[anon(3850)]

Want to start by saying I know this is a Blackberry fan site and most everyone will want to say, "Do Eeet" without question but I hope for more in-depth answers.

I moved to the Android OS back in 2009 with the OG Droid and 2.0 Froyo and pretty much feel in love with root and custom OS(s) however I have missed blackberry many times since then.
I miss the physical keyboard and the fact that BB was my first real smartphone.

I am thinking of moving back for two main reasons:
The keyboard and by extension the toolbelt on the classic
and the warm feeling of being back on Blackberry.

Here are my concerns:
I dont work or play in a field that would let BB shine with like some of you
I am not social pretty much at all so no facebook, twitter, ect. I talk a bit on the phone every few days and send/receive around 100 txt a month. I do use Google Hangouts a fair bit to talk to one person.

Apps on my device are not many, I want to say 20-30 only most being the Google ecosystem like gmail, drive, calendar, youtube, etc
I do root my devices and when possible install custom images.

So... If I moved back would need to keep most if not all these functions so please tell me what is doable or not.

Google core apps, everything like music, drive access to play family videos/pics, Navigation with Maps, etc
Root, or some form in BB10
ability to remove bloat and do as I see fit with the OS files
Tethering allowed by root, basicly dont want verizon knowing what I am doing.

Like I mentioned before I am not social so currently my device is used mainly to enjoy websites with chrome and few other things.

I have no idea where this post will lead but I hope they folks that respond know that I mean to ill-will, just looking for info.
Hopefully from longtime android users that might have changed back that have similar lifestyle as me.

Thank you for your time.

[Al moon]

if your heavy into rooting and customizing and installing different roms and such blackberry may not be for you right now i know what rooting and installing roms is like i used to love doing all that on my androids but to be honest on blackberry the most youll be doing is changing your wallpaper theres no custom fonts and the like but if you can live without that the OS is great and theres really no bloatware so no need for root besides blackberry is just to secure to allow rooting it wont happen. the thing i wish for was at least to have themes like on the old bberry devices. also if you rely heavily on google services it may not be a go for you unless you can live with making some changes and figuring out what can replace what your looking for.

[jonty12]

Agree with Al.

Gmail, Google music, and Google maps won't be a problem but hangouts, drive, etc likely will be.

You could switch to BBM with that one person and then shooter Box, Onedrive, Mega, etc for cloud storage.

Tinkering with the OS and customization options are few though.

Posted via CB10

[anon(3850)]

Tinkering with OS options I have gotten away from some, I started doing it as a means to remove bloat ware, or just files/apps I never used.
Custom fonts and the like I never messed with, it was more about not having Verizon dictate what I had installed out how I used the device.

Hangouts I can leave if needed, Drive is important because of the shear amount of space I get as long time google user.

I read a little that can run many android apps now from blackberry? Able to expand on that if anyone does this.

Also still wondering about Tethering options or if that is even possible.

[Al moon]

yes you can run many android apps on it some work flawlessly others wont because they require google play services so they will work but not entirely i use viber and line and if they are open all the time they work fine however if i close them and someone calls they will not work i may get a notification but the phone will not ring if the app itself is closed

[Dave Bourque]

Tinkering with OS options I have gotten away from some, I started doing it as a means to remove bloat ware, or just files/apps I never used.
Custom fonts and the like I never messed with, it was more about not having Verizon dictate what I had installed out how I used the device.

Hangouts I can leave if needed, Drive is important because of the shear amount of space I get as long time google user.

I read a little that can run many android apps now from blackberry? Able to expand on that if anyone does this.

Also still wondering about Tethering options or if that is even possible.

Although Google services isn't supported there's many Google apps that can still work. Google Drive will be no problem, Gmail, Google maps will work ( although can't login to Google maps). To replace Google hangouts BBM is a good alternative. The latest BlackBerry 10 operating system uses an android runtime version 4.3 which is why so many android apps are compatible with the platform.

