I am having second thoughts on my Droid!?

[dakoop]

Coming from a BB I am trying to read up as much as I can on the Droid and the Android "world" before I make the plunge. The more I read the more I wonder if I should wait just a bit longer before making the jump. There is so much talk about other Verizon android phones releasing in the next few months. The HTC Passion is the one that really raises my eyebrow.

What to do, what to do......

 

[gadgetmom88]

That's the thing about this platform, there will always be a newer, better, cooler phone. We'll constantly be wishing we'd waited for the next one. I hope Verizon finds a way to let us upgrade every year. One nice thing about Android though, software updates are fairly regular, and functionality improves for all phones.

 

[knickerbocker]

The HTC passion does look nice, but I like the Droid more as it has a keyboard and it is running 2.0. I think the passion will be running 1.5 because it will have HTC sense most likely.

I prefer to get stock Android over the HTC stuff just because it will be easier to update in the future. And it allows for you to customize a little bit more over the sense.

 

[Hellspawn]

Everything I have seen (spec wise) on the Passion, lists the OS as being released with 2.0

Ive been going back and forth on this issue, Droid or Passion.. I wish that we had a solid release date for the Passion, I could possibly wait until the end of this month before making a decision, but longer than that might drive me crazy, im dying to get my hands on an android phone.

the 1ghz proccessor on the Passion is what has me tempted to wait and see.. its torturous

 

[gadgetmom88]

Everything I have seen (spec wise) on the Passion, lists the OS as being released with 2.0

Ive been going back and forth on this issue, Droid or Passion.. I wish that we had a solid release date for the Passion, I could possibly wait until the end of this month before making a decision, but longer than that might drive me crazy, im dying to get my hands on an android phone.

the 1ghz proccessor on the Passion is what has me tempted to wait and see.. its torturous

I thought I read the drop date for the Passion is Black Friday, you could pick up the Droid for now, then trade it for the Passion in a few weeks.

 

[QrafTee]

Look, if you're going to always look at the "next phone" you'll never buy a new one. Haha. My friend's the same way, he was talking about the Touch Pro 2 and how he was going to get it, but when it came out he says maybe he'll wait for the Touch Pro 3 instead.

 

[JRSly]

That's the thing about this platform, there will always be a newer, better, cooler phone. We'll constantly be wishing we'd waited for the next one. I hope Verizon finds a way to let us upgrade every year. One nice thing about Android though, software updates are fairly regular, and functionality improves for all phones.

Except in this case, we have the next best thing, hopefully, just a few short weeks away. If it's months between releases or one release every quarter and you still can't choose one, yeah..you'll never do anything always waiting for the next thing.

But with Droid vs. Passion, I'm in the same boat, as I'd hate to be so blindly desperate for a new phone to compromise with, what sounds like, a subpar keyboard, some fugly design, no Sense UI when the phone to correct these issues could be just days away. I'd like to think I have more self control than that and can be rational enough to realize waiting a couple weeks to learn more will be better than being stuck with a phone I'm not as happy with for a year or two.

 

[Redflea]

Knowledgeable posts I have seen on the Passion vs. Droid horsepower seemed to indicate that the Passion won't necessarily be any faster than the Droid. Sorry, not sure where those posts are, but some super geeks were debating the snapdragon vs. Droid processing speeds, and it had something to do w/the separate GPU on the Droid in part.

I think the reason to wait for the Passion would be more about wanting what may be a somewhat trimmer form-factor, not wanting/needing a hardware keyboard, and wanting the HTC Sense UI (and the Sense UI is pretty darn cool).

What I'm not clear about is whether google navigation is included w/the HTC Sense UI...I thought (but am definitely not sure) that I read somewhere that the Google Nav was only included on Google Experience phones. Anyone know about that?

 

[QrafTee]

Except in this case, we have the next best thing, hopefully, just a few short weeks away. If it's months between releases or one release every quarter and you still can't choose one, yeah..you'll never do anything always waiting for the next thing.

But with Droid vs. Passion, I'm in the same boat, as I'd hate to be so blindly desperate for a new phone to compromise with, what sounds like, a subpar keyboard, some fugly design, no Sense UI when the phone to correct these issues could be just days away. I'd like to think I have more self control than that and can be rational enough to realize waiting a couple weeks to learn more will be better than being stuck with a phone I'm not as happy with for a year or two.

