New Eris Owner's Observations.

[mikey517]

Greetings,

I've been lurking here trying to learn all I could about the Eris, and yesterday I finally pulled the trigger and became an Eris owner. Gave up the old LG VX8300 I've been using for longer than I can remember...

I wanted to share some early observations from a real newbie; some of these address items which almost scared me away from...

Battery Life: Well, I picked up the phone at the Verizon store in Butler, NJ around 1:00 PM yesterday. I guess battery was about 40%.
I used it pretty non stop, both plugged and unplugged.
I put it on charger around 11:00PM, but didn't power the phone completely off. Removed from charger at 6:00AM with a full charge, and used it full tilt (WiFi on, 3G on, GPS on, web surfing, mail, texts, downloaded apps, drove around with Google Maps following me, etc).
At 4:10 PM, I finally got a low battery warning - 15%, please plug in. I didn;t think that was all that bad, considering I have no clue what I'm doing!!

OTA Update: I was afraid to do this...kept hitting "Install Later", but finaly did, and do not notice any of the previously mentioned issues - so far.
So far, so good...You Tube plays most vids (some give me a can't be played message for some reason) but the ones that play are clear and smooth.

So far, I am liking this phone. I must admit, some of the posts here almost turned me away from it, but most of my problems are with ME, not the phone (for the most part).

My questions are going to revolve around the phone and how it syncs with Mac OS X 10.6. I got so used to using the iPod Touch as a PDA, and it's seamless sync to my MacBook and iCal, address book, contacts, notes, and Safari Bookmarks, that I am getting slightly frustrated in some of these functions.

I am having a heck of a time with the native Text Msg app......can't get it to send a photo no matter how hard I try.

This is a nice phone. Considering the price ($99. minus my $50 promotional discount), it will do everything I need...and admittedly fill the void until (hopefully) Verizon grabs the iPhone.

Thanks for all the info that's offered here...it's great for an ole guy like me.

Regards / Mike

 

[nekoki]

Glad to hear you like it so far. Hope you stick around and post some more

 

[Peaser]

Hey there, welcome. I LOVE this phone for what is worth! I love that I can do nearly everything for business and personal use. It's awesome!

I have noticed as well that I can't send photos through native text messaging program. Anyone else have this problem? How to fix?

 

[Ruben]

I am a mac user, and there are many syncing options.
You could check out:
Keep your life in sync with The Missing Sync for Android from Mark/Space
Or, in my opinion that one that is better (and cheaper):
Spanning Sync 3 - Sync iCal with Google Calendar, Sync Address Book with Google Contacts

As for syncing with iTunes:
Sync, Play & Send to BlackBerry, PSP, iPod, iPhone with doubleTwist

Hope this helps!

 

[canrunin]

try this click on photo,down at bottom there is a share icon with arrows,touch it and you can share with gmail ,mail,messages,and others. click on witch ever and put in your contact then send it. you can send a pic in text app by hitting compose text,then hit menue and then hit attach and it will let you attach a photo. hope that helps

 

[pkopalek]

try this click on photo,down at bottom there is a share icon with arrows,touch it and you can share with gmail ,mail,messages,and others. click on witch ever and put in your contact then send it. you can send a pic in text app by hitting compose text,then hit menue and then hit attach and it will let you attach a photo. hope that helps

You could also use ChompSMS or Handcent SMS. I use Handcent. This makes it a lot easier to do a lot of things, including sending MMS.

Just make sure to disable notifications in the 'Messages' settings, and turn off the lit trackball in Handcent's Settings (or in your phone's settings)

 

[albiewan]

Hey there, welcome. I LOVE this phone for what is worth! I love that I can do nearly everything for business and personal use. It's awesome!

I have noticed as well that I can't send photos through native text messaging program. Anyone else have this problem? How to fix?

Try pulling up the photo first and hit menu and send it via sms that way

 

[albiewan]

Try pulling up the photo first and hit menu and send it via sms that way

or...when you have your pics open there is a menu bar below the pics that gives you options for what to do with a particular pic...basically what you are doing is starting with the pic and then adding text...

 

[albiewan]

Hey there, welcome. I LOVE this phone for what is worth! I love that I can do nearly everything for business and personal use. It's awesome!

I have noticed as well that I can't send photos through native text messaging program. Anyone else have this problem? How to fix?

when you have your pics open there is a menu bar below the pics that gives you options for what to do with a particular pic...basically what you are doing is starting with the pic and then adding text...

 

[Peaser]

It seems you have to have mobile network on to send photos. I was trying with just wireless on. Works fine now.

 

[Deleted User]

it will do everything I need...and admittedly fill the void until (hopefully) Verizon grabs the iPhone.

Just curious... what do you want on the iPhone that the Eris does not give you? I've been using the Eris for a month or so now and have really lost all want for the iPhone because I have realized how much the Eris can do.

If I were to say one big difference, the iPhone is quite a bit smoother when it comes to web surfing or using certain apps. I really love the design of Sense UI, though.

 

[mikey517]

Just curious... what do you want on the iPhone that the Eris does not give you? I've been using the Eris for a month or so now and have really lost all want for the iPhone because I have realized how much the Eris can do.

If I were to say one big difference, the iPhone is quite a bit smoother when it comes to web surfing or using certain apps. I really love the design of Sense UI, though.

To be honest, after only 2 full days of having this phone, there's very little this thing CAN'T do....

I am not a techie type looking to tear the thing down and rebuild it it my image.....that's what I think I liked about the iPod Touch....it is what is is...and I never wanted one of those until I started using it more with my MacBook. It seemed like a natural move to the iPhone, but because of the carrier and my family, Verizon is a given.

I admit I was trying to get as close to Apple as possible, and "settled" on the Eris as closest in looks, feel, and software "smoothness". I think this phone is as close to a home run as is possible.

There is a wish list of things I would wish for (the Kindle App would be a plus)....but nothing that come close to a regret..

Regards / Mike

 

[Ruben]

To be honest, after only 2 full days of having this phone, there's very little this thing CAN'T do....

I am not a techie type looking to tear the thing down and rebuild it it my image.....that's what I think I liked about the iPod Touch....it is what is is...and I never wanted one of those until I started using it more with my MacBook. It seemed like a natural move to the iPhone, but because of the carrier and my family, Verizon is a given.

I admit I was trying to get as close to Apple as possible, and "settled" on the Eris as closest in looks, feel, and software "smoothness". I think this phone is as close to a home run as is possible.

There is a wish list of things I would wish for (the Kindle App would be a plus)....but nothing that come close to a regret..

Regards / Mike

I agree. The only thing this phone is missing is the Kindle app and a keyboard as nice as the iPhone.