So, I have had the Droid for 3 weeks now.
There were 3 main reasons I made the switch from my iPhone on AT&T.
1) I suck at typing on my iPhone, I really wanted the full qwerty keyboard of the droid.
2) The Verizon network is awesome.
3) FREEDOM to write my own applications or load whatever I want and also run lots of apps in the background.
It’s cool and powerful and all that. I LOVE the Google integration, it’s amazing. The navigation app is unreal. It is MUCH better than any hardware navigation device I have ever owned. The Verizon network totally smokes AT&T’s, especially on data services. I have written over half-a-dozen super cool applications that run in the background. Yes, I wrote them myself, in Perl. It was dead simple to load them.
I wrote one basic application that turns off my ringer when I set down the phone face-down then turns it back on when I pick it up or turn it face-up. This was really simple to do and there is a how to included in the Google code.
I wrote another application that turns on WiFi when I pull out the keyboard, then turns it off when I push it in.
I wrote another one that checks to see if there are unmoderated comments and if so adds them to my notifications.
The Droid is an amazing piece of technology. But, and I’m not sure exactly how to explain this, the Droid is like a Linux desktop computer. It’s super powerful, totally customizable, but, yet it feels clunky and things crash and it’s hard (in general) to get things to “just work”.
Writing all kinds of cool applications and installing neat stuff that can run in the background comes with a massive resource price. At one time I was using up my battery from full charge to completely dead in less than one hour. That is not talk time, that’s just the phone sitting idle.
Again though, it’s my choice. One thing I was able to write is an application that would check for runaway processes that were hogging the cpu (which happens a lot on the droid) and kill them. I also had code from other scripts to extend the battery as much as possible and was able to get around 3-4 days battery life.
Another thing is that sometimes the droid just becomes unresponsive….. then after 30 seconds or so a window will ask me if I want to wait or kill the process (there is no multitasking while this is going on, the phone is frozen). That is SUPER ANNOYING. On the plus side, I have figured out several of the things that cause this and will describe them in another post coming soon about how to soup up your droid.
As far as the hardware goes, the keyboard is disappointing (which kind of defeated one of the main reasons I got the droid) and makes it a lot more heavy. I have also scraped the paint off of a lot of the edges of my Droid.
Don’t get the wrong idea… I like the Droid a lot.
I am, however, having serious iPhone withdrawl. I miss having my entire music library on my phone. I miss having all my Photos on my phone. I miss having badass games on my phone. I miss having all my videos on my phone. And, yes I *COULD* do all this with the droid (except cool games, there just are none) but with my iPhone it was so easy I even forgot I was doing it. I just plugged my iPhone in and it synced with my photo albums and iTunes. It just worked. The fatal flaw in the iPhone is the AT&T network. After 2 conferences of not being able to use my phone during the show because AT&T can’t handle the data, the iPhone is out. I can’t have my cell phone cost me time and money.
I also really miss some of the aspects of the BlackBerry(s). I can’t type for shit on these touch screens. I had the world phone and the curve under Sprint. I could type like the wind on those phones with the keyboards. Yesterday while my wife was driving she handed me her Blackberry curve to text a friend for her and I fell in love again with the keyboard. I busted out a 160 word text in seconds. I realized how bad I am at typing on the Droid/iPhone and how I longed for the Blackberry keyboard again to actually respond to emails and texts. But the Blackberry for web browsing sucks, and yes, I use my phone for web browsing a lot.
So what to do? I have about 6 days left until my 30 day test/trial/evaluation/get-out-of-your-contract expires with my Droid.
Right now, I am leaning towards keeping my Droid phone and staying on Verizon. I would not however, at this point, recommend it to a non-technical friend. The coolest part about the droid is the amazing flexibility and permissions you have. Including permission to totally fuck it up too. I had had to factory reset my droid twice due to my screw ups.
News that iPhone might be on Verizon soon makes me hard.
Why can’t I have an iPhone with a BlackBerry keyboard on the Verizon network?
More to come on this.
December 4, 2009 at 3:16 pm
really strange but that’s technology, i mean really difficult to find a perfect one.
December 4, 2009 at 9:04 am
It’s a shame the HTC Hero wasn’t packing a better processor, otherwise that would be the workhorse that could compete with the iPhone in terms of hardware and finish.
