BlackBerry user goes Pixel 5!

[speeddad]

Hey everyone! Yes, laugh as you might, I've been a BlackBerry user and fan for the last 15 years (started with a Curve, another Curve, Bold 9900, Q10, Z10, PRIV, and keyOne). While the PRIV and keyOne are Android, they are no longer supported as you probably know, and searched for what would be (to me) the next best, secure, reliable, productivity phone I could find and landed on the Pixel 5. In short, while it's still been an adjustment, even from the BB Android's to Google's pure Android, I am really liking this phone so far!

The battery life is crazy good (and I thought my BB's were good), excellent screen, awesome performance, and seems suit (almost) all my needs and wants. Honestly, even though my PRIV and keyOne had virtual keyboards, they still had physical keyboards too, and I still prefer the physical keyboard. But onward I must progress right? I am adjusting to exclusively virtual screen keyboard even though I long for the physical keyboard still. I also miss the BB Hub apps for email/calendar/notes/etc., and that I could program each key as a shortcut to my apps for fast access instead of doing a bunch of swiping. I find the GMail app to be not so good, so I'm using Outlook which is better (but still not as good as BB Hub).

a few observations so far

- I like, for the most part, the rear fingerprint sensor. I wish it was off center (to the left) so I could easily pick up the phone and unlock one-handed. Otherwise I have to kind of reposition the phone in my hand and reach my finger to the right a bit to hit the sensor. One workaround I found that makes it better I found was to delete that fingerprint, then set it up again but this time biasing the print to the right side of my finger and now it's more acceptable reading just the right side of my index finger. The BB's fingerprint sensor built into the spacebar was still my favorite.

- Pixel 5 OEM fabric case: Initially didn't like it, took it off, now put it back on again. Don't get me wrong, it's nice and slim, but not my favorite design. But it'll do for now.

- Added ZAGG Glass+ screen protector.

- Under-screen speaker. Yeah, it's not great, but it's serviceable, and I generally use my Pixel Buds or other speakers/handsets anyway, so not a big deal for me. (I'm guessing Google was thinking along these lines anyway when they designed it, that a lot of people would likely user some Bluetooth handsfree device)

- Front camera. For a front-facing camera, it seems pretty good to me. I thought the "hole punch" would bother me but honestly I've found I don't even notice it.

- Battery Share. It's awesome! And with the Pixel 5 having so much juice, I really like this feature to charge my Buds or topping off other phones. Wish it worked with my Samsung frontier smartwatch too, but alas, it doesn't. Still with regular to heavy use my battery is still around 60% at the end of a 16 hour day. I notice it doesn't budge off 100% for the first couple hours and even after 4-ish hours I'm still at or above 90%.

- Pixel wireless charging stand. I got 2 of them. They're both recognized individually, and I love that you can customize the DND and other behaviors when on the stand, and further, it can be customized for each stand. (BTW, BB had this like, a decade ago?). Only issue I noticed is that when I place it on the charging stand with Google's own fabric-clad case on the phone, it won't sit completely straight. It wants to fall to a tilted (left or right) position with the case on. Way to go Google ("Hey Google, can you test that all your accessories are compatible before putting them to market?" Lol!) The stand does charge the phone fast though and it works great for my wife's iphone too!

- I miss not having a notification LED

Anyway, that's all for now as I continue to learn and use it more. I do still keep my BB keyOne at my side in case I need to get something done that I haven't learned yet on my P5, but am weaning myself from the BB more and more each day.

Any other Pixel 5 users out there that are coming from BlackBerry?

 

[mustang7757]

Hi, welcome to AC!

Yeah I'm also liking my pixel 5 also

 

[vhl71]

I was a big fan of BB10 phones as well. Still think that's the best mobile OS. It's a pity that it's extinct mai my because of lack of apps.

You can still get bb hub notes a d calendar on Android. Install BlackBerry hub services and Al bb specific apps from play store

I still use hub as my email app. It's the best email app on Android IMO

 

[speeddad]

I was a big fan of BB10 phones as well. Still think that's the best mobile OS. It's a pity that it's extinct mai my because of lack of apps.

