[berryweather]

First, let me say that, I love this phone for it's web browsing, screen size and resolution, speaker system, navigation interface, reliability, and just all the polished technology available on it, but I am acutely frustrated in the process of getting acclimated after leaving Blackberry.

The plethora of apps available makes me nuts, especially since I'm just trying to find apps for basic functioning like email, messaging, easy contact management, -one- place to manage notifications, applications management that doesn't involve scrolling through every app to find the one I'm looking for, etc. When I select no vibration in settings, my phone vibrates anyway and in duplicate so, I have to go through each applicable app to find the two that are causing the double vibration notifications. That just isn't workable.

I love that there are a gazillion apps to choose from. I just don't enjoy trying to find the kind of simple apps I'm looking for amongst the hundreds of thousands of apps that don't do what I need them to do. Simple stuff. I download them, try them, realize their shortcomings and then delete them before moving on to the next. I mostly need productivity apps and so far, I'm not that impressed with what's out there. I'm hoping I just haven't found the combination of apps I need. There doesn't seem to be one email app that allows for "delete all" or, that shows a popup screen at the bottom with options to compose, refresh, etc., all the things that show up when you hit the apps/options button on the bottom of the phone. In addition, I don't understand the point of an email app that doesn't provide for the ability to copy/cut/paste?! Good grief. Isn't that a basic function of an email app? I thought it should be, anyway. I've spent way too much time exploring apps that don't do what I need them to do. I assumed the native apps would provide for this kind of basic functioning. Well, you know what they say about assuming.

I wanted to organize apps in folders on one of my screens, but the folders are not customizable with the native app so, they're all gray and I can barely see the name. That doesn't work for me and I can't find an app to deal with it and don't have another 20 hours to look for one.

The keyboard is probably the biggest sore spot for me. Coming from Blackberry with their amazing physical keyboard makes using the touch keyboard very, very, very, difficult. I don't have fat fingers but, if I even attempt to type as quickly as I did on my Blackberry, almost every word is misspelled. Having to stop to check the suggested words list kind of defeats the purpose of quick typing for me. I also hit the touch buttons on the bottom of the phone all the time when I'm in the middle of typing something. This phone doesn't give you much to hold onto, outside of the sides of the phone. So I hit the buttons all the time and that takes me back to the home screen, options or whatever, so I have to stop and go find my email draft over and over and over. Honestly, making those menu buttons into touchscreen buttons seems to me to be a bad idea. Back to the keyboard...If I make the keyboard larger, it doesn't matter because the keys are always too skinny in portrait. But, if I make it larger anyway, it covers up the typing field in portrait, so that doesn't work. The keyboard should resize in order to accommodate a text input field. In landscape, it covers up the input field, as well. Not being able to see what I'm typing doesn't work, so I move the screen a hair at the top so I can see at least one line of the text I'm typing. To avoid that, I made the keyboard smaller, so now I'm back to typos, though it is better in landscape. Every time I have to answer an email, I cringe at the idea. I tried voice input. That doesn't work. It's too slow. Just hate typing on this phone.

What I've noticed about the Atrix or perhaps any Android based phone, is that it takes multiple steps to accomplish what you can accomplish in one click on a Blackberry. I know I'm not used to the phone yet, so I'm still hanging in there, trying to give it the chance it deserves. It's a gorgeous and powerful phone for anyone who wants to watch movies, socially network, browse the web for fun, listen to music, or sms all day with their friends. Unfortunately for me, I don't do most of that. I email, compose docs, manage contacts, and listen to music off and on but, social networking -is- important for my business and Atrix beats Blackberry hands down on that one. I will never go back to Blackberry because their products are flawed, faulty and completely unreliable, so I'm thinking I may end up with another Android phone, but one that's bigger so I can at least type without frustration.

Thank you for listening. I don't mean to rant about my perceived shortcomings of the Atrix. I'm really just looking for suggestions to solve my issues with the phone because I'd love to keep it. It's pretty

[Terrigno]

Apps organizer for the app and folder situation. Native email client. Smart keyboard pro. Give those a shot.

I'm on the xoom so I can't answer properly right now. Sorry about that.

[Jim Ahrman]

First, let me say that, I love this phone for it's web browsing, screen size and resolution, speaker system, navigation interface, reliability, and just all the polished technology available on it, but I am acutely frustrated in the process of getting acclimated after leaving Blackberry.

The plethora of apps available makes me nuts, especially since I'm just trying to find apps for basic functioning like email, messaging, easy contact management, -one- place to manage notifications, applications management that doesn't involve scrolling through every app to find the one I'm looking for, etc. When I select no vibration in settings, my phone vibrates anyway and in duplicate so, I have to go through each applicable app to find the two that are causing the double vibration notifications. That just isn't workable.

