It's been a long time coming but RIM has done it with postponing BBX devices. I've been a hard core BB user for years and I'm ready to move on. I had an Archos Android tablet & my wife uses an HTC Inspire 4G so I'm not going down that road - I know where it leads. I had a 4th Gen iPod Touch and that was enough to deter me from getting an iPhone - ever! WebOS(cough). There are a few features that BlackBerrys offer that I'll need when making the switch - great email, a seemless typing experience, social networking apps(facebook, twitter etc), good notification system & great battery life - can I look forward to these things with WP7 or will I be stuck waiting for BBX? I know the forum of any good site is the best place to go for questions. Thanks!
I want to switch from BlackBerry.
- Thread starter The Liaison
- Start date
Came from BB to WP7 and was worries about typing on the screen keyboard. I have an Arrive with physical keyboard which I thought I would use a lot. The on screen keyboard is so good I never slide out the physical keyboard on my Arrive.
Email is fantastic and no $10 surcharges for BES. The only issue you may have is notifications. There isn't a central location for these on WP7. You can overcome this by pinning tiles to the start screen for the sevices that matter most to you.
I highly recommend the jump. I've never considered going back to BB.
Sent from my T7575 using Board Express
Email is fantastic and no $10 surcharges for BES. The only issue you may have is notifications. There isn't a central location for these on WP7. You can overcome this by pinning tiles to the start screen for the sevices that matter most to you.
I highly recommend the jump. I've never considered going back to BB.
Sent from my T7575 using Board Express
I'd make the jump if I were you. Blackberry just seems to be stumbling a lot lately. It's a sinking ship.
I think the typing experience is really solid on WP7. Although I preferred the physical keyboard on my old school Blackjack, the soft keyboard on WP7 really good in terms of correcting. I just type, sometimes not even getting any of the letters correct and yet it knows what I meant to type. I also have an iPad and a Kinect Fire and those autocorrects are garbage in comparison.
True there's no central notification area, but if email is one of your primary uses, you can do the linked inbox and have a total count of all the emails unread right on your lock screen. It's very good for doing quick checks.
psychotron
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I came over from BB as well. But it wasn't so much that I was fed up with RIM at the time as it was having been a long time Zune user and wanting a similar experience on my phone. Boy, am I ever glad I made the switch. 5 months later and I'm still amazed by this platform.
Sent from my Samsung Focus using Board Express
Sent from my Samsung Focus using Board Express
Luisraul924
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- Jan 30, 2011
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My opinion on all four aspects:
Email - just as good as any other platform, including Blackberry.
Typing - never had a problem with typing, in fact most bloggers that review Windows Phone state that it's the best software keyboard on the market.
Social Networking - Awesome OS integration for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The integration doesn't have absolutely everything but the features that it doesn't have can be assisted through either the official apps or third-party apps.
Battery Life - Most will agree that battery life is awesome on WP7.
Notifications - Ah, notifications. Well this is very, very hit and miss for everyone. When compared side by side with all the other OSs out there and especially Blackberry, Windows Phone's notification system sucks. Most are frustrated with the fact that there is no central notification area for missed notifications, I too am on that boat, however I understand that this is a new platform and I'm sure (or at least hope) that they are working on a better solution for the half-baked system they have going right now... Well more like 3/4 of the way there since the Live Tiles work great and it does have push notifications but if you have too many apps and not all of them pinned and you miss a push notification then there is practically no way that you can see it anymore without actually going into each and every single app. That's essentially the main gripe that me and many other people have about the Windows Phone notifications system. A secondary gripe that I have (and I'm sure many others do as well) is that the only notifications for the integrated social networking are on the "Me" tile but have no push notifications for them. So they only get updated once every 15 minutes when the background agents pull the data from the networks. It'd be nice to have push notifications for the social networking. So, that is what it is.
jleebiker
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Long time BB user here. I've had just about every model of BB for the last 12 years.
I've been playing with the WP for the last few weeks and I would NEVER go back. I'm testing WP on an older HTC Trophy and even THAT hardware is enough to demonstrate that WP is the way to go.