December 3, 2009 at 10:30 am
I’ve always thought iphone is the best and never go to the extent of checking out others including the Droid. The way you describe it, I feel like I’ve been missing a lot on technology
December 2, 2009 at 8:48 am
Shoe you need to keep more than just one phone for your need.
December 2, 2009 at 12:51 am
How’s about you just get an iPhone from a country where selling locked phones is illegal and they’re all unlocked.
You’d pay a little bit more but you could use it on any network you want and still update it via iTunes without any issues.
December 1, 2009 at 6:21 pm
I hoped the Droid would replace my ATT BB Bold, Verizon MiFi and my Symbian Nokia N95 5MP Carl Ziess I use for live mobile streaming. Reluctantly I returned the Droid after 5 days. Not because of the quirks, instability or lack of Droid/Android 2.0 apps. The real deal breaker was the camera. The pics were hit or miss and even the best pics sucked compared to the Nokia pics.
I was also looking for a cheaper alternative to the Nokia N900 Phone/Tablet. In the end I picked up the Nokia N900 and will be keeping the ATT BB and the Verzion MiFi. Now that I think about it getting rid of the MiFi was never really an option it’s just to cool and diverse.
December 1, 2009 at 5:42 pm
never heard of the droids u get many free aps as well
December 1, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Man, I had no idea you could do things like that on the Droid. As much as many of us were hoping it would be perfect, with any phone no matter what it is, there will always be some sort of con or dislikes.
We all have our own tastes but thanks for the review! Looking forward to hearing what else is in store
December 1, 2009 at 10:54 am
I’ve never been able to pare down to 1 device. There are still too many compromises. Blackberry Tour or Bold + iPod Touch is the best combo…for now. Great phone, email and texting on the BB, everything else on iPod.
December 1, 2009 at 11:01 am
Hey not a bad idea blackberry+touch.
December 1, 2009 at 10:50 am
The whole cell phone business needs to be burned down and start over. They can’t all dominate and be the greatest thing forever. The iphone was revolutionary but now others are going to kick their butt for a bit with better multi-processing. Why can’t everyone just make the best phones for all and the companies provide the best service that they can and let it roll. Like a laptop or computer, we all should be able to buy whatever phone and use whatever network we choose. Instead they want to always be hating them and jump around, eventually going back to the company we used to hate several years earlier but forgot why.
Ditto for all the games and apps.
December 1, 2009 at 8:56 am
Jeremy, Here are the 3 reasons you should switch to the Samsung Moment Android from Sprint.
1) It has a huge full qwerty keyboard
2) It runs on Sprint’s vastly superior to ATT’s 3g data network
3) You’ll maintain your Android application freedom
Not to mention it’s amazing amoled screen.
December 1, 2009 at 4:44 am
I’ve been using Windows Mobile for 5 years on various phones, it works great… big choice of phones available, surely you can find one with a good keyboard… just as many apps as iPhone, they’re just not available all in one place – but it’s not difficult to find an app for whatever you need, just use any search engine!
December 1, 2009 at 1:33 am
Give it time…..the “iPhone with a BlackBerry keyboard on the Verizon network”-style phone will be around soon enough. However, when that finally happens, your mouth will be watering with other high tech things that are then possible, and you’ll still not be happy!
November 30, 2009 at 6:52 pm
I just got a DROID and I’m loving it. I’d keep it because of the network behind it. No sense in having a phone that lets you down. Obviously you are techy enough to do cool stuff with it so you’ll be able to do a whole lot more. And I’m sure it’ll get more reliable and features as the OS progresses.
November 30, 2009 at 5:59 pm
The Blackberry is going the way of the Motorola Razr which I owned. I switched from the Razr to the Blackberry which was a game-changer in its day. I now own an iPhone another game-changer. The difference is that I can’t see how I could ever switch from the iPhone because off applications like NeuroMobile and Dictionary.com that I reley on. The applications advantage makes the underlying handset technology less relevant. Apple now just has to keep pace with the handset technology and keep churning out great applications.
November 30, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Shoe, as far as games go, you should check out emulators. You can put NES, SNES, and N64 emulators on your Droid and play any game ever released on those systems right on your phone.
November 30, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Milestone/Droid or iPhone: i have the same choice to make! Available options lack behind on my own needs. There is just not yet a ‘perfect’ option, i hate that.
