Bold or Droid?

[SuzyQ]

Oh, what to do, what to do?

I went in to our local Verizon store today (corporate store; they have been good to me over the years) and messed with the Droid 2, LG Ally, and BB Bold.  Played with the browsers a bit, text messaging, touchscreens, keyboards....just held them in my hands and pushed the buttons to get a feel for them....

I thought I was leaning towards the BB because of the features, the email, the business aspect of it.  And it's a sharp looking phone, I like the way it looks.  But it feels very different than any phone I've had before, both holding it and using it.  The trackpad alone will take some getting used to, although I was starting to have some fun with it, so it likely wouldn't take long.  The screen was very clear, and sharp, and easy to read.

The LG Ally is very close in looks and feel to my current phone, the LG Voyager, so I was immediately more comfortable with that one in my hands.  Very comfortable, in fact.  The keyboard has distinct buttons instead of the "skin" the Droid 2 has.  The touchscreen works a bit differently than the Voyager, and the interface (OS) is different.  Physically it was more comfortable than the BB.

Droid 2 was physically close to my  current phone too, although I wasn't liking the keyboard as much as I like the Voyager'sor the Ally's.  The OS would take some getting used to, as would any of the three.

I'll keep watching the reviews on the Ally and the Bold - after actually playing with them I think those are my top 2 choices right now.  Who knows what will come out in the next two-three months?  In the meantime, anyone that has the Bold, or the Ally, please let me know how you like it, what you like or don't like about it, and help me make a more informed decision!!

~~Thanks~~

[StreetDocRN]

Suzy,

I can't speak for the Ally, but I can for the Bold.  First, the trackpad took me all of about 10 minutes to get used to as compared to the trackball.  The trackpad was the answer to a nightmare for many Blackberry owners, especially Tour owners.  The trackpad was, as you know from the forums, notorious for sticking and not working.  As far as other features I really like about the Bold, the additional memory to 512 mb was my next favorite.  The additional memory allows me to have as many apps as I want and not have to worry about using all of the free memory.  In summary, the Bold for me is a great way to keep up with my email and it is a great messaging device.  Sending pictures with MMS is a breeze.  Messaging is great, especially with Blackberry Messenger.  A lot of my coworkers use Blackberry devices and BBM and we keep in touch with that app.  Also, a lot of my family member use BB phones and we keep in touch with BBM.  It is sturdy and dependable.  I hope this helps you with your decision.  Good luck.

Doc

[Parkbear]

I have recently gone through the same questions.   I purchased a Droid X and where I found the phone to be a really cool product, from a business and traveling standpoint, the Blackberry is much easier to use.    As I've told others in my office, for people that work at a desk and have the time to sit and do things the Droid is a great phone (and actually the phone itself works very well) but I travel most of the day and found the touch screen impossible to use on the road.   Since you are a current BB user, by going to the Droid you lose the ability to quickly search emails from the same customers and the "stock" contact manager is a joke.

[TheGreatOne]

SuzyQ any android phone is a COMPLTELY different OS all together. Their NOTHING quite like the standard Verizon phone like your Voyager. Do you have a close friend of family member that has an android phone? Even if their phone android phone is on a different network. I suggest asking to see their phone for a little bit. Then playing around with it.  Just because a phone "looks and is similar to your voyager" doesn't mean it will perform like your old phone. 

[SuzyQ]

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TheGreatOne wrote:

SuzyQ any android phone is a COMPLTELY different OS all together. .... Just because a phone "looks and is similar to your voyager" doesn't mean it will perform like your old phone. 

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I realize this - both the Android and the Blackberry will be a departure from phones as I know them. 

So I'm facing a learning curve regardless.  If the physical handling of the phone is any consideration, then I'm just saying that the Droids are closer to what I am used to than the Blackberry, so it would be one less challenge....

[SydneyK]

Hi, SuzyQ!

I think there's a lot to be said for what someone is accustomed to using. That is why I returned the Ally and went back to BlackBerry ... I was used to the portrait keyboard and nontouchscreen. It was comfortable for me.

However, I thought the Ally was a GREAT phone. (I miss it a little bit ... it was a lot of fun!) I had none of problems I've read about in reviews. The battery life was good for a smartphone ... I didn't even charge it every day. What I didn't like was simply the touchscreen and the landscape keyboard ... it felt awkward to me.

I played with my mom's Droid 2 last week ... also a great phone, but I thought the Ally was just as nice to use (though the Droid's slider seemed a bit sturdier with less wiggle). From what you've said in this thread, I think you might be very happy with the Ally. My only advice is to get a textured case right away ... it felt like it was going to fly out of my hands every time I picked it up, but I'm used to a silicone cover.

Good luck deciding!

[njrcjc]

I have both the Droid X and the  Bold 9650.

The Bold has by far the best hard keyboard on the market .. even for my fat fingers.  The touch trackball is excellent.  And now that OS 6 is here, the device can finally browse, and the UI is much better.  I did use the torch for a day and if that was around, I would have purchased that .. the screen is bigger and it's a touch screen .... always welcome when browsing, and both fits in your pocket well.

OS 6 Contacts, email, folders, available apps, and excellent form factor, makes the bold/torch an excellent choice.

