http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/controller?item=phoneFirst&action=viewPhoneDetail&selectedPhoneId=5069&changingCompletedOrder= Since I just went over to Google Apps I have really been looking forward to this phone, ordered it today. The iphone is cool, but I like a keyboard and I'm not a fan of AT&T's voice quality or data network (except when traveling worldwide).
There's a thread below about the Droid. Maybe a Mod can merge them. I picked mine up this morning at 6:15. Absolutely loving it! It is a tad heavy, but I actually am glad it is. Tired of feeling like I'm holding a pack of gum. If you have some questions I hope I can help.
Jason, I am interested in this phone and wonder how it is compared to iPhones, Blackberries, or other phones with keyboard such as SonyEricsson X1 or Nokia N97. Thanks.
Hiro, it's a great phone so far. It's ridiculous how many option there are. I just downloaded a bunch of ringtones and wallpaper from my pc to the phone. Which is simple to do because you just link the phone via usb to your comp, create folders, 'ringtones', 'wallpaper', 'notifications', etc and drag and drop. The only issue I have noticed so far is that it seems to get a little warm after I use it for a while. I do however think this is more from metal construction. I've posted on howard forums about this. Check out this review (this is the fairest review, imo). http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/Motorola-DROID-Review-review-r_2304.html And if you have hours upon hours to read everything you can do, user issues, fav apps, and so on, go here: http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=533 You can also view the user manual on Moto's website as well. http://www.motorola.com/support/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=20333d8b83184210VgnVCM1000008806b00aRCRD&vgnextchannel=25aae66506e9d110VgnVCM1000008406b00aRCRD If you or anyone have any questions just ask and I'll be more than happy to help.
Thanks for posting the links! The phone arena review was nice, and the video at the end was well done. I'm waiting for FedEx to deliver mine today. :>)
What sort of price are they asking for the service plans? I've heard that Verizon is charging more than AT&T for "unlimited" which Verizon actually caps at 5gb data per month, and other nickel-and-dime type stuff that makes using the full capabilities of the Droid pretty darn expensive. Can you verify or give some indication on expected monthly costs?
For a consumer device, not a business tool, what's the difference between the Droid and the Storm 2 (other than Droid is new and Storm is v2)? I have a BB Pearl that I'd like to upgrade. Both do email (gmail, etc.), both have wifi, both text, and both have web access. Is the Droid's browser better? Storm is GSM capable. Droid has a physical keyboard. Plans cost the same from what I see. Is this a simple device choice decision?
Buddy of mine got one last night. It's nice enough, but not a home run. Screen is fantastic. Will be interesting to see the eco-system spring up around droid/android. Holding it in landscape mode while typing is a bit inconvenient, but that's the way industry seems to be going now. That's the one nice thing about blackberries/samsung jacks--one handed, super-quick text input with tactile feedback. If only they put in better screens on those phones, I think they are perfect for the business user who doesn't want to give up smartphone features.
Jason, appreciate the link. Looks like a great phone. I've gone from BB to iphone, then Sony X1, and back to BB. Love the iphone, but the battery life is just not on par with BB especially for individuals that does a lot of emails on their mobile devices. The X1 is physically attractive, but WM is not the best OS around. One thing I didn't like about the sliding keyboard is that screen changes from portrait to landscape constantly, mostly unintentional due to how sensitive the sliding mechanism is. The keyboard is very difficult to get use to, and at the end gave up on it because it takes too long to type compared to BB or iPhone. I am curious on how this Moto will do, will need to stop by the store one of these days to see this for myself. Again, thanks for all the good info. Hiro
Well I spent the day with my Droid, I sat while my wife did the xmas shopping, here are my comments: I've owned an Iphone, and am currently using both a BB 8900 on AT&T and an LG VX-8700 on Verizon. The BB is hard to beat for email, and AT&T for world travel, but I don't like the BB for voice calls and AT&T is terrible for voice quality. AT&T's network is just slow as well. The Droid is a very well done phone, excellent voice quality and blazing fast on the 3G network. You can stream videos with no delay. The screen is the best I've ever seen. The user interface, which takes about a day to get used to, is good - very good. Someone spent some time figuring this thing out. The phone feels very solid, and the non-slide rubber-like finish on the back keeps the phone from sliding in your hand or in the car. I've spent most of the day browsing and making calls, the battery is at 40% now (7:30 pm). The Google maps app that comes with it is over the top, you can use voice instructions or type (find Nordstrom) and overlay traffic, and/or sat view - wild. The slide out keyboard is very good, but to me the keyboard on my BB is better, however my daughter has a slide out keyboard on her voyager phone and she can type like the wind, so it may just be a matter of getting used to. The landscape keyboards are just a little too wide to be really comfortable, but to get the screen real estate and room to type it seems to be the only option time will tell if it gets better than the BB. There is one very cool feature of the keyboard, a mouse that lets you jump up, down and sideways on a web page to choose hyperlinks or data entry fields and select them, when you select a text entry field the screen keyboard pops up if you dont have the keyboard slid out. The BB is a great tool, but is too limited in my opinion, in screen size and in applications for it, trying to read a PDF, even on the new BB, can take a lot of scrolling around. If all you do is email, the BB is it. But I feel that going forward, having the ability to do so much with Google apps and the internet, on a handheld device, the Droid is the way to go. Plan pricing; it is a normal phone with an extra $30 (maybe a little less) a month for data, which I believe is limited to 5 gig a month. The traffic updates are free, and I think you can tether it to a laptop at no additional cost (but will have to verify this). The BB runs higher, but I have those on business accounts. I rate it higher than the iphone for four reasons; voice quality, network speed, the slide out keyboard, and Google (text and voice) integration. I rate it higher than the BB for four reasons; bigger screen, faster interface, more apps, and Google (text and voice) integration.
