Droid Pro Review (as a Droid X user)

[aohus]

This is a mini review of the Droid Pro coming from a Droid X user's perspective.

Pros

• Motoblur is actually snappy on the Droid Pro, and transitions are smooth, contrary to vanilla Droid X motoblur.
• Green LED notification (a la blackberries, except its not red)
• Running Quadrant score gave consistent mid 1500's result. The CPU responds well to opening/closing applications. Its essentially the same speed as stock Droid X, maybe even snappier and faster
• Battery life is great, with all radios enabled. Switching 'global' to 'CDMA only' has helped with battery life
• Not sure if its an isolated case, but the Droid Pro seemed to have better reception inside thick buildings than the Droid X.
• Took a couple days to get used to the form factor with portrait keyboard. Once you're used to it, the combination is seamless. I would have to say this is a productivity beast as its the first Android phone with a portrait keyboard.

Cons

• Screen resolution isn't up to par with its competitors, even at 3.1 inches. However, one cannot notice it by looking at the device alone. If you're going from iP4 to a Droid Pro, you'll notice a difference
• Running flash on the browser is not as smooth as the Droid X. I was getting a lot of jerky playback from trying to view trailers (Trailer Addict- Movie Trailers)
• Battery life was atrocious when handed to us from Verizon. Had to change some settings in order to get much better battery life.

MUST things to do upon receiving your Droid Pro

• Get LauncherPro (free)
• Change 'Global mode' to 'CDMA only' (Settings -> Wireless and Networks -> Mobile networks -> Network Mode -> CDMA)
• Root your Droid Pro (search for 'z4root' in marketplace)
• Upon rooting your phone, try these 'root' specific applications. They're free and can be found in the marketplace

1. Adfree (removes ads in your browser and in ad supported applications)
2. Autokiller (this is not a task killer app, but a task memory management application. this can help provide a smoother UI experience, and extend your battery life)
3. Wireless Tether (free wireless tethering)

This is a must buy if you're mulling switching over from a blackberry to Android for the first time.

 

[TheAlmightyDrew]

It is great to see this review because I am also a Droid X user that is thinking of making the switch. How is the call quality compared to the Droid X?

 

[aohus]

It is great to see this review because I am also a Droid X user that is thinking of making the switch. How is the call quality compared to the Droid X?

Call quality was fine. It was the same experience as on the X. I found the radio to be stronger than the DX. It could be because my Droid X is currently running a custom ROM, but I did find the radio signal strength to be higher than the X.

I can see users being more productive on this device than other smartphones as its compact for what its going for (3.1 inch capacitive screen + portrait kb), and the workflow is more efficient on this device than a pure touchscreen or touchscreen + slide-out keyboard combination.

coming from a DX, you'll definitely notice the loss in real estate space, as you're coming from a 4.3 inch to 3.1 inch. You'll also notice the decrease in pixel density as the resolution is not as crisp of a DX. As for productivity, this phone is a beast in getting things done.

 

[TheAlmightyDrew]

I have pretty much made up my mind that I am making the switch. I just need to sell my Droid X and find someone that is selling their Droid Pro for a good price.

 

[pfcjs]

so is anyone running the LauncherPro on the Droid Pro? I downloaded it for a second after seeing it mentioned here and it really screwed everything up so I had to get rid of it. What is the LauncherPro supposed to help us gain? Performance or what?

 

[mlclm]

so is anyone running the LauncherPro on the Droid Pro? I downloaded it for a second after seeing it mentioned here and it really screwed everything up so I had to get rid of it. What is the LauncherPro supposed to help us gain? Performance or what?

It allows for a much more convenient dock and homescreens. With multiple docks and a physical keyboard for shortcuts, I could see many users going down to two or three homescreens.

 

[tigris]

You said the battery life is great, but only after some tweaks.

Would you mind letting us know the steps you took to get better battery life? You mentioned that you keep radios on, but switched to Global->CDMA only, and are using Autokiller. Is that all, or are there anything else that you did?

