the droid - TWICE as good as i thought

[SDscorch]

got to see it and use it today

screen is... AWESOME


stock android UI doesn't impress - at best its just.. "present"



but its smooooth - that processor chugs right along

very nice



looks-wise - "not gunna do it"





android's got a bright future

hero w/ 2.0 will "look" good - potential for lagginess though concerns me

 

[SDscorch]

oh yeah.. forgot!



its not as heavy as other ppl seem to suggest - i think its just fine

and the hw kybd is definitely "good enough" -- it reminds me of a "membrane" keyboard - a single sheet of rubber over the actual buttons - but again, definitely good enough (d-pad is fine too)


anyway.. if you get a chance to swing by a vzw store, stop by and check it out

 

[quentinfisher]

Indeed, I was rather impressed, not only with the Droid but with the excellent coverage of 3g in my town(not even available on Sprint). Sadly I will be trading in my Hero for a Droid or BB Storm 2(probably Droid ), Sprints slow data in my area can't compare to Verizon's and as much as I like the Hero, the Droid is just nice, fast and responsive, great screen, and Android 2.0 seem better than I thought it would, and lots better than 1.5.

 

[Scott]

My impressions: the Droid's keyboard is just a membrane keyboard, and while I comment Motorola on including a full keyboard in such a small package, it's actually harder for me to use than the on-screen keyboard. I can't feel the keys as independent things, so typing is all about watching my fingers.

Other than that, the phone is awesome. I did a good GPS test tonight, and the turn-by-turn GPS is amazing.

The multi-touch ability is spectacular (in my own apps); give developers a little time to incorporate it, and this will be the platform of choice.

And about the Hero, I see no reason for sluggishness on Android 2.0. I look forward to the update!

Scott

 

[SDscorch]

i hope you're right scott


and quentin.. no reason for being sad! if you're moving to a better phone/service (albeit w/ attendant *cost* of that service), so be it!

that is the market at work! and the carriers/cell ph mfr's *need* that feedback and they need to respond or they suffer the consequences!!


another note - about gps.... there's only one "voice" in the gps - and ppl in the verizon store didn't like that voice

i think gps mfr's have accustomed ppl to having a choice of voices - and google is only giving them one in the current iteration of google maps/nav





but yeah.. android's star is rising - i feel *very* good about android's future

 

[AmericanHero]

I looked at the Droid and Droid Eris at the local Verizon store. The Verizon sales person came right out and told me that flash had been disabled at Verizon's request on both phones. Is this really true? He said a future implementation was under development. I found this somewhat disturbing if it is i fact true.

Jack

 

[tmaxey1]

I stopped by a verizon kiosk and played with the droid for a few minutes. I was looking for a big difference in the screen since it was 2x's the resolution of our hero. I was dissapointed (or maybe happy) that i thought the hero screen was brighter and more vivid. Now i love tech and specs and wanted to see something that makes me look forward to us getting this improvement in resolution. However it didnt make me wish the hero had that screen.

Could it be because android is only running at the resolution that our screens are set to and the droids extra pixels are not being used unless you are on a web browser? Now granted the kiosk i went into had some daylight coming in from the skylights so the screen may have been washed out some.

I have also noticed this on touch pro 2 keyboards that i played with at the tmobile store. It is apparently 800x400 yet it looked dull and flat compared to the hero.

Back to the droid. I would have to see one that was running a nicer skin over vanilla android to really compare. I personally an not inpressed by the looks of vanilla android. It brings me back to the days of the G1.

 

[satinkzo]

As much as I personally Loathe vzw due to their prices, they do have amazing coverage and that coverage came at a cost. Luckily for me, sprint is just as good where I go, so I have a choice. But as mentioned, that's the market at work and people should vote with their cost/quality in mind. no one choice is best across the board.

Personally I do not like the droid design, but the specs are great and performance matches.

Overall though, it's good that vzw is pushing the android platform as it will only bring awareness to more people that there are great options out there to the iphone and windows mobile platforms and IMHO, android is a better option than both. It was such a breath of fresh air coming to android from winmo. I also have an ipod touch and have used an iphone. The iphone for me was good for everything but actual phone use.

 

[SDscorch]

I stopped by a verizon kiosk and played with the droid for a few minutes. I was looking for a big difference in the screen since it was 2x's the resolution of our hero. I was dissapointed (or maybe happy) that i thought the hero screen was brighter and more vivid. Now i love tech and specs and wanted to see something that makes me look forward to us getting this improvement in resolution. However it didnt make me wish the hero had that screen.

