The Android Thread

[Regorium]

I'm kind of sick of not having a smart phone and typing using the numeric keypad. So basically I'm looking at getting a new smartphone.

Any tips/suggestions? A couple I have in mind are the BB Bold 9700, iPhone or maybe one of the new Android ones. Anyone have any experience with Android?

EDIT: See Pages 15+ for Android information

[Russic]

I am an iPhone fan. My buddy just bought a nexus one from google. I tried to be as impartial as I could, but I was very disappointed with it. The screen seemed very unresponsive and I found myself hitting buttons 2 or 3 times just to get a hit. I'm sure it would get better as you get used to it, but my first impression was very week.

[ResAlien]

I hate the iPhone with a passion. But, I'm a fan of a physical keyboard. Just got the Motorola Backflip, 1st Droid smartphone for AT&T down here. I love the thing, has everything you could want, especially if you use any social networking sites. It seems to be built almost explicitly for that.

[Regorium]

Originally Posted by fotze

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/personal...lackberry-away

Ouch! That is what Jim Balsillie must be saying over a study this month showing two out of five Blackberry owners would switch to an iPhone if they could.

Crowd Science revealed that 39% of Blackberry owners would ‘definitely’ switch to an iPhone tomorrow if given the option. This compares to 87% of Google Android users who would keep their Androids and 92% of iPhone users who would keep their iPhones.

For RIM, the news gets worse. The survey found that 52% of Blackberry users would ‘definitely’ recommend an iPhone to their friends or family. This compares to 100% of Android users recommending their own phone to friends and 97% of iPhone users recommending the iPhone to friends.

I've actually felt this with BB users lately. I'm one of the last of my friends to jump onto a smartphone, and a lot of people with blackberries just seem like they're not too satisfied (broken trackballs, crashing OS etc.), whereas everyone seems to really like the iPhone.

Not to mention the lack of creative apps for the BB I think is really hurting it. On the other hand, BBM with a lot of friends is a consideration too.

That sucks that Android phones aren't as good as they think they are. Unfortunately the backflip doesn't seem like it's available from either Bell or Rogers.

[Torture]

I love my BlackBerry Pearl, but that's just me....I only wish I had gone all out and gotten a Bold.
I wish Telus wasn't such a ###### with my data plan though.

[kyuusei]

I considered getting a BB for a while (I really like that dark purple 9530 that Bell and Virgin have), and they're a ton cheaper than iPhones... but whenever I jump to a smartphone (which is in, like, two days), I just think I'd get more use out of an iPhone. More apps, I already know my way around the phone better, I can use it as an iPod and have one less thing to carry around.

Really? 100% of Android users? What, did they only survey one or two?

[I_H8_Crawford]

I've had a blackberry and currently have an iPhone.

I like the iPhone but it's not perfect - it crashes at least once a week, and the battery life is not very good, but overall it works for me.

What I miss from the Blackberry is the real push technology that worked with all of my email accounts, and even google talk, MSN, etc... iPhone you need a chat program open to send/receive messages, and then of course you can't use anything else on the phone while that's happening. Also, the berry had far better battery life IMO.

Web browsing and media related however, it is not even close - iPhone destroys the berry.

[llama64]

Having never used a BB before - what do you mean by "real push technology"?

The iPhone supports loads of push notification - here's a quick list: http://www.appadvice.com/applists/sh...h-capable-apps

The lack of multi-tasking is a bit of a pain, but how often do you actually need your phone to be doing 2-3 things at once? (serious question!)

[QuadCityImages]

The 100% Android recommendation stat doesn't surprise me at all. I don't know anyone who is using it who wouldn't recommend it. It can do anything the a non-jailbroken iPhone can do, and more. The Droid has almost 3 times the resolution as a 3GS.

As far as the unresponsive touchscreen, I wonder if the person's phone wasn't broken or something. I've never had an issue with laggy touch response. If the Nexus One can convince Mac lover Leo Laporte, you know that it can't be noticeably unresponsive.

[Azure]

I have a Droid, and the touchscreen isn't as responsive and smooth as the iPhone, BUT....it is still a better phone.

