Newbie to Android...possibly! Can you guys inform me?

[dreedy1]

Hey Android users!! This is my first post and I have some serious questions and concerns about Android. I'm up for a upgrade (VZW) and I'm looking at two phones right now...BlackBerry Bold 9650 (Tour 2) or the Incredible. I've been a BB user for bout 3 years now and have been incredbily satisfied with the business aspect of the Berry since I'm a construction supplies salesman however, I'm getting Android some serious consideration since RIM just doesn't seem to wanna offer anything new to the table. I have some concerns about how Android works in some areas though or how HTC operates their device too. Some of my concerns are:

* Push/Pull email? Is POP3 email like Hotmail pushed or pulled to the device? Is there a way it can push if it is pulled? How bout Outlook mail and OWA? BB is instant with Hotmail and bout a 5 minute delay with OWA..what is Android like?

* I've heard you must have a Gmail account to your an android phone...is this truely the case?

* Facebook...does it sync with Facebook and stream your comments, messages etc to the phone or is it attached by your email like RIM's app? If it's attached by email, that would mean when my Hotmail pulls, I'll get bumbarded with comments and messages correct?

* I've owned touchscreens before but nothing as large as the Incredible or anything like that so I've always been disappointed with the virtual QWERTY keyboards. How is the QWERTY keyboard on the HTC devices? Is it easy to work with...hard to work with? Is it responsive?

Forgive me if I'm a newb and taking up thread space....I've been a member of CB for 2 years and I know how rough some of the forum surfers can be and I've been that way myself before! But I would appreciate some Android users input considering I'm possibly a newb to this platform. Any help is wanted and I appreciate it in advance!!!

 

[jasonvancouver]

response to thread

Hey Android users!! This is my first post and I have some serious questions and concerns about Android. I'm up for a upgrade (VZW) and I'm looking at two phones right now...BlackBerry Bold 9650 (Tour 2) or the Incredible. I've been a BB user for bout 3 years now and have been incredbily satisfied with the business aspect of the Berry since I'm a construction supplies salesman however, I'm getting Android some serious consideration since RIM just doesn't seem to wanna offer anything new to the table. I have some concerns about how Android works in some areas though or how HTC operates their device too. Some of my concerns are:


I am also in sales and just moved 2 days ago from the curve to the Droid. I can give some general info, but I am sure others will chime in. I have to say that I am blown away by this phone and I think I only understand a small % of what it can do. I was concerned with leaving BB, but I also felt that there wasn't anything new.

Hopefully some experts will respond as well. vvvvvvvvvvvv

* Push/Pull email? Is POP3 email like Hotmail pushed or pulled to the device? Is there a way it can push if it is pulled? How bout Outlook mail and OWA? BB is instant with Hotmail and bout a 5 minute delay with OWA..what is Android like?

I have heard the gmail is instant and other web based email can get be set at intervals, for example every 15-30 minutes - don't quote me on that, but that is what the Verizon rep told me. For POP 3 email accounts, I am not sure.

* I've heard you must have a Gmail account to your an android phone...is this truely the case?

I don't think you would have to add one unless you want one. But why wouldn't you ?


* Facebook...does it sync with Facebook and stream your comments, messages etc to the phone or is it attached by your email like RIM's app? If it's attached by email, that would mean when my Hotmail pulls, I'll get bumbarded with comments and messages correct?

Not sure

* I've owned touchscreens before but nothing as large as the Incredible or anything like that so I've always been disappointed with the virtual QWERTY keyboards. How is the QWERTY keyboard on the HTC devices? Is it easy to work with...hard to work with? Is it responsive?

My understanding is that most people on the Droid use the virtual keyboard. I had the same concern about going to Droid. But I have to say it has only been a few days and it isn't bad at all on the virtual keyboard. Probably won't every be as good as the BB, but I was surprised that it works pretty darn well.

Forgive me if I'm a newb and taking up thread space....I've been a member of CB for 2 years and I know how rough some of the forum surfers can be and I've been that way myself before! But I would appreciate some Android users input considering I'm possibly a newb to this platform. Any help is wanted and I appreciate it in advance!!!

Good luck, I think you would be happy with an Android phone.

 

[doogald]

* Push/Pull email? Is POP3 email like Hotmail pushed or pulled to the device? Is there a way it can push if it is pulled? How bout Outlook mail and OWA? BB is instant with Hotmail and bout a 5 minute delay with OWA..what is Android like?

As far as I know, there is no such thing as push POP3 mail, though there is push IMAP mail if you have a server that supports IMAP Idle and you use a mail app like K-9 (or a gmail account).

I have a Mac and haven't used Outlook for several years (thankfully.) I know that Android supports Exchange but I think others should answer those questions for you.

* I've heard you must have a Gmail account to your an android phone...is this truely the case?

I had one anyway (and it is my primary mail account, and has been for long before I bought an Android phone.) I don't think that you need one to activate, but I think that you need one to use the app market. I could be wrong about that.

* Facebook...does it sync with Facebook and stream your comments, messages etc to the phone or is it attached by your email like RIM's app? If it's attached by email, that would mean when my Hotmail pulls, I'll get bumbarded with comments and messages correct?

Facebook is completely separate. You mention the Incredible; HTC's People app has Facebook sync, but you can set it to its own polling interval, or not to update at all.

* I've owned touchscreens before but nothing as large as the Incredible or anything like that so I've always been disappointed with the virtual QWERTY keyboards. How is the QWERTY keyboard on the HTC devices? Is it easy to work with...hard to work with? Is it responsive?

I have an HTC Eris. The soft keyboard is great; there are third party keyboard apps, in fact, try to replicate it. On the Eris it can be occasionally laggy in specific apps (sending text messages is really the only place that I notice it.)

I'd suggest going into a store and playing around with one for a while, realizing that you will get better with the keyboard the more that you use it, and knowing that there are third party alternatives out there.

The HTC keyboard also has a compact QWERTY mode that works very well; its predictive text is very, very good.

 

[takeshi]

* Push/Pull email? Is POP3 email like Hotmail pushed or pulled to the device? Is there a way it can push if it is pulled? How bout Outlook mail and OWA? BB is instant with Hotmail and bout a 5 minute delay with OWA..what is Android like?

POP mail is always pull. That's how POP accounts work.

The BB deals with this by using BIS. BIS handles pulling email from POP accounts. It's only between BIS and the BB itself that mail is push in such cases. I've heard of people using gmail to poll POP accounts and then have the mail pushed from gmail to the Android device. I'm sure if there's any real advantage solely on a delivery time standpoint.

Not sure with OWA. I'm on Exchange but we have ActiveSync and it's instant push.

* I've heard you must have a Gmail account to your an android phone...is this truely the case?

You do (unless you're going the WiFi-only route). That doesn't mean that you have to use it for email. Your Market purchases and settings are linked to your gmail account.

In my case, I only really use my Exchange account but I do have a gmail account that was used to set up the Droid.

 

[sfingold]

Can I use my exchange calendars?