I love that there are a gazillion apps to choose from. I just don't enjoy trying to find the kind of simple apps I'm looking for amongst the hundreds of thousands of apps that don't do what I need them to do. Simple stuff. I download them, try them, realize their shortcomings and then delete them before moving on to the next. I mostly need productivity apps and so far, I'm not that impressed with what's out there. I'm hoping I just haven't found the combination of apps I need. There doesn't seem to be one email app that allows for "delete all" or, that shows a popup screen at the bottom with options to compose, refresh, etc., all the things that show up when you hit the apps/options button on the bottom of the phone. In addition, I don't understand the point of an email app that doesn't provide for the ability to copy/cut/paste?! Good grief. Isn't that a basic function of an email app? I thought it should be, anyway. I've spent way too much time exploring apps that don't do what I need them to do. I assumed the native apps would provide for this kind of basic functioning. Well, you know what they say about assuming.

I wanted to organize apps in folders on one of my screens, but the folders are not customizable with the native app so, they're all gray and I can barely see the name. That doesn't work for me and I can't find an app to deal with it and don't have another 20 hours to look for one.

The keyboard is probably the biggest sore spot for me. Coming from Blackberry with their amazing physical keyboard makes using the touch keyboard very, very, very, difficult. I don't have fat fingers but, if I even attempt to type as quickly as I did on my Blackberry, almost every word is misspelled. Having to stop to check the suggested words list kind of defeats the purpose of quick typing for me. I also hit the touch buttons on the bottom of the phone all the time when I'm in the middle of typing something. This phone doesn't give you much to hold onto, outside of the sides of the phone. So I hit the buttons all the time and that takes me back to the home screen, options or whatever, so I have to stop and go find my email draft over and over and over. Honestly, making those menu buttons into touchscreen buttons seems to me to be a bad idea. Back to the keyboard...If I make the keyboard larger, it doesn't matter because the keys are always too skinny in portrait. But, if I make it larger anyway, it covers up the typing field in portrait, so that doesn't work. The keyboard should resize in order to accommodate a text input field. In landscape, it covers up the input field, as well. Not being able to see what I'm typing doesn't work, so I move the screen a hair at the top so I can see at least one line of the text I'm typing. To avoid that, I made the keyboard smaller, so now I'm back to typos, though it is better in landscape. Every time I have to answer an email, I cringe at the idea. I tried voice input. That doesn't work. It's too slow. Just hate typing on this phone.

What I've noticed about the Atrix or perhaps any Android based phone, is that it takes multiple steps to accomplish what you can accomplish in one click on a Blackberry. I know I'm not used to the phone yet, so I'm still hanging in there, trying to give it the chance it deserves. It's a gorgeous and powerful phone for anyone who wants to watch movies, socially network, browse the web for fun, listen to music, or sms all day with their friends. Unfortunately for me, I don't do most of that. I email, compose docs, manage contacts, and listen to music off and on but, social networking -is- important for my business and Atrix beats Blackberry hands down on that one. I will never go back to Blackberry because their products are flawed, faulty and completely unreliable, so I'm thinking I may end up with another Android phone, but one that's bigger so I can at least type without frustration.

Thank you for listening. I don't mean to rant about my perceived shortcomings of the Atrix. I'm really just looking for suggestions to solve my issues with the phone because I'd love to keep it. It's pretty

Yes..the keyboard is a sticking point for many who came from blackberry... I've seen many who have said Swiftkey has helped them and they really like it. Amazon had it as 1 of their Free Apps of the Day.. I have it..does it help..maybe a little, but in any case, it's an adjustment because of no physical keyboard...it took me 2-3 weeks to adjust. I actually know 1 person, who because of the keyboard and email, went back to blackberry..but he bought a xoom also..so..not sure what to make of that.
From what I know..and I'm still learning, you can't do ie..with apps/downloads and put them in 1 folder like you can blackberry. If you can, that would be a new one.

[Jim Ahrman]

Apps organizer for the app and folder situation. Native email client. Smart keyboard pro. Give those a shot.

i stand corrected again...

[plasticglock]

I may be able to help a little. As far as typing, are you using swype? If not it can really save you some time. I find that even with swype I need to actually pay more attention to type well on this device. If I try and use one hand it's just a mess. Typing while feeding a baby? Nope. I used to type on my bb while driving with one hand and barely look down. Not happening on this. For email you should try an app called K-9 mail. It's free and has a lot of features. I had to use it to send emails from my work address, because "my server requires authentication." It's a really nice app. Set it to poll every 15 minutes and it saves battery.

