Should I get the Pro?

[jgraves]

I've been debating on whether I should get the Pro or the X. I really like both phones. I'm leaning towards the Pro. I know the Pro has a smaller screen, adn smaller resolution, but is the quality of the screen bad compared to the X? If anyone has the Pro, what do you think of the keyboard?

Or should I just wait to see what comes out next year?

Thanks for the help!

 

[KZIWarrior]

I've been debating on whether I should get the Pro or the X. I really like both phones. I'm leaning towards the Pro. I know the Pro has a smaller screen, adn smaller resolution, but is the quality of the screen bad compared to the X? If anyone has the Pro, what do you think of the keyboard?

Or should I just wait to see what comes out next year?

Thanks for the help!

Unless you have another line coming due for an upgrade soon if I were you I would wait at least two weeks till we see what's announced at CES. As for the Pro I've used it a bit and the keyboard SUCKS (least if you have 'man-sized' hands... might be fine for some but useless for me). The 'virtual' keyboards available for the X (swype and SwiftKey particularly) will serve you far better on the X than the POS keyboard on the Pro.

As far as 'functionality'... the Pro is a real letdown considering it is supposed to be the closet thing to a BlackBerry that Android has... It lack virtually ALL of the iniate functionality of a BlackBerry and the exchange support is laughable. That being said there are GREAT workarounds (read 3rd party apps ect.) that will give you that functionality (if you need it) but nothing that you won't be able to use on the X or any other android, including future devices.

 

[MrWilliams]

I love mine. I had several BB's and a couple of Android devices before upgrading to the Pro. I disagree with the previous post. The keyboard makes the phone. It's far better than any virtual keyboard I've used. Also, the phone if BLAZING fast at everything.

I know the screen is not a top of the line type, but it looks nice. The smaller screen size doesn't bother me at all. It is more than sufficient. I've also had a great experience with battery life so far. I'll be at 60-70% at they end of most days.

 

[jpcalhoun]

I've been debating on whether I should get the Pro or the X. I really like both phones. I'm leaning towards the Pro. I know the Pro has a smaller screen, adn smaller resolution, but is the quality of the screen bad compared to the X? If anyone has the Pro, what do you think of the keyboard?

Or should I just wait to see what comes out next year?

Thanks for the help!

I made the transition from BB to Droid Pro for a number of reasons, mainly improved OS, more "state of the art" phone from A to Z and everything in between, greater degree of flexibility and availability or Apps, WiFi and a larger screen. It is not a BB...therefore it may take you a day or so to get used to how things work on an Android...hey, I was a BB user for years...it only took me probably an hour or so of just playing with the phone...and I am no genius. The keyboard is every bit as good as the BB. I have no complaints at all. In fact, I like the numbers displayed across the top of the keyboard much better than how BB does it.

If you are a corporate email (exchange/sync) user you will have some issues for right now. They're still trying to get their corporate sync to work in a reliable fashion. If you are not tied to your corporate email then, unlike BB, you have a number of options for personal email/contacts etc...all of them work nicely...it just depends on what your preferences are. One of the beauties of Android phone...you have options.

I've had my Pro for over a month and the ONLY thing the four previous BB have over my Pro is battery life. I am a business owner who uses the Pro for business and personal use in just about every function/way you can use a smartphone and the Pro has met or exceeded every need.

As far as a Pro or X...depends on your preference, what you want to do and how much you want to spend...the discriminating factor for me was the keyboard, it's global (must have for my business) and I like the smaller form factor...I hate virtual keyboards.

 

[MO3iusONE]

I've been debating on whether I should get the Pro or the X. I really like both phones. I'm leaning towards the Pro. I know the Pro has a smaller screen, adn smaller resolution, but is the quality of the screen bad compared to the X? If anyone has the Pro, what do you think of the keyboard?

Or should I just wait to see what comes out next year?

Thanks for the help!

