Needing some help. In layman's terms

[hydro556]

Hello guys. I have had my Moto Droid since November and really like it. I have a couple issues/questions I am hoping you guys can help me resolve.

I have searched and see a ton of info (Great site, here) but it is mostly in terms I cannot really utilize.

I am not a computer expert by any stretch and it seems that one is almost required to be to understand a lot of what you guys say. Much of it just goes over my head. From a little reading here it seems that there are tons of features/apps that the Droid can utilize but I cannot because of lack of knowledge. I will get to my questions.

#1- I cannot get my Wi-fi to work consistently. I have not messed with it much because I am frustrated with it. Is there an update or something simple I can do to get consistent performance from it?

#2- There seems to be a lot of hype about Froyo- Can someone explain it to me in simple, laymans terms. What can it do to make my phone better, and how can I get it up and running on my phone?

#3- Lastly. Swype. It seems like a great improvement to standard keyboards and I think I would love it. It seems that only "beta" forms are available, at least until today. I have tried to find it in my Market but no luck. Any help here?

Thanks for reading my questions. I know it was a long post, but I am hoping you guys can dumb this down enough to help a non computer expert get more from a great phone that I am not maxing out.

PLEASE- those of you who take the time to help me, PLEASE keep it simple. I dont understand the majority of the more advanced techniques. I just want to improve the things I asked about.

Thanks

 

[cromo8]

Hello guys. I have had my Moto Droid since November and really like it. I have a couple issues/questions I am hoping you guys can help me resolve.

I have searched and see a ton of info (Great site, here) but it is mostly in terms I cannot really utilize.

I am not a computer expert by any stretch and it seems that one is almost required to be to understand a lot of what you guys say. Much of it just goes over my head. From a little reading here it seems that there are tons of features/apps that the Droid can utilize but I cannot because of lack of knowledge. I will get to my questions.

#1- I cannot get my Wi-fi to work consistently. I have not messed with it much because I am frustrated with it. Is there an update or something simple I can do to get consistent performance from it?

#2- There seems to be a lot of hype about Froyo- Can someone explain it to me in simple, laymans terms. What can it do to make my phone better, and how can I get it up and running on my phone?

#3- Lastly. Swype. It seems like a great improvement to standard keyboards and I think I would love it. It seems that only "beta" forms are available, at least until today. I have tried to find it in my Market but no luck. Any help here?

Thanks for reading my questions. I know it was a long post, but I am hoping you guys can dumb this down enough to help a non computer expert get more from a great phone that I am not maxing out.

PLEASE- those of you who take the time to help me, PLEASE keep it simple. I dont understand the majority of the more advanced techniques. I just want to improve the things I asked about.

Thanks

well the wifi i am not sure on i have never had a problem unless im in a place where the wifi is unrestricted and public with a lot of people accesing it, at my home and work it works with no issues

froyo in laymans terms like you say is an update to android 2.2, if you rememebr a while ago you got android 2.1 which brought on some changes, this update gives you wifi tethering and usb tethering which let you use your phones internet and data connection to use on your computer so you have internet access everywhere, brings in exchange support for corprorate email, update to your camera settings, multiple language support, and improved performance, as far as getting it officially is by an update from verizon which is not known when or you can root your phone which is essentially hackin ur phone to access its full potential

swype is available for everyone its beta.swype.com and register for free

 

[HCdroid]

Im no expert but to add to what has been said..

Check your router. 99% of the time the culprit of why wi-fi does not work lies there..

Froyo...update new OS (see it as Window XP to Vista or something like that) if you're rooted look for a ROM that interests you. If not you have to wait for an official announcemt from Verizon and Motorola

Swype...go to their website

 

[hydro556]

guys- thanks. I downloaded Swype and am getting the feel for it. Seems pretty amazing.

To the wifi issue. It may or may not be a router issue, as when I first got the phone and tried to get the wifi to work, I had to reboot the router and that fixed the issue. For awhile. It wasnt long and it quit working again, even though all our laptops work fine with the same wireless network. If the laptops work on it, then the Droid should. Also, it is not just at home. I cant get it to work anywhere that I have tried. That is only a couple places, but still.

I was hoping maybe there was a patch or update or something I could download. Guess not.


Is there anything else you guys can think of I should try?

Any other apps that are "must have"? I have only downloaded a few things. Compass- Bar code scanner, some sports stuff, G music, and a few other things. Nothing really super cool, LOL.

 

[OldguyMark]

Can't help you with wifi or swype - I never tried it yet.

Froyo requires rooting your phone, if your not really comfortable with computer stuff, then don't even think about this, just wait until the official release.

As far as other apps -

Astro File Manager (free) is a great app that lets you manage files on your SD card, but again if your not comfortable with computer stuff it may not help you much.

