Samsung Moment vs. Motorola Droid

[JoeFresco]

I'll be buying one of these two phones in the next month. The problem is that no one seems to be comparing them directly.

Differences:
Droid is thinner and narrower
Droid has a larger screen with 3x the pixels
Droid has two docks with magnetic activation of apps
Droid has a 550 MHz Cortex A8 vs. Moment's 800 MHz Arm11
(http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3595&p=5 -- ARM estimates that the Cortex A8 is about 40% faster than the ARM11 at the same clock speed. In theory, the Moment and Droid should perform similarly, though that may not be the case due to additional factors (flash speed, RAM speed, OS version, drivers). Also, the Cortex A8's 3D chip is at least double the Moment's, so that will still be faster.)
Verizon's plan for me is going to cost $95/mo vs. $60/mo w/ Sprint (Anytime Mobile Minutes only apply when you are on Sprint's network -- for me, that may be the thing that kicks me to Verizon)
Droid includes a $50 class 6 16GB microsd card vs. 2GB w/ Moment

Here's what I want to know:
1. Does the Moment have a notification light like the Droid? No. No one can find it if it does.
2. How fast is the browser/interface on the Moment vs. the Droid? Still not answered
3. The engadget reviewer hated the camera on both the Moment and Droid. Does that mean they equally suck? It's beginning to sound like the Moment's complaint is camera app startup speed while the Droid has that same problem plus inconsistent focus. The Droid also offers more camera control
4. Call range/quality differences? Seems pretty even here
5. Which keyboard is better (subjective, I know)? The more people weigh in, the more the Moment gets ahead on this.

There's been a lot of hype behind the Droid and Android 2.0, but I'm wondering if, when you really get down to it, there really isn't that much difference between the Moment and the Droid, other than the physical difference. If they are pretty similar, then I want to save that $35/mo, which will be about $800 over the next 2 years.

Has anyone seen both yet?

 

[Deleted User]

Differences:
Droid is thinner and narrower
But still weighs about the same...
Droid has a larger screen with 4x the pixels
But isn't AMOLED, like the Moment
Droid has two docks with magnetic activation of apps
But... I want those too
Droid has a 550 MHz Cortex A8 vs. Moment's 800 MHz Arm11
Check
Verizon's plan for me is going to cost $95/mo vs. $60/mo w/ Sprint
Sprint wins for sure.
Droid includes a $50 class 6 16GB microsd card
Yet only costs $20 more, leaving a $30 gap! Oh well, already bought my 16GB microSD for my Moment.

Here's what I want to know:
1. Does the Moment have a notification light like the Droid?
I don't think I've seen it in any pictures or videos, so my guess is no.
2. How fast is the browser/interface on the Moment vs. the Droid? ARM says the A8 is about 40% faster than the Arm11, so the two CPUs should be about the same performance considering the clockspeed differences.
I really think this will come down more to the efficiency of the OS and software than the chip. The 3G iPhone has a smoother browser than the Moment, yet it has a slower processor.
3. The engadget reviewer hated the camera on both the Moment and Droid. Does that mean they equally suck?
Most of the negativity on the camera I have heard direct at the Moment is more about the software than the camera itself. Can't speak to the Droid's camera as I haven't followed it as closely.
4. Call range/quality differences? (It sounds like the Droid completely rocks this?)
All the reviews I have read have given the Moment good reviews for sound/call quality and signal strength.
5. Which keyboard is better (subjective, I know)?
I like the look of the Moment's keyboard better, but without a direct comparo, it's all guessing for better functionality.

I'm still confident we'll see 2.0 on the Moment before too long, so I think it'll narrow the gap on the Droid considerably, even if it does still beat out the Moment overall.

 

[JoeFresco]

I have an iPhone 3G. I followed engadget's browser test between the 3GS and Droid on my iPhone right after they posted this. (It's obviously different now)
Motorola DROID first hands-on! (update: video, impressions, more pics)

The iPhone 3G took about 15-20s longer than the Droid, and scrolling wasn't nearly as good as either one on the video because the iPhone only has the current screen and a couple scrolls up and down in memory. I'd be really curious to know how the Moment compares.

The complaint with the Moment was that it takes forever to start the camera app and forever to take a picture. The complaint with the Droid is that the autofocus is out of control and it takes forever to take a picture.

 

[JoeFresco]

One other concern with the Moment is that a reviewer mentioned a very blue screen.

 

[Deleted User]

One other concern with the Moment is that a reviewer mentioned a very blue screen.

But that was only in comparison to another phone, and no one else has commented on that that. Most everyone has loved the screen, in fact. I don't doubt he is right about the blue-hue, but I don't think you'll notice it when you own the phone unless you're looking in a dark room, specifically trying to see it.

