Somebody please convince me not to go to the Dark Side!

desmofan · Mar 23, 2011

I've had my Droid since November of 2009, just a few weeks after it was introduced. I had several Windows Mobile phones before that, and was thrilled with the flexibility and power of my Droid in comparison, at least until about 6 months ago or so. It has consistently gotten slower and less responsive, to the point that now it is very difficult to not throw it out the window of my car occasionally. I have tolerated various hiccups and slow downs for quite awhile, but lately it has gotten ridiculous. It literally takes 30-45 seconds to refresh the home screen form the phone log, or some other screen like the market. Today, I left my office and had to go to my Sister's office for a client event. I know how to get there, but wanted to use Google Maps for traffic. Simple, open Vlingo, tap, speak "Navigate to XXXXX work". Vlingo opens Google Navigation, very slowly, then gives me a list of 30 or so locations, all of which are restaurants 15 or 20 miles away, and have nothing to do with my Sister's office location. OK, I can accept the fact that maybe an aftermarket app can't handle recognizing my Sister's name, not a problem. I hit the Home Screen button, and 20 seconds or so later, it refreshes. I select Contacts from my Home Screen, and select my Sister's record. Near the bottom is "View work Address", so I select it, get asked whether I want to use Maps or Mapquest, and I select Maps. Maps opens, I see the icon for my Sister's office, select it, and select "Driving Directions". So far, so good. Navigation begins, and I get to choose from a number of recently used locations, none of which are anywhere near my Sister's office!!! I now select the magnifying glass to begin a search for the same address. I type it in, and hit "Go". It begins to search, and then I get the option to select the same odd group of locations that have nothing to do with my Sister's office. I had to close everything down and start from scratch, typing in the office address within Maps to actually get it to give me directions. All in all, it took me over 5 minutes to leave my parking lot with directions to a Contact.

I hate how closed down Apple's OS is, and I hate the thought of having to buy new apps, and only have access to apps that Steve Jobs deems acceptable, but my Droid is driving me CRAZY. I'm running the latest Froyo update, not rooted, and nothing fancy going on. Right now, I can't see upgrading to any of the upcoming Verizon Android phones, given my frustration with my current Droid.

Somebody please make me stay!!!!

artnalex · Mar 24, 2011

I've been feeling the same way, too - for about 6 months now. My phone seems to be lagging right after a phone call, as well. It always seems to lag during the day.

takeshi · Mar 24, 2011

desmofan said:
Somebody please convince me not to go to the Dark Side!

That's your job. You need to assess your needs/wants and then determine what device suits you best. Threads like this always come across as "I can't be bothered to do my own research. Please do it all for me and determine which device I should get", whether that's the actual intent or not.

desmofan said:
I hate how closed down Apple's OS is, and I hate the thought of having to buy new apps, and only have access to apps that Steve Jobs deems acceptable, but my Droid is driving me CRAZY. I'm running the latest Froyo update, not rooted, and nothing fancy going on. Right now, I can't see upgrading to any of the upcoming Verizon Android phones, given my frustration with my current Droid.

It's certainly worth trying the options if you think switching might help. Based on what you've said above though, I'm not sure why you're considering iOS.

I'll say this though: my Droid is rooted, running Bugless Beast and Launcher Pro and I don't have any performance complaints. Granted, rooting and custom ROM's aren't for everyone but they can make a significant difference in your experience.

Also, consider that relying solely on your current experience completely ignores the hardware and software improvements in newer devices. Have you at least tried out any of the newer Android devices to see if performance seems better to you? I mean, it's like saying "My old PC is slow and I can't see buying a newer one given how slow my old one is." That just doesn't make any sense to me. But maybe I'm missing something.

Also also, keep in mind that owners of older iOS devices complain about poor performance. Don't simply assume that switching OS's is the answer.

icecold · Mar 24, 2011

takeshi said:
That's your job. You need to assess your needs/wants and then determine what device suits you best. Threads like this always come across as "I can't be bothered to do my own research. Please do it all for me and determine which device I should get", whether that's the actual intent or not.

Also also, keep in mind that owners of older iOS devices complain about poor performance. Don't simply assume that switching OS's is the answer.

