Okay, I've been a BlackBerry user for a few years, and was a SideKick user before that. I've decided that I'm wanting to go to a device with a larger screen. Obviously, the Tmobile GS2 has one of the largest screens out there.
Battery life is important to me. By that, I mean that I have a strong preference for a device that can go from when I get up in the morning until I go to bed at night on a single charge. I expect to charge a smartphone everynight, but I don't want to have to charge it during the day. I've heard from various people that newer model Android phones have better power management, and the GS2 in particular is pretty good.
Judgments about battery life vary so wildly that it's hard to believe people are talking about the same device. So I'll try to be more specific. I will use an RSS reader app, and a Facebook app, but I prefer to set them to "never" fetch updates. That is, I don't need to know there are updates until I actually open the apps myself. I typically set my weather app to update once an hour. I do little to no gaming. During work hours, I don't really use the phone much, except to read emails every hour or so, and sometimes compose and send mails. In the evening, I use the broswer to visit forums, post messages, etc. I like to listen to podcasts in the car, so they have to be downloaded occasionally. In the evening, I read using the Kindle app. I'll often play some music, either mp3 or Pandora, as I read. I'm not one to watch a lot of movies or videos on the device, but if I do, I know enough to not expect battery miracles.
That's my standard usage pattern. I have no idea whether that's light, heavy, or "normal" use. Does it sound like I'll get 16 hours, with screen brightness notched back to 30% or so?
Is the speaker loud enough for me to hear podcasts without using earphones? I've heard some people say that it isn't, but again, I don't know what they consider loud enough. I play podcasts on my BB 9780 and it's loud enough. Maybe someone familiar with the 9780 can comment.
Is there anything else I should know or be thinking about? I'm a heavy user of auto-text on BB, but I understand there's some sort of app for that in the Android market. Indeed, there seem to be a number of keyboard and text entry options, which is an attractive feature of the platform. Would I get better battery life if I chose a different Tmo Android phone? If so, which one?
The Kindle app has a lot to do with my decision to leave the BlackBerry. The BB has a Kindle app, but it doesn't support highlighting or annotation, and there's no indication that Amazon will ever upgrade the BB apps. Since I do a lot of reading while I'm out and about, and I need to mark up my books, this is key. I considered a Windows 7.5 device, but the Kindle app there also doesn't do highlighting or annotation.
Your thoughts are appreciated.
Battery life is important to me. By that, I mean that I have a strong preference for a device that can go from when I get up in the morning until I go to bed at night on a single charge. I expect to charge a smartphone everynight, but I don't want to have to charge it during the day. I've heard from various people that newer model Android phones have better power management, and the GS2 in particular is pretty good.
Judgments about battery life vary so wildly that it's hard to believe people are talking about the same device. So I'll try to be more specific. I will use an RSS reader app, and a Facebook app, but I prefer to set them to "never" fetch updates. That is, I don't need to know there are updates until I actually open the apps myself. I typically set my weather app to update once an hour. I do little to no gaming. During work hours, I don't really use the phone much, except to read emails every hour or so, and sometimes compose and send mails. In the evening, I use the broswer to visit forums, post messages, etc. I like to listen to podcasts in the car, so they have to be downloaded occasionally. In the evening, I read using the Kindle app. I'll often play some music, either mp3 or Pandora, as I read. I'm not one to watch a lot of movies or videos on the device, but if I do, I know enough to not expect battery miracles.
That's my standard usage pattern. I have no idea whether that's light, heavy, or "normal" use. Does it sound like I'll get 16 hours, with screen brightness notched back to 30% or so?
Is the speaker loud enough for me to hear podcasts without using earphones? I've heard some people say that it isn't, but again, I don't know what they consider loud enough. I play podcasts on my BB 9780 and it's loud enough. Maybe someone familiar with the 9780 can comment.
Is there anything else I should know or be thinking about? I'm a heavy user of auto-text on BB, but I understand there's some sort of app for that in the Android market. Indeed, there seem to be a number of keyboard and text entry options, which is an attractive feature of the platform. Would I get better battery life if I chose a different Tmo Android phone? If so, which one?
The Kindle app has a lot to do with my decision to leave the BlackBerry. The BB has a Kindle app, but it doesn't support highlighting or annotation, and there's no indication that Amazon will ever upgrade the BB apps. Since I do a lot of reading while I'm out and about, and I need to mark up my books, this is key. I considered a Windows 7.5 device, but the Kindle app there also doesn't do highlighting or annotation.
Your thoughts are appreciated.
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