Make me leave Blackberry

**JohnnyUtah** · 02-15-2011, 06:03 PM

I really want to leave my blackberry bold for Android and have narrowed it down to the Inspire or Atrix. My main concerns are as follows:

1. Home screen notifications. On my bberry I have a great today Plus Theme that shows current unread messages, calendar entries, and missed calls. I would want to customize the android phone homescreen to do this. Here is a link to what I'd like it to look like: . Can this be done, is there a comprable theme I can buy or download for free, (I have Googled without success)if not, this may be a deal breaker.

2. When I played around with the Inspire in the store, the browser was awfully slow even when showing full bars with HSPDA. My main complaint with bberry is their outdated os and browser. I'm know Android is worlds ahead on OS and customization but the lag in the browser today worried me. Is this a known issue? What are ya'll experiencing as far as browser speed.

3. The physical keyboard is going to be a tough loss for me. I was pleasantly pleased with the haptic response keyboard on the Inspire. What are your thoughts on sense vs. motoblur as far as the keyboard.

Should I just be patient for the Atrix so I can compare or just test drive an Inspire for a couple of weeks? Also, if I rooted the Inspire and wanted to return it, could I restore to factory reset easily? I really need advice on this as I usually jump to quick on new tech gadgets. Thanks.

**grasstrout** · 02-15-2011, 07:05 PM

just go for it...soon you will not even remember what a today plus screen is...

**sprke81** · 02-15-2011, 07:29 PM

Originally Posted by grasstrout

just go for it...soon you will not even remember what a today plus screen is...

+1 I left BB a year ago and I could never go back to a BB. Both the Inspire or a Atrix blows any BB out of the water absolutely no comparison.

**YoungSpade8** · 02-15-2011, 08:49 PM

Well I have never used a blackberry so I cannot directly compare; although having the Captivate for about 5 months now, Android is an amazing phone OS and I don't think I will be changing anytime soon.

As for.notifications, all notifications show up in the bar at the top, which I love and im sure you have figured out by now. There are also applications and widgets that give you real time information.

There are some sms applications that make the sms popular on your screen no matter what you are doing, allowhf you to instantly reply and continue on your way.

There are also home screen overlays that you can use to house widgets or applications. The possibilitues are endless

**YoungSpade8** · 02-15-2011, 08:50 PM

Oh I forgot, m y.browser is very fast; when using 3G or HSUPA, I get amazing speeds and depending on the type of site, the page loads relatively quickly.

Of course, it all depends on the strength of.the signal.

**sayin0487** · 02-15-2011, 09:07 PM

I just switched on Sunday from a bb 9700 to the inspire. I can say this for sure, I will never go back to my bb. The only thing I liked about my bb over my inspire is battery life.

**JohnnyUtah** · 02-15-2011, 09:09 PM

Well I took the advice and headed to att store, what followed was maddening. I knew I was upgrade eligible, however, back in august I bought the bberry torch and returned it 2 weeks later, all of which was noted at the att store where the transactions took place, they even printed the return receipt. This of course didn't matter to the small business rep who I was on the phone with for 30 minutes while in the store because the computer showed I wasn't due an upgrade until 2012 because the att store didn't make a note on my account when I returned the torch. Now even with the store rep on the phone telling the business rep that I indeed returned the torch, the rep refused to clear me for an upgrade until the store manager did something. Of course now it's 2 minutes to close at the store with no manager in site so I was SOL. I explained to the rep that maybe me and the rest of my law firm should just take our account elsewhere, to no avail. I really dislike the customer support at att, especially since my firm has been with them for at least 15 years.

**mdunn1066** · 02-16-2011, 12:56 AM

Go to a different store, explain your situation to a manager currently there, they usually bend to customers, at least the stores in my area do. Bad experience in that specific location, sorry you had it

**chief113** · 02-16-2011, 06:24 AM

Originally Posted by sayin0487

I just switched on Sunday from a bb 9700 to the inspire. I can say this for sure, I will never go back to my bb. The only thing I liked about my bb over my inspire is battery life.

The only thing I miss is BBM, but that's just the stalker in me!

**loopy12** · 02-16-2011, 07:31 AM

I left my bb9700 with hybrid os two days ago for the inspire...I laugh when I pick up the bb now! the inspire is miles ahead of the bb. bb has been turned into an antique over the past year. I rocked bb's for the past few years and can't believe how much more advanced the inspire is ! I am amazed at the things this phone does. get one..you won't be disappointed! the endless amount of apps free and paid. the accelerometer...the screen quality and size, the htc build quality, hd video,8meg camera, 8 meg sd card included,..etc...it goes on and on...and the web browsing is way beyond the bb.. and defiantly not slow !