The solution for your music / videos / pictures on the Droid might be Songbird. (getsongbird.com)
It’s open source iTunes by Mozilla.
You can use it with a lot of media players, but i’m not sure if you can use it with your Droid.
It’s still under development, and has no video support in the stable version, but the nighly looks very promising video-wize. I currently use it with my iPod Nano, works ok and i love the lyrics add-on so i can sing along with songs
November 30, 2009 at 5:19 pm
You gotta admit, Shoe, it’s a good dilemma to have.
What I’m wondering is: Will there be firmware updates for the droid to make it more stable and reliable?
Maybe it’s going to be really, really good in a few months?
November 30, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Dude, nothing beats the iPhone. Just hate AT&T’s coverage.
However, that Droid is looking very appealing…
November 30, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Thanks for the good phone reviews. If iphone goes on verizon, here I come!
November 30, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Back to iphone >> buy a Verizon Mifi to carry in your pocket while you are at conference. Then you’ll have Wifi for data. For voice forward your Google Voice to Skype, it will run fine on the Mifi’s bandwidth.
November 30, 2009 at 5:29 pm
still cant make calls or text….
November 30, 2009 at 4:21 pm
You should try the palm pixi with sprint no network can touch sprint plans
November 30, 2009 at 4:16 pm
The analogy with a Linux desktop is fair. I run one at home, but I’d never recommend one to, say, my Dad. That said, I’d never have a home PC running ‘doze or a Mac again, either.
It’s great for people who are at least a little technically-minded and like to fuck around, and terrible for people who don’t.
November 30, 2009 at 2:37 pm
you can try the palm pre…my brother has it and likes it
December 1, 2009 at 5:11 am
I have used this, this is cool
November 30, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Shoe-
I love the Blackberry curve. We have 3 Curves and 1 Blackberry Tour in the house and each of us love the our phones. I’m not terribly fond of the browser but I downloaded the Opera mini browser and it is much faster. I have heard there is a new Blackberry browser on the horizon. Hopefully it will be more functional and faster.
Love your blog Shoe!
Kelly
November 30, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Although I thought it sucked at first, I think that Apple got it right in not allowing background apps. They plagued the Win Mobile experience, and an average user shouldn’t have to worry about memory usage and rebooting.
Similarly, the App store approval process, whilst flawed, has kept the quality of iPhone apps high. I wonder if the Android marketplace will full up with lots of permanently half finished beta apps.
The free Sat Nav is definitely a big plus for the Android platform though. I can imagine Apple making their own sat nav in response, and making it cheap or free.
Google has done some awsome worth with Android, and the Droid looks like a good phone. Seems like you might have to stick with it for a while if an unlocked iPhone wont do the business.
November 30, 2009 at 2:03 pm
I like my iPhone a lot better than I thought I would!
But I’m not going to jailbreak it. Not during surf season at any rate.
November 30, 2009 at 1:31 pm
It’s a common dilemma though. To me, there are only two options:
1. Use an iPhone and type sparingly.
-or-
2. Use another smartphone and use iPod Touch for everything else.
November 30, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I’m in the middle of a month-long review of the Droid, myself, and I like it, but it still lacks the iPhone’s elegance. One day, we’ll get an iPhone on Verizon and the world will be a happier place. The keyboard could have been better, and where’s my pipe (|) key? Looking over my servers is harder without that.
November 30, 2009 at 11:37 am
Dump the Droid.
Unlock/Jailbreak your iPhone. http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com/2009/11/blacksn0w-is-live.html then move carriers.
Buy iTypeFastr http://www.itypefastr.com
Problems solved.
Be prepared to love your iPhone even more though.
November 30, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Move carriers to where? Tmobile? What other GSM provider is worth a crap?
November 30, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Sorry can’t help you there.
I have AT&T and live on the left cost. No issues with coverage in my area.
It sounds like the next issue was coverage when traveling. Poll your peeps that travel a lot and see what they say.
My buddy jumped to Verizon with his unlocked phone. Haven’t heard a complaint out of him since.
Work your Shoemagic and see if Verizon will give you a contract-less test run for 30-60 days.
