Anyone get the Moto Droid today?

[Bateluer]

So far, my only complaints with the phone are with its battery life and the flat keyboard. I've mostly gotten used to typing on it, but the buttons on my old Env2 were much better. The battery life is comparable to other smart phones, but far shorter than the week long battery of my Env2. Still, you pretty much have to charge the phone every 24 hours or so to charge it.

 

[wolf2009]

So far, my only complaints with the phone are with its battery life and the flat keyboard. I've mostly gotten used to typing on it, but the buttons on my old Env2 were much better. The battery life is comparable to other smart phones, but far shorter than the week long battery of my Env2. Still, you pretty much have to charge the phone every 24 hours or so to charge it.

smartphones

turn off the auto sync, that will help the battery life

 

[Spoooon]

I put the invisible shield on my phone a few nights ago. So many pieces, huge PITA.

If I had to do it again, I think I would do just the screen and maybe cut pieces to go over the corners.

 

[Bateluer]

smartphones

turn off the auto sync, that will help the battery life

Auto sync with Gmail every 30 minutes is something I want on.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Is anyone else having issues with the built in mail client? I have mine synced to my work's exchange server.
I can download mails, but if i try to open them the app crashes and requires a force close.
I've tried turning the phone off, removing the account and re-entering everything and it still crashes.

 

[Glitchny]

So far, my only complaints with the phone are with its battery life and the flat keyboard. I've mostly gotten used to typing on it, but the buttons on my old Env2 were much better. The battery life is comparable to other smart phones, but far shorter than the week long battery of my Env2. Still, you pretty much have to charge the phone every 24 hours or so to charge it.

I generally don't see charging every 24 hours as an issue, and I've run my droid for 48+ hours on a single charge. Usually though I just charge it when I'm sleeping and it's ready to go when I wake up, not a big deal.

 

[destrekor]

I generally don't see charging every 24 hours as an issue, and I've run my droid for 48+ hours on a single charge. Usually though I just charge it when I'm sleeping and it's ready to go when I wake up, not a big deal.

works perfectly for me. I use the Media Dock and use it as my alarm.

edit:
Also, smart phones are just like that. They often are doing far more things than a simple phone, and that requires battery.
Especially if you frequently use your phone for extended periods of time, like browsing or using various apps, not necessarily because of the cpu time, rather due to the screen. Use auto brightness (it works amazingly) and if you need to conserve battery, try and abstain from using the phone for extended periods where the screen is on. With phone calls, the screen is almost always off.

My Omnia ended up having slightly better battery life, but only because I used it infrequently. I'd use various things, but it wasn't constantly pulling data for random things.
Since I know I'm going to charge my Omnia every night, I don't make have any problems with basically having everything pulling data, using the GPS, or anything else, when it needs it. It lasts the whole day for me even when I use the phone a lot, and that's all I want out of it. Charging nightly is not an issue because I just put it on my dock, and often have it on the dock when at home anyway (that way I never get close to depleting the battery all the way, something that people seem to say is bad for li-ion batteries).

 

[Bateluer]

Use auto brightness (it works amazingly)

No, it doesn't I keep the screen brightness at the lowest point the slider will let me go. Inside, its fine, outside, I tap the brightness button on the power widget. Otherwise, minimum screen brightness.

 

[Jeff7181]

lol, your sig says otherwise

Google navigation worked perfectly...

 

[Jeff7181]

smartphones

turn off the auto sync, that will help the battery life

Turning off the phone makes the battery last longer too...

 

[wolf2009]

Turning off the phone makes the battery last longer too...

then turn it off

http://phandroid.com/2009/11/23/app-review-screebl/

 

[Platypus]

FYI to anyone following the soft reboots, they do in fact appear to be software related to an internal bug they are working on now. It also does indeed have to do with the notification bar and things arriving at 'the wrong time.' Stay tuned, I'll update here but hopefully they release a patch for this bug.

 

[Deeko]

FYI to anyone following the soft reboots, they do in fact appear to be software related to an internal bug they are working on now. It also does indeed have to do with the notification bar and things arriving at 'the wrong time.' Stay tuned, I'll update here but hopefully they release a patch for this bug.

Good. Seems like they're on top of a lot of the issues. The G1 was the same way when it came out - it was a good phone when it first came out, within a few months they'd updated it 3-4 times already and it was a great phone at that point.

 

[Jeff7181]

FYI to anyone following the soft reboots, they do in fact appear to be software related to an internal bug they are working on now. It also does indeed have to do with the notification bar and things arriving at 'the wrong time.' Stay tuned, I'll update here but hopefully they release a patch for this bug.

It's too bad they can't get it out within 30 days of release day so that people like me that have been having repeated problems don't return it before the update.

 

[Platypus]

It's too bad they can't get it out within 30 days of release day so that people like me that have been having repeated problems don't return it before the update.

If yours ever fully rebooted more than once (showing moto logo) you have a fucked up phone, that's motorola's fault. The soft reboot problem is much different and doesn't indicate bad ram like the other one. If you have had so many issues with the phone just return it and get another. They're not all bad and when you find a good one you're solid. Don't forget motorola also has a year warranty on the phone so if you are outside of the 30 days you can get it fixed. It might take longer and be more of a hassle but it is what it is.

The phone is a fantastic piece of technology, any time there is something brand new software and hardware there are bound to be issues with it. It comes with the territory. I'm just glad I was able to help contribute so future people can benefit from it. It's all in how you look at it. If you haven't returned it yet, go post some logs from your phone to the android google code site.. the more eyes the better. If it were me I would just go replace it with another one. Look at the manufacture date and make sure it's after Nov 6th.. that way you know it wasn't made for the release and that's where most problems seem to lie.

