Verizon & Android news

[jlb1705]

The RAZR was a phenomenal phone when it was overpriced and only came in silver and was Cingular exclusive. When they dropped in price, came in 3 shades of pink, black and silver amongst all carriers is when it really took a nose dive (VZW V3m especially), but I am sure percentage wise, the fail rate was very strong. The RAZR2 on the other hand, is not that old I believe it launched in late spring or early summer 2007 and has solid performance save the carrier installed glitches with it.

Just out of curiosity, where did you sell wireless?

RadioShaft

 

[OSUsushichic]

I really don't think anything is going to kill the iPhone. I mean, what is going to kill the iPod?

 

[Jake]

iPhone isn't going anywhere, but I have a Blackberry through work so it is tough to beat the utility for the price (nothing out of my pocket).

 

[MaxBuck]

iPhone isn't going anywhere, but I have a Blackberry through work so it is tough to beat the utility for the price (nothing out of my pocket).

I pay for my own BlackBerry; it's a far superior work tool to the iPhone, while the iPhone is far superior as an entertainment appliance. It all depends on what your priorities are; these two devices satisfy widely disparate sets of needs and desires.

 

[jlb1705]

I really don't think anything is going to kill the iPhone. I mean, what is going to kill the iPod?

The iPhone?

The sweet deal on my monthly plan with Sprint notwithstanding, what I'm really waiting on is for the storage on an iPhone to be enough to allow me to not have to carry my iPod. I currently have one of the old 80 GB models and am using about 56 GB of space on it. Even when they get it up to 64 GB that won't quite do it for me - I think 128 GB would be the minimum to get me into one of those.

 

[jwinslow]

Motorola Droid Reviewed: "You're Going To Love It" - droid - Gizmodo

Boy Genius came away with a great first impression of the Motorola Droid, but their expanded review of a pre-release version of the handset reveals more about why it might have the right stuff to take on the iPhone.

We love the build quality of this phone. It’s mostly metal, and while it’s heavy, it gives you a reassuring quality feel that you just don’t find much nowadays as handsets get thinner, lighter, smaller, and cheaper. It’s practically the opposite of the Motorola CLIQ as far as the physical attributes of the device goes. Really solid and it seems to be manufactured very well. The slider is not spring-assisted, but when you push the metal bezel around the gorgeous display upwards, you get a satisfying click. It does the same when you slide it closed as well.

It’s the largest capacitive screen we’ve ever seen and it’s positively amazing. It’s crisp, sharp, vibrant, bright, and really, really responsive. It’s almost iPhone-level in terms of the capacitive touch. We’re not sure if the screen is glass or plastic (we’ve heard glass but it’s incredibly hard to tell), but it doesn’t seem like it would scratch easily regardless of the material. The 3.7 inch display powers a 854?480 resolution image and shows off Android’s true colors. You see what we did there?

Everyone is bitching over the keyboard. Well, it’s probably better than you’d think, but it’s not perfect. As has been discussed ad nauseum, the unit we have has two blank keys. They don’t press in at all, so it’s not just like there isn’t anything written on them, they are just flat. We had initially been told this was because the keyboard design wasn’t finalized, and if you’ve been Droid-chasing for a while you’ll have noticed many different keyboard revisions. Love it or hate it, this keyboard design is actually final and will be on the device you buy from your favorite Verizon Wireless store. As far as the actual ‘board goes, there isn’t as much feedback as we’d have liked from the keys, but since the phone is so darn thin, there had to be compromises somewhere. People have asked why Motorola didn’t just make the phone into a keyboard-less version, and our answer would have to be: they are. We like the keyboard on the Droid and we’re really anal about keyboards. The directional pad on the right is a little weird at first but it doesn’t hamper your typing too much, but there isn’t enough tactile feedback to make it perfect. Something that’s a little annoying is the proximity of one key to another key, but all in all we’ve been able to bang out emails, texts, and other forms of text entry very efficiently on the hardware keyboard very quickly after using the device. It’s not the best, but it certainly isn’t bad, and it’s definitely better than the T-Mobile G1’s keyboard.
And oh… a ton of people are asking, and we’re not sure why you wouldn’t assume it already, but you can indeed use the on-screen keyboard in portrait as well as landscape mode.

The Droid sounds great as a phone. Calls with the handset over Verizon’s network sounded clear and the phone application itself performed really well. It’s speedy and there weren’t any hiccups unlike some other Android devices we’ve fooled around with. The dialpad is pretty standard and if you’ve used an Android device, you should be right at home as this is a straight Google affair after all. Google Voice obviously works flawlessly (we’re not sure why it wouldn’t, unless you’re talking about the animal sacrifices Verizon makes to disable GPS on the phone…) and the phone application is quick! That’s probably what we love most about it… number dialed. Call connected. Have a nice day.

Ah, Android 2.0. We’ve detailed it quite a bit, but we can definitely explore it a little more for you… I personally never liked Android 1.0. Well, that’s not true completely. I liked it, but I just didn’t see it being the OS we expected. It wasn’t polished, it wasn’t fluid, it offered very basic functionality — not a good way to start. What has happened between Android 1.0 and 2.0 is that a lot of missing functionality has been added, the UI has been made a little bit more streamlined in some places, and it generally brings the OS up to speed with other mobile platforms. Out of the box Exchange compatibility is our absolutely favorite new feature, but we’re sure people will appreciate the new unified email Inbox, voice commands / search, a new Google Maps, better multimedia support, a new browser, and the list goes on and on. Once you have a chance to use Android 2.0 on any device, whether it’s HTC or Motorola or Samsung, we think you’re going to love it.