You always have the option of trying out the device for...what 2 weeks? Give it a shot, and you can base your own opinion.

sooper_droid12 · Mar 24, 2011

My OGD1 also lags pretty ridiculously, but for the most part, it's because my 5 screens are loaded with widgets and I've downloaded a billion apps that run in services in the background. All of these things take up CPU and memory. With only 256mb of RAM and a 500MHz CPU, I would expect such things to happen. Also, I'm still on my original battery, so I'm sure it's not pumping out as much juice as it used to. I usually don't have too much lag while it's plugged in, but still lags nonetheless. Last night, I also had a navigation hiccup as I was navigating, I wanted to open the music app and read an email while at a stop. It caused the phone to reboot. And as you know, the startup is the worst time to open up apps en masse. That being said, for the most part, I know why my phone lags and I refuse to take any widgets off or uninstall certain apps. So, I can't totally blame the OGD1. I'm taxing it. It's my fault too. You'll come to understand that no matter what Android device, bad third party apps can affect the performance of your device. I recommend Watchdog to check which apps are using too much CPU (task killers don't work).

That being said, if by "Darkside" you mean iOS, what's wrong with switching? If you had an iPhone 3G that's crawling through iOS4.3, you might be saying, "Help me not switch to Android!" The fact of the matter is, your (and my) Droid is at least two generations behind. The iPhone4 is about to be lapped by it's newer brother (the iPhone5, just like the iPad2 lapped the iPad1). Don't jump to the iPhone4 because obviously, it's about to be replaced. But when the iP5 comes out, why not? Yeah, yeah, yeah, Apple's walled garden, blah, blah, blah. At the end of the day, choose the tech that works. If the iP5 works for you, brilliant choice! If the next-gen Android device works for you, brilliant choice. You (along with all of us) need to dispense with this fanboy BS.

At the end of the day, I will likely always choose Android because I just like the customization that Android offers. But that's not to say that a jail-broken iP5 can't be equally customized. That being said, for my wife, I'm lining up to get her an iP5. I'm not even CONSIDERING an Android device for her. There's no doubt in my mind that an iP5 is for her. The only thing that would stop me from getting her an iP5 is if there is some egregious issue like the antenna situation or otherwise. When all is said in done: GO WITH WHAT WORKS!

I'm sticking with my OGD1 because it works. Yeah, it lags, but it's stock Android. If and when I root, it'll be a fresh new phone! You're obviously more frustrated than I am. So, my suggestion: MOVE ON! Go iPhone. Go Android. Shoot, go WP7! Heck, I would even recommend a WebOS device. Still the best mobile OS on the market. TRUE multi-tasking. Truer than Android's.

desmofan · Mar 24, 2011

takeshi said:
That's your job. You need to assess your needs/wants and then determine what device suits you best. Threads like this always come across as "I can't be bothered to do my own research. Please do it all for me and determine which device I should get", whether that's the actual intent or not.

It's certainly worth trying the options if you think switching might help. Based on what you've said above though, I'm not sure why you're considering iOS.

I'll say this though: my Droid is rooted, running Bugless Beast and Launcher Pro and I don't have any performance complaints. Granted, rooting and custom ROM's aren't for everyone but they can make a significant difference in your experience.

Also, consider that relying solely on your current experience completely ignores the hardware and software improvements in newer devices. Have you at least tried out any of the newer Android devices to see if performance seems better to you? I mean, it's like saying "My old PC is slow and I can't see buying a newer one given how slow my old one is." That just doesn't make any sense to me. But maybe I'm missing something.

Also also, keep in mind that owners of older iOS devices complain about poor performance. Don't simply assume that switching OS's is the answer.

I have done the research, and the only answers I come up with are; Remove ATK, BTDT, Clear Cache, BTDT, don't move widgets to the SD card, BTDT. I realize that my OG Droid is old technology, but it worked fine when new, so besides the battery being old, the only thing that has changed is the OS. I have VERY few programs installed, and constantly close apps that are not necessary, which irritates me to have to do, as for some reason, Google's Location Services activates constantly and really slows things down. I'm not really seriously considering an iPhone, what I was looking for here was a little discussion of what I could do to speed things up, other than the things I mentioned above.

