As BlackBerry users, we're on the edge of our seat waiting for Research In Motion to deliver us all BlackBerry 6. Over at Android Central however, there has been a constant flow of new devices pouring in. Android Central has given us a Samsung Captivate review as well as a Samsung Vibrant review to look over. Now since this is CrackBerry, we like to take a look at what else is out there from time and time and consider what other platforms are doing. Given the sheer amount of Android devices turning up these days, it's rather hard to ignore.
Some BlackBerry users have turned former BlackBerry users because the Android platform does offer a lot. BlackBerry still maintains a great market share as well as a huge core audience. So, we're putting this out there for those of you considering the possibility of taking on Android.
If there were things that you could take from Android, what would it be? Would it be the super AMOLED screens? Maybe even just larger screen sizes? What about the customization options or does BlackBerry do fine in that are? Let us know what you all think in the comments folks. It'll be interesting to see what some of you would like to see. And of course, if you need to learn more about Android, check out Android Central.
Reader comments
A look at the competition - Samsung Captivate and Vibrant reviewed
No cut, copy & paste on current 2.1 devices for Android, which even ancient WinMo devices have. This makes it a useless as good business devices.
Battery life is absolutely pathetic.
Major positives are browser and flexibility.
Own 9700, Captivate and Pixi Plus.
Most people like the hype of the Android. Before I got my BB I had The Samsung Moment after having the Instinct ( a surprisingly efficient phone) and the HTC Touch Pro and I gotta say, I hated just about everything about the moment except the display and keyboard.It was nice that everything was customizable but the overall function wasn't that great. I think the new slider we keep hearing about will blow most of these phones out of the water simply because RIM makes devices that actually work.
First I want to applaud you for reviewing a competitors product on your website though I think the Sprint HTC EVO or the Droid X would have been preferable. First I want a capable keyboard (Storm 1 is horrible). Android has multiple choices. I do not like the physical keyboards found on most Blackberry's, just too small and the on screen versions on the Storm models are awful. Second I want a company to keep up with software improvements. Froyo 2.2 will be out before RIM comes out with OS 6. Third I want a decent web browser. Sure RIM is working on Webkit but again this comes out way behind the competitors (see item #2). Also I want the ability to run programs stored on my Micro SD card rather than using up valuable real estate on my internal memory. Better hardware is also nice (HDMI, bigger screen, better camera etc.) is icing on the cake.
I love my blackberry but I agree with the guy that said he just wanted to play with android for a while, there is a lot to play with and a lot that blackberry can't do I can't wait to see what BB 6 turns out it ought to be pretty cool. I just don't have the patients to wait for BB to catch up to everybody once BB 6 has been here for a while an all the bugs out we might see some good competition. I'm also waiting for T-Mobiles 4 g android. blackberry as far as I know have no plans for any 4g network any time soon there just now starting 3g on some devices. Come on rim hurry up an get in the game
One day....guys, RIM will read your cry for help and then they will look down and say
NO
:)
How about an apps store that works and imap email with folder support.
In the past couple of months I have tried a Sony Xperia X10a, Sprint EVO 4G, AT&T Motorola Backflip and Google Nexus One. The Nexus One had the latest 2.2 version of Android. I had high hopes for being able to run Adobe Flash videos without a proxy web browser. Unfortunately the Xexus One's poor 3G performance made that nearly impossible. Sprint's poor network ruined the EVO. The Backflip was alright considering it is a low end smartphone. The only one of the phones I still have is the X10a, due mostly to the 4 inch bright screen and 8 MP camera. Overall I do not think any of them beat my outdated Bold 9000 for overall performance and usability. With the Bolt browser I can even play Flash video. I could be happy with a Blackberry that had at least a 3.5 inch screen, capable web browser and Flash support. But the critical thing is I would not put up with iPhone type reception issues in exchange for apps or looks. And RIM you really need to fix the memory management issues not just add more memory.
You tried 3 Android phones and didn't install Skyfire on them? Skyfire beats Bolt on playing Flash videos. On my Storm, about the only site I could use Bolt's flash capabilities was Youtube. With Skyfire, I can even stream the Daily Show and Colbert Report on my Droid X. Hulu is a different matter, however, but that has more to do with Hulu than with Skyfire.
That's one HUGE thing BB needs, imo! And its probably the only thing that might cause me to go Droid. Sure, I'd like a faster cpu, more memory and a larger screen.. but flash player is the biggest thing lacking on my BB!
It's foolish to come on this site and say anything negative about BB, And I won't do that. As a BB user for many years I have always enjoyed the reliability BB provided. I now have a Vibrant and yes Blue tooth works, Gmail is pushed, Yahoo and hotmail is pulled every 5 mins. But this devise is like none I have ever seen or tried. Web pages come alive on the 4inch SAMOLED screen, The 1G Hummingbird processor blazes through everything and Android is flawless. These Galaxy S Phones are the most powerful handsets on the market. It has trumped the EVO, Droid X and Nexus on bench test with almost twice the power and speed. The snapdragon processor used in these devices is inferior to the hummingbird processor used in the Galaxy S Phones.
This has been a rough month for cellphones with me. I recently switched carriers from AT&T to Verizon and decided to go with a Droid phone. I ended up getting the Motorola Devour...big mistake because that phone is horrible and almost everyone I know that had or has one says the same thing. However, I think it was just that particular model of Droid hone. While it worked for me I really liked it but it was just too heavy for my liking. The phone ended up erasing all of my contacts and stopped getting FB updates and so on. The next phone I got was the Palm Pixi Plus and I thought it was a great phone but was not a fan of the application support. That phone eventually shut itself of for about 20 minutes, turned back on and the phone ended up not recieving a network signal. I took that back finally, and got myself a BlackBerry Curve 8530 and I must say that I really love this phone and wish I would have made this my first choice.
