My Droid review

B

btb103

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 11, 2002
Messages
1,065
I got the Droid on Friday evening from Best Buy. Coming from an old, basic functionality LG flip phone this is a world of difference. I love it!

Negatives:

Physical keyboard is just about as bad as the critics say - however my biggest issue is not the tactile feedback or crampedness but the the fact that the d-pad is placed as it is and makes it difficult to reach over from that side.

The camera is also as bad as the critics say - really, dreadfully slow. Also, I happened to be at the theater last night and took a picture in "theater" mode on the camera and it came out too dark to be of any use.

Yesterday I was transferring music files from my computer and the transfer hung up completely. I guess I over-inundated by dragging several folders at a time. My only choice was to remove the USB connection. When I did that the screen blacked out and the device was unresponsive to the power button. When I tapped the power button I noticed that the device was still on because it would make noises and the screen would change between off-black and blacked out screen "on" - I ended up removing the battery. Lesson learned - only drag one folder or one group of folders at a time.

The OS is definitely a little buggy, with crashes happening a little more frequently than I like.

Battery life is pretty short with intensive use so I'll definitely be making more of an effort to manage background services.

Now on to the good stuff:

The screen is magnificent - the resolution is really key. Touch accuracy/sensitivity is also great.

For most things, software operation is very fast.

The notifications panel is fantastically implemented.

In Chicago, 3G service is LIGHTNING fast - close enough to WiFi speed that it makes no difference.

Messaging is great.

Maps = awesome, Voice search = awesome, Phone functionality = very good.

Barcode scanner app with product search, Google Sky = SO AWESOME! (App market in general, very good).

...

I decided to purchase the Best Buy insurance because it requires no deductible, they get you a loaner phone during replacement, and they will replace for any kind of physical damage (including water). $9.99/mo is steep but overall worth it. I also got an Invisible Shield screen protector, steep at $20 but again, I think worth it.

Overall, I'm absolutely thrilled - just a few problems that will hopefully improve with software updates.

Get one now!
 
I was pretty interested in getting one of thses, ive reached upgrade time so it would only be about $175 for me. Is the browser pretty good? Also, is it fully customizable? change background (should be a given....) icons, folders, etc.?
 
The Droid screen is tempered glass, protectors should not be necessary. Check out this durability test.
 
Home screen is fully customizable, 3 of them actually. Put things anywhere you want, folders, backgrounds etc.

The stock browser is OK, but I use Dolphin browser, didn't like Opera mini.

I have 48 icons on my Droid, and none of them are in folders.

Could have 48 folders with 8 icons in each folder. . .384!
 
how responsive is the phone? Is it slow or is it pretty zippy? ive played with one in the store but i wonder how it handles once you get home and start loading apps and everything on it?
 
Last edited:
Zencyl said:
how responsive is the phone? Is it slow or is it pretty zippy? ive played with one in the store but i wonder how it handles once you get home and start loading apps and everything on it?
Click to expand...

Very zippy.
 
It's very snappy! However, when you have a ton of crap open and your available memory gets to around 20-30, you can feel a little latency.

However, opening up taskiller and closing a bunch of crap takes literally 5 seconds and then the phone is just as responsive.
 
I dunno how much longer I can go without gettin this phone. If it wasn't for the possiblity of the hd2 comin out for verizon in a few months I woulda bought this on release day.
 
mobusta1 said:
I dunno how much longer I can go without gettin this phone. If it wasn't for the possiblity of the hd2 comin out for verizon in a few months I woulda bought this on release day.
Click to expand...

Don't wait, this phone is awesome! Especially if your heavy on google services already.
 
This seems like the recommendation of someone who just got a cool new gadget, not one that is actually referring to the review that was just written. It crashes too much, the interface lags, and the camera is worthless? GO GET ONE!
 
