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iPhone user making the switch.. a few questions

S

SirMerkel

Newbie
Hey all,

I've had an iPhone 3GS which I upgraded to an iPhone 4 just over 2 months ago.. Unfortunately, I lost it on holiday. I'm quite sick of the locked down nature of the iPhone and ultimately I want a change. I'm thinking about getting the Motorola Atrix, but I have a few questions regarding Android as I've never really used it before.

Does it have push notifications like the iPhone?
I've read about fragmentation becoming an issue - does this mean a lot of apps don't work on different phones?
I hear motoblur is poor - Is there any way to install the basic stock android like the Nexus phones have? Do you have to root it for that?
I have heard Motorola lock down their ROMS, what are the negative aspects of that?

Thanks for any info guys, please excuse my Android ignorance.

Cheers,
Dan.
 
SirMerkel said:
Hey all,

I've had an iPhone 3GS which I upgraded to an iPhone 4 just over 2 months ago.. Unfortunately, I lost it on holiday. I'm quite sick of the locked down nature of the iPhone and ultimately I want a change. I'm thinking about getting the Motorola Atrix, but I have a few questions regarding Android as I've never really used it before.

Does it have push notifications like the iPhone?
I've read about fragmentation becoming an issue - does this mean a lot of apps don't work on different phones?
I hear motoblur is poor - Is there any way to install the basic stock android like the Nexus phones have? Do you have to root it for that?
I have heard Motorola lock down their ROMS, what are the negative aspects of that?

Thanks for any info guys, please excuse my Android ignorance.

Cheers,
Dan.
Click to expand...

We have push notifications in apps such as Gmail if that's what you're talking about. If you're wondering about Facebook, I'm not sure about the current status for their push notifications. Last time I checked it wasn't working very well though. Most apps have a setting where they can poll the app every x amount of minutes to check for notifications. But their are many alternatives to almost every app out there so you should find whatever you need.

Don't worry too much abou fragmentation. Most of the apps do work. And if they don't, email the developer about it and they will probably start working on a fix.

As for Motoblur, it's all comes down to personal preference. I personally don't like it though. But you can install custom launchers for a whole new interface that you can customize any way you want, and that doesn't require rooting. So yes, you could achieve the Nexus look if you so liked.

Locking down ROMs is bad for the community who like to hack their phones. But most developers usually find a way around it so you shouldn't worry about it too much. Although you may want to look into that specific phone and do a little bit of research on it.

Hope I could help :)
 
Thanks very much for the detailed response. It's a shame about the push notifications, but I guess it's not that big of a deal. On that topic, I know Apple maintains a connection to every iPhone to enable the use of push notifications - do Google / the phone manufacturer use a similar method?

Regarding the rooting of a phone, and the ROMs, what benefits do they bring?

Thanks again
 
I'm not sure about your first question, but rooting the phone gives many benefits such as:

- overclocking the phone to make it faster
- underclocking to save battery
- apps2sd
- loading custom ROMs (and you can apply custom themes to your ROMs)
- remove any unwanted apps
- take screen shots of the current screen
- ability to customize the notification bar, lock screen, etc.
- wireless tethering
 
Good day. I've looked around and can't seem to find a guide on how best to make the switch. I've had 3 iphones over the last years. One did manage to run away from me in Vegas and the other two both end up having problems at the 2 year mark. That is right just in time for me to upgrade and suck another 300+ out of the bank account, how convenient.

I'm tired of it and well honestly the iphone interface buttons and all look like they were made for a child. I need a real phone and Android seems like the choice.

So a couple of questions. I am with ATT (they work fine for me so no problem there). There are a number of phones there and I also am thinking of getting the Atrix. Do you all agree or is there a better phone on ATT?

I hate the concept of losing my text history and contacts by leaving iTunes and that sync. Is there a way to make a seamless move and really have all my information and history go to the droid?

I guess I am asking for a strategy to make the move - any advice?
Thanks everyone - looking forward to joining you.
 
Yes, the Atrix seems to be the best offering for AT&T right now so I'd say that's a good phone to go for. This link should help you with your text history and contacts. There may be other ways to do it too, so research it up if you would prefer a different method.

Guide: Switching from iPhone to Android
 
Before delving into the Atrix, if you are wanting to root and load custom roms I would look in the Atrix forum. Moto started playing dirty and locking things down. I don't know a whole lot more being that I don't own the device.
 
Thanks a lot for all the info provided guys. I didn't realise that things such as taking a screenshot would require the phone to be rooted - I thought this would be a standard feature.

Thanks again
 
SirMerkel said:
Thanks a lot for all the info provided guys. I didn't realise that things such as taking a screenshot would require the phone to be rooted - I thought this would be a standard feature.

Thanks again
Click to expand...


Some phones don't require root. My LG optimus can take screenshots with no root.
 
Well since your looking for a new phone,I would also take a look at the htc Inspire 4g.
 
SirMerkel said:
Thanks a lot for all the info provided guys. I didn't realise that things such as taking a screenshot would require the phone to be rooted - I thought this would be a standard feature.

Thanks again
Click to expand...

With the exception of over/underclocking your phone everything else can be done with apps and no need to root it, really.
 
ScottColbert said:
With the exception of over/underclocking your phone everything else can be done with apps and no need to root it, really.
Click to expand...

Well you also miss out on backing up your data and info (including apps settings), installing custom roms, getting rid of preoaded apps you don't need, just to name a few.
 
