Does anyone else find that the D3 power button takes quite a bit of force to press when new?
Compared to other Droid phones I've tried, the D3 seems to require more force. You cannot just
"click" it with a finger, but have to grip the phone and push on it. Hopefully the power
button will not break. I tend to slide the keyboard one row open when browsing. That keeps
it in landscape, and also lets me wake the screen back up by pressing a key if it times out.
Also, the mini-USB cable was hard to plug in and out. I had to align it "just right" and then apply
more force than felt safe. I was worried about breaking the connector in the phone, or its solder
joints to the board. Anyone else have this problem?
Looking closely at the included USB cable, the teeth on the bottom are triangular and sharp-edged.
I have a white mini-USB cable and charger for my Kindle 2, and its teeth are more rounded.
I tried the Kindle cable and it was much easier to plug in and pull out. Still requires careful alignment
(on both the Kindle and the D3) but I no longer expect to break the connector each time.
I found that both the Kindle and Droid chargers will charge the phone through the Kindle cable.
Other observations on this phone:
Camera360 (paid) takes much better photos with no tint, but it will drain your battery if you don't
shoot the app dead using the task manager after each use. It keeps pinging GPS.
[update: latest version seems to have fixed this]
Google Navigation in walking map mode, satellite view, is downright spooky. It feels like you have a
drone flying overhead following you. Try it if you haven't.
Browser hung once and was not present in the task manager to kill it. I had to reboot.
Bluetooth headset occasionally does not reattach after a few uses. Cycling Bluetooth in settings fixes this.
Not so good when driving and the phone rings. Bluetooth range to headset is great - I can walk around
the room without carrying the phone, or wear the phone on one side and headset on the other.
With previous phones I could not do that.
When it finishes charging, the phone puts up a message asking you to unplug it to save energy.
Ignore that noise, and leave it plugged in all night. It uses very little energy and gains you at least
10% charge at the end of the day. I'm usually between 50 and 80 % depending on use.
Talking on the phone uses very little power compared to browsing or other data use.
SMS does get confirmations if you enable this feature in the settings, but you have to watch the
sent arrow very closely as the change between "pending" and "acknowledged" is subtle. Send to
yourself and watch the sequence.
Text messaging cannot set a custom per-source sound, which bugs me, because I get system alerts
via SMS and would love to assign a different alert tone to those vs. regular SMS from people.
The camera light is very bright, nearly weapons-grade. Get Droid Light.
The volume up and down buttons will sometimes wake the phone, and sometimes not. I have not
figured out what determines when it will and when it won't.
Compared to other Droid phones I've tried, the D3 seems to require more force. You cannot just
"click" it with a finger, but have to grip the phone and push on it. Hopefully the power
button will not break. I tend to slide the keyboard one row open when browsing. That keeps
it in landscape, and also lets me wake the screen back up by pressing a key if it times out.
Also, the mini-USB cable was hard to plug in and out. I had to align it "just right" and then apply
more force than felt safe. I was worried about breaking the connector in the phone, or its solder
joints to the board. Anyone else have this problem?
Looking closely at the included USB cable, the teeth on the bottom are triangular and sharp-edged.
I have a white mini-USB cable and charger for my Kindle 2, and its teeth are more rounded.
I tried the Kindle cable and it was much easier to plug in and pull out. Still requires careful alignment
(on both the Kindle and the D3) but I no longer expect to break the connector each time.
I found that both the Kindle and Droid chargers will charge the phone through the Kindle cable.
Other observations on this phone:
Camera360 (paid) takes much better photos with no tint, but it will drain your battery if you don't
shoot the app dead using the task manager after each use. It keeps pinging GPS.
[update: latest version seems to have fixed this]
Google Navigation in walking map mode, satellite view, is downright spooky. It feels like you have a
drone flying overhead following you. Try it if you haven't.
Browser hung once and was not present in the task manager to kill it. I had to reboot.
Bluetooth headset occasionally does not reattach after a few uses. Cycling Bluetooth in settings fixes this.
Not so good when driving and the phone rings. Bluetooth range to headset is great - I can walk around
the room without carrying the phone, or wear the phone on one side and headset on the other.
With previous phones I could not do that.
When it finishes charging, the phone puts up a message asking you to unplug it to save energy.
Ignore that noise, and leave it plugged in all night. It uses very little energy and gains you at least
10% charge at the end of the day. I'm usually between 50 and 80 % depending on use.
Talking on the phone uses very little power compared to browsing or other data use.
SMS does get confirmations if you enable this feature in the settings, but you have to watch the
sent arrow very closely as the change between "pending" and "acknowledged" is subtle. Send to
yourself and watch the sequence.
Text messaging cannot set a custom per-source sound, which bugs me, because I get system alerts
via SMS and would love to assign a different alert tone to those vs. regular SMS from people.
The camera light is very bright, nearly weapons-grade. Get Droid Light.
The volume up and down buttons will sometimes wake the phone, and sometimes not. I have not
figured out what determines when it will and when it won't.
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