You can still get bb hub notes a d calendar on Android. Install BlackBerry hub services and Al bb specific apps from play store

I still use hub as my email app. It's the best email app on Android IMO

Agreed and thanks! Yeah, I know I can still use BB Hub on the P5 (in fact the P5 transferred them over when I did the data copy from my keyOne) but I'm trying to learn as best I can on Outlook and GMail. I'll give it some time, but might reinstall Hub if I just can't get over it.

 

[Scott337]

Congrats on the new phone. Enjoy!

 

[vhl71]

Agreed and thanks! Yeah, I know I can still use BB Hub on the P5 (in fact the P5 transferred them over when I did the data copy from my keyOne) but I'm trying to learn as best I can on Outlook and GMail. I'll give it some time, but might reinstall Hub if I just can't get over it.

When I moved from BlackBerry to android i tried countless number of email apps. None of them are even close to BlackBerry email. Finally i settled on bb inbox. It works flawlessly with my Gmail, outlook and iCloud emails.

I was on iPhone for a while. iOS mail app is pretty good and it has improved a lot over the years.

Enjoy your pixel 5.

 

[Mattsg430]

I'm using Gmail for my Gmail and Microsoft Exchange acct I have for work. Works great.

 

[aecgda]

I had BlackBerry phones always up to the Motion, which was excellent and beautifully designed. I found going to the Pixels the closest and the updates are much better. I have the Hub and the BlackBerry apps on my Pixel 5, including BlackBerry keyboard which is the best I've ever found, although they seem to make it difficult to access for some reason.

 

[speeddad]

I'm using Gmail for my Gmail and Microsoft Exchange acct I have for work. Works great.

Got a question for ya. I'd really like to give the GMail app a chance, but 1) every time I open it, it seems to default to just my gmail account, not all mail accounts. So I have to go and manually select all accounts all the time which is getting old. Is there a way to make it show all accounts by default?

2) When looking at all accounts, it's not apparent by the emails in the list which ones are from which account without opening it. Also, it doesn't show sent mail unless going to the sent mail folder.

Sorry for the questions, it's just the BB Hub mail would always show everything (both sent and received) from all accounts, and it put little color-coded bars on the left of each email so I could quickly see which email account it was from.

 

[gebco]

Welcome to the Pixel family from another former BlackBerry user. (Storm 2, Z10, Z30, Priv). After my Priv I went to the Pixel 2XL. I went to the Pixel line because I wanted those guaranteed security updates like we had on BlackBerry. The Z30 and the Pixel 2XL have been my favourite phones. I now have the 4a 5G and my wife has the 5, coming from the Keyone. Like you I miss the led (the 2XL has it though) and especially the BlackBerry keyboard, but I've gotten used to gboard and appreciate its features.
I appreciate your comment about DND compared to bedside mode that BlackBerry had years ago. BlackBerry had so many features that were ahead of its time.
I notice you're avoiding the BlackBerry email app. I use it because nothing else comes close to its functionality. Outlook is Ok, and I don't like how Gmail does email.
If you're like me you'll appreciate the regular updates and the first in line for new Android features and OS.

Hey everyone! Yes, laugh as you might, I've been a BlackBerry user and fan for the last 15 years (started with a Curve, another Curve, Bold 9900, Q10, Z10, PRIV, and keyOne). While the PRIV and keyOne are Android, they are no longer supported as you probably know, and searched for what would be (to me) the next best, secure, reliable, productivity phone I could find and landed on the Pixel 5. In short, while it's still been an adjustment, even from the BB Android's to Google's pure Android, I am really liking this phone so far!

