What's going on with Verizon???

[Brianm109]

Why does it seem that ever other company out there is getting a cool new droid phone? Everytime something new comes out it seems to be going to either T-Mobile or AT&T. I don't get it!!!! Verizon by far has the best network. They could crush the competition if they would just expand their phone line up. To me the Motorola DROID blows!!! The Eris is ok for a slim down model. WHAT's GOING ON!!!!

 

[Mykpfsu]

Because up till the N1 Verizon had the only Android 2.0 phone. Now they have the only Android 2.0 phone that can be taken into a store if it breaks. That only came out about 3 months ago. Along with the Eris they had the #1 and #2 Android phone until the N1 came out. Being only 3 months out from that date its not surprisingly that they dont have anything new out yet (Incredible being worked on).
Just because you don't like the Droid doesn't mean a million or so other people think the same.

 

[anvilt]

Why does it seem that ever other company out there is getting a cool new droid phone? Everytime something new comes out it seems to be going to either T-Mobile or AT&T. I don't get it!!!! Verizon by far has the best network. They could crush the competition if they would just expand their phone line up. To me the Motorola DROID blows!!! The Eris is ok for a slim down model. WHAT's GOING ON!!!!

Do you have a Droid? I didn't like the Droid much either....until I got one to hold me over until Verizon makes up their mind. I'm very impressed with it.

 

[Brianm109]

Do you have a Droid? I didn't like the Droid much either....until I got one to hold me over until Verizon makes up their mind. I'm very impressed with it.

No, I don't have it. To be honest I'm a big HTC fan. I did got to the VZW store to check out both the Droid and the Eris. I wasn't impressed with the Droid. To me it felt cheap and I didn't like their QWERTY key board especially if you compare it to the HTC Touch Pro 2 (which I almost pulled the trigger on a few months back, but didn't because I want a some type of droid phone). The Eris was really nice but because it running on the 1.5 OS which was a deal breaker for me. Obviously as Mykpfsu said, millions of people love the Droid and it's hard to find a bad review about it. Maybe I'm just picky or its an HTC. Anyway I really have my heart set on the Incredible/Passion/Bravo or what ever the name will be. Hopefully we'll get some good hard Intel on it soon.

 

[Brianm109]

Because up till the N1 Verizon had the only Android 2.0 phone. Now they have the only Android 2.0 phone that can be taken into a store if it breaks. That only came out about 3 months ago. Along with the Eris they had the #1 and #2 Android phone until the N1 came out. Being only 3 months out from that date its not surprisingly that they dont have anything new out yet (Incredible being worked on).
Just because you don't like the Droid doesn't mean a million or so other people think the same.

Call me frustrated but I do agree with you. The DROID put Motorola back on the map. Millions do love the phone and you would be hard pressed to find a bad review about it. I'm really a HTC fan and was hoping for a better version of the Eris.

 

[Phydeaux]

Why does it seem that ever other company out there is getting a cool new droid phone? Everytime something new comes out it seems to be going to either T-Mobile or AT&T. I don't get it!!!! Verizon by far has the best network. They could crush the competition if they would just expand their phone line up. To me the Motorola DROID blows!!! The Eris is ok for a slim down model. WHAT's GOING ON!!!!

You make it sound like this is some sort of new policy for Verizon to lag behind in new phones. Their business model is -and has always been- service-centric, not gadget-centric.

As a long-time Verizon customer I was actually kinda shocked when Verizon released the Droid, giving them the (albeit short lived) king-of-the-hill device.

I think many of us were hoping the Droid release represented a new trend for Verizon -that perhaps they would start leading the way in releasing new devices. Instead, Droid was simply a brief exception to their standard practices... not surprising.

If having the coolest new phone on the market takes priority over solid service, then Verizon is probably not the best carrier for you.

If I have to wait a couple more months to have the N1 on Verizon's network, so be it. For me, it's a better alternative than getting N1 sooner and being continually disappointed with crap service.

 

[Brianm109]

You make it sound like this is some sort of new policy for Verizon to lag behind in new phones. Their business model is -and has always been- service-centric, not gadget-centric.

As a long-time Verizon customer I was actually kinda shocked when Verizon released the Droid, giving them the (albeit short lived) king-of-the-hill device.

I think many of us were hoping the Droid release represented a new trend for Verizon -that perhaps they would start leading the way in releasing new devices. Instead, Droid was simply a brief exception to their standard practices... not surprising.

If having the coolest new phone on the market takes priority over solid service, then Verizon is probably not the best carrier for you.

