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Motorola Droid

#62
I switched off of Verizon to get an iPhone, and while I really like the iPhone, AT&T is just a miserable experience. I live around DC (where one would think coverage would be solid...), and there are tons of little phantom dead zones that swallow calls. I also frequently have trouble just making a connection on the AT&T network.

I REALLY want to get a Droid, and I'm willing to break my contract with AT&T to get back on Verizon. I just can't decide if the Droid is mature enough. The keyboard is pretty weak, and I found typing on the virtual keyboard to be a bit challenging. Typing on the iPhone keyboard isn't necessarily easier in and of itself, but the iPhone's spellchecker/autocorrection software is outstanding; it correctly interprets my typing when the letters that I punch in aren't even close. Makes writing emails and texts a much more pleasant experience.

I guess I just need to decide if I'd rather have a slightly smoother, more mature phone or a reliable network. Decisions...
 
#63
Hollow Man said:
I just can't decide if the Droid is mature enough....
Click to expand...

Good point. I knew going in that I was buying something brand new to the market so along with that would come those issues.

Give it six to 12 months, if you can last on AT&T that long. At least you have a great phone to make up for the coverage deficiencies a little bit.

-Mike
 
#64
Hollow Man said:
I switched off of Verizon to get an iPhone, and while I really like the iPhone, AT&T is just a miserable experience. I live around DC (where one would think coverage would be solid...), and there are tons of little phantom dead zones that swallow calls. I also frequently have trouble just making a connection on the AT&T network.

I REALLY want to get a Droid, and I'm willing to break my contract with AT&T to get back on Verizon. I just can't decide if the Droid is mature enough. The keyboard is pretty weak, and I found typing on the virtual keyboard to be a bit challenging. Typing on the iPhone keyboard isn't necessarily easier in and of itself, but the iPhone's spellchecker/autocorrection software is outstanding; it correctly interprets my typing when the letters that I punch in aren't even close. Makes writing emails and texts a much more pleasant experience.

I guess I just need to decide if I'd rather have a slightly smoother, more mature phone or a reliable network. Decisions...
Click to expand...

i'm gonna wait until i can mentally project my text messages... which should take google a year to figure out.
 
#65
Hey.....found a cool app for the Droid, but you need NFL Sunday Ticket from DirectTV.

It's called NFL Superfan, and it lets you watch all the NFL games on your Droid. Very cool, but I don't have Sunday Ticket. I need to find someone who does so I can log in on my phone and be able to watch the games.

-Mike
 
#68
DigMe said:
Not if you actually watch them. It accurately compares 3G coverage for AT&T and Verizon. Thts what it says it's doing. I understood it the very first time I saw it. The only way you would not understand it is if you both ignore the words on the screen and not listen to the words bein spoken. The judge who denied AT&T's request to make them stop the ads for now agrees apparently.

bc
Click to expand...

Well excuse me if it still seems petty. Same marketing tactics that apple uses.
 
#70
I was in the Verizon store today, and I checked out both the HTC and Motorola Droids. I thought they were pretty cool, I think if I were to go for one I'd do the HTC because I really don't like how clunky the other one is.

Not that I'm ready to adopt one just yet, I still love my BlackBerry, but whenever that goes boobies up the Droid is looking like a solid contender for my next phone.
 
#72
One of the reasons I got the Droid was the physical keyboard, but I am now accustomed to typing on the touch screen with the hardened tip of my index finger. Sure beats the hell out of typing on a num pad, and the software is pretty good at guessing the word you want to type: it gives you a long scrollable list of possibilities, and I rarely have to enter more than four chars of a word (often only 2 or 3) to see the word I want in the very first set.

The Droid is definitely hefty... it'll make a loose shirt sag badly if you keep it in the pocket. I don't know that this is a huge deal for me, but it's worth noting.

