Thinking of switch from Blackberry but need definite answers on these questions.

[ddarvish#IM]

I am thinking of dropping my tour and moving to the Driod when it comes out. I was wondering if there is anyone here who can answer my following questions. Please reply only if you are confident in your knowledge of the andriod OS.

1. Am I correct in assuming that Gmail is PUSH (not pull) mail? I can always forward all my other mail accounts to a gmail account so as long as gmail is REAL TIME (not delayed 15 mins) Push then awesome..

2. Is there any program like tetherberry or PDA net that will allow me to tether my phone to my computer without getting a tethering plan from my carrier? Both of those are one time programs that allow me to use my basic 29.99 unlimited web plan on my blackberry to get internet access on my PC.

3. I notice there are some crazy hacks with the G1 to get it to install apps and store the cache of some programs on the memory card. Will we be able to do something similar (is this process generic for any andriod phone?) on the driod so that we can escape the 256 ram that is present? I have a 8 GB card and only use about 4 GB for music so it would be nice to allocate 2 GB to apps on the card. Is it an easy process?


If anyone knowledgeable can answer these question i will be forever grateful!

Thanks

D^2

 

[ERDude]

1. If you set up G-Mail using IMAP it's push

2. PDA net does have a program for tethering if you're on windows

3. don't know enough about rooting to answer this one

 

[Rusty Shackelford]

Answer to Question 3

My understanding with rooting is that it is similar to jailbreaking in that once you are rooted, you are rooted for good, but the droid is shipped with 2.0 eclair already on the phone. All it will take is for someone to discover the root "solution" for 2.0 to enable the droid to be rooted. How long this discovery will take will depend on how many programmers with the knowledge and capability get there hands on the phone.

The ability to root the droid is inevitable. The time it will take is unknown.

Even if the solution does not present itself quickly, from a long time blackberry lover, I LOVE android. Good luck with your decision!

 

[ERDude]

I'm with Rusty, I love Android and don't see myself going back to BB anytime soon.

 

[ddarvish#IM]

Thank you for your replies. I didn't notice that pdanet had an android solution already. That makes me pretty excited....

I know you mentioned you are not sure about the whole rooting and how long it will take, but lets assume the rooting is possible, does it follow that then i will for sure will be able to save programs onto my SD card? Would the steps be too hard to accomplish or is there a quick and VERY clear tutorial i can follow? I assume the driod will bring an influx of MANY new developers and hackers to andriod just like the storm did when it hit verizon. if you have any insight i would apperciate it.

I can see myself leaving my tour behind now because it can AT LEAST do everything my tour already can do... I will miss BBM and it will be tough to get my friends on their crackberrys to load gtalk, but i am sure once they get barraged with 1000 txts from me they will change their mind.

 

[ERDude]

Rooting look pretty easy, but from what I gather if you're a Mac guy like me you won't be able to root the device.

Yes you will be able to load programs on the SD card. Google Android rooting and you'll see a slew of information

 

[Rusty Shackelford]

There are tutorials, but it is a much more advanced/labor intensive process than jailbreaking an iPhone or simply unlocking a BB. My advise would be to read as many tutorials as you can find once they start posting a solution for the Droid and let a few people do it so any kinks in the process are worked out.

The process (from what I understand) is more riskey than with other phones (easier to brick) but once a solution is discovered and posted, as long as you follow every step to the letter and make sure you understand every step and what it does, you should be fine.

Truly, even without being rooted the Droid looks like a peace of art and I can say I am in love with android after getting used to it. It is a pretty steep learning curve coming from BB, but it is awesome. If you make the switch you'll have to let all of us my touch and G1 users know the degree of awesomeness that is the Droid.

 

[devlogic]

Rooting look pretty easy, but from what I gather if you're a Mac guy like me you won't be able to root the device.

Yes you will be able to load programs on the SD card. Google Android rooting and you'll see a slew of information

Just have to add my $0.02 to this one...

I'm a Mac user (Unibody 13" MacBook), and had no difficulty rooting my myTouch 3G. The instructions on theunlockr.com and the cyanogenmod wiki are very straightforward and easy to follow.

 

[ERDude]

Just have to add my $0.02 to this one...

I'm a Mac user (Unibody 13" MacBook), and had no difficulty rooting my myTouch 3G. The instructions on theunlockr.com and the cyanogenmod wiki are very straightforward and easy to follow.

Are you running Windows on your Mac? The files are .exe which requires Windows and I refuse to pollute my Mac with anything Microsoft related.

 

[Adiliyo]

the one's i've downloaded to root my mytouch when it gets here aren't .exe, there's a .apk and an .img file.....?