1. BostonDan's Avatar
    So after being a loyal storm/Storm2 owner for over 1 1/2 years (+/- a month or so), and having bought the storm and storm2 on the day they came out, I have gotten ahold of a Motorola Droid (this was from swapping one of my BOGO Storm2s I got when verizon first offered the Storm2 for a Motorola Droid)

    Now, this is not a blackberry bashing thread, because I loved my blackberry, but after being on the droid, there are certain things that I have come to appreciate on the droid, while still appreciating other things on the blackberry.

    As I told a friend of mine, if I had to compare iPhone to Blackberry to Droid (or Android Operating System), I would say the iPhone = the iMac (it takes work to screw it up, and you have to know what you are doing to make it screw up), Blackberry = PC running windows-type OS (you can screw it up, but it can be recovered usually), and the Droid = Linux/Unix PC (if you don't know what you are doing, you can enjoy the basics of what is presented to you, but boy-oh-boy can the OS really be hacked!)

    I must give email kudos, hands down, to Blackberry for push email. I loved push email, but, and this is a big caveat, I hated truncated email! The droid's email is smooth, crisp, and complete. So I have to wait 5 minutes to get notification of a new email is ok. I can live with that.

    Tethering - Blackberry needs to buy a program (Tetherberry or PDANet (I won't even put mobileshark in this as it was too hard to configure and use!)). The Droid OS can be hacked to allow free WiFi tethering, so you can make your phone into a WiFi Hotspot!

    Screen - I though the Storm2's screen was incredible until I saw this thing of beauty they put on the Droid. Absolutely stunning colors and graphics!

    The browsers - no comparison - the Droid browser is hands-down so much better than the Storm2's. The fonts are crisp and the page is readable. With the Storm/Storm2, I had to take off my glasses to focus on the screen. It was horrible. The Droid's browser is incredible and the fonts are readable straight up.

    Marketplace - the Droid's marketplace is cheaper (on the whole), and has many free apps. Blackberry's apps store and mobihand's app store is ok, and had all that I really needed or wanted, but it's like going from a small country store in the mid-west to a mega Stop and Shop in Boston. The number of apps that are available for the Droid are amazing.

    Configuration - The Blackberry beats the droid in configuration. The droid has 3 (or 5) homescreens that can be configured. The droid does have widgets that improve the experience, but I loved being able to configure folders for the blakcberry. I knew where everything was. I do not like the iPhone/Droid interface where all the apps are just lumped into one directory and it is up to you to sort through it. The Droid's multi-screen allows one to put favroite shortcuts on the screen, but still, I miss the blackberry.

    Learning curve - I consider myself quite tech savvy, and was amazed at how long it took me to "master" the droid. The blackberry is intuitive and easy to just pick up and start using without any training.

    Finally, phone - main reason for buying the hardware - The droid phone interface is good, but I have two problems with it. The phone icon is only on the screen and not a dedicated button like the blackberry's. I like the blackberry in the fact that the phone is always available by just pushing the green phone button. I also do not like that the droid's screen goes dead and you have to wake it up by unlocking the phone just to hang up a call. I think the phone should be dedicated and think the storm has gotten it right in that sense.

    transitions/speed - Hands down, the Droid. The droid is smooth, and google maps native navigation with turn by turn directions and voice prompts. Plus the motion is smooth and even, not choppy like the storm2's.

    Keyboards - Droid's (physical) keyboard is small and hard to use. I find myself making many mistakes. The Storm's push keyboard is great and easy to use. As for the droid's virtual keyboard, it is cramped and still harder to use. It also takes some getting use to, as I keep trying to hit return but there is a delete key where I would expect a return. The droid does a better job with auto-complete and doesn't make me want to hurt it across the room when I try to type my email which uses "alum.", where the storm will always correct it to "slum.".

    Overall - I have to give the two platforms a push. As I said, I still miss certain aspects of the storm2. In fact, I still find myself trying to push down the screen to get it to click.

    I will probably be back, as it is so easy now to transfer between the two devices on verizon (a quick log on to the verizon website, and then a quick phone call to activate). But for now, I'm going to lurk on crackberry and focus on getting the most out of my droid.

    Cheers,
    B.D.
    03-21-10 11:11 AM
  2. jbdale's Avatar
    But for now, I'm going to lurk on crackberry and focus on getting the most out of my droid.

