[YMarkY]

Two months ago, I gave up my Blackberry for the Vibrant. I really wanted to like this new platform, but it is still a long way from mature.

- The Android platform shines when it comes to apps. No complaints there.
- Swype is awesome. I never thought I would like a touch screen, but SWYPE makes typing on a touch screen easy.
- Vibrant screen is amazing

Reasons I'm heading back to a Blackberry:
- The Vibrant battery life flat out sucks. Even shutting down battery intensive tasks doesn't give me a full day. This is a deal killer.
- While typing on the touch screen is a breeze, I spend half the day cleaning the screen. A real smear magnet.
- Mail on the Android is nowhere near prime time. K9 sucks as well. I don't care what anyone says, mail on Android can't hold a candle to RIM.
- On the other hand, browsing the web on a BB can't hold a candle to Android. Mail is far more important for me.
- Syncing with Outlook is a bigger pain than it is worth.
- Google Calendar is a joke. A high school programming project gone bad.

I have a couple more weeks until TMO gets the new BB. Maybe my mind will change. This is the shortest time I've ever owned a phone. I just wish I could learn to like this.

[lssanjose]

I can sense, too full, your cup is. You gotta really take the BB hat off. I mean completely off. This is probably one of the major reason why, outside of gaming, people still stick to Windows, and not move to something like Linux.

Then again, my friend didn't like the Vibrant all that much. It seems as though Samsung android phones are a mixed bag across carriers

[pantlesspenguin]

Dont give up on Android because of one bad experience. I just gave up my Vibrant in favor of the MyTouch 4g. This is much more to my liking. It had things that I was missing like a dedicated camera button, camera flash, and led notifier. My emails seem to be coming in a lot faster. This is really my dream device!

[lssanjose]

At the time you got your MyTouch, was the G2 around, or you knew right away the MyTouch was for you?

[Retrokid223]

G2 came out first... but to OP give it another shot. i as like that back in april when i first tried the droid. i switched back to blackberry for 2 weeks and i knew i made a mistake. went back to android and i love it. try juice defender for battery life, that usually works

[Johnly]

Android has class. Genuinely, don't go back....you will regret every aspect of it. you seem to have your own drummer though, and if the name of the band is berry bold, it is. I remember a post you posted a month ago, responding to the guy that loved his x. Your response "FAIL (10 CHAR)" and that leads me to believe you just might not care for anything google? Well, all the best

[lssanjose]

I think one of the bigger obstacles when going Android, is realizing how much control you have. But, I think that comes from a commitment to dive in, first. Am I wrong?

[avt123]

Email is great for me. Battery life is great for me. The way you are describing your screen makes it sound like you passed it around all of NYC. Maybe it is the SGS screen, but smudges really do not bother me and does not reduce any sort of visibility when the screen is on. Maybe the Vibrant itself just isn't the right device for you. I would say try the DX since you need good battery life, but you are on T-Mobile. None of the Android devices on T-Mobile have amazing battery life, so an extended battery would be needed. I have heard the Vibrant gets pretty good battery life though, so I guess it's just mixed opinions.

[dragonsamus]

That sucks it didn't work out. Hopefully you will like your next phone better.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[the_sandman_454]

It sure isn't for everybody. Good luck with whatever you pick next.

[SevereDeceit]

The 2 big things I've noticed when BlackBerry users who go Android and complain about battery life is: They have the screen brightness all the way up, and how often either applications or widgets update. Many of the News and Social Networking widgets refresh or 'poll' every five or ten minutes by default. That will cause signifigant drain...

[YMarkY]

I remember a post you posted a month ago, responding to the guy that loved his x. Your response "FAIL (10 CHAR)" and that leads me to believe you just might not care for anything google? Well, all the best

LOL, part of your memory is good. Part of it.... not so good.

The reason for the FAIL post was because the guy was a fan boy that said the X was the BEST PHONE EVER.

I really want to like this Android, and have nothing against Google (other than they can be invasive at times). Quite frankly, I was bored with the Blackberry and the lack of applications. However, using a bunch of applications on Android is a battery killer, so I'm no better off.

The cool and wow factor go to Android. Form and function go to RIM.

[YMarkY]

The 2 big things I've noticed when BlackBerry users who go Android and complain about battery life is: They have the screen brightness all the way up, and how often either applications or widgets update. Many of the News and Social Networking widgets refresh or 'poll' every five or ten minutes by default. That will cause signifigant drain...

You're correct, but no so with me. Screen brightness is all the way down, and email checks are every 15 minutes. I don't have widgets running other than weather every hour.

Just for grins, the other day while I was waiting for my truck at the dealer, I was surfing with 3G enabled. Battery went from 90% to 40% in less than 2 hours. I was reading Google reader and Craig's list. Typically, 3G is turned off, as is WiFi.

