I have ventured away from what I have known in favor of the new.
Like the few, that used this OS from day 1.
I have moved from a trusted,reliable,intuitive, purpose built OS of BB10 to Android.
Now some would say, But BB10 is a dead OS.
While that may be true in some respects, Android could defiantly learn a thing or two from the newer born just about 3 year old OS that has matured in a rapid time in comparison.
In this writing, I'll be going over the differences between the 2 Operating systems (OS) pointing out pro's and con's of both with my feelings on the matter.
As well as Apps I found/used to mitigate the move.
So grab a snack or grab your tablet or phone and get to that comfortable place that most articles are read.
This is going to be a long one.
Prepare yourself.
The move.
From Passport (BB10) to Priv (Android)
I knew this would be a major change in layout of the hardware alone. So that was not a surprise.
The same could be said for software. But, I thought it would be all relative. Because smartphones are vaguely similar.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
Here's what I miss about BB10 and dislike:
Bedside mode: An all in one built in app, that's not really an app per-say. There is no icon to click that would open an app.It's more along the line of a switch.
Once in that mode, you can select settings on what you want to come through,schedule multiple alarms with different tones that can happen on different days and times.
Along with what will come through for notifications,calls etc..
It's something, that I don't think can be fully duplicated in the ease of it on BB10 to Android.
I've done it by setting the priority setting and using an app called Glimmer. An app that I actually really like. But finding that, took multiple downloads of other apps. Glimmer was about the 5th app.
Remote access: Done through the built in file manager. I access my home PC and whichever folders/drives I give it permission to. I've used this multiple times while at work or a friends house or out on the road. Have a file at home on the PC and need it, no problem I have it in moments. And, it is fantastically easy to setup.
Along with remote access in the file manager, access to box and drop box is natively built in. So I can copy and paste from my pc to my device,sd card,box or drop box in moments.
Sound profiles: I know Android has 3 built in. Do not disturb,Priority and normal. While its there, its lacking and basic. On BB10 you have normal, phone calls only,vibrate only,silent,meeting mode and bedside.
Each can be set to different parameters for basic notifications and even how each individual app responds. And switching between profiles is a breeze. Literally seconds,if that.
The Hub: I know, I know, The Priv has it yes. But, its a bastardized version of it.
On BB10, you get pretty much everything through it. For instance, on my personal BlackBerry Passport, here are the apps that go through my hub:
Hub: all accounts in 1 stream
Priority hub: customizable by flagged/starred/ important conversations
Visual voicemail
Notifications: non built for blackberry apps, android apps,sound cloud blackbullet (pushbullet client)
Text messages: Built in, not booted to an external app like the Priv
Instagram
Facebook: can respond straight from within hub, without opening app
Dater: Tinder client
3 email accounts
Twitter: can respond straight from within hub, without opening app
Linked In: can respond straight from within hub, without opening app
Foursquare: can respond straight from within hub, without opening app
Calls
Emergency alerts
Pin messages
BBM
Each can be viewed separately, instead of all at once.
Contacts:
Organized to the T.
Pulls info from any connected app for each individual contact an puts it all in one profile by itself and assigns pictures from their various profiles as there contact picture rather than a blue/grey head. And within each persons profile, You get 3 tabs.
Details: Phone numbers, emails, Birthdays (if listed on facebook etc...) Job(if provided on linkedin), Education(If provided on linkedin) and Bio's of connected profiles from apps.
Updates: Facebook posts and more
Activity: What and when you talked to them via text , etc...
On the Priv:
3 emails
Facebook
Text message : boots to app or hangouts
BBM
EDIT: I did not originally install Twitter or LinkedIn. Once I added these, they too also worked in the hub as they did in BB10
Now you see why. And I can't blame BlackBerry for doing it this way.
No one wants to share, i.e. google, apple, samsung etc..
So they need to keep certain things locked down. So they give you a sample on Android to see what its like.
Customizable settings menu:
Android has this, but its basic out of the box. Can it be corrected with a new launcher?
Probably. I have not dove that deep in yet. BB10, can be set to what options you want displayed and then you can organize them as such as in a layout.
