The Official DF Droid 4 Pre-Release Thread

[fastpat]

If you're a fan of apple you can get a sliding bluetooth keyboard for an iphone. They were selling them on HSN (a TV shopping channel) over the weekend. They were actually selling a lot of Apple products. Yes it would be thicker because it attaches to the bottom. But it is available. It's an additional $70, but there is that option. I'm not trying to promote Apple products, not my favorite products, but if you like something you should consider it. I expect to see them for other phones too as it's not a bad idea. I think people should buy what they like. And now we're seeing competition arise, which will make it great for everyone.
Of course on the iPhone you still don't have a removeable battery. So if you do like your D1 better then an iPhone, stick with the Android line.

Thanks, debdroid1a, that's worth considering.

Now I've found that the Droid 4 battery isn't easily removable, that feature is no longer available. Makes me want to say, hmmm. I may not rush to the Droid 4 after all. I'll just have to get my hands on one and see what's under the cover.

 

[schatzy62]

.
"So far, so good."

My point in the post is that - even if nobody ever has any problem with the polymer batteries - they still reduce our choices, cost users more in extra purchases like chargers and 'power packs' and such, and they cost more to make so they require manufacturing compromises that reduce the features and usability of phones that have them.

So please don't tell me that it's working OK so far. "So far, so good." is what the optimist shouted in the 35th story window on his way from the roof to the sidewalk.

Instead, please tell me: What was so bad about real replaceable batteries that required changing so desperately as to necessitate such heavy sacrifices? And what is it about its costly 'battery-in-a-bag' that makes the RAZR so much more useful than it would have been with the cheaper stodgy old replaceable metal one?


Perspective instantiates reality.
( By DX w/DF app. )

And to all those folks that think a non-replacable battery is OK, I will unfortunately have to agree with the above quoted post.

It is so much EASIER and CHEAPER to get a replacement battery than to make your phone twice as thick with an external battery just to get the same time out of it.

And on top of that when it want to shut the phone down because it is hung up there is NOTHING like taking the battery out. None of the so called hard resets will do the same as pulling a battery unless it is an actual switch that disconnects the battery from the circuit.

Even desktop computers sometimes need the power cord to be pulled from the wall or laptops need both the cord and battery pulled to really do that HARD RESET.

There is nothing that ANYONE can say to convince me that a non-replaceable battery is better so please do not try.

 

[fastpat]

And to all those folks that think a non-replacable battery is OK, I will unfortunately have to agree with the above quoted post.

It is so much EASIER and CHEAPER to get a replacement battery than to make your phone twice as thick with an external battery just to get the same time out of it.

And on top of that when it want to shut the phone down because it is hung up there is NOTHING like taking the battery out. None of the so called hard resets will do the same as pulling a battery unless it is an actual switch that disconnects the battery from the circuit.

Even desktop computers sometimes need the power cord to be pulled from the wall or laptops need both the cord and battery pulled to really do that HARD RESET.

There is nothing that ANYONE can say to convince me that a non-replaceable battery is better so please do not try.

I couldn't agree more. I like the idea, no that's not quite strong enough, I demand a removable battery for those reasons stated AND the ability to really shut the phone down and keep it shut down.

Looks like I might just take advantage of the Droid 3 blow out sales after all.

 

[debdroid1a]

If that's what you want, that's fine. Since you're done with the Droid 4 at least this discussion will be more positive fro now on! dancedroid

 

[Trusstopher]

I wouldn't be surprised if the non-removable battery design feature was in fact a customer driven decision and/or has some roots in the the "everyone likes the iphone, let's be like them" thought process. We (the type of people who spend any amount of time on forums and/or even consider doing more than taking the device out of the box and using it stock) are a very small subset of their customer base, albeit a very vocal one. I wouldn't be surprised if that vast majority of users prefer "simplicity" and "durability" (implying that no rear cover to pop off = durable in the eyes of the average consumer, whether or not that is fact) over the ability to do a battery pull when they are told that a "button combination" reset is just as good. It goes back to the pro/con of the OEMs releasing so many devices so fast recently. There is almost definitely "something for everyone"... just not a unlocked/ICS/Dual Core/4G/Slider with removable battery which is about the only spec combination that I can think of that hasn't been done yet at the dual core/4G level.


All that... plus OEMs and Carriers love to sell accessories to you and I'm betting they'd rather sell you 3 extra chargers and an external battery than one extended battery (but that is just my cynicism sneaking in).

 

[debdroid1a]

I couldn't agree more. I like the idea, no that's not quite strong enough, I demand a removable battery for those reasons stated AND the ability to really shut the phone down and keep it shut down.

Looks like I might just take advantage of the Droid 3 blow out sales after all.

Sorry, i thought you were really interested in the iphone... guess not. Oh well, that slider keyboard info might help someone...

