BlackBerry to Android: I’m making the switch

(Android costume pic courtesy of www.mydisguises.com)
Well, it’s been a fun 5 years, but I have made the switch from BlackBerry to Android.  Since I am on Verizon the iPhone isn’t really a viable option.  Also, I’m not fond of how Apple has been handling their PR…eh…"problem" as of late).

We had a good run – over the years since ‘05, I had 5 different ‘Berrys: 7280, 7290, 8700c, 8703e, 9530.  Out of those, I think the 8703e was by far the best.


By the time I got my Storm/9530 in 2008, freeware applications were plentiful and memory was not.  I loved it at first, don’t get me wrong.  But as time went on, the device was plagued with various issues.  Then OS 5.0 came out – it acted like it wanted to be a good touchscreen BlackBerry…At first, it ran a lot better, but as apps were installed, the thing ran out of “oomph”.

So, after using it for nearly two years, I’ve decided to kick it to the curb and jump on the Android bandwagon.

When the Droid X was announced, I thought for sure “I gotta get that”, but then got it, and…I hated it.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very nice phone, but it is way too big for my purposes (insert Michael Scott joke here).  My Storm could fit into the screen dimensions (almost) of the Droid X.  I have big hands but I still found that I had to shift the device around in my palm if I wanted to navigate with my thumb to even perform menial functions like dialing.  If you want a phone that is fantastic for multimedia, then the X is the phone to have.  

I ended up with the HTC Incredible.  It’s the perfect size, and it packs a lot of punch.  The phone is slightly taller and not quite as wide as the Storm – depth is about the same after I got my snap-on case installed (picture below courtesy of www.phonearena.com).




The compelling reasons for the switch to Android:

1. Google Maps Navigation.  I’m selling my GPS.  Now I don’t have to update my maps for $60 a year (not that I did, but you get the idea).  You can integrate satellite and topographical features with navigation.  It’s pretty cool to "GPS" that way.
2. Great marketplace, and free Google Android App Inventor offering.  Sounds fun (and a little easier than developing for the BlackBerry) 
3. Fresh interface, thanks to HTC (in this case) for their Sense UI.  Not that everyone likes it, but I do.
4. Slick and powerful handsets not limited by one manufacturer (makes you think of someone else, eh?).  C’mon – the Incredible and the Evo are stylish.  The Droid X is a monster.  The Nexus One (RIP) is/was FAST as all get out.
5. WiFi tools.  I didn’t really see a lot of these for BlackBerry (even for WiFi enabled devices)
6. Open sourced OS
7. I just don’t feel…constrained any longer with the Android OS (yes, I know BB OS 6.0 is around the corner, but somehow I have my doubts about how contemporary it will really be).

Things I’ll miss about my BlackBerry:

1. Very granular notifications.  I could set up notifier sounds/vibration settings for just about everything that has a notification feature.
2. BlackBerry Messenger.  The group chat and broadcast feature were awesome.
3. Easy to use universal inbox.  You had notifications showing how many emails you’ve not been made aware of since last time you checked your mail (which is different than how many you’ve not read).
4. If your phone was BES-connected, you had some very effective ways of controlling your device (policies, security settings, application deployment, etc.) – I only hope that something like this is coming to Android (I can’t see why not).
5. Single location for all your settings, advanced, basic, whatever – it was easy to tweak just about any setting on the BlackBerry.

In my effort to be as productive as I was on the BlackBerry, I had to find all my apps that I had previously or find an alternative version on the Droid. So here we go:

BlackBerry App	Purpose	Android version?	Comments
YouMail	Visual Voicemail	yes	Great Visual VoiceMail alternative to the VZ Mail app.
Poynt	Directions, yellow/white pages, movie times, gas prices, etc. (GPS)	yes	I used this application when I was trying to get to a destination, and knew I was close…Poynt always helped me hone in on my destination.
Google Maps	Maps,directions, GPS	yes	Android version has a super-slick GPS Navigation feature that works very well.
Opera Mini	Web-Browser	yes	Always could use a second web browser…
Facebook	Social network	yes	Still need to passively stalk people I hardly know…
Twitter	Social network/News	yes	Still need to passively stalk people I don’t know…
Evernote	Note taking and information archival, sync between computers	yes	This application hardly worked on my Storm.  Not sure why.
Slacker Radio	Streaming audio of favorite and similar artists.	yes	Actually am using Last.fm right now – this might be my app of choice.  Last.fm wasn’t available on BlackBerry
Google Voice	Can use as visual voice mail with transcription, receive SMS messages, etc.	yes	YouMail is my visual voicemail of choice, Google’s transcription is AWFUL.  I actually use this solely because of the ability to receive SMS for free (we have it turned off on our phones).
BB Messenger	BlackBerry’s very own IM app.  You can only talk to other BlackBerry owners with this application. Features group chat and broadcasting capabilities.	no	Google Talk is the only viable solution so far (need to research this).  There is the capability of creating group chats, but no broadcast feature.  Trillian might be a good app - - we’ll see.
Viigo	RSS Newsreader and much, much more.	no	FeedSquare is a decent free offering for RSS news.  It plugs directly into your Google Feed Reader subscriptions.  Would like to see a good one that has a similar layout as Viigo.

With all that said, the Incredible (as does the Droid X, and I’m sure, others) has a FM tuner which makes it an invaluable tool for emergency situations (weather, etc.).  You need to remember that you have to have headphones or other speakers hooked up to use it (the cord is the FM antenna).

I’m looking forward to next week when Android 2.2 (Froyo) comes out and grants me additional Exchange support, 720p video and hotspot capability (well, I probably won’t use the latter, but my *gulp* mom and dad might…looks like a support call will be in order…)!