I've thought about rooting, but all the comments about "make sure to do this or you'll brick your phone", and things like that concern me a bit, as I rely on this phone for business.

sooper_droid12 said:
My OGD1 also lags pretty ridiculously, but for the most part, it's because my 5 screens are loaded with widgets and I've downloaded a billion apps that run in services in the background. All of these things take up CPU and memory. With only 256mb of RAM and a 500MHz CPU, I would expect such things to happen. Also, I'm still on my original battery, so I'm sure it's not pumping out as much juice as it used to. I usually don't have too much lag while it's plugged in, but still lags nonetheless. Last night, I also had a navigation hiccup as I was navigating, I wanted to open the music app and read an email while at a stop. It caused the phone to reboot. And as you know, the startup is the worst time to open up apps en masse. That being said, for the most part, I know why my phone lags and I refuse to take any widgets off or uninstall certain apps. So, I can't totally blame the OGD1. I'm taxing it. It's my fault too. You'll come to understand that no matter what Android device, bad third party apps can affect the performance of your device. I recommend Watchdog to check which apps are using too much CPU (task killers don't work).

That being said, if by "Darkside" you mean iOS, what's wrong with switching? If you had an iPhone 3G that's crawling through iOS4.3, you might be saying, "Help me not switch to Android!" The fact of the matter is, your (and my) Droid is at least two generations behind. The iPhone4 is about to be lapped by it's newer brother (the iPhone5, just like the iPad2 lapped the iPad1). Don't jump to the iPhone4 because obviously, it's about to be replaced. But when the iP5 comes out, why not? Yeah, yeah, yeah, Apple's walled garden, blah, blah, blah. At the end of the day, choose the tech that works. If the iP5 works for you, brilliant choice! If the next-gen Android device works for you, brilliant choice. You (along with all of us) need to dispense with this fanboy BS.

At the end of the day, I will likely always choose Android because I just like the customization that Android offers. But that's not to say that a jail-broken iP5 can't be equally customized. That being said, for my wife, I'm lining up to get her an iP5. I'm not even CONSIDERING an Android device for her. There's no doubt in my mind that an iP5 is for her. The only thing that would stop me from getting her an iP5 is if there is some egregious issue like the antenna situation or otherwise. When all is said in done: GO WITH WHAT WORKS!

I'm sticking with my OGD1 because it works. Yeah, it lags, but it's stock Android. If and when I root, it'll be a fresh new phone! You're obviously more frustrated than I am. So, my suggestion: MOVE ON! Go iPhone. Go Android. Shoot, go WP7! Heck, I would even recommend a WebOS device. Still the best mobile OS on the market. TRUE multi-tasking. Truer than Android's.

I agree completely about the Fanboy BS. I like the concept of Android, as it is so open, I'm just really frustrated right now. My phone is almost unusable for my needs, and my upgrade is not available until June, so a large part of my post was simply venting about a ridiculous set of circumstances. I mean, come on, going into Contacts, selecting one and "View Work Address", only to have Maps open up with no address to search for and suggesting restaurants 20 miles away?

I will very most likely stick with Android, but a 2 week, or even 30 day trial is not going to help anybody determine if the phone is powerful enough for their needs, as my Droid problems did not come up until long after purchase.

I think I will get a new battery and see if that helps, but some of the worst lag is when I'm in the car dock and charging. BTW-can anyone explain to me the logic of the car dock software closing any apps that are running? I can start Navigation, and have directions set, etc., and then when I put the phone in the dock, and "Exit Car Dock", the phone simply reverts to my home screen and I have to start all over, which is difficult when the dock is a long reach from my driving position.

Thanks, everyone, for the advice.

gwlaw99 · Mar 24, 2011

If the iphone 5 has a 4" screen it will be very tempting, but locking myself out of LTE for 2 years is problematic. Although iPhones hold their value pretty well so I could see it in a year and upgrade to an iphone 6 with lte at full cost.

shadowdude777 · Mar 24, 2011

You're thinking about an iPhone 6 at this point!? Don't even bother, there isn't even any official information about the iPhone 5. By that time, even "low-end" Android phones could probably run WebTop better than the Atrix can right now.

gwlaw99 · Mar 24, 2011

My point was buying the iphone won't lock you out from LTE for 2 years as you can sell it in a year for a good price and buy whatver phone you want Android or iPhone.