If I have to wait a couple more months to have the N1 on Verizon's network, so be it. For me, it's a better alternative than getting N1 sooner and being continually disappointed with crap service.

I guess I was hoping against hope that they were changing...guess I was wrong. At least maybe when they launch the N1 it will have all the bugs worked out of it.

 

[kyler13]

I think many of us were hoping the Droid release represented a new trend for Verizon -that perhaps they would start leading the way in releasing new devices. Instead, Droid was simply a brief exception to their standard practices... not surprising.

If having the coolest new phone on the market takes priority over solid service, then Verizon is probably not the best carrier for you.

If I have to wait a couple more months to have the N1 on Verizon's network, so be it. For me, it's a better alternative than getting N1 sooner and being continually disappointed with crap service.

That was emphasized by the BGR tipster who said back around Thanksgiving that Verizon was pushing for the title of "best smart phones, best network" but it appears as though they've changed their mind. I guess old habits die hard.

I don't know if the coolest phone is necessary. I'd settle for having something worth the two year contract. That's where it becomes a problem with Verizon. The relatively new 528MHz Eris is adequate right now, but it's gonna become increasingly painful by the end of the year when developers want to do more and the phone can't keep up. At that point, you'll only be half way through your contract.

I hope you're right, that the delay with the Nexus One means the kinks will be worked out. It would suck to go through the same issues that are going on right now - compounded by the fact that we had to wait just to get the damn thing.

 

[Mykpfsu]

That was emphasized by the BGR tipster who said back around Thanksgiving that Verizon was pushing for the title of "best smart phones, best network" but it appears as though they've changed their mind. I guess old habits die hard.

I don't know if the coolest phone is necessary. I'd settle for having something worth the two year contract. That's where it becomes a problem with Verizon. The relatively new 528MHz Eris is adequate right now, but it's gonna become increasingly painful by the end of the year when developers want to do more and the phone can't keep up. At that point, you'll only be half way through your contract.

I hope you're right, that the delay with the Nexus One means the kinks will be worked out. It would suck to go through the same issues that are going on right now - compounded by the fact that we had to wait just to get the damn thing.

I don't think they've changed their minds. "Best Smartphones" does not equate to newest Android or the newest phone. We've already seen several problems with the N1 that the Droid lacks. It may run faster but as far as reliability and survivability so far the N1 loses to the Droid so far.
But right now you can go into Verizon and have your choice from the following: Android 2.0, Android with Sense, Blackberry Curve 2, Blackberry Storm 2, WinMo 6.5, and the Palm Pre. A pretty damn good selection which I don't think is beat anywhere else. Add to it in the next couple of months the N1 and possibly the Incredible with the Iphone further down the line.
Though its always possible Google is screwing Verizon on their partnership.

 

[daveydog]

I guess I was hoping against hope that they were changing...guess I was wrong. At least maybe when they launch the N1 it will have all the bugs worked out of it.

well, I think we all thought that they were changing, i mean wasn't that the new motto.... "the best network the best devices?" when the 2 droids came out they said that more were coming, in fact the 3rd was supposed to be the passion by christmas.... then it was the devour/calgary thingy by christmas and that the passion was pushed back to january.... and so it goes...

i'm hoping for news just like everyone else... i hate stock android, it looks like clip art to me... but maybe thats just because I really like sense ui.

 

[SoCalMiles]

One thing I learned about Verizon, in the years I've been with them, is they move slow and sure. Remember last year they "were" supposed to be up there on top with the Storm, which terribly under-delivered, but things didn't work out so in the next year they came out on top with the Droid (not comparing to iPhone). You can also look at the maybe 1 or 2 OTA software updates you get a year....they usually are major and fix a variety of issues instead of releasing them more frequent. They move SLOW and SURE. And in all actuality...it really isn't that slow. I think most people forget about the HUGE push they gave the Storm. If that phone would've took off NO-ONE would say they get the worst phones or good phones late...I guess it was just a bad roll of the dice. I think ONE BIG PUSH towards a phone a year is enough for a company.

Now for HTC...they could easily KILL the market this year (which hopefully they're doing Passion/Bravo/Incredble/Supersonic). If they put out a 3.7in - 4.3in AMOLED Snapdragon on every carrier this year with Sense 2.1(I'll take the 4.3in on Verizon, thank you)...they will easily steal back the top Android spot from Motorola and maybe be the first REAL competition for Apple. Release an Android Tablet (Again worked closely with Google of course) to compete as well and I think they'd have a hell of a year!

EDIT: BTW I didn't like the Droid before I got it either but it is PRETTY AWESOME. I'm still getting the first 2.1 sense device!

