Motorola Droid (hands-on) from an iPhone user's perspective

[maziwanka]

The battery life is a bit low and there's an occassional echo for the caller - you consider that trying to find every possible thing to complain about? Really?

sounds like a fair thing to complain about. this morning my droid was frozen. dunno what caused it but it was annoying - i had an alarm set on the phone. i hope it doesn't happen again because that would be ridiculous

 

[Kaido]

You can root it to get around this (when someone figures that out for this specific phone) and I recall an article pointing out a listing with Google hiring someone to basically help build in this ability into the OS. Can't recall where I saw that article at ATM.

Ah, glad to know it's not some kind of weird hardware limitation!

 

[Kaido]

sounds like a fair thing to complain about. this morning my droid was frozen. dunno what caused it but it was annoying - i had an alarm set on the phone. i hope it doesn't happen again because that would be ridiculous

That and I just don't think it's realistic to think that an device with a giant color screen is going to have a huge battery life. I'm surprised that my iPhone even lasts the day, with how much I use it...

 

[destrekor]

Yeah...one thing I like about the iPhone is that it's just one device that I have to carry around for so many things. I have a zillion silly apps to play with, so storage is a big deal. Also, I'm surprised they already have an updated scheduled...that's very promising.

Down with WinMo! :biggrin:

Yeah that's the one thing Google is great about - Android is constantly being updated, as they are maturing the code through constant updates and additions at a fast rate compared to other mobile OSes. Android 1.6 was released not too long before the first 2.0 device was released. And again, this is the first retail device with 2.0. An obvious issue, as it's still a young OS and this is going to be the time they try and really push the development forward at a constant pace, and work to iron out bugs. All phones do this but Google seems to have a goal to push out updates until they are satisfied.

However with Google, I don't know how Android isn't still classified Beta. The first REAL Android will be 5.0, all these other releases are just to deter from using the frightening word Beta that would deter potential customers.

 

[destrekor]

That and I just don't think it's realistic to think that an device with a giant color screen is going to have a huge battery life. I'm surprised that my iPhone even lasts the day, with how much I use it...

Yep. Plus, with normal use the Droid does technically have better battery life than most any other smartphone.
The problem is some devices constantly ping the device and/or antennas very frequently, and unless you are minding what apps you back all the way out of (versus hitting home, which most often leaves it running whereas the former often quits an app/service), a lot of apps are going to be left running. A lot of widgets update through the network frequently, so this is an obvious result. If you mind the number of apps requesting frequent updates, battery life will be excellent.

 

[hanoverphist]

Bodes well for my negotiations.

My Env2 keeps powering off randomly on me.

my daughters env2 did that also. took it in to a vzw store and they flashed the firmware, stopped the shutdowns.


of course, there were lots of other issues that were also happening so they ended up giving her an env3. still has quirks, but not ones that really inconvenience her too much.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I have a huge battery for my G1, looks like absolute ass, but I wouldn't go back for anything.

Am sure they'll make one for the Moto Droid...

 

[Bateluer]

my daughters env2 did that also. took it in to a vzw store and they flashed the firmware, stopped the shutdowns.


of course, there were lots of other issues that were also happening so they ended up giving her an env3. still has quirks, but not ones that really inconvenience her too much.

They updated mine as well, but it still did it. The phone was out of warranty so they wanted to charge 50 bucks to replace the phone, not worth it.

Edit- Other than that, I liked the phone, I just wanted something better this time around.

 

[Tom]

Yeah...one thing I like about the iPhone is that it's just one device that I have to carry around for so many things. I have a zillion silly apps to play with, so storage is a big deal. Also, I'm surprised they already have an updated scheduled...that's very promising.

Down with WinMo! :biggrin:

lol, what u got against Winmo ? yur brother should check out a Touch Pro2. It will fix all the issues you've mentioned about the droid. better battery life, better call quality, superb speakerphone, more apps, much better keyboard, similar hi-resolution screen, awesome youtube playback, hardware buttons.

btw, i like the droid and the iphone, and fair criticism of Winmo is ok; but people ought to consider these things somewhat objectively.