As far as the BB being behind the times in terms of technology, I think that the competition has finally caught up with RIM. I couldn't see myself owning another phone as of right now. Crackberry ftw!
Yeah, that was a poor choice. The Devour was not a Droid device as it had subpar hardware. With the exception of the Droid Eris, all "Droid" phones on Verizon have better hardware. The original Moto Droid was supposed to be the standard, but was quickly overshadowed by all the 1Ghz processor phones like the HTC Incredible and Moto Droid X. The Devour was at best, a low end phone, with the old, horrible Motoblur. In the Moto Droid X, Motorola kept Blur to a minimum, and it actually works quite well.
Glad you found a Blackberry that works for you though, but don't judge Android by the Devour, a really, really bad phone.
Had a cliq for 15 days and then took that back for a mytouch3g and another 15 days, came back to berryworld and the 9700 and as of today IMO is the best phone on the market...still. Yes, I know those Andriods are old in today's standards, but still basically the same OS, just updated some. What killed me and seems most love about Andriods is the OS and UI interface, which IMO not that great, minus the memory..didn't get into the widgets, the 3 homescreens...and the UI isn't my cup of tea, definitely more geared for the younger crowd and I am only 33, lol! Also battery life was tops 10 hours on both phones before a charge, if I was lucky and both phones lagged...and the mytouch was brutal to type on....and swype takes some time getting used to I guess. The only things I do miss....better app selection, bigger screen, and playing youtube vids better... that is about it...everything else my 9700 does better or just as good...hell even my browser is fine...just take off Java-script and just as fast...I have compared them both many times as bud still has a cliq/iphone and wife still has her mytouch. Also I need a physical keyboard and the Cliq's sucked in comparison to BB's...and my battery life....Almost always 2 days and I am a power user...9800 looks real nice for me, just need it to come to T-Mobile eventually...also this is not bashing Andriod as they do look real nice and appeal to many people, just really would take a lot for me to switch.
I don't think the Cliq or even the MyTouch 3G are good Android devices. The underwhelming hardware in many of those phones is what prompted Google to release its Nexus One, to show what Android could do, with decent hardware. Since then, the Droid Incredible, Moto Droid X, and HTC Evo have eclipsed it and shown what Android is capable of. The Droid Incredible and HTC Evo, it is true, have had some problems with battery life, but so far my Droid X has been great. I've been able to watch 1 movie, play countless Need For Speed Shift, and Skies of Glory on it, taxing the graphics card, listened to podcasts, browsed the web via 3G and wi-fi and the phone has lasted me at least 12hrs, and up to 15hrs without a need to charge it. That was all in one day. When I use it more like my old Storm, without the fancy game play, or much app use, it can go for a day and a half at least.
I'm not knocking BBs here, as much touting what Android devices can do. I do wish that BB comes out with phones similarly spec'd and that OS 6 surpasses my expectations. As I said earlier, I want that competition b/c it spurs innovation. With the iPhone locked within AT&T, and most high quality Droid's on Verizon, there's room for more competition from both RIM and HP/Palm to push the limits of what smartphones can do.
The Droid X is in everyway a superior piece of hardware, with much better software. But I could not do without BBM. I had almost 200 contacts, most all work related, and I found myself on the phone all the time. So I was less productive with the Droid X. But dang, what a great phone. I would pay $1,000 to put BBM on the Droid X.
I have the droid X coming next week. I use my personal BB with BBM for all my communications to my contacts in IT and my boss. Looks like we'll just have to text. I worry that i may have to go back to the BB for this reason.
That was my worry, too. I just couldn't do it. The X is a fantastic phone, the call quality and battery life was the best of any smart phone I've had. Easily beat my Storm 2. To make me second guess myself even more, I activated my old Storm 2, and within an hour it locked up and was unusable. And the only thing extra I have on it is Twitter. I hate my Storm 2. So I have a Bold coming, hopefully it works well.
I'd miss BBM the most too, but I thought I read somewhere that there's an app that integrates BBM across platform. Am I wrong?
I've opted to go for both the BlackBerry and Android OS. Berry for email texts and business ventures. And the Droid for all the fun stuff like apps and media.
Driod customization features and entertainment features is what keeps the fans... thats it
I really liked my Blackberry when I got it a year and a half ago. I was also excited to see the upcoming slider when it was leaked, but there has been no mention of it coming to Sprint. I only know of 2 people who I regularly talk to that also have BB, so BBM is useless for me. BB has made very few improvements since I have been a user. Definately nothing groundbreaking. As soon as the Epic 4g comes out, it's mine. But, you never know, I will not rule out a return to BB in a year or so. I want to play with Android for a while.
Blackberry, Verizon, RIM they all suck! Rumor has it that Verizon will end the Storm 2 in August to make room for the storm 3 sometime in Q3/Q4 rendering all others obsolete. With OS 6 on the horizon it means that our existing blackberries will once again be out of date because there is not sufficient memory to run the OS 6. There goes another $199.00 and an additional two year contract...The other (Droid, iPhone) phones are not much better considering that most electronics are out of date when the hit the market. Plus they all have their own issues.
it would be nice, if blackberry 6 is much similar to android and if does, blackberry sales will went up pretty fast for sure.
