Blackberry----> Android Converts???

[gunderscorewil]

I currently have a Curve 3G with AT&T. Before that it was a Bold 9000, iPhone3GS, a Captivate and a Backflip (latest to earliest). This Curve has been the worst phone i have had since the Backflop. It is very slow, the web experience is me, at best. It cant load most pages i visit, basically crashing the stock browser. Also, this keyboard is nowhere near as good as the 9000 keyboard.

But, lowkey, im afraid to lose the keyboard and battery life and the 99xx does look promising.

Currently I am considering these phones to replace this abomination (9300).

Nexus One
Bold 99xx
Nexus S (should we get it)
Inspire 4G
Sensation (should we get it)<---top pick

So for you other converts what was the straw that broke the Berry's back? What android phones did you/will you get? What do you miss?

 

[Kaneto]

I used one of the new BlackBerry Styles for a couple months, and have jumped to the Android. I'm on Sprint, so I'm now using the Evo 4G. I was a long time iPhone user prior to trying the BlackBerry, and that is a major reason for the switch. There's just no fine control with the directional touch button, which made navigating all the different menus a real pain. The browser never worked consistently. Often it wouldn't even open when clicking on the icon.

I use my phone for work, and it seemed a little absurd having to pay an extra $20 a month to my cell provider plus the extra fee for my email host to have Exchange sync capabilities. ActiveSync does it all just as good as the BlackBerry's BES, for no extra cost from either the cell company or my email host. Setting up the sync was a lot easier as well. I know BES Express is supposed to be coming out soon, but I think it's going to be a case of too little, too late.

 

[landovr]

I have never had a blackberry but my dad has the blackberry torch and after spending 10 minutes trying to figure out how to delete emails for him i gave up. Just seems like you have to have an engineering degree to figure it out so i would never get one and i'm very happy i went with android it is so much more user friendly.

 

[crunchygranola]

I'm an iPhone user but the BBOS -> Android is similar to iOS -> Android so I guess my story is still valid.

I had a Bold 9000 for 2 years. However the ball kept getting stuck which drove me nuts. This was fixed in the newer bold 9700 but I didn't want another blackberry. I hated having to do random battery pulls, it constantly lagged, the battery went from lasting 2 days to 4 hours within a few months, the battery would die at 30% charge, connecting to wifi networks was a bitch, horrible lack of apps/games, themes slowed down the phone, etc etc. I liked the phone for the first little while as it was my first phone but quickly it became clear that it was crap.

My iPhone fixed all those problems. Wifi connecting was easier, the battery lasts two days, tons of apps, (jailbroken) themes don't slow down the phone, no trackball to break, no battery pulls, no lag, good browser etc. Most of these are addressed with good android phones too.

 

[Aypse]

I moved from a Curve to a Droid X and it really is a major upgrade. The flexibility, speed, stability, apps, etc are just head and shoulders above the Blackberry lineup. Even the lowend Androids are going to blow away everything BB has. Like most BB users though, I do miss BB Messenger. I would say go to a store and play with each of the phones. I am Verizon, so I don;t have any personal experience with any of the above.

 

[takeshi]

So for you other converts what was the straw that broke the Berry's back?

Nothing that hasn't already been discussed ad nauseum. Biggest reason was the criticism that RIM has received for ages before Android even existed (slow to adapt).

What android phones did you/will you get?

Why do these threads always ask this question? What others prefer doesn't matter. You need to select the device that suits you best. You stated that the physical keyboard is a concern. You need to get out there and try the options. Keyboards are a very subjective matter. Even BB users don't all agree on which BB model has the best keyboard. Like any matter of "best" it is strongly affected by personal preference.

What do you miss?

Fully centralized alerts (profiles). There are profiles apps on Android but they're not quite the same. You still have to adjust notification settings in each app.

ActiveSync does it all just as good as the BlackBerry's BES, for no extra cost from either the cell company or my email host.

Better IMO. Even BES is push-and-reconcile where ActiveSync actually syncs.

Just seems like you have to have an engineering degree to figure it out

To figure out that you need to hit the delete key or use the menu?

Most of these are addressed with good android phones too.

Battery life and lag still require looking into your specific usage with Android.

 

[brykins]

I've gone Blackberry -> iPhone -> Android -> Blackberry -> Android -> Blackberry in the last couple of years and am due an upgrade next week. I've decided that I'm not going to stay with Blackberry this time for the simple fact that Blackberry users are being left far, far behind with apps. There is a tiny, tiny selection compared to other devices and those that there are, are expensive or pretty poor.

As a phone/communications device, I can't fault Blackberry. I have NO ISSUES with lag, memory issues, battery pulls or anything and think that what Blackberry does, it does far, far better than anything else. It just doesn't do as much.

