droid as travel companion = <3

[slackerinabox]

Drove into Boston from NYC and gave my droid its first real test as a GPS. Directions were spot on and google maps didn't have the same annoying tendency of my garmin to reroute back to starting point (say there's an accident and I took a right turn to avoid it - my garmin would take us in a circle back to where I diverged from the accident). Live traffic and gas station finder also worked superbly. The first party dock was also great and did not slip, which I find the norm with most windshield mounts.

Pandora streamed effortlessly throughout the trip while my old iphone would drop off constantly. Music playback muted whenever voice nav prompts played and the whole experience felt very top shelf. Received phone calls and the speaker phone worked amazingly well over my car,s aux in stereo- people had no problem hearing me even though the phone was mounted a few feet away.

Our hotel charges 13 bucks a night for wifi so I wifi tethered, allowing me and my wife to use our laptops at the same time without issue. Then I craved mexican food and used layar to find a place within walking distance. My droid worked shockingly well throughtou and, using verizons awesome network, left my old iphone and palm pre in the dust. Never been happier with a phone, and my next phone will be an android phone again, probably motorola again because I love the build quality and awesome first party accessories

 

[MJinZ]

Only part I don't like about the Droid are design issues:

Power button should be on top left, not top right. Most people are right handed, and that's where index finger goes.

There should be more physical buttons for changing songs. Annoying to use Mp3 player.

Battery cover kind of sucks. No locking mechanism means this can slip into the partially opened positioned.

 

[slackerinabox]

Dp

 

[slackerinabox]

1. Got used to the power button location after a few uses
2. My battery cover snaps into place. Maybe yours is defective?
3. Physical buttons for music playback seems odd in 2010. I mean, is that a critique of the Droid or all touch devices? Is there a single android device with physical music buttons other than volume control? I will say the stock android player sucks compared to coverflow.

 

[pm]

Yeah, it's the coolest thing to have one small object that you would be taking with you anyway (a cell phone) that can act as your map, your GPS, your restaurant selector, and your internet access. Beyond this, at the hotel, I use the video out capability to watch movies on the hotel TV using my phone. The quality is excellent and I can take a bunch of movies with us on a trip and have them whenever we want to watch them. Then there's the camera - with the ability to email photos - and the video camera as well. It feels so futuristic to have a device that small that can do all of those useful things.

I will say the stock android player sucks compared to coverflow.

It's funny but I have an iPhone and I never use CoverFlow. I'm tend to use voice control and then the pause/play/skip button on my headset to control the music. Once I get my iPhone buried in my pocket or in the center compartment in the car, then I never control it by looking at the screen. Just tell it what playlist to play and then use the control button to control it. I pretty much never use the touchscreen because usually when I'm listening to music (exercising, driving, mowing the lawn, riding my bike to work) it's awkward to look at the screen.

 

[MJinZ]

1. Got used to the power button location after a few uses
2. My battery cover snaps into place. Maybe yours is defective?
3. Physical buttons for music playback seems odd in 2010. I mean, is that a critique of the Droid or all touch devices? Is there a single android device with physical music buttons other than volume control? I will say the stock android player sucks compared to coverflow.

1) Still not ergonomic unless you're left handed
2) It snaps into place, but can easily become "unsnapped" due to how grippy the back is. There needs to be a physical lock that prevents this unless a piece is pressed down.
3) You can't change songs without hitting the power button AND swiping to unlock... that's wrong. Just wrong.

 

[MJinZ]

Yeah, it's the coolest thing to have one small object that you would be taking with you anyway (a cell phone) that can act as your map, your GPS, your restaurant selector, and your internet access. Beyond this, at the hotel, I use the video out capability to watch movies on the hotel TV using my phone. The quality is excellent and I can take a bunch of movies with us on a trip and have them whenever we want to watch them. Then there's the camera - with the ability to email photos - and the video camera as well. It feels so futuristic to have a device that small that can do all of those useful things.


It's funny but I have an iPhone and I never use CoverFlow. I'm tend to use voice control and then the pause/play/skip button on my headset to control the music. Once I get my iPhone buried in my pocket or in the center compartment in the car, then I never control it by looking at the screen. Just tell it what playlist to play and then use the control button to control it. I pretty much never use the touchscreen because usually when I'm listening to music (exercising, driving, mowing the lawn, riding my bike to work) it's awkward to look at the screen.

Coverflow is useless. Just pretty and imprecise.