Email is JUST as good as anything else.
Typing experience-I was concerned about going from physical buttons to a virtual one as well, but I gotta tell you, you learn to adjust FAST. Now, I'd say I'm just as fast if not faster than with the physical kb.
Social Networking-For what I use it for, posting updates, looking at updates, messaging... seamless with the WP native capability. I don't play all the Farmville crap games so don't miss that. In fact, I'd say I am getting MORE info on the WP than I did with the FB app on BB. And its FAST. The FB app on BB was always slow and laggy.
Notification system-As others have mentioned, there isn't a unified Inbox anymore like on BB, BUT you can link accounts together and summarize. For me, I HATED this on the BB in the first place. I always had separate icons for each account so the way WP does it is a HUGE PLUS for me. I always hid the Inbox icon and only showed the icons for each individual account. I LOVE how WP does this.
Battery life-I've already seen that the Trophy I am testing with is MUCH better than the BB I had. I have noticed one weird exception where it went from about 25% to zero in about 20 minutes. I attribute that to this being a test unit so consider that an isolated incident.
One of the things you need to wrap your brain around is that the WP doesn't NEED alot of 3rd party apps to do things. For example, there are 3rd party apps for locating, locking and beaconing a Droid, BB or iOS phone. WP does this NATIVELY. You don't NEED a 3rd party app to do this. Twitter app? Same thing, does it natively, FB? Pfft. I like the streamlined way WP presents FB data.
I have a group for my kids and family. If I want to text or email them, I would have to pull up email or SMS texting and then select them, yadda yadda yadda. On WP, if I want to notify them, I just click the tile and select text or email and away I go.
I love how the live tiles give me updates w/o having to drill down. I can see them right from the main page. For me, that's an efficiency gain. I don't have to mess with an app. I'm starting to take the approach of when they say there's an app for that... "We don't need no stinkin apps..." it's builtin.
Granted there are some gaps, Google Maps, Gtalk, but I see this as an opportunity to try something else and see what else is out there.
Hope that helps.
tmotytn
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- Dec 2, 2011
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I agree with everything you said, but this line in particular is dead on...+1!
I got so bogged down reloading the same apps everytime I switched phones, I never looked for anything new...
So you guys don't consider all email being PUSH important or am I missing some email settings on my Titan? I was pretty disappointed I had to make a Live account just to get PUSH email. I guess that depends on the person, but it was disappointing to me. I hope someday, WP offers PUSH to more clients than just Live.
Having said that, I prefer WP Mango over BBOS in most areas. Now I do have a Playbook running their new OS and I know there currents phones just aren't up to par. I can't say I really miss any type of notification center, since I get notifications on my important live tiles. I do miss my customizable LED though.
. I find it annoying the integrated twitter can't forward tweets via Email directly. One huge plus BB has is you have the ability to send email, sms or to twitter/FB from so many Apps and native stuff. WP isn't quite there yet in that area. The WP browser is pretty good. Its is fairly quick, probably close to BBOS7 devices in that area. I really wish WP had Flash, but I know BB won't have it either until their new OS is here. Yes, it will still have Flash even though Adobe isn't providing the mobile support anymore (for those that would say, how could they? Mobile Flash is dead?). RIM doesn't use a plugin like Android. Flash is supported at the base OS, so it also runs better too. RIM ports Flash themselves from the source.
RIM is one of the best for antenna reception and call quality. Now my Titan looks to have software issues where call quality is effected on my voice to the other end. However, my Titans earpiece speaker is noticeably inferior to what I'm used to on Blackberry's. Reception is similar between the two. Granted this is manufacturer issues, but RIM is pretty straightforward here. In general, all their models will be excellent in those areas. Also, my battery life on the WP is pretty good. No complaints there coming from Blackberry which is also top notch in battery for smartphones.
I'm a huge fan of the metro UI and I love that most Apps maintain that same look.
