Sell Me on why a Droid?

[atlkr5]

OK don't get in up in arms, I am not a Droid hater, just not Droid Educated.

I have been a Blackberry User for Years and have seen some reasons to make the change. I have also had that STUPID iPhone!!!!!.

So I am coming to the Experts, the real users.

Tell me your best reasons why Droid.

If you have a BB comparison to Droid that would be great.

If have have made the BB to Droid switch, how are you making out and would you do it again and why?

Thanks Again and maybe you can twist my arm and I may go Droid.

 

[taeisme]

I too have had several BB's, curve, tour, storm and I can sum it up like this:

- Android OS: waaaaay better and alot more stable than BB OS.
- NO MORE BATTERY PULLS
- More customizable that the BB in a million different ways. Widgets, shortcuts, etc
- Can multi-task it's ass off and not lock up or slow down to a crawl performance wise

I gave my Tour to my son on Launch Day and have never looked back. I do miss BBM but honestly that is really about it for me. I know others will have more to say about Droid vs BB.

 

[mcgeorge36]

1. No more battery pulls like on a blackberry (used to have a curve)
2. Great app store!!! Not as much as apple, but more open than apple, so you get some good along with some bad. YOU get to decide, not apple.
3. Seems like the platform that allot of companies are starting to go to. Android is growing. Started off slow, now there is at least one, if not several phones on each service carrier. All depends what you like. If your a social networker, there is a phone for you. Business user? Probably a phone for you too. As you can see from my signature, I have had several phones in the last 2 1/2 years, and I don't think I'm looking back from the droid!

 

[threepio]

I just upgraded to a droid from a blackberry. by far the droid is better.

 

[GenericMessage]

Simple answer:

The Droid just works. It just does. No question.

 

[Jared DiPane]

I could give you a million and one reasons, but if the device is not practical for your daily life, none of them will matter.

Where the Droid lacks, that may be important to you -

Push email from other services (gmail push, others pull)
No BBM (obv, but some people rely heavily)
Less frequent OS updates (some people love to update)

Where it exceeds -

Customizability
No reboots on app installs, removals, or updates.
It works.
Its amazing.
Fast.
5mp camera.

Yeah, the Droid is sweet.. I came from BB myself, and I Love it!

 

[WAM]

fast boot time (like 2min)
excellent battery life
GPS
Keyboard
Customizable
reliable 3G
LOUD external speaker
app store (will be much much bigger soon )

 

[thebizz]

If you use your phone for business and business alone bb is a good choice but for all those people like me that wants a phone to do just about everthing you can't go wrong with the Droid it does everything I need a phone to do great navigation device calls are good the browser is great nice market and their are endless ways to rinker with it

 

[prometheus]

I came from BB cvurve.

Happy with the switch.

PRO:
--having a built in (and free) real GPS device opens up a world of apps.
--the screen is bigger and prettier.
--the camera is better
--the apps are more and better
--more memory (card and phone)
--better media player
--better speaker sound

CON:
--easier to type on a BB
--email experience better on BB
--battery lasts longer on BB
--easier to use in sunlight (small detail but, I can't use this thing outdoors without frustration)

 

[TJohnsonmp01]

I came from a Storm, Tour, Storm 2, HTC Eris and now Droid. I really loved BB til I got tired of the beyond slow browser so I decided to try the Eris then the Droid. At first I thought the Droid was just god awful ugly and had a crap keyboard...I am now eatting those words! I so wish when my first 4 Storm crapped out I had gotten this instead of staying with BB. Now don't get me wrong no one does email better than BB...but numerous battery pulls, frozen screen, slow browser etc drove me away. I now LOVE my Droid and as much as I hate to admit it I use the keyboard that I so despised very often lol. There isn't a thing on here that my BB could do that I haven't been able to get my Droid to do. Its fun to find n try new apps and really make this phone MINE! I also love that its a Google phone I was pissed when VZW foced Bing on my BB. I would say give it a whirl...u get a 30 day trial period to see if Droid works for you =) OH and don't forget to look into N1 or HTC Icredible...they might be good choices too,

 

[AndrewWestSide]

I'm also coming from a BB and upgraded to a Droid. I agree with the previous posts and would like to add the Google integration into the phone is amazing. Including Google Maps w/ Navigation, gmail, calendar, contacts, speech to text, and more. If you aren't into Google this phone isn't for you. My BB did some of these like Google Sync and Google Maps but it's just not the same. I'm waiting for a Google Voice invite so I can't comment on that!

