Decisions Decisions...Help

[bsimpson]

I am a road warrior and am on my 4th Blackberry and looking to change phones to something a little more exciting. I have been looking at the Droid and Palm Pre Plus and there are things I like about both phones, but one thing stands out to me that I really don't like about the Droid or the Pre is that it is hard to make calls; now remember I do spend a lot of time in my car traveling and that is why I have stayed with blackberry's for so long, they are just simple. Anyway would the Droid make a good business phone? If I were only making calls to 3-4 people a day I could live with the Droid, but I am making sometimes 20-50 or more calls a day.
Thanks

 

[solorca]

I love the Droid, but personally, I find the actual phone to be quite weak. Some people have claimed that it's the best phone they have ever had, but for me the quality of calls is the worst I've had over the past 4-5 phones (all from LG).

I traded in my phone after initial problems and the new one is better, but the quality still leaves a lot to be desired. For me it's fine though, because I make MAYBE 1-2 calls a day..and many days I don't make any.

 

[natediddy1120]

Welcome

I have saw a bunch of users around the forums that have mentioned the Droid used as a business phone. Simply because of what all it can do and is capable of (by far beats ANY phone as far as capabilities).

And making a call isn't that complicated.....I mean you just click the "Phone" app on the home screen, and either dial the number and call, or click your "Contacts" within the Phone app, and click the person you're calling...

 

[dlwhtrose]

I am a recovering crackberry user and I can tell you that I love my DROID. I do notice that sometimes the calls can be a bit muffled and the touch pad for dialing or redialing sometimes lags but I'm not bothered. I will tell you that my husband complains about making calls. He says he "fat fingers" a lot of wrong numbers. He is a big guy and has mechanic hands. So You may want to keep that in mind when considering the DROID. But he has also said that compared to other phones he has had this is by far his favorite.

 

[jsh1120]

I am a road warrior and am on my 4th Blackberry and looking to change phones to something a little more exciting. I have been looking at the Droid and Palm Pre Plus and there are things I like about both phones, but one thing stands out to me that I really don't like about the Droid or the Pre is that it is hard to make calls; now remember I do spend a lot of time in my car traveling and that is why I have stayed with blackberry's for so long, they are just simple. Anyway would the Droid make a good business phone? If I were only making calls to 3-4 people a day I could live with the Droid, but I am making sometimes 20-50 or more calls a day.
Thanks

Hate to say it, but I'd recommend you stick with a Blackberry and try to get your "excitement" either in one of the new BB devices or with something other than a phone.

That's not to say that the Droid can't be configured to meet your needs. It sounds like you spend 3-5 hours a day on the phone. It sounds like you need a very reliable hands free device with full voice control (probably via bluetooth). And from your description it sounds you might have a very large set of contacts that you need to search in various ways.

Just guessing about all that, but that describes you, you need to recognize that BlackBerries were designed specifically for folks like you. Lots of business applications; frugal with battery use; very strong corporate email support; and excellent bluetooth connectivity. In comparison the Droid rates as mediocre to adequate in all those areas.

To be fair, though, the Droid does so many other things well that you may be willing to sacrifice top notch capabilities for other priorities. The droid has an excellent speakerphone, for example. (I hate holding a phone to my ear when I'm trying to do business.)

Its navigational capabilities largely eliminate the need for a dedicated GPS. Integration with Google apps is improving very quickly. Google Voice, for example, has freed my business associates from having to track me down at various phone numbers.

Its default (and 3rd party) browsers are far better than what I've seen on Blackberries so if web access is important to you, that's another plus for the Droid.

I'm very happy with the Droid as a business user (with some nagging but relatively small complaints.) But if I had to make 50 business calls a day, I'd probably be carrying another phone.

P.S. I haven't used the Palm Pre Plus but I strongly suspect it would be even less satisfactory than the Droid and would not have anything like the upside the Droid provides.

 

[jsh1120]

Welcome

I have saw a bunch of users around the forums that have mentioned the Droid used as a business phone. Simply because of what all it can do and is capable of (by far beats ANY phone as far as capabilities).

And making a call isn't that complicated.....I mean you just click the "Phone" app on the home screen, and either dial the number and call, or click your "Contacts" within the Phone app, and click the person you're calling...

I'm guessing you don't have 500 contacts in your contact list, many of them folks you know primarily by the company they work for rather than by their first names. The Droid does many things well, many other things adequately, and fails miserably compared even to "dumb phones" in a few areas.

What it is NOT is a device optimized for business use, especially for a "road warrior" who makes 50 calls a day while driving.