Holy crap, data! I used to use about 250-350MB data per month on Blackberry, due to their data compression. I'm looking at about 2-3GB on this phone. Not a big deal cause I maintained my unlimited data, but it's something to note coming from Blackberry and going to WP, Android it iOS who don't compress data at all.
Having said that, I prefer WP Mango over BBOS in most areas. Now I do have a Playbook running their new OS and I know there currents phones just aren't up to par. I can't say I really miss any type of notification center, since I get notifications on my important live tiles. I do miss my customizable LED though.
. I find it annoying the integrated twitter can't forward tweets via Email directly. One huge plus BB has is you have the ability to send email, sms or to twitter/FB from so many Apps and native stuff. WP isn't quite there yet in that area. The WP browser is pretty good. Its is fairly quick, probably close to BBOS7 devices in that area. I really wish WP had Flash, but I know BB won't have it either until their new OS is here. Yes, it will still have Flash even though Adobe isn't providing the mobile support anymore (for those that would say, how could they? Mobile Flash is dead?). RIM doesn't use a plugin like Android. Flash is supported at the base OS, so it also runs better too. RIM ports Flash themselves from the source.RIM is one of the best for antenna reception and call quality. Now my Titan looks to have software issues where call quality is effected on my voice to the other end. However, my Titans earpiece speaker is noticeably inferior to what I'm used to on Blackberry's. Reception is similar between the two. Granted this is manufacturer issues, but RIM is pretty straightforward here. In general, all their models will be excellent in those areas. Also, my battery life on the WP is pretty good. No complaints there coming from Blackberry which is also top notch in battery for smartphones.
I'm a huge fan of the metro UI and I love that most Apps maintain that same look.
Holy crap, data! I used to use about 250-350MB data per month on Blackberry, due to their data compression. I'm looking at about 2-3GB on this phone. Not a big deal cause I maintained my unlimited data, but it's something to note coming from Blackberry and going to WP, Android it iOS who don't compress data at all.
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tmotytn
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So you guys don't consider all email being PUSH important or am I missing some email settings on my Titan? I was pretty disappointed I had to make a Live account just to get PUSH email. I guess that depends on the person, but it was disappointing to me. I hope someday, WP offers PUSH to more clients than just Live.
Having said that, I prefer WP Mango over BBOS in most areas. Now I do have a Playbook running their new OS and I know there currents phones just aren't up to par. I can't say I really miss any type of notification center, since I get notifications on my important live tiles. I do miss my customizable LED though.
RIM is one of the best for antenna reception and call quality. Now my Titan looks to have software issues where call quality is effected on my voice to the other end. However, my Titans earpiece speaker is noticeably inferior to what I'm used to on Blackberry's. Reception is similar between the two. Granted this is manufacturer issues, but RIM is pretty straightforward here. In general, all their models will be excellent in those areas. Also, my battery life on the WP is pretty good. No complaints there coming from Blackberry which is also top notch in battery for smartphones.
I'm a huge fan of the metro UI and I love that most Apps maintain that same look.
Holy crap, data! I used to use about 250-350MB data per month on Blackberry, due to their data compression. I'm looking at about 2-3GB on this phone. Not a big deal cause I maintained my unlimited data, but it's something to note coming from Blackberry and going to WP, Android it iOS who don't compress data at all.
When I made the switch a few years ago from Blackberry, I felt the same as you do...I absolutely HAD TO HAVE push email...
On WinMo I found Seven, which provided push, on iOS I had it set to 'as it arrives', and for Android I used whatever settings were there for whatever app I was using at the time...
I agree that Mango is lacking in that aspect, but since I have been using this new generation of WP, I have my email set to pull every 15 minutes, and lo and behold, I am not near as important as I thought I was, since that hasn't had any effect on my "4 Life Variables" (how much of each of the following items I receive: Food, Sleep, Money, Sex)...
Hopefully, someone smarter than me can develop something that will get us that push email we so desperately crave sooner rather than later...
welsbloke
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- Nov 1, 2011
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Mail - It may not have all the technical functionality you may get when using Blackberry paired with a server but for usability hands down win to WP7.
