Am I alone? Moto Droid -> Eris

[omally]

My partner and I are on the same plan for our business, so last month I picked up the Droid for me and the free Eris for him. I like a lot of things about the Eris - the smaller size and the weight particularly, but I really prefer the big screen and speed of the Droid. I downloaded Home++ but find that I still don't really use more than 3 screens - to me it's just as fast to find an app in the launcher as it is to flip more than one screen to either side. Plus I like the onscreen keyboard and use it a lot, but I still find the physical keyboard to be useful enough that I'm glad I have it.

 

[NVash]

Maybe Im in the minority but I cant stand that on screen keyboard. I almost always use the physical one.

 

[swallman]

Battery Life ??

I only have the Droid, but one significant issue I've heard of with the Eris is the problem with battery life. I know that would be a huge issue for me...

 

[DroidPDX]

I find the physical keyboard useless. I love the onscreen one, and can type like a secretary in heat compared to my old BB Storm.

 

[roflcopters]

It's all just preference. I did my time with small phones, after my Touch Pro and having my Droid there is never a question as to if I forgot my phone somewhere; I can always feel it in my pocket. I also HAVE to have a hardware keyboard. For the UI bit...I had a go at Touch Flo 3d and it was...meh. Definitely better than the stock Windows Mobile interface, but it used a good bit of memory and had some random errors sometimes. I personally like the stock Android layout.

 

[darreno1]

The main thing that would scare me away from the eris/hero is the lag. They can get very laggy with lots of apps running. That would drive me completely insane when I'm out and about during the day. With the Droid, very rare does an app not load up quickly when called. If speed isn't a concern, they're great phones.

 

[Dave12308]

- Eris is seemingly way lighter

Eris isn't predominantly cased in anodized aluminum, either

- I do not like the physical keyboard on the Moto Droid (even though I liked physical keyboards in the past). I'm disappointed in I wonder how much of the weight issue is due to this keyboard?

Amount of weight added by keyboard is probably minimal. It isn't the best, but is necessary for certain apps/games.

- The Eris HTC UI interface is better (5 home screens vs 3 by default). I have to run Panda or some homescreen app on my Droid to make it the same. The Eris UI seems more 'refined' in a way.

Sense is an add-on, too; in the sense that it's not a core Android app. It's really no different than Panda, GDE, or any of the other home replacements. Also, bear in mind that Android 2.1 is soon coming to the MotoDroid, and also contains 5 homescreens and a refined interface.

- Apps simply 'spontaneously' launch without me wanting them too (calendars, weatherbug, my uploads, etc.) that simply don't happen on my wife's Eris.

??????????? bad hardware, maybe?

Sure the Moto droid is faster at certain tasks, has a slightly bigger screen, Android 2.0 (today), and higher resolution. I'm just not seeing how these things really outweigh the Eris bullets above (for me at least).

Am I missing something? Am I alone?

I'm sure you're not alone, but for me, I basically use my Droid as a netbook replacement, up to and including Remote Desktop on a remote PC. The extra screen resolution is a huge deal for applications such as these, as well as overall web browsing. The extra speed helps as well. In the end, it all boils down to what you use your phone for. If the Eris better fits your usage pattern, by all means, save weight and money and get it instead. But if you think for a moment that even one thing you would use your phone for daily would benefit from a keyboard and/or the higher screen resolution, get the MotoDroid.

My responses in bold

 

[coondogg97]

I didn't want to worry about buying accessories and supporting two different phones. That's the main reason I picked the Droid up for my wife.

 

[jt2006]

It's funny how everybody jumped on this free eris deal for their wife or girlfriend... I did the same thing. I bought the droid around xmas then went and got the eris for for my wife last week and she loves it. I like it too but it is pretty girly, but has some really cool features but I see already... If you don't want to have to charge your phone twice a day don't do the eris

 

[bpad10]

I bought my Droid on the release date and haven't set it down yet. My wife plays with it here and there but isn't sold on it yet. I keep telling her that I have the perfect phone for her, the Eris.....(her renewal date is feb 13).

She's mentioned she doesn't like the keyboard, and the bulk of my Droid. That's why I think she'll like the Eris....

She can be too damn picky though, with women you just never know

 

[bigthinker]

Tried them both for a week before making my decision. Went with the Moto Droid because of longer battery life and keyboard. If you are used to a little smaller phone and still want it to be robust, the Eris is an excellent choice.

 

[flavious27]

I miss having a tracball on the droid from having a d-pad on the outside of my last phone, i don't like having to double tap on the screen everytime to zoom in. But the eris can't play back videos as well and the screen isn't as durable as the droid (part of the heaviness).

I think my wife nailed it when she said that the eris is the wife droid and the droid is for the husband.

 

[gardobus]

I bought my Droid on the release date and haven't set it down yet. My wife plays with it here and there but isn't sold on it yet. I keep telling her that I have the perfect phone for her, the Eris.....(her renewal date is feb 13).

She's mentioned she doesn't like the keyboard, and the bulk of my Droid. That's why I think she'll like the Eris....

She can be too damn picky though, with women you just never know

Yeah my wife has played with mine several times and I think she is fairly sold on getting an Android when her upgrade comes in August. I think at this point she wants the Eris but I told her that the Nexus One might be available around that time and it is a really nice phone. Then we'll have 2 Androids in our arsenal.

BTW an interesting thing is that she HATED my Blackberrys and never got used to my iPod Touch. Android ftw

 

[bllarkin]

I did the Eris for my wife as well. We weren't going to upgrade her phone, but her Touch Pro was acting up, and she had gone through 5 phones (4 6800's and this Touch Pro) in 2 years. I decided that maybe the sliding keyboard was the issue, too many moving parts as she is pretty rough on her phones.

She was a little hesitant about giving up her hardware keyboard, but has fallen in love with her Eris. She loves all the nice social networking things, the ability to easily play music (had nothing but issues with the TouchFlo 3D music player) when she is closing at work. Though I wasn't sure it was a good decision, as I did it as a surprise when she mentioned she was having issues, I am sure now it was a great move.

 

[HeroNova]

I only have the Droid, but one significant issue I've heard of with the Eris is the problem with battery life. I know that would be a huge issue for me...

I switched from the Eris to the Droid and this was one of the main reasons for the switch. My Eris' battery did not last and the Droid's battery seems much, much better.