The 5gb cap is using wifi, other than that it's unlimited ($30 unlimited data), or $45 with teethering). I don't know anything about ATT charges. And GPS is free with the phone, you have to pay on the iphone. Sorry, can really help you there. No BB or Storm experience. Not sure. Ones WinMo, other's Android. Just depends on what you like better I suppose.
GPS is free on the iphone using google maps. It costs money if you download any one of a 1000 GPS apps that cost money, but the free version is perfectly usable and accurate--it uses Google maps.
currently running two iPhones with supplemental batteries for each - one is older first generation, mine is 3G, second generation - I use a Morphie JuicePak (applestore.com) which fits right on the phone; charger plugs into this; the Morphie is used first then the main phone battery - I've used it for live timing, etc. at car races, it lasted the length of the 24h of LeMans although not on constantly; also have a solar charger that works well enough. I haven't "killed" the phone yet using the internet and most races we attend are 6 hour endurance ones, did one time run over the larger amount data plan alloted usage which can be a tad costly. Carol
I have the Storm now and love it. The Storm touch screen keyboard is perfect, I see the Droid keyboard as a big negative. What other reasons should I consider a Droid over a Storm?
Extensibility...means great things are coming down the pike. Screen--best in the industry. Keyboard should be easy to get used to. Read the reviews Rob. That will help you decide if it's worth it. You could probably wait a bit, unless you need to surf the web a lot and the Storm is not doing it too well.
Your mophie blocks reception...do you notice the number of bars decreasing when you have it on? Read the reviews...maybe you got lucky and have one of the few that don't block the signal, or you are in areas where the signal is so strong that you still receive it loud and clear even with the blockage, but do check it out. I do agree that your phone can happily run all day with one of these suckers.
But don't iphone users have to pay to use navigation? That's what I've been reading in all the reviews including the one on G4 tv. Doesn't matter to me really, just not a iphone fan. You don't have to use the hard qwerty. I hardly do actually. If you like the storm, go with the storm 2. You know it, you like it, and you know it works for you.
No, you don't have to pay to use the navigation that comes built in. I am guessing that the magazines say you have to pay for it because you pay for the data plan...otherwise, I don't know what they mean. The included navigation program works just fine, but it does not keep the right orientation unless you tell it to fix the orientation by pressing on the compass icon. For a lot of people it's not a big deal, but for me, it was typical of apple's incomplete approach. Of course I could figure it out, but it's just stupid to have north always be up, even when I was heading south...meaning when it showed an approaching left turn, I actually had to make a right turn. If you press the compass icon, it orients the screen properly, but after a couple of seconds it swivels back around so north is up again. Talk about DUMB!!!! Other than that, though, it is free and it does work just fine.
I never claimed they were perfect! [Can't you "lock" it into heading up though? - I've never tried....] +1 However, there are now at least three apps that are bringing "standalone navigation" capabilities to the thing - TomTom, Navigon's mobile navigator and sygic mobile maps are all shipping - They aren't cheap (from $50 to more than $100) but replicate much of the functionality of a standalone unit. There's a brief review at "macworld.com/5249" if anyone's interested - I don't have a nav system in the F-car and am getting to really miss it - I was thinking about a standalone unit, but reckon I'll go with one of these. Cheers, Ian