"Fugly?" Minus the chin, the phone looks great. People say it looks "old" because of the edges? Do you know what has edges? The Bat Tumbler and Stealth Fighters. Contour phones that all look like flattened dough... that's "old."

Speaking of old and "fugly," do you really like those "old school" buttons and the generic look of the Passion? More like a passion fruit to me.

Knowledgeable posts I have seen on the Passion vs. Droid horsepower seemed to indicate that the Passion won't necessarily be any faster than the Droid. Sorry, not sure where those posts are, but some super geeks were debating the snapdragon vs. Droid processing speeds, and it had something to do w/the separate GPU on the Droid in part.

I think the reason to wait for the Passion would be more about wanting what may be a somewhat trimmer form-factor, not wanting/needing a hardware keyboard, and wanting the HTC Sense UI (and the Sense UI is pretty darn cool).

What I'm not clear about is whether google navigation is included w/the HTC Sense UI...I thought (but am definitely not sure) that I read somewhere that the Google Nav was only included on Google Experience phones. Anyone know about that?

Snapdragon just means it uses more power. And all CDMA phones usually drain phones faster than GSM phones, so you're looking at less time on the phone and more time attached to the outlet.

Also I'm not sure why people keep saying the Droid has a separate GPU? Where did that come from? That's not true, the PowerVR SGX 530 is on the same die... there is no "separate" or "dedicated" anything there.

 

[Hellspawn]

I never thought about the option of taking advantage of the 30 day "try it" option that verizon gives its customers.

its not a bad idea, get the driod.. if I love it, done.. if I dont and want something else, swap it out. anyone know if there is a restocking fee? is it a percentage or a flat charge?

 

[knickerbocker]

From what I have read, the passion is going to be underclocking the Snapdragon at around 750 mhz.

 

[QrafTee]

From what I have read, the passion is going to be underclocking the Snapdragon at around 750 mhz.

That's probably for the best.

 

[Redflea]

"Fugly?" Minus the chin, the phone looks great. People say it looks "old" because of the edges? Do you know what has edges? The Bat Tumbler and Stealth Fighters. Contour phones that all look like flattened dough... that's "old."

Speaking of old and "fugly," do you really like those "old school" buttons and the generic look of the Passion? More like a passion fruit to me.Snapdragon just means it uses more power. And all CDMA phones usually drain phones faster than GSM phones, so you're looking at less time on the phone and more time attached to the outlet.

Also I'm not sure why people keep saying the Droid has a separate GPU? Where did that come from? That's not true, the PowerVR SGX 530 is on the same die... there is no "separate" or "dedicated" anything there.

Several sites note the separate GPU in specs - see this BoyGeniusReport article:

Motorola Droid Preview Boy Genius Report

Hardware / Build quality:
When the Motorola Droid is released in the coming couple weeks, it will be the most advanced Android device on the market as far as specifications go. Software too, as it

 

[CombatChuck103]

the 3430 is a SoC (system on chip) so it has separate dedicated cores for a few things (more than just data and multimedia). However, the Snapdragon is also a SoC. The difference is that the snapdragon was built from the ground up by qualcomm, as opposed to the Cortex A8 which was build from ARM's specs (By TI in the droid's case) From what I've heard, the 3430 handles multimedia better than the Snapdragon, but at this point, all I've heard is hearsay.

Edit: To clarify, Both the 3430 (Droid) and the Snapdragon have dedicated GPUs, though architecture is different.

 

[cybercruiser]

That's the thing about this platform, there will always be a newer, better, cooler phone. We'll constantly be wishing we'd waited for the next one. I hope Verizon finds a way to let us upgrade every year. One nice thing about Android though, software updates are fairly regular, and functionality improves for all phones.

Even on a 2 year contract, you still are able to upgrade at discounted price after 1 year. The ETF only kicks in if you cancel service all together[to move to another carrier]...

 

[mkibrick]

anyone know if there is a restocking fee? is it a percentage or a flat charge?

Restocking fees are $35 if I'm remembering correctly (it may be only $25). I bought the Rogue and hated it so I just returned it and continued to use my old phone. Just make sure you don't impulsively donate your old phone!

 

[JRSly]

"Fugly?" Minus the chin, the phone looks great. People say it looks "old" because of the edges? Do you know what has edges? The Bat Tumbler and Stealth Fighters. Contour phones that all look like flattened dough... that's "old."

