From the Iphone to the Droid, my review

[Twoo]

After being an Iphone user for roughly 2 years I finally decided to make the switch last week to the Droid, partly because of the better network coverage with Verizon (I had a lot of dropped/missed calls due to network issues where I lived with At&T.

This is my unbiased review of my first week with the droid:

The first thing I noticed about the droid is it feels well built. It's heavy but not cumbersome- and by heavy I don't mean it's a brick, I mean it feels solid... durable. I don't experience any of the problems some of the other Droid owners have like the battery cover sliding off and the slider wobble, so I guess I lucked out there. The screen is an absolute BREESE to clean. Usually with touch screen phones you get that oily residue on it from your fingers- I'm not sure if there's a special coating on the Droid but one swipe of the screen on a piece of clothing and it's spotless.

Now on to more controversial subjects. First... the keyboard(s). Off the bat I absolutely hated the slider keyboard. It was hard to distinguish buttons by feeling (they're almost flush), I kept hitting I instead of O and I thought the D-Pad was an absolute waste. See, I got kind of used to flying through words on my Iphone, so... I decided to slow it down a bit and take my time typing on the Droid. 250 text messages later and I have no problems or qualms at all with the Droids slide out query pad. And the D-Pad? LOVE IT. Makes it significantly easier to slide back a few words and fix a spelling error rather than touching all over the screen trying to hone in on a certain letter that you're never able to do.

The Camera... Because I bought my Droid a week ago I didn't really experience the focus problem that has become one of the big problems. Setting that aside I'm pretty happy with the Camera. It takes great photos, the flash is excellent... but my major gripe is the refresh time between photos. The phone seems to lag and stall for 3-5 seconds after taking a photo and that gets a bit annoying.

Lastly- the Software. I'll admit, coming from the Iphone (which I think sets the benchmark visually) the Android platform is a pretty decent looking and functioning set up. The ability to have widgets, run multiple programs, google voice search (which is unbelievably accurate, not one wrong search yet!), the navigation system... all of it is absolutely incredible. I do have some gripes though. For instance, sometimes the Droid just feels laggy. It will often hesitate for a second between screen sideswipes, or stall for a few seconds when I select a program that is a bit large (3-5 mbs)-- but I believe these are problems that will most likely be fixed with the update. Like the original Iphone, there will be initial problems that can/will be fixed in time.

In summarization...

The good:
- Verizon Network
- The screen is gorgeous and practically cleans itself
- Great camera quality (plus the dual led flash is nice)
- Google Navigation
- Easy to learn/use os
- Surprisingly large Android Marketplace
- Choice of 3 different ways to type (normal, landscape, slider)
- Excellent build quality and materials
- Widgets on the home screen is a big plus

The Bad:
- Slight hesitation/stalling with the os
- Camera refresh time between photos
- Keyboard takes a little while to get used to
- The visual quality of the games (marketplace) is atrocious in comparison to the Apple App store
- Battery can get hot, but to be expected with smart phones

 

[m5ivan]

Glad to hear. Many Iphone users, my wife included, won't even think of trying anything other than a new Iphone. It's great to see an Iphone user giving the Droid a chance. Once your eyes become accustomed to the resolution of the Driod, it would be hard to go back to Iphone.

 

[Twoo]

Glad to hear. Many Iphone users, my wife included, won't even think of trying anything other than a new Iphone. It's great to see an Iphone user giving the Droid a chance. Once your eyes become accustomed to the resolution of the Driod, it would be hard to go back to Iphone.

Well at first I missed my Iphone.. but I missed it for all the wrong reasons. I missed the app games I played all the time (especially TapTap, my god do I miss TapTap), syncing it with my Macbook and dumping all my music on it.... but then I remembered- this is a PHONE. And though the Iphone may be fun to play with, listen to music on- it lacked the one thing that I bought it for- the ability to make phone calls. The Verizon network alone is reason to get the Droid over the Iphone.

 

[sir]

also a former iPhone user. loving the droid so much more. but i'm also a tech guy so i love having a gadget that i can tinker with any way possible. android allows me to do that so much more than the locked-down iPhone (jailbreaking and keeping it jailbroken is such a pain).

 

[LordKastle]

Like I just said in a previous post. I don't understand why people do not like the physical keyboard. Not only does it only take a few days to adapt to (actually using it) but then you have a full sized screen to work with and you aren't putting your fingers all over the same thing you are looking at.

 

[mjs31]

Like I just said in a previous post. I don't understand why people do not like the physical keyboard. Not only does it only take a few days to adapt to (actually using it) but then you have a full sized screen to work with and you aren't putting your fingers all over the same thing you are looking at.

Yeah...I probably dont use it nearly enough. I really dont have an issue with it although I do miss push some keys and when this is done they give a mushy type feel.

 

[PowerPlayGraphix]

Well, if you miss Tap Tap off the iPhone there is Guitar Hero. Isn't that what Tap Tap was based on?

As for other advantages you may come to like about it over the iPhone, the ability to replace native apps with 3rd party ones or you can replace interface components to make it your own look and feel. Also, another thing I like, is that you can install apps from sources other than the marketplace without hacking your phone. As for the graphics and the quantity of games, I think it will come as more developers start coming on board. Looking at your list of "bad", I think all (except the batery and keyboard) are fixable with the with software , which is a good thing. It will be interesting to see how many iPhone users decide to try it and what their opinion is as they do.

