HTC Droid Eris vs. Nexus One

[smacky]

Warning: Long Post.

I purchased an HTC Droid Eris last week and got my fiance one as well (2 for 1), she absolutely loves it, and I do too. In fact, i spent a week debating over the Moto Droid vs Eris and even spent 3 hours in the store playing with them both before making the final decision.

For starters, my decision to go with the Eris was almost solely because i did not care for the extra size/weight due to the keyboard. I didnt actually mind the size/weight per se, it's just i didnt want to have to deal with it for something i didnt like or would use. Everything else about the Moto Droid, however, was more "my" style than the Eris (Nicer screen, faster cpu, Android 2.1, and even the lack of sense was fine, as i knew the Moto Droid could be rooted and tweaked to my liking).

So off i went. Over the last week i've been playing with this phone to no end, messing with every setting, app and tweaking to my hearts desire. I've been awed by the sheer coolness of Android. Even the virtual keyboard is something that i'm warming up to (coming from a BBerry Curve this was to be my biggest challenge). Of course, there are some things, as with anything, that i'm just having a hard time adjusting too, is missing, or just plain don't like about the Phone/OS. Most of that has to do with the productivity portion (mail and phone apps specifically) but i'll save those for another thread, as i'm really only here to talk about the Hardware, as all the OS's will be up to 2.0/2.1 soon and will all be dealing with the same issues.

Moving on, the part of the hardware that i just can't deal with is the battery life. Despite my daily attempts to tweak this phone down to it's bare minimal features to get me mail, calls and txts, I can BARELY get through the day w/ minimal use. Again, another entire thread, but trust me, i've tried just about everything, and then some.

I realize there is an extended battery, and 2.1 coming, both of these things could dramatically improve the battery life for me and make me a happier Eris owner, but....enter the Nexus One to Verizon.

Why settle? Well, before i decided that this was the end-all be-all solution for me (until the Nexus II comes out or something) i wanted to first make a Pros/Cons list for both phones and go from there.... This is MY Pros/Cons list, yours may differ:


Nexus One

Pros:

- Larger, Gorgous High Res 800x480 AMOLED Screen (Better on Battery life)
- Faster CPU (1Gz SnapDragon)
- More RAM (512 MB)
- Camera Flash
- All of this means more "future proof" - if we can use that term in mobile tech...
- Cooler (to me) - After all, it did win the CNet Prize fight vs the iPhone..heh.

Cons:

- Larger Form Factor - but slim enough to still be pocketable
- No Call/End Buttons - I could get used to this?
- Have to wait - Ugh.
- Less community support/accessories and 800x480 res Apps - initially
- Possible Verizon Lockdown of features?


HTC Droid Eris:

Pros:

- Smaller Form Factor
- More Compatible Apps/Accessories/Etc due to earlier release into mainstream market
- Don't have to wait
- Hard Call/End Buttons

Cons:

- Smaller (3.2") Lower Res 320x480 TFT LCD Screen (Battery Suck?)
- Awful Battery Life
- Older, Slower CPU (528 mhz)
- Less Internal RAM (288 MB)
- No Camera flash

Also, for me, i'll have to buy new Micro USB stuff (Extra Charger, Car Charger, etc) as I already had all that junk for my BBerry to work on my Eris, but not a deal breaker.


So, really, the only tangible, negative mark ont he N1 is that it has no hard call/end buttons which i've DEFINITELY become accustomed to, i think it's made the transition from BBerry to a touch screen phone much easier.

So, i'm waiting till the last minute to return my Eris and go back the Curve until the Nexus One comes out. And, i won't pepper this thread with unanswerable questions like "when is it coming out, will it be in stores right away, how much will it cost, etc, etc). Because it doesnt matter. Verizon WILL have it, soon, and the cost will NOT be a dealbreaker for me (although a Free Eris is nice).

Well, hopefully i've helped someone make their decision a little easier. We've boiled it down to the fact that both are great phones and you should be very happy with either one as they both fit different needs (My fiance LOVES her Eris, and she ALWAYS wants the coolest stuff out there).

I'll miss the Eris, but i'm sure once i get my hands on the Nexus..it'll all just fade awayyyy.... (until i try to make a call with the absent call button

no phone is perfect.

My suggestion would be to get a Droid and use Home for a bit. See if what's bothering is Android or the Eris alone. Stick with the Droid for another year or so until the N1 has come and been around for a while and gone down in price, get that.

You absolutely have to have a Home phone, not one with Sense or MOTOBLUR to ruin the experience. The Nexus 2 is going to be a Motorola phone, codenamed the Shadow. Looks very similar to the Droid with the sliding keyboard and whatnot, but probably a more powerful processor and other components.

If I was in your situation, I would honestly get the Droid. The Eris is whatever kind of phone it is, I don't care, I want a real Android phone, not some bubblegum. I wish I knew this before buying an Eris, but it was my first smartphone and I thought I knew better than my friends. They haven't rubbed it in, but no 2.1 or root three months afterwards has said plenty on the worth of the phone.