What I miss about my BB are the profiles! You get Phone Volume which goes across the board for phone, sms, email, and calendar. Mute will mute all, Vibrate will set all to Vibrate. This took me awhile to get used to and I missed a calendar event because my phone was on mute. If anyone knows a good app for something comparable to having profiles please let me know!

Like others have mentioned, you will lose BBM and instant emails, besides gmail. I decided to switch and i'm so glad i did! good luck!

 

[TJohnsonmp01]

To andrew...I use audio pro manager from the market. It has a nice widget where u can see what u have set. There is a free version and a paid version. With the paid version u can make ur own profiles...I have one where all notifications r medium...another where all are silenced but calls n so forth. BB is def good with their profile setup I think here its a matter of finding jus the right app. Hope this helps

 

[Cmec#AC]

To me the browser alone is a good enough reason.

 

[Romple]

Pros:
+If you use Google it's almost a no brainer. Seamless integration.

+Not having to use BB BIS... for the last 4 months of owning my BlackBerry I had to rely on the Gmail app since my BIS refused to authenticate gmail anymore. Screw BIS, I don't need middlemen.

+Profiles?
Android App Review: Setting Profiles | Droid Life: A Motorola Droid Blog

+Apps^(e*pi)

+OS is a squillion times better. More powerful, more customizable.
+The Dalvik VM that runs all that nice java code is handbuilt for mobile devices, which is why the OS runs so well. BlackBerry can't compete here.

+Appearance. Seriously people say Android is utilitarian, but they've never used a BlackBerry which has never given half a consideration to actually looking nice. Droid actually has some balance of form/function.

+We fight here much less than people on Crackberry.com (i still <3 u CB!)

Cons:

- You don't have a BlackBerry to complain about daily, telling your friends of tales of constant battery pulls, 9 minute boot times, and not having any emails because BIS/BES is down (again)

 

[p08757]

I came from a Storm 1.

I came from a BES environment and moved to MS ActiveSync and the Droid. At first I was not happy with the performance. It was okay, but not like my BlackBerry. But! I moved to the Touchdown app for MS ActiveSync, and I could not be happier. I can do everything I did with my BES activaction. Also, with Verizon, I don't need the $44.99/month plan, I can do everything with the $29.99/month plan for data on the Droid!!

The browser is almost as good as having a PC in your pocket. Once Flash is pushed out, the experience will be exactly like having a PC in your pocket.

To me, the difference is night and day.

 

[takeshi]

Sell Me on why a Droid?

It really doesn't matter how I see the Droid as a better option. It's really how well it does or doesn't suit you that matters. What's important to you? What are you looking for from a smartphone?

It seems popular to post "convince me" threads or "what apps/features do you find useful?" threads. However, you could read those all day and have no better idea if the device is suited to you. Take it for a spin. You can't beat first hand experience.

If have have made the BB to Droid switch, how are you making out and would you do it again and why?

Very happy with the Droid and would definitely do it again. Android is just far more extensible than BB OS ever was.

- Android OS: waaaaay better and alot more stable than BB OS.
- NO MORE BATTERY PULLS

Never had these problems with any of my BB's (8310, 8800, 8700, 7290, 7100t, 7230, 6230) but I definitely prefer Android.

Where the Droid lacks, that may be important to you -

Push email from other services (gmail push, others pull)

Exchange with ActiveSync is also push on the Droid. I came from BES and Exchange but I definitely prefer ActiveSync and Exchange on the Droid (with Touchdown).

What I miss about my BB are the profiles!

I do agree on this matter. There are some profiles apps for Android but profiles aren't quite like they are on the BB. There's no good way to centrally manage all alerts (audio, LED, vibrate).

 

[Romple]

Just buy it dude. 30 day return policy ftw. You'll be sold by day 0.1 though.

 

[CommonWisdom]

The screen + browser + speed!! I used to hate using the BB for looking at a web page. Droid is so much more usable for browsing. That is probably the #1 reason I love the Droid so much more than the BB.

Honorable mention also goes to total Google integration, Google Maps with Navigation, and Google Voice.

 

[mrjam3s]

I came from the Storm.

BB has its pros and cons and Android has its pros and cons. They are listed in this thread.

I always thought I'd be a BB guy (8830, 9530) but it turns out their strengths (push email, bbm, great business phone) didn't outweigh the Android strengths (better market/apps, browsing, experience) for me.

It could be different for you, but for me the Android experience fits me better.

Hope that helps!

 

[atlkr5]

WOW!!!!!
I really can tell that you all have the Android Bug and are passionate about the Droid.

Thanks much, I am going to go play with one and see how it goes, then maybe a 30 test as recommended.


AGAIN THANKS MUCH, I will let you know how I make out.