oonly thing missing is the group chat which should come soon

 

[driftin240]

One of the many reasons why you should root

I have heard of a few Evo's that have the restarting issue, and I want to give mine some time just incase it is one of them. As far as warranty goes, I don't think they would like the fact that the phone is rooted.

 

[stevcha]

I have heard of a few Evo's that have the restarting issue, and I want to give mine some time just incase it is one of them. As far as warranty goes, I don't think they would like the fact that the phone is rooted.

You can always unroot if you need to send the phone back.

 

[stevcha]

Can't wait for the official bbm but you guys should try out liveprofile its the closest thing to bbm imo oonly thing missing is the group chat which should come soon

Thanks for the liveprofile suggestion. Works pretty much like bbm

 

[rambo47]

10-year BlackBerry user. I occasionally switch to whatever new hotness seduces me. Last one was the Palm Pre and WebOS. Lasted 3 or 4 weeks - just long enough to get my mail in rebate. Then I ran out (not walked - ran!) to buy another BlackBerry. I had ported from AT&T to Sprint to get the Palm Pre. I bought the 8330m, then a couple weeks later the Tour 9630. After 9 months with the Tour I upgraded to the Bold 9650. I'm still not convinced I'll stay with Android. I bought the Epic 4G thinking I just HAD to have a physical keyboard. Didn't like the keyboard on the Epic and decided to try an Evo. Love the Evo, don't miss the physical keyboard at all.

Android Pros:
Bigger Screen. 4.3" on the Evo vs. 2.8" on my BB Bold.
Multimedia features. Camera especially.
App selection.
Web browser. Always a weak spot for BlackBerry.

Android Cons
Battery life. BlackBerry has great runtime vs. either the Evo or Epic.
Email handling. BlackBerry still has no equal.

Messaging remains my #1 priority so BlackBerry might just win me back yet. I'm trying out some different email programs and some have come close to duplicating the BlackBerry experience. Still nothing out there for Android duplicates it.

 

[dan330]

ok... i have never hand a blackberry. or experienced the email warp speed thing..

but why do you all need emails to be ... so damn fast????

if speed is the issue.. why not text?

if it took an email 5-10 mins to get delivered... who cares?
it is email.. it is not meant to be instantaneous. the sender understands it might take 30 mins to a few hrs hrs to respond too.

 

[driftin240]

ok... i have never hand a blackberry. or experienced the email warp speed thing..

but why do you all need emails to be ... so damn fast????

if speed is the issue.. why not text?

if it took an email 5-10 mins to get delivered... who cares?
it is email.. it is not meant to be instantaneous. the sender understands it might take 30 mins to a few hrs hrs to respond too.

Depending on the business some people are in though, an instant email coming back is a good thing. Emails can house much more text, and add in the fact that people add attachments of all sorts of sizes; A text won't always cut it.

 

[dan330]

Depending on the business some people are in though, an instant email coming back is a good thing. Emails can house much more text, and add in the fact that people add attachments of all sorts of sizes; A text won't always cut it.

I know and understand why email is useful ...over other forms of communications.

I was asking why does it need to be ..instantaneous ...
a few mins of lag will not affect anything ...we all know it is email and its expectations

 

[driftin240]

Had my Evo for a week now, and I am happy to say I am glad I made the switch from T-Mobile to Sprint, and exited the Blackberry App World, to enter the Android Market.

Quite honestly, there are only 2 things I miss about my Blackberry. The ability to change a downloaded files name/extension, and the app BerryBuzz. Having the ability to change the LED indicator at the top of the phone for different email accounts, facebook, sms, mms, missed calls and such was really nice.

 

[driftin240]

I know and understand why email is useful ...over other forms of communications.

I was asking why does it need to be ..instantaneous ...
a few mins of lag will not affect anything ...we all know it is email and its expectations

I hear what you are saying. To some, it does need to be instantaneous, and that's why they choose to stick with Blackberry instead of going the Android route. I have noticed with Sprint, that sometimes my emails don't go through right away, and that my mailbox doesn't always update. For some people (realtors), that can be a big issue.

 

[rambo47]

BlackBerry push email is addictive. Most folks don't "need" it, but you get used to it pretty darn quickly.

Practically speaking, if somebody needs you urgently they should call. If they need a response "soonish", text. For email, plenty of folks don't even have access during the day so sending an email and expecting an immediate response is unrealistic. However, in business if you get the email before your competitor gets it, say for a customer inquiry on a project, that lead time can make all the difference.

The driving concept behind BlackBerrys is to put Outlook in your pocket while you're away from your desk.