Anyone get the Moto Droid today?

[Bateluer]

I'm not the biggest fan of Sprint, they managed to screw up weekly when I had their DSL service several years ago. I liked the Pre, but there was no way I was going to touch it on Sprint.

However, I do have a concern about consolidation stifling competition. If TMo buys Sprint, that leaves three major carriers in the US. T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. Regional carriers get swallowed up all the time and never have large subscriber bases to begin with. As much as I like my Verizon service, they are only decent because of competition from other carriers. If I don't like Verizon, I can jump to another company with relative ease. I wouldn't want any carrier to be the only game in town. Playing this game with my landline Internet service blows.

 

[Bateluer]

Any word on the Droid sales numbers? Motorola needs the Droid to sell well. Reviews are nearly universally positive, and most people on AT who bought one seem to like it a lot, with a few minor caveats.

The Best Buy I stopped at first on Friday said they sold around 15-20 in the morning and that it was pretty hectic for the first few hours. The Verizon salesman at the VZW where I bought mine didn't give any numbers but said they hadn't sold as many as they hoped.

Information from Engaget and BGR is all over the place, with some stores selling volume, selling out, and having lines, and others being dead.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Any word on the Droid sales numbers?

No numbers, I've been looking too, that's usually a bad sign. I'm not saying it's a bad phone at all, I want one, but on my carrier. If TMobile had it, I'd have one in my hands now

What I'm reading is that there are a lot of people on Verizon that have been waiting for a decent smartphone that bought one (cannibalizing potential Storm 2 sales), and people that are fed up with ATT's network, or just don't like iPhones.

The 2 year contracts are killing new phone sales too, with the 1 year contracts people were much more willing to jump ship, with the economy in the crapper, not so much...

 

[Bateluer]

The 2 year contracts are killing new phone sales too, with the 1 year contracts people were much more willing to jump ship, with the economy in the crapper, not so much...

Not the best of times to launch a make or break phone, is it? A year contract would be very beneficial, I think, and would attract a lot of people to switch to say nothing of all the people who'd meet the requirements.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Not the best of times to launch a make or break phone, is it? A year contract would be very beneficial, I think, and would attract a lot of people to switch to say nothing of all the people who'd meet the requirements.

I understand the reasoning behind the subsidized 2 year contracts, it spreads the price of the device out over a longer period, and it reduces churn, but yeah, it's killing new phone sales.

While I was really hoping TMobiles unsubsidized plans would be much cheaper, they're a step in the right direction for consumers. Now if TMobile just had some phones I wanted. I really like my G1, but in my perfect world, I'd have an iPhone or a Moto Droid using 3G on TMobile's network.

 

[misle]

I was looking at Verizon's website and you can do a 1 year plan, but it adds $70 to the cost of the phone.

 

[shortylickens]

I dont know about nationwide sales numbers but when I went to Verizon at 9AM they had already sold 100 of their 200 inventory. And that was opening day. I guess those commercial spots really paid off.

 

[lokiju]

Not the best of times to launch a make or break phone, is it? A year contract would be very beneficial, I think, and would attract a lot of people to switch to say nothing of all the people who'd meet the requirements.

You can get a 1 year contract on the Droid, you just pay a bit more up front.

If I recall correctly, it's $230 for the phone instead of $199.

At least that's what I read on another forum.

My wife and I are debating switching from AT&T (iPhones) to Verizon to get the Droid (mainly because of how much AT&T sucks) and we will diffidently be getting the 1 year contract.

 

[maziwanka]

When the phone is locked, you can just slide to the left (opposite of unlocking it)

i think that turns it to silent mode

 

[destrekor]

Anyone else think the USB cables are ridiculously short?

I can understand the cord that comes with the phone. But the cord that comes with the Multimedia Station, same length... stupid thing is too short. It is the same so it can plug into the wall charger or to a computer. I want this thing on my desk and plugged into my computer that is directly below that. It can work, but barely, and doesn't give me any play. If I wanted to plug it into the outlet, hah, might as well forget about that... no way it will reach right now.

Thinking about picking up a super cheap cable on monoprice. I just felt like I should have at least some gripe. Nothing is perfect.

And as I say that, it is this morning that I realize I might just indeed have a dead pixel. Thankfully, it is in the bottom right corner. If it weren't glass I'd try the rub the pixel technique, but regardless, it's in the least annoying spot it could be in, so there is a positive way to look at this problem.

 

[bucwylde23]

I'm seriously considering upgrading to a Droid from my BB Tour. I will just have to go into a store and check it out in person. The only thing i've seen that I don't like is how slow the camera is.

One question about the email on the Droid: When you delete emails can be set up to prompt you whether you want the email to be deleted on the server, on the phone, or both?

 

[Deeko]

Any word on the Droid sales numbers? Motorola needs the Droid to sell well. Reviews are nearly universally positive, and most people on AT who bought one seem to like it a lot, with a few minor caveats.