So my decision is now between another Android or an iPhone4. It's a hard choice as I like the freedom of Android and the devices are generally more powerful, but the ecosystem around the iPhone is drawing me - apps ARE more polished/finished and accessories are more readily available.

But that Samsung Galaxy S2......it's calling me.

 

[gunderscorewil]

Why do these threads always ask this question? What others prefer doesn't matter. You need to select the device that suits you best. You stated that the physical keyboard is a concern. You need to get out there and try the options. Keyboards are a very subjective matter. Even BB users don't all agree on which BB model has the best keyboard. Like any matter of "best" it is strongly affected by personal preference.

People who ask this question UNDERSTAND that it is personal preference. But this is about the least helpful (and most plentiful) answer to "this question." Also I didnt start this thread to vicariously shop for a phone. It is more just to see the types of phones that ex-BB users are getting.

BUT, the rest of your response is very insightful, so thanks!

I've gone Blackberry -> iPhone -> Android -> Blackberry -> Android -> Blackberry in the last couple of years and am due an upgrade next week. I've decided that I'm not going to stay with Blackberry this time for the simple fact that Blackberry users are being left far, far behind with apps. There is a tiny, tiny selection compared to other devices and those that there are, are expensive or pretty poor.

As a phone/communications device, I can't fault Blackberry. I have NO ISSUES with lag, memory issues, battery pulls or anything and think that what Blackberry does, it does far, far better than anything else. It just doesn't do as much.

So my decision is now between another Android or an iPhone4. It's a hard choice as I like the freedom of Android and the devices are generally more powerful, but the ecosystem around the iPhone is drawing me - apps ARE more polished/finished and accessories are more readily available.

But that Samsung Galaxy S2......it's calling me.

I think you are very lucky. I dont have to do pulls as much on OS6 (Curve) as I did on OS5 (Bold 9000) but boy do i still have them. I agree with you that getting a decent BB is very expensive. The 9000 still sells for 199.99 on AT&T with a contract! .....And the current Curve series is a pile. I cant understand why they didnt base the "3G" off of the 8900 instead.

Also, I agree that BB is just the best at communicating. The reason that I have been convincing myself to stay is for the keyboard and the fact that I mostly use my phone for text, email, and social networking. But i feel that I DESERVE to have a web browser that is better than the one on my old treo 700p. I DESERVE to have a screen with "man-sized" resolution, even if it isnt that big. I DESERVE to not have to wait a day and a half to connect to a WIFI network.

So yea, I pretty much second everything you said.

But, personal preference says that TouchWiz is garbage and I still think its an iPhone rip-off.

 

[KENNECTED]

I currently have a Curve 3G with AT&T. Before that it was a Bold 9000, iPhone3GS, a Captivate and a Backflip (latest to earliest). This Curve has been the worst phone i have had since the Backflop. It is very slow, the web experience is me, at best. It cant load most pages i visit, basically crashing the stock browser. Also, this keyboard is nowhere near as good as the 9000 keyboard.

But, lowkey, im afraid to lose the keyboard and battery life and the 99xx does look promising.

Currently I am considering these phones to replace this abomination (9300).

Nexus One
Bold 99xx
Nexus S (should we get it)
Inspire 4G
Sensation (should we get it)<---top pick

So for you other converts what was the straw that broke the Berry's back? What android phones did you/will you get? What do you miss?

There appear to be quite a few, especially in the EVO 4G Forum . As a personal user that does not tie in my work email, I couldn't get my blackberry to properly sync across my device, the web or my mail. In addition, I reluctantly went to BB as I had been a very loyal treo user on AT&T. The last treo went exclusively to Sprint, it was nice but wasn't enough to make me switch from AT&T to sprint.

I bought the blackberry bold 9000 and was pretty happy with the texting and camera. Then three friends showed me their android devices. On a hero and 2 the EVO. I felt so inadequate.

If I read an email on my email client or on the web, it wouldn't be marked as read on the device. It was just painful and annoying. Shortly thereafter I started having trouble with my contacts & calendar properly syncing with the device. So I switched to Google contacts to get my feet wet. The syncing was a breeze. Then I added my calendar, again, a breeze. However, I had to adjust some alarms and adjust the "calendars" (Google/OSX use calendars, not groups or categories, so I needed to adjust to that, but no biggie.). As a person who loves to take pictures and post them to twitter/facebook while I'm out and about. My Blackberry freezes and damn near blows up. AT&T replaces it with a BB Bold 9700, it worked better but the screen was so damn small and I wasn't happy.

After seeing all those damn EVO 4G commercials and seeing all the cool things my friends could do with devices, and missing an important email from a friend about an event, I decided to give up on Blackberry and buy an EVO. I had to give up a good relationship with AT&T (I personally didn't have any drop call or slow network issues). For two days I wrote down everything I did with the phone. Then searched for EVO forum (which led me to this site) for research. I then, went into the Sprint store next to my office and played with the EVO for my entire lunch hour. The next day I went to a different store and did the same thing. After going to four different stores and testing the device out and asking questions. I purchased the device and after a day or two basic use was very good. About two weeks later, I became more comfortable and started finding more shortcuts and features.

