What a difference two months make. It was late July when we first saw a
render and
spy shot of Motorola's "other" Android devices, the Verizon-bound
Droid, a.k.a. the Artist Formerly Known as Sholes.
Boy Genius Report has been
teasing the
handset for the better part of the week, and now it's giving us the full monty of the hardware, including its 5 megapixel autofocus camera on the back, and various
Eclair-powered screens. Boy Genius himself notes that it's the fastest Android device he's used -- thank goodness for an authentic OMAP3 -- is "slightly" thicker than an iPhone 3GS, runs that
Android 2.0 we've been hearing so much about, and includes a desktop cradle that turns the Droid into a glanceable display with weather and the like (sounds like a miniature
Hub in a way, doesn't it?). Anyhow, you want all to see the whole show? You know just where to click.
posted Oct 19th 2009 12:44AM
well hello hello.
Indeed. Almost enough to tempt me back into Verizon's cellular arms...
that Verizon logo makes it UGLY!!! :P
This does not look like hail mary material for motorola to me...
@ lalondegeoffrey
I'll take functionality over aesthetics.
Hello... MOTO?
That thing looks like a calculator!
Good lord, you guys have got to be kidding! Anyone who thinks this isn't a dog is a freaking liar. I don't care what it has inside, no one is going to buy that piece of junk.
I'm scratching my head on this one as well. Between the phone itself and the screen shots of 2.0 people are going nuts over this? Please. Leo with Sense UI walks all over this.
@ Detox: besides the fact it's rectangular in shape, and has buttons (like most phones).... why exactly is this a "piece of junk"?
And yes I have to agree with the others. I'll take functionality over aesthetics any day. :) (and the phone looks fine to me)
iCan Multitask
iCan remove my battery
iCan customize
iCan run widgets
iCan type with a real keyboard.
iCan take night shots.
iCan allow open development.
Everything iCan...iPhone Doesn't, Droid does
It looks like a razor with a keyboard running android.
@rinum009
That'll buff right out.
Looks like the long lost son of the Microtac.
Is it just me, or does the keyboard look like a cheap rubbery thing that'll come out whole in a few months?
Other than that, best thing out of motorola for years.
It is hilarious when people say things like "no one would buy this"..... Get real, you and your iPhone are not the center of the world....
Am I the only one who thinks the screen doesn't look very bright?
Same deal with the hero, the iphone screen has way more intensity.
They should switch to red accents/buttons.
The Motorola logo is huge, it should be just an M or people will just scratch it off.
@Matt... those things are nice, not going to kill the iPhone anytime soon. Here is what Verizon SHOULD be advertising:
iCan keeps calls connected
iCan have high-speed Internet
iCan have reliable service
Verizon could have gotten the iPhone once the exclusivity with AT&T went away, but they sure as hell don't have a chance now.
Target your competitors, not potential partners.
@bondsbw:
You're right, you don't target your potential partners. But if you have no interest in having a device on your network, then there's little chance of them being potential partners, not anytime soon. Verizon turned down the iPhone the first time around, and they're making it clear they'd much rather say Hello Moto.
Just saw my first "Droid Does" ad last night (hadn't had time to watch them online when they were posted here; think I was at work or something). I really like the ad! I'm assuming they'll have more different ones coming out over the next few days/weeks. For some reason I really like ads that have the balls to attack the competition, it's interesting and informative. As opposed to political attack ads which are just vicious and annoying.
@10minutehobo:
Moto's already said the design's not finalized yet, so there may be changes here and there.
@Visualplastik:
Not sure I agree with the red accents, as the Sholes mockups/renders make it look closer to a Sidekick or a handheld game.
butterface.
this phone was sexy to be until I paid enough attention to see it was a slider.....
You're only cool if you type "be" when you mean me.
It is official...my G1 is hitting my graveyard of phones and T-mobile can kiss my ass when this phone comes out!
indeed,
we as nerds understand that functionality is far superior to aesthetics, but phones are for the general public, more than they are for us geeks, yes it promises to have exeptional wireless offerings, but if it is unappealing, the general public will not buy it. if they build a phone based soley on functionality and not aesthetics it will flop, the big M should not drop the ball on that point if they wanna sell this to the sheep of society, and more commercials, you cant turn on your tv without seeing an a(ss)pple ad. secondly, as multi functional as it is, they cannot boast that it is completely mulit functional until they say that you can read an e-mail, or web-browse during a call, it may seem moot, but to a business idividual (which im sure is the target market) i wanna be able to view an email he just sent me, without having to hang up wait for it to hit my box then call back. correct me if im wrong but i believe evdo doesnt support this function. other wise the pro's proprtionatley outweigh the cons!
lmfao @ all these people trying to convince themselves this phone is amazing. this thing looks like the most ugly thing ive ever seen in my life, i swear its worse then the G1.
google should seriously get someone who can make a good looking phone. this is gonna set moto back a couple years *shakes my head*
in fact, google should make there own hardware, i hate this Microsoft approach.
but nick, then you'd bitch that they were copying apple's approach! please hang your head in shame.
