Droid 4 Replacemet Migration - Improved Model Specifications

[Moto_Man]

With the Motorola Photon Q for Sprint, Motorola Atrix HD for AT&T, and Razr HD for Verizon on shelves and those phones being more advanced and updated than the Droid 4 for Verizon, many people I know are seeing the Droid 4 as dated, add known issues with the crackling speaker on some phones [Google Droid 4 speaker], many people I know will not buy the Droid 4 due to the speaker issue and are wondering if Motorola will design a newer and improved model of the Droid 4, perhaps the DROID 5, a phone with the best of breed features from the Photon Q, Atrix HD, Razr HD, and Razr Maxx HD and others with a high end QWERTY Keyboard.


With this in mind. I have written to Motorola hoping to make contact with their Product Manager for the Droid 4. I have not gotten a response, and this update to my post in late December 2012, it's time for Motorola to let their customers know what their plans are for their next smart phone with a QWERTY keyboard. Never mind that virtual keyboards on displays have improved, virtual keyboards just don't cut it for those of us with larger fingers, and those of us who want the left, right, up, down arrow keys to navigate those microscopic tabs within web pages on small displays.


I'm asking readers to add additional posts of what they would like to see in an updated version of the Droid 4 for Verizon, Perhaps a DROID 5, with the same mechanical qwerty keyboard.


Here are my suggestions which I've separately sent to Motorola / Google.

=====================



I would like to know if Motorola has upgrade plans for the Droid 4 for Verizon market to include the newer and better features of the Photon Q and Atirx HD, Droid Razr HD and Razr Maxx HD, notably an upgraded Razr for Verizon with the same qwerty keyboard and updated hardware and software as follows:


Photon Q best of breed features.
HD display (not too large! Same size as is on Photon Q or Razr HD)
Quad Processor => 1.5 GHz
32 GB of internal
external micro-SD card slot
external mechanical button to invoke voice command while driving
OS 4.1
Latest battery capacity and power management with removeable battery
Bands
LTE 750
WCDMA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
CDMA 850 / 1900
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

All other Razr best of breed features
Hopefully a very high quality microphone and speakers, similar to those found on the Motorola mil-spec and PTT phones that are better than current models and no speaker crackle.


And the same qwerty Keyboard that's on the Droid 4 and Photon Q


All to run on Verizon


I know Motorola does not usually announce new phone models far in advance, however I won't buy the Droid 4 and I prefer a phone with a qwerty KB so a phone with the above features would be a killer phone and run on one of the best LTE networks, I think would be a great product for Motorola and Google.

With all this, please forward my Email and comments to the Product Manager for the Droid 4.


Thank you.


Michael Zarum


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Please add your comments to this post.



"DROID 5" Droid 4 Photon Q Atrix HD Razr Maxx HD Verizon

 

[orangechoochoo]

It's to early to come out with a new droid, they just released the d4 earlier this year. Moto is releasing a bunch of razr phones within quick succession and I would be ticked off seeing a newer version a couple months after buying one.

The D4 is fine an extra 300mhz won't make much difference and soon we'll have jellybean (either officially or CM10). I would prefer to wait a year and a half for a significantly upgraded Droid (quadcore, 2gb ram, superameloid screen, keylime pie).

 

[silverfang77]

2.5 GHz quad core CPU, nVidia graphics chip, 4 GB RAM, 1080p display with color boost, stereo speakers with Beatz Audio, FM radio.

Tappin' and talkin' with Tapatalk.

 

[4low4fun]

It's to early to come out with a new droid, they just released the d4 earlier this year. Moto is releasing a bunch of razr phones within quick succession and I would be ticked off seeing a newer version a couple months after buying one.

The D4 is fine an extra 300mhz won't make much difference and soon we'll have jellybean (either officially or CM10). I would prefer to wait a year and a half for a significantly upgraded Droid (quadcore, 2gb ram, superameloid screen, keylime pie).

They did that to the DROID 3.. released and then came out with the D4 6 months later... but I like the way your phone sounds much better! The ram upgrade being the most significant.

 

[Moto_Man]

Technology Upgrades and Short Product Lifecycles

To: Orangechoochoo

I agree with you and would also be upset if I purchased a phone and shortly after that the manufacturer came out with a newer improved one.

