Making the move to Android? It’s really now wonder. Statistically speaking, Android has taken a slice of 75% out of blackberry’s market in just a few years.
Prior to the shift I’d like to point out some basic differences in the Android and Blackberry hardware that are noteworthy. Among the keyboard supporting Blackberry’s, a few have touchscreens where in contrast the in touch input Androids only a few models come with keyboards. Most people nowadays actually prefer a touchscreen but I am not one of them and if you are anything like me on this you would want to have a look at our full QWERTY smartphone devices.
Setting Up Email
Numero uno and by far the most important for previous blackberry owners is to set up their email on their new Google powered Android device. Androids come stock built for Gmail; this is painstakingly made obvious by the Gmail icon on every homescreen and the ease with which it is configured using only your email and password.
If one does not have a Gmail account for email then do make one as it shall be required anyway to set up sync on Outlook for your calendar. If you already have a Gmail account then you may want to set up all your business mail on it as it integrates seamlessly with your new device and rarely causes any problems.
In the case that Gmail is not an option you shall have to use the alternate email app that comes installed on all stock Androids. Specific to your model this application may be of the name “Mail” or “Email” but will be certainly present where all your applications are listed (the app drawer).Setting up mainstream email like Yahoo! Is pretty simple but in the case of business emails you may have to refer to your IT department for specific server information. For example if your office uses Outlook then you shall have to contact Microsoft for the Microsoft Exchange Server details for your device. Information that you might not be already familiar with would probably under Help>About and in the ‘External POP Settings’ line for Outlook. Enter the required data and finish the process. Your email should now be set up.
Importing Contacts and Calendars
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The next step is importing your contacts and syncing your calendar. Fastest way to do this is to visit http://m.google.com/sync on your Blackberry device and download the app that will sync your device data onto Google’s sever. After installing this app onto your Blackberry, launch it and input your Gmail credentials and check Contacts and Calendar options and press sync now. In the case you won’t be using your Blackberry device further you may store it or dispose of it as you won’t need it anymore. Now it is recommended to install the desktop software of Google sync so that you can sync your new device with Outlook and such without the need of wires! Launch calendar on your new Android device to see!
Acquiring Apps
Next you may require apps like the ones you had in your Blackberry earlier. If you work with your office documents on the go then you may be interested in out tutorial on setting up applications for them on your android. One such app is Evernote which can store your notes and also automatically sync them to your Pc. Blackberry Messenger is native on the Blackberry but there are more apps like Skype available from Google app store available on your device. Google Talk is available on all Androids for corresponding with your Gmail contacts. Similarly if you would like to restrict that then go to the app Drawer> Talk app> Settings and uncheck “Sign in automatically”.
You should make a habit of using your phone’s wifi for internet usage to save on battery life and also data plan expense if you already don’t do so with your older device. These settings are kind of hard to find on an Android as they are all the way in Menu> Settings> Wireless and Networks> Wi-Fi Settings (you may want to uncheck notifications for Wi-Fi networks as it gets kind of annoying as the phone notifies each time a new network is available). It couldn’t be simpler to set up though, just tap the network you wish to join and enter the network key.
All left to do now is customizing the interface which is made very simple due to the ingenuity of the tap and drag control scheme and also the back button in the menu helps make navigating around faster. As for the notifications that pop up (one of the best features in my opinion) just tap them and drag them down for a list!
Success! The migration is complete! Enjoy your new device!