[pantlesspenguin]

The 2 big things I've noticed when BlackBerry users who go Android and complain about battery life is: They have the screen brightness all the way up, and how often either applications or widgets update. Many of the News and Social Networking widgets refresh or 'poll' every five or ten minutes by default. That will cause signifigant drain...

^This. I always keep my screen pretty dim, not just to save battery but I genuinely prefer it. I had my screen dimmed to 10% on my bb. The fact that it's a huge battery saver is icing on the cake . I also agree about the widgets. I have most of mine set to refresh twice a day. If I need more updates than that I can do it manually.

Another huge source of battery drain is being in an area with spotty coverage. I work in the outskirts of the Kansas City suburbs, right along a 3G/EDGE line. I always turn my device to "EDGE Only" when I go to work. After 8 hours of light usage on EDGE with widgets updating & such, I'm at around 85% when I leave work. This was on my Vibrant. Not sure how my MT4G will do, but I'm eager to see.

lssanjose, to answer your question which I believe was directed toward me, I chose the MT4G over the G2. I'm not a fan of sliding keyboards & I was eager to try some of the features that the MT4G offered that G2 didn't.

[pantlesspenguin]

Just for grins, the other day while I was waiting for my truck at the dealer, I was surfing with 3G enabled. Battery went from 90% to 40% in less than 2 hours. I was reading Google reader and Craig's list. Typically, 3G is turned off, as is WiFi.

Dang! That is pretty crappy. Maybe you just got a dud Vibrant? Mine handled battery life a LOT better than that.

Like I mentioned earlier in this post, don't shut the door on Android based on one bad experience. It's easy to think that all high-end Android devices are basically the same, but I'm learning this is far from the truth.

[YMarkY]

My email checks are every 15 minutes. Hardy intensive. I have a weather widget (Beautiful Widgets) that checks every hour. That is ALL I have running. All other apps only sync on demand.

If I set my phone on the counter and don't touch the thing, I lose about 10% battery per hour. I've swapped batteries with my wife's Vibrant, same thing.

[Doctor A]

I wonder if bump charging will help the Vibrant like the Incredible? Has made big difference for me. You might try this method. Bit of a pain to charge then shut off and charge till showing full charge again but seems to work.

Doc

[rhaneyjr]

trojan smacks androids ***

First trojan virus hits Android phones - by Kenneth Andrews - Helium

[Johnly]

LOL, part of your memory is good. Part of it.... not so good.

The reason for the FAIL post was because the guy was a fan boy that said the X was the BEST PHONE EVER.

I really want to like this Android, and have nothing against Google (other than they can be invasive at times). Quite frankly, I was bored with the Blackberry and the lack of applications. However, using a bunch of applications on Android is a battery killer, so I'm no better off.

The cool and wow factor go to Android. Form and function go to RIM.

I looked at your past posts to confirm, my memory is good. I am sure the guy that posted, that he felt the x is the best phone, was his opinion....nothing epic or fail about it. Carry on guy

[sfjon918]

trojan smacks androids ***

First trojan virus hits Android phones - by Kenneth Andrews - Helium

after reading the article the trojan isn't just for android phones...

[infamyx]

OP i'm not too sure what you're doing on the device to be honest but i'll tell you first hand i can make it an easy 16 hours with web browsing, a flurry of emails (what email are you doing that pulls?) and sms and about a good hour or so of music daily for my bike ride to/from work for exercise.

The only thing i have noticed that have started eating at my battery more is the xbox live app that seems to constantly run regardless of what i do.

I do know something that is wrong though, i completely got rid of the stock TouchWiz UI, its horrific and battery draining as numerous tasks run constantly that will tear through your battery. As great as the hardware in the Vibrant it is, its plagued by slow down from all the bloat.

It might be a pain in the *** but root your device, sling Froyo on it (there are roms on XDA-developers and step by step instructions) and i guarantee your device will run much better and be much nicer on the battery...not to mention the battery meter will actually register correctly.

[droidgurl11]

Two months ago, I gave up my Blackberry for the Vibrant. I really wanted to like this new platform, but it is still a long way from mature.

- The Android platform shines when it comes to apps. No complaints there.
- Swype is awesome. I never thought I would like a touch screen, but SWYPE makes typing on a touch screen easy.
- Vibrant screen is amazing

Reasons I'm heading back to a Blackberry:
- The Vibrant battery life flat out sucks. Even shutting down battery intensive tasks doesn't give me a full day. This is a deal killer.
- While typing on the touch screen is a breeze, I spend half the day cleaning the screen. A real smear magnet.
- Mail on the Android is nowhere near prime time. K9 sucks as well. I don't care what anyone says, mail on Android can't hold a candle to RIM.
- On the other hand, browsing the web on a BB can't hold a candle to Android. Mail is far more important for me.
- Syncing with Outlook is a bigger pain than it is worth.
- Google Calendar is a joke. A high school programming project gone bad.