However, the fact remains that best manufacturers continuously upgrade their products, especially when there is a known issue that creates returns or would cause people to not purchase a product. When manufacturer's release a product with a hardware or software problem that once known, dampens sales,most manufacturer's find it easier and more cost effective to fix the problems in the next phone migration rather than fix all the previous versions with a problem.


You may not have experienced it with your phone and if not you are lucky. Many owners of the Droid 4 have experienced speaker issues, and sent back their phones for replacement, only to find the replacement phone(s) also had the same speaker issue. And the word I have is that Motorola is not going to fix that speaker issue on the current Droid 4. That means people like myself will not buy the Droid 4 knowing that there is a high probability the phone will have a speaker issue, and don't want to deal with the potential hassle of replacement phone after replacement phone. Usually issues like that are taken care of in the next version of the phone's release.


Also, since the Droid 4 was released. that series related phones has have had a lot of upgrades that have come out in the different configurations of the phone depending on what carrier the phone is for. With the next migration upgrade of the Droid 4, it would be nice if all the best features of the related phones (like the Photon Q with slightly larger screen) and some of the other Droids and or Razr models that have faster processors, more memory, HD displays, improved battery life, and hopefully a top quality microphone and speaker similar to what Motorola puts in its mil-spec and PTT phones would be good selling points. After all, many people still buy mobile phones for voice communication, and that means a good microphone and speaker with the ability to overpower surrounding sound like that of the wind from an open car window etc. I could never understand why phone manufacturers skimp on parts like microphone and speaker quality on phones with street prices of $200 or more.


With all this, the fact remains that mobile hand sets have an extremely short product life cycle from a technology standpoint, frequently being leapfrogged in a mater of months. With this it seems all would be better served if the manufacture process included continuous quality improvement rather than distributing many phones then finding they have a known problem that will cause many to not purchase the phone as I hear is going on with the Droid 4 speaker issue.


I first learned of the Droid 4 speaker issue from someone I know who works at a phone store, and they advised me of the potential issue and told me to read the blogs before buying so I would not be disappointed with getting a hand set with a problem, only having to return a new purchase. With that I see no need for Motorola to wait until the Droid 4 has been out a year or more before modifying the product to include the improvements that are already available on Motorola and Droid non slider models. Taking all the best of breed features and incorporating them in the next Droid phone with a qwerty keyboard, and hoping they keep the current mechanical keyboard as one of the best slider keyboards in the industry, would make for an awesome phone.


Even with the new Droid Razr Maxx HD, I won't purchase as with my hand and finger size not working well with the virtual keyboards and the space they detract from display area, there are many who need an want a quality higher performing phone with a qwerty keyboard. Hopefully in the next Droid 4 version, they will also offer a higher mAh battery.


Of course if they do come out with a new improved model with slider, you would likely be able to trade your phone in with your carrier for the updated version.


Happy train rides!


Mike

 

[silverfang77]

Jelly Bean for Droid 4 now!

Tappin' and talkin' with Tapatalk.

 

[4low4fun]

Jelly Bean for Droid 4 now!

Tappin' and talkin' with Tapatalk.

Give cm10 another month and I bet they'll have all the bugs worked out

 

[andreawk]

I love the Droid 4's physical keyboard, but add higher quality camera to the specifications. My Droid 4 takes really inferior photos compared to the iphone, and when high quality photos are transferred from my computer, they're displayed poorly in the gallery--too dark and red. I'd also like to be able to scroll through them so that they fill the screen--again in the way that iphones do.

