Every now and then a phone comes along that shakes up the market. The Motorola Droid is one such device.
Google launched its Android OS last year, but the first edition felt like a beta. The Droid is the first model with Android 2.0, and this new version is ready for primetime, with enhancements in almost every area, from business to entertainment.
And Motorola's new model sets a new standard for devices based on this operating system with a generous, high-resolution display, a large keyboard, 16 GB of storage, and a laundry list of other features.
Verizon hopes the Droid will be able to go head-to-head with the Apple iPhone, and has priced it accordingly: $200 with a two-year contract and $100 mail-in rebate. And those who purchase it through the retailer best Buy don't have to hassle with mailing in the rebate.
BUILD & DESIGN
Motorola says the Droid is the thinnest phone with a QWERTY keyboard ever made, and I believe them. At first glance, it looks too slim to be a slider, but it is.
This model lives up to it's name: it's very angular... mechanical. It has a masculine look, and has even been compared to Darth Vader. I suspect it's going to be a love-it or hate-it design. I'm in the "love it" category.
If fits very well in a pocket, but is not a light device. It feels heavy in both my pockets and my hands. Still, it's just 6 oz.
Overall, it's 4.6 inches tall, 2.4 inches wide, and 0.5 inches thick.
Screen
One of the first things you'll notice is the 3.7-inch display. This is one of the largest available -- bigger than the one on the HTC Touch Pro2, and slightly higher resolution, too. In fact, it's of a much higher resolution than all the earlier Android models, which have HVGA screens.
The display is ideal for looking at web sites, images, and video, whether you're inside out out.
Naturally, Android supports both portrait and landscape modes in all applications. And the Droid has a sensor that detects which way you're holding it, and gives you the appropriate orientation. However,opening the slider turns the sensor off and puts the screen into landscape mode.
Keyboard
Because the keyboard has a landscape orientation, it's of a decent size. On the other hand, the keys are all set in a flat surface, with little or no space between, which isn't an ideal arrangement. After a week I've grown accustomed to it, but some roundness or space between keys would e nice. Still, some sacrifices had to be made to keep the overall shape so slim.
There's a large D-pad next to the keyboard -- that placement means it's only available when the slider is open. This isn't the best design for one-handed use, as the D-pad isn't available in portrait mode. Because I use the D-pad frequently,I find myself using the Droid with the keypad open most of the time.
There's a sort of "chin" to the right of the keyboard, which you have to reach around to type or use the D-pad. This isn't any kind of hassle to me, and to be honest I hadn't even noticed it until someone pointed it out.
When the Droid's slider is closed, you can use an on-screen keyboard. This allows yo to enter short amounts of text with the device in portrait mode, though this keyboard is so cramped you are going to want to pull out the physical one to enter more than a few words.
The on-screen keyboard is also available in landscape mode, where it is much more usable. This raises an interesting possibility: if you prefer virtual keyboards to physical ones, or just don't like the Droid's hardware keyboard, you can use the on-screen keyboard to enter all your text. I prefer hardware keyboards, but the Droid's virtual one is nearly as usable, as long as it's in landscape mode.
Buttons
This smartphone has comparatively few dedicated buttons.
Built into the touchscreen are four control buttons: Search, Home, Menu, and Back. The traditional Call and Disconnect buttons are conspicuously absent. You have to depend on on-screen buttons for this.
There's also a power button on top,plus a volume control rocker and camera button on the right side.
Miscellaneous
The Droid's 3.5mm headset jack is easily accessible on top. I wish I could say the same about its microSD memory card slot. That's buried in a place that requires you to remove the battery to switch cards.
This device gets its power from a micro-USB port, and comes with a combination charging and data cable and travel-size charger, a nice touch.
As far a build quality goes, the device feels solid in most ways, but the slider on my unit is just a tiny bit loose.
PERFORMANCE
The hardware is great, but the Motorola's software may be even better. It's running Google's Android operating system, and comes with a suite of software for all the basic tasks you want a smartphone to do, from making calls to writing e-mails and surfing the Web.
I found Android easy to learn to use, at least partially because it acts a lot like my regular computer does. It has a desktop that you can put icons on, and there's a pop-up windows with a listing of all your installed software.
You can customize the desktop with widgets, giving you a quick view of your calendar, the weather, etc.
You can run multiple applications at once, and there's a huge variety of apps that you can get from the on-device Android Market.
There has been some concern about the fact that the Motorola Droid runs Android on a 550 MHz processor. Don't worry, unlike some of its competitors this OS isn't bloated, and runs well on average processors. The real-world performance of this phone is good. I'm not seeing any lag or irritating delays.
Android 2.0
The Droid is the first model with Google Android 2.0, which has some new features.
Easily most important of these is support for synchronizing with Microsoft Exchange. Until now Android was a decent option of consumers, but not for business users. Now that people can send and receive their corporate e-mail messages, that has changed. The Droid can also sync your Calendar and Contacts, too.
However, this feature is somewhat limited, in that it doesn't allow you to move e-mails into sub-folders, something I do to categorize the tons of messages I get. Hard-core e-mail junkies like me are going to need third-party software to get the folder support we need.
This OS has been able to sync with Google's services from the beginning, so you can have your GMail, personal calendar, and contacts on your phone, too.
And the Droid doesn't stop there: it can pull the contact info for your friends out of Facebook, too. But don't worry, all this information won't all be jumbled together.