Unless you have another line coming due for an upgrade soon if I were you I would wait at least two weeks till we see what's announced at CES. As for the Pro I've used it a bit and the keyboard SUCKS (least if you have 'man-sized' hands... might be fine for some but useless for me). The 'virtual' keyboards available for the X (swype and SwiftKey particularly) will serve you far better on the X than the POS keyboard on the Pro.

As far as 'functionality'... the Pro is a real letdown considering it is supposed to be the closet thing to a BlackBerry that Android has... It lack virtually ALL of the iniate functionality of a BlackBerry and the exchange support is laughable. That being said there are GREAT workarounds (read 3rd party apps ect.) that will give you that functionality (if you need it) but nothing that you won't be able to use on the X or any other android, including future devices.

Do you even own a Droid Pro? Its funny how some people play with a Droid Pro for a few minutes and feel that thats enough to know everything about the phone. I dont care what anyone else says, there is no substitute for a physical keyboard, sure you can write paragraphs with Swype, but once you get good enough with the Droid Pro, you'll be typing with a quickness and you'll have no problem typing looking down and that, thats just golden.


As for the OP, Honestly, I like this phone enough to go from the Droid Pro, to the iPhone 4, back to the Droid Pro. The screen resolution is like night and day when comparing it to other phones (I use to have the Evo as well) and I really miss the size of that screen lol. The Droid Pro shines when it comes to things such as the keyboard and short cut keys, the keyboard isn't the greatest but its good enough if your a texter or shoot out a lot of emails, just like any other phone ,it takes some time to get use to.

I was really surprised at how snappy the Droid Pro felt, at least compared to my Evo, the Evo was a great phone but I found it acting sluggish here and there.

I mean its pretty simple, if you want a bigger screen and if you dont text a lot, go with the Droid X, if your life revolves around texting, emailing, and inputing things in your calendar on a daily basis, go with the droid pro.

The only issues I had with the phone is that it would hang here and there, say I hit the sarch button and start typing something, sometimes it would freeze for a second or two, then continue.

Also, the newest version of Google maps would cause my phone to freeze a lot but, I'm sure thats just related to google maps.


You always have the option to wait for a phone, I assure you there will be a better phone, there always is, so its up to you if you want to get a phone now only to find out theres a better version coming out in a few months or you could wait a few months, get the better phone, only to find out an even better phone is coming out to replace that one.


Oh one more thing, get the extended battery, it does wonders for this phone.

 

[StingRay]

I've been debating on whether I should get the Pro or the X. I really like both phones. I'm leaning towards the Pro. I know the Pro has a smaller screen, adn smaller resolution, but is the quality of the screen bad compared to the X? If anyone has the Pro, what do you think of the keyboard?

Or should I just wait to see what comes out next year?

Thanks for the help!

j

It's completely personal preference...you're going to have to give one or the other a shot and see what you think...

I've been using my rooted Droid(1) for a year and got fed up with the onscreen typing, even using Swype....Droid slide out keyboard was obviously useless....anyone that has to use a phone for business purposes that involves email, etc. onscreen keyboards suck as far as I'm concerned...I had to have a physical keyboard and didn't want a slide out, so the choice was the Pro or go back to a Blackberry....not a fan of the BB OS so I went with the Pro...

I've had my Pro for just over 30 days and really like it...only issue is the corporate exchange sync "bug" that seems to delay push, but hoping for a fix relatively soon (new update didn't correct)...

If you are needing a device to play on, then you probably should go with the Droid X....bigger better screen to play games and videos....If you are needing a phone for legit business, then give the Droid Pro a try....btw...I have Angry Birds and other games and they work just fine on the Pro's smaller screen too...

I agree with MO....should be many new devices out at the end of January, so I would suggest waiting and seeing what comes out...Good Luck!

 

[KZIWarrior]

Do you even own a Droid Pro? Its funny how some people play with a Droid Pro for a few minutes and feel that thats enough to know everything about the phone. I dont care what anyone else says, there is no substitute for a physical keyboard, sure you can write paragraphs with Swype, but once you get good enough with the Droid Pro, you'll be typing with a quickness and you'll have no problem typing looking down and that, thats just golden.