Blackberry Blend:
Android has pushbullet, which is good. So this is almost a break even.
Except that blend is built in and not found externally.
If you know pushbullet, it works in kinda the same way. I again have just broke the surface with bullet. So like I said break even, pretty much.
Quality apps:
In Blackberry world, they have a designation, Built for Blackberry. Which generally means it meets full measures set by BB and that it is fluid as the OS itself.
There are other apps as well in the store that work, but they might be clunky a bit.
So this is a way of determining good vs bad rather than just relying on "reviews".
*Apps part Deux:
BB10 somewhat suffers at this. It has been made easier by a member on crackberry.com, by making BB10 able to run Google play with pretty much full functionality. Problem is, that BlackBerry themselves haven't updated the run time. So if i recall correctly, it's still on kit kat. And there lies the problem, Google updates there apps like crazy. So functionality can be worrisome and unpredictable. So, people generally will either update and have a non-working app and will have to hunt down an apk. Or you get into a method of not updating any app anymore.
The dreaded Facebook app. I don't even want to mention it further than that, Besides it being horrible. BlackBerry themselves built it and it feels like its back in the hay-days of before apps were apps. Just about any app that is built entirely by them, is rarely updated.
*Lack of development:
While I fully appreciate the developers that are constantly developing and updating,
There is just not enough of them. And I can understand why more and more leave.
BlackBerry needs this to happen for BB10 to survive.
I hated jumping to Android. But we'll see how long that lasts.
*No wearable's:
No need to explain further.
The OS itself:
It's just fluid smooth and easy. No questions asked on where to go. Not sub menu after sub menu after sub menu. You need it, ok here it is.
Things I like on the Priv and dislike:
* The hub: See BB10 part
Widgets:
Oh the widgets. Blackberry missed out on this big time.
They had a somewhat version of it on the old Bolds with OS7 but did't bring it to BB10.
WTF is that?
Anyways, widgets. You ask for it, they are provided.
With the Priv, they added an extra layer with pop up widgets. This to me, is immensely useful. No opening apps fully just to do 1 thing. Make it quick, make it simple. And they did.
Apps:
Availability of pretty much everything. No run around's to make things work. All up to date.
*Apps part deux:
Quality and organization of apps is horrid. I've been through numerous apps trying to find one that fits my needs. So much time wasted and money spent and then refunded.
It may have Google play with a billion and one apps, but 95% of them are horrid.
I can't even find a app for the camera that has a manual focus with a slider to adjust.
For one of the biggest app markets, that's a bit ridiculous.
Apps that had multiple attempts before finding the right one were about a minimum 5 downloads of each and time hunting:
Clock : style
Alarm clock : to duplicate bedside mode Daydream is to many menus deep
Music player : non-google oriented
Image gallery : non-google oriented
Camera : Manual focus not found, honorable mentions , Open camera and silent camera
Wearable's & Gadgets:
Yes, I can get a watch and other gadgets to play nice with the phone. I can participate in Kickstarter stuff and not have to think about if it will fully work or not with my device.
EDIT: Using Sony Smartwatch 3. This is a daily use item, and almost kinda is a proper mini BB10 hub feel.Get a notification,
I see it on the watch and I know if I need to go to my phone or not. Along with audio controls and accepting phone calls if you cant get to te phone in time to pick it up. Reply to text messages, You can do that to. Set reminders and location based reminders,alarms, ask questions with ok google command,play music straight from the watch w/BT headphones and many other features. The one I enjoy most, is an app called Stocard. all my rewards cards are on my phone and watch. No reason to remove my phone from the pocket to scan the bar code.
Also, I grabbed a Philips Hue setup. I am a huge fan of this and has since been part of my alarm clock setup in the morning. It works quite well.. As well as a single WEMO switch to turn on my space heater before I get home.
The Google app:
I love this sh!t. I use it on my tablet (Sony Z2 Verizon version) all the time.
Packages coming in, not having to dig through my email to find it.
Weather listed
Stock listings
Stuff to read
Birthdays
Morning traffic notifications and more....
