Question about
I have an old silver voyager and my contract is over on april 25th. I am going to upgrade to a palm pre plus, droid eris or blackberry storm 2.
I am not a buisness user. I just use it for social network, texting, internet and apps. you can get the buy one get one free promotion right now for the pre plus. I hate the droid because of the lip and i dont care about the nexus one. Can someone tell me which one to pick and why. keep in mind the build quality, software/OS and app store. Dont give any suggestions for other phones because im only picking from these.
top answers
Rami98's pick
I'm using a Droid Eris and coming from a first generation BB Storm I can say that I am very happy with my choice. First of all if you use anything Google the obvious choice would be the Droid Eris which syncs seamlessly with my Gmail, Calendar, and Contacts info.
Also The Android OS is maturing at much faster rate than the other two platforms with Android 2.1 coming down the pipe supposedly this month for the Eris, which should bring free turn by turn navigation and many other slight improvements.
In terms of apps there Android is by far the best out of your three options. The RIM's App World was incredibly unstable when it came to apps it would crash constantly. Personally I the only thing I loved my blackberry for was push email which worked flawlessly over my accounts. But I was able to get emails to sync just fine over on the Eris by adjusting the server settings which is easy as inputting the correct settings.
The main reason I switched from blackberry was that my storm would crash and freeze up. I had loaded it with apps and music to the point it died all the time on me. Blackberries are awesome devices but were never meant for prolonged periods of use. Don't even ask me about the browser...it just sucked.
Palm Pre's are nice and have better specs than the Eris and Storm in terms of processing power but the company's pace has slowed since they announced the Pre. They have been slow to get the SDK out to developers and push out software upgrades.
The only criticism I have for the Eris was that they put a small processor in it and it can get a little slow at times but that should change when 2.1 upgrade comes out.
One last piece of advice - get a one year contract for whatever phone you get since all these will become obsolete dinosaurs after that.
I know that's a lot to take in and I left some stuff out so message me or post any more questions you have and I'll be happy to help :)
Also The Android OS is maturing at much faster rate than the other two platforms with Android 2.1 coming down the pipe supposedly this month for the Eris, which should bring free turn by turn navigation and many other slight improvements.
In terms of apps there Android is by far the best out of your three options. The RIM's App World was incredibly unstable when it came to apps it would crash constantly. Personally I the only thing I loved my blackberry for was push email which worked flawlessly over my accounts. But I was able to get emails to sync just fine over on the Eris by adjusting the server settings which is easy as inputting the correct settings.
The main reason I switched from blackberry was that my storm would crash and freeze up. I had loaded it with apps and music to the point it died all the time on me. Blackberries are awesome devices but were never meant for prolonged periods of use. Don't even ask me about the browser...it just sucked.
Palm Pre's are nice and have better specs than the Eris and Storm in terms of processing power but the company's pace has slowed since they announced the Pre. They have been slow to get the SDK out to developers and push out software upgrades.
The only criticism I have for the Eris was that they put a small processor in it and it can get a little slow at times but that should change when 2.1 upgrade comes out.
One last piece of advice - get a one year contract for whatever phone you get since all these will become obsolete dinosaurs after that.
I know that's a lot to take in and I left some stuff out so message me or post any more questions you have and I'll be happy to help :)
mark as good answer
1 person likes this answer
Clicking the mark as good answer button helps us highlight the best answers.
I have an Eris (I came from a WM phone to this one). I like the phone; if it broke today, it'd be a toss up between this and the Droid (my initial dilemma), but I'd probably still go for this one.
I think that the browser is just fine. The Facebook app is weak, but the mobile Facebook website works really well. There are plenty of decent Twitter apps - Twidroid, Seesmic, Touitteur, Tweetcaster, Swift are all that I have tried, and they all work just fine (I am currently using Touitteur.) Texting is fine; sometimes the keyboard is a little laggy when texting, but is otherwise just fine. (By the way, I find the keyboard works pretty well for me - it is very accurate for me, and its dictionary tends to find the right word almost every time.)
It does have it's weaknesses:
- the processor is weak compared with other phones, and the amount of RAM is relatively low. Since apps are also stored in RAM space, it can get tight. If you expect to install a lot of apps - say, over 75 - you may want to consider another phone. Also, running the phone with SenseUI and a lot of applications looking for background notifications can make the phone a little laggy. It doesn't make it unusable, but it can be sometimes frustrating. There are home replacement apps that work very well and are less laggy in my experience - dxTop is one, and it comes with the stock Android home app.
- the battery could be an issue. I purchased an aftermarket 1750 mAH (the stock is 1300), and that gets me through the day easily, but it was sometimes tough with the 1300. (Seidio online sells the 1750.) If you find yourself day-to-day in a place with a strong signal, you should be ok. If not, the phone can really go through the battery fast.
- though Android 2.1 has been promised, and there are leaked versions of the ROMs that you can download, it is still not here, so if you are counting on the features that come with anything higher than 1.5 - Google Nav, Buzz (well, some people like it), multiple gmail account support - you may want to see if the update has been announced on the 25th.
I don't mean to dissuade you on the Eris - as I said, I really like this phone - but anybody can find a gadget's strengths, and it's good to go in knowing what the weaknesses are. I've never used a Storm 2 or Pre+, so I cannot comment on those.