Do I currently no, I got my fiance one and she had it less than two weeks before going with a better phone because even she couldn't stand it (she has very small hands and even she found the keyboard hard to use). I've also helped several friends and co-workers try to fix theirs and it was nothing but a pia. Of the ~8 people I know that have had it only 1 has NOT exchanged it for other Droids and NONE of them regret it either. They all share mine and my fiances very about the virtual keyboards (hell I still have a OG Droid and outside of using recovery I never open it to use the physical keyboard, and the whole reason I got it was because I once that that a virtual keyboards could never equal a physical). But to each their own, if you want a tiny, low res screen, a miniature keyboard, poor battery and lousy email in a phone that cost more than alternatives just so you can satisfy you BlackBerry physical fixation go for itdancedroid.

OP, get it and try it, remember you have 30 days. But again at the least you should see what's unveiled at CES in two weeks. Bottom line is the PRO and most other current Droids will be vastly underpowered compared to phones coming out in late January or early Feb. Also are you in an area that has 4G yet? If so that would be another reason to wait (here in Nashville we have it, so until we here a definite on when the first 4G phones will be available it's can of stupid to get on now unless there is an absolute need for it).

 

[jpcalhoun]

Do you even own a Droid Pro? Its funny how some people play with a Droid Pro for a few minutes and feel that thats enough to know everything about the phone. I dont care what anyone else says, there is no substitute for a physical keyboard, sure you can write paragraphs with Swype, but once you get good enough with the Droid Pro, you'll be typing with a quickness and you'll have no problem typing looking down and that, thats just golden.

Do I currently no, I got my fiance one and she had it less than two weeks before going with a better phone because even she couldn't stand it (she has very small hands and even she found the keyboard hard to use). I've also helped several friends and co-workers try to fix theirs and it was nothing but a pia. Of the ~8 people I know that have had it only 1 has NOT exchanged it for other Droids and NONE of them regret it either. They all share mine and my fiances very about the virtual keyboards (hell I still have a OG Droid and outside of using recovery I never open it to use the physical keyboard, and the whole reason I got it was because I once that that a virtual keyboards could never equal a physical). But to each their own, if you want a tiny, low res screen, a miniature keyboard, poor battery and lousy email in a phone that cost more than alternatives just so you can satisfy you BlackBerry physical fixation go for itdancedroid.

OP, get it and try it, remember you have 30 days. But again at the least you should see what's unveiled at CES in two weeks. Bottom line is the PRO and most other current Droids will be vastly underpowered compared to phones coming out in late January or early Feb. Also are you in an area that has 4G yet? If so that would be another reason to wait (here in Nashville we have it, so until we here a definite on when the first 4G phones will be available it's can of stupid to get on now unless there is an absolute need for it).

I haven't experienced any of the problems/dislikes that KZI Warrior or his wife and friends have, and I have to take exception to most of what they have experienced...but, he is absolutely right...to each his own.

I do agree with his point about 4G. Don't know where you live or who your carrier is, but T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon are all deploying their 4G networks now. Depending on your needs and when 4G is coming to your area, if not already there, it might be worth considering a 4G phone...there are some already out there even if your area doesn't have 4G yet...but 4G is coming. I would have waited, but Verizon 4G is not scheduled to get to my area until some time in 2012 (ugh) and I couldn't live with my Tour any longer.

 

[MO3iusONE]

Do you even own a Droid Pro? Its funny how some people play with a Droid Pro for a few minutes and feel that thats enough to know everything about the phone. I dont care what anyone else says, there is no substitute for a physical keyboard, sure you can write paragraphs with Swype, but once you get good enough with the Droid Pro, you'll be typing with a quickness and you'll have no problem typing looking down and that, thats just golden.