    Cheers,
    B.D.

    You may want to consider Droid Forum - Covering all Verizon Droid Phones & the Motorola Droid. They are bashing the device right and left over there. Seems some disgruntled former S2 users find out that the grass wasn't greener on the other side and came back to the BB. I wish I would known those mistakes before buying the iPhone
    03-21-10 12:31 PM
  3. Bettermost's Avatar
    Very good breakdown of the different platforms. I don't like the Droid hardware personally but I think the new HTC Incredible will be the Android handset to have. You are very correct in comparing the phones platforms likeness to Apple, Windows, Linux I always felt Blackberry's are a thinly disguised Windows Mobile platform and when I heard that Microsoft was approaching RIM for a partnership or a take over that just confirmed it for me. I was going to defect to Android if I could not get my key problems solved. Now that I have a legitimate "fixed" Storm 2 I'm in heaven its like owning a totally different phone now.
    03-21-10 12:59 PM
  4. howarmat's Avatar
    Great review but I found two things wrong with it:
    • Gmail on the Droid is PUSH. All of my emails come in instantly, although, there seems to be a bug where som emails can be late at times.
    • You can sort apps on the Droid using folders. You can long press the screen or press the menu button and then add folders from there to store apps/files.


    All in all, great review. I've never played with a S2 but my friend has one and likes it a lot. I'm really tech savvy so the Droid was a done deal for me, especially since it's been rooted (hacked) ever since I bought it.

    I liked your comparison between the three platforms (RIM = Windows, iPhone = Mac, Droid = Linux). I've never used Mac or Linux as I've been using Windows ever since I was a little kid so I'm really accustomed to it (using Vista right now). Windows FTW!
    that is the only one though
    03-21-10 01:30 PM
  5. Cyber Warrior's Avatar
    Nice review. Makes sense to swap one of your BOGOs to try out the droid. You still have your BB and can use the Droid for surfing the web.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    03-21-10 01:36 PM
  6. BostonDan's Avatar
    You may want to consider Droid Forum - Covering all Verizon Droid Phones & the Motorola Droid. They are bashing the device right and left over there. Seems some disgruntled former S2 users find out that the grass wasn't greener on the other side and came back to the BB. I wish I would known those mistakes before buying the iPhone
    jbdale,

    Personally, I have always said the three platforms are 6 of 1/2, half dozen of the other. They all have pluses and minuses, and it is up to the user to decide what they can live with. I personally love the technology of the Droid being linux based, but the Storm was fun to play with and hack as well.

    I think the main problem is people jump on a bandwagon and get the "latest and greatest" not realizing that there is no perfect smart-phone, etc. They all have their problems, and the consumer should investigate what they want/need and take their time in deciding before just going to a store and buying a phone based on the hype.

    I had investigated the Storm originally, and went to the store to buy one the day it came out. I spent over 1 hour playing with it to be certain that I liked it. It was far from perfect, and I heard all these iPhone users say "yes, but does it xxx as well as the iPhone?" In some cases yes and it does it better (camera with zoom and flash), and in some cases no (transitions between screens, etc). But I was happy with the storm and willing to put in the time to make it work the way I wanted it to.

    I do not bash the iPhone, because I think it has some great features, but I know it is not the platform for me. Not that it is worse or better than the Blackberry or the Android platform, it just is and should be accepted for what it is.

    People will bash what they don't like, but in many cases, I find it is their own fault for being too impulsive when they buy it. They are told by advertisers "this is the greatest! Buy Buy Buy!" and they do only to regret it later.

    I use to buy products from a little known french company named "Archos". They had the first multimedia DVR in a small form factor (along the size of the original ipod) which was revolutionary, but Apple's marketing was a great force. Apple's interface was easy to master, but it was hardly the most revolutionary in terms of capabilities. But Apple did tie up the small hard drive market and reduce the form factor of the ipod and create a good product that the masses could use. Again, it just wasn't for me for what I wanted.

    Just my $0.02.

    Also, as for push email, some of us do not use purely google, but have multiple email accounts. Yes, google is push, but the rest are polled. Not a big deal, as I said in my original post, because I can wait 5 minutes for my email.

    In addition, one of the first places I went when I got the droid was to the Droidforum.net to read as much as possible about the droid. But I love how Crackberry accepts other platforms for discussions. As I said, I still have my storm2, and will be enjoying it as well.