As a die-hard user of BB, I crossed to the not so dark side of Android a while ago, yet my 9700 is still my primary device. I use the Nexus One, wife has MyTouch Slider and my son has Cliq. The Androids are nice for them, because they are not smart phone geeks like we CrackBerry's. My N1 is like an old truck where you can beat up the engine and just rebuild it again. I still covet my 9700, because its the phone that shows me the money.
As much as I love-love-love my N1, BB's are messaging machines that can't be duplicated. No other smart phone ecosystem even comes close to the way BB handles notifications. The 9800 will be the BB that we have been wanting since the release of the first Iphone. If the Bold 9000 had a touch screen and webkit browser, it would have matched up well, but the 9800 will bring many BB defectors back I'm certain of that.
The Iphone is a great device, but the arrogance of Apple turns me off. Android is awesome, but the problem with Android users is they have became everything they hated about Iphone users; critical of everything and the me first complex. When its in fun that one thing, but some people wrap their lives around who can ROM or how many apps are available. BlackBerry may still be slightly behind, but we can all agree on one thing, the Damn Thing Works!
It is true that some have become fanboys. That said, the criticism leveled at RIM is valid.
I mean, I would love to have gotten a BB upgrade when my contract ran out, but there just wasn't anything out there from RIM that matched or surpassed what Apple and Google were offering. To me that's a problem for many reasons. One of the most important ones is that I want competition. I would love to see Blackberries competing with the Droid X, or the Droid Incredible, the upcoming Droid 2, but the truth is, they don't. For some people, who use BBM alot, it may be an incentive to stay, but for others, gtalk & other services will suffice.
As for Blackberries working, some do, some don't. The Storm is a good example here. There are so many things my Droid X can do, that my Storm could never even dream of doing. I almost upgraded to the Storm 2 when it came out, but held off because I knew that Android was going to be releasing some major phones, and they did. Android 2.1 has done a great job catching up to some of the things BB did well, and at least the Droid X, w/ some of Motorola's modifications has made messaging relatively painless. Android 2.2. is supposed to bring far more, making Android devices more business friendly, a move Apple has also made.
The point is, Blackberry needs to step up, not only to keep its market share, but because competition helps innovation, which in turn helps us consumers by giving us better devices every year.
The touch screen technology seems to be far behind still on the storm 2, while the touch screens for the android devices seem to be light years ahead. If the storm 2 had an android touch screen I would have gotten that for my wife instead of the incredible. Also android market is far less impressive than the crackberry and bb app stores.For me though I still love my tour, and will upgrade to the bold 9650 as soon as I can.
I originally had the Tour, 4 of them to be exact all replaced for trackball issues. I got the 9650 as a replacement for the EOL tour before the 1 year contract was up. I had the bold 9650 for about 2 months now and although the trackpad is significantly nicer than the trackball the phone itself is no better than the tour. I find mine lagging a lot to be quite honest and i don't run many Apps. The only one I use regularly is Gtalk. The browser and the Wifi are honestly terrible. The wifi for me doesnt connect any faster than the 3g service area, but it always connects when wifi is available.
The email functionality of the BB is what i am going to miss the most. The contacts are very easy to use, BBM was a bonus with the ability to send and receive pictures directly, however the chat function can be replaced by all my friends and coworkers who use palms and droids and have gtalk.
I have had my BB for 5 years now and we will see if i miss it after getting the droid x. For me, combining my ipod touch's internet, music, and multimedia into a phone that has superior browsing over the BB.
I don't see the Bold 9650 even with OS6 being a good browser. The trackpad and small screen still doesnt leave much room to read and view pages in full. I think OS6 was meant for touchscreen phones.
I loved the BB but I don't see it blowing the other phones out of the water any time soon. VZW drags their feet on putting out OS updates so maybe down the road if i want to switch back. The new droid when it comes will actually lower the price of my cell bill per month.
We shall see.
The AMOLED looks really good and the browser is nice, but there is nothing about an Android device that would make me even consider switching from BlackBerry. I do not like any of the Android devices that are out now...I seriously doubt if there will ever be an Android device that pulls me to switch... More power to anyone else who wants one but I wouldn't dare!
All I want from android is the browser and their processor. Everything else I love about my blackberry.
I went from a Tour (about eight months, I guess) to a Storm2 for a few weeks, then I used a Droid for about six weeks. I'm back on my Tour now, I suppose until the LTE phones start hitting the shelves.
The Android platform is interesting and has a lot going for it. The screen size and integration with Google are, as other posters have said, big wins. The browser, with the pinch-to-zoom and desktop-level support (I installed 2.2 and added Flash), is terrific. It's a very capable phone and platform, but just not for me.
The bottom line for me is messaging/typing. I found that I didn't like the on-screen keyboard (even the Swype version, which is very cool and fast), and the physical Droid keyboard was very difficult for me after using a BB board for so long. As others have stated above, the notifications and speed to update email were frustrating (and the LED on the Droid seemed invisible after the BB LED and BerryBuzz).
I even like the native music player and picture viewer in the BB OS better. The apps on the Android certainly have better curb appeal (compare Google Voice on the two for an example), but I've heard Kevin mention "stoplight" functionality on the BB (being able to execute a function while you're sitting at a stoplight), and I think the BB wins big here (the wake-up-the-phone-with-the-power-button-then-swipe-across-the-screen-and-wait-for-the-widgets-to-populate-the-home-screen alone would take most of my stoplight time).
I understand that these are all just personal preferences. I'm sure Android meets someone else's needs better.
