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I like this post.
There is a plethora of things I can do with my Android. I can run remote computers, use Skype and Google Voice for free calls, HDMI out movies and more.
But, I have also come to accept the fact that not every one needs that functionality. It's okay to get a device that truly meets your needs.
09-30-11 07:33 PM - I wouldn't even think about going back to Android. Security suck and easily hacked by the right person. Like to carry a lot of weight? Well get used to carrying extra batteries. I will never go back. I lasted 2 weeks on the droid 2 and hated it.
However, when holding and using the 9930, there's just something neat and fun about it. I cannot for the love of Pete, let go. My wife hates it for that. She had an Android till last week and now is using an old Storm 1 till the Bold comes out on AT&T. We both will make the switch from Verizon. Lots of People are waiting.
......AT&T, I hate you for not getting this sooner! Just be patient; it will pay off!10-01-11 09:44 AM - I'm seeing a lot of misinformation in this thread. I'm not here to bash BB in the slightest, I just want to clear some things up.
I see many users who have come back from Android say "It was a fun device for multimedia, but it wasn't productive enough for me." It makes me really wonder if people had even given it a shot at being a device used for productivity. I'd like to share my setup with you. I'm your average consumer. I don't use my phone for business. My phone is stock, non-rooted, running Sense 3.0.
This is my lockscreen.
See those four apps at the bottom? When I drag and drop one of those into the ring, it immediately opens up that program. The thing that comes in most handy for me is the Google Navigation. When driving, I keep my phone in a car dock. When I'm not sure exactly where I'm going (it happens a lot, I admit), I just drag that into the loop, hit "speak destination," say my destination, and within seconds I have full voice turn-by-turn directions displayed in front of me.
This is my home screen.
Nothing much to see here, except the clock widget. When I tap the widget, it takes me into an app that has a desk mode, displays world clocks, my alarms, timer, and stopwatch. pretty neat.
One swipe to the left and you get this:
Some fairly handy widgets here. The Weatherbug Elite widget takes me into the full app when I tap it. The Weatherbug maps app updates every 3 hours (or however you want to set it). When I tap it, it goes to a full sized map. It comes pretty handy in midwest Springs and Winters.
Two swipes to the left:
My calendar. Here, I can scroll through my entries. If I want to edit a particular entry, I tap on it and it takes me straight to the entry.
Three swipes to the left:
I have some egg on my face here. I didn't realize that the screenshot notification was captured in the screenshot before I edited it to remove my friend's last name. Anyways, this is my mail widget. There's not a lot to see here at the moment. If it was full, I could scroll through the entries. Again, tapping on an entry takes me right to it so I can read the full thing. Need to compose an email in a hurry? What the screenshot box is covering are two icons: list and compose. When I hit list it shows me all the entries, just like it does in the widget. I hit compose and it's just what it sounds like. It takes me to where I can compose a message from the account that I have set as my default.
One swipe to the right:
Just some fun lil media stuff. Of note is my power control widget. From there I can control wifi, bluetooth, gps, auto sync, and screen brightness. There is also my media player widget. I have basic controls from the screen, but when I tap it the whole app opens.
Two swipes to the right:
SMS widget. Again, the lil screenshot notification thingie is hiding the list and compose buttons, but those do the same as on the email widget. And again, I can scroll through the entries without opening the app, and if I want to check out a whole entry I tap on that entry and it opens to it.
Three swipes to the right:
Twitter. Because who doesn't like Twitter?
This is what you get when you pull down on the notification bar:
It shows you your recent notifications and also works with some specific apps. For example, you see my Weatherbug status. When I tap on that, it takes me to the app. That imo thingie? That's an IM app that combines buddy lists from many different IM clients, but also keeps them separate if that makes sense. Like, I'm signed into Skype, Yahoo, and AIM. It shows me which buddies are from which client.
So, that's my setup. Again, my phone is not rooted. The customization options are nearly endless even if you're not very techy at flashing roms and whatnot. With many of the widgets, you have customization options WITHIN the widget! You can chose what you want it to look like on the home screen, refresh intervals, etc.
As far as battery life, I really think it's evolving. The Samsung Vibrant I got last July needed re-charging at least once a day. The MyTouch 4G I got last November made it throughout the day as long as I threw it on the car charger on my commute home from work. My current phone, the HTC Sensation which I got in June has wonderful battery life. It lasts me all day without having to recharge.
As far as physical vs touch keyboards, I think this is REALLY up to the specific user. Keep in mind that any keyboard switch will take a learning curve. I struggled with it when I came to BB from my Sidekick days, and I struggled with it when I went to Android from BB. The cool thing about Android is that if you don't like the phone's stock keyboard there are MANY keyboard options in the Market. You're not just stuck with a crappy keyboard that you can't get the hang of no matter what. It didn't take long for me to be just as fast on a virtual keyboard than I was on BB's physical keyboard.
Like I said at the beginning, the intent of this post isn't to bash BB. I just wanted to clear up some misconceptions that I saw flying around. I'm REALLY GLAD BB seems to be trying to produce more consumer-oriented handsets and I don't want them to fail. I'd love to try out a QNX powerhouse phone sooner rather than later. I think competition in the mobile market is a GOOD THING and can only inspire innovation no matter what platform is your favorite.
Sorry for the large screenies.10-01-11 10:12 AM
