So, as much as I love my BlackBerry (I'm on my 4th BB model), I'm considering upgrading to an Android phone later this summer.

Here's what I love about my BB:

• It makes sense. If you're looking for a setting, it is where it makes sense to be. Believe it or not, this is HUGE. Its one thing to have a setting, its another to place it in a place that makes sense and is easily find-able.
• Physical keyboard. This is a must. I write/respond to too many emails to deal with typing without feedback. Also, I write a TON of technical acronyms, etc and I want to type without having my phone think its smarter than me and changing my words.
• Support for multiple email accounts. This is a must. I need to be able to send from and receive emails from at least 3 different accounts all with different mail server settings.
• Camera / Wifi / GPS / Bluetooth. My current phone has all of these and I'd be hardpressed to switch to a device that didn't. I could probably live without Wifi if it was worth it.
• Phone Calendar syncs with Google Calendar
• Contacts syncs with Google Contacts. I can make phone calls to and send email messages to contacts who I've never entered into my phone individually because of this. This will also be HUGE when I move from BB to Android since I don't want to have to enter them all in manually.
• Charges with a standard USB charger (was Mini, now Micro). I can't tell you how annoying it is to have to buy all new chargers for a stupid phone, and then upgrade them all. Not to mention the fact that a simple USB-to-PC cable works perfectly in the clutch / while travelling.
• Visual Voicemail - I have this now and like it, but it's not necessary.

Things I'd like but don't have:

• Two way mail syncing with Gmail. If I read a message on my phone, it's marked as read in Gmail, but if I read a message in Gmail, it's not marked as read on my phone. I want that.

So, any suggestions? Anything would be greatly appreciated, but links to reviews / pictures might just earn you an HJ from Hooker (don't worry, he owes me.)

♥s

Without much research, I'd recommend the phone which my dick is currently hard for, the Droid 3. It's basic no nonsense phone with current gen hardware and a pretty stocky feeling 2.3 Android distro. It comes out the 14th.

http://gizmodo.com/5818943/the-droid-3- ... /gallery/4.

Well what provider are you with? That will determine what kind of android you'd possibly bealble to get.

I'm with sprint. I have the samsung galaxy S I've had it for about a year now. I don't do half of what you've described but I do know my phone does everything you asked for excpet for the 3 email accounts at least I haven't figured that one out yet. But all androids sync with ur gmail account as long as you tell it to. It will also sync with fb twitter and any other social media site also.

Also I'm not sure about BB chargers but I do know almost all smart phones use same usb charger now I've used my friends htc charger from time to time and so has she with mine....

Ill edit this when I get home with more info

I have ATT and have been really happy with the service in my area, so I'd be a little hesitant to switch, but I'd still consider Verizon-only options.

Thanks!

I went from blackberry pearl > Palm Pre (webOS) > HTC Evo (Android). Each was better than the last by at least a generation. I thought I'd hate giving up the keyboard with the evo but after a week or so I haven't noticed since. It's as natural as a physical keyboard.

Here's the great thing. You're a hacker, so you will be rooting your android phone. Most likely with cyanogenmod. It's necessary on all except the pure google phones (the nexus). The pure google/cyanogen experience puts settings where you want them. To change my most common settings I simply swipe down and toggle from anywhere on my phone. I don't have to touch settings menus most days I'm using it. Check the cyanogen website to see supported devices. http://www.cyanogenmod.com/.. then compare those to the ones offered by your preferred carrier.

If you must have a phone with physical keyboard that severely limits your options to MAYBE 1 per carrier. That greatly simplifies your search right there.

Android's (vanilla on nexus or rooted with cyanogenmod) strength is that it auto syncs everything- gmail, calendar, contacts. It's seamless and painless just like dropbox if you've used it. It just works. If you set up your email accounts in gmail (with POP/whatever) you can send from multiple accounts just fine from the gmail app in android.

Almost all android phones have shitty battery life compared to just about anything. Make sure you can get a solid aftermarket extended battery. http://www.seidioonline.com/.. never gone wrong with them. With a rooted phone you can also underclock and adjust screen warmth to save big on battery.

Until IOS5 comes out, or HP releases a killer phone for WebOS, android is the clear choice.

Don't get a phone under1ghz processor, and make sure you research the dual cores before taking that plunge.

Wow thanks for all the great info Dirk!



Argggg I dunno, I hate typing on my girlfriends iPhone ... maybe if I could turn off autocorrect, maybe.

I think you can. If not, the HTC incredible has a function that memorizes the words you last used - and then keeps track of how many times you use them. Like whenever I type n0, my phone will present options including n00bfest, n00b, n00bs - etc. It'll do it to all words - instead of correcting it'll just present options that it thinks you'll like.

