Thoughts on the Droid from a BB user

[dajogejr]

Hello all...
I'm new to A Central, not to forums by any means.
No, this isn't going to be a bash fest...I like my new D2. But I loved my Berry...

I'll get right into it.

Pros:
Fast. Already knew that was coming. Abundant processing and RAM/ROM, it moves screen to screen, app to app and page to page like a berry can only dream of at this point.
Pictures. Very good quality.
Screen. Very nice. Not as impressive at the iPhone or even the X, but still very nice, bright/crisp.
Droid Market, very nice. I see a lot of the same apps that I use on my iPod Touch. (Question, can you link the market to a paypal account?)
WiFi hotspot. This is a gem. If you have a Verizon air card you pay 45 or 60 a month for 2GB or 5GB respectively. Using this as a Wifi Hotspot you pay 20 or 30 respectively.
Also, Verizon charges either 34.99 or 39.99 for data on a blackberry.
29.99 for Android...nice savings.
Maps/navigator. I LOVE this, but...I also have a nice 5" screen TomTom. This makes a very nice backup.

Nuetral:
Keyboard. It's different. I like the layout, but I miss things like holding a letter down for a capital, etc. I've been getting used to it, trying both the physical and virtual with/without swype. I'm calling this in the middle for now.

Size/weight. It's a little bigger, but it's heavier. I'd like to think that its because it's built solid. It feels nice, not cheap.

Cons: (Please bear with me...it's been less than 24 hours)
Email. I use Hosted Exchange with Active Sync. The push mail works fine.
However, I use a lot of sub folders which show up fine....BUT...I have rules setup within Exchange (Outlook) that deliver messages from certain users to certain folders. While you can look at other folders, if the message gets delivered to a folder other than the in box, you won't get a notification. BB showed all messages and allowed folder redirection, so I'd get a notification no matter what (I use different folders for people AND departments. Like my boss, Operations, Marketing, etc.)
Battery. I've done some homework, although not a TON. It's terrible. With very moderate use, I don't think it'll make it through a full day. Some more tutorials would be nice. I realize a larger screen and a faster processor/more ram come with a price. I've got an app killer installed and got rid of the un-needed items running. I'm thinking about rooting the phone ONLY to get rid of stuff I don't want.
Screens/options/widgets. This could fall under neutral, but I find them kinda hard to figure out. I am the IT guy for our company and I'm very quick to figure things out...again, first day with it.
Admin Control. With the BB, you could wipe the phone remotely. Lock them down. I know it's coming for the Droid...it's just not as easy/seamless.
Lockdown. This is annoying. I don't mind swiping my finger to unlock the phone, no biggie. But to have to put a PIN in after its in non-use for 15 minutes...c'mon.
Google...GMAIL account mandatory... C'mon...really?
Lastly, voicemail. On voicemail on a bb you have the option to have it pause and dial your voicemail PIN for you to check VM. I tried to set this up (*86, pause...PIN) and it doesn't work.


I am NOT trying to sound like a hater. I picked one up because I wanted to check out the functionality for email/calendar/contact. It's pretty good. Not as good out of the box as a BB. Just like I thought, however, for browsing, apps and speed it blows away the BB. It's pretty damn sexy too...lol.

If you told me I'd have to pick one phone or the other right now, I'd say give me the BB back...but, I'm going to give it an honest couple weeks until I either keep it, return it or swap it with someone at work.

Am I missing the boat anyone?

 

[BSG75]

It sounds like most of your issues are related to corporate use. The BB is probably still a better pure business device.
Widgets: look through them all and try them out. I think they are indispensable.
Battery: it will be worse thsn your BB as you mentioned. You will get conflicting views on if a task killer is good or not. I personally think you are barking up the wrong tree if ypu think that will affect your battery significantly. Use wifi when you can. If you pick it up every five minutes it will never sleep. Look into an extended battery. There are lots of threads with other tips.
In settings > security you can turn off your lock or set it from 0 to 15 minutes delay. Were you looking for another option.
I came from a BB as a consumer device and would never go back to BB.

