How to actually interpret reviews for this phone that compare to the iPhone (iDont)

[theduke211]

So all of these reviews I am reading keep comparing it to the iPhone. In general they come to the conclusion that it is the 2nd best smart phone ever made.

With that in mind here is my review from comparing both, through comparing both.

Screen

Droids is bigger, brighter and clearer. Video looks better on the Droid compared to the iPhone and the rendering of text with such high resolution makes it far easier on the eyes.

Droid takes this hands down even if the iPhone has had 3 tries. The Droid is a 3rd Generation gaming system and the iPhone is an oridinal Nintendo. Thats how far off the comparison is here.

Keyboard

Ok, Ok, the keyboard isn't perfect. Its far from perfect. It's like having a high definition TV and watching the local news through rabbit ears. To me thats absolutely irrelevant.

There is a HUGE screen that has a very responsive keyboard. If you dont like or need the QWERTY then just dont use it. I am actually upset at these reviews here. It is one of the few places these reviews knock the phone compared to the iPhone but there is no justification. None bother comparing the touch screen to touch screen. The physical QWERTY is a bonus on this phone and its cool to have if you choose to use it. The phone is so close in size to the iPhone that if you dont use the physical keyboard no biggie. Its the same size phone so pretend it doesn't exist.

Camera

Again a lot of ridiculous reviews here. Some quick google searching will find plenty of shots from this phone. From what I have seen in the reviews and my own photos taken there is absolutely no reason you should ask for more from a camera. There is a 5mp camera here with dual LED flash and auto focus. With the open source OS someone will have an application that makes the camera/focus work a little faster than it is now. The camera here has more features (dual led, better video recorder etc) than the iPhone does.

Application Store

Apples is hands down larger by 90k applications. Here Apple wins with an astericks like Barry Bonds should have next to his home run record. Apple is well known for blocking applications and Google simply wont. While many doubted that Big Red would actually leave the phone open they have proven that its true with this Droid. Apple is losing developers for the App store at the same rate that the Android marketplace is gaining them. That along with the 88 million customers that the VZW network opens up to mobile developers means the Android market will be HUGE soon. For now Apple wins with a lot of redundancy but the Android marketplace will surpass in the future.

Music/Media

Ummmmmmmm where to start here. Another frustrating place in the reviews. Apple has had how many years now to work on iTunes and the media player in the iPhone? Its a lot of years. Playing music, playlists etc on the iPhone is better for sure in comparison. But then as I play with the Droid more and more, and read more reviews... something hits me. I dont feel that the media player is that bad at all on the Droid its just not as good as the iPhones. But wait... the Droid has a removable 16gb expandable to 32gb card. The sound of music and videos on the Droid is absolutely better and the picture isnt comparable at all. With the Droid unanamously having better audio, video quality on playback etc it is clearly the winner here. I dont understand how they say the iPhone is better here. I used one for years and its not comparable in video or audio.

Web browser

Yes I am an instant fanboy of the Droid. I keep reading reviews that say the iPhone browser is faster. Lies!

Here are some facts about this one.

The VZW network runs faster than ATT's at its peak and bottom and has a continous data speed that is also faster.

The VZW network is 5x larger which they are proud of for sure because its all they talk about.

The phones processor is 2x that of the iPhone and larger.

The Droid DOES DO MULTITOUCH and since anyone can access the OS programming its a matter of time before it works on the (or another) browser.

The Droids browser is faster and the pages are better on the eyes.

I will probably write more later. Football and phone are keeping my attention today but I think this needs to be put out there. People are being fanboys in the reviews and I actually can't find a reason anyone would buy an iPhone anymore. Not one.

My gut says this bad boy is to get the phone out there with sheer power

 

[theduke211]

To finish my last thought there, this phone could use some more tuning but its not bad at all. IMO it is better than the iPhone in every way there is. I think they are counting on the tech geeks (me) to get this phone and get it out there. Once people start to see this phone mixed in with some other demo's that will get it also, then they can really start to market against the idont. That phone has saturated the trendy pop culture that exists today so badly you have to take a few small steps up to the table before you can even get to the pie that makes up market share.

 

[JhankG]

Great review. However, I believe the iPhone 3GS and Droid have a very similar processor (so not three times as fast). As for the web browser being faster, there are videos that show the two side by side and the iPhone does come out ahead in many instances. The iPhone's multimedia software on the phone is much more appealing to most people's eyes and has the ability to create multiple playlists and even try to create a playlist based on your music preferences (I believe the feature is called Genius). However, as long as I can watch my movies and listen to my music, I really don't care what the software looks like. With all that said, I still love the Droid 10X's more than the iPhone. I just don't think loving the Droid has to mean that you have to hate the iPhone. They both have their strengths and weaknesses and the competition will only push both companies to come out with even better options.

