Couple Features I could not figure out on the Droid today?

[blackops#IM]

Ok I am a newbie when it comes to Android platform. I have been an avid BlackBerry user and know the ins and outs of it. However I cannot say the samething about Android.

So I have a couple questions for all you Android users out there who are more knowledgeable than me with the OS.

After playing with the Droid for about 1 hour at a local VZW store (got to love friends who can help a buddy out, did the same for me by allowing me to play with the Storm 1 before it was out for public to play with).

1) Is there any way to change the keyboard from full keyboard to a SureType keyboard when in virtual mode in Android?
I could not figure it out at all and never saw the options at all to do so. But again it could be not knowing where to go.

2) Is there any way to copy and paste?
Again I could not figure this out either, it only gave me a pop up option to select all, edit text, etc. Nothing where like on my BB Storm I could highlight what I want and copy it to paste later.

Ok I will have more questions after I get back but wanted to ask those for sure.

Overall my experience with the Droid was good. I liked some things and then there are other things where I am not sure if I like at all. Was not to fond of the hard keyboard, the stupid D-pad and mini chin were akward. Also not sure I like touchscreens at all other than the Storm surepress. I just like the recognition of the click. However I think I may still end up making the jump from my BB to a Droid just have some questions and concerns about the OS.

If anyone else has any experience coming from BB to Android I would not mind hearing what you have to say and what your initial reservations were. I read some posts when I did a search just never hurts to get more viewpoints.

Ok thanks for any help and answers I really do appreciate.

DK

 

[iphonemilk]

1. yes there's an Android App for that.

2. not sure.. =/ im a newbie to.

3.

 

[blackops#IM]

Thanks for the reply. That is one thing that I have not done much of and that is going through the Android Marketplace. I did a little today but did not spend much time on it or online web based either.

I just know just like on my Storm 1 I cannot do full keyboard in portrait mode and the same with the iPhone since the keys are so dang small it is to hard. I would rather do SureType because they are bigger and I am very good at banging out texts in SureType.

Well here is to us newbs trying to figure something new out.

1. yes there's an Android App for that.

2. not sure.. =/ im a newbie to.

3.

 

[iphonemilk]

Ive been checking this out man, and there's aparently like 3-4 different Keyboard Apps which completly change around the WHOLE keyboard for everything.

and one of them is REALLY nice it can make it look like a virtual flip phone with the numbers.

 

[Adiliyo]

i thought i saw in a preview somewhere that you could switch the portrait keyboard to something that looked like a suretype keyboard....but i can't remember where i saw it.

as for selecting and stuff, you choose select text, hightlight what you want and then click menu or longpress to do something with what you've selected.

 

[blackops#IM]

Well that is good then.

The other thing I was wondering with Android is like the Sense UI, the so called Rachael UI (concept or real whatever it ends up being) are those like themes like on a BlackBerry or is it a totally new OS with just different ways it looks?

I was wondering could you get the Droid but then add the Sense UI or Rachael UI on it? That is one area where I am totally oblivious to and not sure how that all works. Hopefully in due time.

The Android Marketplace is not to userfriendly when viewing from a computer at all unless I am looking in the wrong spot so I have not had a chance to really find anything with much luck.

Adiliyo....that is the problem I could not select anything at all. Unless, unless I did not try to select it at all correctly. I tried but had issues and ended up doing a longpress which ended up taking me to the submenu. I could not get it to select just by using two fingers. Should I have been able to do so?

 

[Adiliyo]

i think the gesture is done differently than it is implemented on the storm or iphone. it's not really a multitouch gesture, you click select then highlight in a similar fashion to how you would highlight something with a mouse, drag over the text you want to select.

that's how i've understood it, maybe on wednesday i'll go play with it and make sure that's how.

you can try a site like AndroLib, Find all applications and games available in the Android Market for your Android Phone, HTC Dream, HTC Magic etc... to browse the marketplace, as the official web portal for it kind of sucks.

the UI skins are more than simple themes as the makers have customized the OS fairly heavily so the UI's are not simple to just add into a device that isn't made for them, but it is possible with custom roms. there are home screen replacements on the marketplace that can do some of the visual stuff and add more home screens like the SenseUI, but i doubt a home screen replacement could duplicate the level of fancy animations and stuff that's in the Rachael UI.

however, with SE's track record in regard to the X__ devices, i'm not too sure how much of those videos will make their way into the actual UI that's on the device. rachael is a really cool UI concept though.

 

[kkwan77#AC]

Ok I am a newbie when it comes to Android platform. I have been an avid BlackBerry user and know the ins and outs of it. However I cannot say the samething about Android.

