Considering Eris...A few questions

TYL3R T

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I am still relatively new to the smartphone 'world'. My first and only smartphone was a BlackBerry Pearl 8130 that I got roughly two years ago, the last time my contract was due for upgrade with Verizon.

I am a full time student so I love the idea of having this type of device so I can have access to the Internet, Email, Social Networking, etc. I love my BlackBerry and it has been a very good phone, but I have always felt like I haven't quite used the phone as it is intended to be used, i.e. BlackBerry to me still seems like a phone geared much more towards business, than to the consumer market and customization.

This is why I have been looking into an Android phone as my next smartphone of choice. Now that my contract is nearing renewal, I have made a few trips to the Verizon phone to get some 'hands-on' with the Motorola Droid as well as the HTC Droid Eris.

I admit that I did not give the Eris much of a chance, I knew, and had heard much more about the Droid, and that was the phone that I went to look at, at first. I liked the Droid, but when I started to test out the Eris I fell in love with the phone. As of now I truly believe that this will be my next smartphone and that I will make the jump from BB to Android! I just have a few questions that I thought I seek answers for:

1) If I get a new Eris will it already have the lasted update? If not will I have to 'wait' for it, or will it start when I activate the phone for the first time?

2) Do you think the upgrade to 2.x will be sooner, rather than later? Is the Eris still a worthwhile phone to get being on 1.5, if it is still a few months before an update to 2.x?

3) If you are against the Eris, would it be worth it to get the Droid, or wait? I have heard a nasty rumor that after a month or so the battery on the Droid 'goes bad' and completely burns up the phone, rendering it useless, outside of the 30 day return period.
 

o2bnclemson

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1) Depends upon when you get it. Currently it's 1.5. 2.0 is due in 1Q2010.
2) I think it's still worthwhile. It's a little slow sometimes, but remember, slow with a smartphone is measured in single-digit seconds!
3) Don't know. Battery life on Eris got better after the most recent OTA update (for me, anyway) and it's relatively easy to manage. Do you really need, for example, for your FB widget to automatically update all day long? Or can you just press Refresh every so often.
 

ali.fazal

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I would recommend the Droid coming from a Blackberry. Because the BB handles opening applications (messaging, email, browser, etc) so quickly, I think you would find the Eris extremely slow.

The Droid, on the other hand, is just as snappy as a BB with minimal lag.

Since you seem to be someone who keeps their phone for the entire 2 year duration of the contract, I think the Droid will stand the test of time better. The screen-size and processor of the Eris are quickly becoming obsolete. It's a great phone now, but will be truly passe in about a year.

Just my two cents.
 

scoty024

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In my opinion...

I, like you, decided to move from the BlackBerry world to the world of the Android.

I moved from a Tour to the Droid, but immediately started scouting out Craigslist for an Eris. Not because I wasn't happy wither the Droid, I was elated. Instead it's because I'm a nerd who loves what is new and go through as many cell phones as I can just to play around with them.

Well, I now own both and have been using the Eris for the last two days and can feel confident in the insight you may get from my opinion.

The Droid is awesome and by far the fastest phone I have ever placed my hands on. That being said, the keyboard is horrid. My stance is that if you have to use a keyboard you hate for a week before it at least becomes halfway useful then it fails. Because of that I simply used the on-screen keyboard. Because I never slid the phone open for anything I felt it was a waste to even have the option. The Eris only has an on screen keyboard which works wonderfully in landscape querie portrait querie and compact querie (much like surepress for BB).

Eris is a tad slower than the Droid but has Sence UI. Droid has a keyboard I'm sure less than 25% of its users actually use, but it has 2.0. The version difference can be a hurdle when moving from 2.0 to 1.5, however, being a new user who has no Android experience to compare to, you will be thrilled with what you get in this version (including the additional stuff the Sence UI gives you that the Droid will NEVER have. Then add to that the knowledge that we already know that the Eris will be updated in the next couple weeks/months. Look at it as putting a little in a savings account, you won't immediately have a fortune due to interest, but even waiting a short time you will have more than you started with.