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[yessuz]

Tinkering with OS options I have gotten away from some, I started doing it as a means to remove bloat ware, or just files/apps I never used.
Custom fonts and the like I never messed with, it was more about not having Verizon dictate what I had installed out how I used the device.

Hangouts I can leave if needed, Drive is important because of the shear amount of space I get as long time google user.

I read a little that can run many android apps now from blackberry? Able to expand on that if anyone does this.

Also still wondering about Tethering options or if that is even possible.

BB10 pones have android runtime (jelly bean) and run MOST of android apps without any trouble. BUT - it is not compatible with google play services. so if app is dependant on google play services - here's a stopper.
app might not run at all, or , app might loose some functionality (i.e. you cannot log in to google maps, but there is a workaround with patched google services .apk). experience is almost same as with most of non-premium android devices.

But all android apps from amazon app store should run. also - there's a snap - alternative google play store client, which allows you to download apps from google play store directly to your BB10 phone.

however, BB hub and calendar is neatly integrated with google servers (so you have SUPERIOR functionality of mail and full integration of calendar) in the system. that's a huge plus.

thethering is of course possible as your phone can act as mobile hot spot.

also - there's number of native apps, and also - there's some native alternative clients, like iGrann - native client for instagram... which is even better (for me) than actual Instagram official ap.. which also runs perfectly fine

[LostOnThePianoRoll]

Tinkering with OS options I have gotten away from some, I started doing it as a means to remove bloat ware, or just files/apps I never used.
Custom fonts and the like I never messed with, it was more about not having Verizon dictate what I had installed out how I used the device.

Hangouts I can leave if needed, Drive is important because of the shear amount of space I get as long time google user.

I read a little that can run many android apps now from blackberry? Able to expand on that if anyone does this.

Also still wondering about Tethering options or if that is even possible.

Yes most android apps do work perfectly on BlackBerry 10.3.1.. but it could really bug you if the one app you need most doesn't. You can buy one when it comes out then you can always return it I think..

Posted via CB10 on my Z10STL100-1/10.3.1.821

[Al moon]

im not to sure how google hangouts works but can you just use it thru the phones web browser ? is an app necessary for it to work if anyone knows it would help

[Lefty724]

I can pretty much relate except the rooting stuff.

I was a Apple/Android guy for a long time and just came from a Galaxy 5S back to a Q10. I love my Q10 and currently pre-ordered a Classic and can't wait. I still try and use my GS5 and I hate typing on glass more and more every day.... I always carry my 9900 with me for notes, calculator, camera etc. since its small and I can rock it one-handed.

I don't do anything social at all. No Instagram, FB, Twitter, etc... but I do-do a ton of texting (about 1000/mo), emailing, forum surfing, etc. and the this is where BlackBerry and the physical keyboard shine!

I've downloaded all of my Android apps and they all work perfect so far. The only 2 that I can't get to work are Strava and Google Hangouts which is because of Google Play services I assume?

I think the Classic and 10.3 will be my perfect phone for years to come, but I will always keep my SE Q10 with me as well.

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[anon(3850)]

As mentioned hangouts I can actually leave without issue, I am more concerned with things like tethering, which was said it does work but follow up. Does tethering work without verizon hitting me with some tethering charge or needing to tether through a verizon app?

How is the browser experience on BB? I remember way back it wasnt good at all.

Also forgot to ask, I know there is a BB version of voice search but is it possible to use Google Now or at least Voice search with google?

[Al moon]

As mentioned hangouts I can actually leave without issue, I am more concerned with things like tethering, which was said it does work but follow up. Does tethering work without verizon hitting me with some tethering charge or needing to tether through a verizon app?

How is the browser experience on BB? I remember way back it wasnt good at all.

