Current BB and Android user considering IP5. Advice Needed.

[RWWackostu]

Hello Darksiders!

I may have only one post here, but trust me this is not a drive by posting. I have years of time (and posts) spent on the CB side. So what brings me here..... my wife actually. She wants an iphone. Tmobile doesn't have one. Her contract is up, so I am considering cancelling both contracts because I can get a really good deal on a new plan from another carrier that has the iphone. I would have to pay the ETF on mine, but selling my 9900 and her HTC would cover that (and part of new phones). Yes I said phones plural. I am considering for the first time in 7 years switching from my beloved Blackberry.

There are things I am not sure about. I love the BB's physical keyboard, and I am fast as heck on it. I love the fact that it manages my three email accounts perfectly. I love the fact that it is easy to load OS's and hybrids. I "get" how my BB works and I am darn good at how to fix it.

That being said, I love my Ipod Classic. It just works. I understand Itunes. My wife has an ipad 2, and I must admit that it kicks my Playbook's butt. I know Apple makes good things.

So here are my questions:

How much of an adjustment is it from a physical to virtual keyboard.

I could get a great deal on 2 4s's or pay more for 5's. IS one better to start on then the other? Is the 5 seriously head and shoulders above the 4s?

Is 16 G enough? This would not be a music storage device for either of us as I have a Classic and she has the 32G Ipad.

We are used to the big connector for current devices and have docks, etc. WTF is up with the small connector on the 5?

I have heard and read (I have luked here for a whole. Dont tell CB Kevin!) is that Apple seems to get it "right" with the "S's". IF I am forced cost wise to have to get the 4S, am I doing a wrong thing?

How secure is Apple's handling of emails? IS it push mail?

Is there an easy way to get contacts from a BB and an android to a new IP?

Is there somewhere in the interwebs a real good, non biased comparison between the 4s and the 5?

I would love to hear from people who came from heavy BB use and never looked back, and if you switched and went back. How was your experience.

Am I nuts for doing this (maybe).

I know this is longwinded (sorry) but I wanted to put it all out to the Imore experts. Hopefully someone will take the time to answer, like I tried to do to newbies over on the CB side.

Thanks in advance for reading my novel here, and for the knowledge you will share.

 

[kch50428]

Keyboard Adjustment: I too thought it might be an issue coming from a BB Tour... it wasn't for me. The more you use the iPhone & keyboard, the better you get as using it.

Size: larger capacity ones hold their value better for resale - 32GB is plenty for my use.

Security: Apple is gaining a foothold in Enterprises - security with iPhones is no worse than any other mobile platform, and companies can remote-manage them just like BBs now.

Contacts: It's as easy as setting up the iPhone email client to sync to the same email provider(s) you use now, and they will sync whatever you've got synced with them.

Are you nuts? -- No. Go for it.

 

[RWWackostu]

I see you have a 4S. Would this be a good device for us to start with? or do i pay the extra and jump in with the 5?

 

[Ipheuria]

I'm not a BB user although there are a few here and a couple Android users too so hopefully they will chime in. I can say a couple of things that might give you some things to think about. Typing on the glass is very easy to get used to it took me about 2 days but then again I never came from using a physical keyboard. Now in the case of whether to get the 4s or the 5 it wont matter which one you get in terms of being easier to understand how to use. The 4s as far as I've heard is very close to the 5 and the only standout feature the 5 has over the 4s is that it is able to take pictures while shooting video. Now if you can afford the 5 then I would say get it because while getting the 4s will give you a year or so of use getting the 5 will allow you to skip the next model giving you more than a year of use before you might feel the itch to get the new model. The 16GB especially if you're not going to be using it for music might be OK but like kch said the higher storage models are better for resale anyway. Add to that the fact you might really start to love snapping pictures, panos, etc. and the storage can quickly evaporate. Besides if your wife already has a 32GB iPad you could always get her the 16 and get the 32 for yourself. There will be growing pains but as long as you post up on here there are a ton of people willing to help.

 

[kch50428]

I see you have a 4S. Would this be a good device for us to start with? or do i pay the extra and jump in with the 5?

Go with the 5. Only reason I don't have a 5 now is I'm under contract for another year, and can't pony up the full retail cost at the moment.

 

[RWWackostu]

So if I get the 5 (and say I am stuck with the 16 due to the $) and I plug this thing into my itunes. Is it going to try and put all my music on the phone? (my inner newb is coming out.)

