BB 9930 to S4 what do I need to know?

[mrwindow]

Ok her I come from the dark side or to the dark side depending on where you stand!
Going to get an off contract S4 so I can keep my unltd data. Learn me. What do I need to know? Email. Contacts. Aps to make life easier?
Set up, Useage, care?

Thanks in advance
James

 

[ibcop]

Ok her I come from the dark side or to the dark side depending on where you stand!
Going to get an off contract S4 so I can keep my unltd data. Learn me. What do I need to know? Email. Contacts. Aps to make life easier?
Set up, Useage, care?

Thanks in advance
James

I too came to Android from Blackberry - a 9930 too. Get a Google (Gmail) account if you don't already have one - you'll use this with the S4 and you can sync your contacts to it as well. Email is pretty fast (in tune with the computer arrival) with Gmail. You can add more third party (Yahoo, etc) if you like but I've also read where some user complain a lot about them. If you have an Exchange email for work, you can do that too.

Lots of great apps out there - I know I miss the BedSide mode with BB, but I use an app called "DockClock" and it does things pretty well. I'm sure other people will chime in and give recommendations, but the apps are pretty much dependent on what you like to do.

You can PM me with any issues or questions you might have. I know I was on the fence about leaving BB, (ie using a virtual keyboard versus the physical) but after a few days, I was set. You'll probably get frustrated at first learning Android, but keep plugging along and you'll be glad you did!!

BTW, Welcome to Android Central. I'm sure you used CrackBerry as I did, though.

 

[fatboy97]

Life has just gotten a LOT better.

There might be some small things you will wonder how to do... check out the "Help & How to" link at the very top of Android Central. The app store is a great place to find app... most have a free version, but they have ads... most the ad versions do very well and will do the job... just look at their ratings. Enjoy... and there are plenty of people on this site that can help answer any of your questions.

 

[physioprof]

I had been on Blackberry since the 957, and recently switched from 9930 to Verizon S4. Agreed that using a Gmail account with the Gmail app (not the stock Android email app) is definitely the way to go for email, calendar, and contacts. For calendaring, Business Calendar app is much better than stock. And the Verizon Messaging app is much better than stock SMS.

You will be much happier with Swiftkey than with the stock keyboard app. Now that I am used to virtual keyboarding with Swiftkey, I don't miss the physical keyboard at all.

 

[bigrb]

One app you may be interested in is "profile" by noimjosh in the play store.... Lets you set up profiles similar to what you had on the crackberry.....I have been trying to find something to replicate what I had on my ancient bb curve for years and this is closest I have come ( have profile for work, home, bedtime, etc with different notifications for calls, texts, emails on each)

Posted via Android Central App

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

If it's still available for BB, use the Google Sync app to sync your contacts to Google prior to the switch...then you have nothing to worry about!

 

[MikeLip]

Email won't work as well as it does on BB. Push email doesn't exist, really. Contacts should transfer no problem. You can do that easily at a local store, or export them. You will find SMS isn't as efficient, but if you download something like Chomp SMS you can make it pretty good. But otherwise you will find a lot more apps on Android than in BB World. You will miss that keyboard. I know I do. But there are a number of alternate keyboards that help. I like Swype. It doesn't second guess you as much as Swiftkey. Of course nothing will replace the physical aspect of the hardware keyboard, but Swype is accurate and works well.

You will like the big, hi def screen. You won't like not being able to do things one handed, unless you are Shaquille O'neal. You will find yourself looking for the touchpad for a while. You will miss the notification light, especially if you used BerryBuzz. Get lightflow. It's better than stock notifications. Android has that stupid 16 position grid limitation. I use Holo Launcher to get around that. Works well. You will miss keyboard shortcuts, and I don't think there is a substitute for them. BB had a lot of things really really right, especially on the 9930.

 

[prodigy1814]

Email won't work as well as it does on BB. Push email doesn't exist, really. Contacts should transfer no problem. You can do that easily at a local store, or export them. You will find SMS isn't as efficient, but if you download something like Chomp SMS you can make it pretty good. But otherwise you will find a lot more apps on Android than in BB World. You will miss that keyboard. I know I do. But there are a number of alternate keyboards that help. I like Swype. It doesn't second guess you as much as Swiftkey. Of course nothing will replace the physical aspect of the hardware keyboard, but Swype is accurate and works well.