Do I currently no, I got my fiance one and she had it less than two weeks before going with a better phone because even she couldn't stand it (she has very small hands and even she found the keyboard hard to use). I've also helped several friends and co-workers try to fix theirs and it was nothing but a pia. Of the ~8 people I know that have had it only 1 has NOT exchanged it for other Droids and NONE of them regret it either. They all share mine and my fiances very about the virtual keyboards (hell I still have a OG Droid and outside of using recovery I never open it to use the physical keyboard, and the whole reason I got it was because I once that that a virtual keyboards could never equal a physical). But to each their own, if you want a tiny, low res screen, a miniature keyboard, poor battery and lousy email in a phone that cost more than alternatives just so you can satisfy you BlackBerry physical fixation go for itdancedroid.

OP, get it and try it, remember you have 30 days. But again at the least you should see what's unveiled at CES in two weeks. Bottom line is the PRO and most other current Droids will be vastly underpowered compared to phones coming out in late January or early Feb. Also are you in an area that has 4G yet? If so that would be another reason to wait (here in Nashville we have it, so until we here a definite on when the first 4G phones will be available it's can of stupid to get on now unless there is an absolute need for it).

Lets be pretty blunt, witch Android device doesn't have horrid battery life without the use of a task killer? This may sound bad but purchasing an extended battery for the Droid Pro will add a good chunk of hours to the Pro. The Droid Pro keyboard is not tiny, maybe tiny compared to wider landscape keyboards such as the Droid 2 but as a potrait keyboard its a decent size, maybe not as spaced out as a lot of the blackberry keyboards out there but its decent. Maybe your fiance's hands are too small lol jk.



I'll give you that, the screen is a bit disappointing compared to other phones, I wish it was a bit wider and of better quality. Honestly, I think the phone looks pretty ugly but, its practical and I feel like I can be more efficient on the Droid Pro then say, the iPhone.

It would be a good idea waiting to see if something else comes out but like I said before, something is always coming out, Droid Incredible, Droid X, (HTC's upcoming 4G phone), etc. etc.

When it comes to both the Droid X and the Pro, it isn't apples and oranges, I mean their both running the same OS, they both have the same processor, same amount of ram, etc. etc. one has a bigger screen, the other allows you to use it in different countires, I mean they both have their plus and minuses, for me since I text a lot and I need to do it quick, I prefer the Pro but yeah, for sure to each its own.

 

[Janet1025]

Do you even own a Droid Pro? Its funny how some people play with a Droid Pro for a few minutes and feel that thats enough to know everything about the phone. I dont care what anyone else says, there is no substitute for a physical keyboard, sure you can write paragraphs with Swype, but once you get good enough with the Droid Pro, you'll be typing with a quickness and you'll have no problem typing looking down and that, thats just golden.

Do I currently no, I got my fiance one and she had it less than two weeks before going with a better phone because even she couldn't stand it (she has very small hands and even she found the keyboard hard to use). I've also helped several friends and co-workers try to fix theirs and it was nothing but a pia. Of the ~8 people I know that have had it only 1 has NOT exchanged it for other Droids and NONE of them regret it either. They all share mine and my fiances very about the virtual keyboards (hell I still have a OG Droid and outside of using recovery I never open it to use the physical keyboard, and the whole reason I got it was because I once that that a virtual keyboards could never equal a physical). But to each their own, if you want a tiny, low res screen, a miniature keyboard, poor battery and lousy email in a phone that cost more than alternatives just so you can satisfy you BlackBerry physical fixation go for itdancedroid.

OP, get it and try it, remember you have 30 days. But again at the least you should see what's unveiled at CES in two weeks. Bottom line is the PRO and most other current Droids will be vastly underpowered compared to phones coming out in late January or early Feb. Also are you in an area that has 4G yet? If so that would be another reason to wait (here in Nashville we have it, so until we here a definite on when the first 4G phones will be available it's can of stupid to get on now unless there is an absolute need for it).

