[classact]

I've been using exclusively BlackBerry phones since forever, and now I'm about to order the Priv. When I went from BB7 to BB10, the learning curve wasn't so bad and I was glad I jumped right into it with my main driver.

Now that I'm ordering the Priv, however, I'm wondering if I shouldn't first start out with it on my secondary line and wait until I'm reasonably familiar with navigating it before I move it over to be my main driver.

I'm insanely busy running a fast-growth company and need to remain reasonably efficient during the transition, and I may be a little too consumed with work for a short time before I'm able to put in a considerable amount of time on learning it.

I have limited experience with Android. I have an Android tablet that I make pretty limited use of, which I've had for about a year. I can manage decently with it for the few things that I've bothered to figure out how to do, but I certainly don't know it anything like I know BB10.

Will I be okay if I jump right into the Priv as my main driver? Or should I put it on my secondary line first?

Thanks!

[ray689]

I was on BB10 since the Z10, then Z30 then passport. Now on the Priv and sure it took a bit of time but it wasn't difficult at all to transition.
The only people I've noticed claiming to have issues are those who weren't open minded about the device and didn't give it a chance. Their mind was made up before they even used it.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[weiberry]

That's what I did: put it on my secondary line first. I still used Passport for a while. Whenever I switched to Priv, I ran it into some trouble to get things first. Such as typing and email. After spend a fair amount of time, I am surprised that Priv actually can do pretty much Passport can do. Priv is my daily driver now. But the learning curve could be frustrating for someone like you and me.

[onlyblackberry]

I made up my mind after a day. I am sorry -- many can say that I did not give it a chance. Truth is I really enjoy BB10. It does everything I want. It has what I need. Calls, texts, and emails just fine.

Another big thing for me (not pun intended) is the size of the Priv. I always appreciated being able to use a phone with one hand. Type, scroll, click, etc. With the Priv I could not do that. Something I can forgive on an iPad but not on a phone. Also, it felt a little bulky in the pocket. Another thing I could not get over.

The Priv itself is a beautiful device. Very nicely built. Truly turned some heads while I was using it around the office. But, I am not ready for it just yet. Instead I opted for a Classic (coming from a Q10). Would love to bring back memories of my 9930. Loved that phone.

Posted via CB10

[classact]

Thanks.

Again, I'm only asking about the learning curve. Note that I have never used a Passport (I'm on VZW, who never offered it). I'm coming from the Classic.

In light of the fact that I'm very busy, the question is simply whether to start with it as my main driver and expect to learn the basics of navigating it soon enough without being too compromised (or frustrated) at the outset, or whether to start with it on my secondary line and then go through the extra time and effort later of transferring it to become my primary driver after I get reasonably familiar with it.

[maclaskey]

On the second day of my new Great phone. Not to bad on the learning curve from the passport. I'm happy.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[classact]

This is a great question. I can't advise you what to do, but can share my experience. I've also used BBs for several years and like you, made a fairly smooth transition from the legacy devices to BB10. I strayed at one point and tried Android, but absolutely hated it - couldn't return that phone fast enough. The app permissions were so intrusive and the ads drove me bat-crap crazy.

My transition from the Classic to the Priv has taken about a month - had to just jump in because my employer, a university, embraced Google Apps for Education. Could never sync my Classic with my Google work calendar and that was a deal-breaker. I use my phone almost exclusively for work: no games, very little media consumption, and prefer my Nikon for shooting photos.

There was so much that was unfamiliar about the Priv/Android OS so I carried over what I could: my favorite ringtone and other tones I associate with text messages and calendar reminders. The BB content transfer app did a great job of migrating content. I was delighted to find the Sunrise alarm tone had carried over to the Priv, as well. I set up my email through the BB Hub. There is no native file manager on the Priv, so I would suggest you download one pretty early on ... mine is called Solid Explorer File Manager. Get a Gmail account (if you don't already have one) so you can establish an account for the Google Play Store to purchase or upgrade your Android apps (and get rid of those ads!). Scan the Priv forum on Crackberry for answers to your general questions about the Priv and read others' recommendations for apps and their cautionary tales about privacy and Android app permissions. I found those forum threads invaluable as a newbie.

