New user, need some input on models

[rsarno]

My wife and I bought the Moto Droid. We went with this instead of the Incredible for the 2 most obvious reasons: Moto was b1g1, and Moto had a keyboard

However after 3 days of use I realize the keyboard gets zero use. I might as well have the lighter device.

At this point to make the switch to the 2 Inc's, it would cost me around $270. Which i dont completely object to seeing as its a superior device. But i had a few questions

1. Is the battery life any better on the Inc? It is pretty terrible on my moto ... and i don't use many apps. My wife doesn't use ANY apps and its dead before she is out of work.

2. Is the Inc noticeably lighter than the moto? This is a very bulky phone compared to my BB Curve i came from. Wondering if the Inc not having a keyboard makes all the difference. Is it comparable to an iPhone?

3. I read "Newer Sense" I dont know what a sense is, or if i even have one .. can anyone explain?

4. Is the touch screen responsiveness comparable to Moto? or different in any way?

5. I can keep this phone for 30 days, and i understand the Inc is backordered .. should i buy them now to pre-order? Or is it likely they will be in stock within 30 days?

Thank you. Glad to join the community.

 

[titans]

However after 3 days of use I realize the keyboard gets zero use. I might as well have the lighter device.

At this point to make the switch to the 2 Inc's, it would cost me around $270. Which i dont completely object to seeing as its a superior device. But i had a few questions

1. Is the battery life any better on the Inc? It is pretty terrible on my moto ... and i don't use many apps. My wife doesn't use ANY apps and its dead before she is out of work. The battery life on the Incredible is worse. What does your wife do on the phone? Either the battery hasn't been breaken into its full potential or shes using it heavily in other ways.

2. Is the Inc noticeably lighter than the moto? This is a very bulky phone compared to my BB Curve i came from. Wondering if the Inc not having a keyboard makes all the difference. Is it comparable to an iPhone? I heard that the Incredible is much lighter. However, it is plastic. Take it for what its worth...as for comparing it to an iPhone, no, just think of it as a lighter Droid that's made out of plastic. Has a faster processor (You can root your droid (see hacking section stickies for what root is) to make it as fast or faster than the Incredible though)

3. I read "Newer Sense" I dont know what a sense is, or if i even have one .. can anyone explain? Google/Youtube what Sense UI is

4. Is the touch screen responsiveness comparable to Moto? or different in any way? I don't think anyone has problems with the responsiveness, but some users are reporting a slight pink tint in their screen.

5. I can keep this phone for 30 days, and i understand the Inc is backordered .. should i buy them now to pre-order? Or is it likely they will be in stock within 30 days? Can't hurt to pre-order...but unless you really never use the keyboard, stay with the Droid. In my opinion.

Answers are in red.

 

[rsarno]

My wife makes like 8 phone calls a day, checks FB occassionally, and thats about it lol. She is a teacher so it just sits there. from 8am to about 5pm .. and its just about empty.

So in your opinion, the Moto is a better phone?

 

[titans]

Well....its really from the buyers perspective. Google and youtube Sense UI, and get a feel of what it is, how it works, and what it looks like. If you want Sense UI, a lighter (but plastic)phone, the Incredible might be the better one. It's faster also (but doesn't play games as well due to a lesser GPU). However, if you root your Droid (see Hacking/Hacking help sections) You can make your phone as fast or faster than the Incredible, and you can also theme your phone (see Themes, Custom Roms, here at droidforums.net and the Motorola Droid Themes section at forum.cyanogenmod.com to see what themes are available). With root, you can also tether (your phone will be a wifi hotspot). The Incredible doesn't have root yet, and not sure when it will.

 

[jsh1120]

My wife makes like 8 phone calls a day, checks FB occassionally, and thats about it lol. She is a teacher so it just sits there. from 8am to about 5pm .. and its just about empty.

So in your opinion, the Moto is a better phone?

I'm willing to bet that your wife's battery problems stem from (a) breaking in the phone and (b) the phone doing many many things on its own. I use my Droid moderately and routinely get about 30 hours out of a battery.

Check some of the battery threads on this site to identify the issues with your wife's phone. I suspect that her phone is searching for wifi signals, gps signals, is syncing frequently when it checks for news and weather, etc. etc. etc.

And if all else fails, get an extra battery from amazon.com for less than $10.

As for other issues, yes, the Inc is significantly lighter than the Droid. It weighs almost exactly the same as a iPhone. The Droid is about 20% heavier. But that weight comes in large part from the metal case on the Droid (which may or may not be worth the extra weight) and the weight of the larger battery on the Droid.

 

[rsarno]

I think it is doing all that stuff. But wasnt it made to do that?