The Best Buy I stopped at first on Friday said they sold around 15-20 in the morning and that it was pretty hectic for the first few hours. The Verizon salesman at the VZW where I bought mine didn't give any numbers but said they hadn't sold as many as they hoped.

Information from Engaget and BGR is all over the place, with some stores selling volume, selling out, and having lines, and others being dead.

I think a lot more people got it at Best Buy than at Verizon, and for good reason - which would explain why Verizon stores had somewhat disappointing sales.

 

[California Roll]

A ton of deals to be had on this phone. Amazon and Sears has it for $150. Walmart for $188. Wirefly for $130. No rebates required.

Considering I also pay sales tax going through Verizon, I will be going the Amazon/Wirefly route once I can spend some time checking it out in the store.

 

[slayer202]

I wish I didn't get a blackberry a few months ago...any deals around that don't require an upgrade or new contract?

 

[lokiju]

A ton of deals to be had on this phone. Amazon and Sears has it for $150. Walmart for $188. Wirefly for $130. No rebates required.

Considering I also pay sales tax going through Verizon, I will be going the Amazon/Wirefly route once I can spend some time checking it out in the store.

Wirefly is showing $149.

How do you get the $130 price?

EDIT: Found it, never mind.

 

[Bateluer]

Wirefly is showing $149.

How do you get the $130 price?

EDIT: Found it, never mind.

Damn, I paid much more than these figures from the Verizon store. And I have to wait for my rebate visa.

 

[Pliablemoose]

An anecdotal bit on Droid #'s: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/07/think-the-droid-launch-was-a-let-down-not-so-fast/

 

[destrekor]

Damn, I paid much more than these figures from the Verizon store. And I have to wait for my rebate visa.

That's the one thing that sucks. My situation I had to get a manager's approval to upgrade, so I had no option of going to a store to get a better deal.
Great for those who were able to though. More of these out there means more apps. And more developers updating their apps to run better on the Droid, since some constantly lock up.

edit:
and if anyone is like me and has a Droid with a loose battery door, stop at a Verizon store and they'll swap one out without pause, according to some posts. The loose door is not a "feature", it apparently is supposed to stay in play like any other battery door. I need to do that tomorrow. It comes off in my pocket sometimes.

 

[postmortemIA]

so does it come with Flash 10 out of box? I saw somewhere in specs " Flash 10 ready". what is the catch? also can you make your own Java app, convert them to Android's VM and run it?

 

[destrekor]

so does it come with Flash 10 out of box? I saw somewhere in specs " Flash 10 ready". what is the catch? also can you make your own Java app, convert them to Android's VM and run it?

No idea about development.

However, they have said Flash 10 is on the way, sometime next year, from what I can gather, sometime during the 1st half of next year. Who knows exactly WHEN in that block of time. I haven't seen anything remotely specific.

 

[GTSRguy]

I love the iPhone, and have an ipod touch that is great, but if my contract was ending i would pick up the droid. I hate phones though, its not like buying other electronics. Contracts and monthly payments and BS, i hate it

 

[Zenmervolt]

Anyone else think the USB cables are ridiculously short?

I can understand the cord that comes with the phone. But the cord that comes with the Multimedia Station, same length... stupid thing is too short. It is the same so it can plug into the wall charger or to a computer. I want this thing on my desk and plugged into my computer that is directly below that. It can work, but barely, and doesn't give me any play. If I wanted to plug it into the outlet, hah, might as well forget about that... no way it will reach right now.

Thinking about picking up a super cheap cable on monoprice. I just felt like I should have at least some gripe. Nothing is perfect.

I was just about to post the same thing. When packing I thought it was great since the cable was easier to wrap up but finding a convenient outlet in the hotel room was a pain.

ZV

 

[OS]

I was looking at Verizon's website and you can do a 1 year plan, but it adds $70 to the cost of the phone.

yeah i don't even bother with 2 year plans anymore, i just pay the extra and get a new phone every year

2 years seems like a freaking lifetime to be tied to one technology item..

 

[Jeff7181]

I agree that it could use a longer cable considering how power hungry the display seems to be. I'm going to give it a few more charge cycles to see if the battery life improves at all, otherwise I'll be looking for a higher capacity battery. That's one thing I'm going to miss about my Curve... 48-72 hours between charges.

I also don't like that I can't send someone a sound clip via MMS.

I also couldn't figure out how to get Bluetooth working to send the file to a coworker that also picked up a Droid. Said our devices were paired but not connected. (shrug)

 

[Bateluer]

I agree that it could use a longer cable considering how power hungry the display seems to be. I'm going to give it a few more charge cycles to see if the battery life improves at all, otherwise I'll be looking for a higher capacity battery. That's one thing I'm going to miss about my Curve... 48-72 hours between charges.

(shrug)

Turn off wifi and gps when not in use, those are power suckers. There are the wifi onoff and gps onoff apps that make it easier.