Though I have not fully utilized Google now. I'm a bit hesitant on that one.
Customization:
I'm a bit weird and maybe eccentric. I like to fiddle with things of different styles. I can now do this. Clocks styles, icon packs etc...
App tray:
It's like a universal folder, but you can't really fiddle with it.
So, If I folder an app and can't recall where I put it, head to the app tray. I know its there.
Developers:
These guys, occasionally take it over the top. There are consistently new things going on with droid. This is a good and a bad. The bad side, is non extensive testing.
*Battery life:
In comparison, its a night and day comparison.
Android is hungry. With just about the same battery size as the Passport, I don't think, actually, I'm kinda positive, that I could not duplicate the same battery life with the Priv.
EDIT: Since launch day use, I have got maximum of 1.5 days. But more so a single day. I do have wifi,BT and location on all day as well though. So if I turn those off, I'm pretty sure I could squeeze that 1.5 day stat again.
Productivity tab:
I like this, and I think it was a smart move and "borrow" from samsung.
I use it to get access to the hub and calendar and such.
Rather than clicking the icon.
EDIT: I have since got rid of the tab in favor of the all in one gestures app to enable swiping for access to the hub and some other apps.
*Button in the middle of the volume rockers:
No ability to change what it does. An overall mute option is a great idea, but a better Idea,would have been to make it programmable.
Coming from BB10, that was the activation of the voice assistant.
EDIT: Can supposedly be done by enabling an option in settings. I have not done this, due to the warning that pops up by enabling it.
NFC Triggers:
Admittingly, I did not dabble with this in BB10, but it is very enjoyable and somewhat convenient.
Edit: I do not use these that much anymore. Mainly just one. With things like IFTTT, it makes NFC tags borderline useless in my opinion.
With just about every tech site praising Android for it's abilities in just about every area, I thought, that Android would be a smooth move.
As it turns out, that the ability of Android is great, but it is missing key elements for a "matured OS" and having gone through many versions.
If you are Pro Google, and used to using only their ecosystem, you will have no difficulty.
If you are the latter, and coming from a new OS, be it IOS, Windows or BB10, get ready for a ride.
It will seem that I'm heavily bias, but I'm going to do my best after running Android as a daily for only a week.
As you go down the list above, here are the solutions I have found thus far, to make a BB10 user feel more complete after leaving their OS to try something new.
Camera:
I've went through numerous camera apps to get one thing. And none of them have it. A manual focus. After installing,buying and removing multiple ones, I found the stock loaded BlackBerry camera app the best. The focus system for up close macro shots is just as good as the ones from the few I narrowed down from the Play store.
I liked Silent camera and Open camera,
Open camera would be my second choice due to the layout and the awesome instant take a picture pop up widget.
Music:
Another app I tried many of.
Black player music player, was my player of choice. But I found it lacked things. I cannot recall at this time of writing. The sound, while connected through Bluetooth in my car just seemed dull and flat.
I went to a trusted app from BB10 and grabbed Neutron player and never looked back.
Sound quality improved greatly in the car alone. No settings were adjusted on Neutron.
Bedside mode: The toughest one to find, next to the camera app. While daydream is loaded on Android and does a half decent job, its no bedside mode.
My best found one so far, is called Glimmer. It's simple clean, has an evolving volume and evolving light ( think a sunrise) from a black screen with just a time.
And if you are not awake by the time your alarm is actually set for (which is unlikely due to the ambient sound of choice of setting) you can set a noise/song to play as well.
This along with utilizing the options of the priority setting get a similar result.
Overall as a device, I enjoy the Priv greatly.
Has good build quality
Pleasing to look at
The keyboard feels more bold style than BB10
Battery life on a stress test got "That's crazy for Android" reaction from Android users. 10 hour + screen on time.
Slide mechanism feels solid and gives a satisfying type click upon full open and close.
Call quality seems good as well. I've only made 1 call on it though. But had no issues on either end.
Have not experienced the Android lag as of yet. Within the exception of BB10 hub to Android hub comparison. But I feel, that it shouldn't be judged that way since BB10 was built around the hub.