For browsing however, the screen is much too small for my aging eyes .. in comes the Druid X.

If you don't mind having your contacts and calendar on the GMAIL cloud, then the syncing is excellent.

The Droid X is big, and if your Jeans fit, and are not loose, you would have to take it out of your front pocket before you sit down.

Android also needs some set up before you can use it.  No PIM, no notes, no recording app.  You have to load all of these from the droid market place.  Also, syncing, to other places (Outlook), is not out of the box.

Ok .. having said that, the  Browsing and applications, and having multiple screens brings my windows desktop with me wherever I go.  With various apps, I can Buy sell stock, ebay items, weather.  Keep my notes and todo items.  The camera and video are excellent.  You can play it on any HD monitor with a cable .. really looks excellent (720p looks good .. I do video professionally, and it's not a bad video camera ... considering).

I am very good at the virtual keyboard, and the voice dictation is good.  I can dictate my text messages (yes .. while I'm driving).

The Google maps navigation actually obsoletes my garmin Nuvi,(though I wish it had a trip log), you NEVER have to pay anyone for new maps ... it's Google ... they have the latest data.

The incredible, fascinate, and Continuum probably have a more manageable size.  I tried out the Droid X, figuring if I didn't like it would swap it for one of the others.  I can deal with the size of the thing, I bring it everywhere, the phone has a solid build, and it has survived some drops.  I actually had Sprint for a month and the Evo, which is an EXCELLENT device, about the size of the Droid X, however, there were one or 2 places where sprint didn't give me a signal and my Verizon phone gave me enough to call ... a promo family deal from Verizon switched me back.

I don't think you will be disappointed with an Andriod or the Bold.  The droid X gave me more room to grow and use other (USEFUL) applications while on the go.  Still wish it had a really good integrated, synchable PIM with NOTES and TODO's .. however ... I'm satisfied..  (I am not an Apple fan, however, the iPhone really has it together .. Especially if you have a MAC.).

[njrcjc]

Totally agree about the BB being good for on the go business use.  OS 6 brings and excellent UI, and you don't have to deal with the sliding keyboard of the torch ..... I think of the torch as a cross over.  If you want one device that does business, contacts emails well, use the Bold ...

[LCromwell]

I read recently that only BB has HTML emails and emails on a BB are so much faster than any other brand out there. Care to comment on that, since you have both?

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njrcjc wrote:

I have both the Droid X and the  Bold 9650.

The Bold has by far the best hard keyboard on the market .. even for my fat fingers.  The touch trackball is excellent.  And now that OS 6 is here, the device can finally browse, and the UI is much better.  I did use the torch for a day and if that was around, I would have purchased that .. the screen is bigger and it's a touch screen .... always welcome when browsing, and both fits in your pocket well.

OS 6 Contacts, email, folders, available apps, and excellent form factor, makes the bold/torch an excellent choice.

For browsing however, the screen is much too small for my aging eyes .. in comes the Druid X.

If you don't mind having your contacts and calendar on the GMAIL cloud, then the syncing is excellent.

The Droid X is big, and if your Jeans fit, and are not loose, you would have to take it out of your front pocket before you sit down.

Android also needs some set up before you can use it.  No PIM, no notes, no recording app.  You have to load all of these from the droid market place.  Also, syncing, to other places (Outlook), is not out of the box.

Ok .. having said that, the  Browsing and applications, and having multiple screens brings my windows desktop with me wherever I go.  With various apps, I can Buy sell stock, ebay items, weather.  Keep my notes and todo items.  The camera and video are excellent.  You can play it on any HD monitor with a cable .. really looks excellent (720p looks good .. I do video professionally, and it's not a bad video camera ... considering).

I am very good at the virtual keyboard, and the voice dictation is good.  I can dictate my text messages (yes .. while I'm driving).

The Google maps navigation actually obsoletes my garmin Nuvi,(though I wish it had a trip log), you NEVER have to pay anyone for new maps ... it's Google ... they have the latest data.

The incredible, fascinate, and Continuum probably have a more manageable size.  I tried out the Droid X, figuring if I didn't like it would swap it for one of the others.  I can deal with the size of the thing, I bring it everywhere, the phone has a solid build, and it has survived some drops.  I actually had Sprint for a month and the Evo, which is an EXCELLENT device, about the size of the Droid X, however, there were one or 2 places where sprint didn't give me a signal and my Verizon phone gave me enough to call ... a promo family deal from Verizon switched me back.

I don't think you will be disappointed with an Andriod or the Bold.  The droid X gave me more room to grow and use other (USEFUL) applications while on the go.  Still wish it had a really good integrated, synchable PIM with NOTES and TODO's .. however ... I'm satisfied..  (I am not an Apple fan, however, the iPhone really has it together .. Especially if you have a MAC.).

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[MacDaddy]

Tried them all, Android (too many security holes and hacks) Webos (Killer OS but the Pre hardware sucked) Blackberry, Pearl, Storm, Bold, (Top notch Hardware and a OS that just works like it should) If your all into Games, Video and such, Android might be your ticket. If you want a Email, Text, Ok Browsing and Top quality Voice phone then Blackberry is definitely the way to go. And like others have stated, There is NO better keyboard out there than the Bold.