YankeeDudeL · Mar 24, 2011

Upon reading this, my Droid, which was just sitting there doing nothing mind you, rebooted. So yeah...

I'm def ready to move on myself, but to the next Droid. I have no prob admitting that it's the iPhone's functionality that I crave. I mean, it just always works, usually pretty quickly and effectively, whether it's streaming videos, or apps, or whatever.

The prob I have with the iPhone is that I can't make it truly mine. I want to set up my homescreens as I see fit, with widgets, and the background I want. Not to mention, there's the ability to root and extend the life of your phone's relevancy. My Droid has only made it this long b/c of that.

If you want a formulaic decision-making process, list the features/factors/abilities you need and/or want in a phone in order of most important to least. Then compare and contrast phones in question, be it iPhone 5, WinMo, Android, or maybe even the latest Palm (I'm not even going to mention that other phone). Afterwards, compile a list of phones that meet those standards, and prioritize them. Finish it up by going to Verizon and being hands on with each one. You may be surprised what winds up being the best choice. Happy hunting!

BigRedGonzo · Mar 24, 2011

Its funny that I happened to read this today. This morning one of my officemates, a notorious iPhone fanboy, came by and wanted to have a go with my OG Droid. He said his contract will be up in a month and he wants to move to the Droid, because his phone has become a bear to work with. He said it was lagging and slow all the time. He said that he had gotten rid of all the apps that he had installed and it was still laggy. I asked him if he had hard reset the phone to see if that would help, and he informed me that he didn't think you could do that. I told him I didn't know, but if I were him I'd do a little searching and see if I could find a way. Anyway, on to my point, no matter what you end up with you could eventually see the same issues.

To the OP, have you hard reset your phone. Overtime, as with any operating system, things get changed by trying apps or corrupted for whatever reason. If you have your phone set to back up to Google, a hard reset will clean everything out and the market will restore your phone's apps back. You'll have to set the apps back up, but they'll be there and you will end up with everything being fresh. If you haven't tried this, I would recommend giving it a try. Here is a link to some instructions.

BigRedGonzo

sooper_droid12 · Mar 24, 2011

Yeah, the CarDock with the magnet thing... the only way to get around that is rooting I believe and turning off whatever Motorola loading scheme they have with the magnet. I was also wondering if it has something to do with the cover and if there's a way to just block it that would prevent it from launching in dock/car mode.

As for the next Droid, nothing to me seems compelling. Even the Bionic I feel is a poor man's Atrix. No DDR2 memory. qHD will be using PenTile pixels architecture, meaning, it won't be a true 960x540. Just disappointing. To be honest, the only one that's even slightly compelling is the Sony Xperia Play, which will have stock 2.3 Gingerbread and a Sony suite of games. Only problem, it's fat as heck!

Vehtemas · Mar 24, 2011

sooper_droid12 said:
No DDR2 memory.

Where did you hear it is not going to be DDR2? That has been in EVERY single spec sheet I have seen about this device...

And how is it a poor man's Atrix? It has a bigger screen and the 512 MB is simply because originally wouldn't have webtop (which I won't use anyways), and that needs 1GB...

sooper_droid12 · Mar 24, 2011

Sorry, typing too fast. I meant to say, "No 1GB of DDR2 memory." But the qHD is still a rip. Less RAM than the Atrix and less than advertised resolution. Less resolution on a bigger screen is even worse. Oh, and still running MotoBlur? Sorry, I'll pass.

shadowdude777 · Mar 28, 2011

What's everyone's problem with MotoBlur/Sense/TouchWiz? You KNOW that under a month after the phone is released, if it's a high-end and popular phone, it'll be rooted and have an AOSP ROM. Manufacturer UI overlays are irrelevant.

PSkeptic · Mar 28, 2011

shadowdude777 said:
What's everyone's problem with MotoBlur/Sense/TouchWiz? You KNOW that under a month after the phone is released, if it's a high-end and popular phone, it'll be rooted and have an AOSP ROM. Manufacturer UI overlays are irrelevant.

I think it's a control issue and performance issue, really. I gut Touchwiz off of my phone, only because there is no way to "turn it off". And, all of those add-ons slow the phone down. Not to mention, they slow down the updates coming out.