All of these factors together make this announcement a huge deal. It's the big new reveal for the Android platform.
I think much of the buzz about this phone is not so much about the phone itself...but about the Android platform in general. Android has been out now for quite some time and this fall it's coming to every major carrier via a bunch of new phones.
This announcement is kind of the coming out party that introduces this whole idea of Android to the general public and not just to tech enthusiast like those that read Engadget.
The platform has matured with each update and now 2.0 is coming on a slider phone with a full keypad that is only a little more thicker than an iPhone. Also on Verizon and with a killer resolution on the screen which is also bigger than iPhones.
This all shows the Android platform has allot to offer and it's not going to be a one size fits all approach but many options to choose from. Having a flagship device to kick that all off to the wider general public is great PR for the Android platform in general and not just the Verizon droid.
YEAH! SO SMEXY
Glad to know I'm not the only one who uses the word smexy, lol
The only people I hear use the word "smexy" are sixteen-year-old girls who think Sephiroth is their "bishie" and write lengthy, poorly written fanfiction to somehow prove it.
I can never dissociate the word from this connotation, so for the sake of your manhood, please just use the normal word "sexy."
Jasmin you're so smean.
Want!
Glad I'm not alone. I'm jumping on this phone as soon as I get the chance.
Yo what kind of flash is that? This phone looks amazing, let's see that 3.5mm jack, and make everyone's dream come true, sorry X2, 3, had you're chance, Time to save up for an unlock version.
Oh, yeah. Mine!
drool....A nice android smartphone on verizon? Pinch me, I must be dreaming
relax guys....boy genius clearly mentioned that this design is not final. I am pretty sure moto will change the keyboard design. but the placement of D-pad is perfect IMO
oh sry...i hit the wrong reply button...hehe
a nice phone on verizon makes it seem like a dream
but its running android and looks like its not plastic and flimsy so its prolly a wet dream
Actually, people who have played with it report it as feeling VERY solid.
put the dpad on the other side!! just like the cliq, i want to use that nice processor for snes emulation and that would make a great controller setup.
UGLY
now you guys can go ahead and uprank me
I see this backfiring somehow.
naw, its foolproof
world record? :(
but that keyboard is sure as hell ugly, you cannot deny it! oh well, as long as it runs smoothly then im good :)
I agree with the ugly commit... well in comparison to the iPhone. I think big v should emphasize how well this phone is going to run rather than its looks. And why is the dpad on the right side?
... is that even a dpad?
The keyboard looks bad and I'm sure it's not a pleasant experience.
no worries dude i think it's really ugly too.
iDon't look like a donkey's ass, Droid does.
I'm all for functionality over form but geez, where are these "designers" coming from? It's not difficult to see that this is yet another less-than-attractive Android phone. You would think that as Verizon's first Android phone and possibly Motorola's last phone, they would have their best talent working on this.
I really want Android to do well but the hardware isn't helping so far. Even the Rachael design needs a facelift.
relax guys....boy genius clearly mentioned that this design is not final. I am pretty sure moto will change the keyboard design. but the placement of D-pad is perfect IMO
Am I the only one who actually likes retro styled devices? This thing has an odd sense of cool that actually makes it pretty nice to look at.
@ridley182
nah, that don't look like a donkey's ass, This looks like a donkey's ass. http://imgur.com/AH4gq.jpg
Certainly not the best looking phone out there. I prefer the G1's looks. It does look pretty thin for a qwerty sliding smartphone though. I like the idea of the dock.
i prefer functionality over aesthetics, thanks
I do too, but that doesn't make aesthetics meaningless. You still have to look at it every day.
Hot damn, that thing is hot!
Goodbye iPhone 3Gs. I won't miss you.
Wow, so this Droid phone is going to have a camera, removable battery, and multi-tasking! This is so great because no other phone on the market currently has those things. This is sure to kill the iPhone!
Yay!
/s
@ Detox
Well, if Michael H is going to go from an iPhone to the Droid, it's killed at least one.
You're kidding, right!?! You're willing to ditch your 3GS based off specs and an ugly picture? HA! I guess you're one of the 5% of 3GS owners that don't love the device! Comical!
And that's his choice. Don't like it? OFW.
Not a big fan of the gold button but otherwise pretty decent IMO. If I didn't need a phone right now and if I could afford Verizon, I'd definitely be getting this.
So, get this paired with the no contract unlimited plan at Wal-Mart for $45/month and be happy...?...or maybe at least happier than if I were stuck to an AT&T contract.