**mrro82** · 02-16-2011, 07:43 AM

Originally Posted by sayin0487

I just switched on Sunday from a bb 9700 to the inspire. I can say this for sure, I will never go back to my bb. The only thing I liked about my bb over my inspire is battery life.

So far that is my only gripe with the Inspire. Other than that, it's awesome and there ain't enough tea in China to make me go back to a BlackBerry ever.

**dzervit** · 02-16-2011, 07:43 AM

I'm a Torch to Inspire user... my thoughts:

1. The Inspire is a great phone. Notifications are good, however the notification LED is laughable and the sounds are weak and not loud at all. With a BB, you KNOW when something arrived. I find myself having to either A. really pay attention to the tiny LED light or B. Just turn it on to find out if I'm hearing things or not.

2. Browsers are about the same, however the processing power in the Inspire crushes the BBs in scrolling, zooming, load times, and you get Flash (and it works nicely, too).

3. Keyboard. With the massive screen typing on the Inspire is a breeze. I don't miss the BB keyboard as much as I thought I would. But I still miss it a little as it beats the Inspire for punctuation and numbers. It's just faster.

4. You didn't ask, but BATTERY LIFE BLOWS on the Inspire. Period. There is no app in the world that will fix this. Buy chargers. Lots of them.

5. Atrix vs Inspire: Inspire has a better UI, MOTOBLUR is "eh" at best. The HTC widgets are worth it alone. The Atrix will have the battery life, but priced WAY to high.

Good luck.

**mrro82** · 02-16-2011, 07:46 AM

Originally Posted by dzervit

I'm a Torch to Inspire user... my thoughts:

1. The Inspire is a great phone. Notifications are good, however the notification LED is laughable and the sounds are weak and not loud at all. With a BB, you KNOW when something arrived. I find myself having to either A. really pay attention to the tiny LED light or B. Just turn it on to find out if I'm hearing things or not.

2. Browsers are about the same, however the processing power in the Inspire crushes the BBs in scrolling, zooming, load times, and you get Flash (and it works nicely, too).

3. Keyboard. With the massive screen typing on the Inspire is a breeze. I don't miss the BB keyboard as much as I thought I would. But I still miss it a little as it beats the Inspire for punctuation and numbers. It's just faster.

4. You didn't ask, but BATTERY LIFE BLOWS on the Inspire. Period. There is no app in the world that will fix this. Buy chargers. Lots of them.

5. Atrix vs Inspire: Inspire has a better UI, MOTOBLUR is "eh" at best. The HTC widgets are worth it alone. The Atrix will have the battery life, but priced WAY to high.

Good luck.

I can't believe I just read that. You think they are the same? The Inspire's browser is way better than the Torchs. I came from a Torch and I hated that browser. To each their own I guess. I agree with you on the battery life though. Good thing my old chargers work on the Inspire.

**loopy12** · 02-16-2011, 07:59 AM

battery life is less than my 9700, but you get a much better phone (screen size,apps,etc) that is the trade off...do you want a ferrari or vw bug ?

**KB3MMX** · 02-16-2011, 08:16 AM

Originally Posted by loopy12

battery life is less than my 9700, but you get a much better phone (screen size,apps,etc) that is the trade off...do you want a ferrari or vw bug ?

LOL, well put !!

**dzervit** · 02-16-2011, 08:47 AM

Originally Posted by mrro82

I can't believe I just read that. You think they are the same? The Inspire's browser is way better than the Torchs. I came from a Torch and I hated that browser. To each their own I guess. I agree with you on the battery life though. Good thing my old chargers work on the Inspire.

Yes. They are both webkit, and render pages equally. The difference is the speed and smoothness in which they do it. And flash. There is one other bonus HTC gives you: no matter how much you zoom into text it will wrap to fit. That is very cool vs the BB's wrap-once setup.

**mrro82** · 02-16-2011, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by dzervit

Yes. They are both webkit, and render pages equally. The difference is the speed and smoothness in which they do it. And flash. There is one other bonus HTC gives you: no matter how much you zoom into text it will wrap to fit. That is very cool vs the BB's wrap-once setup.

Agreed. Flash is a huge bonus coming from a BB.