I've seen comments on the OS6 previews suggesting that the physical keyboard is dead and that touch screens are the way of the future. I hope that's not right. My personal test showed me that I prefer that keyboard, and I just hope that the RIM team is looking at packing CDMA into the 9800 for Verizon (9850, anyone?).
BTW, if anyone wants to trade a well-maintained Droid with 2.2, a car dock, and the multimedia dock for a VZW 9650, PM me. :-)
Just to be an a-hole in a playful sort of way, but are you the guy that uses his phone at stoplights and then doesnt move when the light turns green. You shouldnt even been on your phone while driving, especially texting.
I won't deny -ever- checking a message at a stoplight, but I don't really do that much driving anymore, so it's meant more in the quick-look, get-something-done-while-waiting-for-an-elevator-or-the-train context. The "stoplight" language is Kevin's or RIM's, not mine (pretty sure Kevin has referred to this on the podcast a couple of times).
That said, and because hands-free driving came up, I installed Vlingo on the Droid because the native voice recognition just wasn't the same. It's good, but I missed the Vlingo capability that I (now) have (again) on the BB.
Saw your post below, too. If you want to dump your 9650 and get a preview of the Droid X on the Droid, let me know.
Send me a PM about the 9650. Id be looking to sell it for a reasonable price.
The Android might be able to store apps on the memory card but nobody seems to mention how much RAM it takes to run them. I just watched a mate close apps on his Android and Ram was going up in chunks or 5 and 10 every time he was closing one.
I call for a new standard in comparing platforms from locked screen:
1. How fast can you call a contact
2. How fast can you switch between apps
3. How fast can you type with cold hands
4. How fast to open browser(including additional browsers)
5. How fast can you call up the camera/camcorder and start using it
6. How fast can you open Gtalk
You know, real life situations
It's like launching a new 1000 hp car that can only do 0-60 in 10 seconds.
Just reading out the specs on paper is not good enough.
I agree, and I like your analogy. Is all this hardware really improving Android OS phones performance over BlackBerry OS? Great point!
That may be a problem on older versions of Android phones, but as someone who recently switched from a Blackberry to a Droid X, I can report that the phone is FAST. To tell you the truth, when I had my Blackberry Storm, I hardly ever used it for social networking, twitter, etc, or even gtalk because the battery would run out if I did so during the day. I only used them if I had a charger handy.
With the Droid X, I can watch movies, keep all my apps connected, be it twitter, facebook, Qik, etc. and still have enough battery at the end of the day. That also includes having 7 home screens with no lag. Another thing is, there are so many apps, and games that frankly put BB to shame. When I got my Droid X, it came with a demo version of Need for Speed Shift, and it worked great. The graphics were superb and the phone hardly slowed down. At most, it did so briefly while closing NSF Shift to move to twitter.
Also, one of the major features I missed when I switched to Blackberry was that there was no Skyfire browser for it. The Skyfire for Droid works really well, and you can watch a lot of flash videos. Android 2.2 is also just around the corner, and once it comes out, Flash will also come to the phone. To tell the truth, I'm using the Droid X now more than my computer, and I'm loving it. I can't imagine what other enhancements Android 2.2 will bring.
Older Androids are only about a year old, so is Storm2 and 9700 nearly. So many androids have come out since and it's only fair to wait until the new blackberrys come out to compare them.
One other feature on his android was the ability to send photos trough GTalk, what's up with that? Really old blackberrys were able to do that.
ALL I NEED IS MORE RAM A BETTER PROCESSOR AND BETTER WEB BROWSER AND WITH ALL OF THAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET BETTER APPS...BEST EXAMPLE COMPARE FACEBOOK APPS WITH IPHONE VS ANDROID VS BLACKBERRY IDK WHO WOULD COME FIRST BUT I KNOW FOR SURE BLACKBERRY WILL BE LAST...SAME THING WITH AIM AND OTHER APPS....BLACKBERRY IS GREAT NOTHING IS BETTER THEN UBERTWITTER AND BBM TO ME...BUT THEY NEED TO STEP IT UP IN ALOT OF AREAS....I LIKE TOUCH SCREENS but i like hard keys BETTER...BUT I WOULD SACRIFICE A KEYBOARD FOR A BETTER DEVICE...MAYBE.... OR TOUCH AND KEYBOARD
"The Captivate has 512 megabytes of RAM, and 16 gigabytes of internal memory, of which 1.7 gigabytes are available on which to store applications, which should be plenty of room. (When Android 2.2 is released for the Galaxy S, you'll be able to store applications on the microSD card or, presumably, the internal storage.) Our review unit came with a 2GB microSD card, and the phone will handle up to 32GB."
What could a BB do with this kind of memory architecture???? What could app developers do???
As I understand it, the current Android 2.1 does not support hands free bluetooth calling. A deal breaker now that many state and municipalities are gong hands free only while driving.
ohhhhhhhhh, I wasn't aware of that. That's a deal breaker for me too then because my truck has bluetooth in it and I use it every time I drive. It's not illegal here yet, but it will be soon.
That's really too bad I was really liking the Galaxy S and was seriously considering switching from BB if it comes to Rogers. Oh well, the 9800 looks like it's going to be a nice phone and I really do love my BB
I had the Droid X and the bluetooth worked just fine with my Ford and Mercedes unit. Running Android 2.1.
You can talk on bluetooth, and answer calls, but DIALING doesn't happen without an extra application, of which there are several.
That's in 2.1. In 2.2 (which is leaked now and will be coming to most devices in the next week to month) has bluetooth dialing. :)
My HTC Droid Incredible should get 2.2 next week, is the rumor, via OTA. I don't want to install the leaked copy.