 

[Kaido]

lol, what u got against Winmo ? yur brother should check out a Touch Pro2. It will fix all the issues you've mentioned about the droid. better battery life, better call quality, superb speakerphone, more apps, much better keyboard, similar hi-resolution screen, awesome youtube playback, hardware buttons.

btw, i like the droid and the iphone, and fair criticism of Winmo is ok; but people ought to consider these things somewhat objectively.

What do I have against WinMo? Aside from using it for years? :biggrin:

I think that as technology has progressed, the new market is ease-of-use. One thing I really like about the iPhone is how easy it is to get apps. The OS is stupidly simple, which makes it fairly reliable. I had lots of lockups with my WinMo stuff. Of course, the later versions are doing better, but again, I think ease of use is where the real competition is today. The iPhone is currently winning, but the Droid is pretty dang neat too...I'm looking forward to seeing what they have to offer in future updates. That and a 1ghz Android phone would be just uber awesome :sneaky:

 

[destrekor]

lol, what u got against Winmo ? yur brother should check out a Touch Pro2. It will fix all the issues you've mentioned about the droid. better battery life, better call quality, superb speakerphone, more apps, much better keyboard, similar hi-resolution screen, awesome youtube playback, hardware buttons.

btw, i like the droid and the iphone, and fair criticism of Winmo is ok; but people ought to consider these things somewhat objectively.

more shitty apps. That's a fair comparison for WinMo.

I had an Omnia. Currently, very glad to be rid of WinMo. Some of the customer WinMo 6.5 firmwares had some great UI improvements, and I was using a version of HTC's UI skin. Got things done, but there are still a lot of issues with WinMo phones.

WinMo 7 with Zune integration is going to be something that tempts me if HTC makes something like the HD2 (HD3 will be rolling around by time WinMo7 is released) with that.
Something that gets incredible battery life, and has full Zune integration, would be mighty tempting - I could have a single device. But for now, I don't mind carrying both my Droid and ZuneHD, because I won't trade Zune for anything.

 

[Hadsus]

I'm an existing Verizon customer....very happy with phone service and call quality but my Dare is not doing it for me any more. Thought about buying out my contract and going iPhone but after reading the reviews I ordered a Droid tonite. iPhone is better but Droid is close from what I've read....and I got a good deal as an existing customer.....$269 and my two year discount rate won't be here for several months.

 

[wolf2009]

I'm an existing Verizon customer....very happy with phone service and call quality but my Dare is not doing it for me any more. Thought about buying out my contract and going iPhone but after reading the reviews I ordered a Droid tonite. iPhone is better but Droid is close from what I've read....and I got a good deal as an existing customer.....$269 and my two year discount rate won't be here for several months.

i'm in the same boat, have a dare, 1 year left on contract.

How much can i expect to pay ?

 

[Hadsus]

i'm in the same boat, have a dare, 1 year left on contract.

How much can i expect to pay ?

$175 is the starting point then deduct $5 per month of service. So.....If your service has reached 12 months into your contract it is $175-$60=$115. As you can tell, you'll always pay some termination fee as you can never reach $0 in a two year contract. Yes, the iPhone was very tempting and the Dare seems medieval in comparison to it or the Droid.

 

[zerocool84]

$175 is the starting point then deduct $5 per month of service. So.....If your service has reached 12 months into your contract it is $175-$60=$115. As you can tell, you'll always pay some termination fee as you can never reach $0 in a two year contract. Yes, the iPhone was very tempting and the Dare seems medieval in comparison to it or the Droid.

Trust me in saying you'd want to stay with Verizon. AT&T's network horribly sucks.

 

[Hadsus]

I've suffered enough with poor phone service to be sufficiently paranoid about AT&T or anyone else for that matter. My last carrier was T-Mobile.....I pretty much rarely got calls in real time.....they ended up being booted to my voicemail.