I'll probably go back to my Droid here in a couple data to compare and assess the differences, at which point I may continue to use it, I may switch back to the Eris (I really love the Eris now). What I can guarantee though, when the Eris updates to 2.0 my Droid will be immediately boxed up and out on Craigslist.

The conclusion to my long-winded post, if I were you I'd save the extra $100.00 or so and get the Eris. The transition from the BB will be smooth and you won't have to wait as long for the 2.0 update as BB users have to wait for the... say 5.0 update. Out of the box you'll be getting your money's worth, then a killer update coming soon is like getting a Christmas present in July.

I'm an opinionated person and mine may not follow all, most, or any... but having had the chance to use both phones you were asking about, I figured something I say might help you decision. Worst case it doesn't and this was just a typing exercise on my Eris.
 

TYL3R T

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Thank you for all of the insight! I really think that even at 1.5 I like the Eris better because of Sense. And with the promise that sense will get the update to 2.x I really think that I will be going with the Eris. Also with the news that the nexus one will be out with Verizon in the spring, I may wait and spring for that instead of both the Eris and the Droid.
 

Terry4505

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I came from a Blackberry Curve to Eris. I absolutely loved my BB and was unsure I would feel about the on-screen keyboard. My girlfriend has an iPhone (and suffers from iPhone syndrome) and I was not crazy about typing on her phone.

I got used to the on-screen keyboard really quickly. I type in landscape most of the time and I have very few problems with it.

I was disappointed by the battery the first few days I had the phone. It seems to have gotten better the more I have used it. I adjusted the screen brightness and installed TasKiller. Every once in a while the phone will seem a bit slow, I just tap the TasKiller widget and it kills everything that is running that should not be. One complaint is that it seems like a lot of apps that I am not using/have not used run in the background, and come back after a while when Killed. I have not found a way to kill them perminantly.

I installed Handcent SMS and I love it. Every once in a while the typing lags a little bit, but it is still a great app.

I installed Dolphin Browser and I love it.

All in all, I am thrilled with the phone. I use it constantly. I have added new apps every few days and continue to love it.
 

-Don

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I went from a Blackberry to the Eris HTC after doing a little research because it is open source and based on Linux (both good things). After getting it I was/am disappointed with it because it feels like a 'kids phone'.


There is a big bright green android character that pops up whenever someone calls (unless you have a photo associated with the contact) which has embarrassed me on a number of occasions because I use the phone for business too. When I reboot my phone, the splash screen is 3 little bright green android characters riding skateboards.....

I realize since it is open source, I am free to make changes and customize my phone to make it the way I like it but unfortunately I am not a programmer and don't want to learn just to have a grown-up OS on my phone.

Other than that I am pretty happy with it but it does take some getting used to with the touch screen w/out a real keyboard.


Just my opinions, if anyone knows of a way to get rid of the 'Bright Green Guy Theme' please let me know, I am willing to spend a couple hours on it to get the grown-up version
 
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mc48

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I like the little green skateboarding Androids and I think that anyone that is halfway knowledgeable about phones would, if they saw it on yours, be impressed that you knew enough to get an Android :) But seriously, I see your point, but don't know how you can change the opening sequence. Maybe there is an app for that.
 

o2bnclemson

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I like the little green skateboarding Androids and I think that anyone that is halfway knowledgeable about phones would, if they saw it on yours, be impressed that you knew enough to get an Android :) But seriously, I see your point, but don't know how you can change the opening sequence. Maybe there is an app for that.

Perhaps one of the alternative dialers will do that. There's a thread on the App Forum relative to that, but none mention the graphic. I don't know why a graphic is needed if you don't have a photo/image for a contact. That's why my phone rings or vibrates! I don't need a picture to tell me. It could also show the incoming phone number instead in that space. I'm wanting to look at the dialer apps and will advise accordingly if I find anything relevant.
 

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