[pylon]

I have seen a slow conversion at work of people from BB's to iPhone. I made the switch right when the iPhone came out, and now I don't know what I would do without it. To me the big thing with the iPhone isn't how 'advanced' it is, it's how simple it is. To me technology should not be confusing, and hard to use. Everything on the iPhone is just push and play, where as my BB was a frikking nightmare to set anything up, so I would usually just give up and not bother.

The only thing that kinda bugged me at first was the touch screen, but on the flip side of that, no moving parts = much more reliable. I went through 3 BB track balls, and have never had, nor heard of an issue with an iPhone touch screen failing. And even BB screwed that up with the storm, by making their screen mechanical. My colleague at work is on # 3 because of that dumb "push screen". And lastly, the quality of the iPhone can't be disputed. It really is a beautifully put together device.

Hope this helps.

[Rathji]

I can't type worth a damn on an iPhone, but with my BB Bold I can type pretty good.

My impressions are that if you want to do general web surfing or have that really cool app, an iPhone is by far the best but if you only need email, text and a few useful apps, then a Blackberry is probably going to be better and cheaper (initial cost and less data use).

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I can't type worth a damn on an iPhone, but with my BB Bold I can type pretty good.

My impressions are that if you want to do general web surfing or have that really cool app, an iPhone is by far the best but if you only need email, text and a few useful apps, then a Blackberry is probably going to be better and cheaper (initial cost and less data use).

The typing speed with the iPhone was sucky before they introduced the landscape mode for everything. Now I find I can almost type faster on it than I can with a keyboard. It just takes a bit of time to get used to.

[3 Justin 3]

I am contemplating getting an iPhone, but my contract is up in May, but the 4G is supposed to come out in like June/July/August (I think?). But if I wait until the 4G I won't get a discount from my contract expiring. I hope the 4G isn't that good, or I'll kill myself.

[Devils'Advocate]

Somehow I doubt Rogers will be ready to roll out 4G in the summer.

[jasonbpc]

Go with the iphone.
I don't know how i worked with out it!
I log my hours, add product, send invoices and quote jobs, from my iphone. Plus its great for texting back and forth, shoots video, play games, store info, and its an ipod.
Funny thing is, i don't like how the phone functions work. But its very minor.
I would like to support Blackberry because its a Canadian company but the iphone is way better.

[Azure]

I seriously doubt we'll get the new iPhone up here right when they roll it out.

[onetwo_threefour]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

I am contemplating getting an iPhone, but my contract is up in May, but the 4G is supposed to come out in like June/July/August (I think?). But if I wait until the 4G I won't get a discount from my contract expiring. I hope the 4G isn't that good, or I'll kill myself.

Why not... with Telus my wife just got a free smartphone and her contract had been up for over a year. Telus wants to keep you, and if you're off contract and can go wherever you want they'll give you stuff to keep you. I assume all 'contract' cell providers would do the same.

Oh, and I love my Bold, but I wouldn't get too much use out of an iPhone. My sister has one and while it has some cool and interesting apps, I find a lot of the useless, and much of their functionality can be reproduced on the web. I type a couple dozen emails (and sometimes CP posts) every day and I just don't like typing on the touch screen. Plus, I really wouldn't like paying for all the data...

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by llama64

Having never used a BB before - what do you mean by "real push technology"?

The iPhone supports loads of push notification - here's a quick list: http://www.appadvice.com/applists/sh...h-capable-apps

The lack of multi-tasking is a bit of a pain, but how often do you actually need your phone to be doing 2-3 things at once? (serious question!)

With my iPhone, it still has to go online and pull email from a couple of my accounts (shaw is one of them). On the BB, even Shaw was pushed right to it.

Also, I loved having google talk and MSN work for my BB when I wasn't in the program - I am out in the field all day, and loved being able to communicate with my girlfriend while still checking/answering all emails and being able to do everything else... just way more handy. Not to mention that once the iPhone goes to lock screen, you have to unlock and go back into chat program to receive any chats sent to you - the berry always had it on.

One more thing - if you get an iPhone I HIGHLY recommend that you jailbreak it... not for the illegal piracy, but for the useful apps that for whatever reason Apple doesn't want - one in particular - SBSettings - fantastic little app that allows you to manage all of your connections (wifi, 3G, bluetooth, etc) from one convenient swipe across the top of your screen instead of going to settings > blah blah blah.

[Regorium]

Thanks for all the advice guys! I'm still not 100% decided yet, but this thread helped for sure.