The captivating Captivate :D

Could it be? Asking more questions about this phone can only mean one thing, and I won't even say it!

1. The email support for mail other than gmail, natively, is pretty weak. However, there is a free app called K9 Mail, and it is great. I just my AOL IMAP mail, and messages get pushed to it instantly. It also works for POP3, and I don't see why it would have any issues.

2. All sync items can be sync'd wireless via gmail, and will be in your gmail account. (though I'm not sure about things like memo pads, but there are apps for that, I forget the name though)

3. I have seen reports of the Galaxy S phones having an issue getting a GPS lock quickly, however, there is a quick settings change that speeds things up. This is a non issue.

If you live and die by mobile email, hang on to your blackberry. If you want to have some more fun with your fun, try out some fun apps, and have (arguably) the best phone on the market, check out the captivate, or any of the Galaxy S phones.

 

I have to agree with Yankees on the email & Syncing Contacts and such. Also with the Android vs. BB statement at the end. Their are memo pad apps, but none of them sync that I know of. From what I have read in the various Vibrant forms the GPS problem is being blow way out of proportion. Most users just want to complain without doing basic troubleshooting, like deleting apps or hard reseting the device. The one who are see the problem go away, along with other bugs they may have noticed. I just tested AGPS & GPS inside my house. AGPS took 5 seconds and was off by an 1/8 of a mile. GPS took 15 seconds and was dead-on. Just as good as any other smartphone I have had

 

You won't be able to sync directly with your desktop computer, but you will have Active Sync again like when you had Windows Mobile, so that might give you the syncing you need. In my opinion the big difference between the 2 platforms is this, if you want a hardcore communication tool, keep the Blackberry. If you want a toy that has cool apps and can easily download a Beavis and Butthead Soundboard to give a good laugh, get an Android device. One of my biggest surprises with using both is that the Blackberry is actually a better media player. The physical buttons that Android lacks makes it almost impossible to use in the car for podcasts or Pandora because to do anything you have to unlocked the tough screen and press just the right spot, but on my BB I can hit play/pause or next track all by feel while driving down the road. In my opinion the only thing Android is better at is web browsing and "stupid fun" kinds of apps. There are a few exceptions to that, if you need Active Sync for your work or you need a 4+ inch screen for watching video on then there are Android devices much Better suited for it then Blackberry.

 

Thanks Charlyee for your post...Yankees, Budney & Buickman for your info and replies. Question about the calendar functions within the Android itself. How does that compare to the BB? I know the Android can sync and all, just need to see if it navigates, notifies and does what my BB does.

Thanks much in advance.

 

I'm glad you asked those questions Charlyee. I've learned more about the differences between a Blackberry and Android from the three "J's" D) responses than anything I've seen before on the subject, which is why I made good use of the "Thanks" button tonight. Great job, guys! :thumb:

I may rethink my next phone...Still leaning toward Android (via the Droid X), but now I may look into BB as well (which I never thought I would do).

 

Hi Charlyee,

I'm using both a BlackBerry (9630) and an Android (Moto Milestone) and they are both nice phones in their own rights.

The BB is the more "serious" phone for business stuff, and the Android is more the multi-media phone. Personally, I like the RIM OS better in alot of ways, it seems more intuitive, it's more stable and well developed, uses very little battery, it's a great "work-horse".

Android is still very new and is changing daily. Add on top of that multiple phone mfgs (Samsung, Moto, etc) and apps can be kind of buggy still, simply because app developers can't keep up right now! I only have 2-3 apps downloaded and installed and they work fine, and it also came with gmail and gmaps and some other apps installed by default. (The gmail gives a notification everytime a new mail is received.)

Looking at what I wrote above, it looks like I favor the BB, but actually I like the Android phone better. Not because of function or performance (RIM wins there), but mainly because I don't like the restrictions with RIM (forced to use BIS/BES mainly). Android is more open and free, and I like that. Plus the big screen is nice too.

PS- Have you checked out the SE X10? It looks similar to that Samsung. But I guess the SE isn't offered by AT&T?
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 - Full phone specifications
.

What you got in 5 seconds was probably positioning via cell tower (gmaps uses that). AGPS is GPS, the only difference is that with unassisted GPS you need to have a lock on 3 satellites or more, but with AGPS you can lock just one and your phone will send that data back to a AGPS server, which will look at that info and send additional info back to your phone to speed up the positioning.