I totally agree with the above, I was tracking the release of this phone for months, and bought it two days after sale date. I returned it within a week.... Huge disappointment... But there seems to be a lot of people that love it on here..
I hated the narrowness of the phone and keyboard, the location of the four home buttons -I kept accidently hitting them and it would bring me to a whole different screen- battery life, voice quality was terrible... Maybe I expected too much since I thought it was the BLACKBERRY KILLER...
In any case I returned it for the Droid X since I got hooked on the fast browser but was anti digital keyboard...
It will be four weeks on Sunday and I am EXTREMELY happy with my X and I am digital typing with one hand!

Good Luck, remember you do have 30 days, it SAVED ME!

 

[MO3iusONE]

Do you even own a Droid Pro? Its funny how some people play with a Droid Pro for a few minutes and feel that thats enough to know everything about the phone. I dont care what anyone else says, there is no substitute for a physical keyboard, sure you can write paragraphs with Swype, but once you get good enough with the Droid Pro, you'll be typing with a quickness and you'll have no problem typing looking down and that, thats just golden.

Do I currently no, I got my fiance one and she had it less than two weeks before going with a better phone because even she couldn't stand it (she has very small hands and even she found the keyboard hard to use). I've also helped several friends and co-workers try to fix theirs and it was nothing but a pia. Of the ~8 people I know that have had it only 1 has NOT exchanged it for other Droids and NONE of them regret it either. They all share mine and my fiances very about the virtual keyboards (hell I still have a OG Droid and outside of using recovery I never open it to use the physical keyboard, and the whole reason I got it was because I once that that a virtual keyboards could never equal a physical). But to each their own, if you want a tiny, low res screen, a miniature keyboard, poor battery and lousy email in a phone that cost more than alternatives just so you can satisfy you BlackBerry physical fixation go for itdancedroid.

OP, get it and try it, remember you have 30 days. But again at the least you should see what's unveiled at CES in two weeks. Bottom line is the PRO and most other current Droids will be vastly underpowered compared to phones coming out in late January or early Feb. Also are you in an area that has 4G yet? If so that would be another reason to wait (here in Nashville we have it, so until we here a definite on when the first 4G phones will be available it's can of stupid to get on now unless there is an absolute need for it).

I totally agree with the above, I was tracking the release of this phone for months, and bought it two days after sale date. I returned it within a week.... Huge disappointment... But there seems to be a lot of people that love it on here..
I hated the narrowness of the phone and keyboard, the location of the four home buttons -I kept accidently hitting them and it would bring me to a whole different screen- battery life, voice quality was terrible... Maybe I expected too much since I thought it was the BLACKBERRY KILLER...
In any case I returned it for the Droid X since I got hooked on the fast browser but was anti digital keyboard...
It will be four weeks on Sunday and I am EXTREMELY happy with my X and I am digital typing with one hand!

Good Luck, remember you do have 30 days, it SAVED ME!

I feel like a week just isn't enough to really test drive a phone but I get what your saying, the one thing that irked me the most was the home buttons, i"m surprised they didn't use actual physical buttons like the Droid X since that seems to make more sense. But overall, I like the Pro.

 

[KZIWarrior]

I feel like a week just isn't enough to really test drive a phone but I get what your saying, the one thing that irked me the most was the home buttons, i"m surprised they didn't use actual physical buttons like the Droid X since that seems to make more sense. But overall, I like the Pro.

On the contrary, anymore than a week and you're training yourself 'to' the phone. Unless it's your first 'smartphone' it shouldn't take more than a few days to familiarize yourself with the system/OS and figure out if it's the OS or the device that you are not liking. With enough use anyone can come to be familiar with and tolerate anything. If you don't like it initially than it is what it is. My fiance and I were already quite familiar with Android so we quickly realized it was the phone. Sure had I forced her to stick with it she'd be using it and in all likelihood be 'satisfied' with it but that doesn't change the underlying fact that she did not like it physically. As to the OS I can't comment on OEM/Stock ROMs too much as all three of our devices are rooted and flashed but the ROM on the Pro is HORRIBLE, and I'm sure it's the cause of most if not all of the major 'issues' I and my coworkers were having in regards to exchange servers ect. but at the time there were no (and don't know if there are yet) any good custom ROMs for the device.

