[aha]

For the Passport owners out there who owned Z30 before, how do you feel about the android app experience in comparison to Z30?

Posted via CB10 with Z30STA100-5/10.3.0.1154

[aha]

Anyone?


Posted via CB10 with Z30STA100-5/10.3.0.1154

[matthew550]

Android apps feel noticeably faster and more stable on the Passport. I'm very happy with the experience!

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[mlbrowninsc]

Great improvement. They feel native to me.

Passport on AT&T

[mofokey]

I was gonna get Z30 but wanted to wait until Passport is out.
Would've gotten an iPhone 6 but 1GB ram disappointed me big time and I got an iPad for fun, so turning to Passport.

Being able to run Android apps is an important part of this.
A few questions from someone who has no experience with BB10.

I understand there's Amazon store (along with Blackberry world) and you can install this thing called Snap to essentially get all Android apps. Most of them run well, although you may run into a few that don't work so well. That's fine.
matthew550 says they are fast and stable (although I am quite picky on that front - the whole reason why I find iPhone's 1GB ram no longer acceptable) but I will take it at face value.
Also, so long as you have the APK file, you can sideload any Android app.
Please confirm all of the above.

More importantly, and despite all the reviews and stuff I've been reading on Passport, no one seems to really have mentioned, how do Android apps work on the square screen?
Will you get the app with the areas outside of the square screen cut off, reachable by scrolling the screen around or will the app shrink to fit the square screen (letterboxed with black on top and bottom or on the sides)? Can you choose between these two (and possibly any other display options)?
And I think I know the most likely answer to this already, but since the screen is square and I hear it has multitasking capability, can it run AND display two Android apps at the same time side-by-side or top and bottom? I am sure side-by-side could not be available for native apps since they are made for square screen.

Can you rotate the app orientation independent of the screen orientation? That is, can you get the horizontal version of the app while holding the Passport upright, and get the portrait version of the app while holding the Passport sideways and vice versa?

This is just a random thought, but if Blackberry allowed keyboard buttons to be mapped to simulate touches on screen, Passport may make an even better device for gaming than Androids and iPhones out there. Not that that's where Blackberry probably wants to take this.

I really think Blackberry should give more information about running Android apps. For someone who's been disconnected from Blackberry for a long time, lack of apps is a big deal and they took the big step of solving it by making their phones run Android apps. Why not make it easier for those whose only concern are apps to convert from iPhone or Android?

[sophace]

Aha check out this thread I wrote on the app performance - http://forums.crackberry.com/showthread.php?t=961923

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[diogoteixeira87]

Android apps feel noticeably faster and more stable on the Passport. I'm very happy with the experience!

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Nice!! Did you test any games? For example, I really love Sparkle 2 on my Z30, but I am in doubt got it could be playing at passport's screen. Send us a print screen if you can!

Thank you!

iWho? Z30 baby...

[RodolfoAP]

Android apps seem almost native to me on the Passport it's amazing!!!

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[diogoteixeira87]

Android apps seem almost native to me on the Passport it's amazing!!!

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All of them? Even games requiring landscape mode?

iWho? Z30 baby...

[asmiley]

The one app I've used a fair amount on both is Sonos. On Z30 i hated opening it because it took so long. I'd rather walk over to the laptop and use it. With the Passport it's so much better. Feels native!

[unbreakablej]

I still hope this android thingy is a temporary solution as BlackBerry ? tries to increase their user base. I'm grateful for the apps I need now but I'd be absolutely elated if they are native.

Mainly cos of aesthetics. And I hate having 2 app stores. Messes with my OCD

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[StutterStep]

I find the performance of android apps on the passport is not much better than a Z30. I compared it to my budget android device the Moto G which is a $120 quad core android phone. It does not even match the Moto G when to smoothness especially in theScore app when scrolling and panning around in google maps. BlackBerry still has some work ahead of them. Loading time is slightly faster on the Passport vs Z30 but in app performance there isn't a huge difference. Bottom line, It does not perform as well as a Moto G. If things do not get better with Android L runtime on the Passport in the future I'm not sure if it ever will.

[sophace]

I disagree, apps start much much faster on the Passport than the Z30. It's night and day. Google Maps used to take more than 5 second to open on my Z30 and it opens like a native app on the Passport, almost instantly. Same with others I use like TeamViewer, Android Facebook, and most Android games.

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[FunktasticLucky]

Yes but are the Z30's running 10.3 or 10.2.x?

I.have found that my apps on the Z30 are almost an instant load with 10.3. Much much improved over previous versions for sure. So I think the app performance is more 10.3 than anything else.

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[Banco]

Yes but are the Z30's running 10.3 or 10.2.x?

I.have found that my apps on the Z30 are almost an instant load with 10.3. Much much improved over previous versions for sure. So I think the app performance is more 10.3 than anything else.

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That seems to be the consensus. And why I'm seriously looking forward to 10.3.1 arriving (I'm not into installing leaks as I use the phone for work).

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[StutterStep]

I disagree, apps start much much faster on the Passport than the Z30. It's night and day. Google Maps used to take more than 5 second to open on my Z30 and it opens like a native app on the Passport, almost instantly. Same with others I use like TeamViewer, Android Facebook, and most Android games.

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I'm using a z30 with 10.3 to compare and it's not that big of a difference. The in app performance of the Z30 and Passport does not compare to the Moto G.

[bakron1]

All of the apps I use work great on the passport except for the BBC news app, doesn't refresh properly when scrolling through the tiles, but I can live without it for now. Everything else runs fine for' me.

I would like to see some of the native apps updated for the passport like the PGA Tour, USA Today and a couple of others. But I have notified the developers about the issue so I am looking forward to the future updates.

For now, I can't seem to put the device down, it's become my daily driver and I just love this beautiful crafted messaging machine. It's built like a finely crafted panzer tank.

Sent from my awesome passport on T Mobile USA (10.3.0.1154)

[sophace]

I'm using 10.3.1 on my Z30 and android apps open no where near as fast as on the Passport. For me, I it's a very considerable difference, even though I run 10.3.1 on the Z30.

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[aha]

@SutterStep @sophace are you sure the Passport isn't much faster than Z30? I don't own a Passport but did check it out in a store, I found the Passport to be way smoother in running Wechat (Android version) than Z30... my Z30 has 10.3.0.1154 installed.

I am still evaluating this and the biggest winning point for upgrading to the Passport is the speed, but SutterStep's post got me hesitating. Could anyone with both Passport and Z30 (10.3 installed) verify this for me? Much appreciated!

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[Stomps01]

The couple I use are wayyyyy faster on the Passport! Almost instant...

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[mberdych]

Android apps are MUCH faster on Passport. Not just start, but also usage. Mainly scrolling was lazy on Z30, but nearly smooth here. It is really a big difference. Also installation is much faster.

[jutleys]

i been playing minecraft and it is awesome and vlc media player.

[kthhrrsn]

For the Passport owners out there who owned Z30 before, how do you feel about the android app experience in comparison to Z30?

Posted via CB10 with Z30STA100-5/10.3.0.1154

Sooooo much faster! I guess Android really does need a quad core processor. They don't seem like an after thought on the Passport.

Posted via CB10 using my Passport

[jutleys]

Just a heads up showbox works flawlessly on the passport for watching online movies your have to find the Apk yourselves.

[Vetboy]

Myfitnesspal was so slow that it was unusable on the Z30. Much faster on the passport. Very usable now. Haven't tried any others.

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