You will like the big, hi def screen. You won't like not being able to do things one handed, unless you are Shaquille O'neal. You will find yourself looking for the touchpad for a while. You will miss the notification light, especially if you used BerryBuzz. Get lightflow. It's better than stock notifications. Android has that stupid 16 position grid limitation. I use Holo Launcher to get around that. Works well. You will miss keyboard shortcuts, and I don't think there is a substitute for them. BB had a lot of things really really right, especially on the 9930.

I also came from the BB 9930 to S4. I was very worried about losing my push email. But I can confirm that push email does in fact exist. I am using push email for both my @gmail.com and @.edu email addresses. It's a feature of AquaMail (which is great by the way and highly customizable). I even have AquaMail set to perform push email only when I am connected to Wi-fi (which is most of the time anyway). Works flawlessly and my new emails arrive instantly for both accounts.

 

[MikeLip]

I also came from the BB 9930 to S4. I was very worried about losing my push email. But I can confirm that push email does in fact exist. I am using push email for both my @gmail.com and @.edu email addresses. It's a feature of AquaMail (which is great by the way and highly customizable). I even have AquaMail set to perform push email only when I am connected to Wi-fi (which is most of the time anyway). Works flawlessly and my new emails arrive instantly for both accounts.

Well, it SAYS it exists. But it really doesn't. BB push email was instant. It's almost like BB Messenger or SMS Text. I have tried AquaMail and while it says it can do push email, it can't do it like BB does. They don't have the infrastructure BB did to do push. Still, polled email is good enough 99.95% (+/-.01%) of the time.

Apple says they do push too. They don't. Not really and not reliably. There is still not an email system (and it IS a system, not simply a client - it's called push because the server actively sends it to your phone, it doesn't just sit there until your phone client asks for it) that does email as well as BB did.

 

[prodigy1814]

Well, it SAYS it exists. But it really doesn't. BB push email was instant. It's almost like BB Messenger or SMS Text. I have tried AquaMail and while it says it can do push email, it can't do it like BB does. They don't have the infrastructure BB did to do push. Still, polled email is good enough 99.95% (+/-.01%) of the time.

Apple says they do push too. They don't. Not really and not reliably. There is still not an email system (and it IS a system, not simply a client - it's called push because the server actively sends it to your phone, it doesn't just sit there until your phone client asks for it) that does email as well as BB did.

I think real push email can come in different forms. One form is when both the email server and the phone application support a technology called IMAP IDLE. IMAP IDLE allows real-time notifications of new messages. Outside of Blackberry, if either the email server, the application, or both have no IMAP IDLE support, there is no push capability. I believe iOS does not support IMAP IDLE for email messages. I think the Apple push is only for contacts and their cloud storage.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Email won't work as well as it does on BB. Push email doesn't exist, really. Contacts should transfer no problem. You can do that easily at a local store, or export them. You will find SMS isn't as efficient, but if you download something like Chomp SMS you can make it pretty good. But otherwise you will find a lot more apps on Android than in BB World. You will miss that keyboard. I know I do. But there are a number of alternate keyboards that help. I like Swype. It doesn't second guess you as much as Swiftkey. Of course nothing will replace the physical aspect of the hardware keyboard, but Swype is accurate and works well.

You will like the big, hi def screen. You won't like not being able to do things one handed, unless you are Shaquille O'neal. You will find yourself looking for the touchpad for a while. You will miss the notification light, especially if you used BerryBuzz. Get lightflow. It's better than stock notifications. Android has that stupid 16 position grid limitation. I use Holo Launcher to get around that. Works well. You will miss keyboard shortcuts, and I don't think there is a substitute for them. BB had a lot of things really really right, especially on the 9930.

I also came from the BB 9930 to S4. I was very worried about losing my push email. But I can confirm that push email does in fact exist. I am using push email for both my @gmail.com and @.edu email addresses. It's a feature of AquaMail (which is great by the way and highly customizable). I even have AquaMail set to perform push email only when I am connected to Wi-fi (which is most of the time anyway). Works flawlessly and my new emails arrive instantly for both accounts.

I think real push email can come in different forms. One form is when both the email server and the phone application support a technology called IMAP IDLE. IMAP IDLE allows real-time notifications of new messages. Outside of Blackberry, if either the email server, the application, or both have no IMAP IDLE support, there is no push capability. I believe iOS does not support IMAP IDLE for email messages. I think the Apple push is only for contacts and their cloud storage.

First, I will agree that no platform does email as well as BlackBerry...no argument there.