Once we get the webkit browser and the down load size limit goes away I think I'll be happy. In reading about OS6 I believe anything else I would wnat will be there. The down load size limit is the only thing I haven't really heard much about. Can be very annoying when someone sends me a link to dl something or watch a video that is too large for the BB to handle.
Also waiting on either the Storm3 or possibly the Storm2 refresh. Unless the refresh is being called the Storm3...either way.
Either way, as much as I love the keyboard of the Bold series devices and maybe because I'm getting older, I am dying for a larger screen. Had the first Storm and thought it was the perfect size. Big enough to view with out having to constantly scroll in every different direction and as far as I am concerned it is the absolute perfect size for an on screen keyboard.
I know the 9800/Slider/Torch is coming but
1. I'm not going to AT&T (anytime soon anyway)
2.I very much prefer a device that is one solid peice with out anything to slide out or open.
I have a blackberry and my sister has an android.
and while the android does have SOME nice features, i really couldn't get into it.
It wouldn't be a type of phone I could see myself using.
I'm on att network and was hoping they would get a nice android device but the captive has no flash ? you mean to tell me this phone has all the bells and whistles with NO flash .... I'll hold on to my Nine Seven Zero Zero
With Android phones appearing everywhere, and in huge quantities it's hard to ignore their existence. They definitely bring a new and interesting approach to the smart phone industry, but it's still very young, and needs a lot of growth. Being a BlackBerry fan is great, and we have some amazing units, but when it comes to hardware Android phones really impress even the diehard BlackBerry fans (such as myself). Out of all the companies that manufacturer for the Android OS, I'd say Samsung does it worst compared to Motorolla and HTC. I have a few friends considering switching to the Captivate, but I'm eager and excited to see the 9800. For those that are screaming and yelling in disappointment about OS6 not coming to older phones, you're going to experience the same in other platforms(2.2 won't be supported on all Android phones), I feel that with time, span of 2-3 years, the majority of the hardware that goes in to all of these phones will be at par with one another. I'll stick to the experience that has kept me satisfied the most (BlackBerry). In terms of whether or not this should be on the front page of CrackBerry, that's up to guys running it. Bla1ze is an awesome guy, and has brought us great content, if he wants to bring diversity and challenge the users to talk multi-platform then we can't be disappointed in that.
Heck, I loved my Storm1... but my Droid Incredible is lighter, faster, does more, and far more awesome. The only thing it doesn't have is BBM, and really, I don't miss it. :-/ Sorry.
But I still like RIM and hope they pick up their game even more! Competition is good!
I had gone Android with a nice HTC phone. But, guess what... After 3 weeks of having the phone I switched back to BB. Could not pay me to go with an Iphone - the list of reasons is long. Android has it's fancy dancy TV adds which are well done and tons of free applications... Yeah, you get what you pay for in this life. To those that switch - good luck and don't let the door hit you in the A.. on your way out. Remember, this is CrackBerry not CryBerry. Oh you may want to make sure you also have a pocket full of extra batteries and the time to sift through useless broken apps. Enjoy your extra large screen phone that may need a case on rollers just to carry it around. :)
Well if you haven't noticed there is an android section in crackberry as well as the carriers? Also how do you know what types of phones people have I have them both . The android does blow blackberry out of the water .I rarely use my blackberry anymore it is just out dated technology .Whats funny is android users compair phones and blackberry users turn it into personal attacks against android users because they know the facts speak for themself.
I see you didn't answer/comment on any of the questions. You went straight into the usual fanboy 'android blows away blackberry' and 'blackberry is outdated technology', etc, etc. I'm aware of the forums and links to other platforms, and... personal attacks? what? I simply asked two reasonable questions seeing this is a BLACKBERRY site and all.
LOL you're crying about one post about a BlackBerry competitor? Sounds like you have an inferiority complex. Just blow past the post and move on then.
I'd take one post about the Captivate versus 20 posts in a row about the Dorkberry Idol.... which I'm sure you're somehow way into.
Personal attacks? really? You're pissed about a reasonable post asking why have a non-BB review on a BB site? if you didn't like my post why didn't YOU 'Just blow past the post and move on then'? AHH, you had an opinion on it! I see.
From your post it sounds like you're a guy who hates BlackBerries but still visits BlackBerry sites. Why? I don't know, but maybe you're secretly in love with BlackBerries, but just can't show it. Maybe. :)
you just proved my point LOL you bb fanboy hahahaha nuff said
Why post an android phone review on a BlackBerry site? If I want an android review there are plenty of sites for that. As to all those that say that they already switched to Android, why are you still visiting a BlackBerry site?
I made the switch from a Storm 9530 to a Tour 9630 to a HTC Droid Incredible. There quite a few things I miss about having my BlackBerry, though. One of them is the lack of push email across all different email providers. I loved how my BlackBerry would get my email even before my computer did. It even helped me setup my school's campus email when my laptop couldn't (or at least not the SMTP portion correctly).
The other thing I miss is BlackBerry messenger, it's just a good/convenient thing to have.
However, with all the specs and what not of newer devices, especially the Android ones, it starts to make BlackBerry devices seem a little outdated.
Screen size, couldn't hurt to be a little bigger, or at least try to pack in more pixels so you have an even better screen. I remember when I first saw the Droid's screen I found it very impressive, and the screen's on many phones are getting better and better, but BlackBerry's still maintain their old resolutions.
Camera, not a big deal, but still it's nice to be able to have a decent camera for those times when I'm not lugging my big DSLR around.
