Hi, Everyone,
As a long-time BB user, I finally reached a point where I just couldn't stand the UI lag and subpar browser on my newest BB, a Tour 9630. I've been lurking around these forums for the past several months, and reading lots of Android-related news for the better part of the past year.
I chose to use my Sprint early upgrade and try an EVO 4G, not wanting to wait for the Epic 4G. I was rather hesitant about the lack of a physical keyboard and more than a bit worried about battery life, given the number of posts related to that subject.
After many weeks of searching and waiting on lists, I finally picked up an EVO last Friday (08/06/2010). What great timing--the official Froyo build had just become available from Sprint that week!
I used the phone with 2.1 on it until I reached home after a baseball game that night. Unlike with the BB, updating the device was ridiculously easy--no need to install a big, bloated desktop manager on my PC, and the process was dead simple. The entire process took approximately 15-20 minutes, and felt a *lot* less stressful than a BB device OS upgrade. Very impressed.
I also chose to switch the included Samsung 8GB micro SDHC for an 8 GB mSDHC Transcend, class 6, at that time.
What can I say? It's a terrific phone! More importantly, it's an amazing platform. The performance of the phone, whether switching between screens, opening or closing apps, browsing the web via 3G or wifi--it's a completely different experience compared to using the BlackBerry. The webkit browser is great, flash 10.1 actually works, calendar and contacts sync with Google is flawless, and I even managed to connect it to my Exchange environment at work without too many headaches (or additional apps!).
The lack of a physical keyboard proved to be an insignificant issue; I actually am finding it easier to type on the EVO's screen than the physical, cramped keys of my Tour. Personally, I find the haptic feedback really helpful. The touchscreen appears to be much more accurate than that of our iPod Touches, which both routinely miss my finger presses (my wife claims it to be the fault of my Undead-temperature hands).
What's impressed me the most, however, is my wife's reaction to the phone. She has a BB as well, but definitely isn't a geek. I happily let her try working with the phone as much as she wanted to over the weekend and was quite shocked to hear her say, "OK, I think I'm ready to leave my Berry." Even at the cost of upgrading without a discount, she's fully prepared to try an Android phone now.
The Android platform has come a long way from my earliest experiences trying out friends' G1's and Droid 1's. It truly is a worthy competitor to the iPhone and BB platforms. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, of course, but it sure is nice to have the luxury of choice.
And I, for one, am glad I finally tried it.
As a long-time BB user, I finally reached a point where I just couldn't stand the UI lag and subpar browser on my newest BB, a Tour 9630. I've been lurking around these forums for the past several months, and reading lots of Android-related news for the better part of the past year.
I chose to use my Sprint early upgrade and try an EVO 4G, not wanting to wait for the Epic 4G. I was rather hesitant about the lack of a physical keyboard and more than a bit worried about battery life, given the number of posts related to that subject.
After many weeks of searching and waiting on lists, I finally picked up an EVO last Friday (08/06/2010). What great timing--the official Froyo build had just become available from Sprint that week!
I used the phone with 2.1 on it until I reached home after a baseball game that night. Unlike with the BB, updating the device was ridiculously easy--no need to install a big, bloated desktop manager on my PC, and the process was dead simple. The entire process took approximately 15-20 minutes, and felt a *lot* less stressful than a BB device OS upgrade. Very impressed.
I also chose to switch the included Samsung 8GB micro SDHC for an 8 GB mSDHC Transcend, class 6, at that time.
What can I say? It's a terrific phone! More importantly, it's an amazing platform. The performance of the phone, whether switching between screens, opening or closing apps, browsing the web via 3G or wifi--it's a completely different experience compared to using the BlackBerry. The webkit browser is great, flash 10.1 actually works, calendar and contacts sync with Google is flawless, and I even managed to connect it to my Exchange environment at work without too many headaches (or additional apps!).
The lack of a physical keyboard proved to be an insignificant issue; I actually am finding it easier to type on the EVO's screen than the physical, cramped keys of my Tour. Personally, I find the haptic feedback really helpful. The touchscreen appears to be much more accurate than that of our iPod Touches, which both routinely miss my finger presses (my wife claims it to be the fault of my Undead-temperature hands).
What's impressed me the most, however, is my wife's reaction to the phone. She has a BB as well, but definitely isn't a geek. I happily let her try working with the phone as much as she wanted to over the weekend and was quite shocked to hear her say, "OK, I think I'm ready to leave my Berry." Even at the cost of upgrading without a discount, she's fully prepared to try an Android phone now.
The Android platform has come a long way from my earliest experiences trying out friends' G1's and Droid 1's. It truly is a worthy competitor to the iPhone and BB platforms. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, of course, but it sure is nice to have the luxury of choice.
And I, for one, am glad I finally tried it.
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