 

[kyler13]

One thing I learned about Verizon, in the years I've been with them, is they move slow and sure. Remember last year they "were" supposed to be up there on top with the Storm, which terribly under-delivered, but things didn't work out so in the next year they came out on top with the Droid (not comparing to iPhone). You can also look at the maybe 1 or 2 OTA software updates you get a year....they usually are major and fix a variety of issues instead of releasing them more frequent. They move SLOW and SURE. And in all actuality...it really isn't that slow. I think most people forget about the HUGE push they gave the Storm. If that phone would've took off NO-ONE would say they get the worst phones or good phones late...I guess it was just a bad roll of the dice. I think ONE BIG PUSH towards a phone a year is enough for a company.

You put a lot of stock in the Storm. I mean, what do you consider was the issue? The sure press or whatever is an issue for some folks, and I don't find it that groundbreaking myself. In fact, I could do without it but it's not unusable. Phone would have been better with a straight-up capacitive touchscreen. Hardware aside, Blackberry OS: you either love it or you don't. I think it's crap, personally, for anything other than business function. It handles my exchange email just fine, but browsing and anything else not related to synchronized data is just plain painful. There is no conceivable way the Storm would ever revolutionize the personal smart phone world in it's full implementation. I would have taken an entirely different mindset from RIM to grab iphone customers and I don't think that's what they wanted to do.

That being said, the Droid was the first push by Verizon to lead in some segment of the non-business smart phone market (which is taking off). Prior to that, they've been content to walk 10 paces behind the competition. The trick, now, is to keep pace. You can't expect the Droid to keep you in the lead for very long. T-Mobile and AT&T have big time devices right around the corner, some announced. The Nexus One looks like it will ultimately hit each carrier meaning no exclusive benefits, so the Incredible better be just that and nothing short of it. No margin for error here, Verizon.

 

[SoCalMiles]

You put a lot of stock in the Storm. I mean, what do you consider was the issue? The sure press or whatever is an issue for some folks, and I don't find it that groundbreaking myself. In fact, I could do without it but it's not unusable. Phone would have been better with a straight-up capacitive touchscreen. Hardware aside, Blackberry OS: you either love it or you don't. I think it's crap, personally, for anything other than business function. It handles my exchange email just fine, but browsing and anything else not related to synchronized data is just plain painful. There is no conceivable way the Storm would ever revolutionize the personal smart phone world in it's full implementation. I would have taken an entirely different mindset from RIM to grab iphone customers and I don't think that's what they wanted to do.

That being said, the Droid was the first push by Verizon to lead in some segment of the non-business smart phone market (which is taking off). Prior to that, they've been content to walk 10 paces behind the competition. The trick, now, is to keep pace. You can't expect the Droid to keep you in the lead for very long. T-Mobile and AT&T have big time devices right around the corner, some announced. The Nexus One looks like it will ultimately hit each carrier meaning no exclusive benefits, so the Incredible better be just that and nothing short of it. No margin for error here, Verizon.

But the Storm wasn't marketed like a "normal" BB...Remember it "was" supposed to be a media machine that was supposed to be an iPhone killer. It just turned out to be a regular BB. That's how thousands got drawn in and now we're all jumping to the Android wagon...lol

 

[kyler13]

But the Storm wasn't marketed like a "normal" BB...Remember it "was" supposed to be a media machine that was supposed to be an iPhone killer. It just turned out to be a regular BB. That's how thousands got drawn in and now we're all jumping to the Android wagon...lol

Oh, I know. It was just a feeble attempt by RIM to be something it never was.

 

[kennyidaho]

No, I don't have it. To be honest I'm a big HTC fan. I did got to the VZW store to check out both the Droid and the Eris. I wasn't impressed with the Droid. To me it felt cheap and I didn't like their QWERTY key board especially if you compare it to the HTC Touch Pro 2 (which I almost pulled the trigger on a few months back, but didn't because I want a some type of droid phone). The Eris was really nice but because it running on the 1.5 OS which was a deal breaker for me. Obviously as Mykpfsu said, millions of people love the Droid and it's hard to find a bad review about it. Maybe I'm just picky or its an HTC. Anyway I really have my heart set on the Incredible/Passion/Bravo or what ever the name will be. Hopefully we'll get some good hard Intel on it soon.