My biggest challenge turned out to be the Play Store - just solved that major headache this week. I was not able to purchase or upgrade apps: kept getting the message that "the administrator had disabled" that feature. Finally figured out that my work email (a Google App for Education administered by my university) was the culprit ...once I added my personal (i.e. consumer Gmail) to the Play Store as another account, I could purchase or upgrade apps without any difficulty.

Hope this helped in some small way. Enjoy your new Priv!

Thanks so much!

I really have no need to use a tool to migrate things over -- the only thing I'd really like to retain from my Classic if possible is my text messages (I'd be really grateful if someone could tell me of a way to do that, if it exists).

I use an ActiveSync Exchange account for my email, contacts, calendar, tasks and notes, so that will all sync down from the server fresh. I assume Visual Voicemail is available on the Priv and that that, too, will cause all my current VM messages sync down to the Priv freshly as well. All else that matters to me, such as Evernote, Box, Skype, etc, can also be downloaded fresh from the servers. I prefer a "cleain" install whenever possible anyway.

So, the questions remains: dive in with it as my main driver at the outset, or go through the extra work later of moving it over from my secondary line?

I know -- I have to make that decision. I appreciate any guidance and opinions I can get.

[wordworkr58]

[Reposted at 1:21 am - original reply lost in thread move.]

This is a great question. I can't advise you what to do, but can share my experience. I've also used BBs for several years and like you, made a fairly smooth transition from the legacy devices to BB10. I strayed at one point and tried Android, but absolutely hated it - couldn't return that phone fast enough. The app permissions were so intrusive and the ads drove me bat-crap crazy.

My transition from the Classic to the Priv has taken about a month - had to just jump in because my employer, a university, embraced Google Apps for Education. Could never sync my Classic with my Google work calendar and that was a deal-breaker. I use my phone almost exclusively for work: no games, very little media consumption, and prefer my Nikon for shooting photos.

There was so much that was unfamiliar about the Priv/Android OS so I carried over what I could: my favorite ringtone and other tones I associate with text messages and calendar reminders. The BB content transfer app did a great job of migrating content. I was delighted to find the Sunrise alarm tone had carried over to the Priv, as well. I set up my email through the BB Hub. There is no native file manager on the Priv, so I would suggest you download one pretty early on ... mine is called Solid Explorer File Manager. Get a Gmail account (if you don't already have one) so you can establish an account for the Google Play Store to purchase or upgrade your Android apps (and get rid of those ads!). Scan the Priv forum on Crackberry for answers to your general questions about the Priv and read others' recommendations for apps and their cautionary tales about privacy and Android app permissions. I found those forum threads invaluable as a newbie.

My biggest challenge turned out to be the Play Store - just solved that major headache this week. I was not able to purchase or upgrade apps: kept getting the message that "the administrator had disabled" that feature. Finally figured out that my work email (a Google App for Education administered by my university) was the culprit ...once I added my personal (i.e. consumer Gmail) to the Play Store as another account, I could purchase or upgrade apps without any difficulty.

Hope this helped in some small way. Enjoy your new Priv!

[Akamali]

Thanks.

Again, I'm only asking about the learning curve. Note that I have never used a Passport (I'm on VZW, who never offered it). I'm coming from the Classic.

In light of the fact that I'm very busy, the question is simply whether to start with it as my main driver and expect to learn the basics of navigating it soon enough without being too compromised (or frustrated) at the outset, or whether to start with it on my secondary line and then go through the extra time and effort later of transferring it to become my primary driver after I get reasonably familiar with it.

I have been using the PRIV ever since it came out and I didn't like android at all. I paid full price and it's too late for me to switch back to iPhone.

I used iPhone then z10 then z30 and was not planning to switch at all but I had to because of the apps gap in BlackBerry World.

My advice is that you buy few apps from Google Playstore to make your transition easy and you would love the phone.

1. Buy iLauncher it's a paid app and ads fee. It would turn your phone in to iPhone or BlackBerry 10 navigation style. And it has very flexible icons selections to make the phone looks very nice and sweet with one catch is that all icons has to be square just like BB10 to fit in the theme correctly.