I am getting bad battery life (barely lasting 12 hrs), even without heavy use. I did change to CDMA only. I do not want to turn on/off radios myself, because I want my phone to just work, without me having to pay attention to it. I was just considering installing Autokiller and/or JuiceDefender.

 

[aohus]

You said the battery life is great, but only after some tweaks.

Would you mind letting us know the steps you took to get better battery life? You mentioned that you keep radios on, but switched to Global->CDMA only, and are using Autokiller. Is that all, or are there anything else that you did?

I am getting bad battery life (barely lasting 12 hrs), even without heavy use. I did change to CDMA only. I do not want to turn on/off radios myself, because I want my phone to just work, without me having to pay attention to it. I was just considering installing Autokiller and/or JuiceDefender.

The only steps I took for better battery life was
- Install autokiller (and select preset to aggressive) [YOU MUST BE ROOTED for this application to work. Installing z4root from marketplace can root your Droid Pro]
- Change to CDMA only
- Put display set to auto
- Set battery management to 'night time saver'
- Did a full battery drain of the battery. (Keep phone on until it powers off on its own due to low battery, then charge it to 100%)

This has given me the ability to get 24+ hours of battery life through moderate usage. I would say the battery life is as good or better than the Droid X. Hope this helps.

Advice, try not to install too many 3rd party applications that are data dependent on 3G network.

 

[tigris]

Thanks for the tip!
I'll try those methods (as well as those by Eloquence in another post) for the next few days to see if I can get 24+ hours like you do.

I will also look for apps which may be the culprit. Kakaotalk is suspicious.... Anyone have experience with that app?

 

[ckochinsky125]

It is great to see this review because I am also a Droid X user that is thinking of making the switch. How is the call quality compared to the Droid X?

Ha didnt you just switch to the x lol?

 

[dcorn]

Good review. I've had the phone since Thursday and I'm already typing way faster than I ever could on a touchscreen, with way less mistakes too. I come from BB a while back, so this is my bread and butter anyway.

I'm hesitant to root this phone for now because it's running so well. I rooted my Droid back in the day because it was very laggy and really needed to be overclocked to run smoothly. The Pro runs just as quick in stock form as my Droid running at 1.1Ghz.

I'm running Launcher Pro because it automatically backed itself up when I set up the phone. I haven't even seen what it's like to run MotoBlur. I'm kind of curious, but the phone runs so well now there is no point in changing anything. Love the 4 buttons at the bottom of the screen. I'm only running 5 screens now and I don't even have stuff on one of them. Much more efficient this way and really no reason for the profiles. I guess they were trying to copy BB with that one, but they must not realize that BB profiles have to do with the sounds and vibrations of alerts and not so much the layout of the screen.

 

[TheAlmightyDrew]

Ha didnt you just switch to the x lol?

Yea, but this is the form factor I have been waiting for. A Blackberry looking device with a good camera and the Android OS and Market backing it up.

 

[Steven58]

nice review!

 

[pfcjs]

I'm running Launcher Pro because it automatically backed itself up when I set up the phone. I haven't even seen what it's like to run MotoBlur. I'm kind of curious, but the phone runs so well now there is no point in changing anything. Love the 4 buttons at the bottom of the screen. I'm only running 5 screens now and I don't even have stuff on one of them. Much more efficient this way and really no reason for the profiles. I guess they were trying to copy BB with that one, but they must not realize that BB profiles have to do with the sounds and vibrations of alerts and not so much the layout of the screen.

So with LauncherPro you have five screens? I downloaded it for a few minutes and it only gave me three screens so I deleted it.

 

[aohus]

So with LauncherPro you have five screens? I downloaded it for a few minutes and it only gave me three screens so I deleted it.

Click on the 4 square button you have on your droid pro, then click 'preferences' -> homescreen settings -> number of screens...

its all there in preferences.

believe me, you will like launcherpro. play with it. all the settings can be changed in 'preferences'

if you don't like launcherpro, then idk what to say..