I think that the browser is just fine. The Facebook app is weak, but the mobile Facebook website works really well. There are plenty of decent Twitter apps - Twidroid, Seesmic, Touitteur, Tweetcaster, Swift are all that I have tried, and they all work just fine (I am currently using Touitteur.) Texting is fine; sometimes the keyboard is a little laggy when texting, but is otherwise just fine. (By the way, I find the keyboard works pretty well for me - it is very accurate for me, and its dictionary tends to find the right word almost every time.)
It does have it's weaknesses:
- the processor is weak compared with other phones, and the amount of RAM is relatively low. Since apps are also stored in RAM space, it can get tight. If you expect to install a lot of apps - say, over 75 - you may want to consider another phone. Also, running the phone with SenseUI and a lot of applications looking for background notifications can make the phone a little laggy. It doesn't make it unusable, but it can be sometimes frustrating. There are home replacement apps that work very well and are less laggy in my experience - dxTop is one, and it comes with the stock Android home app.
- the battery could be an issue. I purchased an aftermarket 1750 mAH (the stock is 1300), and that gets me through the day easily, but it was sometimes tough with the 1300. (Seidio online sells the 1750.) If you find yourself day-to-day in a place with a strong signal, you should be ok. If not, the phone can really go through the battery fast.
- though Android 2.1 has been promised, and there are leaked versions of the ROMs that you can download, it is still not here, so if you are counting on the features that come with anything higher than 1.5 - Google Nav, Buzz (well, some people like it), multiple gmail account support - you may want to see if the update has been announced on the 25th.
I don't mean to dissuade you on the Eris - as I said, I really like this phone - but anybody can find a gadget's strengths, and it's good to go in knowing what the weaknesses are. I've never used a Storm 2 or Pre+, so I cannot comment on those.
mark as good answer
0 people like this answer
I am a big fan of the Palm Pre Plus. It is currently the least expensive of the three and comes with the Mobile Hotspot for free (for up to 5 GB of data traffic per month). Just about everyone who has used webOS (the name of the operating system and user interface) raves about it. We have a very devoted community over at www.precentral.net, full of helpful forum members and passionate developers.
Key differentiators:
* Intuitive and graceful multi-tasking. You know what is running and can easily switch between or close apps
* Seamlessly blends email, calendar and contacts from all your online sources: Gmail, Google Calendar, Yahoo, Facebook and LinkedIn.
* Smooth multi-touch everywhere you expect it to be.
* Gesture area makes you wish all computers had one.
* Newest Facebook client (currently in beta) is very capable
* Healthy selection of Twitter apps, RSS readers and drPodder is an amazing Podcatcher.
* A healthy and growing list of 3D games ported directly from the iPhone
* Touchstone Charging dock is revolutionary. I have 3: bedside, office and dashboard
Cons:
* Battery life. Yes, we know it. Touchstone does an excellent job mitigating this.
* Can be laggy. It is a young OS but it is updated frequently so this is improving.
* Palm hasn't unlocked all the capabilities yet: no microphone access so no voice dialing, Skype, speech to text, "shazam" apps, etc.
* No Compass hardware so Augmented Reality apps (when/if they come out) will be hampered.
Key differentiators:
* Intuitive and graceful multi-tasking. You know what is running and can easily switch between or close apps
* Seamlessly blends email, calendar and contacts from all your online sources: Gmail, Google Calendar, Yahoo, Facebook and LinkedIn.
* Smooth multi-touch everywhere you expect it to be.
* Gesture area makes you wish all computers had one.
* Newest Facebook client (currently in beta) is very capable
* Healthy selection of Twitter apps, RSS readers and drPodder is an amazing Podcatcher.
* A healthy and growing list of 3D games ported directly from the iPhone
* Touchstone Charging dock is revolutionary. I have 3: bedside, office and dashboard
Cons:
* Battery life. Yes, we know it. Touchstone does an excellent job mitigating this.
* Can be laggy. It is a young OS but it is updated frequently so this is improving.
* Palm hasn't unlocked all the capabilities yet: no microphone access so no voice dialing, Skype, speech to text, "shazam" apps, etc.
* No Compass hardware so Augmented Reality apps (when/if they come out) will be hampered.
mark as good answer
0 people like this answer
Actually add the htc incredible to the list. im leaning towards the pre plus. i played with it in the verizon store and its a breeze to use. the multitask is great and the whole ui is just amazing. for some reason, the eris verizon had on display had dpots lined up to make a grid under the screen so is that widespread or not it is very easy to see even whe the screen is on full brightness.
On the other hand the incredible has a 1ghz cpu, 1 gig ram and android 2.1 with sense. i love sense. thats the one of the main reasons i like the eris over the droid. android is way too dull but htc knocked some SENSE into it. (hahahahahaha)
On the other hand the incredible has a 1ghz cpu, 1 gig ram and android 2.1 with sense. i love sense. thats the one of the main reasons i like the eris over the droid. android is way too dull but htc knocked some SENSE into it. (hahahahahaha)
mark as good answer
0 people like this answer
follow this question
share:
Related questions
4 users following this question:
This question has been viewed 237 times.
Last activity .
Tips for giving the best answers
Sometimes it's just little details that separates a great and not so great answer! Here are a few simple tips to keep in mind:
- 1
- Be complete and thorough. Don't skimp on the details!
- 2
- Try not to answer with a question. Because that's not really an answer, right?
- 3
- A little research goes a long way. Back up your claims and assumptions!
- 4
- Try to be patient, tech questions can be complicated.
- 5
- You are awesome for both reading this and answering questions.