The battery life is crazy good (and I thought my BB's were good), excellent screen, awesome performance, and seems suit (almost) all my needs and wants. Honestly, even though my PRIV and keyOne had virtual keyboards, they still had physical keyboards too, and I still prefer the physical keyboard. But onward I must progress right? I am adjusting to exclusively virtual screen keyboard even though I long for the physical keyboard still. I also miss the BB Hub apps for email/calendar/notes/etc., and that I could program each key as a shortcut to my apps for fast access instead of doing a bunch of swiping. I find the GMail app to be not so good, so I'm using Outlook which is better (but still not as good as BB Hub).

a few observations so far

- I like, for the most part, the rear fingerprint sensor. I wish it was off center (to the left) so I could easily pick up the phone and unlock one-handed. Otherwise I have to kind of reposition the phone in my hand and reach my finger to the right a bit to hit the sensor. One workaround I found that makes it better I found was to delete that fingerprint, then set it up again but this time biasing the print to the right side of my finger and now it's more acceptable reading just the right side of my index finger. The BB's fingerprint sensor built into the spacebar was still my favorite.

- Pixel 5 OEM fabric case: Initially didn't like it, took it off, now put it back on again. Don't get me wrong, it's nice and slim, but not my favorite design. But it'll do for now.

- Added ZAGG Glass+ screen protector.

- Under-screen speaker. Yeah, it's not great, but it's serviceable, and I generally use my Pixel Buds or other speakers/handsets anyway, so not a big deal for me. (I'm guessing Google was thinking along these lines anyway when they designed it, that a lot of people would likely user some Bluetooth handsfree device)

- Front camera. For a front-facing camera, it seems pretty good to me. I thought the "hole punch" would bother me but honestly I've found I don't even notice it.

- Battery Share. It's awesome! And with the Pixel 5 having so much juice, I really like this feature to charge my Buds or topping off other phones. Wish it worked with my Samsung frontier smartwatch too, but alas, it doesn't. Still with regular to heavy use my battery is still around 60% at the end of a 16 hour day. I notice it doesn't budge off 100% for the first couple hours and even after 4-ish hours I'm still at or above 90%.

- Pixel wireless charging stand. I got 2 of them. They're both recognized individually, and I love that you can customize the DND and other behaviors when on the stand, and further, it can be customized for each stand. (BTW, BB had this like, a decade ago?). Only issue I noticed is that when I place it on the charging stand with Google's own fabric-clad case on the phone, it won't sit completely straight. It wants to fall to a tilted (left or right) position with the case on. Way to go Google ("Hey Google, can you test that all your accessories are compatible before putting them to market?" Lol!) The stand does charge the phone fast though and it works great for my wife's iphone too!

- I miss not having a notification LED

Anyway, that's all for now as I continue to learn and use it more. I do still keep my BB keyOne at my side in case I need to get something done that I haven't learned yet on my P5, but am weaning myself from the BB more and more each day.

Any other Pixel 5 users out there that are coming from BlackBerry?

 

[GPuba]

Welcome to the Pixel family from another former BlackBerry user. (Storm 2, Z10, Z30, Priv). After my Priv I went to the Pixel 2XL. I went to the Pixel line because I wanted those guaranteed security updates like we had on BlackBerry. The Z30 and the Pixel 2XL have been my favourite phones. I now have the 4a 5G and my wife has the 5, coming from the Keyone. Like you I miss the led (the 2XL has it though) and especially the BlackBerry keyboard, but I've gotten used to gboard and appreciate its features.
I appreciate your comment about DND compared to bedside mode that BlackBerry had years ago. BlackBerry had so many features that were ahead of its time.
I notice you're avoiding the BlackBerry email app. I use it because nothing else comes close to its functionality. Outlook is Ok, and I don't like how Gmail does email.
If you're like me you'll appreciate the regular updates and the first in line for new Android features and OS.

I agree with every single thing you've stated. I used the Blackberry Tour (9630), Blackberry Bold (9650), Blackberry Bold Touch (9930), Blackberry Q10, Blackberry Z30, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, Pixel 2XL, and the Pixel 3XL. I currently have both the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a(5g).

