[chilss]

I will spare those of you who are familiar with android the long story and will focus on the gripes i have so far working with the DTEK. to begin, BB software always made sense to me, options where they need to be, browser text wrap, email text wrap, change music with volume keys (good in the car not having to look at the phone), Font size for people like me with aging eyes (i would normally have my BB at 11pt font), Fonts size enlarged where it matters, LED which ca be customized with apps to light up and color code every way you can think of.... I never had a need for 1000 apps, just basics (Whatsapp, Facebook, Skype) and although the z10 could run most of the apps some were just a major battery drain or not reliable as android ports (Facebook Skype).

I'm in IT so not a stranger to both Apple and Android Eco-systems, i knew that going to the DTEK50 i would have to loose some features but there are some things that may probably cause me to just get a better android phone for the money (I don't like iPhones).
1. Biggest issue for me is the font size being used on android..... it's not nearly as accessible for people with bad vision..... I'm using an added app set at 165% font size to compensate for this.
2. Email (Corporate Exchange) - Reading emails no longer auto text wrap which means that when you open an email it will auto-fit but as soon as you want to zoom you have to scroll sideways to read. I remember android or gmail had at least attempted to have text wrapping included and since I'm using the Hub it's a great disappointment. This is one of the biggest reasons i stuck with BB.
3. Music / Pictures / Videos folders are not present on home screen..... you have to work sideways and use apps to create shortcuts and have them appear on the home screen.
3.1 The great BB music player is no longer there (I like it because i mostly used shuffle).... you need to download a media player app.
4. No track skipping when listening to audio with volume buttons. Means you have to turn on screen and look at phone when driving to skip tracks.
5. Playing audio from youtube app or browser will stop playback as soon as screen is closed. Only way i found around this is to exclude the browser Opera / Firefox from performance management under battery settings. I am using the JetAudio app and it works when excluded.
6. Less options customizing of contact alerts, BB was always great offering a Ring, Text, Email sound option per contact or account. I find Android handicaps these features by 50%.
7. somewhat horrible looking contact list.
8. HUB has different features which to me seem useless (I can't say it has less features because of this).
9. Photo editing - BB10 photo editing was awesome, i wish RIM would bring those features to their android lineup. The photo editing is by all means good on the DTEK.

The good things.... Availability of apps, HUB is different but familiar to use, Keyboard is a big one, nice and familiar BB keyboard makes the move easier, Camera is decent and much more responsive than my old z10 (Quality of photos is subjective, i like the grittiness of the z10 but hate the slow response).

I hope this review helps people who use blackberry similar to me and are thinking of making the switch. I am now left with should i keep the Dtek50 for the BB keyboard and Hub or get a better performing android phone with no BB elements.... although the keyboard can be downloaded from the marketplace..... I'm leaning towards returning the phone which means unless BB come back with their own Operating system or at the least an android base with a much needed BB magic on it which includes the features i listed above i will not be coming back to blackberry.

[Uzi]

Wait for BlackBerry argon

[chilss]

Don't see how this is relevant.... it would still be the same only different size and hardware androberry phone.

[tlchristy]

I agree and will add...

I don't believe that any of the upcoming android based phones will be flagship material PKB or not...


Posted via CB10

[nabiene]

3. Music / Pictures / Videos folders are not present on home screen..... you have to work sideways and use apps to create shortcuts and have them appear on the home screen.

How did you that?
I have my DTEK50 for a couple of days now and couldn't figure out how to create simple media folders yet. those android apps for photos and music are horrible

[kkoo]

When on Android, use VLC for music and video. Don't bother with anything else. VLC will even let you change aspect ratio on videos...

Photo management is more or less a thing of personal preference in features. Google Photos is getting quite popular... they've been doing teevee commercials for it too. This guide from Tom's ain't a bad list of the Android options.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/mobile-p...view-2458.html

Tidy is an interesting concept for a photo manager.

Posted via CB10

[joe2pike]

I agree with you. I had a BB-curve-8330, then the 9810, then the Z10, then the Z30. Now I also have the DTEK50 with a 64-gig micro-sd in it.

It is a learning curve getting used to Android. I too miss a number of things from the BB-10 OS. This hub is a bit watered down from OS-10. OS-10 gave you more control over permissions of individual apps (much more could be said), but forward is the direction.

I like how light-weight the dtek50 is, compared to the Z30. Better res, better cameras, way better cpu, I think a faster charge too.

My 5.2 inch screen is plenty big enough, don't know id I'd like the dtek60 on that. It has a bit better specs. But the bigger jump was from the Z30 to this dtek50.

If adopting the Android-OS keeps Blackberry alive... then so be it.

