Would you recommend Droid to a non tech friend?

[zakany]

It's just a phone, people. Sure, a very capable phone - but it can be used to call people and send the occasional text message. If someone wants a smartphone and likes Verizon, the Droid is the one I'd recommend at this point.

 

[Rettocs]

It's just a phone, people. Sure, a very capable phone - but it can be used to call people and send the occasional text message. If someone wants a smartphone and likes Verizon, the Droid is the one I'd recommend at this point.

Same here. To get the basic functions, it is just like any other phone. You find the menu that gives you calling. Then find the menu that gives messaging. The rest is dependant on your ability to explore your phone. Every phone I have ever owned has been the same way.

 

[jsh1120]

@ Alm0614 your Gma is Bad@ss!
no way my Gma would know how to use a DROID. my gramps would try and get pissed off and call me asking how to do this or how to do that.

-=jason=-

I think your grandparents are my father-in-law and mother-in-law. OMG! That makes you my long lost son.

Seriously, though, I'd be very hesitant to recommend a Droid to a non-techie. Or for that matter to many "techies." I'll cite a couple of my co-workers' experiences. Neither is a true "techie," but each is familiar with software development and works in the industry. In other words, they're neither technophobic nor dumb.

In one case my co-worker returned his Droid and got a new BlackBerry after a frustrating experience trying to tie his corporate Exchange Email to the Droid. He receives a hundred or so emails every day, travels extensively, and finds the Gmail email organization to be ill suited to his needs. Add to that our less than stellar corporate IT department and it all became a major PITA to deal with the Droid.

In his case, he's not "non-technical." However, he has neither the time nor the patience to devote himself to dealing with the "technical" aspects of a phone. He just wants a device that assists him in his business.

In the other case, a young woman in her 20's gave up her BB for a Droid. She has stuck with it, but it's been a painful period of adjustment. She uses her mobile phone as her main communication link. (Doesn't even know her land line phone number.) She texts frequently. In other words, she's a typical "20 something."

She reports accidentally texting to multiple people when she meant to text to only one person. She finds the interface non-intuitive. She's tired of encountering frequent application "updates" without knowing what the updates are for. She has stuck with the Droid because she appreciates its potential but it's hardly been an unmixed experience for her.

So, here's a "business" user who finds it problematic to use a Droid for purely business purposes. And here's a "social networking" user who has a similar set of experiences.

All in all, the Droid isn't ready for primetime for either of them. I suspect it will "get there," but right now it's living on promise, not on delivery of a seamless consumer experience.

 

[Barkleyfan]

For someone non-technical, it would have to be something less sophisticated. I won't recommend iPhone, because of the network. But iPhone IS the "kewl" gadget for dumb people. It's designed around a idiot-proof mobile experience with plenty of bling apps to keep you endlessly entertained. And for someone with a little knowledge, a jailbroken iPhone can be made to do pretty much anything.

For someone tech-dumb, I'd go for a messaging phone rather than a true smartphone. Looks cool, they feel cool, and they're not bugging you about how to do this or that.

For someone simply non-technical, but able to learn basics, I'd recommend a Droid, and give some links for them to educate themselves. My wife falls in this category, and I bought her a Droid so she would give me mine back. While she suffers from abnormal impatience with all things tech, she can and is willing to learn. She's pretty happy with it so far, altho nothing in the history of tech is ever fast enough for her, and the Droid is no exception.

 

[adrynalyne]

I don't know if I would reccomend it to a non techy person.

My wife is non-techy, yet uses a Blackberry just fine, even with closing apps

But she hates my Droid and has trouble with it.

Which seems odd, because I always figured Blackberries had a somewhat steeper learning curve due to be less user friendly (imo anyway).

 

[DigiK]

Droids for all.
I think for some who are less technically inclined, it has a couple-day learning curve which is easily overcome by having a short tutorial from a friend who knows Android. It's one thing to create software that just works, but another to create software that's so simple and locked down that it limits what you can do. The beauty of Droid is that it's designed for Noob+1 but scales all the way up to the needs and desires of the 1337.

 

[baniels]

I would recommend it to some of my friends, but I don't know any person in my life that would enjoy this phone to the degree that I do.

 

[xliderider]

Probably not, I had a hard time figuring things out on this phone myself initially. I had the BB OS down, but Android was different and the Droid came with almost no documentation or user guides.

I was used to jumping on forums, so no big deal to me, a big deal to a non-techie person or a technophobe.

 

[styx]

Depends, would I recommend a BB or an Iphone to these same people? In other words, I wouldn't recommend an Iphone or a BB to these same non-techie people.

 

[wil318466]

I remember when I first got my Droid I considered returning it after a couple of days because it seemed too complex compared to my Ipod Touch ie. iPhone without the phone. After about 2 weeks I feel like I had it mastered. After 2 months I feel like it is now part of my body and could not live without it. Now, I consider myself a techy guy. I fix everyone's computer problems. That being said, would I recommend a Droid to an average non techy friend? Hmm, I don't know. How about you? Would you? Is the Droid a techy only phone or could your wife learn to use all it's capabilities?

Mostly, yes. If they came from an iPhone, probably not.

Its hard to not compare new things to old things we are used to. We all do this, whether it is a resturaunt or a new girlfriend.

Think about it this way.. If you gave up your Droid right now and got an iPhone or a Blackberry, wouldn't you compare it to the Droid?

I'm a bit lucky, as the Droid is my first smartphone AND I love techie stuff. I didin't have the iPhone or Blackberry to pollute my thinking.

-Wil

 

[takeshi]

Depends on the individual. My fiancee is not a tech person and she loves her Droid. I would recommend it to some non-tech people that I know and I wouldn't recommend it for others. It's difficult to really explain further without getting into details for each person. I tend to find blanket generalizations to be useless based on my experiences.

 

[eliassami5]

I find myself asking this question when someone asks me "How do you like your DROID". My answer can range from "I F***ING LOVE IT!!" to "I like it a lot" depending on how tech oriented the person is. I had no problem learning how to use this phone and so did my brother but we are technically inclined so i hesitate to recommend this phone to others in fear that they will not be able to get the full functionality out of it. But i like being the only one with a DROID amongst an iPhone infested world.

Also its funny when customers see that i have a DROID and they get all excited because they have one also and we spend like 5min talking about how much we love it and what apps we like. Its a great thing this phone!

 

[Dankinia]

That being said, would I recommend a Droid to an average non techy friend? Hmm, I don't know. How about you? Would you?

It would depend on what they wanted a phone for. If they just wanted/needed a basic phone for making calls, no I wouldn't. If they did a lot of texting or wanted something capable of handling email and internet, yes I would recommend it over other phones on the market.

Also its funny when customers see that i have a DROID and they get all excited because they have one also and we spend like 5min talking about how much we love it and what apps we like. Its a great thing this phone!

:icon_ banana: Yep this happens to me a lot too. Several people at work have Droids now and we have all wasted a lot of time talking about different apps and customization. I have also had a few conversations with iPhone owners to compare devices and show them how superior the Droid is.

 

[cb2000a]

My wife has an Eris and works for Apple. :icon_ devil:

Ouch............

 

[Droidnought]

It would depend on what they wanted a phone for. If they just wanted/needed a basic phone for making calls, no I wouldn't. If they did a lot of texting or wanted something capable of handling email and internet, yes I would recommend it over other phones on the market.

In my opinion, there's the real answer. If somebody needs the capability of the phone there's no reason to avoid it. I think most people who see the benefit of using the phone will put in the effort to learn it.

Wally