After three months, I'm really enjoying my device and all it can do. I have a first generation iPod touch and I'm still attached to it. I'm trying to figure out how to get all my audio music to the device as well as video, so I don't have to carry two devices. I've tried double twist and it's seems cool, but I need something that I can download and watch TV episodes or movies when I travel on a plane like I can with my iPod . Other then the Audio/Video issues, so far so good with exception of Battery life. The solution for me was to buy a second battery and keep it with me when Im out and about taking pictures etc. During the work day I keep the unit plugged in while at the office, so I'm not worried about losing power.

I am computer literate but not enough to root, but I think i'm going to explore using different launchers next.

All in all I highly suggest this device, even with the 3D device coming out soon.

 

[elements]

I have been a blackberry user for about 7 yrs. I have had bb pearl, 2 original curves and now have a blackberry Torch as my work phone. Recently I gave up my personal Curve for a HTC Thunderbolt.

I keep my blackberry for work because it is a reliable simple communication device.. the battery lasts forever (compared to Android) and its great for just jamming out calls, emails and texts. But for a personal device.. it's lightyears behind. The touch screen is lousy by comparison, it does not have google talk, good free apps, free navigation, great browser or the speed and performance that the Android does. Its the ultimate electronic swiss army knife, if you can dream it.. there seems to be an app for it. I love it.

There was an initial learning curve, I did not find it as intuitive as BB. So I had to play with it for a lot longer, after a few months I am still learning things. There is nothing that i miss on a blackberry other than battery life. My work requires a huge amount of talk time.. like 7 hours plus.

Next to the Thunderbolt the Torch feels archaic, I have no problems with it, it just does not do a lot of things. Cant beat a BB for a basic communication machine but an Android is so much more. Rim is going to try like hell to catch up, and who knows, they may come up with another great device but i have not seen anything thus far that even begins to touch what i can do with the Android.

 

[KENNECTED]

I have been a blackberry user for about 7 yrs. I have had bb pearl, 2 original curves and now have a blackberry Torch as my work phone. Recently I gave up my personal Curve for a HTC Thunderbolt.

I keep my blackberry for work because it is a reliable simple communication device.. the battery lasts forever (compared to Android) and its great for just jamming out calls, emails and texts. But for a personal device.. it's lightyears behind. The touch screen is lousy by comparison, it does not have google talk, good free apps, free navigation, great browser or the speed and performance that the Android does. Its the ultimate electronic swiss army knife, if you can dream it.. there seems to be an app for it. I love it.

There was an initial learning curve, I did not find it as intuitive as BB. So I had to play with it for a lot longer, after a few months I am still learning things. There is nothing that i miss on a blackberry other than battery life. My work requires a huge amount of talk time.. like 7 hours plus.

Next to the Thunderbolt the Torch feels archaic, I have no problems with it, it just does not do a lot of things. Cant beat a BB for a basic communication machine but an Android is so much more. Rim is going to try like hell to catch up, and who knows, they may come up with another great device but i have not seen anything thus far that even begins to touch what i can do with the Android.

I had Google talk (and Google voice) on my BB Bold 9700. Are Google products not available for that device?

Archaic is a great way to describe the BB product line.

 

[gunderscorewil]

I have been a blackberry user for about 7 yrs. I have had bb pearl, 2 original curves and now have a blackberry Torch as my work phone. Recently I gave up my personal Curve for a HTC Thunderbolt.

I keep my blackberry for work because it is a reliable simple communication device.. the battery lasts forever (compared to Android) and its great for just jamming out calls, emails and texts. But for a personal device.. it's lightyears behind. The touch screen is lousy by comparison, it does not have google talk, good free apps, free navigation, great browser or the speed and performance that the Android does. Its the ultimate electronic swiss army knife, if you can dream it.. there seems to be an app for it. I love it.

There was an initial learning curve, I did not find it as intuitive as BB. So I had to play with it for a lot longer, after a few months I am still learning things. There is nothing that i miss on a blackberry other than battery life. My work requires a huge amount of talk time.. like 7 hours plus.

Next to the Thunderbolt the Torch feels archaic, I have no problems with it, it just does not do a lot of things. Cant beat a BB for a basic communication machine but an Android is so much more. Rim is going to try like hell to catch up, and who knows, they may come up with another great device but i have not seen anything thus far that even begins to touch what i can do with the Android.

this is true if yuo go through BBAppWorld. But just type "maps" into the google search on the browser and you can download GoogleMaps free. Of course you dont have to worry about that now. And i agree with you, the torch is a sorry device.