 

[qurk]

My first complaint with my Droid 4 is the the camera quality isn't as great as my last phone or like iphone. I have a 3 year old camera with the same megapixels and pictures look a lot crisper. I'd appreciate it too if the external speakers could be set louder. At my workplace I cannot hear texts, and music gets drowned out by the background noise...I also very rarely feel it vibrate. Lastly, they could make the screen a wee bit bigger, but not complaining. The only issue I have with the screen is it gets blury when scrolling, but that is a very minor caveat. Pretty happy with my Droid 4! Now verizon download rates are insane, when there are companies advertising unlimited downloads Verizon's cheapest plan is 300 megs a month? $10 more for 1000? And $10 more for every 1000 after that? What use is NFL on your phone when you gotta pay so much for the bandwidth? I turned off 4g, what is the point of being able to use up your month's band bandwidth allowance in 2 hours

 

[Moto_Man]

Is Motorola Giving Up on Customers who Prefer Mechanical Keyboards

Today is January 15, 2013. In around two weeks, RIM / Research in Motion is expected to formally announce its Blackberry X10 with QWERTY keyboard. It has been close to one year now, that Motorola released the Droid 4, with its own QWERTY keyboard, that is arguably one of the best and most liked cell phone mechanical keyboards in production. With this, many cell phone users who text a lot and prefer a mechanical keyboard, are wondering whether Motorola / Google will release an updated Droid 4, possibly a Droid 5, with best of breed features and the latest operating system. Some have posted that mechanical keyboards are obsolete and are superseded by voice to text features, and I am reporting for many, the voice to text feature does not always work that accurately, and for those of us who need to text across a meeting room to another meeting attendee, one simply cannot speak out loud to their phone voice command when sitting with others at a meeting or group presentation, meaning there is still a large need for a good, business quality, mechanical keyboard that is accurate and easy to use.

My requests to Motorola and their Droid 4 Product Manager for information on their plans to release an updated Droid 4, have not provided much information, and were largely full of a lack of information stating no plans have been announced to date.

Here is an actual reply from Motorola Global:

Subject: Droid 4 to Droid 5 Product Migration [Incident: 121219-011169]

Dear Moto_Man,

Thanks for reaching out to Motorola. I’ve reviewed your e-mail and I’m ready to help.

We do apologize for the delayed response. Regarding your concern, we still do not have information for a new phone that will follow the Droid 4. We will advise you to check with the Motorola website as this will have the most up-to-date information.

We will consider this as your suggestions <meaning what all of you are posting in this thread right here!>, we really do appreciate your time of sending this email.

We hope that you find this information useful and we look forward to assisting you in the future.

For information about Motorola products and services, please visit us at Motorola Home - Motorola USA

Thank you for contacting Motorola e-mail support.

Best Regards,

Dealbert

============

So that is the reply I received when writing to Motorola / Google and requested a reply from their Droid 4 Product Manager. I also asked the question if there were plans to fix the known Droid 4 speaker issue and was told that would not be corrected on the Droid 4, to wait for the next version, so its anyone's guess what Motorola has plans for as of this date.

On the Droid 4 speaker issue, you can Google [ droid 4 speaker ] and because of that issue, myself and many have avoided the Droid 4 and are hoping for a Droid 5 with all the latest and best of breed features specified at the top of this article.

Mike

 

[Erikbal]

Honestly I love my Droid 4 and am hoping they continue to keep the keyboard with a Droid 5. I would like to see a quad core processor with maybe like 1.6+ghz, 2gb of ram, a bigger battery and a slightly bigger display and I'd be happy. Also maybe a louder speaker phone. I also wouldn't mind if the battery was removable.

 

[jimicorbet]

As per my personal opinion, I love the Droid 4's physical keyboard, but add higher quality camera to the specifications. My Droid 4 takes really inferior photos compared to the iphone, and when high quality photos are transferred from my computer, they're displayed poorly in the gallery--too dark and red. I'd also like to be able to scroll through them so that they fill the screen--again in the way that iphones do.

 

[KnightCrusader]

It has been close to one year now, that Samsung released the Droid 4, with its own QWERTY keyboard, that is arguably one of the best and most liked cell phone mechanical keyboards in production.

Samsung makes the Droid 4 now?

 

[Moto_Man]

May 30, 2013

I was checking out the just released Samsung 4 at my local Verizon store where a Verizon associate told me that Motorola is going to release a Droid 5, one more update to the Droid 4, and he did not have a date or official announcement, so until that happens I'm considering it hearsay. Given the camera issues of poor photo quality on more recent Motorola Droid series, I am losing faith with Motorola to compete on all phone functions.

 

[GigaJake]

Really? A Droid 5? Even if it is just a rumor, it's the best piece of Android news I've heard all year!

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