 

[wolf2009]

$175 is the starting point then deduct $5 per month of service. So.....If your service has reached 12 months into your contract it is $175-$60=$115. As you can tell, you'll always pay some termination fee as you can never reach $0 in a two year contract. Yes, the iPhone was very tempting and the Dare seems medieval in comparison to it or the Droid.

no i meant, how much will i pay for the droid ?

 

[Hadsus]

no i meant, how much will i pay for the droid ?

I did it through a Verizon CSR. I just called up and said I was thinking of switching to the iPhone (even told her that I knew my cancelling fee to let her know I had been thinking about it). We chatted nicely and she did the obligatory 'let me see what we can do....can you hold.' When she got back she said she had two deals available, one on the HTC Droid (not interested) and the other on the Moto Droid. $269. Actually $369 but I get a $100 rebate....from what I've read it is a debit card. Which is fine by me. I think the standard for new customers is $199 but even better deals can be had elsewhere. But I'm not a new customer so I considered this a reasonable deal.

 

[hanoverphist]

$175 is the starting point then deduct $5 per month of service. So.....If your service has reached 12 months into your contract it is $175-$60=$115. As you can tell, you'll always pay some termination fee as you can never reach $0 in a two year contract. Yes, the iPhone was very tempting and the Dare seems medieval in comparison to it or the Droid.

dont forget they are doubling that fee for some phones on nov 15th.

 

[Hadsus]

Yes, I saw that. Maybe their sick of everyone calling to terminate for the iPhone LOL.

 

[destrekor]

I did it through a Verizon CSR. I just called up and said I was thinking of switching to the iPhone (even told her that I knew my cancelling fee to let her know I had been thinking about it). We chatted nicely and she did the obligatory 'let me see what we can do....can you hold.' When she got back she said she had two deals available, one on the HTC Droid (not interested) and the other on the Moto Droid. $269. Actually $369 but I get a $100 rebate....from what I've read it is a debit card. Which is fine by me. I think the standard for new customers is $199 but even better deals can be had elsewhere. But I'm not a new customer so I considered this a reasonable deal.

It's not limited to new customers (the $199 price, after rebate), but rather new 2-year contracts.
I reckon you bought the phone with a 1-year contract? That's exactly what I paid, and I got a 1-year contract. If you are eligible for an upgrade to a 2-year contract, you'd be able to get the $299-$100MIR price.

 

[Raduque]

I was thinking about getting a Moto Droid, but I wanted to get off the shared plan and Verizon wanted a $300 deposit - I went with T-Mobile and got a mytouch3g with no deposit.

 

[Glitchny]

I was thinking about getting a Moto Droid, but I wanted to get off the shared plan and Verizon wanted a $300 deposit - I went with T-Mobile and got a mytouch3g with no deposit.

really? When i switched off our family plan with Verizon onto my own it was free. No hassle either really just called in and did it all over the phone.

 

[California Roll]

If you're an existing Verizon customer not eligible for an upgrade yet, try calling 800-437-6136. Tell them you got a flyer in the mail saying you were eligible for an early upgrade and could get a Droid for $199.99 after rebate (or a Storm2 for $179.99) with a new 2 year renewal.

My coworker got this flyer. He is not eligible to upgrade when he checks his account online but he got this flyer and did it over the phone.

It may or may not work for you but give it a shot if you're interested.

 

[Hadsus]

It's not limited to new customers (the $199 price, after rebate), but rather new 2-year contracts.
I reckon you bought the phone with a 1-year contract? That's exactly what I paid, and I got a 1-year contract. If you are eligible for an upgrade to a 2-year contract, you'd be able to get the $299-$100MIR price.

That's odd because I asked about a two year deal and she said it wasn't available to me. In any case I'm fine with the one year deal. I'll pay the extra bit to be able to bug out a year from now if I'm not satisfied. With all the technology flying around it's nice to be flexible after a year.