The customization comes at a price I am afraid with Android. You CAN customize it, but you HAVE to customize it. Double edge sword.

[Conor18]

Dude u just wrote like a whole essay :O mind doing my homework?

[sk8trix]

wow that post was novel

[Terrigno]

Dude u just wrote like a whole essay :O mind doing my homework?

Lol

Sent from my Dual Core Beast Atrix using Tapatalk

[berryweather]

Thank you Terrigno I am trying a new keyboard that does seem to work better than stock or any of the other, oh I don't know. 2-300 other keyboards I've tried ;-) I didn't think the native email client provided for cut, copy and paste, but I'll give it another go. I'll try the folder app too. Thank you so much.

I have a headache:-)

[berryweather]

Yes..the keyboard is a sticking point for many who came from blackberry... I've seen many who have said Swiftkey has helped them and they really like it. Amazon had it as 1 of their Free Apps of the Day.. I have it..does it help..maybe a little, but in any case, it's an adjustment because of no physical keyboard...it took me 2-3 weeks to adjust. I actually know 1 person, who because of the keyboard and email, went back to blackberry..but he bought a xoom also..so..not sure what to make of that.
From what I know..and I'm still learning, you can't do ie..with apps/downloads and put them in 1 folder like you can blackberry. If you can, that would be a new one.

Oh it just drives me insane! I was texting with a client and before I realized it, not only were words misspelled, but the autocorrect corrected some of the words with the wrong words! It looked like a 2 year old wrote it. That said, I can't let a keyboard beat me because this really is an amazing phone and I hate RIM these days for all the broken products they sell at top dollar. I will get used to this if it kills me:-)

[berryweather]

I may be able to help a little. As far as typing, are you using swype? If not it can really save you some time. I find that even with swype I need to actually pay more attention to type well on this device. If I try and use one hand it's just a mess. Typing while feeding a baby? Nope. I used to type on my bb while driving with one hand and barely look down. Not happening on this. For email you should try an app called K-9 mail. It's free and has a lot of features. I had to use it to send emails from my work address, because "my server requires authentication." It's a really nice app. Set it to poll every 15 minutes and it saves battery.

The customization comes at a price I am afraid with Android. You CAN customize it, but you HAVE to customize it. Double edge sword.

I haven't tried swype. I tried to install it, but had to log in or something first. I think I had to create an account or something and it wasn't working, so I left it in the dust. I can only take so much failure at one time, you know?lol I did try K-9 but I uninstalled it because I don't think it allowed for cut/copy/paste or "delete all" or it didn't do something I needed it to do as an email app. I'm sorry, I don't remember now, since I've been through, oh, not sure but, maybe about a thousand apps so far....err...maybe it just feels that way lol

[berryweather]

Dude u just wrote like a whole essay :O mind doing my homework?

More like dudette! No essays for me thanks lol I can type like a madwoman, but not on my Atrix. On my Atrix I'm reduced to a 5 year old who's just learning to write.lol

[berryweather]

wow that post was novel

I know. I'm sorry. I only had a few minutes to get that post off, so I just wrote it quickly, posted and went back to work. I didn't have time to review it. Maybe I should have...again, sorry for the book.

[berryweather]

I'm an ***** with this phone. I've only had it for 16 days; not nearly long enough to form an opinion. It was actually kind of funny, sending hieroglyphs instead of text messages. My client kept texting me back with LOL LOL because, not only were the texts hideous, I was complaining about the typing at the same time, only it looked kind of like this.... thesip typink is makinh met craxy Mo natteer w at i do i cant seen to hiy the rihht keys It's true, with the BB you don't even have to look at it to type. It's an amazing keyboard. Too bad it's attached to a Blackberry...

[somerussianguy]

The virtual keyboards you just have to get used to...I used to type blind when I had a Nokia flip-phone, but the virtual keyboard does take time to get used to. The Atrix has Froyo 2.2, I have a Nexus S with Gingerbread 2.3 which as far as I know has some improvements with predictions, auto-correction, and an overall keyboard improvement. I've actually tried Swype for a couple of weeks but went back to stock Gingerbread keyboard. Once I got used to it I can pretty much type a whole paragraph in a matter of seconds - its that good! So as far as keyboards you have to either try another keyboard, wait for Gingerbread upgrade, or do some hacking to get Gingerbread unofficially (not sure if its possible on the Atrix) Sorry for the limited help, but there's just so much you can do to improve typing on a flat screen...

[Forgetful]

Try the app "missed reminders" for all your notifications needs if you have any. Swype is very nice for some people, try it if you can.