**Blanco720** · 02-16-2011, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by johnnyutah22

I really want to leave my blackberry bold for Android and have narrowed it down to the Inspire or Atrix. My main concerns are as follows:

1. Home screen notifications. On my bberry I have a great today Plus Theme that shows current unread messages, calendar entries, and missed calls. I would want to customize the android phone homescreen to do this. Here is a link to what I'd like it to look like: . Can this be done, is there a comprable theme I can buy or download for free, (I have Googled without success)if not, this may be a deal breaker.

2. When I played around with the Inspire in the store, the browser was awfully slow even when showing full bars with HSPDA. My main complaint with bberry is their outdated os and browser. I'm know Android is worlds ahead on OS and customization but the lag in the browser today worried me. Is this a known issue? What are ya'll experiencing as far as browser speed.

3. The physical keyboard is going to be a tough loss for me. I was pleasantly pleased with the haptic response keyboard on the Inspire. What are your thoughts on sense vs. motoblur as far as the keyboard.

Should I just be patient for the Atrix so I can compare or just test drive an Inspire for a couple of weeks? Also, if I rooted the Inspire and wanted to return it, could I restore to factory reset easily? I really need advice on this as I usually jump to quick on new tech gadgets. Thanks.

1. Android provides TONS of customization. I think you will find it is natively supported or there are apps to ensure all of your notifications are easily accessible.

2. The native browser on the Inspire is good. There are a ton of 3rd party browser you can use as well. I use Dolphin HD (which is amazing) but you also have access to Opera mini, firefox mobile, and skyfire, to name a few.

3. The Inspire has an EXCELLENT keyboard with predictive technology and have had literally no issues switching from my BB 9700.

HTC sense is a gamebreaker. It blows moto blur out of the water. Making the swap myself, i can tell you how easy it was to switch to the Inspire. Definitely try them both, but I think for the price and its functionality, the Inspire is the clear choice over the atrix.

Seriously, going from the 9700 to the Inspire is like time traveling.

Think Wright Brothers to an F-22....

**mrro82** · 02-16-2011, 10:22 AM

Originally Posted by Blanco720

1. Android provides TONS of customization. I think you will find it is natively supported or there are apps to ensure all of your notifications are easily accessible.

2. The native browser on the Inspire is good. There are a ton of 3rd party browser you can use as well. I use Dolphin HD (which is amazing) but you also have access to Opera mini, firefox mobile, and skyfire, to name a few.

3. The Inspire has an EXCELLENT keyboard with predictive technology and have had literally no issues switching from my BB 9700.

HTC sense is a gamebreaker. It blows moto blur out of the water. Making the swap myself, i can tell you how easy it was to switch to the Inspire. Definitely try them both, but I think for the price and its functionality, the Inspire is the clear choice over the atrix.

Seriously, going from the 9700 to the Inspire is like time traveling.

Think Wright Brothers to an F-22....

Got that right!

**Tompoint0** · 02-16-2011, 03:46 PM

Hey buddy. I had the same concerns as you do. I was using the 9700 but I decided to make the switch. Let me be honest. This device is the best thing I have ever bought. Granted I am used to having touch screen because I previously had the iPhone. This thing rocks. The only down side is the battery life. Honestly it sucks. I would suggest investing in a car charger and maybe one for the office too.

**Jim Ahrman** · 02-16-2011, 04:39 PM

Ok...coming from bb 9000..either of these phones will be a huge upgrade..i'm sure of that....i'm leaning towards atrix because of battery..but that is not set in stone at all. Something I've read..but don't understand why..i've read where so many people don't like or prefer HTC sense over motor blur. Is HTC sense that good..or is motor blur bad..or is it just a preference?

**Tompoint0** · 02-16-2011, 05:20 PM

It depends on the user. I am personally a fan of the sense UI. Motoblur comes off a bit ugly to me..

**dzervit** · 02-16-2011, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by hikerjim

Ok...coming from bb 9000..either of these phones will be a huge upgrade..i'm sure of that....i'm leaning towards atrix because of battery..but that is not set in stone at all. Something I've read..but don't understand why..i've read where so many people don't like or prefer HTC sense over motor blur. Is HTC sense that good..or is motor blur bad..or is it just a preference?

It's because Motoblur isn't nearly as polished or thought out as Sense. HTC has done an amazing job thinking about the UI and how the phone should work for you, not against. Sense is that good. And Motoblur is... not bad, just not in the same ballpark as Sense.