Like the few, that used this OS from day 1.
I have moved from a trusted,reliable,intuitive, purpose built OS of BB10 to Android.
Now some would say, But BB10 is a dead OS.
While that may be true in some respects, Android could defiantly learn a thing or two from the newer born just about 3 year old OS that has matured in a rapid time in comparison.
In this writing, I'll be going over the differences between the 2 Operating systems (OS) pointing out pro's and con's of both with my feelings on the matter.
As well as Apps I found/used to mitigate the move.
So grab a snack or grab your tablet or phone and get to that comfortable place that most articles are read.
This is going to be a long one.
Prepare yourself.
The move.
From Passport (BB10) to Priv (Android)
I knew this would be a major change in layout of the hardware alone. So that was not a surprise.
The same could be said for software. But, I thought it would be all relative. Because smartphones are vaguely similar.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
Here's what I miss about BB10 and dislike:
Bedside mode: An all in one built in app, that's not really an app per-say. There is no icon to click that would open an app.It's more along the line of a switch.
Once in that mode, you can select settings on what you want to come through,schedule multiple alarms with different tones that can happen on different days and times.
Along with what will come through for notifications,calls etc..
It's something, that I don't think can be fully duplicated in the ease of it on BB10 to Android.
I've done it by setting the priority setting and using an app called Glimmer. An app that I actually really like. But finding that, took multiple downloads of other apps. Glimmer was about the 5th app.
Remote access: Done through the built in file manager. I access my home PC and whichever folders/drives I give it permission to. I've used this multiple times while at work or a friends house or out on the road. Have a file at home on the PC and need it, no problem I have it in moments. And, it is fantastically easy to setup.
Along with remote access in the file manager, access to box and drop box is natively built in. So I can copy and paste from my pc to my device,sd card,box or drop box in moments.
Sound profiles: I know Android has 3 built in. Do not disturb,Priority and normal. While its there, its lacking and basic. On BB10 you have normal, phone calls only,vibrate only,silent,meeting mode and bedside.
Each can be set to different parameters for basic notifications and even how each individual app responds. And switching between profiles is a breeze. Literally seconds,if that.
The Hub: I know, I know, The Priv has it yes. But, its a bastardized version of it.
On BB10, you get pretty much everything through it. For instance, on my personal BlackBerry Passport, here are the apps that go through my hub:
Hub: all accounts in 1 stream
Priority hub: customizable by flagged/starred/ important conversations
Visual voicemail
Notifications: non built for blackberry apps, android apps,sound cloud blackbullet (pushbullet client)
Text messages: Built in, not booted to an external app like the Priv
Facebook: can respond straight from within hub, without opening app
Dater: Tinder client
3 email accounts
Twitter: can respond straight from within hub, without opening app
Linked In: can respond straight from within hub, without opening app
Foursquare: can respond straight from within hub, without opening app
Calls
Emergency alerts
Pin messages
BBM
Each can be viewed separately, instead of all at once.
Contacts:
Organized to the T.
Pulls info from any connected app for each individual contact an puts it all in one profile by itself and assigns pictures from their various profiles as there contact picture rather than a blue/grey head. And within each persons profile, You get 3 tabs.
Details: Phone numbers, emails, Birthdays (if listed on facebook etc...) Job(if provided on linkedin), Education(If provided on linkedin) and Bio's of connected profiles from apps.
Updates: Facebook posts and more
Activity: What and when you talked to them via text , etc...
On the Priv:
3 emails
Text message : boots to app or hangouts
BBM
EDIT: I did not originally install Twitter or LinkedIn. Once I added these, they too also worked in the hub as they did in BB10
Now you see why. And I can't blame BlackBerry for doing it this way.
No one wants to share, i.e. google, apple, samsung etc..
So they need to keep certain things locked down. So they give you a sample on Android to see what its like.
Customizable settings menu:
Android has this, but its basic out of the box. Can it be corrected with a new launcher?
Probably. I have not dove that deep in yet. BB10, can be set to what options you want displayed and then you can organize them as such as in a layout.
