I'm nearing the end of my 30-day trial period with the Droid, and am returning it to the Verizon dealer. After using it for a month, I have the following critique to offer.
It is very heavy, and will not fit easily into a pocket. I do not like to carry a phone on my belt. I've lost two previous phones from my belt, one torn off when exiting a car, the other just missing one day, with only the hook remaining. Up, down, sideways, any belt position is uncomfortable too. So, no "Bat Belt" for me.
While I've gotten better at using the virtual keypad, in landscape view, I find the spell check and auto-fill functions work poorly, often correcting a word I wish to use with one I do not. Also, I find no way to easily navigate through text, to make changes. The other, smaller keypad displayed when the phone is vertical I find virtually unusable.
I prefer the physical keypad, but there is no spell check. The keys are difficult to hit accurately, especially the numbers, which are crowded too close to the top of the keyboard, and are difficult to type while also depressing the "alt" key. The cursor can be moved using the 4-way button, but the cursor itself is difficult to locate onscreen.
Deal breakers:
I've had problems with getting my mail reliably from my company exchange server. I often get what look like new emails, but when opened, I discover they are actually random, older emails that are attached. This also occurs with outgoing mail, a bigger problem, as recipients write back to say "what the hell did you just send me?"
Tried reestablishing my email, twice, but this weird bug keeps recurring.
My company IT person says the problem has to do with the phone, my Verizon dealer tells me it is our exchange server. I'm tired of the back and forth finger pointing.
Also, I am not able to sync the calendar to my company's exchange server. This is the real deal breaker for me.
Best thing about this phone is the navigation, with voiced directions. Am going to miss that feature.
The apps, while very cool, are secondary to my need for a phone that can reliably retrieve my emails.
I'm headed back to the Blackberry, for rock solid email and calendar sync.
Hope this might help someone who is considering the Droid. It is a fun toy, but not a very good basic phone or email device.
It is very heavy, and will not fit easily into a pocket. I do not like to carry a phone on my belt. I've lost two previous phones from my belt, one torn off when exiting a car, the other just missing one day, with only the hook remaining. Up, down, sideways, any belt position is uncomfortable too. So, no "Bat Belt" for me.
While I've gotten better at using the virtual keypad, in landscape view, I find the spell check and auto-fill functions work poorly, often correcting a word I wish to use with one I do not. Also, I find no way to easily navigate through text, to make changes. The other, smaller keypad displayed when the phone is vertical I find virtually unusable.
I prefer the physical keypad, but there is no spell check. The keys are difficult to hit accurately, especially the numbers, which are crowded too close to the top of the keyboard, and are difficult to type while also depressing the "alt" key. The cursor can be moved using the 4-way button, but the cursor itself is difficult to locate onscreen.
Deal breakers:
I've had problems with getting my mail reliably from my company exchange server. I often get what look like new emails, but when opened, I discover they are actually random, older emails that are attached. This also occurs with outgoing mail, a bigger problem, as recipients write back to say "what the hell did you just send me?"
Tried reestablishing my email, twice, but this weird bug keeps recurring.
My company IT person says the problem has to do with the phone, my Verizon dealer tells me it is our exchange server. I'm tired of the back and forth finger pointing.
Also, I am not able to sync the calendar to my company's exchange server. This is the real deal breaker for me.
Best thing about this phone is the navigation, with voiced directions. Am going to miss that feature.
The apps, while very cool, are secondary to my need for a phone that can reliably retrieve my emails.
I'm headed back to the Blackberry, for rock solid email and calendar sync.
Hope this might help someone who is considering the Droid. It is a fun toy, but not a very good basic phone or email device.