Switch from BB Storm 2

[Sandman333]

I won't be up for my NE2 with Verizon until next December. By then, the next gen Storm should be out, possibly with QNX as the operating system, which should advance the BB platform considerably.

However, I'm concerned as RIM seems to be left behind in performance and apps at every turn by both iPhone and Android. My wife recently got a LG Ally, which is nice. I'm no fan of anything made by LG, but it is a faster device. I especially like the overall smoother operation of her device, where mine seems to be choking on processor speed and lack of memory on the BB. A lot of apps that I would like are not available on the BB either. I will be sticking with Verizon, so I am limited to their selection. A couple questions from someone considering switching to a Droid device:

What is expected to be out in a year to compete with BB QNX and whatever Apple comes up with?

What are the difficulties in porting contacts over from other platforms- can that be done easily via Google Sync?

Does anyone know if Verizon cripples the GPS on Droid based phones like they do on the BBs? On BB, you can only use the built-in GPS for BB Maps. Verizon disables it for everything else, as they want you to pay monthly service charges just to use the capabilities of your device.

Thanks.

 

[Smitty_82]

I was a BB Storm user and am now very happy that I switched to the Droid X. The QNX OS looks promising for the BB but the hardware specs was the biggest factor for my switch. The improvements to the Android OS have been pretty constant, and BB has quite a bit of ground to make up overall.

As far as changing platforms with VZW, it is painless. Google and backup assistant work fine, you should have no problems. When I switched, backup assistant synced my contacts instantly.

The GPS is usable outside of VZW Navigator, and I use Google Navigation on my DX (for free!!!).

 

[Corey]

I'll start with the easy question first. No, Verizon doesn't cripple the GPS on Droid devices.

If you use Google sync for your contacts on your Blackberry, the minute you log into your Android device with that gmail address, your contacts are imported immediately. It really couldn't be easier.

Alright, the hard stuff:

It's hard to tell what will be happening a year from now. If you look at this year alone, the Android OS grew considerably, as did the hardware to accompany it. While the LG Ally is a decent enough phone, it can't hold a candle to the current crop of Android phones. It was behind the OG Droid back then, and severely behind the curve against a Droid X/Droid 2/Fascinate, and those phones weren't released all that long after the Ally hit.

The wild card right now is how QNX will be implemented on future blackberry phones, and whether or not they'll be updating the hardware in any substantial way to match a new OS. If they maintain an incremental updating that is in line with their last two or three years, then it will lag further and further behind the competition.

Android is due for Gingerbread starting soon, and potentially seeing a major OS update sometime next year with Honeycomb. Dual core chips are starting to see imminent release dates and once the first ones hit, it'll only be a matter of time before the clock speeds really start jumping. We're already seeing 1.2ghz now. Maybe 2ghz+ by your renewal? Who knows. You've got a good bit of time to watch it all unfold really. The growth of Android in just one year has been substantial, in both hardware and software, so to feel out to December is kind of tough to do.

If you're keeping your options open, I'd watch to see how Windows Phone 7 grows. There are a few goofy things that make it a no go for me, but there's enough interesting stuff going on with that OS that it could really be a solid platform if they work out the bugs.

 

[RHChan84]

I was a S2 owners until 2 days ago. Went to the DroidX and my only issues are the copy/paste is different and it was better on the S2 and corporate emails on BB is great but web exchange server works just as well. DX is much faster and smoother. Battery life is worse but I can deal with it.

 

[Arelunde]

You can control your battery drain mainly by keeping the screen light low (or automatic) and manually locking the screen when not using the X. The X on 2.2 does a good job of keeping apps from running endlessly in the background, but widgets that update frequently will be problematical for battery life.

 

[greydarrah]

If you trade your Storm for an X, you'll never care what RIM does, or says their going to do. I had the S1 and the S2 and the X does everything they did, plus a whole lot more, and a whole lot faster. There has never been a rumored RIM OS update that was not a total disappointment.

 

[RemmyZero]

i was an S1/S2 owner until i got my droid in early october and i haven't had issues with contacts or anything. i had used backup assistant and everything ported over just fine.

i will never go back to a blackberry.

 

[Sandman333]

If you trade your Storm for an X, you'll never care what RIM does, or says their going to do. I had the S1 and the S2 and the X does everything they did, plus a whole lot more, and a whole lot faster. There has never been a rumored RIM OS update that was not a total disappointment.

I hear you. This latest update to 1013 is a mess. Lots of issues everywhere, and now my Storm cannot even erase email anymore. RIM and Verizon never should have released this junk.

 

[RHChan84]

The only thing I liked my S2 was corporate email and the copy/paste function is much easier and you can copy anything without rooting and downloading an app.

 

[tech_head]

Dumped my S2 for a DX and never looked back.
My 12 year old will get the S2.