 

[kch50428]

So if I get the 5 (and say I am stuck with the 16 due to the $) and I plug this thing into my itunes. Is it going to try and put all my music on the phone? (my inner newb is coming out.)

The iPhone can be synced just like you do an iPod Classic with iTunes - choose to sync whatever you want within the available space limits of the device.

 

[nikkisharif]

I went from BB to Android & now iOS. I owned the 4S now I have the 5 & both devices are great.

1) The adjustment period for me going to Android was maybe a week because the keyboard was great. The keyboard on iPhones are actually pretty good considering their small size so I don't think you'll have too much of an issue.

2) Both phones are going to run great because iOS as a whole "just works". As far as which 1 to choose, it just depends on your preference in screen size, processors, charging options, cellular(the 5 has LTE) and depending on who you ask the camera on the 5 is slightly better. Other than that the phones run the same software.

3) As far as storage, 16GB is enough for me because I use my iPod Classic for music most of the time and to be honest none of the iPhones have the capacity to hold all of my music. I do take lots of pictures but I always move them to my Mac or iPad...my OCD won't allow me to clutter my phone. If you think you'll have a bunch of apps, photos or other documents then 16 won't be large enough.

4) The lightening connector on the 5 is fine for me. I hate that big 30 pin on my phone but each person is different. I bought a few USB cords for my 5 and just use the old 1s for my son's 4S, our iPods, and my iPad so this is not a big deal. If you think you'll be irritated by the new connector then I say get the 4S.

5) I don't think you'll be going wrong with the 4S. As I said before, it's a solid device and if I had gone straight from BB to iPhone I'd be happy with the 4S & it's screen size but I'm use to HUGE screens so I had to make a change.

6) I haven't heard of many people having issues with the security of email but I'm fairly new to iOS so I don't know. I get all of my business emails on my phone & haven't had any issues. With iOS mail, you are able to turn push on(which is how I have mine set) and I get my emails as soon as they come in. If you have a Gmail account, you'll need to set it up as an Exchange account in order to get push for it.

7) To get contacts from Android to iPhone just sync your iPhone with Google when you setup your email & all of your contacts should appear. As far as BB goes, I didn't do that transition so I'm not sure. Maybe you can save your BB contacts to Google & get them synced that way

8) I'm not sure about the comparison, I just came to my own conclusion about what I wanted & I'm happy. I refused to go back to BB or Android & I don't own any Windows devices so my only choice was iOS. The only reason I got a 5 was because my son wanted my 4S since his old Android broke and because I wanted a larger screen. Coming from Android, I felt the screen on the 4S was too small for me.

I hope this helps a little!! Good Luck in your journey

 

[RichardC300]

Moved from the 9700 to the 4S on launch day and then to the 5 also on launch day. Loved the physical keyboard on my 9700, but I never looked back after having the 4S. The biggest difference is apps , but you probably know that after having an iPad. As far as emails go, it works just as well as my 9700 did. Go for the iPhone and get the 5!

As for the iTunes question, you can set it to only sync checked songs.

 

[RWWackostu]

One more (the questions keep coming. Thanks to everyone who answered so far!)

If I end up with the 4s, do I stay on ios5 or take the update to os6?

---------- Post Merged at 03:10 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 03:09 PM ----------

An additional one. Will I need to set up a new apple ID or will my Ipod (itunes) one work with the iphone?

 

[kch50428]

If you get a 4S and it doesn't already have iOS6 - you can update to it... I'd do that first before setting up/syncing anything... and you can use your existing iTunes/AppleID with any a new device.

 

[Highrisedrifter]

I have an Iphone 5 and had a 4 before (with a Samsung Galaxy S3 in between) and I had a Blackberry for work (thankfully now gone, I hated it).

You will find the adjustment from a physical keyboard to a virtual one pretty easy. In fact, I preferred it to the physical keyboard on the BB after a while.

If the only reason you aren't getting an iPhone 5 is purely down to cost then fair enough and I can appreciate that. For any other reasons, the 5 is better than the 4S. However, the 4S is a great phone indeed, so don't think you will be short changing yourself too heavily if you go for the 4S. The 5 is faster, with a bigger screen and more hardware refinements over the 4S.