I think if the OEM's made their custom tweaks easy to turn off, they would be more accepted. And, if they separated them from the OS better (To facilitate updates), again, they would be more acceptable to most.

Personally, I think Touchwiz is sexy. But, it gets in my way too much.

shadowdude777 · Mar 28, 2011

TouchWiz is definitely my favorite of the three. I especially like what they did to the notification bar on the Epic (probably all of the Galaxy S phones?). This, of course, inspired the spin-off CyanogenMod bar that's better than the Galaxy S one because you can put almost any controls in there. It lacks the ability to grab the notification bar and slide left and right to control brightness though.

But I agree. What they SHOULD do is release OS updates as stock vanilla Android and then release Sense/TouchWiz/Blur in the Market. They could somehow restrict it to only work on their devices if they want to, I don't care. But they should take a hint from Google, who released GMail, Maps, etc. as a Market app a while back, as opposed to the previous solution up until Eclair when they were bundled with Android and much harder to update.

wly · Mar 28, 2011

I love how people complain about those Sense/TouchWiz/Blur UIs as if those companies force them upon people.

YankeeDudeL · Mar 29, 2011

shadowdude777 said:
What's everyone's problem with MotoBlur/Sense/TouchWiz? You KNOW that under a month after the phone is released, if it's a high-end and popular phone, it'll be rooted and have an AOSP ROM. Manufacturer UI overlays are irrelevant.

Wouldn't using something like LauncherPro or ADW do the same thing?

desmofan · Mar 29, 2011

So, I decided to go to the Dark side after all...

The Dark Side of Rooting and Roming!!!
I rooted last week just to overclock, to see if that helped, and it did not, so I loaded Rom Manager (per a suggestion of my physical therapist of all folks), and loaded CyanogenMod 6.1.2. It's only been two days, but so far it is awesome. EVERYTHING works faster, and no more Home Screen refresh issue. I Love My Droid again!!!

Thanks for all the advice folks, and for anyone thinking of Rooting and Roming, do it. It's not difficult at all.

Dowdy_Ficklen · Mar 29, 2011

desmofan said:
So, I decided to go to the Dark side after all...

The Dark Side of Rooting and Roming!!!
I rooted last week just to overclock, to see if that helped, and it did not, so I loaded Rom Manager (per a suggestion of my physical therapist of all folks), and loaded CyanogenMod 6.1.2. It's only been two days, but so far it is awesome. EVERYTHING works faster, and no more Home Screen refresh issue. I Love My Droid again!!!

Thanks for all the advice folks, and for anyone thinking of Rooting and Roming, do it. It's not difficult at all.

Attaboy! Nice to see you keep it real.

If it helps, I left my Droid for a BB (yeah, I know. :thinking:

). That lasted only about a month, now Im back.

desmofan · Mar 29, 2011

Dowdy_Ficklen said:
Attaboy! Nice to see you keep it real.

If it helps, I left my Droid for a BB (yeah, I know.). That lasted only about a month, now Im back.

I have to use a BB for my work email, and am actually liking the keyboard. I'm starting to use the slide out KB on my Droid more, to see if I want to have one on the phone I upgrade to.

shadowdude777 · Mar 29, 2011

wly said:
I love how people complain about those Sense/TouchWiz/Blur UIs as if those companies force them upon people.

Actually, they do... you can't buy a phone without a custom UI, unless you go with the D1, N1, NS, or a few other vanilla Android phones. And honestly, the vanilla options out there suck hardware-wise.

YankeeDudeL said:
Wouldn't using something like LauncherPro or ADW do the same thing?

Nope, you'll still have components of the UI overlay running in the background, services that the OEM stupidly thought would enhance your experience using the phone, and whatnot.

The only solution is rooting, but seeing as that's such an easy solution, a custom UI should not be make-or-break in any way when considering a phone to buy.

Vance · Mar 29, 2011

I have not read through the whole thread, but my short answer is:

1. Root plus a new ROM = happy Droid

2. If you must ditch the Droid, and you are on Verizon, why would you choose the iPhone over the Thunderbolt (or upcoming Bionic)?

AngryHatter · Mar 30, 2011

Buy a Les Paul.

Oh wait, wrong forum.

Somebody please convince me not to go to the Dark Side!

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