 

[tatteredpotato]

Coverflow always annoys me when it pops up. First off half my music doesn't have album art and second off I don't know album art good enough to identify a song based on art.

 

[murphy55d]

Android in general, as a travel companion, is a win. I can't wait til we take a trip just so I dont have to worry about anything you mentioned...GPS/Nav, internet, nothing.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Only part I don't like about the Droid are design issues:

Power button should be on top left, not top right. Most people are right handed, and that's where index finger goes.

There should be more physical buttons for changing songs. Annoying to use Mp3 player.

Battery cover kind of sucks. No locking mechanism means this can slip into the partially opened positioned.

that's weird what you say about the power button. i'm right handed and from day 1, i never found the placement of the power button awkward. strangely enough the droid incredible has the power button where you say it should be, and i find that awkward, but more because i'm used to my droid, not anything else.

 

[MJinZ]

that's weird what you say about the power button. i'm right handed and from day 1, i never found the placement of the power button awkward. strangely enough the droid incredible has the power button where you say it should be, and i find that awkward, but more because i'm used to my droid, not anything else.

When you hold a phone, it should be more perpendicular to your fingers than parallel.

Hold up your Droid with your right hand and see how natural it is to hit the power button with your index finger.

That's right, you had to orient the phone with either middle finger + index on top of the phone OR index finger stretched in an awkward position.

Both are awkward.

These things boggle my mind, it's the stuff that BlackBerry gets right without people ever having to ask about it that you realize you miss on really well engineered devices.

 

[Glitchny]

When you hold a phone, it should be more perpendicular to your fingers than parallel.

Hold up your Droid with your right hand and see how natural it is to hit the power button with your index finger.

That's right, you had to orient the phone with either middle finger + index on top of the phone OR index finger stretched in an awkward position.

Both are awkward.

These things boggle my mind, it's the stuff that BlackBerry gets right without people ever having to ask about it that you realize you miss on really well engineered devices.

I dunno, I'm right handed and hold my phone in my left hand and point at shit etc with my right. I also don't seem to have any issues with the power button when I am holding it with just my right hand. Never had issues with the button placement.

 

[slackerinabox]

I dunno, I'm right handed and hold my phone in my left hand and point at shit etc with my right. I also don't seem to have any issues with the power button when I am holding it with just my right hand. Never had issues with the button placement.

Ditto. I honestly find it being as recessed as it is a bit annoying, but I understand that decision (would hate it if it turned off by accident, which it does).

 

[Pliablemoose]

I dunno, I'm right handed and hold my phone in my left hand and point at shit etc with my right. I also don't seem to have any issues with the power button when I am holding it with just my right hand. Never had issues with the button placement.

LOL, I've learned to hold my N1 by my fingertips so I don't screw up the reception...

 

[PlatinumGold]

When you hold a phone, it should be more perpendicular to your fingers than parallel.

Hold up your Droid with your right hand and see how natural it is to hit the power button with your index finger.

That's right, you had to orient the phone with either middle finger + index on top of the phone OR index finger stretched in an awkward position.

Both are awkward.

These things boggle my mind, it's the stuff that BlackBerry gets right without people ever having to ask about it that you realize you miss on really well engineered devices.

ok. so now you are trying to convince me it was awkward for me from day 1 when it wasn't? i naturally hold my phone in my left hand.

to me, motorola got this right and htc got it wrong by putting the power button on the other side.

 

[MJinZ]

ok. so now you are trying to convince me it was awkward for me from day 1 when it wasn't? i naturally hold my phone in my left hand.

to me, motorola got this right and htc got it wrong by putting the power button on the other side.

Correct- it IS natural for left handed people.

But most phones should be designed for right handed (or neutral, like the power button the side would be perfect) people.

 

[slackerinabox]

When you hold a phone, it should be more perpendicular to your fingers than parallel.

Hold up your Droid with your right hand and see how natural it is to hit the power button with your index finger.

That's right, you had to orient the phone with either middle finger + index on top of the phone OR index finger stretched in an awkward position.

Both are awkward.

These things boggle my mind, it's the stuff that BlackBerry gets right without people ever having to ask about it that you realize you miss on really well engineered devices.

Weird - I'm right handed but hold my phone with my left hand (point/touch with the right one). With the phone in my left hand, pressing the button is perfect ergonomics wise. If I hold it with my right hand, yes, it's awkward. But what right handed person holds the phone with their right hand?