 

[dajogejr]

I have it set to 15 minutes, but there is no option to turn it off (says it's locked by the administrator, which is me..lol)
I'm going to remove the task killer and see.

You don't think WiFi will drain the battery faster? I have WiFi at work and home...but I thought using the chip would drain faster.

As said, I'm still working with it...I like it...but I gotta love it to keep it.

 

[Bushido Brown]

I can get about 13 hours before my battery reaches 20 percent, and I use my phone very often. Moto rates the phone at about 9 hours talk time, and every review I've personally read confirms the ratings to be accurate. If you're phone isn't achieving something along those lines, then you may want to look into the software you are using. Possibly looking to see how often they are auto refreshing.

For the rare occasions I do get a voice message, I just use visual voicemail. Dialing in and listening to messages one by one just seems so primitive to me. For the pin lock, you could just not use it...? I don't see how that's even a problem

 

[dajogejr]

For the pin lock, you could just not use it...? I don't see how that's even a problem

Not using a pin lock is not an option, 15 minutes is the least restrictive....

I see the option to NOT use one, it's not available on my phone.
It says locked by the admin...but I AM the admin.

We do not have Exchange in house...it is hosted. I have all kinds of options for a BB (resend service books, lock, wipe device) all can be done remotely from my admin console.
There is nothing for the android...yet.

 

[packerbacker]

First of all, welcome aboard, both to Android and to Android Central. I know you will find these forums extremely helpful, because I have. I just joined the forums last month, but have had Android phones since March. These forums really showed me my phone's full potential.

I'm also glad you aren't having hardware problems with your D2... because I had major problems with it. But I think I was in the minority there.

I know out of the box the D2 doesn't seem as great as your BB, but I assure you it is. Android is a hell of an OS, I'm never switching unless I have to!

I only use a gmail account so I don't know about the email issues some people have. Hopefully you can get that panned out. I know there are apps like K9 that some use to mange outside emails more efficiently.

Battery life seems depressing out of the box, but there are plenty of tweaks you can do to fix this. If you can manage it, turn your brightness all the way down as often as you can. Display definitely hogs most of the battery. Using Wifi whenever you have a connection saves TONS of battery. I didn't start doing this until recently because I had the false impression that the opposite was true. I also turn my phone on Airplane mode during times I absolutely do not need my phone to be active/receiving data (aka when I'm in class or studying) and that saves the battery tremendously as well. Live Wallpapers, also, are battery hogs. Some people use them and just deal with that- I value battery more than live wallpapers, so I don't use them. Just a few tips.

Give the screen/widgets/options time. There are tons to choose from, which is daunting, but you'll LOVE the customization of this phone. It's endless. Even if you don't root (which I haven't).

Report back in a couple weeks or even a couple days and see if you have changed your mind at all. It's okay if you haven't, of course. But Android definitely needs time to grow on you if you're a beginner. Good luck!

 

[dajogejr]

Thanks Cheesehead (and I mean that with the sincerest affection...lol)
This phone will be business use first, cool personal stuff second.
I fully plan on keeping it at least a week or two to see how it goes.

 

[Bushido Brown]

Thats a new one...I don't really have a solution for that one. To be honest, I don't even know how to create an administrator in the first place. I always just ignored that option.

 

[jfriend33]

Just switched from a blackberry tour thursday. For some reason I thought switching to a droid 2 would be night and day. Both devices actually have their strengths and weaknesses.

The email for my school was not very easy to set up. Had to do corporate sync, got instructions from the internet. Took me about 20 minutes. Its a hotmail account that ends in .edu it doesnt come any slower on the droid than it did on my blackberry.

Notifications on a blackberry are amazing. I am finding some applications in marketplace that appear to replicate the blackberry's notification settings. I will see how that goes.

One thing that I really enjoyed about my blackberry was bedside mode. The moment I plugged in my phone, the clock appears (yes, i have replicated that with the dock simulator) and the blackberry changed my notification profile to only allow phone calls to ring, nothing else.

