Breaking Up With Android

Ever since I was able to afford my own phone, I’ve been a hardcore BlackBerry fan. I fondly recall my first BlackBerry was the 7230. Yup, it was the notorious “BlueBerry”. Since then, I’ve had an array of different BBs: 7730, Pearl, Curve 8320, Curve 8900, Storm, and just recently the Bold 9700. Despite my affinity with RIM’s powerful messaging device, my fidelity (or infidelity, if you will) has been tested. Yes, I’ve tried a few Windows Mobile phones like the T-Mobile SDA and Dash; I’ve even had a Nokia 6101 as well (hey, I was young so give me a break!). Most recently, I succumbed to the hype of Android with the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G. After four months, I decided to part ways since it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

The reason I gave the brief background about all my previous phones is to let you know that I wasn’t a BlackBerry fanatic who was adamant that nothing can exist other than a BlackBerry (the thinking of a BB Fan Boy). I’ve tried pretty much every major OS and I know what their strengths and weaknesses are. By no means is BlackBerry OS flawless because it surely has its flaws. At the end of the day, there is no phone that can meet one person’s every single need. After all, phones are created generally for the masses and not for one single person. So as I stepped into this uncharted territory of Android OS, I sort of knew what to expect as I read a ton of articles before giving the green light.

This wasn’t my first touch screen phone so don’t get the idea that’s why I bailed on the MyTouch. I had a Storm before and had it not been for the disadvantages of an unlocked phone, I would have kept it (T-Mobile uses a different frequency for its 3G network so unlocked phones can’t partake in the festivities). The keyboard on the Storm was satisfactory so that wasn’t a gripe I had. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the MyTouch. The keyboard was a bit cramped and that’s probably because the screen was slightly smaller than the Storm. Since I’m a heavy textaholic and email whore, a phone’s keyboard is a make or break for me. In the MyTouch’s defense, I did read about its slightly cramped keyboard but still went ahead with the purchase since I thought it was just the reviewer over-exaggerating. So from the get-go, the MyTouch keyboard and I didn’t get along too well.

Moving on from the keyboard, my next gripe was emailing. Sure, the MyTouch is a sweetheart if you have a Gmail account but what about those that use Yahoo Mail? Guess what? You can’t get your email in real-time unless you opt for an updated service from T-Mobile which costs $35, which is $10 more than the BlackBerry plan and regular Android plan. This was a huge turn off for me! One of the best things about BlackBerry email service is that it is client agnostic. Meaning it plays no favorites to certain email clients. Android phones favor Gmail accounts for obvious reasons. It makes sense that Android phones are biased towards its own services so I won’t knock it for that, but it does leave a sour taste in my mouth knowing that I have to commit everything to Google when I’m using Android. If you’re wondering how I was able to get my Yahoo mail, I imported my entire Yahoo account into my Gmail inbox. Think Outlook, but instead everything is in Gmail. It solved the problem but it’s a problem I shouldn’t have had in the first place.

Perhaps one of the things I love most about BlackBerrys is their ability to auto turn on/off your phone to preserve battery life. As all cell phone experts will tell you, for best performance you should turn off your phone every day, even if it’s for just five minutes. I looked high and low for an Android app that could replicate this awesome ability but was not able to find anything remotely close. I tried Timeriffic but that didn’t work too well for me as it was overly complex. It lets you choose what times/days you want wi-fi on, bluetooth on, how loud you want the ringer, and a load of other settings but it lacked the ability to schedule an on/off time. It definitely felt overly advanced and it wasn’t what I was looking for.