 

[slackerinabox]

Coverflow always annoys me when it pops up. First off half my music doesn't have album art and second off I don't know album art good enough to identify a song based on art.

Didn't mean to start a pro /con coverflow argument. It's just what's popular these days (I was comparing stock android to the norm). I haven't even used an iPod in years so I don't remember if it was better or worse, but don't remember coverflow being cumbersome. I have a zune HD and, by far, prefer it to stock android. But it's no deal breaker to me - I view music playback as a value added feature and not the main reason I use my droid.

 

[MJinZ]

Weird - I'm right handed but hold my phone with my left hand (point/touch with the right one). With the phone in my left hand, pressing the button is perfect ergonomics wise. If I hold it with my right hand, yes, it's awkward. But what right handed person holds the phone with their right hand?

I think you'd find yourselves in a very small minority... right handed people use their phones in their right hand.

I use my Droid in both now, but if I only had one hand or my other hand is tied up, I default to right.

 

[slackerinabox]

I think you'd find yourselves in a very small minority... right handed people use their phones in their right hand.

I use my Droid in both now, but if I only had one hand or my other hand is tied up, I default to right.

Seems odd to type with your left hand if you're right handed. I've held smartphones with my left hand and poked with my right since I had a windows mobile phone years ago (err, held with left hand, used stylus with my right). Maybe the droid was made just for me and not for anyone else in the entire world, because the power switch orientation makes perfect sense for me.

And what makes you an expert in ergonomics and industrial design? The iPhone's power toggle is on the right as well and they've pretty much understand design/ergonomics better than some dude on anandtech's forums.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Seems odd to type with your left hand if you're right handed. I've held smartphones with my left hand and poked with my right since I had a windows mobile phone years ago (err, held with left hand, used stylus with my right). Maybe the droid was made just for me and not for anyone else in the entire world, because the power switch orientation makes perfect sense for me.

And what makes you an expert in ergonomics and industrial design? The iPhone's power toggle is on the right as well and they've pretty much understand design/ergonomics better than some dude on anandtech's forums.

i'm the same way as you. probably why i always naturally without even thinking about it pick up my droid with the left hand, keep it in the left pocket etc.

 

[Spoooon]

Wouldn't it be better for the power button to be placed on the side? So you could use an index finger or a thumb depending on whether or not you're left or right handed.

I don't care much for coverflow for really navigating my music, but it's cool eye candy. The latest update to cubed has a minor twist on coverflow that, for whatever reason, ends up looking really cool.

 

[Demo24]

I like where the power button is and do like that it's on the top. That way I can check it quickly when it's in my pocket to see what notifications I have and not have to take it out. Also I'm right handed but mostly turn it on and off with my thumb, if not I like to angle it so the bottom right corner is securely in my palm. Doing it this way the power button is located well and it won't push out of my hand when I turn it on and off.

 

[QueBert]

1. Got used to the power button location after a few uses
2. My battery cover snaps into place. Maybe yours is defective?
3. Physical buttons for music playback seems odd in 2010. I mean, is that a critique of the Droid or all touch devices? Is there a single android device with physical music buttons other than volume control? I will say the stock android player sucks compared to coverflow.

Not really fair to compare Coverflow with the stock Android Player. One's an awesome PMP that happens to have a phone. One's a great phone that happens to be able to play music. CF works beautifully, especially if you have cover art for all your albums. The iPhone is the best PMP out there when it comes to controlling your music. I have 12 gigs of music on my iPhone and I simply wouldn't use it for music if it didn't have CoverFlow.

 

[Bullhonkie]

I think you'd find yourselves in a very small minority... right handed people use their phones in their right hand.

I use my Droid in both now, but if I only had one hand or my other hand is tied up, I default to right.

Almost everyone I know who is right handed and has a touch driven smartphone holds their phone in their left hand and uses their right hand to interact with the phone. Interacting with the phone using your right hand is just natural and much like using a mouse with your right hand. I'm right handed and it feels awkward to hold the phone in my right hand and interact with the screen using my left.

When I use my phone one-handed it's a little more random depending on what hand is tied up. But I more often than not I find myself still using the phone with my left hand because as soon as I get the ability to use my right hand again it's easy and natural to just bring it up to the screen while holding the phone with my left.

My girlfriend just went from a BB Curve to an Incredible and she finds the upper right placement on the Droid much more natural to use than either of those two phones.