She did not hack the phone at all, she is using the phone with all built in features and functionality. They couldnt have released a phone with such a poor performing battery, could they have?

But since posting this i notice a few threads saying the phone needs to be ran down and charged a few times, so no biggie we will do that. Ill also tinker with some settings.

Just curious about some more opinions on making the move from Moto to Dinc ...

 

[jsh1120]

I think it is doing all that stuff. But wasnt it made to do that?

She did not hack the phone at all, she is using the phone with all built in features and functionality. They couldnt have released a phone with such a poor performing battery, could they have?

But since posting this i notice a few threads saying the phone needs to be ran down and charged a few times, so no biggie we will do that. Ill also tinker with some settings.

Just curious about some more opinions on making the move from Moto to Dinc ...

The Droid is a multi-functional device. That means it can do many things, just not many things all at once in a 6oz device. The designers could have solved the problem, of course, by having a five pound phone with a 4.9 lb battery but your wife probably wouldn't like it.

If you're used to a "feature" phone, the battery life will be shocking. But remember that your Droid weighs only slightly more than a feature phone and is designed to do many more things, almost all of which put greater strain on a battery only marginally (if that) larger.

Batteries have been around for several thousand years. There have been advances during that time, but battery technology has hardly advanced at all compared to most other aspects of that device you have in your hand that compares favorably with the computer that put Neil Armstrong on the moon.

If you doubt that, consider that your dad's 55 chevy had a battery that weighed about the same and did about the same job as the one in your 2010 zoomobile. And if Toyota could figure out a way to reduce battery size in the Prius, the car could shed hundreds of pounds in weight.

 

[takeshi]

Is the battery life any better on the Inc? It is pretty terrible on my moto ... and i don't use many apps. My wife doesn't use ANY apps and its dead before she is out of work.

I doubt it but you could look around (here and on other forum sites) for threads on battery life on the Incredible. The Droid should definitely be able to make it a day though. I suggest reading the battery life threads for suggestions as they will apply to other Android devices as well. People tend to overlook how their usage and settings impact battery life.

Which i dont completely object to seeing as its a superior device.

It's newer. Superior is subjective.

Is the Inc noticeably lighter than the moto?

Specs are always available via the manufacturer's sites:
http://www.htc.com/us/products/droid-incredible-verizon?view=1-1&sort=0#tech-specs
http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/U...ces/Mobile-Phones/ci.Motorola-DROID-US-EN.alt

Wondering if the Inc not having a keyboard makes all the difference.

Seems to be a popular sentiment but I seriously doubt it. Membrane keyboards just don't add that much weight.

 

[tcrews]

As mentioned, if it is "seeking" for wi-fi, GPS or 3G it will drain the battery much much fast than if it is actually locked in and using those signals. Being inside certain building structures can prevent 3G service, block GPS signals and cause the phone to use power trying to locate these services. Where I work we get very spotty 3g service due to the building structure....so I turn on wi-fi and use our multitude of access points. This actually makes my battery last much longer as it is no longer seeking and trying to lock to the 3g signal.

If the phone can't actually use a function....turn that function off and turn it on when it can. If you aren't using Wi-Fi, turn it off, if you aren't using Bluetooth, turn it off, etc....

If it's sitting on the desk doing nothing.....she can turn off GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and use the phone as a phone and check her email/facebook, etc... If 3G is spotty in the building and WiFi is available......leave Wi-Fi on, connect to the access point and let the phone do it's data flow through that

My battery last from 7:00am to about 9:00pm with Wi-Fi on from 8:00am to 4:30pm, GPS on all the time, bluetooth never on, overclocked to 1100mhz and used pretty regularly....(web, facebook, market browse/updates, 2 email accounts, texting...).

 

[iPirate]

I wouldnt buy HTC crap and if I was given a HTC phone I would sell it.

If you are really thinking of switching, wait for the next Motorola phone.

Motorola Droid successor coming to Verizon later this year – Android and Me

 

[easyrun99]

Since you both have Droids, and she appears to use hers less, either her settings are drastically different or she may have a bad battery...

I bought an Incredible, but am likely going back to the Moto Droid. Performance is better with the Incredible vs stock Droid, but I miss the keyboard, heft and layout of the physical buttons. I will miss the Incredible's camera...it's very good.

 

[rsarno]

I wouldnt buy HTC crap and if I was given a HTC phone I would sell it.

If you are really thinking of switching, wait for the next Motorola phone.

Motorola Droid successor coming to Verizon later this year – Android and Me

I cannot wait for another device, especially from VZW lol ... i was involved in the Storm1 anticipation nightmare *sigh*

Can i know your reasoning for not liking the Incredible? or HTC for that matter?