I've been a long time HTC fan and an even long time Motorola hater. The Sprint HTC Hero is not up to HTC quality standards and the impression I got from the Eris was about the same. Don't get me wrong the Hero is an awesome phone and I loved every moment I had it - but build quality wise it's lacking a little bit. Problems with Sprint forced me to change to Verizon and wanting the "best of the best" I decided to go against all common sense and purchase a Motorola Droid. I even looked at my wife and said "I just bought a motorola....."

Honestly I couldn't be happier. Not only is it an amazing phone it's also built very very solid. The hardware keyboard does suck in comparison to other ones I've had but it's decent enough to get the job done for me. I love the device to death.

 

[3devious]

Whenever people start shouting that Motorola is crap and HTC phones are great, I just remember the Touch Diamond and think "Oh, yeah I gotta get me one of those HTC phones..." Not.

 

[eipee73]

Whenever people start shouting that Motorola is crap and HTC phones are great, I just remember the Touch Diamond and think "Oh, yeah I gotta get me one of those HTC phones..." Not.

That's the thing, we all have our own personal experiences with the brands and it's hard to go against your own intuition. I'm happy for kennyidaho because he took the leap of faith back to Moto and was happily surprised, but I don't think I have the same courage as him. I have heard it is a great device, but it still seems overly weighty to me and that hardware keyboard really throws me off. I am willing to go w/or w/o a hardware keyboard, but if I'm going to get a phone with one I would prefer it actually was comfortable and not just aesthetically pleasing as it matches the phone well.

 

[raremage]

That's the thing, we all have our own personal experiences with the brands and it's hard to go against your own intuition. I'm happy for kennyidaho because he took the leap of faith back to Moto and was happily surprised, but I don't think I have the same courage as him. I have heard it is a great device, but it still seems overly weighty to me and that hardware keyboard really throws me off. I am willing to go w/or w/o a hardware keyboard, but if I'm going to get a phone with one I would prefer it actually was comfortable and not just aesthetically pleasing as it matches the phone well.

A few thoughts: You're right on about the weight of the Droid. It's a heavy phone, no question. But it's an incredibly well built piece of hardware as well. The display is crisper to my eye than just about anything other than the N1. And the keyboard, while a bit funky, does tend to grow on you with more use.

Having said that, I am ordering my N1 the day it is made available on VZW. I grabbed one the day they came out (got it two days later) and the device is amazing - but the TMo coverage just wasn't good enough for me to stick with it, so back it went. I'm hoping that Leo Laporte is on target with the release date (23 March was what he mentioned a couple weeks ago) - absolutely cannot wait for it to be available. If you want a sleek, light but solidly constructed device, I really think looking at the Nexus is worth the while. I know there have been many complaints about being tossed back and forth between carrier, HTC, and Google, but I'll say my personal experience was fine with the purchasing (Google), provisioning and support (Made a couple of calls to TMo, all with great results) and the return process (HTC).

 

[eipee73]

A few thoughts: You're right on about the weight of the Droid. It's a heavy phone, no question. But it's an incredibly well built piece of hardware as well. The display is crisper to my eye than just about anything other than the N1. And the keyboard, while a bit funky, does tend to grow on you with more use.

Having said that, I am ordering my N1 the day it is made available on VZW. I grabbed one the day they came out (got it two days later) and the device is amazing - but the TMo coverage just wasn't good enough for me to stick with it, so back it went. I'm hoping that Leo Laporte is on target with the release date (23 March was what he mentioned a couple weeks ago) - absolutely cannot wait for it to be available. If you want a sleek, light but solidly constructed device, I really think looking at the Nexus is worth the while. I know there have been many complaints about being tossed back and forth between carrier, HTC, and Google, but I'll say my personal experience was fine with the purchasing (Google), provisioning and support (Made a couple of calls to TMo, all with great results) and the return process (HTC).

Honestly the more I look at the phone the more I really do want it. I am very glad to hear that you thought it was fantastic. My real drawback on it is all the videos I have seen with the capacitive buttons needing to be touched in just the right way to get them to work. I have heard the sensor seems to be at the top of the button instead of the middle. Did you notice anything like this when you had yours and was it significantly different than the Droid's capacitive buttons?

If you keep talking up the N1 you're really going to sell me on it...I wish it had Sense, but I've heard a lot of people love the stock android as well. I am a complete n00b to android phones, does the stock android OS come with a widget for twitter that can be placed on one of the homescreens?

 

[raremage]

Honestly the more I look at the phone the more I really do want it. I am very glad to hear that you thought it was fantastic. My real drawback on it is all the videos I have seen with the capacitive buttons needing to be touched in just the right way to get them to work. I have heard the sensor seems to be at the top of the button instead of the middle. Did you notice anything like this when you had yours and was it significantly different than the Droid's capacitive buttons?