The keyboard part look awkward to me; reminds me of a calculator keypad from the 90s. And again, a device with a chin.Grrr..
Design wise, I think the CLIQ looks much better. IMO.
I'll go out on a limb and say that the phone looks worse than current gen Android phones (like the Hero). That interface is effin sweet though!
I guess I'll wait for the first wave of HTC Eclairs to hit stateside.
@Anticrawl >> "Also I can't believe you're going to sit there straight faced and suggest the iPhone is such a success because it is a quality device and feature rich. It has had it's success soley from word of mouth, company fandom and the incredibly popular and successful iPod line."
It depends on what features you were looking at. If you were talking about copy-n-paste, MMS, true multitasking, etc... that list of missing features was a mile long.
But if you looked that the features that the iPhone *did* have... you'd see a web browser that was extremely usable way back in 2007, a music player based on the very successful iPod, a huge app developer community... and so on.
You make it sound like the iPhone is a miserable device... and you're shocked that it's still selling. The fact that the iPhone is as successful as it is... *despite* missing some features that other phones have had for years... must say something. It's not about what it doesn't have... it's about what it *does* have.
It's funny... the iPhone can finally do copy and paste... and now no one talks about copy and paste anymore. The iPhone can do MMS... and now no one talks about MMS anymore. What's next on the gripe list? No keyboard? That feature will never come... but look what happened... there is now a touchscreen Blackberry. Would that have ever happened if there was no iPhone?
You've given many reasons why the iPhone is *not* the perfect phone for you... but 50 million people have shown that the iPhone *is* the perfect phone for them. And it's not from brainwashing either... people actually like the darn thing! What's wrong with that?
@Michael Scrip:
I'll say it right now. I don't have a problem with the iPhone. Hell, I'm a former Mac user who went PC-only out of necessity, so that's not an issue for me (though I'm not comfortable with some of Apple's practices, but that's another story for another time). Many of my friends have iPhones, and I don't castigate them for that.
What I DO have an issue with are all the iTards who seem to think their DAMN CELLPHONE is an extension of their reason to live. Worse, they act like it's a God-given license to be smug, holier-and-hipper-than-thou bastards. I have no interest in an iPhone, because I want a solid keyboard. I like many of the things that are on the Droid, and I can honestly say that for the first time there's a phone that I really want. Didn't say that about the iPhone, and that's my choice. My choice, and that should not impact anyone else, yet there's a whole bunch of iDiots who seem to think my desire for something other than an iPhone is a cause for alarm on a scale short of nuclear holocaust.
Ultimately, these are cell phones. CELL PHONES, not the major decisions of life, and that's what pisses me off more than anything.
@anticrawl
What in gods name are you talking about? You want to be able to browse the web, email people, and view documents at the same time. First of all at the same time is... suspect at best. Your little blackberry screen (unless you have a storm) isn't really going to be very good for multitasking. Second, just because you have 3 applications open doesn't mean you're multitasking. You can't edit a document, and be surfing the internet simultaneously. I can do all those things on an iPhone, and they're executed much better than anything blackberry has ever made. You go ahead and keep drinking the koolaid all the anti-apple people selling you, and I'll just go ahead and enjoy the best cell phone on the market (95% satisfaction, and just about every unbiased review backs this up).
@Victor
In my work while I'm reading/writing documents/pdf's/emails on my phone I need to be able to minimize that program and it's current progress not lost for any spur of the moment important phone call/messages/phone calls and what have you. The ability to have multiple programs running at once makes for greater productivity, I can be chatting coworkers in BBM and sending them copy/pasted info I find relevent from an open document while I read it and transfer said info over to an email I'm in mid-composition of.
So... Verizon just killed any chance whatsoever of ever carrying the iPhone over... this?
lol
This will bomb harder than the Pre.
Some people are sound minded individuals that couldn't care less if the company that designed the phone makes billions off mindlessly loyal customers. Me, I buy my phone based on it being a quality device, not who developed it. I for one am excited for this device and the iDon't isn't marketed towards a user like me looking to be productive.
You sound like a tool so bent on being non-conformist, that you are actually managing to be conformist, enjoy your steaming pile of crap.
@lalondegeoffrey
What are you rambling on about? What does not worshiping a company have to do with conformity? I just like to base my purchases on useful features not based on what company sells the most units.
I can't really agree with Ridley182, I like this 'droid' device, best Android device so far as long as that keyboard isn't a dud...
...but Anticrawl, not the first time you've popped off some ~isht~ like that. The iPhone *is* quality, that't why it's a smash hit, it's driven a whole sea-change in the design of this sort of phone, it's why we're even seeing android, WebOS, or this phone for that matter. It's not "mindless" millions that made the iPhone a success, but rather millions of people who like the functionality and usefulness of the iPhone, and your comment actually backfires on you by exposing you as a person who DOES base their opinion on exactly which company develops the device in question.
