Motorola Droid

[zach]

I have been a BB user for years...remember the ones that had a little wheel on the side for scrolling...yuck. Anyway, I have a Tour 9630 for work but recently bought the Motorola Droid for private use and to try something new.

When researching the phone the only negative I could truely find was the comments on a short life with the battery. Well, I have a small application that controls what is running in the background and the battery life is not a problem whatsoever. Does it last as long as my BB, I don't really think so, however, very acceptable and just charge nightly. In addition, the Droid has a plethora of free applications that are very cool, functional and useful. The free GPS with vocal and visual commands is terrific as well as several other applications. The external key board and onscreen keyboard both work very well and are nice to have for an option.

Anyway, thought I would throw out my review in case anyone is considering a new phone. By the way, the Verizon corporate store near Merle Hay were terrific and downloaded several applicable applications during my purchase and provided other services. My rep was Hollie and was very helpful in saving $ on bundles too.

Z

 

[3GenClone]

I'm thinking about getting one of these. My contracts up and I'm due for an upgrade, would you recommend it just as a personal phone? What kind of apps did they hook you up with?

 

[snowcraig2.0]

Once it gets flash, it will be damned near perfect.

 

[cyatheart]

I just got it. It is awesome, only complaint would be the battery.

 

[dualforce]

newest droid is coming out in two weeks, called the droid incredible...here's a link

HTC Incredible?

doesn't have the slide out keyboard like the motorola droid, looks to be competition for the iphone though.

 

[ianoconnor]

I've had it since the day it came out...GREAT phone. No complaints.

 

[SeattleClone]

newest droid is coming out in two weeks, called the droid incredible...here's a link

HTC Incredible?

doesn't have the slide out keyboard like the motorola droid, looks to be competition for the iphone though.

I'm looking forward to seeing what that one's like... My Sprint contract is up this summer and I plan to smash my Instinct with a hammer and go back to Verizon. Probably either Moto Droid or the HTC. Of course, the last Motorola phone I had sucked and I also smashed it when I was done with it. I guess we'll see what kind of reviews the HTC gets.

 

[San Francisco Cy]

I only have a couple of minor complaints, after having this phone for a couple of months. One is on the video, and the inability to record in darker or brighter situations. Not that it comes up often. There may be a solution, but I'm not sure.

I really don't have much of a problem with the battery life. Whenever I do anything, I kill all applications when I'm done, and I manually check for email. I've had a smartphone previously (moto q) and it's the same in if you are browsing/facebooking/texting a lot, it willburn through the battery more quickly. But I charge it every night to be safe.

That brings me to my other issue. The alarm does not work when it's charging. Again, pretty minor and easy to get arounf. I love the phone and glad I got it!

 

[snowcraig2.0]

My alarm works when charging....

 

[zach]

I'm thinking about getting one of these. My contracts up and I'm due for an upgrade, would you recommend it just as a personal phone? What kind of apps did they hook you up with?

Primarily, the phone comes with several applications. However, I believe the GPS and Application Killer was added for me. However, it comes with a nice calc, she created a Gmail account for my phone and I hooked up my crappy home e-mail MSN account as a short cut(I am getting rid of MSN hot mail, however, should be easy to link to new home gmail account), I have CF as a short cut, camera, calendar, barcode reader, voice dial, Password safe, tethering devise to hook up to my laptop..Free again, and a couple of games. I am told there are thousands of apps. I am just getting started, but it is a terrific phone so far.

Z

 

[CyGal]

My husband has had the droid since it came out and recently he's been having a lot of trouble with calls being dropped and calls cutting out. It's worse at his work than it is at home, but it's still bad at home. I use the same carrier, with a non-smart-phone and I've never had any troubles with dropped calls - and the only time my calls cut out is when I'm talking to him. He would love a new phone, but can't find anything that he likes as much as the Droid - so we just put up with dropped calls.

 

[1100011CS]

newest droid is coming out in two weeks, called the droid incredible...here's a link

HTC Incredible?

doesn't have the slide out keyboard like the motorola droid, looks to be competition for the iphone though.

I have an HTC Eris and love it but I will be switching to this as soon as my contract is up. Faster processor, better screen, no track ball (different anyway). Initial reviews sound really good too.

 

[TOR]

I have an HTC Eris and love it but I will be switching to this as soon as my contract is up. Faster processor, better screen, no track ball (different anyway). Initial reviews sound really good too.

Mine runs fast enough (most lag is because of Verz poor 3g, runs awesome on wireless networks), love the screen, never use the track ball, love the compact size. My only complaint is it does not have google navigator until it upgrades to OS 2.1, get on it Verizon!:yes:

 

[BigSkyCy2]

My husband has had the droid since it came out and recently he's been having a lot of trouble with calls being dropped and calls cutting out. It's worse at his work than it is at home, but it's still bad at home. I use the same carrier, with a non-smart-phone and I've never had any troubles with dropped calls - and the only time my calls cut out is when I'm talking to him. He would love a new phone, but can't find anything that he likes as much as the Droid - so we just put up with dropped calls.

