Blackberry user for years going to Fascinate!

coltsbr

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Hello all, I have been a Blackberry user for years and finally going to slide over to an Android device. I was wondering if the Fascinate would be the best device out there for now on the Verizon network.

I would be using it for multiple emails, browsing the internet along with Facebook and Twitter & a lot of texting!

I'm pretty much limited to getting a Verizon device because the service where I live with other networks is pretty much nonexistent! I just wanted to get an opnion from other android users and see what you thought.


Thanks:)
 

ccskimmer04

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I just left the blackberry world too. Sold my 5th replacement storm 2 and got the droid incredible. so far i couldn't be happier unless i had gotten the new update on the first day. Since i still visit crackberry every day, its amazing how far behind the bb's seem to be and we had no idea. I use multiple emails too (1 gmail and 1 for work) and you will lose a little not being push like the bb server but its not anything that has bothered me too much. Having been a touch screen user for so long, typing on the droids hasn't been an issue but it does seem to be one for people converting from a BB with a full keyboard. I love the sense UI that comes with the HTC phones but like always you're going to have to go in to a store and play with some to see what fits you best.

BTW the web experience on android is spectacular and facebook and twitter integration with contacts is amazing on the incredible. You will not be disappointed.
 

coltsbr

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When you say that the email is not pushed it does not come direct to the device without going into the application and checking for new mail?
 

Jrid32

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I have been a multi-year BB user, but will be making the switch to the Android world on Sept. 9th (the day the Fascinate comes out).

If you are used to a full keyboard i.e. Tour or Curve then the Droid 2 may be the best option for you. As for me, I have been a Storm/Storm2 user for awhile, so I am staying with the touch screen i.e. Fascinate.

I just hope the Fascinate pans out!!!
 

coltsbr

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I have had both the Strom 1 and 2 in the past and still use and Iphone from time to time. I don't really mind the touch screen at all but will agree it takes gettinguse to when you are use to real keys to type on. I have been looking at all the andriod phones for a few weeks now and when I heard about the Samsung Galaxy series and the Fascinate coming to Verizon I thiught this might be my time to switch. Cant wait to see it and find out myself how it works.
 

joebob2000

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I was seriously considering the Fascinate as a BB replacement, it's got a small form factor and impressive specs. However there was a battery test run recently (here) that showed the Captivate and Vibrant scoring absolutely terribly compared to the Droid 2 and Droid x, lasting only 63% as long as the Droid X despite it's bigger, allegedly more power-hungry LCD... It's making me have second thoughts.
 

coltsbr

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Thanks for the link. I will have to look at that. I was not aware of bad battery life on that device. They have not said anything about that in the reviews that I have saw. That kind of shoots me down thinking about that phone! That is one thing I hate about the Iphone! :( I guess I will just wait till its in the store and go play with it.
 

pres16

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Be cautious - the grass isn't always greener - and this is going to be a long post, so here goes:

I swapped my S2 with my employee's HTC Eris because I was thinking about going Android and he needed a world phone. Here are my impressions (some of these may be the device, I'm not sure).

Pro
- Form Factor - I like the thinner and lighter HTC Eris
- Web browsing - duh....
- Customizable Home Screens - you can put shortcuts to dial or text friends/family and shortcuts to web bookmarks right on the home screen Also, you can put just the apps you want on the home screen - heck, the whole thing is infinitely customizable.
- Apps - many more available, but how much do you really use or want?

Cons:
- Email - if you use multiple email accounts and they are not gmail or ms exchange, this is a huge drawback. Email updating is very slow (especially with my yahoo mail account) Also, you can't have all your email delivered to 1 inbox and if I delete a yahoo email on my device, it will remain in my yahoo inbox - email alone could send me back to bb
- keyboard - don't know if it's this device, and I have heard that there are better keyboards out there, but I have tons of wrong keys register - especially when I am trying to type at a decent pace - especially the spacebar.
- Battery life - it REALLY sucks - even when I'm not doing anything on the device. On my S2, I could go about 1.5 days if I wasn't doing much, on this, I can only get .5 days of minimal activity
- better integration with FB, twitter, and Itunes - the thing I have discovered is when RIM releases something - it works and works well without a lot of fiddling with various settings. I still haven't been able to get the music player to transfer my itunes playlists to the device, but I really haven't had time to fiddle with it

Maybe it is the device, or maybe it is the fact that I am not a gmail guy, or maybe it is Android, but I am seriously considering going back to BB. BB isn't perfect, the newest, or the hottest, but it WORKS (without a buch of fiddling).

Just my 2 cents from a guy who thought the grass was greener.....
 

coltsbr

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Be cautious - the grass isn't always greener - and this is going to be a long post, so here goes:

I swapped my S2 with my employee's HTC Eris because I was thinking about going Android and he needed a world phone. Here are my impressions (some of these may be the device, I'm not sure).

Pro
- Form Factor - I like the thinner and lighter HTC Eris
- Web browsing - duh....
- Customizable Home Screens - you can put shortcuts to dial or text friends/family and shortcuts to web bookmarks right on the home screen Also, you can put just the apps you want on the home screen - heck, the whole thing is infinitely customizable.
- Apps - many more available, but how much do you really use or want?

