Taking it back today

I stood in line at 6:30 am last week to get my Droid, but I'm returning it today after trying to work with it for a week. Here's why:

1. I keep my volume at the max, but several times now it has gone into silent mode and I have missed critical calls. I think it's because of that flat volume rocker button which is a horrible design. This is unacceptable to miss important calls and notifications.

2. The phone sometimes starts dialing when I didn't want it to (I guess screen is too sensitive), and there's no end call button to abort fast. Similarly, after a real call, hanging up is a pain - I have to press on/off, slide unlock and then find the screen to end the call. Ridiculous

3. Notification of text and email requires you to press on/off (I hate that tiny button), unlock the phone (why, if I just pressed the button?) then pull down the notification page or press buttons and screens. The notifications should immediately display on the screen (unless the phone is password locked). I get a lot of notifications, and it's annoying to go through those steps to make it display them.

4. The email and text screens cannot be enlarged for easier reading. The timestamp on text messages is like the bottom line on an eye chart!

5. Keyboard slideout wobbles and opens by accident

6. Battery cover opens too easily and falls off sometimes. I don't use a case because it makes the phone too bulky and hard to use.

I really wanted to enjoy this phone, but even just for the first reason, I have to return it. Cannot afford to miss calls and notifications because the phone went silent.

Wow, I haven't heard of so many hardware problems, you must have a bad unit. As far as the software and messaging goes, there are other apps you can download that will handle them better. The default is plenty for me, but I'm sure you can search or others have names of the messenging software.

Sorry to hear. Sounds like an exchange is in order. I haven't had those physical issues with the phone. As far as the software, there may be some apps available or coming. I know I saw an sms popup and I bet a developer will cover the phone lock issue in due time.

Sounds to me like you haven't yet learned to use the phone.

With the program "locale" you should be able to set a default to make the ringer go all the way up so if it is turned down accidentaly it will turn itself back up.

When hanging up a call you should not have to unlock the phone. There is a proximity sensor on the phone that should wake the phone up when you pull it away from your face. There should not be an unlock screen. Maybe you are just pressing the lock button out of habit?

There are notification programs that allow you to reply without unlocking the phone.

I gotta say I've hit the volume button numerous time too...

The first two issues sound like your screen timeout was set too long, but I hear you on points 3 & 4. Having to unlock the phone, pull down the notifications, and then tap the message is annoying. I'm finding that there are a lot of quirks in Android where the best fix is just to get an app that actually does it right. A little frustrating...

I find hanging up a call is no problem. Once I pull it away from my ear, the screen lights back up again and I press the red button to hang up. My phone has never been locked after a call, or away from the call screen.

I vote the same.. User error..

I just checked out locale, seems like a cool program but it does appear that you must keep GPS on for some conditions to work, I usually turn it off. However, you could setup a contact to always ring full volume if it is important..

the 1st prob seems to be phone placement ihad no issues except when i hit the sleep button on top then i might tap the rocker.
2nd i dont keep widgets on my middle home screen cuz i like my pics not to be covered but i do keep my phone widget on my left screen to make calls. i do miss my physical keys on my G1 but not that much. so u could move them so it wont dial out but if its sleep in ur pocket it wont dial. and the lock screen can be set to time ot never but i keep mine on ten mins

I have yet to use a smartphone where at some point I didn't touch the volume buttons. I think the iPhone was the worst as the buttons were soft. I've just learned to check it every now an then.

Also how is there no button to end the call fast? Maybe I'm nuts, but I just tested the phone app and the end button is plain as day in red no less. I pressed it and the call was ended immediately. And now does the phone just dial? Even when I select a contact, I have to select one more time to call. It's a two step process. Do you have some kind of speed dial setup? Maybe I'm just misunderstanding you.

IMO, the rest of your complaints are subjective (except for the keyboard wobble). I love the notification system on this phone as well as the email layout and readability.

My phone is solid, and no kb wobbling whatsoever. Also sliding out the keyboard takes some effort. Maybe it will loosen up over time, I don't know. If yours is as you described then that alone says you got defective phone, nevermind the other issues.

haven't had on of those problems yet loving the droid

the phone isnt for everyone.
if the phone is locked the volume buttons don't do anything. You must accidentally be rotating the sound off wheel. if you set a lock pattern that won't be a problem because there is no sound off wheel on the pattern lock screen. Receiving calls when its locked isn't a problem either, you don't have to unlock to answer. Maybe that will solve your first problem.

Having had my Droid for a week now, I can appreciate that it can frustrate new users, especially if you are coming into it from a non-smartphone experience base, as I did. I am short tempered at times and have been so frustrated that I've uinstalled and uninstalled the same apps several times befoer I figured out how to get it to work. Almost everything that I've hit that is frustrating is due to pilot error or the lack of any clear instructions on how to use the app. That seems to be the nature of this beast. It is a figure it out world that we live in here. The second thing that I've noted is that my expectations were higher than the apps could fulfill in most cases. That is the fault of the state of the app development for the phone right now and not the phone itself. Many apps that are out there and sound great in their Market write-ups are crap or at least don't do anywhere near what you might assume that they would. I'm still putzing around trygin to find a print app that will let me print something of importance and not just the crumby little built-in call log or contacts or other such nonsense.

Will it get better? YOu bet. Give teh app development community a few months and they'll turn this device into the great tool that it could be.

Ignore the couple of jackasses who have posted farther up in this thread. If you don't have something constructive to say in a polite fashion, shut up.

I'm sorry you're having so many problems and are so frustrated. I am personally frustrated with mine due to GPS problems with both phones I've had in the first week.

Before you give up on the Droid completely, try swapping it out and see if any of the problems you are having are due to a bum device. You've got 30 days (from what I hear) to take it back and say, "No thanks; I'd like a refund." Give the second phone a chance to woo you. You've still got 3 weeks to drop the Droid.

Thank you all (well most of you) for the great responses. Will try the apps. If it can solve the volume problem, that was my biggest issue. BTW, I am not a newbie, have a masters degree in engineering, and have used many smartphones. Cheers

New hardware?

New hardware on Dec. 11? Please explain. Ha! That's past the 30 day return. How can we get it? How much to upgrade?

It is not a hardware upgrade. It is an OVA (over the air) update of the phone's software. It is supposed to fix quite a few of the software glitches including the inability of most of the cameras to properly autofocus. There should be no charge for this update. There is also supposed to be another one coming in January.