So I have a couple questions for all you Android users out there who are more knowledgeable than me with the OS.

After playing with the Droid for about 1 hour at a local VZW store (got to love friends who can help a buddy out, did the same for me by allowing me to play with the Storm 1 before it was out for public to play with).

1) Is there any way to change the keyboard from full keyboard to a SureType keyboard when in virtual mode in Android?
I could not figure it out at all and never saw the options at all to do so. But again it could be not knowing where to go.

2) Is there any way to copy and paste?
Again I could not figure this out either, it only gave me a pop up option to select all, edit text, etc. Nothing where like on my BB Storm I could highlight what I want and copy it to paste later.

Ok I will have more questions after I get back but wanted to ask those for sure.

Overall my experience with the Droid was good. I liked some things and then there are other things where I am not sure if I like at all. Was not to fond of the hard keyboard, the stupid D-pad and mini chin were akward. Also not sure I like touchscreens at all other than the Storm surepress. I just like the recognition of the click. However I think I may still end up making the jump from my BB to a Droid just have some questions and concerns about the OS.

If anyone else has any experience coming from BB to Android I would not mind hearing what you have to say and what your initial reservations were. I read some posts when I did a search just never hurts to get more viewpoints.

Ok thanks for any help and answers I really do appreciate.

DK

How was the touchscreen keyboard? Usable? And the slide out?

 

[blackops#IM]

Adiliyo......thanks for the info. I could not figure the copy paste function out at all. I tried everything that I could think of the way I would with my older trackball BB and iPhone and just could not figure out. I found the longpress stuff but it did not make sense at all. Hmmmmm, that kind of stinks because being able to just put two fingers to start selecting what you want and adjusting is nice on the BB Storm and the iPhone. Seems like what you said makes it more of a pain than useful. However I will have to go and play with it again maybe before hand, but not sure since the store my friend works at is 1 hour away.

Also thanks for the link for the alternative store and that I am not the only one who thought the web portal for the marketplace was and is not the greatest at all.

I am waiting for tomorrow to see what is announced with the Sony Ericsson announcement. It has me totally intrigued cause it looks very sweet and nice. But just like anything that looks pretty it is easy to make things look pretty but at what cost of functionality and smoothness. I like what I see in the concept but again it is just concept. So your right until we see something in a real device we will have to wonder if anything will make it over to actual production.

I am not totally sure about the UI's but there are things that I would not mind to have on the Droid. Like the Rachael UI if it were real. I saw some of the homescreen replacements but the thing that I was wondering was like the Rachael media player and how it handles media. The Android 2.0 media stuff was plain, basic and well just stunk from my minimal exposure and experience with it. I thought BB was not the best but I am starting to think the Android maybe in need of more help at least on stock Android 2.0 UI.

Again this whole platform is new to me and well trying to learn. I am just sick of BB/RIM right now and want something new. But I think I will miss my BB and some stuff and will probably flip back and forth....then you got Nokia N900 with Maemo 5 that also has me intrgued as well

kkwan77.....well I am not the biggest fan of soft touchsrceen keyboards for some reason. The only one that I am a fan of is the Storm cause I like the physical click for the action motion. I dont like how it executes it when touched on normal keyboards.
However the keyboard is not that bad at all and I believe that I will get use to it over time, the landscape one. I do not like the portrait keyboard since like the iPhone and on BB Storm when enabled the keys are just to dang small for me.
Now the slideout hard keyboard, yeah not a fan at all and I love physical keyboards being a BlackBerry user for sometime now. I dont like it and not sure I could get use to it. Wish it was better and also wish the stupid D-pad was not on there and the mini chin both make it awkward to type.
Virtual I can live with and are useable and believe I can get use to them. The hard keyboard yeah I probably would not use it even though I prefer the real keyboard.

 

[Adiliyo]

as far as a nicer media player, i am totally there with you on that one. there is the ability to download a different media player through the marketplace, but nothing so far looks as cool as the rachael's media player.

personally, i don't like to use my phone as a media player, so i have my zune HD for that. but hopefully someone realizes the potential customer base that would purchase a cool looking and better managed media player if it were to be offered in the marketplace.

 

[blackops#IM]

Adiliyo....Yeah I am like you I dont use my Storm as a media player either but I have stuff on my memory card in case I want to use it or listen or watch something. But the battery life already sucks so I dont bother with it. But just like the ability to be able to do so if I wanted to.