Keyboard - I moved to the HTC Desire touch screen when I deserted my Blackberry never missed the keyboard tbh and since moving to the WP7 Omnia now and later the Lumia I never give it a second thought. The only advantage a keyboard has over the touchscreen is the ability to type without looking at the screen.
Social side - Another strong win for WP7 especially over Blackberry. In fact I very rarely use apps rather I just use the built in functionality which does for me.
Notifications - I never remember that being a particularly strong feature of the Blackberry. The WP7 does a good job in the sense it uses livetiles but it does not stack notifications so if you do not have a live tile you could miss them.
Battery life - The Blackberry I had was good for a few days the newer blackberries are good for less. For me the best phone WP for me for Battery was the Omnia 7 and nice screen to boot. Smartphones though are 1 day wonders, you only get 2 when the traffic is light and it will catch you out if you need to use the phone heavily so any smartphone and i would probably suggest this for the new Blackberries too 1 full day is what you should expect. The Nokia is the one to avoid on that score currently although it just about does it but on a particularly busy day you will find the battery saver kicking in.
Keyboard - I moved to the HTC Desire touch screen when I deserted my Blackberry never missed the keyboard tbh and since moving to the WP7 Omnia now and later the Lumia I never give it a second thought. The only advantage a keyboard has over the touchscreen is the ability to type without looking at the screen.
Social side - Another strong win for WP7 especially over Blackberry. In fact I very rarely use apps rather I just use the built in functionality which does for me.
Notifications - I never remember that being a particularly strong feature of the Blackberry. The WP7 does a good job in the sense it uses livetiles but it does not stack notifications so if you do not have a live tile you could miss them.
Battery life - The Blackberry I had was good for a few days the newer blackberries are good for less. For me the best phone WP for me for Battery was the Omnia 7 and nice screen to boot. Smartphones though are 1 day wonders, you only get 2 when the traffic is light and it will catch you out if you need to use the phone heavily so any smartphone and i would probably suggest this for the new Blackberries too 1 full day is what you should expect. The Nokia is the one to avoid on that score currently although it just about does it but on a particularly busy day you will find the battery saver kicking in.
jleebiker
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- Dec 11, 2011
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@Blacklac, you can enable push notifications. I get emails the same minute or less now that I set it to Immediate.So you guys don't consider all email being PUSH important or am I missing some email settings on my Titan? I was pretty disappointed I had to make a Live account just to get PUSH email. I guess that depends on the person, but it was disappointing to me. I hope someday, WP offers PUSH to more clients than just Live.
Having said that, I prefer WP Mango over BBOS in most areas. Now I do have a Playbook running their new OS and I know there currents phones just aren't up to par. I can't say I really miss any type of notification center, since I get notifications on my important live tiles. I do miss my customizable LED though.
RIM is one of the best for antenna reception and call quality. Now my Titan looks to have software issues where call quality is effected on my voice to the other end. However, my Titans earpiece speaker is noticeably inferior to what I'm used to on Blackberry's. Reception is similar between the two. Granted this is manufacturer issues, but RIM is pretty straightforward here. In general, all their models will be excellent in those areas. Also, my battery life on the WP is pretty good. No complaints there coming from Blackberry which is also top notch in battery for smartphones.
I'm a huge fan of the metro UI and I love that most Apps maintain that same look.
Holy crap, data! I used to use about 250-350MB data per month on Blackberry, due to their data compression. I'm looking at about 2-3GB on this phone. Not a big deal cause I maintained my unlimited data, but it's something to note coming from Blackberry and going to WP, Android it iOS who don't compress data at all.
So, what you're telling me is that I can't get push notifications for Gmail or Yahoo? Data compression is a key factor and BB users often don't realize this until they switch - I'm a power user - plus I'll be on Tmo if anything so the unlimited data shouldn't be an issue.So you guys don't consider all email being PUSH important or am I missing some email settings on my Titan? I was pretty disappointed I had to make a Live account just to get PUSH email. I guess that depends on the person, but it was disappointing to me. I hope someday, WP offers PUSH to more clients than just Live.