 

Let me prefix this by saying I have an HTC Eris. I am unsure if the stock email apps between each manufacturer is handled the same. I know that when I first got my Eris, the MotoDroid ActiveSync was not very functional, so users went with K9Mail or TouchDown. I didn't.

I'll answer these 2 together...
I only have my gmail account entered in my Eris because a few of my apps login based on my gmail account (AppBrain & NewsRob/RSS reader, etc.) I can chose which aspects (email, contacts, calendar to sync or not)

I have 2 ActiveSync accounts (now that I rooted and went with the email.apk rather than the stock app that limits me to 1) - it syncs my email, calendar & contacts, as well as letting me browse my business global address list for company contacts I don't keep in my contacts list. I have the option to have those pushed as email comes in, or sync on a time-frame basis. I also have a Yahoo account that I setup through IMAP (this was how I had my home Exchange mail on my non-rooted phone).
Through ActiveSync, I can chose how many days or data worth for each inbox & folder (it does map over the folders). I used DM to sync my contacts, tasks with my BB - I didn't have my work mail pushed to it, so I can't compare that aspect. Again, I have the choice of which cal, cont or email to sync or not. I can accept/decline and create meeting invites.

With email.apk, I can chose to look at my inboxes combined or separate - couldn't do that with Stock HTC Mail.

The stock calendar is ok - but I chose Jorte to interface with my calendars.

There are several combined task/memo apps that are pretty cool - I don't use them frequently, though. From what I've researched, I think a couple of them are trying to find a way to sync with Outlook.

I've never had an issue with my GPS - if I don't have it "on", it's sometimes searching between the closest towers, which changes my weather app.


There is only 1 thing I really miss about my BB - SocialScope - it integrated the timelines of my Twitter and FB feeds, I had a seamless way to send updates and comment on both accounts though it. The social networking apps of Android get better all the time, but still not great. I didn't use BBM all that often, as not many of my friends did. SocialScope just made it quicker than having to check 2 different apps - on my phone or pc.

I love the Google Voice integration - I need to start using the group IM features more to keep up with my girlfriends. I can text back & forth to friends on GV and only use data, not paid text.

My absolute FAVORITE part of my Eris? Swype. I love being able to not have to lift my finger off the touch screen and type individual letters. There are a few others that are coming along to compete, but I've stuck with Swype so far.

It takes a while to get used to a full touch screen - until I rooted, I had to have a separate app that backed my phone out of the call screen so I didn't accidentally call someone else.

 

Awesome thread, Charlyee!....I am forever on the search for "device Nirvana" and always conclude BB is the hands down Champ.
It's not a dragon slayer, but what I need it to do for me, it does better than any device out there.
The 9800 "should" put put the BB on par with Droid, iBone, etc......The bigger screen and better browser will just enhance the power of the BB to help me in my "daily grind".
I don't need a fart app, or an HDMI port to watch a vid on my TV from my device. I just want my device to tell me when I've received the email I've been waiting 4 hrs for, or helps me find an address I'm not sure of, or in a place I'm not familiar with.
I, personally, would gladly sacrifice higher screen res. for longer batt life. I've evolved into a "power user" of sorts, and the iBone gave me like....4 hrs max.
Anyway peeps, great insight on these handhelds. All the input has substantiated that I'm a "crackhead", probably for life.
Charlyee....thanks for turning me onto WA.....It's always great to get unbiased opinions on things.

 

You're welcome - and you can do most of those on Android.

The exceptions are - of course - BBM & BBM groups.

I did a quick search & found that you can sync Outlook contacts/tasks/memo via an app called roadsync. I know there are others that are works in progress.

Charlyee - some of your POP3 accounts are Outlook? You can't activesync it? Or IMAP?

Nik

 

I don't like how Android handles multiple email accounts. On my Blackberry I have a seperate icon for each box (6 in my case). But with Android you just have the gmail or email icon, then once inside you have to toggle between what account you want to be viewing. For Exchange email I'm a big fan of Touchdown, it's a really nice mail client, but for handling multiple POP or gmail accounts I don't like the UI, I want a seperate icon and counter for each account.

 

I have a separate email icon/widget for each IMAP/Exchange account - I think I did on 2.1 also.

 

woah, this thread blew up a bit, lol.

1. you know that gmail is going to work properly on a google device, lol. The 3rd party app that i recommended will take care of POP 3.

