First time Android user coming from Blackberry!

[Enphenate]

Hey everyone!
The time has finally come to replace my Blackberry Storm2 (been waiting to do this for a long time haha). I was originally going to wait until the end of the year for the newer 4G phones to come out on Verizon and just stick it out with my BB until than, but unfortunately last night at the San Diego (Del Mar) fair my Storm2 died in the most EPIC way possible. It catapulted out of my pocket about 100 feet up in the air while I was on a ride (good riddance to be honest, it was about time to trash that phone anyways). Surprisingly I found the phone and it turns on but the the screen doesn't detect any touch so i cant do anything with it. Instead of paying $99 insurance copay for another crappy storm 2 (which doesn't even sell for that much on Craigslist) I decided to just test my luck finally with an Android device and a Charge from Amazon.

Anyways i have done some research around forums and such but i would like to have a better understanding of the whole Android platform. When i had my BB i would update it to each leaked OS, and shrink the OS of all of the unnecessary bloatware and items that took up ram space.

I definitely want to root my Charge when i get it but I am unfamiliar with the process and exactly what it does (I know its like basically jailbreaking the phone but nothing else). Are there any guides, recommendations etc. to do this? Also would i be able to get rid of all of the stock bloatware that come on the phone (similar to Shrink-A-OS for BB)?

-What are some essential applications for Android? (I used SocialScope for twitter & facebook, 4square, Pattern Lock, Gym Technik, Hotschedules).

-Any recommendations for Emails & notifications(BB had push notifications for Facebook email etc).


Any other basic recommendations, tweaks and essentials for the phone would be appreciated as this is my first Android platform phone!

Thanks!

 

[jkeene81]

look at the top of the page for Charge Rooting and Hacks, click it and the first 5 or so entries are a couple of different rooting methods for the phones. Most even have pictures. I read untill found one that was comfortable for my knowledge level. Keep reading and then read some more, and def read up on this page
http://www.androidcentral.com/root it has alot of great stuff on the lingo you will encounter. and if you have any questions there are lots of people on this forum that can help you!

 

[jkeene81]

try tweetdeck for your facebook, twitter and foursquare feed all in one widget, handcent is a messaging app that lets you really customize alot of things with notifications. and of course you have to get angry birds if coming over from blackberry. Pulse is an awesome news app that lets you collect stories form dozens of sites and displays them all in one app. Have fun!

 

[roppb]

I just use the Gmail app that came with the phone. Also, try out some different launcher apps- GO Launcher EX is my personal choice, but you may like something else. I also second the vote on tweetdeck- it's great!

 

[AUmike734]

Hello... I am about to make the switch from a Storm2 to the Charge as well. This is a BIG leap for me as I love my BB.

Are there any apps that you guys would recommend to manage my contact list and emails? I'm not familiar with the default email manager on the Droids, but if it's the same as accessing Gmail online, I can tell you I'm not a big fan of it.

I use Outlook to mange everything now and have been syncing my contacts from it to my BB. Does Android Marketplace offer anything comparable?

Thanks so much!!