Droid does.

I just have to share my overall amazement with the era in which we live. It is a time of awesome technological advance. God knows what the future will hold.

Today, I decided to try plugging my Droid into my MINI cooper's aux jack. While driving home today from the office:

1) Stream Pandora radio in decent quality through the MINI stereo, plus
2) had turn-by-turn Google Maps and Droid navigation running with voice-over directions in sync with Pandora.
3) Had a phone call arrive which muted other services and ran through the car's bluetooth in sync with #1 and #2
4) Hung up the call and saw an icon on the screen for a new email that had arrived.

... all through the Droid !! I'm sure other phones can do this stuff, but it is really quite magical. I'm not terribly religious, but the proof of God is the spark of imagination and creativity that he gave mankind. The Droid sure seems divine !!

 

I'll be in the line of idiots getting their HTC EVO on June 4th - and will thus begin my first Android experience....

I'll probably be letting Google control yet another area of my life. Even though I like WebOS better, it looks like it might go the way of Betamax...

 

Yeah, it kind of makes you wonder what technology is really being held back. It's almost comical. The internal combustion engine has few improvements over its lifetime, yet something that can fit in your palm has been improved 100x over in 10 years.

Jim

 

Cool story!

I love it when technology works.....

What year is the Mini?

Cheers,
Ian

 

I had an 07 Cooper and last fall swapped for a new '09. It is bone stock, except for the Bluetooth option.

* Thanks to Luca, the primary color of the backseat is called "Pop Tart crumbs".
* Thanks to Remy, the rear hatch and fold-down rear passenger seat (next to Luca) has a primary color of "dog fur"

I cleaned it out last week with a leaf blower.

The 07 got *easily* 40 MPG in the city, 42-45 on the highway. The 09 isn't quite as good yet, but it only has about 5k miles on the clock.

Love my MINI. Really. I cannot imagine why I drove around in a big BMW and Merc for all those years just feeding the OPEC monster.

 

The new version of Android, 2.2, has a feature that really blows my mind. You can push pages from a desktop browser to your phone; if you're looking at directions for something on Google Maps, you can send them to your phone and resume the turn-by-turn when you get in the car. Jeez.

 

My Droid Eris phone controls my TV; I can use my phone as the remote control!!! And I can send pics from my phone directly to my TV! And i can set my DVR when i'm not at home!

mind = blown

 

Ok.. tell me how u use it as a remote...

 

Apparently ,the one thing Droid DOESN'T is work as a decent phone in remote areas. I'm selling one on ebay right now for a guy who used it for less than 1/2 hour - it got crummy reception at his place & Verizon told him he needed a phone that was a better PHONE, so he dumped the Droid for something that he could call people with.

Have 2 friends who love their Droids, but both say another thing it does is gobble down the battery in nothing flat.

 

Battery life on my droid is better than my friends HTC incredible, and my dads crapberry.

Anything that uses 3G a lot isn't going to have great battery life.

 

I'm not so sure - I suspect it's wi-fi & GPS services that drain the battery (?) - Dunno about the Droid, but I do know my iPhone "drops" wi-fi connectivity if unused and only reconnects when activated. I assume this is to save the battery?

Cheers,
Ian
PS - Given the current "2 for 1" offer on the Droid, the G/F is tempted as she then gets a "backup" (her term - She loses em, drops 'em in coffee mugs etc ) - Anyone know if both need to be activated at time of purchase?

Cheers,
Ian

 

man we need a smart phone thread guide for dummies here. i still have a 7 year old Nokia soap bar phone. works fine for me, as a phone. no camera, no text. just a phone.

do you guys really use all that stuff on these phones?

i am with TMobile, and was thinking about getting the flagship super-phone-whatever it is they have.

i have NO IDEA how to use one though !

 

As a datapoint, I leave the WiFi on my DROID turned off about 99% of the time. 3G is plenty fast for the email, calender, Pandora, etc. stuff that I do. I've never felt the 3G on the DROID was too slow. The WiFi indeed kills the battery pretty quick. Navigation also kills the battery, but it's usually in the ciggy plug when Nav is running.

 

+1 2nd datapoint

"Ciggy plug" It's now an "auxiliary power outlet"......

Yet still with the *worst* idea of a connector in the history of mankind!.... "I know, lets build a connector that incorporates a spring that wants to push said connection apart!"

WTF were they thinking? OK, I know it's a "standard", but come on - Daniel can make digital magic happen, but it all depends on that connection......

Cheers,
Ian

 

The phone shuts off the GPS antenna when the maps or "location" type apps aren't being used. Wifi shuts off when the phone goes to sleep from what I can tell. The wifi antenna will run the battery down.

Anyway, if you REALLY want your mind blown, stream Pandora via A2DP to your car's stereo. Freaking amazing. I do this in my Corvette and will sometimes stream the Police Scanner app. Freaks people out when you pull up next to them.

RMX