 

[Twoo]

Well, if you miss Tap Tap off the iPhone there is Guitar Hero. Isn't that what Tap Tap was based on?

As for other advantages you may come to like about it over the iPhone, the ability to replace native apps with 3rd party ones or you can replace interface components to make it your own look and feel. Also, another thing I like, is that you can install apps from sources other than the marketplace without hacking your phone. As for the graphics and the quantity of games, I think it will come as more developers start coming on board. Looking at your list of "bad", I think all (except the batery and keyboard) are fixable with the with software , which is a good thing. It will be interesting to see how many iPhone users decide to try it and what their opinion is as they do.

I think the biggest thing people caught tangled up in is the software and apps available to the phone. People seem to forget the ONE MAJOR aspect- it's a phone. What good is a phone when you have shoddy coverage and horrible customer support? Verizon's network alone is reason enough to go for the Droid over the Iphone.

EDIT: What I liked most about TapTap was the fact that it was free, the graphics were great, there were always new songs being added which were also free and you could download an app to make your own taptap songs. I had over 140 songs for taptap- I can't even begin to tell you how many hours I spend playing that game, haha.

 

[Backnblack]

So how does the Droid stack 2 weeks after launch compared to the iPhone 2 weeks after it's launch?

I believe the Droid would win that comparison hands down.

 

[Donkey Hodie]

So how does the Droid stack 2 weeks after launch compared to the iPhone 2 weeks after it's launch?

In what respect? Sales? Number of apps? Reliability? Number of software/hardware issues?

There are a lot of dimensions to that question. It'd be interesting to see an objective comparison.

But I agree with you that I think the Droid would win hands down, except in sales.

 

[ZeRo_C0oL]

Nice review! Glad you're happy with your phone.

 

[Backnblack]

So how does the Droid stack 2 weeks after launch compared to the iPhone 2 weeks after it's launch?

In what respect? Sales? Number of apps? Reliability? Number of software/hardware issues?

There are a lot of dimensions to that question. It'd be interesting to see an objective comparison.

But I agree with you that I think the Droid would win hands down, except in sales.

The OP needs to answer this...Doubt he can give a honest review.

 

[LordKastle]

What does sales have to do with anything? Motorola was failing and was on its back with no where to turn. The power of the Droid is not in shock and awe necessarily (thought it succeeds in this department), but how it is truly a good quality product. Word of mouth will travel. Motorola had one chance left to make a come back in the cellular business. It's no coincidence that the Droid has lasting power compared to other phones. Motorola's sense of urgency forced them to build something of *quality.* If it failed, they would have too.

So what makes a phone good is the amount of sheep that graze on it? Or is it what I can actually do with it and the quality of build.

 

[Twoo]

So how does the Droid stack 2 weeks after launch compared to the iPhone 2 weeks after it's launch?

In what respect? Sales? Number of apps? Reliability? Number of software/hardware issues?

There are a lot of dimensions to that question. It'd be interesting to see an objective comparison.

But I agree with you that I think the Droid would win hands down, except in sales.

I got my Iphone in November of 2007, I believe that was 5 months after the original launch date. I remember there being problems with initial registration at point of purchase and the original Iphone was pretty crude in comparison to the current. The internet was painfully slow, you could only delete emails and text messages one by one without the ability to group delete. REALLY sucked when my spam folder started forwarding to my Iphone and I was getting 90+ messages a day I'd have to delete one by one. I ended up registering a new email account because of it. The iphone also wouldn't work well in humidity. The screen would get foggy from the perspiration on my hands and I'd have to wipe it on my pants to get it to be responsive again.

Unlike the Droid the App store wasn't even around with the Iphone was introduced. App store came in 2008, and when it was released it didn't have very many apps. (you can actually see it here : App Store - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

Reliability wise I never had any issues. The only problems I had with it were I had to re-register it twice during the first couple months of ownership and I had crappy reception inside my house.

The build quality wasn't exactly the best but you have to remember there wasn't a thousand different kind of cases available at the time- so I went without a case. Within a few months the casing was scratched to hell from just sitting it on my desk every single day.

---

You can't really compare the Droid launch to the Iphone launch- it's not fair. The iphone was originally introduced as a phone first, then it became the multimedia and app giant that it is today. The Droid was launched off the bat to be both.

The OP needs to answer this...Doubt he can give a honest review.

Excuse me? You trying to be a jerk or did you just happen to type that weird.

 

[Donkey Hodie]

What does sales have to do with anything? Motorola was failing and was on its back with no where to turn. The power of the Droid is not in shock and awe necessarily (thought it succeeds in this department), but how it is truly a good quality product. Word of mouth will travel. Motorola had one chance left to make a come back in the cellular business. It's no coincidence that the Droid has lasting power compared to other phones. Motorola's sense of urgency forced them to build something of *quality.* If it failed, they would have too.

So what makes a phone good is the amount of sheep that graze on it? Or is it what I can actually do with it and the quality of build.

Well, there's certainly one dimension where sales has everything to do with it and you alluded it in your last sentence ("what I can actually do with it"). More sales = broader installed base = larger market for app. developers = you're able to do more with it.