If you aren't using it for music then the 16gig will be plenty big enough. As I said in another thread somewhere, assuming the size of your apps is 50mb (erring on the very large side, most apps seem to be under 20mb) you could have over 300 apps installed on the 16gig device.

The T.L.D.R. - If your money can stretch to the iPhone 5, then I would definitely go for that. If it can't, you will still have a heck of a phone with the 4S.

 

[soogriff]

I'm a long time blackberry fan. The keyboard is a dream come true. That being said, it wasn't difficult to adjust to typing on the iPhone. Once u get past autocorrect, it's a dream.

I would say spend the extra money on the 5 instead of the 4S. I upgraded from the 4. My thought is you might as well have the most up to date device if you're going to upgrade/pay ETF anyway.

As far as space, I had 32 Gig on my 4 but decided to go with a 64 gig for my 5. I love taking photos and have a ton of music/tv shows/movies on my phone. I wanted to spend more money up front than get a device and wish I had more storage.

I have my work email and a few other accounts on my iPhone. I don't have any issues with it. It isn't as quick as my old blackberry as far as notifications, but I don't do anything that requires lightning fast response either.

 

[RWWackostu]

I have an Iphone 5 and had a 4 before (with a Samsung Galaxy S3 in between) and I had a Blackberry for work (thankfully now gone, I hated it).

You will find the adjustment from a physical keyboard to a virtual one pretty easy. In fact, I preferred it to the physical keyboard on the BB after a while.

If the only reason you aren't getting an iPhone 5 is purely down to cost then fair enough and I can appreciate that. For any other reasons, the 5 is better than the 4S. However, the 4S is a great phone indeed, so don't think you will be short changing yourself too heavily if you go for the 4S. The 5 is faster, with a bigger screen and more hardware refinements over the 4S.

If you aren't using it for music then the 16gig will be plenty big enough. As I said in another thread somewhere, assuming the size of your apps is 50mb (erring on the very large side, most apps seem to be under 20mb) you could have over 300 apps installed on the 16gig device.

The T.L.D.R. - If your money can stretch to the iPhone 5, then I would definitely go for that. If it can't, you will still have a heck of a phone with the 4S.

Thanks for your input. It could be down to cost, as I would need two devices. Now, if I could weasel my way out of my ETF, that cash would go directly into 5's. Either way i am looking forward to the experience.

 

[RWWackostu]

One more question. Does the IPhone have a sensor like the BB does that will put the device in "sleep" mode when it enters a holster?

 

[Roo Zilla]

Hello Darksiders!

I may have only one post here, but trust me this is not a drive by posting. I have years of time (and posts) spent on the CB side. So what brings me here..... my wife actually. She wants an iphone. Tmobile doesn't have one. Her contract is up, so I am considering cancelling both contracts because I can get a really good deal on a new plan from another carrier that has the iphone. I would have to pay the ETF on mine, but selling my 9900 and her HTC would cover that (and part of new phones). Yes I said phones plural. I am considering for the first time in 7 years switching from my beloved Blackberry.

There are things I am not sure about. I love the BB's physical keyboard, and I am fast as heck on it. I love the fact that it manages my three email accounts perfectly. I love the fact that it is easy to load OS's and hybrids. I "get" how my BB works and I am darn good at how to fix it.

That being said, I love my Ipod Classic. It just works. I understand Itunes. My wife has an ipad 2, and I must admit that it kicks my Playbook's butt. I know Apple makes good things.

So here are my questions:

How much of an adjustment is it from a physical to virtual keyboard.

Most people who type well on a BB usually take about a week to get adjusted to the iPhone touchscreen. Once they adjust, most say they type as well if not better. It can be a little frustrating at first, but you will get used to it.

I could get a great deal on 2 4s's or pay more for 5's. IS one better to start on then the other? Is the 5 seriously head and shoulders above the 4s?

Is 16 G enough? This would not be a music storage device for either of us as I have a Classic and she has the 32G Ipad.

If you don't plan on storing any media on your iPhone, 16GB should be sufficient. I don't know how many photos or videos you plan to take with your phone, but if you do a lot of that, you might want to consider a larger capacity phone.

We are used to the big connector for current devices and have docks, etc. WTF is up with the small connector on the 5?

Well.... it had to happen sooner or later.... I mean, there was a transition by BB from mini to microUSB too and very few people skipped a beat.

I have heard and read (I have luked here for a whole. Dont tell CB Kevin!) is that Apple seems to get it "right" with the "S's". IF I am forced cost wise to have to get the 4S, am I doing a wrong thing?

