BB regular taking Android for a test drive...

**surrealsounds** · 03-05-2011, 09:31 PM

How goes it folks?

Decided to try out a Fascinate just out of curiosity and to see if Android's really worth jumping ship over (to be completely honest, I find myself more interested in the flow of webOS and WP7, but that's another flam----I mean, argument for another thread, lol).

I've been a pretty big Crackberry user for the longest, going from a Curve => Bold 9700 => Storm 2 (my current love), and while every phone and OS has it ups and downs, I figured I can't really praise (or flame) another type without actually trying them out for myself. So hear I am with my Fascinate.

I'm not gonna lie: as far as entertainment goes, this thing SCREAMS. I'll wholeheartedly admit that. Messaging (texts/tweets/emails/etc.), on the other hand?...I find myself reaching back towards the Storm and taking care of business without a second thought.

Maybe things will change as the days go by. Or maybe they won't? Who knows?

Anyway, thanks for reading.

SS

...

I want REAL smileys. LOL!

**RUSH** · 03-05-2011, 10:05 PM

Hi, surrealsounds.
Welcome to Android Central.

Enjoy...

**john_v** · 03-05-2011, 10:22 PM

Welcome to android...You'll find lots of former bb users here (myself included). Honestly, i have to say there isnt anything I miss about bb...not even my bold 9000 keyboard.

**surrealsounds** · 03-05-2011, 10:26 PM

Nothing wrong with that. With me, it's quite the opposite. There's something about having a physical keyboard that makes things flow much faster for me. And nobody does it quite like my BB.

SS

**Cyber Warrior** · 03-05-2011, 10:29 PM

Also an ex BB CB user. I would take that test drive out for a spin and never turn around. Welcome to AC... enjoy your stay.

**surrealsounds** · 03-05-2011, 10:31 PM

I'm sure you would.....I'm SURE you would. LOL.

SS

**john_v** · 03-06-2011, 06:53 AM

Originally Posted by surrealsounds

Nothing wrong with that. With me, it's quite the opposite. There's something about having a physical keyboard that makes things flow much faster for me. And nobody does it quite like my BB.

SS

I was the same way though...loved my keyboard. Could slam out messages...but with swype I'm almost as fast, and as far as messaging goes, I get my gmail just as fast. Personally, and this is just me, after having used an android device for a month now, I don't see that bb had an advantage in the messaging department. And I'm sending more texts now, since my plan now has unlimited texts.
But I don't want to sound like I'm forcing android on you

take it for a spin, but give it an honest go and see what happens.

**packerbacker** · 03-06-2011, 06:59 AM

The first Android phone I had had a keyboard since I had the OG Droid. The keyboard was nice, but keyboards (unless it's a Blackberry or like the Droid Pro) tend to add the extra bulk since it needs to slide out somehow, and I guess to me I prefer the thinner sleeker look.

**john_v** · 03-06-2011, 08:09 AM

Originally Posted by packerbacker

The first Android phone I had had a keyboard since I had the OG Droid. The keyboard was nice, but keyboards (unless it's a Blackberry or like the Droid Pro) tend to add the extra bulk since it needs to slide out somehow, and I guess to me I prefer the thinner sleeker look.

^This. I also had the bb torch and grew to hate having to slide the kb (which wasnt that great) out all the time. I began to long for a phone that wasnt so thick.

Sent from my Nook

**Xopher** · 03-07-2011, 05:42 PM

Welcome to the group!

Coming for a BB Tour, it was interesting switching over to a non-physical keyboard. After a week, I was pretty fluent with Swype, and I haven't really looked back. I still use my Tour on occasion, but my Mesmerize (same as the Fascinate) is now my daily driver.

I did have to tweak the device to work better for me. That is one thing that I did notice when moving over from BB to Android. Android is made to be tweaked, so tweak it!

I ended up adding apps like NoLED to have message notifications, Quick Profiles to make switching sound profiles quick, Bedside to have bedside mode back, and a few other apps that made the device better for me. The trick is to not expect everything to be fully set up out of the box. Tweak and adjust the device to fit what you do with it.

If you don't like Swype, try Smart Keyboard (which has autotext), or SwiftKey (which predicts your typing). That's another thing that is really nice about Android - you can change out virtual keyboards for whichever one works for you. Personally, I like Swype in portrait mode, and SwitKey in landscape. I'll be rooting my device soon and adding in Keyboard Manager so that it will automatically switch between the two based on how I hold it.

The flexibility to change things is one of Android's greatest strengths. It is probably also one of the frustrations that BB users go through when switching over. Tweak away and hopefully you'll find the apps, settings, and adjustments that work for you.

**surrealsounds** · 03-15-2011, 09:10 PM

Hey all, just a little bit of an update. Spent the last two weeks with the Fascinate as my main phone. Gotta say my initial opinions maintains. I COULD moan about the (and this is a BB user talking) abysmal battery life, but that something this fan base already knows about. Did not realize that some of the staple apps took up the most RAM space.

I do like to thank Xopher for his suggestions, though. SwiftKey is SUCH a better keyboard to deal with and pretty damn accurate to boot. Other than that, I guess I'm still going through the motions.

SS