I've owned and operated plenty of Apple computers in my time (and service/use them in my work), but just because I don't find the iPhone useful doesn't make my post any less truthful. It doesn't offer anything I want in a phone. As for now Blackberry fills that slot for what I need because I need to be able to run email, web, use my phone and documents all at once with my business. This new Android 2.0 phone by Motorola is highly appealing because not only does it have the potential to do these things but be a more "for fun" device as well which Apple excels so well with their iPhone. I wouldn't mind some of the vaste applications found on the iPhone but I have priorities on what makes a phone great first and foremost and what features I'd enjoy secondary. I personally am iffy about purchasing a phone from Motorola because my previous experience with their devices has been not-so-great. I just don't understand people who base their purchases on which company developed what and how many units they sold or how interesting their commercials are.
And yes it may have turned the idea of what a "smartphone" is on it's head, but that's only because it redefined the genre from being useful/productive to just an entertainment device that can also call people.
@ill trooper
Also I can't believe you're going to sit there straight faced and suggest the iPhone is such a success because it is a quality device and feature rich. It has had it's success soley from word of mouth, company fandom and the incredibly popular and successful iPod line.
@ill-trooper
There were rumors of Android and a Google Phone around the same time there were rumors of an Apple Phone. Google acquired Android back in 2005, so i believe we'd have seen Android regardless. Might even say Android is what spawned the iPhone (haha who knows right?)
well frankly design wise i am not impressed. i expected something much nicer looking than this. it is too old school square.
And looks like we have a serious contender for the N900. Not so much OS wise, but hardware wise.
Yeah android is no match for the might maemo.
/sarcasm
I was waiting on the Omnia Pro 7610, but now I'm just confused on what I want
HAHAHA, yeah no kidding. I think the N900 is cool as shit, but NO ONE is going to spend hours looking through forums or praying that some small developing group is going make it as user friendly as Android.
I think he meant both the OSs are almost on par. The hardware is what will give them away.
hey guess what. You can run Android ON MAEMO.
I'm sorry, but I do think Android is inferior to Maemo for this reason.
But you're right. For a majority of the population, Android is a better platform because it's easier to use. For people like me, who are used a linux environment, Maemo is better suited, and thus you have vastly different markets for these two devices.
The big reason this would be competitors, is well, both are coming to T-Mobile ( N900 is AWS ateast) . So as the marketing team for T-Mobile, which do you show off, the N900 or Droid ?
Wrong, this isnt coming to t-mobile.
Ok to compare:
I am totally torn between the DROID, PRE, and N900
Pros:
N900 - Maemo multitasking as close to a desktop as possible and awesome (hi res screen)
Droid - nice chipset for Android, which is growing - 3.7 hi-res capacitive (better than iphone's)
Pre - WebOS is solid and makes for very easy multitasking and beautiful smooth, intuitive operating (capacitive and gestures)
Cons:
N900 - Maemo developers.., eh - resistive screen (after an LG dare, capacitive just feels so luxurious)
Droid - hopefully can run sense but so far isn't quite as polished visually, needs better apps that are more professional like iphone's
Pre - apps? hopefully - small lo-res screen - only 8GB tops
What's nice at least is the Droid and Pre will be on Verizon (my network). I hate the company and their contracts suck. BUT their cell reception for calling, texting, and browsing is unmatched
PS anyone know what kind of onboard memory DROID has? Application memory? can you save android apps to you SDcard?
Convinces me even more that the htc android phone pic is for Verizon! but gotta wait 'til march for my contract to expire!!! oh and this phone looks sexy!
This is one ugly mofo rofl!
moto u mean ?
From the commercial which gave a very aggressive, transformers sort of impression, I was picturing a phone with a metallic look.
lmfao. this is your iphone killer verizon? god i'm glad I left your shitty ass company.
No PR is bad PR.
Now now now, while I agree that this phone looks like a sun-baked turd on a sidewalk, you have to admit that Verizon's service is excellent, at least compared to AT&T's. If Verizon ever gets the iPhone (slim chance now) I'd switch in a second, termination fees be damned.
@Bryan
So if Verizon's PR reputation was that their network sucks and that their CEO eats puppies and babies, that wouldn't be bad?
Verizon didn't screw up the inside, but they sure did a job on that keyboard!
Zzzzzz. . .
This is not an attractive phone... additionally the Verizon logo is getting more tacky with every branding
and with these shots, the HTC HD2 is still the greatest mobile phone I've seen to date.
Is Verizon gonna let Android fly Free? Or is it going to clip it's wings and... Metaphor, Metaphor, Metaphor.