Blackberry Blend:
Android has pushbullet, which is good. So this is almost a break even.
Except that blend is built in and not found externally.
If you know pushbullet, it works in kinda the same way. I again have just broke the surface with bullet. So like I said break even, pretty much.
Quality apps:
In Blackberry world, they have a designation, Built for Blackberry. Which generally means it meets full measures set by BB and that it is fluid as the OS itself.
There are other apps as well in the store that work, but they might be clunky a bit.
So this is a way of determining good vs bad rather than just relying on "reviews".
*Apps part Deux:
BB10 somewhat suffers at this. It has been made easier by a member on crackberry.com, by making BB10 able to run Google play with pretty much full functionality. Problem is, that BlackBerry themselves haven't updated the run time. So if i recall correctly, it's still on kit kat. And there lies the problem, Google updates there apps like crazy. So functionality can be worrisome and unpredictable. So, people generally will either update and have a non-working app and will have to hunt down an apk. Or you get into a method of not updating any app anymore.
The dreaded Facebook app. I don't even want to mention it further than that, Besides it being horrible. BlackBerry themselves built it and it feels like its back in the hay-days of before apps were apps. Just about any app that is built entirely by them, is rarely updated.
*Lack of development:
While I fully appreciate the developers that are constantly developing and updating,
There is just not enough of them. And I can understand why more and more leave.
BlackBerry needs this to happen for BB10 to survive.
I hated jumping to Android. But we'll see how long that lasts.
*No wearable's:
No need to explain further.
The OS itself:
It's just fluid smooth and easy. No questions asked on where to go. Not sub menu after sub menu after sub menu. You need it, ok here it is.
Things I like on the Priv and dislike:
* The hub: See BB10 part
Widgets:
Oh the widgets. Blackberry missed out on this big time.
They had a somewhat version of it on the old Bolds with OS7 but did't bring it to BB10.
WTF is that?
Anyways, widgets. You ask for it, they are provided.
With the Priv, they added an extra layer with pop up widgets. This to me, is immensely useful. No opening apps fully just to do 1 thing. Make it quick, make it simple. And they did.
Apps:
Availability of pretty much everything. No run around's to make things work. All up to date.
*Apps part deux:
Quality and organization of apps is horrid. I've been through numerous apps trying to find one that fits my needs. So much time wasted and money spent and then refunded.
It may have Google play with a billion and one apps, but 95% of them are horrid.
I can't even find a app for the camera that has a manual focus with a slider to adjust.
For one of the biggest app markets, that's a bit ridiculous.
Apps that had multiple attempts before finding the right one were about a minimum 5 downloads of each and time hunting:
Clock : style
Alarm clock : to duplicate bedside mode Daydream is to many menus deep
Music player : non-google oriented
Image gallery : non-google oriented
Camera : Manual focus not found, honorable mentions , Open camera and silent camera
Wearable's & Gadgets:
Yes, I can get a watch and other gadgets to play nice with the phone. I can participate in Kickstarter stuff and not have to think about if it will fully work or not with my device.
EDIT: Using Sony Smartwatch 3. This is a daily use item, and almost kinda is a proper mini BB10 hub feel.Get a notification,
I see it on the watch and I know if I need to go to my phone or not. Along with audio controls and accepting phone calls if you cant get to te phone in time to pick it up. Reply to text messages, You can do that to. Set reminders and location based reminders,alarms, ask questions with ok google command,play music straight from the watch w/BT headphones and many other features. The one I enjoy most, is an app called Stocard. all my rewards cards are on my phone and watch. No reason to remove my phone from the pocket to scan the bar code.
Also, I grabbed a Philips Hue setup. I am a huge fan of this and has since been part of my alarm clock setup in the morning. It works quite well.. As well as a single WEMO switch to turn on my space heater before I get home.
The Google app:
I love this sh!t. I use it on my tablet (Sony Z2 Verizon version) all the time.
Packages coming in, not having to dig through my email to find it.
Weather listed
Stock listings
Stuff to read
Birthdays
Morning traffic notifications and more....
Though I have not fully utilized Google now. I'm a bit hesitant on that one.