 

[karib]

I have seen the same on Ebay. Have my old LG Dare on there now and expect to get upwards of $150 for it! I also just got my $100 rebate, so really I could spend $400-$500 on the "next best" phone. But I wouldn't get the N1, I don't want the hassle of no VZW customer service and extra ETF's! I would get the HTC Incredible. But I really do love my Eris, its just the right size and the performance is fine for me. I traded in the Moto droid and really don't notice much less in the performance area. Kind of miss that big beautiful screen, but with a bigger screen comes a bigger phone...

Update: Sold my old LG Dare for $132.50 on Ebay!!!

 

[phorts]

My suggestion would be to get a Droid and use Home for a bit. See if what's bothering is Android or the Eris alone. Stick with the Droid for another year or so until the N1 has come and been around for a while and gone down in price, get that.

You absolutely have to have a Home phone, not one with Sense or MOTOBLUR to ruin the experience. The Nexus 2 is going to be a Motorola phone, codenamed the Shadow. Looks very similar to the Droid with the sliding keyboard and whatnot, but probably a more powerful processor and other components.

If I was in your situation, I would honestly get the Droid. The Eris is whatever kind of phone it is, I don't care, I want a real Android phone, not some bubblegum. I wish I knew this before buying an Eris, but it was my first smartphone and I thought I knew better than my friends. They haven't rubbed it in, but no 2.1 or root three months afterwards has said plenty on the worth of the phone.

Well, that's pretty much why i want the Nexus, for the whole Android experience in all it's glory, and of course the big beautiful screen, faster CPU and....yeah.

I stated in my post that i didnt get the Droid because i didnt want, nor did i need the keyboard and especially the weight/bulk it brought to the game.

The end result is that i'm returning my Eris and then waiting out the Nexus One.

Thanks for your advice, it's appreciated..but my mind is made...

 

[zoltan]

You absolutely have to have a Home phone, not one with Sense or MOTOBLUR to ruin the experience. The Nexus 2 is going to be a Motorola phone, codenamed the Shadow. Looks very similar to the Droid with the sliding keyboard and whatnot, but probably a more powerful processor and other components.

Glad to see you believe as fact every rumor you read on engadget.

 

[VoidedSaint]

i do believe the nexus 1 to be faster than the eris, i have some problems where im typing it doesnt keep up, maybe because i have multiple things up and running, maybe the widgets slow it down, maybe its the network, their are numerous reasons why when i type it doesnt keep up, but not all of them are phone and hardware related, network overload can play a part in it somewhat, but my personal choice i would go with the nexus one, only because of the processor and the upgraded android software, and you can almost guarantee that once the eris goes to 2.1 the nexus will be at least 1 or 2 upgrades ahead of it, there would be no point in google allowing their device to have the same software as something older.

 

[doogald]

Well, some of those advantages you list for Nexus One - faster processor; flash for camera - will be worse for battery life, FWIW.

 

[VoidedSaint]

Yes very true but the eris with the lack of a flash Is just a slower version of the Iphone

 

[AdrianC14]

Yes very true but the eris with the lack of a flash Is just a slower version of the Iphone

The iPhone's camera is way better than the Droid Eris despite both don't have a flash. The camera on the Droid Eris is just way to grainy. That is the only thing I hate about it.

 

[carmendiva]

My suggestion would be to get a Droid and use Home for a bit. See if what's bothering is Android or the Eris alone. Stick with the Droid for another year or so until the N1 has come and been around for a while and gone down in price, get that.

You absolutely have to have a Home phone, not one with Sense or MOTOBLUR to ruin the experience. The Nexus 2 is going to be a Motorola phone, codenamed the Shadow. Looks very similar to the Droid with the sliding keyboard and whatnot, but probably a more powerful processor and other components.

If I was in your situation, I would honestly get the Droid. The Eris is whatever kind of phone it is, I don't care, I want a real Android phone, not some bubblegum. I wish I knew this before buying an Eris, but it was my first smartphone and I thought I knew better than my friends. They haven't rubbed it in, but no 2.1 or root three months afterwards has said plenty on the worth of the phone.

I'm confused what you meant by bubble gum. And this isn't meant to be rude or an attack just pure curiosity.

Htc droid eris is the same android experience you get with the stock android(aside from speed and different os update).

It's like, I'm a natural brunette, but i've died my hair black & blonde but essentially im still the same carmen...just with a slightly different look but still function the same.

Nexus one has all the basic features that all 2.0.1 & before phones have with a few new tweaks...live wallpapers, able to speak your text, 3d stuff but it's still essentially the same android.

i guess where i'm confused is the fact that where you said sense & motoblur ruin the phone...how so?

And how is the eris or any other skin on an android phone not a "real android phone"

Just curious(again not trying to be rude)

Also the Nexus 1 is coming sometime spring 2010 so why would he/she have to keep the droid for a year?