As phones get more advanced in general, the comparison to computers becomes more appropriate. With apps and programs now widely available, I feel it’s comparable to what you’d see on a computer with programs such as a browser, docs, spreadsheets, etc. So just like when I’m done using a program on a computer I have the ability to close it, I would like to have the same ability on my phone. Lo and behold! BlackBerrys are the ONLY phones I’ve come across that let you close a program without downloading an app or going through loops and hurdles to do so. Every device has its RAM limitations so device makers should keep that in mind and allow for the closing of programs by default. It couldn’t be easier on a BlackBerry: when an app/program is open, you simply hit the BB button and scroll to the last option which reads “close”. Seriously, it couldn’t be easier. On the MyTouch, I had to download a task manager to legitimately close programs. That’s like hitting CTRL+ALT+DELETE every time you wanted to close a program on your computer. Yeah, imagine how badly that would suck. Another weird thing was that even when I did close all my programs via the task manager, some random programs would start up, eating into my precious RAM space. Don’t know if this was something that was caused by the task manager itself (everyone in the Android market rated this the best one) or if it’s just a problem in the MyTouch in general.

Since BlackBerrys are messaging powerhouses, a key component is cut/copy/paste. Again, this is something that is done seamlessly on a BB. However, the MyTouch struggled with this. First of all, the ability to cut/copy/paste is not available in every program. Huge letdown! From my experience, it was only available in the browser and the native messaging program. I wasn’t able to select text in an email or in the IM client I was using. Not very convenient to say the least. It’s important to note that I was using OS 1.6 (Donut) so I don’t know if the Nexus One or other devices running 2.1 allow for this in every screen but it certainly wasn’t a privilege I was blessed with.

Part of what makes the iPhone so great is that the UI is so clean and simple and the best part is that this simplicity trickles down to the apps, even 3rd party ones. Although not as smooth and simple as the iPhone (see, I’m not completely biased towards BlackBerrys), it is pretty easy to just jump right in and get started on a BlackBerry. To go back to the messaging aspect, I can go from one message to the next on a BlackBerry by just pressing N. How do I do it on Android? Well, I have to go back into the inbox and then go to the next message. I know it may seem like I’m nitpicking but this really does get frustrating when you have dozens of unread messages and just want to skim through them. In relation to email, another thing that annoyed me was that there are no shortcut keys to help you quickly reply or forward a message. You have to scroll all the way down to the bottom to do so. Again, not a deal breaker but definitely something that can get frustrating. After all, shouldn’t these phones help us accommodate making life easier? Just sayin’. Fortunately, text messaging is much better since it is threaded and looks like an IM chat window. So that’s a nice touch that I was really happy with.

I know it seems like I’m criticizing the MyTouch/Android mercilessly but those that have used this device/OS can definitely nod their head with many of the frustrations I’ve noted. Now, time for the part I know many of you have been waiting for: BlackBerry flaws.

First and foremost, the BlackBerry browser is a joke. Anyone that has used it has definitely taken a step back and wondered if they got blasted into the early 90’s. To call it a browser is an insult to browsers as a whole. Again, the iPhone is the leader hands down in this department but the MyTouch isn’t so bad. Although the original browser isn’t so great, I used the Dolphin browser which was pretty awesome since it had tabbed browsing a la Firefox. Why Android devices don’t have Chrome is beyond me and it made me weep since I have a huge crush on Chrome.

Another big disappointment in BlackBerry is its selection of apps, or lack thereof. The Facebook app is mediocre at best and even the best Twitter app (in my opinion it’s UberTwitter) is ok. Neither are visually impressive to the point you have a geeky smile on your face and say “cool” in your head (and hopefully not out loud). BlackBerry, as well as Android, both lack something I feel is somewhat a necessity: ability to get screenshots. On the iPhone, it couldn’t be any easier and that’s one of the many reasons people are in love with it. The iPhone’s functionality and ease of use make it a sweetheart in this day and age where some devices are overly complex and unnecessarily so.

So now that I’ve gone back to BlackBerry, does that mean I’ll never go back to an Android device again? No, absolutely not. I’m always open to different platforms. They just have to have what I need. The current fleet of Android devices don’t. Windows 7 Series looks promising so that’s something I might test out if I hear enough good reviews and if the devices are appealing. Palm? No thank you. I won’t ever venture that route. Nokia? Umm, no thanks. Tried that already and I’m not going to make that mistake again. So it really goes down to BlackBerry, iPhone, Android and Windows devices. For the time being, I’m very happy with my BlackBerry. That’s not to say I won’t jump ship if and when the iPhone comes to T-Mobile. After all, my phone infidelity is well documented.