No ads, no dirty boatwares or battery drainers apps.

2. Buy Light Flow app so you can setup LED light for individual apps such as what'sup, Skype, viber... etc as by default there is no LED light notification management built in like we used to see in 10.3

3. Buy solid explorer app as file manager and create 2 shortcuts on your main screen one for videos and one for images.

4. Install avast battery saver to monitor your apps usage and promote you to close them if they are consuming to much battery.

5. Setup all emails in BlackBerry hub and don't use gmail or outlook app as they take too much battery.

6. Don't download apps you know you will not use as you will see your battery die after 1/2 day.

7. Always disable NFC, wireless and Bluetooth when you are not using it.

Good Luck!

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[L o r d R a j]

Thanks.

Again, I'm only asking about the learning curve. Note that I have never used a Passport (I'm on VZW, who never offered it). I'm coming from the Classic.

In light of the fact that I'm very busy, the question is simply whether to start with it as my main driver and expect to learn the basics of navigating it soon enough without being too compromised (or frustrated) at the outset, or whether to start with it on my secondary line and then go through the extra time and effort later of transferring it to become my primary driver after I get reasonably familiar with it.

Use it as a secondary.

It takes time to get used to it (for someone who has been using BB for ages). I would know. I am one of them. I've had the Priv since November and I simply can not use it as a primary device (Trust me, I have tried).

Another reason for waiting (to switch it to primary), let the updates come in (especially for the Hub), that will make Priv a bit more usable and less of an annoyance. The recent updates have helped a lot, but no update for the Hub yet. At least wait for that one to come in before switching to it as a primary device.

[zocster]

Nice work there. I'm gonna steal me those...lol

[classact]

Use it as a secondary.

It takes time to get used to it (for someone who has been using BB for ages). I would know. I am one of them. I've had the Priv since November and I simply can not use it as a primary device (Trust me, I have tried).

Another reason for waiting (to switch it to primary), let the updates come in (especially for the Hub), that will make Priv a bit more usable and less of an annoyance. The recent updates have helped a lot, but no update for the Hub yet. At least wait for that one to come in before switching to it as a primary device.

That's interesting.

A few other considerations come to mind. I currently have a Classic as my primary and a Z30 as my secondary (which I rarely ever use -- I really need a physical keyboard).

In weighing this decision, I'm thinking about things like:

- Whether I can migrate my text messages from the Classic to the Priv if I go with the Priv as my primary right off the bat.

- Whether I should make the Priv my primary right off the bat and just use that for phone, texts and emails at first, and use my secondary for all else for a while -- which will at that point be my Classic or Z30 -- and then migrate over to the Priv/primary as I'm able.

- I mainly only use phone (with Visual VM), email, contacts, and calendar, along with tasks and memos/notes -- all via ActiveSync Exchange. And a very few apps, most of which use cloud data and can sync their data down from the servers fresh (and I prefer clean installs when possible). This fact alone makes me think odds are decent that I can survive with the basics if I make the Priv the main driver right off the bat.

- No notifications LED is actually daunting. What else will I find disorienting and frustrating that I have to manually deal with to have the basics?

- Waiting for a Hub update makes sense on the one hand, but on the other hand I think we can agree that experience tells us that could be a year.

- All the work of getting things set up the way I want seems like a lot of work to completely redo if I start with it as my secondary and then move it to the primary.

So, I'm leaning towards starting with it as my main driver and diving in. But then there is this very coherent and sobering comment from LordRaj:

"It takes time to get used to it (for someone who has been using BB for ages). I would know. I am one of them. I've had the Priv since November and I simply can not use it as a primary device (Trust me, I have tried)."

I'd feel like I got what I deserved if I disregarded that rather clear warning and dove right in and then lived to regret it.

EDIT: BTW, I sure hope running my email, calendar, contacts, tasks and memos/notes in 24/7 real-time sync with my Exchange server isn't likely to cause an issue with the battery draining. After all, that's the main thing the device is used for, other than phone and texting, isn't it?

[L o r d R a j]

- No notifications LED is actually daunting. What else will I find disorienting and frustrating that I have to manually deal with to have the basics?

