With the recent release of the Motorola Droid this month, Apple’s iPhone has its best competition yet. The Droid competes highly with the iPhone and really shines overall.
Available on Verizon’s massive 3G wireless network’We got a map for that’, a slap in At&t’s face, when it comes to showing there coverage map, for there’We have an app for that’ campaigns. Also the first handset running Google’s 2.0 android software. I’ve been testing out that Droid, MSRP $199, and these are my first few bad and good impressions.
Droid’s Great Features:
Turn by turn GPS and street level maps in most places. This simply replaces your need of a Nuvi or cheap GPS solution, and to top it off has extraordinary maps that load up within.
Verizon’s high speed reliable network is amazing. I don’t believe I had 1 dropped call, Vs. My T-Mobile that dropped on a daily basis, especially at my home.
Web browsing, using the built in web browser in the Droid, it is the fastest pages have ever loaded off and on a wifi network. Pages load way faster than my 2G iPhone, and blow away each other phonephone like the blackberry and there built in browser on page load times.
Google’s integration to this telephone are extraordinary, on adding my pals name to my contact book it added his e-mail to the contact. Unless you have mates with the same names, then I am sure it will guess right a hundred percent of the time when it comes to auto-assigning folks to there names.
Droid’s Good features:
battery lifespan is better than some Smartphone’s I’ve seen, but isn’t the greatest. I run an application from the android market that closes applications that have not been used ; this saves on my battery life-span significantly, but becomes a little trouble closing apps after a certain time. Auto close should be built in for later use with this phonephone.
Android marketplace has a great assortment of free apps and paid apps. Most top apps were altered within days of Droid’s release and had 100% working droid updates for them. Slight modifications were needed running 2.0 vs. The other Android versions.
Choice of slide out physical keyboard, or touch-sensitive screen keyboard. I don’t see why two keyboards are needed, but there are just times that you do not want to type out every letter and you can just use the fast onscreen keyboard that recognizes words well.
Droid’s Bad features:
Music and video are a bit strange using the media player, especially with absence of a stop button and have to pause music to stop it, and the setup might be better.
visual voice mail is also a great feature but at an added value of $2.99 a month it simply isn’t worthwhile to me particularly on a phonephone that offers so many competing things that iPhone cannot deliver on.
Overall the Droid may not be the’iPhone Killer’ that some hype it up to be. It’s a certain competing entry in the dash for the best. With local Free GPS features and Verizon’s rock solid wireless network, you will be tough to compare iPhone to droid. Its comparing an apple to oranges, and now a days I assume I am swayed towards oranges, thanks to the strings it has cut away from how I use my cell phonephone, and how well it blows away the competition.
Overall Grade A- other than a few small issues this phonephone is my choice and will stay my choice for years to come. I’m sure I will have Droid 2-3, and whatever replaces it after.
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