Goodbye Blackberry

[Raistlin]

Well I have finally given up my Blackberry for a new toy, I have been waiting for Android to come of age and manufacturers to supply some sexy kit.

So after much reading and playing with phones I have plumped for this beauty....

The HTC Desire HD

I have to say it does all my Blackberry did and more, the camera is great and music through headphones is just a delight, Rush never sounded so good on a phone...

I am one satisfied punter.

[bothwell_buyer]

Interesting - I was thinking of switching to a Blackberry Bold 9780 from having tried a Samsung i8510 which was useless.

Which network do you use for the HTC??

[Daveyonthemove]

Good choice!

I have the Desire (non HD) and love it.

Some must have apps:

lookout: Its a free mobile phone anti virus software that allows you track the phone from a PC if should go walkabout, and set an off alarm to help locate it.

Handcent SMS: Much better SMS application that is very customisable (font/colours/backgrounds/notifications) as well as putting the last message received at the top of your inbox, no the bottom.

Say NO to 0870: Great little app that gives you alternative landline numbers to avoid national rate calls to most companies.

Last FM: Excellent app for finding music of a genre of your favourite artists, and gives info about them and tour dates/locations.

RAC traffic: Live data from the RAC, very handy in these conditions.

Barcode scanner: Great app for finding items cheaper when out shopping. Works best on things like books/cd's and DVD's

Weatherbug: Up to date weather in your area, or a selection of areas you visit with 5 day forecasts.

Movies: Good app for seeing whats on at the cinema or DVD's to be released, with reviews and trailers to watch if you want to, and it locates the local cinema and viewing times for the film you are interested in.

Appbrain: This allows you to view the app market on your PC and send the app you want to your mobile without picking up the phone. Very slick and instant downloading.

Astro: Folder viewer like 'my computer' on a windows PC. handy to locate downloaded content that is tricky to hunt down.

Chrome to phone: Good app if you use Chrome on your PC. Send the webpage to your mobile and it opens it instantly, or starts youtube to watch videos.

Keepscreen: Android default setting is to put the phone into standby after your allocated time, and any apps that are open will not be viewable unless you unlock the phone again. Keepscreen allows you to allocate which applications stay open and don't allow the phone to sleep. Handy for google maps if being used when driving.

Photobucket: Send pics directly to your photobucket account from your phone. No more connecting via USB and transferring them over.

Swift key: Improved keyboard over standard, and learns how you type. Very good and efficient for reducing how many letters you need to type.

Vlingo: This is awesome. You can instruct the phone to do all sorts by voice control. Text/call/email all by voice. Open certain apps. find business' on maps and navigate to them. Ask it a question and it finds the answer and reads it back to you (EG 'how long is golden gate bridge') or you can ask it to google for something. It also reads incoming messages and emails.

All the above are free apps and i use them all quite often so can vouch for how good they are.

Just remember to move them to SD card if you can to keep the phone memory free. Go to settings, applications, manage apps, click on the one you downloaded and select 'move to SD' if it is not greyed out.

I hope some of that is useful or of interest.

[RAV4Len]

I have the BB Curve and get on well with it :)

[Raistlin]

Interesting - I was thinking of switching to a Blackberry Bold 9780 from having tried a Samsung i8510 which was useless.

Which network do you use for the HTC??

Orange plus T Mobile as well now , so pretty good coverage

[Raistlin]

Good choice!

I have the Desire (non HD) and love it.

Some must have apps:

lookout: Its a free mobile phone anti virus software that allows you track the phone from a PC if should go walkabout, and set an off alarm to help locate it.

Handcent SMS: Much better SMS application that is very customisable (font/colours/backgrounds/notifications) as well as putting the last message received at the top of your inbox, no the bottom.

Say NO to 0870: Great little app that gives you alternative landline numbers to avoid national rate calls to most companies.

Last FM: Excellent app for finding music of a genre of your favourite artists, and gives info about them and tour dates/locations.

RAC traffic: Live data from the RAC, very handy in these conditions.

Barcode scanner: Great app for finding items cheaper when out shopping. Works best on things like books/cd's and DVD's

Weatherbug: Up to date weather in your area, or a selection of areas you visit with 5 day forecasts.

Movies: Good app for seeing whats on at the cinema or DVD's to be released, with reviews and trailers to watch if you want to, and it locates the local cinema and viewing times for the film you are interested in.

Appbrain: This allows you to view the app market on your PC and send the app you want to your mobile without picking up the phone. Very slick and instant downloading.

Astro: Folder viewer like 'my computer' on a windows PC. handy to locate downloaded content that is tricky to hunt down.

Chrome to phone: Good app if you use Chrome on your PC. Send the webpage to your mobile and it opens it instantly, or starts youtube to watch videos.

Keepscreen: Android default setting is to put the phone into standby after your allocated time, and any apps that are open will not be viewable unless you unlock the phone again. Keepscreen allows you to allocate which applications stay open and don't allow the phone to sleep. Handy for google maps if being used when driving.

Photobucket: Send pics directly to your photobucket account from your phone. No more connecting via USB and transferring them over.

Swift key: Improved keyboard over standard, and learns how you type. Very good and efficient for reducing how many letters you need to type.

Vlingo: This is awesome. You can instruct the phone to do all sorts by voice control. Text/call/email all by voice. Open certain apps. find business' on maps and navigate to them. Ask it a question and it finds the answer and reads it back to you (EG 'how long is golden gate bridge') or you can ask it to google for something. It also reads incoming messages and emails.

All the above are free apps and i use them all quite often so can vouch for how good they are.

Just remember to move them to SD card if you can to keep the phone memory free. Go to settings, applications, manage apps, click on the one you downloaded and select 'move to SD' if it is not greyed out.

I hope some of that is useful or of interest.

Many thanks,

I have a bunch of apps already on it but I have downloaded a barcode scanner, car locator, real player,to do list, Andexplorer and cover art for looking up album artwork.

[Daveyonthemove]

Album art grabber is one that i use and thats pretty good.

There are also 'torrent' style music downloading apps available, but i won't post the details up on here because that would be naughty.

When you start to look at what these phones can actually do, you realise how well Apple managed to advertise their iPhone, as they are way behind Android.

[Shirahime]

I have visions of meself snatching me boyfriend's Blackberry out of his hands an just chucking it out the window. He's always on that !Removed! thing. ¬_¬

[Raistlin]

I have visions of meself snatching me boyfriend's Blackberry out of his hands an just chucking it out the window. He's always on that bloody thing. ¬_¬

There are ways of distracting him....

[Shirahime]

There are ways of distracting him....

Oh I'm not doing that again. XD

[bothwell_buyer]

There are ways of distracting him....

Oh I'm not doing that again. XD

I hear yer pretty handy wi a hay fork :help:

[Raistlin]

Was that some sort of pitch....

[TopSpeed999]

Nice! I have been eyeing on this phone.

[lancs28]

I got conned good and proper by Phones4U, and now have a Blackberry Curve 8520, which I personally think is a bit pants! It's not really a 'smartphone'... just mildly more clever than a Nokia 3310.

Nevermind, only another 13 months left on the contract.... !

[Septembersrain]

I've had a BlackBerry on and off for years.

I'm an Androidian and tend to always end up back with one.

Though I do have two phones, One for person and the other for business.

When I get super bored, I pull out my old BB and throw it on my account. LOL

Right now I have a SGS3 and SGN2.