Hey just because it didn't work for me (and a few others) doesn't mean it won't work for you. A lot of people are very content with the priv. Some are even MORE than content.

You want to know what you will have to deal with?:

Email Push (in the hub) is a bit choppy. People are having issues on and off. Workaround - setting emails to sync every 5 minutes. Battery drain - not as much as you may be thinking. Acceptable levels.
That said, some have very serious issues - unable to view attachments. Attachments hanging or crashing the hub. Not proper threading/grouping of emails and replies.

In case you send emails from your handset often enough, be prepared to put up with having to move your thumb / finger all the way to the top of the screen (which will seem even longer given that you would be using the physical keyboard - slider extended) to tap SEND (really annoys me).

Linking CONTACTS in the Contacts Module (app) is a pain (depending on how many contacts you have and the number of duplicate entries they could generate). Surely there would be an APP that can make this a bit easier (I try to avoid apps as much as possible, so didn't give that a shot).

Notification LED is there. Don't worry about it. Ask around on the forum and there will plenty to help you out (and suggest apps). Although, I don't see why an APP would be needed since it's possible to set LED notifications through the available options within the handset itself.

[L o r d R a j]

- No notifications LED is actually daunting. What else will I find disorienting and frustrating that I have to manually deal with to have the basics?

If you take screenshots frequently, be prepared for an annoying notification (so far, the only way of turning it off is downloading some APK which I refuse to do).
And screenshots require a bit longer key press combo than they do on the classic.

If you use whatsapp - fair warning - whatsapp's hub integration is horrible. You can't see your sent messages. Only the received ones (currently) and if you are member of a whatsapp group, it's even worse!

Work around - disable whatsapp from the hub. Issue with that is - you still get the BB spark on the hub (problem termed as phantom notification). It's annoying.

Also, whatsapp and text messages will be notified in the hub but won't open within the hub. Tapping on the hub notification will launch the whatsapp APP or the messenger APP.
For text messages, work around is to download another app that is better integrated with the hub (but as I said, I prefer to keep third party apps to a minimum).

[L o r d R a j]

Oh, and you can completely forget about single-hand operation - not happening.

If you use the browser - No reader mode (sure there might be another app that could get you this).

File manager - download. Options are - either free or paid. Depends on how comfortable you are giving access of your stuff to some third party.
If you want the file manager to link to your cloud storage (dropbox etc), then you will have to enter your credentials into this third party file manager (a complete NO for me... but hey, that's just me).

Calendar - in my view - SIGNIFICANTLY inferior to the BB10 Calendar. I am sure there are options to download Calendar apps that are better.

No nested folders in the pictures app. The one app that I did find which was capable of doing this insisted that I would have to PAY to use this 'PREMIUM FEATURE' (which... I am NOT going to do. Not yet anyways).
__________________________________

In case you are fine with downloading apps:

Be prepared to spend a lot of time finding one, downloading one, using one, uninstalling it (when you find out that it's cluttered with ads or the feature you want isn't there or you just don't like the childish design)... and then REPEAT till you find one that does what you need it to do and is reliable.

You could ask around on the forum as well and get suggestions for the apps. A bit better way (in my view).

And with time... either the phone / android will improve OR you will have better luck with the apps and know what to look for ... or ... you will just give up and put up with the way it is... regretting that you were ever SPOILT by the simple efficiency of the BB10 OS.

[will308]

I would say use the priv as your 2nd device for awhile

[Mikey_NNG]

I found the transition quite easy to be honest.. And this is my first time using Android.

Anything I wasnt sure how to find I just googled it. There was also a post read about things you should do when you get Lollipop. Stole a few tips.

Just like anything else, once you use it for a considerable amount of time, you'll become comfortable.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android on the Blackberry Priv

[classact]

I found the transition quite easy to be honest.. And this is my first time using Android.

Anything I wasnt sure how to find I just googled it. There was also a post read about things you should do when you get Lollipop. Stole a few tips.

Just like anything else, once you use it for a considerable amount of time, you'll become comfortable.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android on the Blackberry Priv

Thanks.

And which phone did you come from? And how happy are you with the Priv now overall, now that you've had some time to get used to using it?