I have a couple more weeks until TMO gets the new BB. Maybe my mind will change. This is the shortest time I've ever owned a phone. I just wish I could learn to like this.

TouchDown is a great email app, much much better than K9. My emails are pushed just fast as my BB use too. You may need to tweek and play around with your settings for better battery life. Read some of the battery tips on this site and others before you jump ship. It does make a difference. I know what widgets to stay away from, what to set my email push at, push settings for my social networks. these things have a significant impact

[kinwolf]

Two months ago, I gave up my Blackberry for the Vibrant. I really wanted to like this new platform, but it is still a long way from mature.

- The Android platform shines when it comes to apps. No complaints there.
- Swype is awesome. I never thought I would like a touch screen, but SWYPE makes typing on a touch screen easy.
- Vibrant screen is amazing

Reasons I'm heading back to a Blackberry:
- The Vibrant battery life flat out sucks. Even shutting down battery intensive tasks doesn't give me a full day. This is a deal killer.
- While typing on the touch screen is a breeze, I spend half the day cleaning the screen. A real smear magnet.
- Mail on the Android is nowhere near prime time. K9 sucks as well. I don't care what anyone says, mail on Android can't hold a candle to RIM.
- On the other hand, browsing the web on a BB can't hold a candle to Android. Mail is far more important for me.
- Syncing with Outlook is a bigger pain than it is worth.
- Google Calendar is a joke. A high school programming project gone bad.

I have a couple more weeks until TMO gets the new BB. Maybe my mind will change. This is the shortest time I've ever owned a phone. I just wish I could learn to like this.

Battery life: Remember the screen you have on your vibrant is alot bigger than what you have on a normal BB, with many more pixels on it. Lower the brightness to save on battery life. The BB Storm that I had was plagued by bad battery life until an OS revision lowered the default brightness of the screen. And compared to other BB, the battery life was still bad.

Cleaning the screen: That is a problem with any touch screen. Buy a screen protector from bestskinesever or invisishield. It protect the screen and you will clean it alot less, like once per few days, instead of many times per day.

Mail on Android is ready for prime time... if you use Gmail or active sync(exchange server), since both gives you push capabilities. If not, then yeah, BB is the best, but remember that BB requires the deployment of BIS or BES, invisible to us end user, but that's why it's email is so good. Syncing contacts is alot easier though btw android and gmail. no more double contact appearing.

Syncing with oulook. Dunno what you mean here. I use HTC Sync and it's the same as using BBDM

Google calendar: Saying something is a joke without saying more... don'th old it against me if I don't take you seriously there. On my BB it synched perfectly with the BB calendar, and it's the same with android.

[YMarkY]

OP i'm not too sure what you're doing on the device to be honest but i'll tell you first hand i can make it an easy 16 hours with web browsing, a flurry of emails (what email are you doing that pulls?) and sms and about a good hour or so of music daily for my bike ride to/from work for exercise.

The only thing i have noticed that have started eating at my battery more is the xbox live app that seems to constantly run regardless of what i do.

I do know something that is wrong though, i completely got rid of the stock TouchWiz UI, its horrific and battery draining as numerous tasks run constantly that will tear through your battery. As great as the hardware in the Vibrant it is, its plagued by slow down from all the bloat.

It might be a pain in the *** but root your device, sling Froyo on it (there are roms on XDA-developers and step by step instructions) and i guarantee your device will run much better and be much nicer on the battery...not to mention the battery meter will actually register correctly.

My phone is rooted, but not running Froyo. I'm also using Launcher Pro instead of TouchWiz.

I'll look for a rom on XDA, unless you can point me to one. I'll also look at Touchdown for an email app. K9 sucks. I typically receive about 30 emails per day, and maybe 100 texts.

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

Going from a BB to an Android device is a learning process. I have also noticed that battery life is a common complaint from former BB users as it was one of my biggest complaint with two Android devices I owned. The thing is, data intensive apps and tasks drain your battery faster. I never really looked at YouTube videos on my BB. When I got my EVO, I watched them all the time. When the EVO got Froyo, I watched streaming flash videos all the time. A lot of the apps use data and/or GPS. If you have widgets active, then the data and GPS are being used, which drains a lot of battery. The OP's complaint about the smudges on the screen is probably do to the fact that you really didn't have to deal with smudges before on your BB. Former BB owners have to understand that when you switch to another device, that the way you use your phone may change. Therefore, you expectations of its performance will have to change. I liked the Android experience, but the BB experience has been better for me and it will be for a lot of other smartphone users. You just have to know going in with an Android device that you will use a lot more data, the battery life will be worse so get an extended battery or invest in multiple chargers.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com