I am still confused as to why my phone has 2 twitter applications, and 2 facebook ones. Yes I know the one set is for moto blur, but they really do not interface well with each other. In fact, in the real facebook android application, if you click comments for certain things it launches the website, which I don't think is necessary at all.

Battery life... I am on the fence about this. I am beginning to think the battery on the droid doesn't last as long because I am using the phone more. Its really too soon to comment on this.

On a positive note, I am so happy that I don't have to pay verizon $10 a month anymore for the crappy VZ Navigator. That program was a crock of **** and half the time gave incorrect directions.

I guess I just dont understand why I have to potentially void my warranty and "root" my phone to get free wifi tethering on this device, when my friend has a droid incredible and he doesn't have to pay anything extra for it (same for the palm pre.. the palm pre i could see why verizon did that, the device was crappy and behind its time so they wanted more pre's to sell).

I can't complain too much about this phone since verizon gave me a refurb for free due to redundant problems with the blackberry tour. But one thing I really don't understand is what the big deal is about a droid 2. Its really not that much better than the original droid's i've played with.

I downloaded advance task killer, I am trying to figure out all of that still. I guess I don't understand why some applications are running even though I've never used them or configured them, like the verizon my contacts back up.

Swype! Can I tell you folks how close I was to getting a samsung omnia 2 just for this feature only? It is amazing and gets easier to use every day.

Cases.

What the heck is up with th e lack of cases and holsters for droid and droid 2? Can I tell you how much I hate the snap on cases because it makes it nearly impossible for me to type on the physical keyboard's top row...epic failure! Guess I need to have best buy put on an invisishield for me so I can quit whining.

Why aren't there any droid 2 specific car mounts available (besides the motorola branded one sold at verizon and best buy with the suction cup)...I want a snap in cradle that charges my phone that I could adapt to a panavise or profit vehicle specific mount.

Regardless of all this. Its nice to have a device that doesnt require constant options>status file free checks. I did have to do a battery pull on this phone yesterday when the wifi froze (not wifi tether). It kept switching off and on really rapidly and the phone locked up.

 

[JC Droid]

Hello all.

I switched from a BB Tour and BB Storm 2 to the R2D2 Droid 2.

Much like my Blackberry buds i do miss the notifications. I have been able to figure out the ringtones for contacts. I just got handcent for the text messages, which is nice. I do miss my specific e-mail notifications, maybe someone can help here.

I have noticed the battery does drag.

I did figure out the voicemail and added my passcode to it. I'm sure you figured out how to do this by now, if not drop me a line.

I also share the fustration with a lack of cases. I like a regular case not the sideways cases that are around. I did get the invisiable shield added to the phone, so far so good. Though a case would be nice, will be checking e-bay.

John

 

[dajogejr]

I have the Body Glove case, it was always a winner for my BB phones.
Yes...the upper row of keys is terrible.
I find myself sliding it shut and using the virtual keyboard...

I'm still not sold on it.

After using the phone for the weekend, I'll say this about it.
I would love to keep it as my personal/work phone.
But if the execs and operations asked me my opinion of it for work, I'm going to tell them to keep the BB for what we do.
Better/less confusing email and longer battery life are just as important for our folks in the field.

 

[darrylmendo]

I found that removing Facebook from the "my accounts" app saves battery because it's not constantly downloading people's update statuses. Similar to live wallpapers, it's a very cool feature but not worth giving up ram and battery life for. Plus, it removes all unnecessary contacts from your phonebook. And you still have the normal fb app.

 

[lintmail]

Hello all.

I switched from a BB Tour and BB Storm 2 to the R2D2 Droid 2.

Much like my Blackberry buds i do miss the notifications. I have been able to figure out the ringtones for contacts. I just got handcent for the text messages, which is nice. I do miss my specific e-mail notifications, maybe someone can help here.

I have noticed the battery does drag.

I did figure out the voicemail and added my passcode to it. I'm sure you figured out how to do this by now, if not drop me a line.

I also share the fustration with a lack of cases. I like a regular case not the sideways cases that are around. I did get the invisiable shield added to the phone, so far so good. Though a case would be nice, will be checking e-bay.