 

[New2u]

Great review. However, I believe the iPhone 3GS and Droid have a very similar processor (so not three times as fast). As for the web browser being faster, there are videos that show the two side by side and the iPhone does come out ahead in many instances. The iPhone's multimedia software on the phone is much more appealing to most people's eyes and has the ability to create multiple playlists and even try to create a playlist based on your music preferences (I believe the feature is called Genius). However, as long as I can watch my movies and listen to my music, I really don't care what the software looks like. With all that said, I still love the Droid 10X's more than the iPhone. I just don't think loving the Droid has to mean that you have to hate the iPhone. They both have their strengths and weaknesses and the competition will only push both companies to come out with even better options.

The iphone and droid use the same CPU only, their GPU is different. Iphone has a CPU+GPU in one, where the droid has them both dedicated. Much like you putting a new graphics card in your computer. The dedicated one will always make the system run alot faster, because your not running the graphics through the main processor.

Tunewiki is more then enough for my needs when it comes to music, it plays mp3's and it can create a playlist. nough said.

I agree 100% they both have their strengths and weaknesses.

The only thing that can be said about the camera, is that right now it's glitchy at best for most people, once the software fix comes out for it, i'm quite sure noone will be yelling about how much it sucks.

 

[andjarnic]

I have to agree with the OP... the media on this phone works fine. Well.. to be fair, the iPhone plays a lot more video formats... but that wont be for long.

Agreed on the keyboard.. and having both a 3G and Droid, the Droid on-screen keyboard is more accurate.. MUCH! I have big fingers, and I am always swearing at the iPhone cause I use the back space more than I type. I've barely used the backspace on the Droid. I am guessing it's due to the higher resolution of the screen..I am not for sure tho, but I barely miss a key on this virtual keyboard. As the OP said, there will be.. or already is, replacements for everything. I don't think apple will ever open up their phone like this. Seriously doubt you'll ever be able to replace their dialer, contact system, or their front screen lock mechanism.

As a developer of android, it's amazng what you can do. A few lines of code and I could pull up the last location my phone was at. Not that you can't do this on the iPhone, but it took me < 5 mins to set up the dev environment, type a few lines of code, and see it run on my Droid!! Having done some iPhone dev.. it's no where near as easy and quick to get going with it. By that I mean, by the time you download the xCode and apis, sign everything needed and write some code... the Android wins by far. With a much large developer base of Java developers, it truly is just a matter of time before the android store has 10x as many apps as the iphone.

In regards to apps, you are going to see 100 copies of the same type of app over time, always. There are 500 different checker games, chess games, etc out there.. which one to choose? They all play similar with different graphics or features. It's just the way games go (and apps for that matter). So anyone comparing that the iPhone has more apps.. well Duh, they have been available for over a year already.

Frankly, I think Google is the next Apple and Microsoft combined. They are not only huge, but they are into every aspect of our lives. They stuff they come up with is amazing. If you haven't seen Google Wave.. it's something that us developers have been asking for for years, that costs a bundle to even get the next nearest thing working. Collaboration at its finest! It will hopefully open up the doors to a lot more remote (telecomute) developer positions which in my book is what is going to make or break good companies in the future. Check out Google Voice. Free service that allows you to get assigned a single phone number, and then set up groups.. and route incoming calls to different phone numbers. You can set up a work group and based on the phone number someone calls from, can be routed to your home, mobile, or directly to voice mail. All for free. It's insane! Android OS, and I am guessing it's part of the new operating system they are working on.. is another area that is damn impressive. Wait till you see tablets with Android OS, where you can walk around and watch movies or play games.. really do anything you can do on your android phone, in a larger form factor. Man, I'll be a couch potato before long with one of those things! Kindle is in a world of trouble if you ask me!

My prediction.. it is mine after all.. Kindle..to stay alive is going to need to use Android OS. BlackBerry, Palm, etc.. are going to come out with Android based phones to stay alive. MS Mobile willl lose market share to the point of only companies that hate apple/google and MUST HAVE windows will have them. Apple will still be huge, they wont sit still and they got a ton of money right now, but they will lose a lot of market share to Android. It would not surprise me if they in some way support Android in the future, but I don't know if that is even legal. I do hope that google does NOT allow iPhone to have their talking map capabilities. There has got to be some things that stay strickly on Android.

In short, Android has nowhere but up to go, Apple is the one to beat and Android is the one to do it. Android is quickly becoming the new Apple.. and with so many different phones (and devices) to choose from within the next 6 months, on every phone carrier out there.. apple is going to have its work cut out for them to stay ahead. Moto Droid, the first device with Android 2.0 showed up and I think Apple has got to be a little scared right now.