 

[Lacyanne64]

Very nice review...Nice to hear from someone coming from a Droid X

 

[pfcjs]

ohh, okay, thanks...and what does having LauncherPro give me over using the stock setup? Sorry for the "newbie" (also read dumb or uneducated) questions. I am just wondering because this launcherpro thing seems to be a big deal around here...

 

[dcorn]

ohh, okay, thanks...and what does having LauncherPro give me over using the stock setup? Sorry for the "newbie" (also read dumb or uneducated) questions. I am just wondering because this launcherpro thing seems to be a big deal around here...

Like the dude said, click on the menu button, then preferences. Scroll through there and see what you can change around.

You can have up to 7 screens with any one being your main screen, 4 customizable buttons at the bottom of the screen at all times (actually 3 sets of 4 that you can swipe through), change the number of icons on the home screens and the app drawer, etc. So many options and it's free. Might as well try it out and play with the options a bit.

 

[Carmen]

Can you comment on the ringer volume?? I haven't noticed any threads negitive or pro on the issue.

I'm currently using Droid X after the Droid 1 and a forever user of BB prior. The BIGGEST thing for me is the ringer volume on the Droid X. It is so soft and the vibrate is even softer! I have searched every forum that I know of and can't find a fix for the ringer volume. And although most claim that after the 2.2 upgrade the ringer volume increased it DID NOT for me. If I knew that the ringer is louder and comparable to a BB or even, not as loud, Droid 1 I would switch over in 2 and 2!

I did try and go to Verizon the other day but they were so crazy busy with only one Droid Pro avialable to test I wasn't able to play with.

 

[aohus]

Can you comment on the ringer volume?? I haven't noticed any threads negitive or pro on the issue.

Ringer is loud. It actually depends. if the ringer is on a bed, the sound will be muffled. You won't have any problems with the speaker volume. its louder than the Droid X.

 

[dcpmark]

My friend complains that the vibration is very weak on the Pro. He came from a Treo, which danced on the table when it vibrated.

 

[TheAlmightyDrew]

I just ordered a Droid Pro on eBay. I will luckily still have my Droid X in my possession so I will be able to compare and contrast both devices and sell whichever one I like the least.

 

[Carmen]

I am coming from a Droid 1 to the Droid X and now Droid Pro....

It is hard to believe the difference between each phone and the features. Each one with their faults and each with their superior features. Just as a review, and from my side, the ringer volume and vibrate on both the Droid X and Pro are rather low in volume and light on the vibrate with the Droid X being the worst (hard to believe such a simple function is missed). I can never feel my X vibrate no matter where it is (on me or not). The ringer volume and vibrate functions are key to me! Luckly I have a bluetooth watch which saved both of these going right back after the first day! As for the screen on the X?? Well not much to say but outstanding and even though I am preferring the Pro so far it still hurts to leave the screen, camera and a few other things on the X. But, for me, I am thinking I will stay with the Pro. The short cuts on the key board along with Launcher Pro.....You bearly need two screens! Although, I am not getting 24 hours on my battery I am getting pretty good time on it and at charging the X 2-3 times a day that is just one more point for the Pro and even Droid 1. I am looking forward to the extended battery which is on the way. The call quality is a bit better on X & 1 but the Pro isn't a hack job in anyway. Not sure how this function was missed as well.

It's a shame as many things you can accomplish with these devices (android) with apps, roms, rooting and everything else we can't take the best of each and make one absolute phone of pleasure! But I guess that would leave our corp phone makers less money in the long run....

The one thing that will make me take back my Pro is the fact that VZ sold this device to me without even given me a heads up about the problems with corp email. It wasn't until forums like this one was I able to figure out that it wasn't me and there was an KNOWN issue with the email and push.

Coming from BB for years and all the other old phones it has taken me a bit to get use to the android system but I would never go back at this point. And as I am not rooted yet (still researching) I am in complete satisfaction with the platform. Motorola coming out with the Pro version will tempt and satisfy more and more BB users! Let's just hope they fix the email issue, a very important business tool that is A MUST for some soon!