Thinking about converting from Blackberry

[magic rat]

Hi all,

I have an ordinary Blackberry Curve 8330 on Sprint. I consider if the Toyota Camry of smartphones. It basically does everything I need and it's relatively reliable. But I'm getting phone envy when I see all those touchscreen people!

Been doing my homework and I'm "this close" to buying a Moment and then immediately upgrading it to 2.1.

Some questions, in no particular order:
- Should I wait a couple of months for the Moment 2? (I * want * a new phone now, but would it be foolish to invest the older model now?)
- How does Android/Moment handle push email, which as a Crackberry user I'm friggin' compulsive about...?
- I use my own domain + POP3; will this be a problem vs. Google-centricity?
- Is there a good spam filter for whatever email client(s) are available? On the Curve I use a program called Antair spam filter and it works great.
- How is the Moment's camera? I'm not big into photography, but I like to carry one device instead of two, and the Curve's camera is terrible.
- Something I love about the trusty Curve is that I can easily pick it up with one hand and read/delete emails with just a few clicks and/or trackball motions. On a phone like the Moment, can I still do this, or will I have to use both hands and open the keyboard each time?
- The last touchscreen device I owned was a Treo 700P. That only used a stylus, but sometimes I used my thumb anyhow, and it always left a smudge on the screen. Will I constantly be cleaning the Moment's screen (or in other words, "How do those iPhone people cope?") Yes, my hands are clean, but still.....
- What other learning curves will I face vs. being a Crackberry addict?
- I guess my bottom line is, if I buy a Moment now and update it to 2.1, or even if I wait for the Moment 2, will I have any buyer's remorse? I'm also looking at the Blackberry Bold 2, which is due next week I think ... I like that it does away with the mechanical trackball, but the other major feature is WiFi, and that's useless to me because I have an unlimited service plan.
- Please don't suggest the HTC Evo, etc. -- I must have a physical keyboard.
- I'm way too impatient to wait for the mythical Blackberry Slider.

Thanks everyone.

 

[avacomputers]

I know you think you need a physical keyboard but you don't. Just do some research on swype. The moment is a decent phone, but it's bulky and I never used the physical keyboard.

 

[LSanna1488]

I always use the physical keyboard. I like my moment and it will take some getting used to. The camera on 2.1 is slightly above average. Using the email with one hand is possible, if you use the touchscreen keyboard. Overall I think the Moment would be a good choice. I used to have the 8330, but got bored with it after a few months. Ive had my Moment since november, and havent even thought about changing it for a different phone. So many more customizations available to the Moment.

 

[magic rat]

I know you think you need a physical keyboard but you don't. Just do some research on swype. The moment is a decent phone, but it's bulky and I never used the physical keyboard.

Thanks for your response.

I'm familiar with Swype. Does it come pre-loaded on the Moment? If not, then how do you acquire it? I thought it was only available via the handset companies vs. directly to consumers.

I'm also thinking it would be nice to have a Moment-like phone, because I can get used to the touchscreen while also have a keyboard as a safety net. Perhaps if I like the touchscreen then I'll go keyboardless for my next phone.

 

[abrognlie]

Magicrat, I have an 8330 as well, and my wife has a Moment. I didn't like the software keyboard either until I upgraded her phone to 2.1 - now it's great. I used to think I'd always need a hardware keyboard, but I really don't think so anymore. I am totally jealous of her phone - I can't wait until August when I can upgrade my BB!

 

[magic rat]

I bought the Moment today. I'm returning it tomorrow.

This phone is CRAP. After some wrangling I finally got it to connect via USB to my computer, but when I ran the 2.1 software and followed the instructions to the letter, the phone just wouldn't connect to the computer. For the record, I work in tech, so I'm not some clueless end user. I then spent two hours on the phone with Sprint tech support, including second- and third-level support, but they couldn't get it to work either. After that I spent another hour arguing with them to waive the $35 "restocking" fee at the Sprint store -- I've been a Sprint wireless customer for ELEVEN YEARS and I'm on a $100 unlimited premium plan, so I should pay $35 to return a non-working phone after one afternoon of activation? No sir! I finally won that argument. During this process, I had to call support multiple times because the Moment kept randomly dropping the calls and giving me "out of range" messages even though I live in an urban area and always got full bars on my other phones. After that it took another hour to get my old BlackBerry reactivated.

 

[Adam Sawyer]

First off, the Moment is great phone. However, it does take some tinkering to get things working the way they should. Out of the box, it has some problems. Even more so with Android 1.5.

The Moments USB drivers are very sensitive -- you have to download and install the right driver package, and make sure there are NO other samsung/sprint drivers on your computer for it work right. Driver conflicts seem to happen a lot easier than they should.

If your phone kept dropping calls like that I'd think you just have a defective unit. I've never had a call dropped, and at my house I only get 1 or 2 bars. Give it a chance! It can really be a satisfying device, and now that it has Android 2.1, it's a real contender for Sprint. Can't forget about that QWERTY keyboard either.

Be sure to search for directions on how to flash the right way, and there are even some alternate methods as well.

Good luck!

 

[itsall4tay]

Don't do it. Android is fun but Blackberry is functional.

 

[bikedogrun]

First off, the Moment is great phone. However, it does take some tinkering to get things working the way they should. Out of the box, it has some problems. Even more so with Android 1.5.

The Moments USB drivers are very sensitive -- you have to download and install the right driver package, and make sure there are NO other samsung/sprint drivers on your computer for it work right. Driver conflicts seem to happen a lot easier than they should.

If your phone kept dropping calls like that I'd think you just have a defective unit. I've never had a call dropped, and at my house I only get 1 or 2 bars. Give it a chance! It can really be a satisfying device, and now that it has Android 2.1, it's a real contender for Sprint. Can't forget about that QWERTY keyboard either.

I believe Adam Sawyer got it right on! While I agree that the USB drivers can be problematic (and I wish there were MAC versions for upgrading) they do ultimately work. While I cannot upgrade on my MAC, my Moment connects fine via USB to my MAC for file transfers and syncing of iTunes music (I use Salling Media Sync).

The dropped calls issue has to be just a bad phone, get a different one... I've also never had a single dropped call even with only 1 bar. Whatever you decide, hope it works for you///

/BD

 

[kcmoment]

Don't do it. Android is fun but Blackberry is functional.

Android's not functional?

 

[Jo_795]

Don't do it. Android is fun but Blackberry is functional.

BWAHAHAH seriously? Since when are battery pulls every day on Blackberries functional?.?? I done have to do taht on my Moment. and the drivers are sensitive you have to connect and reconnect untill it detects the phone. 2.1 is very good but with rooted optimized SDX kernal it runs flawless