Yeah that is why I think the RACHEL UI looks sweet especially with the new video leak and pictures leak with there Media Player or organizer on how it looks.

Do you know with the UI/ROM does it void your warranty if you root or put on a new UI?

 

[Adiliyo]

afaik it can't, and you can always put the original 2.0 rom back on. but if you need support and are running an unofficial rom, they can deny you tech support.

 

[tx26257]

well if this anything like winmo or blackberry forums like this offer better support then calling into tech support

 

[Sooks]

well if this anything like winmo or blackberry forums like this offer better support then calling into tech support

agreed , rather use yall then deal with tier 1 tec support lol

 

[Original Goonie]

agreed , rather use yall then deal with tier 1 tec support lol

I just never understand why people still call into tech support in this day and age. I can usually google an answer before I even get through menus of any companies tech support.

Thats what makes sites like this amazing.

 

[blackops#IM]

Cause calling tech support is the only way to get info in your file to get a new phone

No Original Goonie I totally know what you mean that is for sure.

Sooks good to see you over here as well since I think our CB heads will be chatting it up with each other come Friday

 

[Original Goonie]

Cause calling tech support is the only way to get info in your file to get a new phone

No Original Goonie I totally know what you mean that is for sure.

Sooks good to see you over here as well since I think our CB heads will be chatting it up with each other come Friday

You just got to find that rep thats got your back... Theres always at least one in the stores.

 

[SharonW]

Adiliyo......thanks for the info. I could not figure the copy paste function out at all. I tried everything that I could think of the way I would with my older trackball BB and iPhone and just could not figure out. I found the longpress stuff but it did not make sense at all. Hmmmmm, that kind of stinks because being able to just put two fingers to start selecting what you want and adjusting is nice on the BB Storm and the iPhone. Seems like what you said makes it more of a pain than useful. However I will have to go and play with it again maybe before hand, but not sure since the store my friend works at is 1 hour away.

Also thanks for the link for the alternative store and that I am not the only one who thought the web portal for the marketplace was and is not the greatest at all.

I am waiting for tomorrow to see what is announced with the Sony Ericsson announcement. It has me totally intrigued cause it looks very sweet and nice. But just like anything that looks pretty it is easy to make things look pretty but at what cost of functionality and smoothness. I like what I see in the concept but again it is just concept. So your right until we see something in a real device we will have to wonder if anything will make it over to actual production.

I am not totally sure about the UI's but there are things that I would not mind to have on the Droid. Like the Rachael UI if it were real. I saw some of the homescreen replacements but the thing that I was wondering was like the Rachael media player and how it handles media. The Android 2.0 media stuff was plain, basic and well just stunk from my minimal exposure and experience with it. I thought BB was not the best but I am starting to think the Android maybe in need of more help at least on stock Android 2.0 UI.

Again this whole platform is new to me and well trying to learn. I am just sick of BB/RIM right now and want something new. But I think I will miss my BB and some stuff and will probably flip back and forth....then you got Nokia N900 with Maemo 5 that also has me intrgued as well

kkwan77.....well I am not the biggest fan of soft touchsrceen keyboards for some reason. The only one that I am a fan of is the Storm cause I like the physical click for the action motion. I dont like how it executes it when touched on normal keyboards.
However the keyboard is not that bad at all and I believe that I will get use to it over time, the landscape one. I do not like the portrait keyboard since like the iPhone and on BB Storm when enabled the keys are just to dang small for me.
Now the slideout hard keyboard, yeah not a fan at all and I love physical keyboards being a BlackBerry user for sometime now. I dont like it and not sure I could get use to it. Wish it was better and also wish the stupid D-pad was not on there and the mini chin both make it awkward to type.
Virtual I can live with and are useable and believe I can get use to them. The hard keyboard yeah I probably would not use it even though I prefer the real keyboard.

Long story short on the Sony Ericsson X10 aka Rachael, keep waiting. Not out till sometime in first half of 2010 (could be a June 2010 launch with that kind of vagueness). Engadget got a hands on with an unfinished product...laggy, very laggy.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 announced, we go hands-on

 

[Adiliyo]

with SE's track record, i wouldn't be surprised if june 2010 was the earliest we could hope for.

 

[blackops#IM]

Yeah I knew that it would probably not be coming out anytime soon at all. I just thought it was an interesting concept. However like a lot of companies out there when they make stuff really pretty they usually screw it up on functionality's sake and smoothness.

I like the Timescape and Mediascape applications it runs. However I will probably be looking at the Droid here come this Friday.

But am still interested in the SE just to see how it is and how it actually works and performs once there is a production model.