If you are using GMail with the included GMail app, you'll get instant notifications ("push"). For other types of email, it really can depend on what protocols and type of access are available when it comes to whether or not "push" notifications are possible. I have also found that if you use the actual Yahoo mail or Hotmail/Outlook.com apps (from the Play Store) to access those services, the notifications are practically instant and more reliable than using a 3rd party email client app.

Regarding the keyboard, I hear a lot of BB users say that "you'll miss the keyboard", but as an ex-BlackBerry user myself (and technically I still have one for work), I could not disagree more. Perhaps it's because I have large hands and fingers, but trying to type on a BB keyboard has always been near impossible for me...the keys are just way too small. I much prefer using a virtual keyboard on a larger screen like the S4.

 

[mrwindow]

Thanks all.
I don't have a gmail account perse. I have my local cable co email and a couple business domain named emails I push to my phone. Not to sure how to make this as good as my BB.
I'm buying the phone to keep my Ultd data for VZ. I want to be able to use the hotspot feature for my other devices.
I loved to being able to bridge my Platbook to my 9930.....but................no more support for that now. Im thinking the S4 will be my Phablet for now

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Thanks all.
I don't have a gmail account perse. I have my local cable co email and a couple business domain named emails I push to my phone. Not to sure how to make this as good as my BB.
I'm buying the phone to keep my Ultd data for VZ. I want to be able to use the hotspot feature for my other devices.
I loved to being able to bridge my Platbook to my 9930.....but................no more support for that now. Im thinking the S4 will be my Phablet for now

One reason I always advise against using email service from your local cable or telephone provider is that you never know that service will be available if you move to a new location and/or that company loses their service agreement with your area. For personal stuff, I'd advise moving over to a gmail account regardless (but especially if you're considering a move to Android). Gmail actually allows you to pull messages from other email providers via POP3, so it may even be possible to get your current messages delivered right to your gmail inbox.

Regarding using non-gmail accounts on an Android, it's true that it's simply not as good as Blackberry does it, but it's still very possible to do. The email app provides support for many common providers, including Exchange Active Sync, as well as general settings for using POP3 or IMAP as well.

 

[mrwindow]

Ok so I've had my new phone for about 5 days now. A few things I found I have had to deal with. Stock email sucks. I am trying Aqua mail free to see of if i like it, so far so good.
I have been trying Sound prifile lite for profiles, not liking it so far need a better alternative.Lite flow lite works for notifications but not as well as I would hoped. Foxfi awsome!
I went and set up the develper mode on my phone and made some screen changes and wow much snappier.
So far it's no blackberry lol. But i'm dealing ok and I think this phone will stick with me for awhile.
I am trying out freeware so I don't buy something I hate.
Any other good choices or bad to avoid?
Thanks

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Ok so I've had my new phone for about 5 days now. A few things I found I have had to deal with. Stock email sucks. I am trying Aqua mail free to see of if i like it, so far so good.
I have been trying Sound prifile lite for profiles, not liking it so far need a better alternative.Lite flow lite works for notifications but not as well as I would hoped. Foxfi awsome!
I went and set up the develper mode on my phone and made some screen changes and wow much snappier.
So far it's no blackberry lol. But i'm dealing ok and I think this phone will stick with me for awhile.
I am trying out freeware so I don't buy something I hate.
Any other good choices or bad to avoid?
Thanks

Email is the one thing that Android can't touch compared to BB. I'm not sure why no one seems to be able to do email as well BB has been doing it for over a decade...but they can't. The one exception to that is GMail...if you have gmail of course that's going to work great. I've also found that for either Yahoo or Outlook.com (hotmail, live mail, etc) email accounts, it actually works pretty well when it comes to live, instant notifications and syncing if you use the actual app for these emails rather than try to use the stock Android client...but that's just my opinion.

The other thing is that you're just going to have to get used to the fact that Android does some things different, and you'll go mad if you insist on getting certain things to work like they did on your BB (plus you'll just eventually get used to it). If you have multiple email accounts, for example, get used to the fact that you may need a different app for each one...BB's "everything" mailbox was great, I admit, but I'd rather get the best experience out of each account then try to find a single email app that can do all my different accounts. LED and sound profiles are the other big one...there are some apps out there that try to mimic what BB does, but again, your results may very.

If I can make a recommendation, try out Nova Launcher, it's free, and allows for a lot more customization than the default launcher.

Truth be told, I was a HUGE blackberry fan for years, and never thought I'd leave, but the lure of Android was just too strong. At first I was kind of disappointed at a lot of the things you mention, but I quickly came to realize that those things I missed were far less than things that Android did so much better.