Customization:
I'm a bit weird and maybe eccentric. I like to fiddle with things of different styles. I can now do this. Clocks styles, icon packs etc...
App tray:
It's like a universal folder, but you can't really fiddle with it.
So, If I folder an app and can't recall where I put it, head to the app tray. I know its there.
Developers:
These guys, occasionally take it over the top. There are consistently new things going on with droid. This is a good and a bad. The bad side, is non extensive testing.
*Battery life:
In comparison, its a night and day comparison.
Android is hungry. With just about the same battery size as the Passport, I don't think, actually, I'm kinda positive, that I could not duplicate the same battery life with the Priv.
EDIT: Since launch day use, I have got maximum of 1.5 days. But more so a single day. I do have wifi,BT and location on all day as well though. So if I turn those off, I'm pretty sure I could squeeze that 1.5 day stat again.
Productivity tab:
I like this, and I think it was a smart move and "borrow" from samsung.
I use it to get access to the hub and calendar and such.
Rather than clicking the icon.
EDIT: I have since got rid of the tab in favor of the all in one gestures app to enable swiping for access to the hub and some other apps.
*Button in the middle of the volume rockers:
No ability to change what it does. An overall mute option is a great idea, but a better Idea,would have been to make it programmable.
Coming from BB10, that was the activation of the voice assistant.
EDIT: Can supposedly be done by enabling an option in settings. I have not done this, due to the warning that pops up by enabling it.
NFC Triggers:
Admittingly, I did not dabble with this in BB10, but it is very enjoyable and somewhat convenient.
Edit: I do not use these that much anymore. Mainly just one. With things like IFTTT, it makes NFC tags borderline useless in my opinion.
With just about every tech site praising Android for it's abilities in just about every area, I thought, that Android would be a smooth move.
As it turns out, that the ability of Android is great, but it is missing key elements for a "matured OS" and having gone through many versions.
If you are Pro Google, and used to using only their ecosystem, you will have no difficulty.
If you are the latter, and coming from a new OS, be it IOS, Windows or BB10, get ready for a ride.
It will seem that I'm heavily bias, but I'm going to do my best after running Android as a daily for only a week.
As you go down the list above, here are the solutions I have found thus far, to make a BB10 user feel more complete after leaving their OS to try something new.
Camera:
I've went through numerous camera apps to get one thing. And none of them have it. A manual focus. After installing,buying and removing multiple ones, I found the stock loaded BlackBerry camera app the best. The focus system for up close macro shots is just as good as the ones from the few I narrowed down from the Play store.
I liked Silent camera and Open camera,
Open camera would be my second choice due to the layout and the awesome instant take a picture pop up widget.
Music:
Another app I tried many of.
Black player music player, was my player of choice. But I found it lacked things. I cannot recall at this time of writing. The sound, while connected through Bluetooth in my car just seemed dull and flat.
I went to a trusted app from BB10 and grabbed Neutron player and never looked back.
Sound quality improved greatly in the car alone. No settings were adjusted on Neutron.
Bedside mode: The toughest one to find, next to the camera app. While daydream is loaded on Android and does a half decent job, its no bedside mode.
My best found one so far, is called Glimmer. It's simple clean, has an evolving volume and evolving light ( think a sunrise) from a black screen with just a time.
And if you are not awake by the time your alarm is actually set for (which is unlikely due to the ambient sound of choice of setting) you can set a noise/song to play as well.
This along with utilizing the options of the priority setting get a similar result.
Overall as a device, I enjoy the Priv greatly.
Has good build quality
Pleasing to look at
The keyboard feels more bold style than BB10
Battery life on a stress test got "That's crazy for Android" reaction from Android users. 10 hour + screen on time.
Slide mechanism feels solid and gives a satisfying type click upon full open and close.
Call quality seems good as well. I've only made 1 call on it though. But had no issues on either end.
Have not experienced the Android lag as of yet. Within the exception of BB10 hub to Android hub comparison. But I feel, that it shouldn't be judged that way since BB10 was built around the hub.
Last edited:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram