Motorola Devour goes hands-on, hits Best Buy for $99 this week (update: video!)
By Paul Miller 
posted February 22nd 2010 4:19PM
posted February 22nd 2010 4:19PM
Here are some of our initial thoughts:
- For some reason -- perhaps it's the odd screen size to device size ratio -- the device comes across as very small in pictures and video. This is not at all the case. In fact, outside of its smaller screen size, the phone is in every way equal to or larger than the Droid. It also seems a little bit heavier, but they're certainly close in that department.
- The extruded aluminum chassis is really premium. MacBook Pro-type premium. The sliding mechanism as well is very high quality -- making the Droid's springless slide design look like a bit of a chump. There are also rubber accents on the top, bottom, and sides that give us hope that this phone would survive a hard fall much better than most of its Android competition.
- Due to the weird chassis, the batter and microSD card (8GB comes standard) are sideloaded into the device. It's novel and secure, and you don't have to take out the battery to swap out the microSD card, which is a major plus.
- The keyboard is pretty good, if a tad too wide. The keys are very distinct and clicky, though perhaps not quite so large that we're comfortable with typing with the pads of our thumbs. The space bar's odd letter-splitting location isn't a dealbreaker, but the dedicated number row just seems silly and we really think Motorola could've done better in the key layout.
- The clickable optical pad (on the right side of the picture above) is just fine, though not really optimized for the Blur interface. It makes much more sense in web browsing and other parts of the Android UI -- maybe even more so than a track ball.
- Though the phone is only running Android 1.6, one of the biggest 2.0 / 2.1 features has made it onto the device: Google Navigation. Interestingly, you have to download a text-to-speech voice kit from the Android Market to get it working. It's a fairly automated process, but still feels a little "hacked on."
- So far everything about the UI seems very snappy, particularly in comparison with our laggy experience with the Cliq. This is helped in part by the new Qualcomm MSM7627 chip under the hood, the same processor used by the Palm Pixi. Of course, the true testament to the Devour's snappiness will be how fast it continues to be after a week or so of use without a reset and all those social network updates delivering status message drivel at a rapid clip.
- The biggest trouble this phone has is the fact that the Droid is only $50 more and includes a much better / larger / higher resolution screen, faster processor, newer Android and sexier look.
Update: We got some bad information, and now have the official Best Buy pricing straight from Best Buy's Facebook page: The Devour will retail for $99 starting on February 25th, but the Droid will also be dropped to $99, and the Droid Eris is going to be free from Big Blue. Meanwhile, Verizon is sticking to its $149 pricetag at its own stores, which involves a $100 rebate. (Thanks to everyone who pointed this out).
I'm still not impressed by this thing, but more points for Verizon and Motorola!
@Caprice Dates Looks ugly and cluttered to me... Droid looks far better.
Basically, another reason I'm not impressed, I own a Droid also.
@Caprice Dates Considering the design of the droid this thing always makes me think "WTF is up with Motorola?".
They managed to come up with something quite good looking as the Droid and then this?
The plastic looks totally cheap, the design itself could also be from the 80s (the black square and circle add a LOT to it)
The screen also looks like "yeah we could have made it bigger, but we didn't want to"
I think this is just a budget version of the Droid, but even then if you go to wirefly.com or scour the net some, you can find a cheap Droid. Hell, even ebay the sucker
@Caprice Dates Considering it's "budget" it even more sucks regarding the update posted above which says it will be the same price as the droid.
same price as the Droid? Why is verizon undercutting their star player!?
@hq From the pictures: same size as the Droid, ten times uglier.
(That is not implying that the Droid is ugly, the Droid looks great)
@who said what
i think design look kind of good.. if droid 2 will be similar it will be a good phone.. and i hope they will use that extra space around keyboard...
a alot of space is being wasted there .and big screen same as droid (amloid) good camera .. and we have a perfect phone . and motorola always have a superb build quality ..
@scioncas Me? I think its already fair, seeing it landing on sub-100 eventhough the specs aren't that quite of a bragger. Just a little bit retouch on the bezel part and it'll be good. Up-dates: http://bit.ly/moto-devour-got-sweetened
@hq Motorola is heading back down the path it took with the Razr. They're going to make as many variants of a hit, the Droid, as they can and saturate the market to the point that no one cares anymore and writes them off.
I'm with you on that, especially considering the pricing scheme at Best Beezy. Speaking of which...why is it every time I go into Best Buy I end up getting the salesfolk more excited about new phones than they do me? Not to mention I've gone to 5 Best Buys around my area and not one person even knew what MWC was...or about any of the new HTC products. I want a cell store for cell phans, dammit. Best Buy...why is the iPhone the only Smartphone I can try at your store...are you in some sort of heathen cohoots, Stalin the other (Smartphones) with Apple? And another thing...why hasn't anyone mentioned that Apple just pulled 5,000 apps from the app store...I know, I know there are still 95,000 apps left, but unholy censorship! Sorry for being like Grandpa Simpson...and for my over use of the elipsis...
2TC & AS for life.
@Caprice Dates
They should call it the Motorola DROID RAZR.
@hajile
I have to say this is probably the sexiest looking phone I've ever seen. I never understood what people saw in the RAZR, but yes this phone reminds me very much of the RAZR. Unfortunately the small screen size, and old software mean there's no way I'm buying it, I'm still waiting for the Nexus One to make it to VZW.
Hmm thought it was going to be $99 at Best Buy wasn't there some paperwork that showed it at that price?
