More on the DROID: thoughts from the rest of Engadget
By Nilay Patel 
posted October 30th 2009 6:10PM
posted October 30th 2009 6:10PM
Nilay:
Keyboard aside, the DROID is very much the ultimate phone for phone geeks. It's not "friendly" in the way that the iPhone is immediately intuitive and welcoming, but that's not what it's trying to be -- at all. It's like a muscle car and a Mercedes: most people are going to take the Benz, but the people who know they want a '69 Boss 429 aren't going to settle for anything less. The Droid is big, heavy, and intimidating, and if you take the time to learn Android's quirks and how to use it, it'll do everything you could ever want -- but at the price of some refinement and style.
I don't think I'm alone in thinking this -- Verizon seems to know it too. Why else would the DROID Does ad focus so heavily on things that are only important to geeks, like open development and customization, and then end with what appears to be a Transformer attacking the Matrix? Hell, every single notification on an out-of-the-box Droid is accompanied by a robot voice intoning DROIIIIID, a sound that appeals only to the nerdiest of the nerds.
But you know what? I am a nerd. The DROID may not be for everyone, but it's very definitely the right phone for some. And in the end, that's really quite encouraging. I just wish Moto would have re-thought that keyboard.
Paul:
I think the DROID is the best phone on the market that isn't the iPhone. Unfortunately, I don't have a car, so Google Navigation doesn't help me, I don't use Exchange, so that's out, and I can't bring myself to pay Verizon contract prices. I'm also slightly more productive on the touchscreen keyboard than the physical keyboard, which isn't saying much for either of these input methods. What's left after all this negativity? Gmail, one of the best screens money can buy, and great coverage / voice-quality, all three of which are so absolutely clutch that it has me considering making it my primary phone. However, at the end of the day I think I'm going to hold out for something touchscreen only with a similar processor / screen resolution and perhaps T-Mobile for a network. If anything the DROID has convinced me that it's almost time to switch to Android, even if this specific phone isn't the exact fit for me.
Chris:
It's a rarity in the wireless industry when the design of a phone -- at a glance, anyhow -- actually rises to the challenge and matches the fanboy fantasy: the original RAZR, the original iPhone, perhaps the Sony Ericsson X1. The realities of designing a working handset just don't often allow for it to hold up against the stratospheric, unrealistic expectations of an overstimulated fan base that's always on the hunt for The Next Big Thing. And even on the rare occasion when it does happen, that initial launch-day euphoria is usually squashed by the time phones are in customer's hands, flaws are rooted out, and the once-untouchable device has suddenly been made human -- case in point, the X1, which launched in the US three full seasons after it was announced and never had a prayer of living up to the hype that had reached a rolling boil.
That's why I know the DROID is a special phone: it pushes my geeky fanboy buttons in ways they haven't been pushed in a long, long time. Unlike the CLIQ or any other Android phone before it, Motorola's second Android handset literally looks like it sprung to life out of a fake, pie-in-the-sky rendering posted on some Taiwanese forum, and handling it just puts a smile on your face. Can you say that about a Storm2? A Pure? An Imagio? Hell, in the year 2009, can you even say that about an iPhone 3GS, which looks nearly identical to the iPhone of 2007?
Of course, it's like dating a supermodel: just because the DROID is unbelievably attractive doesn't mean you want to marry it. Those that aren't used to Android (or have tried it before and didn't like it) might cringe at some of the platform's nuances, and it's still not as visually slick as webOS or iPhone OS is. I personally found the physical keyboard to be a pretty miserable experience -- worse than the G1 and the CLIQ -- an inevitable casualty of trying to fit this much technology into a space less than 14mm thick, but the good news is that the capacitive display is large enough to make the soft keyboard very usable for me. It's also the smoothest, fastest, most satisfying Android experience on any device to date, a combination of 2.0's enhancements and the speedy OMAP3 heart powering them.
At the end of the day, realities of the US wireless industry are as likely to decide whether you're getting a DROID as anything else. For Verizon -- historically known for one of the worst smartphone selections of any carrier in North America -- the DROID instantly vaults to the top of the heap, so if you're on Big Red or you want to be, the phone may very well be a no-brainer. If you're not on Verizon but you're an Android fanatic, the DROID's also almost impossible to resist -- yeah, it's just that good. Seriously. For the rest of the wireless world, though, the DROID is little more than "another really good smartphone," and regardless of carrier, those are easier to come by than they've ever been before.
Very disappointed to hear that no one is liking the use/feel of the physical keyboard. That is a requirement for me, so I hope I'm not disappointed.
http://www.droidforums.net
I'm seriously kicking myself in the ass for getting my storm 4 months ago. Not because I don't like the phone, but because the droid promises to be so effing awesome.
"Of course, it's like dating a supermodel: just because the DROID is unbelievably attractive doesn't mean you want to marry it."
Did dozens of question marks go off in anybody else's head when they read this?
Nilay: Thanks for the '69 'Stang pic... My favorite vintage!