There's a ton other apps (mostly paid) that are really useful, just depends on what you want to do and what skill level you have ... just ask questions here.

Two Cents -

 

[hydro556]

Thanks OldGuy, will check them out.

To clear things up a bit, I am not at all uncomfortable with a computer. I can navigate around, and utilize various programs on my computers very well. My job has me using a PC all day long and I use my PC for stuff like this every night.

I am just not able to perform advanced tasks. When I browse around this site and read about some of the things that guys are doing with their Droids, the terminology just sounds like Mandarin to me, LOL. Way over my head.

 

[OldguyMark]

Thanks OldGuy, will check them out.

To clear things up a bit, I am not at all uncomfortable with a computer. I can navigate around, and utilize various programs on my computers very well. My job has me using a PC all day long and I use my PC for stuff like this every night.

I am just not able to perform advanced tasks. When I browse around this site and read about some of the things that guys are doing with their Droids, the terminology just sounds like Mandarin to me, LOL. Way over my head.

Totally understand - I'm fairly computer literate and have been for years, when I got this new smartphone, I was totally clueless - after reading and searching on this site, I'm really getting the 'hang off it, LOL - just keep hanging around here, you'll get it - it's actually pretty easy -

 

[hydro556]

Sheesh!!

I have spent a lot of time on the phone today with Verizon and pretty much everyone I talked to agreed that the phone was a defective model, as far as wi fi is concerned. This is my second Droid. Te first one had an unexplained catastrophic disaster and was replaced. The thing is, that phone could never get the wifi to work either, but it wasnt a big deal to me then. Now, this is the second Droid I have had and both were failures as far as wi fi.

I am trying to get them to send me a certified like new HTC Incredible to replace it. I told them I was not interested in going through the hassle of swapping with a Droid. Given its history with wi fi.

Will advise. I will say this for Verizon. It is nice to have minimal wait times and always get an english speaking rep for CS,

 

[hydro556]

Basically, the situation ended up like this.

I have a new MotoDroid on its way and they are putting a Certified Like New HTC Incredible in the mail overnight next week. I am going to check them both out and decide which one to keep and send back the other (along with my wifi dysfunctional MotoDroid).

I am terribly up on the current phones, but was under the impression that the Incredible was a step up from the MotoDroid but after doing some reading I am not sure if the Incredible is such a kick ass phone after all.

I am still researching, and have a week or so to decide, but what are your guys opinions? I use my phone for a lot of talking, texting and surfing the web. Since getting my Droid, I have really become an app whore, so I do a lot of that as well.

I love high tech stuff, and just messing around with tech gear. In you guys opinions, which phone is better for someone like me?

Also, I have the ability to be "plugged in" pretty much all the time, so battery life isnt a huge issue. What say you guys?

 

[eliassami5]

if you dont like "hacking" your phone and just like the stock phone experience and the apps, then the Inc. is probably best for you. The potential of the Droid once it is rooted far surpasses the Inc. in speed and in community support. If you like to tinker=Droid, if you like a phone to just "work" out of the box=Incredible. And you need to factor in the hardware keyboard if thats what floats your boat.

 

[aaf709]

I have an app called Wifi Droid. While it won't boost a Wifi signal, it'll give you a list o what's out there and their relative strengths. The app Tricorder will do that too, plus some other things.

 

[hydro556]

To me, the whole hardware KB debate got nuked by Swype. That **** is amazing. I would rather have a virtual KB with Swype than the full size keyboard on my laptop, seriously.

And, no, I dont like to tinker and root etc... I just want a badass high tech device out of the box.

Going to do head to head comparo next week when the new Droid and the Incredible arrive next week and keep the one I like. will let you guys know.

 

[hydro556]

Doing some research, it looks like the Droid X (or whatever they are calling it) is going to release in July.

That phone looks bad ass. I am wondering if I should just send everything back and use my current Droid until next month and get the Droid X. I mean, damn it looks like it will have HDMI out. That s awesome. The X seems to be just like my MotoDroid (which I love) but with a bunch of meaningful updates. What do you guys think? Will the X be WAY better than both my Droid and the Incredible they are sending me?

Also, there sure seems to be a TON of new phones all hitting at once.

 

[hydro556]

Everything resolved.

Got a new Incredible up and running today. Did a speed test and am getting 1.5 megs DL speed on my WIFI. Should be able to actually use internet apps at work now, finally. So, the Moto Droid will be going back tomorrow and I will give the incredible a try.

Am having to get used to the slightly different UI, but it seems like a great little phone. Definitely lighter than the the moto. Can also tell everything is much snappier, I suppose from the Snapdragon processor. Neat phone.

I also managed to get them to send me the extended capacity battery (and the cover) so hopefully I wont have to deal with battery issues.