[Johnny Dollar]

I will spare those of you who are familiar with android the long story and will focus on the gripes i have so far working with the DTEK. to begin, BB software always made sense to me, options where they need to be, browser text wrap, email text wrap, change music with volume keys (good in the car not having to look at the phone), Font size for people like me with aging eyes (i would normally have my BB at 11pt font), Fonts size enlarged where it matters, LED which ca be customized with apps to light up and color code every way you can think of.... I never had a need for 1000 apps, just basics (Whatsapp, Facebook, Skype) and although the z10 could run most of the apps some were just a major battery drain or not reliable as android ports (Facebook Skype).

I'm in IT so not a stranger to both Apple and Android Eco-systems, i knew that going to the DTEK50 i would have to loose some features but there are some things that may probably cause me to just get a better android phone for the money (I don't like iPhones).
1. Biggest issue for me is the font size being used on android..... it's not nearly as accessible for people with bad vision..... I'm using an added app set at 165% font size to compensate for this.
2. Email (Corporate Exchange) - Reading emails no longer auto text wrap which means that when you open an email it will auto-fit but as soon as you want to zoom you have to scroll sideways to read. I remember android or gmail had at least attempted to have text wrapping included and since I'm using the Hub it's a great disappointment. This is one of the biggest reasons i stuck with BB.
3. Music / Pictures / Videos folders are not present on home screen..... you have to work sideways and use apps to create shortcuts and have them appear on the home screen.
3.1 The great BB music player is no longer there (I like it because i mostly used shuffle).... you need to download a media player app.
4. No track skipping when listening to audio with volume buttons. Means you have to turn on screen and look at phone when driving to skip tracks.
5. Playing audio from youtube app or browser will stop playback as soon as screen is closed. Only way i found around this is to exclude the browser Opera / Firefox from performance management under battery settings. I am using the JetAudio app and it works when excluded.
6. Less options customizing of contact alerts, BB was always great offering a Ring, Text, Email sound option per contact or account. I find Android handicaps these features by 50%.
7. somewhat horrible looking contact list.
8. HUB has different features which to me seem useless (I can't say it has less features because of this).
9. Photo editing - BB10 photo editing was awesome, i wish RIM would bring those features to their android lineup. The photo editing is by all means good on the DTEK.

The good things.... Availability of apps, HUB is different but familiar to use, Keyboard is a big one, nice and familiar BB keyboard makes the move easier, Camera is decent and much more responsive than my old z10 (Quality of photos is subjective, i like the grittiness of the z10 but hate the slow response).

I hope this review helps people who use blackberry similar to me and are thinking of making the switch. I am now left with should i keep the Dtek50 for the BB keyboard and Hub or get a better performing android phone with no BB elements.... although the keyboard can be downloaded from the marketplace..... I'm leaning towards returning the phone which means unless BB come back with their own Operating system or at the least an android base with a much needed BB magic on it which includes the features i listed above i will not be coming back to blackberry.

So...what makes you think you'll have a better experience on another Android phone?

[EastMcCauley]

1. Biggest issue for me is the font size being used on android..... it's not nearly as accessible for people with bad vision..... I'm using an added app set at 165% font size to compensate for this.

I'm 62 and appreciate a larger font size. I changed the default font size to large from normal in Settings>Display. There's even a bigger size option called huge.

[YeemanBB]

I'm on huge font size and it works great. I actually find font size is more consistent applied in the DTEK 50 than BB10 and most apps also provide option to change font size.

For photos, I use Simply Gallery a small and effective app.

There are many music apps that allow you to create home screen shortcuts to your playlists. Tap the shortcut and the music starts playing. The app that I use, Rocket Player, even has an option not to start playing when connected via Bluetooth. It has to be the most annoying issue I have with BB10 that music starts playing whenever I get in the car. For most people, music control (skipping or repeating) while driving is done with the control on the steering wheel. Shouldn't use the volume buttons on the phone.

[c_bryant34]

8. HUB has different features which to me seem useless (I can't say it has less features because of this).

What specifically did you find useless here?

[OTCHRussell]

I have a problem with the keyboard on the dtek50. Typing and swiping is as easy as my Z30, but the home button is dangerously close to the space bar. I can't count the number of expletives that come out when I'm typing and end up suddenly on the home screen. Maybe with practice I will get better.

I have the fonts on huge. Not too bad.

My biggest beef, and the reason I haven't put my SIM card in, is the calendar.
From the Z30 I could invite myself to an event. An email would show up on my PC or other BB10 phone. Then I could chose to add it to my calendar. I could also go from PC to Z30 just as easily.
I have not figured out how to do this on the dtek50. So far this could be a deal breaker!!

I love the size and weight of this phone. The 60 might be too big for me. I haven't taken many pictures yet. The speakers are excellent.

Thanks to CB I am learning this OS little by little. Threads like this are very helpful. So far you guys have helped me with a file manager (Asus), picture gallery (quick pic), music player (Google downloads only) and lots more.

[mike kootnikoff]

How did you that?
I have my DTEK50 for a couple of days now and couldn't figure out how to create simple media folders yet. those android apps for photos and music are horrible

WTF just use Google Play for music...