...

Back to the droid. I would have to see one that was running a nicer skin over vanilla android to really compare. I personally an not inpressed by the looks of vanilla android. It brings me back to the days of the G1.

i chalk up the (agreed!) "bland" display coloring as due to just plain vanilla android

its the sense UI that really brings is the icing on the android cake

 

[SDscorch]

As much as I personally Loathe vzw due to their prices, they do have amazing coverage and that coverage came at a cost. Luckily for me, sprint is just as good where I go, so I have a choice. But as mentioned, that's the market at work and people should vote with their cost/quality in mind. no one choice is best across the board.

Personally I do not like the droid design, but the specs are great and performance matches.

Overall though, it's good that vzw is pushing the android platform as it will only bring awareness to more people that there are great options out there to the iphone and windows mobile platforms and IMHO, android is a better option than both. It was such a breath of fresh air coming to android from winmo. I also have an ipod touch and have used an iphone. The iphone for me was good for everything but actual phone use.

me too! as long as spint costs less that vzw (MUCH less) i'm not going anywhere!



and yeah.. its a good thing they're pushing droid - the ppl i saw in the store with droids were ppl not interested so much in "flash" and "glitze" and "entertainment" that you get with the iphone - they want *capability* and *functionality* that you you get with android

(yeah, with some razzle dazzle too - not gonna deny it!)

 

[Scott]

It's hard to notice the 2.5x resolution improvement in the Droid over the HTC devices. LCDs are so good now, and 320x480 is a great resolution of this form factor, and ample realestate for phone/messaging uses.

On the Droid, things are rendered using twice as many pixels, so unlike a PC where, when you increase resolution things get small, the icons and such are about the same size.

To appreciate the WVGA, you need to run a program that renders pixels. The Browser is a great example. When viewing our webpage on the Hero, we see 1/2 the width of the page at a time (at 100% zoom). On the Droid, we see the whole page width. (both phones in Landscape orientation).

Scott

 

[quentinfisher]

Yeah I hate VZ's prices but after 2 years of Sprints broken promises of more signal strenght and 3g in my area, I'm tired of waiting. Got some more time in with the Droid, and it's definitely the fastest Android device I've seen available. Games and videos loaded nicely and the screen is just the best I've seen compared to any Android phone, and many other devices(i'd say the HD2 might be better just due to the size.) Definitely check it out though even if your not planning on getting one, gives a nice preview of what's to come in 2.0 I'm excited.

 

[RhinoDoc]

I switched from Verizon to Sprint for the Pre, and after about 3 months got the Hero. So far I am very happy. My 17 year old daughter has never had a smartphone and has been impressed with the Hero, too (and she never was impressed by my WinMo phones, BlackBerry, or Pre). She is still on Verizon with the rest of my family and has really been jonesing for a Droid since it came out, wants one for Christmas. I will probably drag her by the store to play with one to see if she really likes it. She is interested in the physical keyboard, so I figure she needs to try it to see if she will be able to use it.

 

[t1jordan]

got to see it and use it today

screen is... AWESOME


stock android UI doesn't impress - at best its just.. "present"



but its smooooth - that processor chugs right along

very nice



looks-wise - "not gunna do it"





android's got a bright future

hero w/ 2.0 will "look" good - potential for lagginess though concerns me

Im on my way to the store to test it out now.

 

[mcbtrain929]

do they stand next to you the whole time while you test it out? is there an "appropriate" amount of time that you can test it before it's "too long" ??

 

[hiway]

do they stand next to you the whole time while you test it out? is there an "appropriate" amount of time that you can test it before it's "too long" ??

Hehe yeah the guy did when I looked at it today. He was nice and all but the store in Southlake, TX they definitely watch what you are doing. I think they are nervous you'll break it or put something offensive in it? I don't know.

It's a nice looking phone (to me) but given the cost of the VZ plans compared to sprints it doesn't look "worth it" to me.

 

[pking]

do they stand next to you the whole time while you test it out? is there an "appropriate" amount of time that you can test it before it's "too long" ??

In their minds, probably yes. You're the consumer however, if it's on display for you to touch, and the doors are open, touch away! Worst they can do is kick you out of the store, and by then you'll probably have made up your mind already. Of course if that's your plan of action, maybe try it out at a store you don't intend to buy it from