2. I think others said you can use active sync, though i have no idea.

3, Google maps and GPS is top notch. None of that delay I had on my Tour

4. BT File transfer works great, I just used it yesterday. (YOU SKIPPED 4! OH NO!)

5. Browser on android is the best in the market, clearly leaps and bounds over current BB

6. As long as your bank has an android app, you should be good. Mine does (BoA) and it works just fine. I believe we have docs2go for word documents, but there is no way to edit google docs yet, if you use that. Facebook works fine, but no cellumap, talk to raiders, lol.

7. This one kind of hurts me to say, but I think I might have to give the media player category to BB. I LOVED being able to skip songs via the rocker buttons. Also, I have 2 media players, from HTC and stock android, and they sometimes conflict with each other. overall, its good, but it could be better.

8. Get outa here with your BBM!!

 

I will give my input too, Charlyee (although I may reiterate some things).


1. How does it handle pop3 email, I am presuming gmail is push?


You are correct with Gmail. I use this as my default. I have not tried K9 Mail. I will be trying this out shortly. Also, Touchdown is another good one that James mentioned.


2. Can I sync the organizer functions (contacts, calendar, tasks, memo pad) with my desktop like I can with DM/Active Sync/Hot Synch etc.


Since it is a Google phone, I just use the built-in Google features. I uploaded my calendar (exported to Google) to Google Calendar, my contacts to my Gmail account, and I was all set. I don't use memo pad or tasks, so I am not sure about those two. Like James mentioned, you will be able to use ActiveSync again.


3. There are a few reports of GPS taking very long or just cannot get a fix. Is this true?


My GPS seems to be slightly faster than my Storm 2. Another neat feature is that I use My Cast Weather. I used the same program on my Storm 2, and that phone didn't have the option of finding my current location (i.e. closest city to you) like my Droid X does. This is useful to me since I just have to open the program and it will automatically update the weather for my specific area. Also, the Weather Channel widget on my home screen is especially useful since it updates my location (i.e. follows me). I have been inside and away from windows and still get a GPS fix. I keep aGPS on and GPS is turned on when I need it (since this can lower your battery life). So in my opinion, the GPS is better on my Droid X .


What would be really nice is to see a comparison of the Android OS with BB and/or WM; budney, Gamer, Buickman, Our3rotts etc, hope you guys are reading this.


As far as a comparison (in my opinion):

Best email: BB
App availability (prices, features, etc): Android
Best entertainment: Android
Ease of use: Tie
Organizational tools: BB

So in my opinion, it all comes down to what you will use it for. I have personally not looked back since switching to the Droid X from my Storm 2. I do miss BBM, especially the ability to have group chat. Once a good cross platform app comes out for that, then I will be all set.

 

I want to clarify something I said before since others have referenced it here, when I say you will have Active Sync I mean Exchange Active Sync over the air. You will not have the Active sync that allows you to plug in via USB and sync your info.

 

Hey, switch to Android and we can all have it again, its built into google talk!

 

See, I think BB users deliberately limit their friends to other BB users, when they can install GT and then talk to other BB, as well as iphone, android, WM and PC users.


I'm trying to get my group of girlfriends (we're in 16 states and Canada) to use GT - so we can group chat across our phones. 6 years ago, we used to spend several afternoons a week talking over lunch. We have a private Yahoo group, but that real time interaction is greatly missed.

 

Thanks for the clarification.

Your welcome Charlyee. We secretly wanted you to ditch WM. Are you glad that you did?

 

Chris, hopefully I can help answer your question. I exported my Outlook calendar to Google Calendar. This then enables your Android phone to be able to get your exported calendar (that is now Google Calendar) to sync on your phone. My mom's birthday was a few days ago on July 28. I set a reminder (even though I know when her birthday is) through Google Calendar and then set the notification settings on my phone so it would go off. The notification worked and you can even have a calendar widget on one of your Android's screens in order to view upcoming appointments. So in my opinion, this works well (even better than BB since I can set a new appointment in my Google Calendar (via my online Google account) and then it will automatically sync and update my Droid X's calendar (and display on the screen as an upcoming meeting). This is better than BB since I do not have to plug in my Android and two-way sync it via the USB cable anymore.

 

Well...you know where my loyalty is.
That said, I am patiently awaiting the release of the BB 9800.
I know you're not down w/sliders, but I think this device will ROCK
(i bet this post took you by surprise )

 

ha ha>>>>>That's what crackheads do
Yep!! Next Thurs.
I'm sure hoping it's offered on an early upgrade, too

 

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Typing on screen has a large learning curve. Swype makes it easier too, and should be on Captivate by default. And Swype does auto cap too.

I had a feeling the keyboard would chase you away from the Captivate.