There is a difference between the two devices, but I didn't find it to be much of an issue. You basically train yourself to touch the buttons a bit higher than on the Droid and it works fine. I would say within a couple of hours it was not a big deal. One thing I did notice, for some reason, that I was much less likely to accidentally hit one of those buttons (typically back or search) on the N1 than I do on the Droid. I wonder if it could be related to using the soft keyboard combined with the pronounced chin/shelf on the Droid?

If you keep talking up the N1 you're really going to sell me on it...I wish it had Sense, but I've heard a lot of people love the stock android as well. I am a complete n00b to android phones, does the stock android OS come with a widget for twitter that can be placed on one of the homescreens?

I've added a few widgets to my Droid that I also had popped onto the N1 - an Agenda/calender widget, some soft controls for sound, brightness, and battery, plus shortcuts to the apps I use most often on my home screen. I have a page with nothing but direct dial shorcuts to the people I call most often. I love the flexibility, but I am a bit of a gadget geek (as if it didn't show?) so I like fiddling with it.

There are widgets for just about everything, but I don't use a twitter widget. Instead I have Twidroid running and I get notifications on the notification bar when a tweet hits, then just switch to the app itself to read/respond. Also, I played with Sense, on the Eris, but didn't find it compelling one way or the other personally.

Hope that helps a little, and good luck with a decision!

 

[eipee73]

There is a difference between the two devices, but I didn't find it to be much of an issue. You basically train yourself to touch the buttons a bit higher than on the Droid and it works fine. I would say within a couple of hours it was not a big deal. One thing I did notice, for some reason, that I was much less likely to accidentally hit one of those buttons (typically back or search) on the N1 than I do on the Droid. I wonder if it could be related to using the soft keyboard combined with the pronounced chin/shelf on the Droid?
I've added a few widgets to my Droid that I also had popped onto the N1 - an Agenda/calender widget, some soft controls for sound, brightness, and battery, plus shortcuts to the apps I use most often on my home screen. I have a page with nothing but direct dial shorcuts to the people I call most often. I love the flexibility, but I am a bit of a gadget geek (as if it didn't show?) so I like fiddling with it.

There are widgets for just about everything, but I don't use a twitter widget. Instead I have Twidroid running and I get notifications on the notification bar when a tweet hits, then just switch to the app itself to read/respond. Also, I played with Sense, on the Eris, but didn't find it compelling one way or the other personally.

Hope that helps a little, and good luck with a decision!

I also have become a huge mobile device fanboy. I despise the iPhone because I think the app store is bloated with functionless bull$hit and the ability to only run one thing at a time seems absolutely ridiculous to me. I think initially I didn't want to adopt android because I thought it lacked polish and just as any IT person would do, I wanted to wait for some updates to get the bugs out. I finally think that Android has polished up enough to have mass appeal and it's becoming obvious with reports lately stating that Apple is losing market share (lord knows they're not moving to BB's). I appreciate the information that you have provided for me and I must say that you can be credited with tipping the scales in favor of the N1 over waiting for a different device. I was already in love with the aesthetics of the phone, but after talking to someone that has been able to have some hands on time with it I think I'm ready to make the leap....now if only VZW/Google would comply and give me the opportunity. My BB Tour is ready to be sold into the hands of a RIM lover, it just isn't for me anymore (sad because I administer a BES server).

Thanks again for your input and any other little nuggets of information that you'd like to pass on regarding the N1 would be greatly appreciated.

---Feel free to laugh at the fact that I just used "little nuggets of information" because it made me giggle ---

 

[hrbib21]

You mean like this: Verizon Devour Is a Baby Droid With Motoblur - motorola devour - Gizmodo

Some of you guys need to be a little more patient.

 

[Presto343]

You mean like this: Verizon Devour Is a Baby Droid With Motoblur - motorola devour - Gizmodo

Some of you guys need to be a little more patient.

Dude, that phone is for like 12 year old girls.

No thanks.

 

[kyler13]

You mean like this: Verizon Devour Is a Baby Droid With Motoblur - motorola devour - Gizmodo

Some of you guys need to be a little more patient.

Hmmm. Bigger than a Nexus One despite the small 3.1" screen. Yeah, real exciting. I heard Verizon has two new flip phones on their way, too. I'm not even sure who this appeals to.

 

[skunkpbguy]

I heard there are some great things on the way, later this month. If I had first hand information I would post it now, however I don't want to read the shitstorm that would result from such a post. All we need to know is Vzw will have some new toys available at the end of Feb.