Speaking of old and "fugly," do you really like those "old school" buttons and the generic look of the Passion? More like a passion fruit to me.Snapdragon just means it uses more power. And all CDMA phones usually drain phones faster than GSM phones, so you're looking at less time on the phone and more time attached to the outlet.

The weird underbite/chin, the peculiar gold accents, and the overall package looks like a Texas Instruments calculator...these aren't things I'm really hung up on. They aren't serious dealbreakers, but I like the look of the Passion more, so if I have a choice..why not the phone that I enjoy the look of a bit more?

And really? "Old school buttons"? Actual hardware buttons are now antiques? And for that matter...I didn't think there were any hardware controls besides the trackball on the Passion? And the trackball is something I really liked about the Hero, perfect for the few times you'd appreciate non-touchscreen control and much better use of space than a d-pad.

I don't find it generic, I'm not an expert but I can't really think of another phone it looks like other than Sprint's Hero, which makes sense. I like the rounded construction much more, it looks to be much more comfortable in the pocket. (Whether the bigger screen might negate this perceived comfort remains to be seen)

I never thought about the option of taking advantage of the 30 day "try it" option that verizon gives its customers.

its not a bad idea, get the driod.. if I love it, done.. if I dont and want something else, swap it out. anyone know if there is a restocking fee? is it a percentage or a flat charge?

Just remember as of right now, there's no confirmation on a Black Friday release..the rumor is that it's between the Passion and the new Blackberry, one on Black Friday and the other maybe in mid-December. It'd suck to buy the Droid and see the Blackberry end up taking the prime Black Friday spot and you'd be stuck.

 

[dak244]

If by some force of nature the HTC Passion comes out Black Friday, and has the same form factor as the HD2...

LIFE WILL BE GOOD!!

 

[ayce]

Even on a 2 year contract, you still are able to upgrade at discounted price after 1 year. The ETF only kicks in if you cancel service all together[to move to another carrier]...

i believe that's correct but you will lose your NE2 discount and you have to sign up for another 2 year plan if you get an early renewal

 

[gwlaw99]

If by some force of nature the HTC Passion comes out Black Friday, and has the same form factor as the HD2...

LIFE WILL BE GOOD!!

If that were true my android dreams would come true. Only thing missing would be a good slide out keyboard, but not a huge problem with giant on screen keyboard.

 

[racerxe24]

I was at the Verizon store at lunch today talking to my rep. She let me in on some really great news. She said that as of either yesterday or today, if I buy a Droid, which I am!!!, then in six months I can get a new phone at the 2 year contract price. She said that it would have to be a smartphone tho and not a regular cell phone. Apples to apples basically. So that means in six months if the Passion does come out and I like it, I will get it at the discounted price. If not I have the Droid so like is awesome either way!!!!

 

[Droidood]

I was at the Verizon store at lunch today talking to my rep. She let me in on some really great news. She said that as of either yesterday or today, if I buy a Droid, which I am!!!, then in six months I can get a new phone at the 2 year contract price. She said that it would have to be a smartphone tho and not a regular cell phone. Apples to apples basically. So that means in six months if the Passion does come out and I like it, I will get it at the discounted price. If not I have the Droid so like is awesome either way!!!!

Uh... really? Did she give you a reason? Or are you talking about buying one now without signing a new contract?

The only thing I can think of is to combat the release of the next iPhone since it will most likely be in June / July (slightly more than 6 months from now). But I've NEVER heard of being fully upgrade eligible after only 6 months.

 

[cybercruiser]

if I buy a Droid, which I am!!!, then in six months I can get a new phone at the 2 year contract price.

hmmm, wonder why they'd do that?? I thought allowing upgrade after 1 year, on a 2 year contract was pretty generous. Will they make this a publicly known offer, I wonder, or an only if asked for, kind of benefit??

 

[racerxe24]

I am guessing maybe it has to do with what happened last year with the Storm and the problems it had and the fact that you were locked in to it for the long term even tho the phone was pretty bad for the first 6 months. But she did say this was for Smartphones. Not the regular cell phones and such. I guess they know that the tech is ever evolving and this may be another ploy to pull more customers from Att, Sprint, and Tmobile....

 

[racerxe24]

hmmm, wonder why they'd do that?? I thought allowing upgrade after 1 year, on a 2 year contract was pretty generous. Will they make this a publicly known offer, I wonder, or an only if asked for, kind of benefit??

And she brought this up to me, I did not ask her about it. Tomorrow when I get the phone I will ask her if this will be made public.