When it comes to phones, I am absolutely into efficiency/ease of use and updates. My best phone of all time was the Blackberry Z30 (which was FAR ahead of it's time), followed by the Pixel 2XL. The Pixel 5 makes me feel like I'm holding my Z30 again, while my 4a(5g) makes me feel like I'm holding my Pixel 2XL again.

Another great phone I owned outside of the Pixel/Blackberry lines were the Moto X4 (Android One Edition), which I would put right behind the Blackberry Z30 and the Pixel 2XL as my greatest phones ever, for as of October of 2020, it was still getting monthly security updates. With the wide-angle camera and other features, it was easily the best bang for the buck of any phone I've ever owned. My Nexus 6 would round off my "Fantastic Four", for I used it as both a phone and a tablet.

 

[the_boon]

Hey everyone! Yes, laugh as you might, I've been a BlackBerry user and fan for the last 15 years (started with a Curve, another Curve, Bold 9900, Q10, Z10, PRIV, and keyOne). While the PRIV and keyOne are Android, they are no longer supported as you probably know, and searched for what would be (to me) the next best, secure, reliable, productivity phone I could find and landed on the Pixel 5. In short, while it's still been an adjustment, even from the BB Android's to Google's pure Android, I am really liking this phone so far!

The battery life is crazy good (and I thought my BB's were good), excellent screen, awesome performance, and seems suit (almost) all my needs and wants. Honestly, even though my PRIV and keyOne had virtual keyboards, they still had physical keyboards too, and I still prefer the physical keyboard. But onward I must progress right? I am adjusting to exclusively virtual screen keyboard even though I long for the physical keyboard still. I also miss the BB Hub apps for email/calendar/notes/etc., and that I could program each key as a shortcut to my apps for fast access instead of doing a bunch of swiping. I find the GMail app to be not so good, so I'm using Outlook which is better (but still not as good as BB Hub).

a few observations so far

- I like, for the most part, the rear fingerprint sensor. I wish it was off center (to the left) so I could easily pick up the phone and unlock one-handed. Otherwise I have to kind of reposition the phone in my hand and reach my finger to the right a bit to hit the sensor. One workaround I found that makes it better I found was to delete that fingerprint, then set it up again but this time biasing the print to the right side of my finger and now it's more acceptable reading just the right side of my index finger. The BB's fingerprint sensor built into the spacebar was still my favorite.

- Pixel 5 OEM fabric case: Initially didn't like it, took it off, now put it back on again. Don't get me wrong, it's nice and slim, but not my favorite design. But it'll do for now.

- Added ZAGG Glass+ screen protector.

- Under-screen speaker. Yeah, it's not great, but it's serviceable, and I generally use my Pixel Buds or other speakers/handsets anyway, so not a big deal for me. (I'm guessing Google was thinking along these lines anyway when they designed it, that a lot of people would likely user some Bluetooth handsfree device)

- Front camera. For a front-facing camera, it seems pretty good to me. I thought the "hole punch" would bother me but honestly I've found I don't even notice it.

- Battery Share. It's awesome! And with the Pixel 5 having so much juice, I really like this feature to charge my Buds or topping off other phones. Wish it worked with my Samsung frontier smartwatch too, but alas, it doesn't. Still with regular to heavy use my battery is still around 60% at the end of a 16 hour day. I notice it doesn't budge off 100% for the first couple hours and even after 4-ish hours I'm still at or above 90%.

- Pixel wireless charging stand. I got 2 of them. They're both recognized individually, and I love that you can customize the DND and other behaviors when on the stand, and further, it can be customized for each stand. (BTW, BB had this like, a decade ago?). Only issue I noticed is that when I place it on the charging stand with Google's own fabric-clad case on the phone, it won't sit completely straight. It wants to fall to a tilted (left or right) position with the case on. Way to go Google ("Hey Google, can you test that all your accessories are compatible before putting them to market?" Lol!) The stand does charge the phone fast though and it works great for my wife's iphone too!

- I miss not having a notification LED

Anyway, that's all for now as I continue to learn and use it more. I do still keep my BB keyOne at my side in case I need to get something done that I haven't learned yet on my P5, but am weaning myself from the BB more and more each day.