Tonight I fired up Google Navigator. I've done tonight's gig a bunch of times, but there are a number of tricky twists and turns so I was basically checking to make sure I got good directions. I did. Google Nav brought me through the main entrance of the shopping center rather than the slightly quicker side entrance, but that's hardly a big deal... it rapidly made the correction on the fly when I took the shortcut. The Nav voice sounds like a female version of Stephen Hawking and is only slightly more clear, but "she" isn't terribly difficult to understand and of course you get both audio and visual directions.

To begin the trip I tested the voice search feature. I said "Olney Tavern Olney Maryland" which became "Olney Tavern on the Maryland", but the correct destination was at the top of the list of possibilities. I "clicked" on that and the route was mapped in seconds.

I've never had turn-by-turn GPS before, and have limited experience with others'. I'm guessing that the subscription services are somewhat better... for now. But holy crap, the Droid/Google version is a freakin' awesome feature for free. And of course the multitasking Android OS allows you to take a call or use other apps while keeping the Nav app active in the background.

The Droid won't be the best choice for everyone, but it is everything I'd hoped it would be. No regrets!
 
#74
It's way past the point where anyone can say "no fair" in the American advertising market. Bald faced lying is not only tolerated, it is apparently encouraged.

I think they'll take their chances disgruntling 2 or 3 while they sway the opinions of 2 or 3 million.

The 3G "map" ads are far from offending in this way compared to what else is out there. The ad specifically relates to 3G coverage, not just general reception, and says so repeatedly, in words and print. I never for a second saw anything misleading in those ads.
 
#75
had two friends that each owned the HTC and the motorola phones, and frankly, the HTC is pretty nice. the moto's keyboard is ok, but i quickly got used to the HTC's virtual keyboard. also, all the apps that each person needed, found and installed on both phones were free and incredibly useful. 100,000 apps vs. 10,000 seems pretty moot.

and my hopes for a more reliable connection than at&t's iphone is kinda BAH. thought it was just at&t's crappy nyc service, but the city seems to affect everybody's service no matter.
 
#76
I looked at both the HTC and the Droid. I liked the HTC for its size and layout. The keyboard on the Droid was not that important to me. I finally decided on the Droid for Android 2.0 over 1.6 that the HTC is running.

I am beta testing a very cool app. It was an Iphone app that the developer (a Bass Player) is porting over to the Droid. IRealbook. It has the chord chart (no melodies) for over 800 jazz tunes, search by title or author and, get this, transposition. The iPhone version has some more features and if version 1.0 is successful for the Droid, he will update those features. I'll post more when it is available to the general public
'
Mike
 
#77
Mike Dimin said:
I looked at both the HTC and the Droid. I liked the HTC for its size and layout. The keyboard on the Droid was not that important to me. I finally decided on the Droid for Android 2.0 over 1.6 that the HTC is running.

I am beta testing a very cool app. It was an Iphone app that the developer (a Bass Player) is porting over to the Droid. IRealbook. It has the chord chart (no melodies) for over 800 jazz tunes, search by title or author and, get this, transposition. The iPhone version has some more features and if version 1.0 is successful for the Droid, he will update those features. I'll post more when it is available to the general public
'
Mike
Click to expand...

this is a cool app, i have it on iphone--very handy, and the transposition feature is indeed cool
 
#78
Possibly when/ if my G1 dies, I'll look into the droid. I'm pretty sure that t mobile will have it. Non touch screen keyboards are basically medically necessary for my meat hooks. When I first got the G1, my battery life was terrible, but Tmobile sent me a new battery for free, and that one works just fine. I spend hours using the phone to navigate chicago and never had to switch batteries.
 
#79
I Real Book is currently available $7.99 US. Great app and your supporting a fellow bass player.

Contrary to some reports, Droid DOES support pinch and zoom. I read that due to possible legal issues, Verizon and Google kept their apps from having P&Z. However, 3rd party apps like Dolphin Browser do utilize P&Z. Downloaded it this morning - nice!

Mike
 

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