This might come as a shock to many, but the Motorola Droid has the best battery life out of any Android device we’ve ever tested. It completely smokes the Motorola CLIQ — obviously it’s not constantly pushing as much data, but it’s not even a fair comparison. With push Exchange configured, Facebook, and a linked push Google account (Gmail, contacts, etc.) we had no problem lasting through a whole day of usage. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi were disabled, but it’s still a pretty amazing performer as far as the battery is concerned. Yes, it has a user-replaceable battery, but it’s probably good enough to be sealed up to be honest. Motorola recently made a boo boo and let the Droid appear on their website, and official battery times are: 6.5hrs of continuous usage (phone + web + email + anything else, continually) or around 270 hours of standby time.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBoB5Sfa-Ko]YouTube - Motorola Droid Accessory Walkthrough[/ame]

You know how we roll at BGR, we don’t hold anything back — if it’s hot, it’s hot. If it’s not, it’s not, and we’re not afraid to call it like it is. The Motorola CLIQ was a pretty big disappointment for me personally, but oh man does the Droid make up for it. Sure, there’s a little hype sprinkled in because this is the first Android 2.0 device I’ve had the pleasure of using, but once you move past the initial “wow” factor, the Droid really delivers. Whether it’s Verizon’s ad campaign or Motorola’s that pits the Droid against the iPhone it doesn’t matter. The Droid isn’t an iPhone competitor because nothing at this point in time is an iPhone competitor besides the new iPhone. And things don’t have to be right now. Everyone can eat. So will the Motorola Droid be successful? Absolutely, we think. It will eat in to BlackBerry sales, Windows Mobile sales, and positively murder any lingering Palm Pre sales. It’s that good. Did you notice how Verizon still hasn’t announced the BlackBerry Storm2?

 

[jwinslow]

Nothing is going to kill the iphone. I'm just waiting for a really solid alternative (Blackberries are apples and oranges). I'm not sure that this is it (The Palm Pre was the closest), but I like where phones are headed, particularly for Android.

Photo Gallery (including 5mp photos taken by camera):
Even more hands-on images of the Motorola Droid! (Phone Arena News)

Hands on with the Motorola DROID and some of its optional accessories (Phone Arena News)

Verizon Officially announces the Droid: Updated with Video (Phone Arena News)

Just a few hours before the DROID DOES event scheduled for today, Verizon and Motorola hurried up to announce the upcoming availability of the largest U.S. carrier’s first Android handset, the Motorola DROID. Customers will be able to purchase it, starting November 6, at a price of $199.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

But here goes the most interesting part – the Motorola DROID will be powered by Android 2.0 and will feature a massive 3.7-inch touchscreen with a resolution width of 854 pixels, which is way higher than current HVGA devices. Other hardware highlights include a microSDHC slot and a 5-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash to enable users to take shots in the dark. Of course, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity are also available. On the software front, Google Maps Navigation (Beta), a turn-by-turn voice navigation feature for Google Maps is to make its debut on the DROID. That, along with allegedly more than 12,000 apps currently in Android Market should make for quite a decent software experience.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaxo9g2GYSk]YouTube - Droid Demo[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv24LrvGGSQ]YouTube - Motorola DROID Event walkthrough[/ame]

 

[BuckeyePride]

The Android OS is a pretty solid one. Unless Verizon murks it up with their garbage, it should be a pretty solid alternative to the iphone.

Don't forget that Verizon has a map for that. iPhones biggest complain is the AT&T coverage.

 

[scarletandgrey]

I can see this becoming a stalker tool for an ex-girlfriend with the Latitude feature.

 

[MaliBuckeye]

I can see this becoming a stalker tool for an ex-girlfriend with the Latitude feature.

...like that was a bad thing...

 

[Mac]

Does anyone know if we need to have a Data Plan with this beast?

And with the wireless capabilities (802.11b/802.11g), does anyone know if Verizon will be charging anything with this feature??

And last question, the wireless capabilities...what exactly can you download onto the phone, view, etc...?

Have any of these details been released?

 

[OCBucksFan]

 

[jimotis4heisman]

I pay for my own BlackBerry; it's a far superior work tool to the iPhone, while the iPhone is far superior as an entertainment appliance. It all depends on what your priorities are; these two devices satisfy widely disparate sets of needs and desires.

or both, for me. personal iphone, work crackberry.

The iPhone?

The sweet deal on my monthly plan with Sprint notwithstanding, what I'm really waiting on is for the storage on an iPhone to be enough to allow me to not have to carry my iPod. I currently have one of the old 80 GB models and am using about 56 GB of space on it. Even when they get it up to 64 GB that won't quite do it for me - I think 128 GB would be the minimum to get me into one of those.

how much pron do you have on that thing?

 

[jimotis4heisman]

i wasnt a math major. longer battery lifer, better camera, 1/9th (or less) of the apps. same price.

what else? is it 4g? (how much faster is 4g?)

 

[CentralMOBuck]

i wasnt a math major. longer battery lifer, better camera, 1/9th (or less) of the apps. same price.

what else? is it 4g? (how much faster is 4g?)

The oddest thing about the battery life is that it's standby time is less than any of the other phones. Being able to carry extra batteries is also a huge advantage for the droid.

It would be hard for me to decide between an iphone and a droid though. I've had a ipod for a while and all of my music is wrapped up in itunes(most of it isn't bought though) and a movie I've bought in itunes. Does anybody know what music program it would work with?