Any other Pixel 5 users out there that are coming from BlackBerry?

Congrats!!

I really tried to move from my KEY2 to a more updated slab, but ultimately kept going back to the KEY2 every time, so I basically gave up trying to find one that I will like more than this aging TCLBerry.

For me, while the OLED display, much better camera and updated software are very appreciated, even all of those combined don't tip the balance in favor of losing that real keyboard.

However if I were one to appreciate a slab, then the Pixel 5 is probably the one I would have bought. Having that kind of body size with a 4080mAh battery is something that was unheard of.

Dual carrying your KEYone with the Pixel 5 is a pretty good combo too, you can use the Berry mostly for e-mails or anything that requires lots of typing, and the P5 for everything else.

 

[RonCT]

I agree with the rest and I didn't even know this was a trend. I also had just about every GSM blackberry phone there was, right down to the Priv and DTEK 60.
I miss Blackberry so much. But the only option for me was Pixel (2XL, 3XL, ordering Pixel 5). I use the blackberry hub apps on my Pixel because you can't beat the BlackBerry experience when it comes to managing email, calendar, contacts, AND access to Public Folders built-in (I manage an Exchange enterprise. BlackBerry and Exchange were made for each other). And yes, I miss my colored LED lights and now I have to use Sounds to know what kind of message came in or who a message is from. I liked the fact that I didn't have to keep picking up my phone to know what was going on. I could tell by the color(s) of the LED.

 

[the_boon]

I agree with the rest and I didn't even know this was a trend. I also had just about every GSM blackberry phone there was, right down to the Priv and DTEK 60.
I miss Blackberry so much. But the only option for me was Pixel (2XL, 3XL, ordering Pixel 5). I use the blackberry hub apps on my Pixel because you can't beat the BlackBerry experience when it comes to managing email, calendar, contacts, AND access to Public Folders built-in (I manage an Exchange enterprise. BlackBerry and Exchange were made for each other). And yes, I miss my colored LED lights and now I have to use Sounds to know what kind of message came in or who a message is from. I liked the fact that I didn't have to keep picking up my phone to know what was going on. I could tell by the color(s) of the LED.

As far as Pixels and notification LEDs go, the 2 XL was the last to have one.

Actually I don't really know of any phone after 2018 that had one.

 

[Morty2264]

Welcome to Android Central and to the world of stock Android! Awesome username too!

Coming to Android from BlackBerry myself, I can definitely see your need for a reliable, secure device. So glad you are loving your Pixel 5! When I switched over, I actually started out with the Google Nexus 5. Google makes awesome phones! Glad the batteur life and rear fingerprint scanner are bonuses for you!

Have fun around the forums! The Pixel sub-forums are very active here!

 

[Lepa79]

My wife left her keyone and a hardly used key2 when I convinced her to try my Panda pixel 2 xl. She loved her physical keyboard but the BB camera was horrible. She was blown away by the pixel 2 xl camera and still is. To date, she still loves her pixel 2 xl and never looked back. It took her a bit to accept and adapt to the fact that she has to type on glass, but she is now a hardcore pixel lover. If pixel 5 pro rumors are true, I will be getting her that when it comes out

 

[vhl71]

Still have this phone for sentiment reasons. Best phone i ever owned. Beleive me. I owned every flagship phone there is. iPhone 12 pro to all Pixels. Miss BB10 even today!!

 

[aecgda]

Which BB phone is it? Lovely design. My Motion was excellent. My Pixel 5 has a good appearance too. Simple design and nothing fancy. Up to date software made me want to swop.

 

[gebco]

That's the BlackBerry Z30 and I agree with the poster. It was an amazing phone. Fast, great screen and awesome speakers. And BB10 is still a more fluid UI today IMO.

Which BB phone is it? Lovely design. My Motion was excellent. My Pixel 5 has a good appearance too. Simple design and nothing fancy. Up to date software made me want to swop.

 

[aecgda]

I liked my Z30. Did everything I needed at the time.