So I've been checking out what is available on ATTs site, and have been impressed by the Inspire 4G (review) and Atrix 4G (review). I'm gonna check out more reviews, etc. especially concerning multiple email accounts.

A few more questions for android heads:
-- If I buy a phone w. Android 2.2 OS, can I upgrade to 2.3? I figure this is either an "Absolutely not", "Absolutely", or "Depends on your HW" answer.
-- Has anyone had experience with multiple email accounts? I've seen mixed statements. Some say "Support up to 5", others "Only one", others "depends on your device brand" (which seems weird because my understandin was that they all run Android OS, so why does the device brand matter?)

sorry for the edit. I went to hit quote and missed

For upgrading, all deals on the handset and if it's been schedule and what not....shit takes forever with most handsets.


I got a mate that has the Atrix.....Hella Fast...Hellla Hella Fast. Though I am not a fan of anything that doesn't have a hardware keyboard so basically I'm SOL in most cases when it comes to android phones.

Different phones get the upgrades at different times. It's not like an instant push to all devices like apple. The google guys like to make sure their shit works before sending it out. I believe I can sync more than one account on my phone, but I've never tried.

I have the Evo 4g from sprint and i love it. I think you can disable auto correct and the swype texting is super fast. You said you text/type a lot, the swype will save you so much time. Multiple emails is supported by all the smart phones i think. One thing to keep in mind is your data plan att, tmobal, verizon all have capped plans and you will eat it up with multiple emails and the apps/ internet browser (youtube). My dad has allways gone with black berry and to be honest after having a android for over a year his phone feels like a joke when i try and use it. I would say the Evo or the Thunderbolt i think is what it is on verizon are your best bet. Also spring still has unlimited everything plans at a decent price this is huge for the smart phones.

Also stay away from samsung they suck unless you are planning on buying a new phone every 18months. As soon as they come out with the new model they stop releasing updates for the older models. This is fine at first but then your phone will start to not work correctly and apps will not work and its a piss off. I would say go with HTC if you want timely updates and good support for the phone.

I have the Htc evo and have two emails set up on it right now with no problems, Battery life sucks but I bought this ( http://amzn.com/B003YNKBFO.) and it really comes in hady I just keep a spare battery in my pocket. Also a must in my opinion is (http://www.bestskinsever.com/.) Had my phone for a good while and it still looks brand new. The keyboard is a bit annoying for my big man hands but if you get this (http://amzn.com/B003SNIRCO.) adds a little bulk tho the phone for big hands.

Yes you can disable the autocorrect, I have done it, smartphones dont speak dumbass redneck.



p:s You know what they say about guys with big hands??!!!

You know what they say about guys that brag to...

But some good stuff there spidey. I don't know about att phones but really tho iphones are for faggots like gman said to dr. HOMOSEXUAL :)

I apologize if this was already stated, because I didn't read the entire thread. BUT, you can add your technical terms/acronyms to the phone's dictionary, so autocorrect won't continue to F*CK you. This is very easy to do on-the-fly by holding your finger on the word you are typing in the autocorrect menu above the keyboard. I only bring this up, because i HATE physical keyboards on phones. I make more mistakes in 30 seconds with a keyboard than I make in a month with the touch screen, thanks to how tiny the buttons are and my wide thumbs.

The biggest thing I can suggest is to go to stores and play with the phones you are considering getting; I mean REALLY play with them. Also, I don't know about ATT, but Verizon gives you 30 days to bring back a phone if you don't like it, which gives you a real trial period with a phone, apps, keyboard, etc. Good luck my friend, and happy shopping!

watch google. cracked my g2 droid and still getting max play with it for a year on tmobile. you know all those freaks have had this convo a year ago. follow the trend or die?

Did you install advanced task killer? I have mine set to auto kill every time the screen times out and i get about 8 hrs running youtube, pandora, web browsing and two emails set to refresh every hr

If you root your phone and go with Cyanogen (again, check the site to see if the phone you're after is supported) or another ROM chef, you will always have the latest android within a month or so of it being released to the official google phone of the year (now the samsung nexus s). I'm running 2.3.3 on my Evo 4g and it's beautiful (and quick, etc etc)


If you map all your emails into gmail it greatly simplifies things. I highly suggest you try it, you very well might like it a whole lot :)

Dirk, I used to want to be a hacker in another life, but now I am just a retard. Can you tell me why I would want to root my android phone? I clicked on the link you provided, but it doesn't give much information, and there is no "video tour" like it states. I used to love my android phone because of all the customization, but anymore it seems to not run as smooth as my buddies' iPhone4 (and I HATE the fact I'm even saying that). Perhaps the rooted android could give me new faith??? Please help a brotha out :D