Posts Tagged ‘droid’
The Motorola Droid Razr — Thin & Ultra-Capable
I loved my original Motorola Razr phone. So when Verizon announced the new Motorola Droid Razr, I was anxious to take a look.
iPhone or Android
Those of you who follow me know that I recently moved from AT&T to Verizon and from an iPhone to a Droid X. Well, now that Verizon is selling the iPad, it looks like they will also be having the iPhone soon. Wall Street Journal and others are betting that the iPhone will make its appearance on the Verizon network in the first quarter of 2011.
I made it clear that I am happier with Verizon than I was with AT&T, so several people have asked me if I would want move back to an iPhone when Verizon gets it. Unless the iPhone has some updating, the answer is no. I find the Android phone easier to use and much more customizable.
The one place that the iPhone’s excels is that their dual cameras are better than any Android that I’ve seen. After that, Android phones compare admirably or come out on top.
For instance, the Retina display on the iPhone is fantastic. However, in a side-by-side comparison, the Super OLED screens on the Samsung Galaxy phones are almost equal. The iPhone is very thin and sleek, but it has a glass screen. Being just a tad clutzy sometimes, I would rather have a screen that is a little more drop-proof.
The Android phone’s let you organize things and let multi-task more easily than the iPhone. And for me, the bottom line is that the Android lets you customize everything. With the Andoid operating system you can have 7 home pages and you can put just about anything anywhere. That allows you to create a system of organization that let’s you access what you need quickly and easily.
I sure that Apple is working to improve the iPhone and in the future, it might be better than the Android phones. But for right now. Andoid is my choice!
The Droid X and iPhone 4
Tomorrow the Doid X will be on sale at Verizon stores. Verizon couldn’t have chosen a better time to introduce their new Android phone, the Droid X. Consumer Reports, newspapers, and blogs have all been slamming Apple and the iPhone 4 for it’s antenna-reception problems. It seems that if you hold the iPhone 4 in a normal way in your left hand, reception is cut off. Steve Jobs has added to the upset with Apple by indicating that there is nothing wrong with the phone and people just shouldn’t hold it that way. Add that to the fact that everyone seems to be unhappy that the iPhone is only available on AT&T, and you have a perfect storm. If the Droid X makes a splash it will be a great chance for Verizon to grab many of AT&T’s potential iPhone customers.
I am excited to say that my Droid X just arrived. I have been using an iPhone for two years. But now that my AT&T contract is over, I may actually be one of those who will switch to Verizon. I’ll let you know after I take a good look at the Droid X. My first impression — it looks great. Come back to read my full review.
Droid Incredible Review
Verizon's Droid Incredible
When three companies like Google, Verizon, and HTC (an impressive hardware company) get together, the results have got to be good. At first I thought that they were being a little arrogant when they named this phone “Incredible.” After testing, however, I’ve decided that the name is justly given. This phone really is pretty incredible!
I spent the first few days of testing trying to pry the Incredible out of my husband’s hands. Now you have to understand that he is not at all a geek. In fact, he usually looks at the phones I review, presses a few buttons and hand them over to me. However, the Incredible really got his attention. He thought it was remarkably easy to use. Before I knew it he was checking his email and making phone calls on the Incredible. In fact, he liked it so much that he wants me to look into changing to Verizon so he can get an Incredible.
That said, I also liked the Incredible. The hardware is very good. It is probably not as spectacular as I expect the upcoming iPhone 4 to be, but it was the Incredible’s operating system and interface that impressed me. The Google Android 2.1 operating system is much better than previous versions and Verizon has already announced that the Incredible will get Android 2.2 soon. Add to that the fact that Android is supplemented with the HTC Sense interface and you have a real winner.
Not only can you do voice search on this phone, but it’s voice recognition is good enough to be able to speak your email message and have the phone type it for you. The Sense interface allows you to have 7 home pages and to access each by clicking on a thumbnail rather than scrolling through each one. On top of that, I found the HTC on-screen touch keypad easier to use than the touch keypads on either the iPhone or the regular Droid.
Browsing on this phone is quite pleasurable as screens appear quickly. Also, when you pinch-to-zoom, the text redraws itself automatically so there is a lot less scrolling. The speed of the processor shows up in other tasks as well. I never had to wait for the Incredible to perform a task. This phone also has a good camera with an excellent interface. I could only find one major flaw in the phone. It is difficult to see in bright sunlight. All-in-all though, this is a phone that will appeal to all levels of users.
The Good
- Responsive touch screen
- Speedy processor
- Excellent on-screen keypad
- Haptic feedback
- Excellent browsing experience
- Good email & messaging support
- Great camera controls and interface
- Good design
- Sense overlay makes it easier to use
- Useful speech-to-text
- Tethering allowed
- Pinch-to-zoom auto formats text
- FM radio
The bad
- Poor visibility in bright sunlight
- Battery life could be better
- No dedicated mute or camera button
- Plastic parts seem a bit flimsy
Check out my detailed review with pictures at HardwareSecrets.com.
Droid Review
The Verizon Droid
The Droid is a Motorola Cell Phone with an Android operating system by Google and cell phone service by Verizon. Since it has three big companies behind it, it is not surprising that it has a lot going for it.
While I was not crazy about the keyboard layout, just having a keyboard was a big plus for me. I really like the Droid operating system, finding it intuitive and easy-to-use. Although the music player is a bit lacking, the phone has several other nice features. The 5-megapixel camera takes average pictures, but the videos the Droid produced were quite good. The Android App Store is growing fast and has ample programs to boost the phones functionality. It is certainly a smart phone and it’s an easy phone to get to like. This and other Android phones are sure to give the iPhone a run for its money in the future.
The Good
- Small & sturdy
- Speedy
- Physical keyboard in small frame
- 16 GM memory card included
- Excellent web browsing
- Good App Market that is constantly growing
- Exchange & other email support
- Good messaging support
- Good videos
- Excellent GPS capabilities
- Great speaker
- Very good screen
- Excellent touch response
- Adequate battery life
The Bad
- Some unintuitive functionality
- No dedicated phone key
- Scroll pad interferes with thumb typing
- Music player lack syncing and playlists
- No voice commands when through BlueTooth
The Bottom Line
The Droid will not transport you to that island paradise for an instant vacation, but it will do most of what you need to do with a smart phone. The Android app collection is well on its way, and, like the iTunes store, it features many free and inexpensive programs that are quite useful. The Android App Market already puts the BlackBerry app store to shame.
Web browsing with the Droid and Verizon’s service is a real pleasure. It’s speedy and draws accurate web pages. Because of its open source nature, the Android operating system is developing much more quickly than Windows Mobile or the BlackBerry OS. That said — Android has not yet caught up to the ease of use of Apple’s iPhone OS or Palm Pre’s webOS. Yet, it is close, and we feel the Droid has surpassed the iPhone in web surfing, messaging, and email.
Although the physical keyboard could be better, finding it in such a small frame is a real plus, as is the clarity of the Droid’s high resolution screen. The Droid along with Verizon’s service has a lot going for it.
My more detailed review along with photos can be found at Hardware Secrets.