Faster CPU, so many people complain that having a faster CPU means having less battery life. Yes, BlackBerry's have excellent battery life among smartphones, however if that means sacrificing processing power, I'm ok with that. Sometimes doing battery pulls every day (or having Quick Pull do them) gets a little annoying. On my DInc, everything is so snappy and rarely gets laggy.
Memory, especially that saved to SD isn't supported yet, memory is a big key factor. A lot of phone manufacturers are starting to put more memory in their phones to support the tasks that consumers expect their phones to do.
Honesty I still love BlackBerry, but Android (especially with the Droid Incredible) have made the Android platform a little more enticing. I'm still waiting for THE BlackBerry to come to Verizon before I jump ship again.
What I need from my bb:
1) faster cpu
2) more memory
3) bigger screen
thats all I need from my bb... everything else is perfect!
What I need from my car:
1) bigger engine
2) better gas mileage
3) more room
that's all I need from my car... everything else is perfect!
Pathetic and inapplicable parallel. Cars are NOT a functioning parallel to phones, as cars do not have software. A better (and actually applicable) parallel would be if you were to buy the state of the art new computer, and within a year a new operating system comes out and takes more than the ram your computer has to function, while other computers on the market, for the same price, offer just as much, and new operating systems work on the computer because it was shipped with hardware that let's the computer function when updates are released.
What are you still driving a Model-T
Most Cars have computers and software in them. FYI RIM recently purchased QNX an real-time OS made for automobiles.
=X=
One, my car doesn't have software, thank you very much. Two, your response brought nothing to the table. Congrats.
Already made the jump. Just got tired of waiting for the 9800. I love my captivate
I put the 9700 aside for the new Captivate 5 days ago. After almost a week with the device I can see the love for Android, but I can see the drawbacks. First things first, NOTIFICATIONS! Android doesn't hold a candle to BlackBerry. I miss my FaceBook Alerts and my non Gmail email alerts. Not to mention to get a decent refresh rate on Twitter you have to look outside the Twitter for Android app. Second is battery life, now I know I've been a power user over these 5 days, but I litereally can't make it more then 6 hours without charging. It's ridculous. I've only had 2 3rd party apps force stop on me, and 1 random reboot. The overall OS does seem to be alot more stable then the 5.0 hybrid I was running (but that's to be expected with a hybrid). As far as browsing, I never really had any issue with the browser on my 9700, that is until I got the Captivate. This is was mobile browsing is about! It's amazing, maybe I'm a little sucked in by the sheer size of the screen, but i find it more of a pleasure to browse for information and go out of my way to load the full facebook site as well as others! Next is the camera, I raved over my 9700 Camera! the 3.2 autofocus was leaps and bounds better then the 2.0 camera on my 9000, and the flash brought it all together. But the 5 megapixel camera on the Captivate is really nice! And I love the 720p video capabilities. I've taken pics of everything possible! Also the screen size and res with things such as Youtube is amazing. Everything looks so clear and crisp. In the end, I have about 25 days to return the device if I don't like it, and I've really contemplating it if the 9800 comes out before my time limit is up. I'll definitely be keeping my eyes on the 9800. Well that ends my rant!
Your little comparison between the Capivate and 9700 was great. I didn't see any bias in it and you just gave your honest opinion without any unnecessary bashing. Thank you!
Thank you sir, I'm just stating it how I see it! I do have a new found respect for Android, but will always be a BlackBerry man at heart! But they really need to step up their entertainment side of the os to keep up with iOS and Android. I'm really looking forward to playing with a 9800.
Good point, I do sorely miss the way BB handles notifications. With BB it's all merged together and I can read them at my will, marking some as read, others not... With Android, it's either new notification or clear them all. Also, Facebook on Android SUCKS and there's no way around that truth. For fb notifications, I have an odd mix of SMS and email alerts because the app is useless and most of the time just takes you to the mobile site anyway...
I agree with everything in your post...down to the number of days I have to return (I'm on an Incredible though).
My first feeling is that the Android isn't quite as "polished" as BB...I feel BB does a better job in overall integration. However I am NOT a primary Google user. I have a Google account which I use for some personal stuff and to use when I need to have an e-mail address to register for something. So that account catches more crap than anything, and I don't need constant notifications all day when all that crap hits the account. I love that I have a separate Google app on the BB and I can proactively check the account when I want, or I could leave it open if I want as well. With the Android I have to leave it open. I considered opening another Google account but there's a lot of stuff that hits that account I DO want to see, just not told it's there all day long. I'm not sure a new account would fix the issue I'm having.
I decided to try out the Android device because it seems I can no longer pull email via BIS from my work account leaving me only browser access. And THAT is no doubt one place where Android shines and the main reason I decided to check it out. It's still not perfect, but it's leaps and bounds better than BB Browser for OWA. I have Opera Mini installed on the Storm 2 and it does an o.k. job...but that's just it...it's only o.k. I have trouble selecting specific things, etc., and often times just give up when trying to do OWA mail on Opera Mini.
I'm very torn...I really do LOVE everything about my Blackberry (Storm 2) except browser, and I'm running out of room. No flaming, I DO use the gazillion apps I have installed.
But I also am very impressed with how much more polished some of the same apps are on Android. Slacker Radio, for instance. And a scanner app that Android has that even shows a cheat sheet on the codes used and what they mean. At the same time, the Android Facebook app is, believe it or not, a step BACK (I know...I was shocked).
I feel a little like I lost my best friend using the Android but I'm slowly getting it set up with "comparable" programs. Which leads to the one last issue I'm having with Android which may in fact bring me back to Blackberry, which is battery life. It's AWFUL. I used the heck out of my Storm and it lasted far better than the Android is.