John

Coming from a BB Storm 1 and man am I glad I switched. Yes, BB email functionality works much better on the BB, but I think this is a minor software issue that will get resolved (hopefully) soon.

On cases, all DROID cases will work. There is a massive thread on Droid Forum - Covering all Verizon Droid Phones: Motorola Droid, Droid X, Droid 2, Droid Incredible and Droid Eris that discusses cases both Droid 1 and 2 cases. I recently ordered the Sena Elega (for iPhone 3G) which alleges fits the Droid 1 and 2 as well. In the interim, I'm using a cheapo $3 cover from ebay which has saved my A** several times already.

 

[dajogejr]

Returned it today.
Between the clunky email and terrible battery life, that was the icing on the cake.

Too bad, if it was my personal phone for myself and work, I would've kept it.
No way could I support all the users comfortably with the device.

I tried to make it work, which it did just barely for me.
It simply didn't make the cut for what our field users need.

Reliable and just simple.

I guess I'll wait for the technology to mature and until the iPhone comes out on Verizon...

 

[mscalero]

Returned it today.
Between the clunky email and terrible battery life, that was the icing on the cake.

Too bad, if it was my personal phone for myself and work, I would've kept it.
No way could I support all the users comfortably with the device.

I tried to make it work, which it did just barely for me.
It simply didn't make the cut for what our field users need.

Reliable and just simple.

I guess I'll wait for the technology to mature and until the iPhone comes out on Verizon...

Ah, well sad to see the Droid 2 go bye bye! I used to have a BB Curve 8330 myself and I hear ya on the issues, I currently sport a Droid 1. There are things I miss about Blackberry, but, not enough to turn me back to them, they are way too stagnant. Android seems to be the big innovator right now.

You may want to check out the Droid Pro. I heard it's supposedly coming out sometime next month on VZW. It has a very business-use set up so I hear, and has the same form factor and keyboard as a BB Curve/Tour/Bold.

M

 

[dajogejr]

I have more issues with the software shortcomings and oddities than I do the actual physical form factor...but...I've been looking at them.

I didn't want to turn it in..but I would've only been delaying the inevitable...

 

[jfriend33]

There are many quirks with the droid2... it seems to get laggy when multitasking especially contacts. It takes way too long for them to load, also the touch screen really acts up if you aren't using the device in your hand, like if its sitting on a table...

Sound quality for pandora is a known issue with 2.2 hopefully they fix it,

Played with a blackberry torch yesterday and wow was I blown away....such a nice device. If I could afford one and didn't mind atnt tiered data I would have one. No unlimited internet is a dealbreaker for me.

 

[thebizz]

It's more of a problem with the contacts app trying to pull all your fb and twitter info into the application. As far as lagg I'm not seeing it
Edit
and you shouldn't have an issue with Pandora stagefright caused it and its not active on the d2

 

[dajogejr]

It's more of a problem with the contacts app trying to pull all your fb and twitter info into the application. As far as lagg I'm not seeing it
Edit
and you shouldn't have an issue with Pandora stagefright caused it and its not active on the d2

I double checked to make sure mine wasn't pulling from FB and I never signed up or used Twitter on it. I even closed any FB process from memory/RAM that was running.

Somtimes it was laggy...others it was blazing fast.
Just not what I expected...

I also told it not to pull my Gmail contacts either...on top of that I deleted the few I had in there (I only use Gmail as a junk/spam mail catcher when I have that feeling a site or service is gonna flood me.)

On a good note, my provider of email does offer remote wipe, password recovery and lock for the phone. The way it's done is silly...but they're working on it. That would be a first step in the right direction as far as I'm concerned. Again, I'm not bashing on Android at all...so please don't take it that way.

 

[thebizz]

Oh trust me I know your not for business use the d2 nor Android are their yet. I'm hoping the additions to the droidpro will help. some of the things added by blur suck like the new contacts it's just way to slow especially when used next to the d1. I hope the next version of Android helps and adds in more support for you could always use touchdown but that may be too expensive of an application to give to everyone