Cons:
- Email - if you use multiple email accounts and they are not gmail or ms exchange, this is a huge drawback. Email updating is very slow (especially with my yahoo mail account) Also, you can't have all your email delivered to 1 inbox and if I delete a yahoo email on my device, it will remain in my yahoo inbox - email alone could send me back to bb
- keyboard - don't know if it's this device, and I have heard that there are better keyboards out there, but I have tons of wrong keys register - especially when I am trying to type at a decent pace - especially the spacebar.
- Battery life - it REALLY sucks - even when I'm not doing anything on the device. On my S2, I could go about 1.5 days if I wasn't doing much, on this, I can only get .5 days of minimal activity
- better integration with FB, twitter, and Itunes - the thing I have discovered is when RIM releases something - it works and works well without a lot of fiddling with various settings. I still haven't been able to get the music player to transfer my itunes playlists to the device, but I really haven't had time to fiddle with it

Maybe it is the device, or maybe it is the fact that I am not a gmail guy, or maybe it is Android, but I am seriously considering going back to BB. BB isn't perfect, the newest, or the hottest, but it WORKS (without a buch of fiddling).

Just my 2 cents from a guy who thought the grass was greener.....


Thank you very much for your input! You make some very good points. The email thing is kind of turning me off. I due get frustrated with Blackberry but you are right that when there is a problem they fix it and no tweeking needed to my device. I guess there is a lot of good and bad points no matter what you are going to use.
 

joebob2000

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Thanks for the link. I will have to look at that. I was not aware of bad battery life on that device. They have not said anything about that in the reviews that I have saw. That kind of shoots me down thinking about that phone! That is one thing I hate about the Iphone! :( I guess I will just wait till its in the store and go play with it.

I havent heard many battery stories about the Galaxy S line until this one, either. I do have a friend with an AT&T captivate and he says battery life is acceptable for browsing, but he doesn't do a lot of multimedia with his phone. I would definitely like to see some additional battery tests done, it's a shame that AndroidCentral in general stays away from battery issues (and didn't even link to that test).
 

gspeed

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Be cautious - the grass isn't always greener - and this is going to be a long post, so here goes:

I swapped my S2 with my employee's HTC Eris because I was thinking about going Android and he needed a world phone. Here are my impressions (some of these may be the device, I'm not sure).

The problem is you got a low end android device. Try something a little more high end, like a facinate, and I'm sure your experience would be more pleasant. Eris is a real crap phone.
 

gspeed

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I havent heard many battery stories about the Galaxy S line until this one, either. I do have a friend with an AT&T captivate and he says battery life is acceptable for browsing, but he doesn't do a lot of multimedia with his phone. I would definitely like to see some additional battery tests done, it's a shame that AndroidCentral in general stays away from battery issues (and didn't even link to that test).


i've extensively played around with the captivate. The battery life is very good. You should get a full day's charge with little maintenance effort.

The battery review seemed very flimsy. Not a real world test.
 

ellisz

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I cam from a bb storm and I would not go back. I swear I have seen a grouped inbox as I have got my yahoo and exchange together before. I actually prefer it separate though. I did like that on the BB, you could pick whether an email was left on the server or deleted but I can live without it. There are also email apps that let you customize some things that might not be possible in the stock form. There are many keyboards to choose from too.

The battery stories have me worried too. I have the Droid 1 and I could not handle anything less in a battery. The droid x has an extended battery that does not hump the phone! I would love a bit more battery time but I am hoping the Fascinate is not as bad as that article makes it out to be...
 

pres16

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Thank you gspeed, for letting me know that the main issue probably is the Eris - I also heard that from someone else this morning. I am going to play with another droid phone before I plunk down the $$ for the Fascinate just to make sure that I'm making the right decision. But, I don't know how much longer I can stand this Eris!
 
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I went from a storm 1 to the incredible and the only thing that I had an issue with was the facebook app that HTC/Android had was trash (It is getting better).. The browser experience is so far ahead of blackberry that I just use the facebook mobile site and it is actually a better experience than using an app.. I also have multiple email accounts including exchange for work, msn, and yahoo.. I actually have my msn mail forwarded to my gmail account so its pushed and there is now a yahoo mail app in the market.. My wife still uses her storm 1 and is ready to move on, I was thinking about the fascinate for her, but seeing how Bing is the standard search engine she might just have to go with the incredible as well..
 

steelval3

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joebob2000 - I agree, battery life is a big issue for me

also, if you are pushing e-mail, that will take its toll on the battery as well
 

gspeed

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Thank you gspeed, for letting me know that the main issue probably is the Eris - I also heard that from someone else this morning. I am going to play with another droid phone before I plunk down the $$ for the Fascinate just to make sure that I'm making the right decision. But, I don't know how much longer I can stand this Eris!

Eris is not in the facinate's league. If this were professional sports the facinate would be the All Star pro. The Eris would be AAA minor league fringe player.
 

hanano17

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joebob2000 - I agree, battery life is a big issue for me

also, if you are pushing e-mail, that will take its toll on the battery as well

I played with a Vibrant for two weeks, aside from the obvious things that are great about SGS phones (screen, size, etc), I was impressed by its battery life. Granted I have a Dinc, which is pretty bad on battery life in general, but it also "seemed" better than my Moto Droid when I had it, but that was a few months ago so my memory might not be accurate.
 

joebob2000

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joebob2000 - I agree, battery life is a big issue for me

also, if you are pushing e-mail, that will take its toll on the battery as well

How is push email a toll on battery life? This is something that nags me about BB vs Android, there are always conflicting stories like this... The "push" system used by BB not only means instant email delivery but it means no wasted cycles on your phone "pulling" for email even if its not there. Hence, the life of a BB battery depends only on interactive use; if you let it sit even with ten apps running it won't drain the battery any faster. Is the same not true for Android?
 

prakash99

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I also switched over to android after spending a few years as a non-corporate BB user (storm 1 & 2). I have to admit I miss BB's superior email integration and better FB integration. However Gmail push is still very good and by having my other email accounts forward the mail to Gmail I could get around the problem. FB still sucks. However from a consumer point of view I like android better primarily for better web browsing, more attractive UIs and bigger market. Right now I have LG Ally but since I am still comfortably in my 30-day exchange eligibility period I am waiting for Fascinate with bated breath.
 

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