Is the Motorola Droid a good choice? - Page 2

Lookout for the passion on Verizon. I'm using an Eris right now and my only complaints that its a little too slow and too small. Other than that i much prefer it to the DROID. Sense UI's amazing.

I thought the ERIS looked like a phone I could live with, it actually appears as though it was designed this decade.

Is the PASSION a new phone you heard about?

LQQK

Haha, yeah. It holds much nicer in the hand than the moto DROID.

The passion or dragon is the rumored Android version of the hd2. Claim to fame is improved processor and a 4.3" screen.

I may have to RMA my Droid for this, especially since the screen is larger, and the keyboard on the Droid is "blah". Android have a very usable on-screen keyboard.

I thought the DROIDS onscreen qwerty was garbage. The HTC version however is very well done.

I think the problem on the DROID's keyboard was it was too flush and flat to be easily pressed. That and the keys are small and not too spaced-out unlike other phones. Well, I'm used to the RAZR's flat keypad and the Touch's on-screen keyboard, so I think i can manage both keyboard types.

^nailed it. That and the right side has a thumbpad that serves its purpose only to force that part of the phone into your palm as you attempt to type. Had it been eliminated, they could have centered the keyboard, offset the keys, and perhaps even put space between them.

I'm on day 2 w/ the Droid Eris (Verizon Hero) and am enjoying the experience much more than the Moto DROID. Although I'll probably wind up returning it once the Passion comes out, if only to have a speedier device w/ a larger screen.

If I had to choose right now though, it'd be the Eris no question.

Look at the Palm Pre and Nokia N900 - the N900's keyboard works well for me and over all the device itself is feature rich, and a blast to tweak and play with, audio, web, messaging support are excellent - the only downside is the cost. The Palm on the other hand is a very interesting, and new approach to a user interface with it's card system, it has great data management and performs solid as a browser, messaging client. The EVDO PCS network is a bit odd with data and voice being on the same channel.

No doubt, WebOS' cards are the best implementation yet. The hardware however leaves a lot to be desired.

The question is whether the Android platform is good for music playback. This is snipped from the Coreplayer forum:

"Gapless and other 'like' plugins will likely come at some point in 2.x. But its not really our priority atm... but is on that todo list.

Also don't expect any 'good' media players on Android anytime soon. Read some of the the Android group threads and you'll fine that PacketVideo is well PV... your not going to get any quality code there unless you pay for it.

That's why our goal would be to replace the entire multimedia stack with the CorePlayer Platform. Lofty goals... but multimedia has no place being used in Java /VM, period."

I have a Droid, and I find it to be Much nicer to use than the Eris, just cant get on with those horrible little trackballs. The Screen on the Droid, is absolutley gorgeous, *nothing*comes close 9unless you want Win Mo.), the Iphone looks like a toy in comparison. I've had no issues with the Android 2 OS and the clean interface is refreshingly configurable. I wouldn't say the HP out is weak, it's not as Bright as the Ipod touch I replaced, but it has far greater warmth and the stereo seperation is much much better on it. While the media player is OK, it could be improved, and no doubt will be.

I actually like the fact it's not some shiny white plastic princess phone, it feels built to last and the (replacable) battery life is pretty good. As for it getting warm.. show me a phone that doesn't? My friends I phone is like a nuclear reactor once you start doing anything on it.

Nothings perfect, there'll always be a better phone right around the corner.. but for now, for an android phone.. this is it.

Bear in mind the Eris is running 1.5 and can't use the Free Googgle Nav without some serious hacking.

As a phone.. its great, as a media player Audio ok, but could be better, video looks stunning though.

Theres always one

I said ANdroid

I thought this was no longer true. Google Maps with beta turn by turn navigation (US only) is out on the Android Market for free now (2.5 meg download and then you are required to download a separate TTS voice package). Or is that only for those with Android OS 1.6+?

The Droid isn't the best for purely musical qualities, but for sheer versatility, you can not go wrong. I've had none of the problems listed above, except I do find the keyboard slightly difficult to type quickly on. However, I've gotten used to it and can mash away quickly. In terms of music, the packaged media player isn't fantastic, but it does the job. Again, search the market place, there are other alternatives (Meridian, TuneWiki). Also, Pandora works fantastic. The only issue is that at maximum volume, many including myself have reported there to be a slight popping sound.

Other complaints people have had, such as the aesthetics of the unit, are purely your own choice. I actually like the angular nature of the Droid.

In terms of general functionality, the Droid is amazing, especially if you are already integrated into Google. My mail, voicemail, RSS, locations, contacts, are all seamlessly integrated. It will sync Facebook and Google contacts into your phone, including profile pictures. The default browser isn't bad, but again, free Market alternatives are available (Steel, Dolphin).

Most games on the Market are a bit weak at the moment, but the GBA emulator available is fantastic. Final Fantasy Tactics and other RPG/Strategy games are probably best, as the keyboard isn't built for quick reflexive mashing, but games run smooth, with perfect sound and rarely and slow downs.

Other things such as eBook readers (Aldiko), shopping aids (ShopSavvy), and other things that are surprisingly useful are available in some iteration in the Market. True, it is not as wide of a selection as Apple's, but it's growing.

Google Maps and Navigation. This is amazing. If you read any tech blogs, you'll have heard that TomTom and Garmin's stock dropped like a anchor when Google announced free navigation. And for good reason. It's damn good. It looks pretty, is very accurate, and it has features that many full fledged GPS units doesn't even have. The phone is almost worth it just for this.

Altogether, from a purely musical perspective, the Droid isn't an incredibly compelling choice. But from a practical one, it is extremely attractive. I see no reason for Verizon users not to get one. I'm probably biased in that I hate Apple, but when looking at it as objectively as I can, I feel that Droid is a better end product then the iPhone.

I'm pretty sure it's 1.6 and above only.

yep. from the google page:
Google Maps Navigation is currently only available in the United States on phones that run Android 1.6 and higher, including the Droid.

With an Eris, one way or the other, you'd either have to hack the phone's OS, IE root it and put a hacked rom on it, or hope google nav comes to 1.5 (highly unlikely)