There's also a gingerbread keyboard available free in the market so give that a try too.

[Chrisy]

I think the keyboard just takes time getting used to like any new keyboard. When I went from my LG enV to BlackBerry 8330 it took me a bit to get used to that keyboard. Same in going to the 9630, although it was very similar.

The keyboard on my Thunderbolt is spaced further than my Tour so it took a day or two. Painful days! I misspelled, had periods after every word, had wrong words. But just keep forcing yourself to type. Try typing very slowly at first and then increasing speed.

I'm now typing faster on my Android than on my Blackberry because of the word completion.

Android is different than Blackberry, and there is a learning curve. I was so used to BlackBerry that I felt lost in the menus, and how to accomplish simple tasks. However, once you catch on you'll realize Android does everything Blackberry does, better, and more.

The only thing I miss now is the bright LED.

Here's a thread I made on CrackBerry.com. It links to an article here but also talks about my switch and others' as well. Good info.

Switching from BlackBerry to Android guide

One of the cool things about Android is you can add widgets, shortcuts and apps to your home screens for one touch access to a million functions. I've found it's so much easier to get things done on an Android. For example I have a shortcut on my 'Travel Screen' that displays an icon that when I touch it, Google Navigation opens and starts directing me to my house.

A widget that updates flight and gate info when I'm traveling right on the screen. No opening an app required.

There are apps to organize apps within folders. There's really nothing a Blackberry can do that an Android can't. The key is customization. Once you get your device set up, you'll be hooked. It takes a little while to do that.

[Chrisy]

The plethora of apps available makes me nuts, especially since I'm just trying to find apps for basic functioning like email, messaging, easy contact management, -one- place to manage notifications, applications management that doesn't involve scrolling through every app to find the one I'm looking for, etc.

Having a lot of options and apps can be overwhelming. I agree. Best thing to do is search or ask here if there's an app you need. Then read up on the suggested app, then try it out.

When I select no vibration in settings, my phone vibrates anyway and in duplicate so, I have to go through each applicable app to find the two that are causing the double vibration notifications. That just isn't workable.

This is another part of customization. Unlike BlackBerry you have more options and control over your device. Once you get it set, you'll be good.

There doesn't seem to be one email app that allows for "delete all" or, that shows a popup screen at the bottom with options to compose, refresh, etc., all the things that show up when you hit the apps/options button on the bottom of the phone. In addition, I don't understand the point of an email app that doesn't provide for the ability to copy/cut/paste?! Good grief. Isn't that a basic function of an email app? I thought it should be, anyway. I've spent way too much time exploring apps that don't do what I need them to do. I assumed the native apps would provide for this kind of basic functioning. Well, you know what they say about assuming.

Delete all, or mass checking, needs to be added, I agree. While it is fast to check the emails you want deleted, if you have pages it takes forever! I end up going into gmail using the phone browser and deleting all spam, trash etc that way. It's just a work around for now.

Cut and paste in email needs to be added. I don't use it often but it is missing.

I wanted to organize apps in folders on one of my screens, but the folders are not customizable with the native app so, they're all gray and I can barely see the name. That doesn't work for me and I can't find an app to deal with it and don't have another 20 hours to look for one.

Your choice!

The keyboard is probably the biggest sore spot for me. Coming from Blackberry with their amazing physical keyboard makes using the touch keyboard very, very, very, difficult. I don't have fat fingers but, if I even attempt to type as quickly as I did on my Blackberry, almost every word is misspelled. Having to stop to check the suggested words list kind of defeats the purpose of quick typing for me. I also hit the touch buttons on the bottom of the phone all the time when I'm in the middle of typing something. This phone doesn't give you much to hold onto, outside of the sides of the phone. So I hit the buttons all the time and that takes me back to the home screen, options or whatever, so I have to stop and go find my email draft over and over and over. Honestly, making those menu buttons into touchscreen buttons seems to me to be a bad idea. Back to the keyboard...If I make the keyboard larger, it doesn't matter because the keys are always too skinny in portrait. But, if I make it larger anyway, it covers up the typing field in portrait, so that doesn't work. The keyboard should resize in order to accommodate a text input field. In landscape, it covers up the input field, as well. Not being able to see what I'm typing doesn't work, so I move the screen a hair at the top so I can see at least one line of the text I'm typing. To avoid that, I made the keyboard smaller, so now I'm back to typos, though it is better in landscape. Every time I have to answer an email, I cringe at the idea. I tried voice input. That doesn't work. It's too slow. Just hate typing on this phone.

I really think this is just going to take time. You're so used to BlackBerry keyboard you're brain land fingers are trained to it.