And here's a question: I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 tablet on VZW (data). To what extent is it realistic for me to just use that to play with the main apps I plan to use on my Priv to get a reasonably accurate sense of what it will be like? I might get a good feel in no time, right? Or not? (I realize the Hub is not something I can play with that way, of course, but most all else besides phone should be pretty consistent, shouldn't it?)

[Taigatrommel]

I haven't read every single post here, but it caught my attention your phone is an important tool in your business life, even leading a business. I honestly wouldn't risk replacing your working tool with something you don't know how it'll work. If the Priv would be running BB10, it'd be a no-brainer, but considering you step to a completely different OS, I wouldn't take the risk of getting stuck when things don't work the way you used to know.
Use it as your secondary phone, but try to set it up like you need for your daily driver. Keep performing tasks with it, learn your way through it and once you are familiar enough and, most important, it works as you need it, replace your BB10 device.

Learning curves can be hard to estimate. It depends on your general technical knowledge, ability to adapt on technical changes as well as what you are finally doing with the new device. Some people need a couple of days, other people get it in a matter of a few hours. However some just need some basic stuff like phone, texting, messaging and some social media. Other people, like you, most likely have more, demanding requirements.


I for one switched from a BlackBerry Passport to the Priv, however I have worked with Android phones before, so the OS was very familiar with me. Nevertheless, I encountered some odds which were annoying:

I don't use Google or Outlook(.com) for my contact and calendar sync, and instead using my paid mail provider. They offer syncing via Card- and CalDAV. The Priv standard apps by BlackBerry offer DAV support, which is very uncommon on Android. However setting those up didn't work. I spent hours without any success. In the end I had to install a 3rd party DAV app to get it working - and it worked on the first try just like it did with BB10.

The push mails aren't working as they did with BB10. On those devices, I got my mails virtually in an instant. On the Priv, even though I configured my mail accounts exactly the way I did on BB10, there sometimes is a delay up to two minutes.
Not much of a problem since I don't rely on any business mails or such, but annoying nonetheless.

Last but not least the amount of preinstalled apps is disappointing for a BlackBerry. No office suite besides the Google Document services. So you need to install your own office apps. No PDF reader, so you need to grab one for yourself.
No file manager either, you need to check one out for yourself, for the time being I am using Total Commander, although this one can be a bit confusing.
Also the basic text message app is Google Hangouts which I dislike. If you also dislike it, you can replace it with apps like Textra or Yataa.

Last but not least the Hub. It is far from being as well integrated and refined as the BB10 counterpart is - and it most likely never will be. It is just an app, basically a beefed up mail client, which runs. Not like BB10 where the Hub is an essential part of the whole OS. I am often thinking about simply disabling the Hub completely and use a dedicated mail client.


Regarding your thoughts about your Android Tablet: I never used one but I heard Android on tablets ain't much different than Android on phones. Keep in mind though Samsung most likely applied their own TouchWiz customisations into the OS and the Android version running might be outdated. However it should be enough to try out different apps, navigate around basic settings and maybe even setting up your mail and calendar.

[ray689]

Well apparently everyone thinks it's rocket science to use an android BlackBerry.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[kjpeigan]

Keep BlackBerry 10 OS as the main driver, and buy an Android Tablet... :-)

Posted via CB10

[misterabrasive]

Well apparently everyone thinks it's rocket science to use an android BlackBerry.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

Funny thing is, my step-father is, literally, a rocket scientist. He uses an iPhone.

Posted from my Verizon Z10 10.3.2.858

[pkcable]

Ya know I could have used mod tools to move the posts. BUT nicely handled folks! I got a heads up from our support email that you needed moderator help, so I'm here. I deleted the other thread. If you need further help feel free to PM me directly OR you can email directly pkcable(at)crackberry(dot)com. Also feel free to PM any Moderator on my staff we are always willing to help. We much prefer this kind of stuff to handing out infractions!

[L o r d R a j]

Well apparently everyone thinks it's rocket science to use an android BlackBerry.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

nah... it's not rocket science. It's just annoying.

[ray689]

nah... it's not rocket science. It's just annoying.

Not at all and in my job it's actually made me productive with access to things I didn't have on my passport.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android