 

[debdroid1a]

I wouldn't be surprised if the non-removable battery design feature was in fact a customer driven decision and/or has some roots in the the "everyone likes the iphone, let's be like them" thought process. We (the type of people who spend any amount of time on forums and/or even consider doing more than taking the device out of the box and using it stock) are a very small subset of their customer base, albeit a very vocal one. I wouldn't be surprised if that vast majority of users prefer "simplicity" and "durability" (implying that no rear cover to pop off = durable in the eyes of the average consumer, whether or not that is fact) over the ability to do a battery pull when they are told that a "button combination" reset is just as good. It goes back to the pro/con of the OEMs releasing so many devices so fast recently. There is almost definitely "something for everyone"... just not a unlocked/ICS/Dual Core/4G/Slider with removable battery which is about the only spec combination that I can think of that hasn't been done yet at the dual core/4G level.


All that... plus OEMs and Carriers love to sell accessories to you and I'm betting they'd rather sell you 3 extra chargers and an external battery than one extended battery (but that is just my cynicism sneaking in).

Yes I think those who are more into the tech side are very vocal. I saw the Motorolla Facebook page mentioning the Droid 4 and a TON of comments were people wanted unlocked boatloaders. Moto just ignored those posts, replying to nice comments or easy to answer questions, and deleted any really negative or harsh ones. I think they did that before with other phones, but can't remember. I rarely go to facebook and it's just to check up on friends and family when I feel like it.

 

[1linuxfreak]

Droid 4 just doesn't seem new anymore , it is like it has already been out for months and just now reviews are being written about it .
Non-removal battery = forced obsoletion ; meaning batteries last so long and can do so many recharges then they fail forcing either replacement or in this case whole device replacement )think of this way , resale value is hurt because the risk of bad batteries that can't be replaced) .

 

[fastpat]

Droid 4 just doesn't seem new anymore , it is like it has already been out for months and just now reviews are being written about it .
Non-removal battery = forced obsoletion ; meaning batteries last so long and can do so many recharges then they fail forcing either replacement or in this case whole device replacement )think of this way , resale value is hurt because the risk of bad batteries than can't be replaced) .

Yes, it's sad really, but the non-removable battery is a step backwards. That's a Steve Jobs kind of thing, the original Mac (yes, I owned one in 1984) was built like that, supposedly closed to owners. Enterprising aftermarket people essentially saved the early Macs, one of whom devised a way to install a hard drive in the first generation Macs, when Apple was left standing flat-footed about that.

Removable batteries equal flexibility missing with the non-removables. While non-technical people might prefer non-removables, how hard it it, really, to deal with a battery?

Allegedly, the Droid 4 comes with a 1725 mah battery, not bad, but not great either.

We shall see.

 

[tdpolo26]

so i am looking at the basebands for droid 3 and the droid 4 they have pretty much the same...now i am no pro at the global stuff i really dont care that much to be honest with you but they are pretty similar with the supported bands and it is the same as the droid 2g so i am starting to wonder if this thing is GLOBAL

 

[Trusstopher]

Not sure if anyone posted this, but it looks like the D4 will be a global phone:

The LG Spectrum and Motorola DROID 4 will be Verizon's first LTE world phones

 

[tdpolo26]

Not sure if anyone posted this, but it looks like the D4 will be a global phone:

The LG Spectrum and Motorola DROID 4 will be Verizon's first LTE world phones

i didnt see the article but i posted one minute ago that i think it will be global capapble... this is cool news i live near canada but i dont go up there enought to justify getting a extra sim card unless it was cheap. So are you considering leaving the dark side of the force (it is very powerful )and comming to the droid 4

 

[Trusstopher]

i didnt see the article but i posted one minute ago that i think it will be global capapble... this is cool news i live near canada but i dont go up there enought to justify getting a extra sim card unless it was cheap. So are you considering leaving the dark side of the force (it is very powerful )and comming to the droid 4

Nope, the G-Nex is everything I need and want out of a mobile device. Short of being handed a D4 for free, I have no reason to use one. About the only thing I would give up my g-nex for would be the Galaxy Note if it ever came to VZW.... that or maybe the Padfone depending on the specs and timeline that come along with it.

I loved my D1, but I just didn't use the keyboard enough to justify another slider... that and the whole encrypted bootloader thing - I'm not sure I'll get another moto until some changes happen in that department.

(I'm not really up on the Global capabilities, but would using it in on GSM require you to be signed up with another carrier who provides your service, or can you get the extra SIM from Verizon and their service just piggybacks on someone else's network while you are on GSM? If it is the latter, I'm assuming the GSM SIM card could cost the same as a new LTE SIM card.... Free!!)

 

[tdpolo26]

you know i had a thought today....i think we should be able to order phones like a laptop or car... pick you own options type deal... it couldnt be that hard in the future... and like those manufacturers pay more for vanilla os. how great would it be to pair a nexus with a keyboard any screen we wanted GLOBAL capabilities and a nfc chip. then companies like moto would not have to try and release better phones or 20 a year just different internals. maybe even a upgrade program were u send it in to get upgrades!!!!
oh and i almost forgot a unlocked bootloader at a small cost....i would pay for it just to have it.... especially if the phone was going to last me for a while

 

[tdpolo26]

MOTODEV > Products > Compare Motorola Products
just made a little comparison of the og droid and all the globals since