Also forgot to ask, I know there is a BB version of voice search but is it possible to use Google Now or at least Voice search with google?

the browser on bberry is probably one of the best browsers out there pretty much the only browser youll need, again google now or voice search may not work sine its probably dependent on google services but the voice assistant on bberry is superb as well

[Dave Bourque]

As mentioned hangouts I can actually leave without issue, I am more concerned with things like tethering, which was said it does work but follow up. Does tethering work without verizon hitting me with some tethering charge or needing to tether through a verizon app?

How is the browser experience on BB? I remember way back it wasnt good at all.

Also forgot to ask, I know there is a BB version of voice search but is it possible to use Google Now or at least Voice search with google?

Everything you remember about the old BlackBerry is now invalid. Completely different OS based on C/C++ vs the old java OS. I believe you can use Google Now. I haven't tried it myself though.

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[Jimberry Storm]

"Do Eeet" great line. No root but if you like that you might light to tinker with leaked OS's and side loading bar files. I think if you try the new classic and you don't like it shouldn't be to hard to resell it and use you current device. You left BB before no harm in trying again can always leave again. good luck.

[blurredLINUS]

Also forgot to ask, I know there is a BB version of voice search but is it possible to use Google Now or at least Voice search with google?

There is. It's called wolfram alpha (I think) it's the voice assistant of blackberry but with my experience as a heavy bluetooth user is that it's a little bit slower than google now (which I have on my s4) but it's far more accurate and very productive.

I have a galaxy s4 and to be honest. I think my z10 is better than it. I love the hub and the HTML browser. I also used to be a tinker but definitely moved on with that. Android apps from amazon works flawlessly (I use os 10.3.0 btw). Definitely looking forward on using blend

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[jones1202]

[QUOTE=intrloper;11090700]As mentioned hangouts I can actually leave without issue, I am more concerned with things like tethering, which was said it does work but follow up. Does tethering work without verizon hitting me with some tethering charge or needing to tether through a verizon app?

How is the browser experience on BB? I remember way back it wasnt good at all.

I use Verizon Hotspot without paying anything extra. Data is expensive though but seems to be getting better. The browser is great. Never have any problems. Definitely faster than the browser on old Blackberrys.


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[val_lixembeau]

You sound very invested in the Google eco system so I'm not sure BlackBerry is a good fit for you. I personally have accounts spread between Google, Apple, Microsoft and Yahoo! so BlackBerry works great since it is more about standards and less about lock in.


Supported great

Gmail and Google calendar should work fine (both multiple accounts, and multiple calendars in a single account)

I consider the BlackBerry browser to be decent but it doesn't like to have more than about four tabs open at a time in my experience. You will, of course, lose Chrome sync if you use that.

You can use the Google Talk app to message someone on Hangouts. But you will lose advanced features like attachments, or audio/video calling. There are lots of messaging apps you can use though if it's only to talk to a single person, so I'll consider this well supported.

For tethering, I don't know what is allowed by your Verizon plan, but in general you can tether both by Bluetooth and by USB cable. You can also use the phone as a wifi hotspot. I believe in all three cases the carrier will know.

Supported OK

Maps have a couple of options. You can use BlackBerry's native maps (not great), a hacked Google Maps apk (haven't tried that), a couple of native apps that use Google's data (good reviews but I haven't tried; 4-5 bucks IIRC), or other options like Waze.

Google Drive is not supported well on BlackBerry. You can use the web of course, and there are apps in the store that give you access, but I'm not personally comfortable with that. Box, Dropbox, and MS Onedrive are the first class cloud storage on BlackBerry. You might be able to load a Google Drive app from Android, but I haven't tried it myself (have a Nexus 4 in addition to a BlackBerry Z10 so I just keep Drive on the N4).

Youtube doesn't have a first party client from Google, but there are a couple in BB World, and the mobile site works well in the browser.

Not supported

You are close to guaranteed never to be able to root a BlackBerry phone.