What I've noticed about the Atrix or perhaps any Android based phone, is that it takes multiple steps to accomplish what you can accomplish in one click on a Blackberry. I know I'm not used to the phone yet, so I'm still hanging in there, trying to give it the chance it deserves. It's a gorgeous and powerful phone for anyone who wants to watch movies, socially network, browse the web for fun, listen to music, or sms all day with their friends. Unfortunately for me, I don't do most of that. I email, compose docs, manage contacts, and listen to music off and on but, social networking -is- important for my business and Atrix beats Blackberry hands down on that one. I will never go back to Blackberry because their products are flawed, faulty and completely unreliable, so I'm thinking I may end up with another Android phone, but one that's bigger so I can at least type without frustration.

Astro File Manager
Docs to Go Premium
Dropbox

Once you set up your device with shortcuts, apps and widgets I think you'll find you can compose, reply, view pictures and docs quicker and in better quality than on a BlackBerry. PDFs look amazing and clear on this screen as opposed to the tiny screen of the BlackBerry.

[Terrigno]

Do you have an actual Gmail account that you use for your normal email? See im not sure about using other clients because I only have Gmail. But I dont really cut, copy and paste much honestly. But I think you should try . Ive been using that keyboard mainly because you can skin it how you want and also you can change the size of the height and width of the keys. That made it better for me cause I have bigger hands and type quicker. Plus they updated it with better performance now so I can type pretty quick without many mistakes.

You will get the hang of it, you have to break it in and get used to it. I am also a BlackBerry convert. Loved BB to death but needed a change. Now with Android im completely satisfied. It does so much more.

[s.g.vallee]

before I realized it, not only were words misspelled, but the autocorrect corrected some of the words with the wrong words!

I've disabled all auto-suggest and auto-correct stuff. I don't understand how people tolerate this, as it never makes any sense, and always screws-up the text with gibberish! Reading your comment reminded me of my own experience of this silly, useless POS and what it did to my texts. I laughed so hard, it hurts!

[plasticglock]

In k-9 mail you can cut and paste, I just checked and did it. You can also hit "select all" and then some action buttons pop up, one of which is a trash can! I think you can even put your gmail into k-9. I am thinking of consolidating all 4 that I use into it.

[ccpooch]

I'm an ***** with this phone. I've only had it for 16 days; not nearly long enough to form an opinion. It was actually kind of funny, sending hieroglyphs instead of text messages. My client kept texting me back with LOL LOL because, not only were the texts hideous, I was complaining about the typing at the same time, only it looked kind of like this.... thesip typink is makinh met craxy Mo natteer w at i do i cant seen to hiy the rihht keys It's true, with the BB you don't even have to look at it to type. It's an amazing keyboard. Too bad it's attached to a Blackberry...

Very funny post! I am glad I am not the only one, coming from a torch I feel so lost and can't seem to type to save my life. thanks to so many who gave great advice! Trying some of the keyboard apps now.

[gnahc79]

I came from a BB 8900 to the Atrix about a month ago. Swype is the only reason I haven't tossed my Atrix out the window while trying to type . There's a small learning curve, but it's very worthwhile. My wife can't use Swype very well, so she's staying with BB for now.

[berryweather]

Try the app "missed reminders" for all your notifications needs if you have any. Swype is very nice for some people, try it if you can.


There's also a gingerbread keyboard available free in the market so give that a try too.

I downloaded WhoIsIt and love it. I can adjust notifications globally from this app. My current calendar is okay, though it is missing some things I need. When I get a reminder, it only allows me to sleep it or dismiss it. Where's the "Open" option so I can change the reminder alert? I'm still looking for a good calendar, though I'll try Missed Reminders. Thanks! I downloaded Gingerbread and wow, what a difference. It's still troublesome, but not nearly as much as before. Thank you! I haven't tried swype yet, but I do have it now, so I'll give it a try in the next few days. Still, God help you all if I start posting in here from my Atrix. You won't believe what you see! lol

[berryweather]

In k-9 mail you can cut and paste, I just checked and did it. You can also hit "select all" and then some action buttons pop up, one of which is a trash can! I think you can even put your gmail into k-9. I am thinking of consolidating all 4 that I use into it.

Yes, I downloaded it again and have been using it since last night. I remembered what was missing. I like to be able to check off emails for deleting without having to open each one to delete it. Sometimes, I just don't have time to read everything, but this app forces me to open each and every email before I can delete it. That's why I uninstalled it the first time. Everything else is ok, but for the silly steps I have to take in order to copy/cut/paste something. I don't know if I'll keep it, but I'll try it for a few more days.