If Blackberry 6.0 could bring an equivalent or better browsing experience (compared to Android), and attract talented developers to write programs that are useful and programs that are fun (i.e. games), that would really be all I need to stay. I'm just so tired of the waiting game. And I'm REALLY irritated that in order to get the benefits of webkit and 6.0 I may be looking at having to buy a "refresh" device, or else wait another 6 - 8 months for Storm 4 (or whatever they are calling it).
I'm kind of rambling...I think the biggest thing for me is, I am fearful that RIM is too little too late, and we don't even know because we still haven't even seen what they are delivering yet! Let's see some ACTION from RIM, rather than talk...show us what you got...make some announcements that MEAN something. And PLEASE recognize that there are users like me that want a device for consumer use predominately, but still need it to do some work. Open up some stuff so developers can do the little things like create an app that allows for a voice search, or allow an app access so the user can increase volume in "boost" if necessary. Let me see my entire html email rather than only part of it, and increase the size of downloads, etc. Let ME decide how much I want to download...rather than you limiting me...
Didnt they just announce that they stopped development of OS6 on the storm2... so that means you need to PAY for another device to get os6. Did i read that wrong on crackberry the other day or no?
Yeah, I've heard that the main problem with HTC's Droids & Evo is battery life, that's primarily why I went with the Motorola Droid X over the Incredible. The battery life on the Droid X is comparable if not superior to my experience with Blackberry.
Facebook app: I actually like the Facebook app implementation better on Android than on my BB. Of course, I had horrible problems with the FB calendar on my Storm, and then trying to figure out how to remove it. With the Droid, all of those problems were solved, including duplicate entries in contacts after merging phone contacts with Facebook contacts.
Have you tried Skyfire on the Droid? It works well for me, especially being able to watch flash videos online.
I don't know about the Incredible, but my Droid X came with 8Gb of internal memory, and 16Gb SSD, which is nice considering how much music, movies and apps I want to install. So far, I have about 35 apps on it and about 6.5GB left of internal memory. My 16GB SSD only has 1GB left, but that's because my music, movies, podcasts, videocasts, pictures take up so much room. All in all, I'm beyond satisfied with the Droid X.
Facebook alerts quit working on my blackberry about 3 weeks before i got rid of it for some reason
A web browser that doesn't suck able to run on existing hardware would be a good start, lol
I switched from BB to the HTC Evo and I couldn't be happier. I'm a HEAVY Google services user with Gmail, Google Voice, and Google Maps being my primary concerns when it comes to smartphones. NOTHING comes close to Android's integration with Google's services...obviously. I will say that BB is most definitely closer than say the iPhone, but still not quite there.
As for the hardware, the general smartphone ecosystem seems to focus all the excitement around Android and iPhone, and BB takes a beating (...though not nearly as bad as Nokia=P). I think RIM really dropped the ball for a while and now they're playing catch-up. Manufacturers seem to be excited to push the limits with Android and really get people giddy with high-power specs and capabilities, something RIM is just now trying to do.
Finally, @thedeadbaby (...interesting sn), I absolutely LOVE multiple home screens and widgets! I have the gigantic, beautiful HTC Sense clock/weather, bookmarks, music, Pandora, and Google tasks widgets and it makes my phone's usability SO much better! ...however I'm with you on ditching the iPhone for a BB device running OS 6:)
Edit: @sweetlittlehugs, believe me, at first all of the Evo's 4.3" screen goodness felt a bit big, but you get used to it. (Of course there's always the smaller devices like the HTC Aria/Incredible/Desire/Hero/Legend/Wildfire that would also be great!)
I think about getting an android phone but it seems like so many never get their os's updated. So if I went with android I'd want htc so I could at least get a hacked os. If only the htc android phones were not so big...
I want an operating system that doesn't require a reboot every day. The browser is fine, optics are fine.
Just better the system as a whole. Less restarts, quicker loading. thank youu. :)
"I think blackberry os has the most options for customization"
Droiiidddd
Speaking from personal experience, that is to say I'm not trying to hate on android, I think blackberry and ios offer a more solid experience. I'm not saying I don't like android, but I hardly ever have a app force close on my iPhone or with blackberry os when I was using my 8900. Personally, I think blackberry os has the most options for customization considering the amount of changes a theme can do. Ios offers virtually no customization u less you jailbreak. Android you can do some theming, and I'm not one of those people that considers widgets as a form of customization its jut more stuff on the screen. I cant wait to get my 9780 and leave my iphone behind. I don't like that I have to loose device support in order to have text tones or to theme. BB from now on after this! Just my .02
You made some great points!
As a former Blackberry user, I don't think this is correct. Of course, what type of OS you like is subjective, but coming from a Blackberry with OS 5.0 using Android 2.1 was a breath of fresh air.
As for customization, once you root a device, and so long as the bootloader isn't locked you can do whatever you want with it. Android has as many moded OSes as Blackberry does. Themes are great, but I honestly haven't felt the need to change the one that comes with the phone, because it's a pretty good one. With my BB, I spent countless hours trying to find a theme that not only worked, but was not a memory hog, but at the end of the day, I wanted to change the theme, because the stock BB theme was never to my liking. Even the Droid X, with the bootloader locked, since it has been rooted, you can do quite a bit with it as it is.
The apps, are also leaps and bounds above BB. I know that because most of my friends, who have tried out my Droid X have told me, they will upgrade to an Android phone as soon as their contracts are done. Even new iPhone 4 users are impressed by what the Droid X can do, like wi-fi hotspot, DLNA support, etc.