Interesting you say that. I (and my family) have been with US Cellular for nearly 10 years. The Tuesday before Easter, we all switched to Verizon and all got the Droid. I haven't had a single problem with the phone in Cedar Rapids, however, my mom and aunt (Both in Boone) are having calls dropped left and right. I'm yet to talk to my mom on the phone without the call being dropped.

As for the phone, I've loved it the two weeks that i've had it. Soooooooo many applications to download for free it isn't even funny. My dad has had it ever since it came out and has had no issues with it. He was previously a palm pre and blackberry storm user and says this is 1,000 times better than either of those.

 

[HOTDON]

newest droid is coming out in two weeks, called the droid incredible...here's a link

HTC Incredible?

doesn't have the slide out keyboard like the motorola droid, looks to be competition for the iphone though.

Don't confuze Droid the phone and Android the OS. The Incredible is an awesome looking Android based phone that is pretty similar to the Nexus One that Verizon was supposed to have by now Both are newer/faster/"better" Android devices than the Droid. Both run the excellent new Snapdragon processor.

Only reason I say anything is that an actual Droid 2 is due out in the summer/fall.

Sidebar: the Nexus One runs it's Snapdragon processor up to 1GHz speeds. The first computer I bought was a Gateway PIII processor running less than half that speed. Amazing.

 

[aeroclone]

I'm looking forward to seeing what that one's like... My Sprint contract is up this summer and I plan to smash my Instinct with a hammer and go back to Verizon. Probably either Moto Droid or the HTC. Of course, the last Motorola phone I had sucked and I also smashed it when I was done with it. I guess we'll see what kind of reviews the HTC gets.

If you like the looks of the Incredible or the Droid, maybe you should stay with your Sprint service and pick this bad boy up. The HTC Evo 4G.

Sprint - HTC EVO? 4G

This just got announced a few weeks ago with a rumored release date of early june. It has all the capabilities of the Incredible and then some. It has a larger screen at 4.3 inches vs 3.7 on the Incredible or Nexus One. It has an 8mp camera on the back that also records 720p video. It has a 1.3mp camera on the front for video conferencing. It also has an HDMI output for quick connection to a TV to playback your media in hi def. This will also be the first phone in the US to support 4G data. And it won't be just on the phone, the device can act as it's own wifi hotspot and you can connect up to 8 other wifi enabled devices to the phone to it to share the 3G/4G data connection.

I am way past due for a phone upgrade, and I couldn't be more excited about this thing.

 

[CyFever]

Mine runs fast enough (most lag is because of Verz poor 3g, runs awesome on wireless networks), love the screen, never use the track ball, love the compact size. My only complaint is it does not have google navigator until it upgrades to OS 2.1, get on it Verizon!:yes:

Eris here too. Didn't want the bulkier size of the Moto Droid. Even coming from a long line of Blackberries, I don't miss the physical keyboard at all.

If you're comfortable doing things to your phone, check out Android Forums for some great info. In particular, you'll find out how you can root your phone or upgrade to a leaked 2.1 ROM. Either allows access to the awesome Google navigation app. (I have the leaked 2.1 ROM myself.)

Also check out how you can install the third party (i.e. not through the Marketplace) app Swype. Best app on Android hands down. It's a keyboard replacement that made my typing on the soft keyboard easily 2-3x faster. You can install Swype without without root or leaked ROM.

 

[SeattleClone]

My husband has had the droid since it came out and recently he's been having a lot of trouble with calls being dropped and calls cutting out. It's worse at his work than it is at home, but it's still bad at home. I use the same carrier, with a non-smart-phone and I've never had any troubles with dropped calls - and the only time my calls cut out is when I'm talking to him. He would love a new phone, but can't find anything that he likes as much as the Droid - so we just put up with dropped calls.

That pretty much sums up my experience with the Instinct... add in a few more bugs that have popped up recently and I'm done with it as soon as possible. Not sure if my problems are the phone or Sprint service, since I hadn't had Sprint service for 10 years.

 

[SeattleClone]

If you like the looks of the Incredible or the Droid, maybe you should stay with your Sprint service and pick this bad boy up. The HTC Evo 4G.

Sprint - HTC EVO? 4G

This just got announced a few weeks ago with a rumored release date of early june. It has all the capabilities of the Incredible and then some. It has a larger screen at 4.3 inches vs 3.7 on the Incredible or Nexus One. It has an 8mp camera on the back that also records 720p video. It has a 1.3mp camera on the front for video conferencing. It also has an HDMI output for quick connection to a TV to playback your media in hi def. This will also be the first phone in the US to support 4G data. And it won't be just on the phone, the device can act as it's own wifi hotspot and you can connect up to 8 other wifi enabled devices to the phone to it to share the 3G/4G data connection.

I am way past due for a phone upgrade, and I couldn't be more excited about this thing.

I might look into that one, I'm not sure if it's Sprint or the phone that are causing my calls to drop though. I'm also pretty sure I want a slide-out keyboard like the Droid, I'm getting sick of the touch-screen only. Damn fat fingers. Too many patented space-age moon waffles I guess.

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[heitclone]

If you download the app to help save the battery life this phone is pretty much perfect. I had that problem for a week or so before finding the app, since I have that I don't have any complaints.