 

[JoeFresco]

Actually, it was an observation that turned into a comparison shot between it and the Zune HD, another AMOLED device.
Samsung Moment Review: The ED-209 of Android Phones - samsung moment - Gizmodo

 

[scotth501]

it seems like I'm the only one interested, but according to the Droid manual the radiation level (SAR) is 1.49 while the Moment is 0.68. I don't know that their's really a threat, but since the FCC max allowed is 1.6, the Droid isn't even an option to me.

Otherwise, I'd like the bigger screen on the droid as well as 2.0 firmware. The Moment's offset keys on the keyboard look much better to me. Several of the Hero vs Moment reviews lamented the fact that the Moment had soft keys for three of the five and didn't include a search button. From what I see on the Droid, it's worse in that regard but no one really mentions it. I guess it's just a factor of the different target audiences.

 

[CRPercodani]

I think if you take EVERYTHING into account (including provider pricing) it is damn near equal. I personally am going for the Droid but I think the Moment is a very nice phone also. AMOLED is sweet (heard some bad things about direct sunlight though) and from looking I think the Moment's keyboard might be easier to use. The Droid does have a much bigger screen but it is actually narrower then the iphone, but longer. That is awesome for landscape use like browsing and watching videos, but in portrait it MIGHT seem sorta odd, I don't know yet though. The processor differences are pretty big, yes the Moment has a higher clock speed, but, ARM11 vs Cortex A8 is sorta like comparing a Pentium 4 and a Core i7......big difference. Clock speeds aren't all that, RAM will make a bigger difference, does the Moment have the same RAM as the Droid?

With the Moment you get a trackpad, nothing on the Droid though. I know they are touchscreen but some type of "mouse" function is always nice. I love having the trackball on my G1 and use it all the time. My PC is a HP Touchsmart and i barely ever touch it, I always use the mouse (or my G1 with that app and the server side of it on my PC). The Class 6 16GB you get with the Droid is awesome, and it is literally THE BEST micro sd card you can get as of now. What does the Moment come with, 8GB? What class is it?

If you really don't have a problem paying the extra cost for VZW then I would go with the Droid as it will most likely have a lot more users, which means more developers. Which means custom ROM's and hacks, not saying the Moment wont get those but it might take longer. Either way be happy with your purchase and don't concentrate on its shortcomings.

 

[JoeFresco]

The processor differences are pretty big, yes the Moment has a higher clock speed, but, ARM11 vs Cortex A8 is sorta like comparing a Pentium 4 and a Core i7......big difference. Clock speeds aren't all that, RAM will make a bigger difference, does the Moment have the same RAM as the Droid?

This P4 vs Core i7 comparison isn't accurate, and it shouldn't be used.
The P4 is single core, Core i7 is quad core
The Core i7's performance per watt is as much as 6x higher and overall wattage is 30% lower than dual core Pentium 4s
The Core i7 is roughly 70% faster than the P4 per core

In comparison, the ARM11 and Cortex A8 are both single core CPUs, the Cortex A8 has better performance per watt, but it also has a higher overall wattage than the ARM11.
The Cortex A8 is roughly 40% faster than the ARM11 (according to ARM)

So considering the clock speed difference, the CPU power (not GPU power) ought to be similar. We need tests to prove/disprove this.

The Moment has the same amount of RAM as the Droid. We can only assume it's the same speed -- I'm not sure that's something we can know.

With the Moment you get a trackpad, nothing on the Droid though. I know they are touchscreen but some type of "mouse" function is always nice. I love having the trackball on my G1 and use it all the time.

I've never had a trackpad/trackball on a phone so I don't know if it's useful or not. I don't know whether it is something I would use or not. I'm coming from an iPhone so the part that is important to me is the touchscreen.

The Class 6 16GB you get with the Droid is awesome, and it is literally THE BEST micro sd card you can get as of now. What does the Moment come with, 8GB? What class is it?

The Moment doesn't come with an SD card

If you really don't have a problem paying the extra cost for VZW then I would go with the Droid as it will most likely have a lot more users, which means more developers. Which means custom ROM's and hacks, not saying the Moment wont get those but it might take longer.

This is a very good point but hard to quantify at time of purchase. I wish I could hold off purchasing for a few months to get a feel for the customization options for each phone. The safer route is definitely the Droid in this regard.

Personally, I would pay $100 more for the Droid to have it on the Sprint network. I've come to the conclusion that Sprint vs. Verizon isn't worth $800 over the next two years.