What a boring thread this is. If I were to get an Android (and I'm not), it certainly wouldn't be a Samsung. The HTC UI, Sense, is far superior to anything Samsung has. And for that matter if I were looking for a toy cell phone, I wouldn't pick an Android over an iPhone. But I'll stick with a real phone ... my BlackBerry. What is the real point for you creating this blog? All these websites listed at the bottom of this page, including CrackBerry.com, are really "Smartphone Experts.com". It's one profit-seeking company, and the creation of this blog is a stark reminder that they are not really individual websites. If we want to read a review of Android, or iPhone, or Palm, or Nokia, we know where to go.
If its a boring thread why do you want to engage in it? Whats with the hate? There are people that are a fan of technology and you apparently just hate everything that doesn't say blackberry on it. The crackberry podcast team Blaze and Craig are android and ipad users. Did it offend you that an article that is not blackberry but the competition was posted on "your" blog. Call the waaaaambulance. *cry*
Ditto to that!
I was about to say the same exact words IndePanda.
I don't really get the point of Bla1ze posting such an article on "The home of BlackBerry Users and abusers"
And darkmanx2g: All of us are fans of technology, but non of us is living under a rock! we all know that engadget.com is the site to visit in order to catchup with latest news and gossips in tech world.
I visit CrackBerry.com for news related to BlackBerry! period.
Actually, the Droids are real phones. The call quality on my Droid X is superb, and those I speak with have noticed. The noise cancellation mics work great. Making calls is easy, and contact back-up, integration is great thanks to Google. It's also very simple to combine all your Facebook and Google Contacts (i.e. phone contacts) without any duplication, unlike in my BB storm where combining them was a chore.
The point of the article, is to motivate a discussion into what Blackberries are missing, when compared to the competition. That's healthy introspection and should be welcomed. Look at Palm, for years a leader in "smartphones," who were outclassed and beaten by RIM, why? Because the company refused to innovate until it was too late.
no cut/paste? why the "F" don't they allow this simple function on these 'smart phones?'
My Nexus One does cut and paste just fine. Not sure where you got the impression Android didn't do it from, lol.
The Droid X does cut/paste just fine. Actually, it is much easier and user friendly on the Droid X than it was on my BB Storm.
The Captivate looks like the Storm2. If the Captivate is a S2 on steroids I'm already half way there. I'm starting to get the itch to look at android. Especially now that my S2 isn't going to be getting os6.
I actually bought a Samsung Captivate 2 days before it's official release. Upon my first impression, it was the first phone that made me really want to ditch my 9700. After 5 days use, I returned it for a refund. The screen, size, and overall build quality of the Captivate where truly amazing, but the device was crippled by maddening moments of lag. Also, the App Market was very underwhelming, even from someone who despises the App World. For what I do most - twitter, text, and calling - my 9700 had it beat. This is all before comparing call quality and battery life.
I'm really excited about the 9800. It would be nice if it were packed with a 4 inch Super AMOLED display, but the larger screen with the updated OS6 UI looks very nice so far. I just hope it can retain the excellent call quality and battery life of the 9700. I also hope RIM's work to get more developers in on their platform is going to pay off, because that seems to be their main problem regardless of the hardware.
Former bb user and been using a Nexus One since April. Love it. Don't miss bb at all. My wife is waiting to drop her bb as soon as an Android bb styled device arrives. She loves the portrait keyboard and Android OS. Nothing I've seen from RIM on Crackberry has made me regret my decision. It's always good to keep an open mind on how we use our device and know there are great alternatives.
I used to be a BlackBerry user but I turned to Android when 2.1 came out. Happy CrackBerry is showing the competition to BlackBerry users.
I won't deny the fact that the only things keeping me on blackberry is my BBM contacts (minimal), and the keyboard & small form factor of the Tour/Bold range of devices; If there were a device available on Verizon with a similar form-factor, I'd switch in a heartbeat. My BB contacts can IM with google talk just as well...
Most everything about the blackberry devices/services is subpar; its only saving grace by far is the whole slew of Google aps available for bb, the most obviously missing among them being turn-by-turn GPS.
Either BB 6 has radical improvements in available competing apps, or a tide of users are going android-bound.
I think if a small form of Android phone would ruin it. I have a 3.2 inch screen on my Samsung Spica and it feels to small the way it is. A slide out keyboard or the touch screen seems to benefit the phone over the BlackBerry style.
Personally I do like the large screen. The Dell streak is a tad too small :)
But there are some smaller screen form factors coming out. Samsung and Acrer are both working on releasing an Android phone with a BB form factor. It is not clear which companies will get these phones.
=X=
this forums turns into another android website, f*** blackberry
then move your tail off this site and start posting in android forums. we don't want you here anyway!
Got the Samsung Vibrant on launch day. I am totally impressed and satisfied. Came from a blackberry 8900 and the only thing I miss was bbm but gtalk is a great substitute. Blackberry is way behind the curve but OS 6 looks promising.
While gtalk is the best substitute (b/c it seems to stay signed in... nice work google it's only your phone lol) vs. yahoo IM...
I still miss bbm for knowing if someone read my message and miss "is typing a message"... Hopefully they will add this to a future update.
In the URL, "samsung" is spelled "samung".
Here is the proper link: http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-vibrant-review
Thanks
All I need is a capable browser, touchscreen and keyboard. Everything else on the BB does what I need it to do!
The Slider and BB6 would have to screw up really bad for me to move to Android.