If at all possible, you should spring for the iPhone 5. Yes, the 4S is a great device, I've had mine for about a year now, but when I tried out the iPhone 5 in Hong Kong, it really is significantly better than the 4S in just about every way imaginable.

How secure is Apple's handling of emails? IS it push mail?

I use EAS for work, and Google Mobile sync for personal email, and it pushes just fine. One thing you may appreciate is that it's full HTML mail, and the attachment limit is something like 25MB, so it is much more robust than BB in that way. If you prefer non-HTML, there are apps that will do data compression that will strip your email of HTML formatting. Admittedly though, I no longer have it push email to me. I don't really have to reply to emails immediately and I find it annoying, so I have it set to fetch every hour.

Is there an easy way to get contacts from a BB and an android to a new IP?

It depends on where your contacts are stored. If you're on EAS, setting up your email account as EAS should fill your contacts. Since Google Sync is EAS, same thing.

Is there somewhere in the interwebs a real good, non biased comparison between the 4s and the 5?

Do a search for the review by Consumer Reports.

II would love to hear from people who came from heavy BB use and never looked back, and if you switched and went back. How was your experience.

In the past, up from 2005 to 2008, our company used to give us Blackberries. I used to go through about 5-6 a year for various reasons, mainly physical damage, some my fault. In 2008, when the 3G was available, our company switched it iPhones, mainly because of email attachment issues, we needed to be able to receive large attachments. Anyway, I never really though about it, until I started downloading apps. It was really then I realized what a dog the BB system was. I never threw my iPhone at the wall or chucked 'em out of hotel windows because it would freeze at inopportune times. After a while, you realize it's just a much more stable system, with much more usability because of the variety of apps available that make everything easier.

Am I nuts for doing this (maybe).

Nah, you're realizing there's more to the smartphone world than Blackberry.

I know this is longwinded (sorry) but I wanted to put it all out to the Imore experts. Hopefully someone will take the time to answer, like I tried to do to newbies over on the CB side.

Thanks in advance for reading my novel here, and for the knowledge you will share.

Well, hope I answered most of your questions.

---------- Post Merged at 11:52 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 11:51 AM ----------

One more question. Does the IPhone have a sensor like the BB does that will put the device in "sleep" mode when it enters a holster?

No it doesn't. But like every smartphone, it goes to sleep automatically. You can adjust how long it waits before it goes to sleep.

---------- Post Merged at 11:53 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 11:51 AM ----------

One more (the questions keep coming. Thanks to everyone who answered so far!)

If I end up with the 4s, do I stay on ios5 or take the update to os6?

---------- Post Merged at 03:10 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 03:09 PM ----------

An additional one. Will I need to set up a new apple ID or will my Ipod (itunes) one work with the iphone?

You won't have to set up a new Apple ID, and iTunes automatically recognizes the separate devices and lets you manage them individually.

 

[RWWackostu]

Thank you so much for your detailed response.

 

[MuttX7]

I just upgraded last week from a Torch 9800. All I can say is make the jump and don't look back. I bought a 32gb iPhone 5 and it is so much better than my BB. Apps work great and are very fast. The keyboard is taking some getting used to but with predictive typing, it works great. I use a yahoo email account as well as one for the paintball forum I am an owner of and have absolutely no problems with either.

 

[mtavenger55]

I was a BB user for 2 years before I got my 1st iPhone which was the 4. I also really liked BBs keyboard & the great email system. Before I got at BB (I had the Curve I believe 8830 & Bold 9650) I had an old crappy Samsung touch screen phone. I forget what it was called it was so bad, the touch screen needed a stylus to type. I couldn't take that so I went with a BB. It was a good phone but I always wanted an iPhone but I was afraid of loosing that keyboard feeling. Let me just say that I was not disappointed with the 4 or 5 typing wise. Very responsive & easy to use. On the 5 you have voice dictation which is helpful at times. Web browsing is great. No track pad to worry about & the email set up is quick, simple, & very organized. Since you won't be using your iPhone for a lot of song storage or apps 16 GB will be plenty. Switching from BB, I have been very pleased with iOS. Good luck!

 

[the1onlyjosh]

I've had a blackberry for over 8 years and just decided to leave for the iPhone 5. I can't believe I wait so long. So have switched sooner.