@Zachary
jeez my brother just upgraded on Verizons site for $150, wonder if he couldve done a upgrade through Best Buy, his contract wasnt up but he was eligible for an upgrade.
Someone...somewhere...is happy about this, if they didn't already get a Pixi
@yulebellow I'd love a pixi, but for some strange reason they aren't available this side of the Atlantic...
@yulebellow
lmao +1
Was just at Best Buy this weekend and Droid was on sale for $99 (with contract). Why would someone get this for $150?
What an ugly phone. Anyone who buys this over the Cliq, well you know..
@Jaoe
...is on Verizon and not T-mobile
....not on T-Mobile?
What a punny name :/ Ill keep my Nexus One with the Desire alpha rom
Quick question: Who started this whole "$30 data plan" thing? It's all tacked on to your ind. plan. Even if your unlimited talk plan is $60, you still end up paying another 30 on top of that. I mean, look at this mess http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/services/services-list.jsp?LOSGId=6914302634&catId=cat1510009&splittable=true&_requestid=124726
@N900
Ive been on VZW with a smartphone or blackberry for over 3 years and have been paying $30 data plan since. Nothing new to me...
@N900: It's just the way telcos keep you paying the same or more year after year. They just disguise the stuff. Before it used to be expensive voice plans, now it's cheap voice plans but expensive data plans, which you are required to have on more and more phones these days.
Cable TV companies do something similar with channel packages, to make sure people pay $50-100 a month, one way or the other.
@N900 I was just checking the rates for data plans, and they all (att, verizon, t-mobile) charge 30 bucks for data. Atleast t-mobile doesnt charge u TWENTY bucks for messaging! Even better, t-mobile has great rates if u happen to buy ur own phone (no contract) like the nexus one. you'll be paying 30 bucks less per month than an iphone or a droid buyer.
@Bingi And you get the lousy T-Mobile Service to go with that lower price. Now I realize that for some people the status symbol of a phone is more important that the actually functionality of their network, but for me, I am willing to "pay up" for Verizon so that I know I am going to have service when I want it, rather than paying T-Mobile prices and dealing with all those dropped calls.
@JayMonster I'm with TMo in Oklahoma... Never had any issues with the network, even out in the middle of nowhere! Only a few really out of the way places don't have coverage. The only people I know of who complain about dropped calls here are iPhone users. Magenta is wayyyyyyyyy better than Red, Orange, or Yellow for my day-to-day use, and I'm loving the price!
give me 50$ and I will use it for a week :D
At least it looks quite sturdy
Hate to sound like an obsessed, outdated fanboy beating a very dead horse, but this OS just looks downright ugly compared to *sigh, I know* Windows Phone Series 7.
And they're planning on porting Blur over to their Cable Boxes? Lame-o
@sonicfury
1. Outdated? WP7 only just got announced...
2. Android is skinnable, make it look how you want..
@Oli D Outdated as in my comment involving WMS7, since everyone's been comparing it to everything since its announcement. For me, in internetz time, I'm outdated.
Yes, you can always skin Android, but I'm talking about Blur directly. Not Android.
@sonicfury The difference is that this OS is more than just vaporware and promises.
I still don't know who would choose this over the Pre Plus though.
@sonicfury Agreed. Blur compared to stock Android or HTC's Sense skinned Android is just utter crap. Much too busy/messy IMO.
What's "new-ish" about an unlimited dataplan requirement for a smartphone? Verizon has had this policy since November of 2008.
@bull3964 : If only it actually WAS unlimited.
Aluminum? I thought it was plastic...
They seriously need to decide on a standard layout for the home, menu, back and search keys. Making it different on every phone is becoming "wicked retahded"
@Certifiedfryguy - I vote for 'Home' - 'Back' - 'Menu' - 'Search' in that order. That to me seems to be the best compromise for both left and right handed use, although it's mainly aimed at right handed use in this configuration.
That price is wrong. It will be $99.99
Source: social.bestbuy.com
"We lowered our prices on the Droid Eris by HTC to Free, DROID by Motorola to $99.99, and on February 25th are introducing the MOTOROLA DEVOUR™ with MOTOBLUR™ at $99.99. Pricing requires 2 year activation. Activation and termination fees apply. Handsets may vary by store. See store for details."
@ILovApple24
Yeah I thought I saw it was going to be $99, wow the DROID is now the same price as the DEVOUR? anyone interested in this phone might as well get the DROID then.
@Zachary
My thoughts exactly!
Why is the dedicated number row "silly"?
I use numbers frequently in short text messages and many passwords nowadays require numbers.
@(Unverified) - I think the dedicated number row should only be implemented if a 5 row keyboard is feasible. I don't really like to have the space bar somewhere in the middle of the lower letter row.
@Helmore
I own the Samsung Moment (sprint) and it has the same space bar thing. It took all of one time looking for the "b" button in the dark for me to adapt. It's not bad, just different. And because of this, they have a number row, which is really a plus! I have a few apps that require number input
"silly"? More like useful.
Do not like. Keyboard layout sucks, screen is too small, no front facing camera (Yes I know barely any USA phones have front facing cameras but they fuckin should :P), and also -- they should have made the screen tilt upwards when it's fully slid out. Droid > this.
Whoever did the review needs to catch up on Android a little :-)
Google Navigation is a standard offering for anything running Android 1.6 where the carrier has allowed the Maps 3.0 or newer upgrade. Even the G1 has Navigation. It isn't "a 2.0/2.1 feature"