Ngo93 said:
I'm not sure about your first question, but rooting the phone gives many benefits such as:

- overclocking the phone to make it faster
- underclocking to save battery
- apps2sd
- loading custom ROMs (and you can apply custom themes to your ROMs)
- remove any unwanted apps
- take screen shots of the current screen
- ability to customize the notification bar, lock screen, etc.
- wireless tethering
Click to expand...
To make it clear, rooting does NOT give you the ability to overclock the phone!!! You must install a custom kernel to do that, since the atrix has a locked and signed bootloader this isnt possible right now. (some people have been trying modules but nothing works yet). You can however underclock with root. Rooting is also not required to install a custom ROM. Please dont post false information it just confuses people.
 
Thanks for all the responses guys. I've taken the plunge and ordered the Atrix from the US - hopefully it'll be here in less than a week.

I've got to admit, a lot of the things you're talking about is going way over my head - looks like I've got a lot of learning to do.

Cheers,
Dan.
 
SirMerkel said:
Thanks for all the responses guys. I've taken the plunge and ordered the Atrix from the US - hopefully it'll be here in less than a week.

I've got to admit, a lot of the things you're talking about is going way over my head - looks like I've got a lot of learning to do.

Cheers,
Dan.
Click to expand...

Hope you're happy with Android!
 
Jammy said:
Just some alternatives to the stock apps:

Replace stock messaging app with Handcent.
Replace stock email app with K9 Mail.
Replace stock launcher with Zeam, Launcher Pro or ADW.
Replace stock browser with Dolphin HD.
Replace stock music app with PowerAMP.
Replace stock dialer with Dialer One.
Replace stock lock screen with WidgetLocker.

:)
Click to expand...


SirMerkel, this is the post you want to pay attention too. Forget about rooting right now. Motoblur seems to be pretty terrible and a replacement home app will solve this the very easy way (I recommend Launcher Pro, I have been using it for a year now and it's awesome). Also for a music app check out Winamp also. With the desktop software (free) you can sync your phone and library over wifi, I have this setup on both my Nexus 1 and Galaxy Tab, it's sweet!

Welcome to Android! It only gets better from here.
 
Excellent, thanks guys. After 2 iPhones, all this choice seems a little strange! I'm going to to be doing a lot of fiddling around with it. With the iPhone, you can obviously back it all up and restore - is there a way of doing this with Android? If so, is it inbuilt or via an app?

Cheers!
 
SirMerkel said:
Excellent, thanks guys. After 2 iPhones, all this choice seems a little strange! I'm going to to be doing a lot of fiddling around with it. With the iPhone, you can obviously back it all up and restore - is there a way of doing this with Android? If so, is it inbuilt or via an app?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

What do you want to back up? Once you input your contacts they are sync'ed through the clouds with your gmail account. This comes in real handy if you switch phones because all you have to do is sign in and your contacts are right there, phone to phone to phone.... same goes with any purchased apps.
 
Mostly Harmless said:
What do you want to back up? Once you input your contacts they are sync'ed through the clouds with your gmail account. This comes in real handy if you switch phones because all you have to do is sign in and your contacts are right there, phone to phone to phone.... same goes with any purchased apps.
Click to expand...

Things like text messages, logs of recent calls, game saves etc
 
The most popular backup apps for Android are:

MyBackup (there's a free and paid version)
Titanium Backup (free, and is the preferred backup app for rooted users)

You can pick and choose what you want to backup and restore, including your call log, messages, system settings, homescreen layouts, apps, app settings, etc.

Once rooted, you have the ability to make the most powerful backup of all: the NANDroid backup. It pretty much creates an image of your entire internal memory. The NANDroid backup is not an app; it's part of a program called "recovery." The recovery program is stored in its own partition called: recovery. It's also the program you use to flash/install a custom ROM.
 
novox77 said:
The most popular backup apps for Android are:

MyBackup (there's a free and paid version)
Titanium Backup (free, and is the preferred backup app for rooted users)

You can pick and choose what you want to backup and restore, including your call log, messages, system settings, homescreen layouts, apps, app settings, etc.

Once rooted, you have the ability to make the most powerful backup of all: the NANDroid backup. It pretty much creates an image of your entire internal memory. The NANDroid backup is not an app; it's part of a program called "recovery." The recovery program is stored in its own partition called: recovery. It's also the program you use to flash/install a custom ROM.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all that info. The recovery program you mention, I'm curious as to why you would have to be rooted to utilise it? Surely this would be beneficial for all users?
 
Ngo93 said:
+1 to Launcher Pro, best home replacement out there!
Click to expand...

I'd like to mention. I have a Motorola Bravo, and after hearing everyone constantly complain how horrible Motoblur is I decided to try out LauncherPro and ADW.Launcher, and after two days of using each one I switched back to the default launcher with no hesitation.

With my default launcher I have very rarely had any lag switching between screens or using my phone, I can count the number of times my phone has had to force close an app on one hand with my default launcher.
With either of these replacement launchers I was having constant lag, as well as glitches where parts of my UI would go unresponsive, as well as consistent app force closes.

In addition, I love the size and positioning of Motoblur's phone icons. I loved having direct access to my browser, and messaging app on my dock regardless of which homescreen I was on. But this required me to have a small icon for my dialer, which made it noticeably more difficult to make phone calls.

There were other things that I loved that the launchers provided, such as the pinch to select my homescreens, but I found after a while Motorola was much more successful at getting a smooth running launcher with much fewer bugs than the two third party launchers.

I'd recommend that you give Motoblur a serious try, because if you never try it due to hearing complaints about it, then you may be putting yourself through more frustration.

Note: I do not use any of the social networking aspects of Motoblur.
 
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