 

[tennvol]

You can wait and wait and wait and something bigger and better will always be on the horizon. I came from a bb to the D1 and fought the virtual keyboard for a year. Yes the placement of the home keys on the pro can be frustrating at times and yes the keyboard is narrow but the more I use the keyboard the faster I get, and the less I hit the homescreen buttons. Battery life sucks, its a fact with any device with a fast cpu and a decent screen. I have the extended battery and I run office communicator and ebuddy all day and get about 8 hours out of it. Not too bad at all. The blackberry battery lasts longer since it does less than the pro and the only thing to do is email where the pro can do a whole lot more.

I do hate the weak vibrate though and the latest software update fixes call and reception issues.

Sent from my DROID PRO using DroidForums App

 

[SquintyOS]

I agree with a lot of what is said. I am physically disabled and use one hand for every thing. Had the original droid for a year but switched to the pro a month ago,

I can honestly say I love both phones, never had an X but played with it. As for the need for a original, I used both physical and virtual and can say I am just as fast with my pro as swipe or the digital. The physical keyboard wads kind of a stretch for one hand use without cramping. I switched a month ago and am happy. I am a college student/traveler so having this phone with Verizon is good. Ray for global capabilities.

Sent from my DROID PRO using DroidForums App

 

[MO3iusONE]

I feel like a week just isn't enough to really test drive a phone but I get what your saying, the one thing that irked me the most was the home buttons, i"m surprised they didn't use actual physical buttons like the Droid X since that seems to make more sense. But overall, I like the Pro.

On the contrary, anymore than a week and you're training yourself 'to' the phone. Unless it's your first 'smartphone' it shouldn't take more than a few days to familiarize yourself with the system/OS and figure out if it's the OS or the device that you are not liking. With enough use anyone can come to be familiar with and tolerate anything. If you don't like it initially than it is what it is. My fiance and I were already quite familiar with Android so we quickly realized it was the phone. Sure had I forced her to stick with it she'd be using it and in all likelihood be 'satisfied' with it but that doesn't change the underlying fact that she did not like it physically. As to the OS I can't comment on OEM/Stock ROMs too much as all three of our devices are rooted and flashed but the ROM on the Pro is HORRIBLE, and I'm sure it's the cause of most if not all of the major 'issues' I and my coworkers were having in regards to exchange servers ect. but at the time there were no (and don't know if there are yet) any good custom ROMs for the device.

A week might be more than enough time when it comes to phones such as the Incredible, Droid X, or any other touch screen phone since for the most part, their all the same. Phones such as the Droid, Droid Pro is a different story, I mean I remember going from the Treo to the Palm Pre and there was a bit of a learning curve, same when I went from the Pre to the BB Curve. Not all keyboards are the same, and as much as the keyboard on the Droid Pro looks like a BB keyboard, its simply not, the keys are too narrow and therefore yeah, you do have to adjust. You make it sounds so bad, having to tolerate this phone or any phone, its not so much tolerating it, its just having to adjust to it. Having to adjust to anything such as an all touch screen phone, or a slide out keyboard phone, etc. etc.


As with the OS, to tell you the truth, I think its pretty solid for the most part but the only other Android device I ever had was the Evo which was running the Sense UI and the Droid Pro is a lot smoother and snappier then Android on the Evo. But overall when I got my Pro I felt right at home, Android is Android.

Back to my original point and to the OP, if you can overlook the low res screen, the Droid Pro is a great phone, the keyboard isn't the best but once you get use to it you'll be typing really quick. The one thing that still throws me off is all the numbers being on the top row and the alt key being in a weird place.