    Cheers,
    B.D.
    03-21-10 04:17 PM
  7. BostonDan's Avatar
    Great review but I found two things wrong with it:
    • Gmail on the Droid is PUSH. All of my emails come in instantly, although, there seems to be a bug where som emails can be late at times.
    • You can sort apps on the Droid using folders. You can long press the screen or press the menu button and then add folders from there to store apps/files.
    dman91,

    Thanks for the tip! the folders is not intuitive, so I had not noticed this feature before. This is what I mean by the Droid being a great platform, but not intuitive like the blackberry (IMHO).

    Cheers,
    B.D.
    03-21-10 04:24 PM
  8. DRLyman's Avatar
    Do a search in the market for K-9 Mail. You might like using it for email that isn't Google based.
    03-21-10 04:41 PM
  9. zkyevolved's Avatar
    I had an android device, and it didn't work out for me. Lol. I needed a more "always online and always instant" device. Instant messaging on Android has MANY flaws. But it's a good OS. I hope you like it I'm married to BB
    03-21-10 05:29 PM
  10. jbdale's Avatar
    jbdale,

    Personally, I have always said the three platforms are 6 of 1/2, half dozen of the other. They all have pluses and minuses, and it is up to the user to decide what they can live with. I personally love the technology of the Droid being linux based, but the Storm was fun to play with and hack as well.

    I think the main problem is people jump on a bandwagon and get the "latest and greatest" not realizing that there is no perfect smart-phone, etc. They all have their problems, and the consumer should investigate what they want/need and take their time in deciding before just going to a store and buying a phone based on the hype.

    I had investigated the Storm originally, and went to the store to buy one the day it came out. I spent over 1 hour playing with it to be certain that I liked it. It was far from perfect, and I heard all these iPhone users say "yes, but does it xxx as well as the iPhone?" In some cases yes and it does it better (camera with zoom and flash), and in some cases no (transitions between screens, etc). But I was happy with the storm and willing to put in the time to make it work the way I wanted it to.

    I do not bash the iPhone, because I think it has some great features, but I know it is not the platform for me. Not that it is worse or better than the Blackberry or the Android platform, it just is and should be accepted for what it is.

    People will bash what they don't like, but in many cases, I find it is their own fault for being too impulsive when they buy it. They are told by advertisers "this is the greatest! Buy Buy Buy!" and they do only to regret it later.

    I use to buy products from a little known french company named "Archos". They had the first multimedia DVR in a small form factor (along the size of the original ipod) which was revolutionary, but Apple's marketing was a great force. Apple's interface was easy to master, but it was hardly the most revolutionary in terms of capabilities. But Apple did tie up the small hard drive market and reduce the form factor of the ipod and create a good product that the masses could use. Again, it just wasn't for me for what I wanted.

    Just my $0.02.

    Also, as for push email, some of us do not use purely google, but have multiple email accounts. Yes, google is push, but the rest are polled. Not a big deal, as I said in my original post, because I can wait 5 minutes for my email.

    In addition, one of the first places I went when I got the droid was to the Droidforum.net to read as much as possible about the droid. But I love how Crackberry accepts other platforms for discussions. As I said, I still have my storm2, and will be enjoying it as well.

    Cheers,
    B.D.
    Ummmmm, okay?
    03-21-10 09:10 PM
  11. algebria's Avatar
    I seriously looked at droid, but blackberry was a better choice as a business phone.
    if there was a good way to transfer outook contacts, calendar, tasks, and memos to android, i'd have gone that route.

    good write up you got.
    03-21-10 09:41 PM
  12. paulwright1's Avatar
    God I just love these threads. So much useful information. Kind of like my post, nothing worth reading.
    03-21-10 10:19 PM
  13. nyc_rock's Avatar
    Im probably three weeks ahead of the OP. I switched to the droid and have been enjoying all it has to offer. I pretty much agree with everything in the OP's thread. It is such an impressive piece of hardware. It is blazing fast. Surfing for apps is actually pleasurable instead of tedious. The screen if simply brilliant and web browsing is desk top quality.
    Of course, being a BB addict as I am, today I re-activated my S2. Not because there was anything about the droid I didnt like, just becuase I missed my BB. So, I'll use this for a while and then probably switch back to droid. this just may be the way I play for the time being. Try and get the best of both worlds.
    03-22-10 07:56 AM
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