S3th13 said:
This seems like the recommendation of someone who just got a cool new gadget, not one that is actually referring to the review that was just written. It crashes too much, the interface lags, and the camera is worthless? GO GET ONE!
Click to expand...

Not crashed once, yet anyhow. No lags and the camera is average for a phone, no worse no better. Everything else is simply awesome.
 
I didn't buy this phone for the camera or the keyboard.

I bought this for phone because it was a total impulse buy and for once, I am very pleased with an impulse buy!
 
I'm digging mine too, the camera works about as well as any other cell phone camera ... maybe a tad slower, but no worse than my Dare, but at a much higher res.

The keyboard is not that bad either, I have fairly large hands and find it to be about as easy to use as my enV or my Voyager was. There are several virtual keyboard options that pop up for when you just need a quick reply.

The 3g here in SW florida is fantastic too.

Even with the short comings this is by far the best VZW phone I have had to date.

BUT, if VZW ever gets the iPhone I would probably still switch to it.
 
wow best buy USA has really shitty insurance. Up here in Canada, 9.99 a month (5.49 for us staff ;) ) gets us INSTANT replacement of the phone. Walk in, find fault, walk out with new phone.
 
I haven't had any crashes.. I do have an issue with not being able to send mms on this device.. I was able to receive one.. but not send.. which is just all kinds of weird to me. I can send mms to e-mail addresses and to myself.. but not to another phone.

Aside from that, I haven't experienced any real problems. A little bit of lag here and there, primarily with one of the home replacements..the stock interface doesn't lag much at all.
 
Yeah, the only crashes I've had were apps that weren't designed for Android 2.0 or don't handle the Droid's high res that well. And some random weirdness like the whole home screen landscape orientation thing (the home screen won't go into landscape unless I pop out the keyboard- but only the home screen, all other apps do it fine). No problems sending MMS or anything like that... it all works fine.

Incidentally, I took one of my recorded episodes of The Office in HD, encoded it down using x264 and Nero's AAC codec to a 720x400 1000kbit video 128kbit AAC-LE audio MP4, and it plays back perfectly on the Droid, despite the Meridian video player saying the resolution is "too big". Makes me wonder how high you can pump the bitrate or resolution before it'll start to stutter- but at least that means you can play DVD-resolution encodes on the beautiful display without issue.
 
My Review -
Let me preface this with the fact that I have used many smartphones and have been biased towards winmo and BB's in the past.

Summary: Best phone I have owned. Most annoyances (exchange server, camera) will hopefully be fixed with future updates. The pros FAR outweigh the cons.

Misc:

Build: Very solid device (made of metal). I noticed the extra ounces when I picked up the phone - especially coming from a plastic winmo phone. Feels nice and substantial. Durable screen. Nice haptic feedback.

Stability: Have not had any crashes or stability issues yet. Does not have the memory leaks that are persistent in winmo.

Screen: Gorgeous and responsive!

Lag: Any device will exhibit a bit of lag when you multitask. It's barely noticeable. This runs circles around winmo. Android does not appear to have any kind of hourglass telling you that the phone is busy.

Keyboard: Not as good as many others, but it works fine for me. It's worth the extra bulk. Color scheme and design makes the keys blend together. I actually like the dpad - it makes it easier to navigate without having to swipe the screen. Moto, please copy the TouchPro2 keyboard on this next time!

Calls: Phone is very responsive and calls sound great.

Exchange Server: Works if you don't have tight IT security (see below). Can use multiple exchange servers (kind of a rare situation, but still very useful if you need it!)

Apps: Lots of great apps. You can find just about anything for free. The library is growing rapidly as developers migrate iPhone apps to Android.

Navigation: It's really as good as everyone says it is. Voice command is very accurate and fast. Its integration with everyone on the phone is amazing. While this could be ported to other platforms, I wonder if they will keep this as their ace. While it lacks a few features that standalone GPS's currently have (like customization & speed limit indicators), the new features are definitely game changers. And it's free - the $$ you save on buying a standalone GPS and map updates will put a big dent in the added cost of the $30 data plan.

