Moving from webOS to Android [From the Forums]

How-to
By Sean Brunett
last updated

The shocking news yesterday that HP was halting development of webOS forced us to call an emergency Mobile Nations podcast. The news is sad to us but devastating to the many devoted fans of webOS out there. While HP has left the door open for the OS to be licensed, the future does not look bright. Many fans that purchased a Touchpad only a few weeks ago will be searching for a new platform. Android, iOS, BB7 and WP7 are the major players that will try to persuade the webOS users wandering out there to make the leap. Whenever you transition to a different platform, there will naturally be growing pains when learning a new OS. If you happen to choose Android, we want to make the transition as easy as possible.

Which phone do I choose?

First thing’s first, what phone should you get? The most overwhelming aspect of choosing Android can be the sheer number of choices available. Being a webOS devotee, you had the Pre series, Veer and Touchpad. My recommendation is to choose which carrier works best for you and select a phone after that. There are excellent options available on each carrier, so you shouldn’t have to suffer subpar service for a phone you desire.

Here is a list of some of the best phones available right now on the big four and abroad. Obviously there are many more choices, but here are a select few that are currently available. With Android, whatever your preferences are, you can usually find a suitor. You can find devices with touchscreens, physical keyboards, fast processors, front facing cameras, 4.5-inch screen, 3.7-inch screens, 4-inch screens -- you know where I'm going. You need to decide what aspects of the device are most important, because a phone is such a personal and subjective choice.

  • Verizon: HTC Thunderbolt, Samsung Droid Charge, LG Revolution, HTC Droid Incredible 2
  • Sprint: HTC EVO 3D, Motorola Photon 4G, Samsung Nexus S 4G, Samsung Epic 4G,
  • ATT: Samsung Nexus S, HTC Inspire 4G, Samsung Infuse 4G, Motorola Atrix 4G
  • T-Mobile: HTC Sensation 4G, T-Mobile G2X, myTouch 4G Slide, Samsung Nexus S
  • International: HTC Sensation, Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Nexus S, LG Optimus 2X

Forum posts on the transition

As I mentioned above, transitioning to a new platform can be difficult. Fortunately, we have quite a few Android users who have come from webOS that have been kind of enough to document their experiences to make it easier for future converts.

Here is the premier guide to read if you're coming from webOS. It is an excellent Forum post by MiloMinderBinder called:

Palm webOS Homebrewer’s Guide to Android

It tackles pretty much everything from Synergy to notifications to must-have apps. It also covers one of the most requested tips: transferring contacts to your new Android phone. One thing that I can’t stress enough, once you get your contacts onto Google, is to always save them to Google rather than to your phone, here’s how:

Saving your contacts to Google

Other Forum posts that are notable have been aggregated here:

Tips and Tricks for Android

Good luck, and we're here to help

So whether or not you're a newbie from webOS or one that left long ago, hit our Forums because there might be someone looking for a solution that you found before. It is an uncertain world for webOS now and for that reason many will be looking for a new platform. I hope you find our Forums helpful and the transition to Android easy.  Android is a great operating system, but different than webOS and remember that not everything will be handled the same. We're always here to help, so if you have any questions or concerns, hit us up or speak to us in the Forums.

Sean Brunett
Sean Brunett