Android 2.0 doesn't try to combine your Google and Exchange calendars -- those are completely separate. It does have a new combined e-mail inbox, but I found this to be fatally flawed. This can handle push messages from Exchange, but not from Google. If you use the combined inbox, you can only get your GMail messages by setting the device to periodically check for them. Thankfully, there is a stand-alone GMail app that does support push.
Productivity Software
This smartphone comes with a suite of applications for handling many basic tasks. I already mentioned the e-mail, calendar, and contacts apps for both personal and business use, but that's just the beginning.
The Droid does not come with a stand-alone Office suite, but it can display Microsoft Word files that come in as e-mail messages. if you want to be able to edit them, you'll have to turn to one of the several third-party options available.
Android was created by Google, so it's no surprise it has one of the best web browsers available. It's one of the few that can go toe-to-toe with Safari on the iPhone. The latest version is tweaked, but there wasn't much room for improvement. About the only feature missing is Flash support,and that's coming early next year.
Entertainment Software
There's also a music player, and a combined video player and image viewer. I'm happy to report that this plays a much broader array of video formats than its predecessors. Previously the limited selection of formats really hobbled Android when it came to entertainment, but not any more.
There's also a YouTube app, which can operate alone or in conjunction with the web browser. If you come to a video embedded on a web page, just tap on it and the video will play in the dedicated app. Sadly, there's no equivalent for Hulu or similar sites.
The Droid comes with a 16 GB microSD/SDHC card, giving you loads of storage space for your music and videos. And this is removable, so you can buy a larger card if you want (Note: 32 GB microSD cards are expected on the market in 2010).
The internal speaker isplenty loud. So loud I keep it turned way down. Still, you're probably going to want to use a pair of headphones (not included).
Third-Party Software
Generally, Verizon seems to have taken the attitude that "less is more" and didn't load the Droid down with extraneous software. But if you want to fill it up, you can; there are over 12,000 apps available for easy download in the Android Market.
These run the gamut from games to productivity, with a wide selection in every category. And they hit all the high points, with multiple options for Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and similar services.
There are still a few holes in the offerings, though. There no LogMeIn client, for example, nor a version of SlingPlayer Mobile. Not critical, but not good news either.
Mapping & Navigation
A relatively simple mapping application was part of Android 1.0, but Google has taken this to the next level in the new version. Voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions have been added, making this app vastly more useful.
It now works like you'd expect a stand-alone GPS receiver to,giving you audible directions of when to turn, and automatically re-routing you if you miss a turn. You can even program it with voice commands.
Motorola is offering a car cradle for the Droid, and it's something I'm going to recommend if you plan to do much navigation, mostly because running the screen and GPS four hours is a serious battery drain. The cradle is only $30, and it will let you arrive at your destinations with a full battery.
Voice Quality and Wireless
For all its power as a mobile computer, let's not forget that this is a phone, too. In many ways, voice quality is the best I've heard from a cell phone in years. People's voices sound rich and natural, with no tinniness at all. However, the device have an odd habit of "skipping" where no sound will come through for just an instant. The people I spoke with said my voice sounded fine, though.
Like virtually all smartphones these days, the Motorola Droid has mobile broadband, in this case Verizon's EV-DO service. This gives you high-speed access to the Web and e-mail when you're on the go. Verizon has one of the best 3G networking in the U.S., and it's available from big cities to tiny hamlets.
This model has Bluetooth too, and I had no problems pairing it with my stereo headset.
Camera
The Droid has a 5 megapixel camera, but you shouldn't judge too much from a single number. In real-world use, I'd say this camera is average... barely. Pictures don't seem very crisp to me.
It has a flash, which is usable for taking pictures of objects within a few feet of the camera.
There are a decent number of settings; among the most useful are the ones that let you set your lighting conditions. The least useful feature is the digital zoom, which doesn't do anything with any purpose.
The camera is definitely not one the this smartphone's strong points, but it's not a real detriment, either.
Battery Life
It probably won't surprise you to hear than I'm a very heavy user of my smartphones. In addition to constantly using push e-mail for work and my personal messages, my phone is where I keep track of Facebook and Twitter, and do much of my personal web surfing. There are few devices that can last a whole day for me, and the Motorola Droid is one of them.
I have pushed this thing hard: hours of web surfing, two different push e-mail accounts, GPS navigation, you name it. And Droid can take it. Its battery is flat at the end of the day, but it's still an accomplishment. Someone who doesn't use their smartphone as hard as I do is going to be able to go much longer between charges.
A quick warning: battery life was extremely bad the first couple of cycles, which isn't unusual. After a few days it settled into more than acceptable performance.
CONCLUSION
When considering the Motorola Droid, you can't graph it out on a checklist. You can't just consider it as a set of specifications. This model has synergy -- all it's pieces work together to make a great smartphone.
Verizon's advertising campaign for this device compares it to the Apple iPhone, and the Droid can stand up to this competition. It has a much better screen and offers some things the iPhone doesn't, like a physical keyboard. It's more customizable, and Verizon's mobile broadband network is available in far more areas.
The iPhone and Droid are even in one area: price. Both sell for $200 with a two-year contract and $100 mail-in rebate.
All in all, the Droid is a truly outstanding smartphone, certainly the best one released this fall.
Pros:
Large, high-resolution display
Easy-to-use OS and software
Large physical keyboard
Free navigation app
Loads of third-party apps
Cons:
Heavy
Barely average camera