 

[CRPercodani]

Ok well maybe I didn't have the best comparison for processors but you catch my drift overall. I also would pay full retail on the Droid if I could use it on Sprint but since that isn't a option I'm going with VZW.

 

[forty2]

The Moment doesn't come with an SD card

It comes with a 2GB micro SD.

 

[JoeFresco]

Yeah. I just see that comparison all over these forums and engadget, and it just isn't appropriate. A person would be crazy to get a P4 these days for just about anything.

 

[JoeFresco]

Ok. I updated the first post. Though I've already got 3 2GB SD cards I don't need.

 

[JoeFresco]

From the slashgear review:
http://www.slashgear.com/samsung-moment-review-3062353/

"This lack of augmentation and the Moment’s 800MHz processor add up to a smoother user experience, though it’s not the earth-shattering improvement over the 528MHz chipset many other Android devices still use. Put it side by side with the Verizon DROID by Motorola and you can see the result of Android 2.0’s extra tweaking; despite the Motorola DROID having a slower processor in terms of core clock speed, it still feels nippier than the Moment."

 

[Edaze55]

From everything that I have read, it would appear that the Moment will be getting upgraded to 2.0. I'd very much like them to revisit this after the Moment and the Droid are on the same version OS.

 

[dbpaddler]

core clock speed means squat. the architecture of the two chips are completely different and the Droid should be snippier than the Moment. For the reviewer to mention like that just shows his cluelessness.

Outside of that, I can't imagine leaving one carrier for another because of a phone. What matters more is the cash outlay on a monthly basis and is my coverage good enough. If I can put two check marks in Sprint's corner, no phone is making me leave. It's just a phone.

Put it side by side with the Verizon DROID by Motorola and you can see the result of Android 2.0

 

[marty53]

I agree with the last poster. Just think about how CPU clock speeds have gone down lately with multi core architectures.

And again, the Droid seems great and all, but just watch your back for the giant shaft you get once you get your bill every month from Verizon. I was paying ~$130 for 2 line family plan with no data. Plus they only gave me 15% off my main line for a corporate discount which equated to almost nothing.

I just switched to sprint with my employee discount and paying $95 plus tax for unlimited data, texts, mobile to any mobile plus 1500 minutes.

You just can't compare the phones after saving that much money with Sprint

 

[Silverexpress]

Just a phone? I'll have to disagree somewhat on this. I've had horrible phones in the past. Phones that reset, or go into crazy restart loops, dataloss due to dead batteries, short talk times....etc, and just plain cheap builds, that break with little pressure (Moto clam shells of the past for example)...etc...

 

[JoeFresco]

You are both wrong.
AnandTech: Understanding the iPhone 3GS
(I can further break down the iPhone 3G vs 3GS differences and benchmarks if you would like)

Both the CPU clock speed and core architecture matter. If you just look at one, you have an incomplete picture. That's why computer CPU reviews frequently try to run multiple CPUs in a review at the same clock speed with the same memory and the same FSB speed in order to determine just how much of an advantage an architecture itself makes vs another to eliminate the clock speed from the equation. In this case, ARM estimates that the Cortex A8 architecture is about 40% faster than the ARM11 architecture at the same clock speed. That happens to be about the same difference as 550 MHz vs. 800 MHz. In theory, the Moment and Droid should perform similarly, though the Droid has a better 3D chip.

Both of these CPUs are single core.

 

[JoeFresco]

Updated the first post with new info and answered the questions as well as I could based on what we've learned so far.

 

[Silverexpress]

I haven't noticed any notification LED on my Moment.

All I have to compare to is the Treo 755p, and this things blows it away hands down.

Nov 6, you will have answers. Unless of course some meager mortal gets their hands on a droid before that day.

 

[KoukiFC3S]

I think most reviewers aren't impressed with the 800mhz processor because they haven't really pushed the Moment.

With a bunch of background apps, my Hero was really sluggish. The difference in speed should be more apparent then.

 

[latinmaxima]

I guess for comparison of looks the Moment to wins. The droid looks like the Razor mixed with a Blackberry storm. Not at all liking it and I don't have any wishes to go to VZW. Guess that is just a looks thing though. The Moment is much better than my Instinct and that is enough for me. Can't wait to pick it up.

 

[JoeFresco]

I think looks are really subjective. In my opinion, the Moment looks fine, and the Droid looks fantastic. I love how it looks simple and clean... few lines and no wasted space anywhere on the device.

 

[dkjones96]

When talking about graphics chips don't forget that the higher resolution of the Droid means it needs that faster chip if it even wants to keep up.

Gamers know this. Playing a game at 1024x768 can be done on pretty much any new system smoothly but playing at 1950x1080 is an entirely different story just like 320x480 vs 480x854 is.