Paul: Out of the millions and millions of cell phone users, there are maybe 10 of them that have found an "exact fit". It seems there's always a compromise of some kind. Geek, or mainstream consumer... Period.
Chris: It's like dating a supermodel?! Well, they have needs too, donchaknow.
I use voice & data at the same time every once in a while, so that's enough to keep me from going to a CDMA network.
I also use Skype a lot and there's no full-featured Skype app for Android (yet?), so that's enough to keep me from going to an Android phone.
If/when someone comes out with a full-featured Skype client for Android, then I'd consider going for a UMTS/HSPA Android phone.
All I can say is Sprint please get a phone like this one. I wish I could buy the Droid and add it to my Sprint account, I hate all these Phone providers locking kick ass phones to their network with their ridiculous plan prices
Nilay, if you EVER buy a Boss 429 and put a Moto logo on it, I may have to hunt you down and murder you.
>:D
I hate when the phrase "at the end of the day"
lol
and I freakin want this phone so bad. I will be buying this!
The keyboard seems to be a sticking point for most people but it's based off of other peoples preferences and screenshots, just wait till it comes out than test it out for yourself.
I would love to hear if I should go for this new Motorola Droid or with the HTC Touch Pro 2. I can't really make the decision between these and would love to know what other people have to say that have the Touch Pro 2 or that have played with both.
Paul, Since you mention this is the "Best Smartphone ever" - how does it compare to the N900? From the looks of it (I could be wrong), it seems the N900 eclipses the Droid both in UI, OS, Keyboard, programming languages supported and openness so it would be interesting to get someone's view who has seen both. I saw 1 engadget article addressing that but it was a pretty disorganized comparison with inconclusive opinions.
Also as an OS, how does Android compare with Maemo5? - Sorry folks, saying "Its Android" does qualify as a strength ;-)
I just have 2 questions: (1) what if you're NOT on Facebook and don't want to be? The DROID is pre-wired with Facebook; can I somehow uninstall that function? I'm 99.99 percent sure I'm going to buy the DROID next week, but I just don't want to see Facebook prompts everytime I pick up my phone. and (2), in the contacts, anyway to get rid of those silly cartoon DROID pictures next to the names? (I realize syncing to Facebook replaces them with actual pictures, but I'd prefer just names, no images).
Thanks!
Wait till verizon starts working on their LTE.
I have to ask this, how long have you had your Droids?
In my personal experience adjusting to most keyboards is a miserable experience. I could not type for shit with my Dell Mini 9 for a week or two and now I'm typing near as fast as I do my full desktop (Infact I'm typing on it now..) If you haven't used it pretty extensively for a couple of weeks it's pretty difficult to judge, I think this is especially true with smartphone keyboards.
Every one I've used from a Sidekick to my iPhone 3G I've had to take a week or two to adjust and type well.
It seems like there are a lot of sites determined to bash the hell out of the Droid and it's not surprising it's from the typical Apple hype crowd. Some of the points are ridiculous, what Verizon contract prices? From my research the contract is the same as the iPhones on a far better network.
Also Benz vs Muscle Car kinda deal, totally disagree. The iPhone might want to be a Mercedes but how many Mercedes models have less features then say a Ford? Not many, the iPhone is far too restricting to be considered a Mercedes.
PS - All of this coming from an iPhone 3G owner
Paul, your whiney comment about Verizon's plans are unfounded, when compared to iPhone plans. The only (major/non-mvno) carriers that differ in pricing are T-Mobile and Sprint, which both half a fraction the coverage of Verizon. You are obviously a hippie lib that is all for socialistic ideals. Get a car and a clue and I'll start to respect or even read your opinion. Cheers.
While I'll not be buying a Droid (ever), I'm a fan, and really excited at the amount of time and money being appropriated to the Android platform. I've been using a G1 for about 6 months, and have a hacked 1st gen iPhone I use on TMobile.
Is Google's GPS the killer app? No. I mean if you're a true geek, you've already got a GPS unit or 2 laying around and they likely work better than Google's app. Is it cool as hell and going to make GPS units cheaper/better in the long run? Yep.
What I want in a phone is a BIG screen (5 inches) a decent processor, a decent physical and virtual keyboard, and a more polished Android OS. I suspect by Android 3.0, the manufacturers will have it nailed.
So to sumarrise the droid
keyboard is rubbish, camera is rubbish, video is rubbish, buttons are rubbish, looks for the most part are industrial not slick, sliding form factor is useless because the keyboard is rubbish, and hence prevents a slick one piece phone, battery is average, switching between Apps is laggy, music connectivity is rubbish, and whats the pint of the annoying section sticking out at the bottom.
SO... could someone please tell me why I would swap whatever phone I have for this (and I'm already on Verizon with an old palm 650)
I am going to buy one, I tested one this morning. I think you are dead wrong about the keyboard. I typed a paragraph in it and didn't mess up once, and I have big thumbs. Im 6'4" 240 lbs. ;) Like all keyboards you get use to it.