November 30, 2009 at 11:09 am
Maybe you could port over some of these apps to the droid: http://www.applesecrets.com/2009/09/21/iphone-apps-that-didnt-quite-make-the-grade/
Check out the last one
November 30, 2009 at 11:07 am
I have had the iphone for a while, I simply love it. Music, videos and games. I don’t really need anything else, its like an all-in-one device. I won’t be switching phones for a while.
November 30, 2009 at 11:07 am
Hi guys
I like iPhone and Blackberry because of their usefulness. I would choose iphone among the two because I like browsing to kill time.
Kind Regards
Sam
X
November 30, 2009 at 11:04 am
I absolutely love the iPhone. Being able to have all my music on it is great. That way when I am waiting for the bus I can listen to my music and I can even pull up a game to play.
November 30, 2009 at 10:34 am
“News that iPhone might be on Verizon soon makes me hard.”
That quote made me LAUGH
“Why can’t I have an iPhone with a BlackBerry keyboard on the Verizon network?”
Now that would be a bad ass phone.
November 30, 2009 at 10:09 am
Been toing with the idea of getting a DROID and I think I will this Thursday. I’m really interested in programing for it. Is it easy to learn? The last time I did any programing was Pascal and BASIC back in high school.
November 30, 2009 at 9:42 am
An iPhone with a BlackBerry keyboard on Verizon would be my ideal too. I have an iPod Touch which I’ ordered the day they were announced, and I love it, but it didn’t take me long to realize the keyboard would never suit for business purposes. I love my BlackBerry (but it’s on AT&T with a data only plan) I’m satisfied mostly with Verizon’s network (where my cell is because I have a year left on my contract) Droid looks promising but isn’t there yet for me.
It’s kind of a bitter compromise. ALL these companies, ALL these devices, ALL these choices, and yet none of them is right.
November 30, 2009 at 9:37 am
Dump it and get the Storm 2..lol and I agree after being on every cell network, Verizon is the best, for me in SouthEastern Mass.
Their customer service deff needs work tho.
November 30, 2009 at 8:48 am
Hmmm, you do know that there are ways to use the iPhone on other networks, right? Just open it and your biggest problem, the network, is fixed. Then you just have to get a screwdriver and your wife’s Blackberry so you can start solving that keyboard problem – hehe :- )
November 30, 2009 at 8:42 am
I think the iphone, blackberry combo is a pretty good one. Blackberry for email and iphone for browsing. Also, like the backup of 2 phones when one battery dies. Agree about the touch screen keyboard, causing lots of typos. What I need to grow a stylus like nail on one of my fingers.
Given enough time think the droid will improve in leaps and bounds and I’ll probably look to try one out late next year.
November 30, 2009 at 8:41 am
I think you’d better stick with the Droid, Jeremy. I like the idea of twiddling, tweaking, creating and fixing.. customizing. The application that turns your ringer off when you put it face down sounds cool. I like things my way, including phones, so if I can get away with a lot of fiddling, I’d go for the Droid anytime.
As for the keyboard, I think it just needs a little getting used to.
November 30, 2009 at 8:22 am
why cann’t u just get unlocked version of iPhone and hook it up with Verizon? i’m not from US so i may not know your cell phone policies…
November 30, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Unless I am really really really confused you can’t run a GSM phone on a CDMA network
November 30, 2009 at 8:03 am
I’m extremely happy with my iphone 3gs… the best $880 I ever spent… but my biggest fricken annoyance is the media sharing.. it’s a fucken 16 gig harddrive, let me copy paste my fricken media on there and watch it FFS!!!
oh wait, I also hate that you can’t watch a youtube video and do anything else on the phone at all! WTF is with that???
on second thoughts, I also hate the stupid wifi connecting problems where it connects then disconnects without telling you.. then reconnects when you’re watching and disconnects when you’re about to use it.. WTF! Just tell me the damn wifi is broken instead of fucking around. geez.
I also hate how quiet it is, especially with speaker on… not everyone is trying to talk on the phone in a dead silent room..
come to think of it I also hate the send button and the return button being so close to the P and M on the keyboard… god damn that’s annoying..
other than that I love it
November 30, 2009 at 8:00 am
The droids are heaps better than the iphone. The iphone just has better marketing.
November 30, 2009 at 7:23 am
Wish I could afford to buy one of these, you have pretty much sold me on the idea of getting one.