Having said that, I prefer WP Mango over BBOS in most areas. Now I do have a Playbook running their new OS and I know there currents phones just aren't up to par. I can't say I really miss any type of notification center, since I get notifications on my important live tiles. I do miss my customizable LED though.
RIM is one of the best for antenna reception and call quality. Now my Titan looks to have software issues where call quality is effected on my voice to the other end. However, my Titans earpiece speaker is noticeably inferior to what I'm used to on Blackberry's. Reception is similar between the two. Granted this is manufacturer issues, but RIM is pretty straightforward here. In general, all their models will be excellent in those areas. Also, my battery life on the WP is pretty good. No complaints there coming from Blackberry which is also top notch in battery for smartphones.
I'm a huge fan of the metro UI and I love that most Apps maintain that same look.
Holy crap, data! I used to use about 250-350MB data per month on Blackberry, due to their data compression. I'm looking at about 2-3GB on this phone. Not a big deal cause I maintained my unlimited data, but it's something to note coming from Blackberry and going to WP, Android it iOS who don't compress data at all.
I do hear what you're saying but push notifications on any app - FB, Twitter or email is really important but, in all truth, I guess if I got an email 15 min later it wouldn't make differences seeing that I work most of the day and don't check my Berry that often. I guess as long as I can "reconcile now" I'm good. Manual checks are just as good as push if you've been away from your devices for hours.
That is the truth with newer Berrys - my EDGE Curve 8900 was a battery Titan but RIM is slowly shrinking the batteries of their devices but the devices themselves can hold plenty - I used a WP7 onscreen kb and it was shockingly quick/responsive. BB notifications are the best since the little icons pop up at the top bar and the apps native or 3rd party can integrate into the messaging app - the unified inbox is my biggest worry - I tried to have my sms separate from my 4 email accounts and fb/twitter but I went back to the unified inbox because it's easier and I can just hit "mark all read" when I see redundant messages. I want to make the switch but I don't want to have those regrets at all - is there something that WP7 offers that a BB7 device doesn't have? Disregard 3rd party apps and games - BB7 devices are fast, powerful, sport high specs (1.2 GHz, 768 MB RAM, 5MP Cam w/ 720p recording) if I were using BB6 or earlier I would have WP7 right now but you guys haven't told me a few things that would make me shiver and say "drop this crackberry" "hello wpcentral".
Thanks guys - you're responses are very helpful - I'm just looking for a seamless transition, minimal collateral damage/regret and the BEST WP7 on the market in terms of hardware. I'm not gonna rush into this so, to help me transition over time, if anyone wants to PM me to further this, I'd appreciate that.
Don't have a Yahoo account but do have Gmail; you can change the e-mail push setting to "As Items Arrive" to get immediate push e-mail on Gmail.
For IMAP e-mail accounts, the shortest time available is 15 minutes, though you can do an immediate sync at any time.
I'm not sure what you are saying here. WP7 definitely supports the unified inbox, which MS calls the linked inbox. You combine your e-mail accounts into a single inbox, but it is optional (I use it and like it).
tbonenga
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- Aug 14, 2011
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I too came from a BB (Torch) the only thing you will miss is BeBuzz if you used it. The LED indicator. GOD I MISS THAT.... You could set it to blink a different color for email, text, voicemail, missed calls and social sites. So if you were busy and could get to your phone you could just look at it and know exactly what you missed. It didn't matter how many email, etc different accounts you had set you always knew just by looking. That's the only thing I miss.
tmotytn
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- Dec 2, 2011
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i see a notification on the live tile on my front screen, which I think is a little better than the iphone...I have to make a conscious effort to grab my wife's iphone every couple weeks to go into the App Store to check for updates on any of her apps...
I don't have a ton of apps on my WP, but once or twice a week, I get a notice about an update...I am sure someone who has more apps/games would see it more frequently...
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