Widgets: Very useful and very easy to arrange and set up. Much better implementation than winmo's.

Contact/Calendar Sync: Google basically expects you to either use exchange or google's cloud apps. No support for standalone outlook.

Cons:
Exchange Server compatibility: The built in functionality is lacking a few key features. Keep in mind that there is a $10 app that works great and takes care of most, if not all, of the following problems. Android 2.0 currently does not allow you to sync with corp servers that require a PIN (different than your password). Consequently, remote wipe is not an option. Syncing works fine if you have IT remove that requirement. This will be a deal breaker for many business users. Some users also cannot download attachments if SSL is enabled. There is no syncing of tasks or notes. Subfolders do not sync automatically (you must manually refresh them). Invites cannot be accepted or rejected either. Winmo and BB definitely reign supreme in exchange server compatibility. Palm works pretty good. iPhone is at the bottom next to Android.

Outlook compatibility: There are still people who use Outlook without exchange. For them, there is not an easy way to sync calendar/contacts/etc... Email can still be delivered via pop3.

Camera: There is definitely a bug or hardware defect in the auto focus. It will eventually focus, but the extra 5 seconds that it takes is an eternity.

Media player: Separate player for music and video. Both work well but are not flashy and do not use any gestures. There is not an easy way to sync music and playlists (like itunes or WMP). I've been using WMP to sync, but Android does not recognize the playlist files.

CDMA: Does not allow data and phone calls at the same time. It could be a problem if you are using the Nav app. Haven't tested it yet. This is not an Android issue - it's a phone carrier issue.
 
I had the hero for a month and like this droid a lot better so far. No more dropped calls, great screen resolution which makes browsing a lot better, and the performance is much better as well. Not as sexy as the Hero, and miss the sense UI, but I can deal with that.
 
Bloodgod42 said:
does the motodroid have pinch-to-zoom and auto text wrap like the eris?
Click to expand...
No pinch to zoom - although it is very clear that the functionality exists in non US versions of the droid. There is not a clear reason why it is disabled in the US.
 
Technically it's possible but I think Google is concerned about Apple's patent on the feature. However, the Hero allowed multi-touch zoom in the browser.

The thing is, with the high resolution of the Droid, the double tap works very well. But I can see it being useful for other things like photos or google maps.
 
Virtus said:
No pinch to zoom - although it is very clear that the functionality exists in non US versions of the droid. There is not a clear reason why it is disabled in the US.
Click to expand...

apple's multitouch patient in the US.
 
Virtus said:
Probably not true because many other devices have multitouch.

This.

I'm waiting for xda or others to cook their own roms that include multitouch.
Click to expand...

theres probably a bunch of detailed legal stuff in it, but I know it has something to do with apple's patients.
 
Gabe3 said:
theres probably a bunch of detailed legal stuff in it, but I know it has something to do with apple's patients.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's specificity due to Apple's patents but more likely something to do with Eric Schmit being on Apple's Board of Directors and these verbal agreements we've heard about.
 
Once the device is rooted we'll see it implemented. I would think Verizon would want this feature enabled, some people point this out as some glaring defect that the iDoes device Doesn't!
 
Can anyone explain to my why you would ever get insurance? it's $8 a month so for a year it will cost $96. You have a year warranty so you would end up spending $96 for a phone under warranty and after that it is only $50 to replace the phone if yours breaks. I must be missing something... why not just spend $50 to replace it.
 
I've thought about it, and I'd rather save that $96 incase my phone breaks and I decide to buy a new one. At the rate new devices will be coming out it's something to consider and gives me a reason to buy a new phone :D
 
I think insurance covers stupidity, you know, like dropping it in a puddle. But I chose not to pay for it and the sales Guy didn't recomend it.
 
Insurance covers theft, stupidity, etc. I didn't get it either, but I may add it later down the line.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top