 

[elements]

I had Google talk (and Google voice) on my BB Bold 9700. Are Google products not available for that device?

Archaic is a great way to describe the BB product line.

hmm maybe I am calling it the wrong thing.. i am talking about the little mic on the keyboard that allows me voice to text . How do i get the google products on the blackberry. I hate typing on that thing.

 

[KENNECTED]

hmm maybe I am calling it the wrong thing.. i am talking about the little mic on the keyboard that allows me voice to text . How do i get the google products on the blackberry. I hate typing on that thing.

I think you mean Google voice search? I love that feature like nobody's business!

 

[AndroidSPCS]

I have used Blackberry for over 10 years. My BB Pearl had memories leaks like crazy and required daily battery pulls or ringers would get messed up, emails would start disappearing, call logs would get messed up.

I used to love Blackberry 5-10 years ago, but they have remaind the same while the market / technology has moved. Nowadays I feel sorry for people when I see them being forced to use Blackberry. I still carry my blackberry but I prefer my Android far more.

 

[thedosbox]

Currently I am considering these phones to replace this abomination (9300).

Nexus One
Bold 99xx
Nexus S (should we get it)
Inspire 4G
Sensation (should we get it)<---top pick

A few random comments:

I know the Desire had multitouch issues, so you should check whether the Nexus One has the same.

Someone who's using a Nexus S may correct me, but I believe the stock Gingerbread mail client cannot handle multiple Exchange accounts. The HTC mail client can, as well as sub-folders. It also seems to have less issues with security certificates on some configurations.

Many people find Pentile screens are not great if you're reading a lot of text.

 

[dan330]

i say.. of the choices you listed..

i would go with Sensation!

 

[substring]

If I were you, I will wait for the Galaxy S II which is far better than those on the list.

 

[Guamguy]

A few random comments:

I know the Desire had multitouch issues, so you should check whether the Nexus One has the same.

I don't recall the Desire having multitouch issues. Got one and never experienced one.

It was the Nexus One that had touch issues. Somewhere between the Nexus One, Desire and Droid Incredible, it got fixed with a new screen.

 

[rocknevious]

I bought a Blackberry Curve about 3 years ago after seeing how much my room mate liked his. Initially, it was an absolute breath of fresh air after having a Motorola Q [UGH!] for the previous two years. However, as time progressed things got worse and worse.

First, I should mention that I went through 3 replacements in the time I had the BB. One time was water damage [that i'm still not sure how it happened] and the other two were just random shutdowns. My phone was getting to the point that I never knew if it would be on when I pulled it out of my pocket, or if it would even turn on without having to pull the battery first. It was that bad. Not to mention that it took FOREVER to boot up after a random shutdown.

I LOVED the email on my BB as it always seemed to get to me pretty much instantly. Other folks were waiting for their email to sync and I had mine right then. But I, like others, noticed the quirks of push and reconcile and how aggravating that was.

Then my phone [which was only about 6 months old at this point, as it was a recent replacement] began to lag TERRIBLY. If I wanted to read a text, I basically hit the button and did something else for 10 seconds while it loaded the SMS app, then clicked the msg I wanted to read and waited another 10 seconds. I didn't ask a lot of my BB. It didn't have to do anything but open texts quickly. Too much?

Following this, I got back into random shutdowns AND a new problem where my SMS app would never open until after doing a battery pull and restarting. I could navigate the menus, but hitting enter or clicking the trackball didn't do anything.

At this point, I was frustrated. My contract was up and I was moving to AT&T with my [then]Fiancee [now wife]. She was also in the market for a new phone, and I stumbled across an Android Screenshots thread on another forum I visit. My eyes were opened. I realized how little the BlackBerry could do compared to Android [or iOS, even] and how much of an experience mobile devices had become. She got a Captivate, and I [since I waited a little longer to get on the new plan] got an Inspire. I haven't looked back since. We both love our phones and all the new capabilities they present [she had the same phone as I did previously, until the trackball fell out].

Note about keyboards: I thought I would hate a software keyboard as well, but I adapted to it pretty quickly. Like many things, it just takes some getting used to. I also managed to get Swype on my Inspire, and I've really started to love it.

[longest forum post ever?]

 

[thedosbox]

I don't recall the Desire having multitouch issues. Got one and never experienced one.

YouTube - HTC Desire - Multitouch Problems
YouTube - HD HTC Desire - Multi -touch problem

Note about keyboards: I thought I would hate a software keyboard as well, but I adapted to it pretty quickly. Like many things, it just takes some getting used to.

This. I came from a Nokia E71 so made a point of trying out various software keyboards before settling on the HTC Incredible S. I am now as comfortable on this as I was on the Nokia. I do miss the tactile feel of a physical keyboard though.