 

[basslover1]

It's too bad they can't get it out within 30 days of release day so that people like me that have been having repeated problems don't return it before the update.

Go to a Verizon store and swap it for a new one.

I got mine a week ago, and it has been very stable for me, no random reboots or crashes. I've had some apps crash, but that probably has to do with them being written for 1.6 and not 2.0, which is to be expected until the app gets an update.

 

[Jeff7181]

Go to a Verizon store and swap it for a new one.

I got mine a week ago, and it has been very stable for me, no random reboots or crashes. I've had some apps crash, but that probably has to do with them being written for 1.6 and not 2.0, which is to be expected until the app gets an update.

I did... the replacement worked fine for a week, then it started having the same problems as the original.

 

[KentState]

My brother's first phone was very problematic and he swapped it out and it has been fine. His gf also got one the same day it hasn't had issues and mine has been the same. From what he said, there are defective phones out there and if you have issues, exchange it right away.

 

[Hadsus]

then turn it off

http://phandroid.com/2009/11/23/app-review-screebl/

Near the bottom:

David Keyes wrote on November 23, 2009

Screebl seems to be best at extending battery life on phones that do NOT have a physical keyboard. This is because on keyboardless phones, the accelerometers are always on, and Screebl adds minimal overhead beyond the orientation sensors. Devices WITH keyboards will likely see less benefit, or perhaps even reduced net battery. This is because on devices with keyboards, the opening of the keyboard is used as the cue to flip orientation to landscape.

That being said, I have not had the chance to evaluate Screebl on the Droid.

Of course, you get the added benefit of not having annoying screen timeouts keyboard or not.

 

[troytime]

screebl on a droid rocks

 

[destrekor]

this is some good information.
5GB cap?

Based on that description, and what I have heard from Verizon reps and from reading the TOS (scanned all of it), using your phone's data service on your phone, doing what your phone is capable of, offers truly unlimited data. Listen to Pandora all you want folks, stream all the TED videos you can find. There is no arbitrary limit on the data as long as everything is simply your phone - no tethering. Tethering and not getting caught at first mind mean you get caught later on, and get slapped with a mighty bill. (Tethered devices DO have a 5gb limit).

 

[jojo29]

Okay here goes my review of my Droid:
I used to have an Apple iTouch. I was very happy with it, except, since i have Verizon, it obviously isn't the iPhone. Needless to say, the iTouch/iPhone are awesome gadgets.

So i heard about Motorola's Droid and that it was set to at least rival the iPhone. I havent been up to date when it comes to phones, as i had the Motorola phone that comes free with the plan, heck even my parents kept up better than me, they got a samsung touch phone.

After reading many reviews about the Droid i came away with the following impression:
ITs a very solid phone, with a very solid OS, with very good touch screen response and feedback, although it can be hiccuppy, at times, and the camera is slow and takes crappy pictures but the video is very good. The keyboard is hit or miss, but most don't like it.

Well, those reviews are somewhat right and wrong at the same time. here is my impression:

The phone is awesome. It feels very solid, and the way the keyboard slides feels sturdy. The apps are awesome and there are many of them, although there are a few games that i miss from my iTouch.
The keyboard, for me at least, is my first phone with a keyboard, so i did not have anything to compare it too, but i must say, i understand the hit or miss. For me at least, i have been getting faster and faster on it, so i can safely say i am getting used to it, but it take a bit, as the keyboard is, from what my friends say "too smooth".

The camera, although it does take too long to take a pic, does take VERY good pictures. I don't know what the fuss was about, but i will post some of the pics ive taken on it and i must say, the reviews on the camera photo quality, not the time, is top notch, IMO. again i will post both "bad" and good pics.

The video camera is awesome, very smooth and not laggy at all.

I needn't add to the google map navigation as that is and has already been touched on, but to sum it up: AWESOME. Googlesky? Fun and awesome.

BUt here is what i like most about the phone. I am not sure if the iPhone can do this, ive yet to hear about it, or maybe i just havent so don't be mad at me if it could do this, but on the Droid, i can DIRECTLY download music mp3s to the phone from the internet browser, no extra apps neccessary, AND i am able to customize and move my playlist/songs around, via the phone. I know on the iTouch i can't move music around or create playlists ( i could be wrong ) so for me, that is an awesome feature, sure the UI is much better on the iPhone than the Droids, but really, i don't care about UIs when i can custom create playlists via my phone than have to do those on my computer, then synce. Again if you can do this on the iPhone then scratch it.

To sum up, i have been very happy with the Droid, and not once have i felt that i am missing out on features or apps by NOT having an iPhone, and this is coming from someone who LIKES the iPhone. I think CNET or some other site put it best:

"If you have ATT service get the iPhone, if you have Verizon service get the Droid. "

"On one hand you have the second best network(ATT) with the first best smartphone(iPhone), and the other you have the number one best network(Verizon) with the second best smartphone.(Droid)"

These two quotes from reviews sum it up perfectly.

As i read my sig, damn its time to update that as well, ive long built a new rig since then

 

[foghorn67]

Thanks aholes. Thanks a whole hell of a lot. I just ordered one. I blame you guys.

 

[Pliablemoose]

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1925037

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLDxv9ohH2s

LOL, I have to hand it to the agency that does those ads, they're pretty good

 

[destrekor]

Thanks aholes. Thanks a whole hell of a lot. I just ordered one. I blame you guys.

no, what you meant to say is you thank us.