Historically, people have been able to take BlackBerry software loads and strip out things they didn't need. But I seem to have read that code signing requirements are stricter nowadays so this might no longer be possible. In any case, there is nowhere near the freedom of Android in this respect (which is one of the selling points of BlackBerry for some markets).

[Dave Bourque]

I use playcloud for Google Drive. BBW app.

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[LuvULongTime]

Tinkering with OS options I have gotten away from some, I started doing it as a means to remove bloat ware, or just files/apps I never used.
Custom fonts and the like I never messed with, it was more about not having Verizon dictate what I had installed out how I used the device.

Hangouts I can leave if needed, Drive is important because of the shear amount of space I get as long time google user.

I read a little that can run many android apps now from blackberry? Able to expand on that if anyone does this.

Also still wondering about Tethering options or if that is even possible.

I use a really good native app called Play Cloud. It connects with Google Drive, as well as other cloud providers. I also read somewhere that BB would eventually add compatibility for more cloud providers into their native file manager. Not sure if any folks running a 10.3.1 leak can confirm.

[Powdah]

There is. It's called wolfram alpha (I think) it's the voice assistant of blackberry but with my experience as a heavy bluetooth user is that it's a little bit slower than google now (which I have on my s4) but it's far more accurate and very productive.

I have a galaxy s4 and to be honest. I think my z10 is better than it. I love the hub and the HTML browser. I also used to be a tinker but definitely moved on with that. Android apps from amazon works flawlessly (I use os 10.3.0 btw). Definitely looking forward on using blend

Posted via CB10

I do not find Wolfram in BB World, but do find it on Amazon. Is this the one you use? The Android version?

thks in advance

[Dave Bourque]

I do not find Wolfram in BB World, but do find it on Amazon. Is this the one you use? The Android version?

thks in advance

It's integrated with OS 10.3

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[anon(3850)]

I use a really good native app called Play Cloud. It connects with Google Drive, as well as other cloud providers. I also read somewhere that BB would eventually add compatibility for more cloud providers into their native file manager. Not sure if any folks running a 10.3.1 leak can confirm.

Does CloudPlay allow you to view pics and videos with thumbnails? From time to time if I want to show off a pic/vid of my son with someone I can just open drive and navigate to the folder and look through thumbnails til I find what i want then play/view it.

To expand on that, I have my music collection on google music mainly to keep it off site and ready to play anywhere I am at. Does music uploaded work or do I need to do something else?

For tethering, I don't know what is allowed by your Verizon plan, but in general you can tether both by Bluetooth and by USB cable. You can also use the phone as a wifi hotspot. I believe in all three cases the carrier will know.

Youtube doesn't have a first party client from Google, but there are a couple in BB World, and the mobile site works well in the browser.

I have unlimited Data with LTE in my area I can get 40~ meg down, With android I know on root with custom rom I dont need to use the verizon tethering app so to my knowledge they dont see that I am tethered to a PC with USB. I read before that if they know you are tethered they charge a tethering fee.
I use anywhere from 2-100 gig a month depending if I tether a lot or use bitTorrent on phone.

I use Verizon Hotspot without paying anything extra. Data is expensive though but seems to be getting better. The browser is great. Never have any problems. Definitely faster than the browser on old Blackberrys.

Posted via CB10

Since youtube is browser based how does it fair?


Reading these posts really does excite me, I want to stay open to the thought of possibly moving back. The more info the better.

[blurredLINUS]

I do not find Wolfram in BB World, but do find it on Amazon. Is this the one you use? The Android version?

thks in advance

Oh no. That's not what I meant. Just like apple has siri and androids has google now I think The blackberry voice assistant's name is wolfram alpha since it was developed by it's team (which I learned on a video on youtube about BlackBerry assistant)

I think when you ask it it's name it answers wolfram alpha.

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[Dave Bourque]

Example of playcloud interface. Will look the same when connected to Google Drive.

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[Dave Bourque]

My concern for you though is that you are on Verizon correct ? I'm not sure if a cdma version will be available but I could be wrong.

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