Droid 2: It's no Droid 1

[Redflea]

You can root and theme, but there are very few ROMs/themes available for the D2 compared to the D1.

Right now we have two ROMs (only one of which seems to be active)...Epic and Tranquility, and I actually haven't seen any D2 themes posted yet.

The two ROMs both remove some % of the motoBlur apps.

However, I'm running a rooted D2 at the moment, still on the stock D2 OS, and am using Launcher Pro as my home screen replacement. My Droid home screens look exactly the same as they did on my D1, and my overall experience is almost exactly the same as on the D1 except faster and no worries about filling up memory.

There are some areas where the D2 is a little annoying, particularly how it handles Facebook integration, but overall I find the move from a D1 to a D2 to be a real "upgrade."

 

[karnovaran]

With Froyo's functionality improvements, great launchers like LP and ADW, and the Droid 2's hardware, custom ROMs just aren't a big deal. My main concerns were rooting, Nandroid backups, and themes - and we've already conquered them all.

Redflea - excellent D2 theme here: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/928droid/78456-theme-928droid-black-glass-x-droid-2-a.html

 

[hookbill]

It's silly. Stock Droid 1 doesn't compare with with a Droid 2. The majority of the OP's issues are bluetooth related. This phone has the guts of an X and if you put your 16 gb card from your old Droid on there you've got plenty of room.

Now I would say that a rooted Droid 1 can give the D2 some competition. But even then D2 wins because of the way it handles 2.2. It seems that 2.2 is more designed for the D2 then the D1.

Phone call quality is superior. I get a better 3G signal then I did with the D1. It seems to work better with my wifi. I've had 0 restarts and maybe 2 fc on apps. That could be the apps fault.

 

[npelhamc]

i prefer d2

Had my d1 for 9 months, loved it until i installed 2.2, at which point it became quite laggy. Fortunately/unfortunately i dropped it, broke the screen and had to use my insurance to get d2.

Love the d2. Faster, better hardware. Pretty much everything what i originally wanted from d1.

Things i dont like are:
- swype (love it on my friends dx, but i much prefer slideit or shapewriter on d2)
-bloatware (doesnt really make a noticable difference, but i wish i had a choice.
-android smoothness. I wish stock OS would be smoother like Iphone OS, or like some of the UI apps or custom ROMs

Is it possible they hooked you up with a refurbished d2, which is perhaps faulty in respects to bluetooth?

 

[kildonan500]

do d2 issues warrant buying a d1?

Hello droid fans,

I'm looking to buy my first smartphone, and after much debate and research its come down to either the droid 1 or 2. I would almost automatically chose the droid 2 (since it has the improved keyboard and "more powerful" hardware), however, I have read a lot of negative reviews online about droid 2's:

A. battery life - not lasting more then a day, even with little to no use
B. signal - dropping out at random in places other verizon phones get good signal (e.g. the engaget review)
C. Wifi - I've read troubles with this on both the D1 and D2
D. bloatware on D2 - slowing the phone down, unable to delete, unless rooted.
E. overheating

Are these real problems, or have they been addressed over the last few months with upgrades to firmware/software? would getting the larger battery for the d2 fix the battery issue?

I do not plan to root as I dont want to void warranty (in fact i plan to get the extended warranty as I plan to keep it for 2 years).

Thanks!

 

[arrjaytea]

Prepare for a pile of anecdotal evidence (read: culled from my own experience):

A. battery life - not lasting more then a day, even with little to no use

Not even remotely an issue for me, even with moderate use, and on days where I'm taking a LOT of pictures. Specific methods for maintaining healthy battery life abound on the forums.

B. signal - dropping out at random in places other verizon phones get good signal (e.g. the engaget review)

Non-issue in the Midwest (read: haven't had an issue between Chicago and Minneapolis, nor living in Northeastern Wisconsin.)

C. Wifi - I've read troubles with this on both the D1 and D2

I initially encountered this, but somehow it "got better" - after the 2.2.20 patch, which interestingly enough, allegedly didn't even address the issue. No clear answer on this.

D. bloatware on D2 - slowing the phone down, unable to delete, unless rooted.

It doesn't slow a thing down, but you can't delete it, even if rooted (as far as I understand you can only "hide" them). The so-called "speed issue" stems from a fundamental misunderstanding with regard to how to Android handles background applications.

The issue of seeing them can be resolved via rooting or via Launcherpro.

I do not plan to root as I dont want to void warranty (in fact i plan to get the extended warranty as I plan to keep it for 2 years).

The process of rooting may already be, or will soon be, easily reversed. No physical alteration is done to your phone - so flashing it back to the original firmware should be a simple workaround when it comes to the warranty being voided.

I wouldn't worry about it.

I like my phone and would recommend it. Hope that was some help.

 

[kildonan500]

more

Thanks, thats helpful. I assume you havent experienced overheating either? It sounds like battery problems is caused when you leave everything on (wifi, bluetooth, gps etc) but those can be turned off.

The so-called "speed issue" stems from a fundamental misunderstanding with regard to how to Android handles background applications.

How is that? Can't you just close applications instead of leaving them "running" in the background?

I have yet to own a smartphone (or an android device) but I assume tasks/services are similar to windows where you can alter the services that start on load (disabling/removing those that you dont want), or do something similar with "task killer" (or some similarly named app). Is that right?

Thanks!

 

[arrjaytea]

Thanks, thats helpful. I assume you havent experienced overheating either? It sounds like battery problems is caused when you leave everything on (wifi, bluetooth, gps etc) but those can be turned off.

Nope, not at all. I also don't use widgets much.

I have yet to own a smartphone (or an android device) but I assume tasks/services are similar to windows where you can alter the services that start on load (disabling/removing those that you dont want), or do something similar with "task killer" (or some similarly named app). Is that right?

Thanks!

Here's a link to a better explanation than I could ever give: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-applications/65483-task-killers-answer-google-developers.html

In short, though, the answer is no - it doesn't work like Windows. It works like Linux.

(Bad joke, I know)

 

[sweeeeet]

I also have come from the Droid 1 to the 2.

First off I would say that if your phone has crashed as much as you said you should replace it. Mine runs flawlessly and has never has a blip.

I can't speak of the bluetooth issues you speak of because I have not used it.

I do agree with the problem with contacts related to Facebook. I made the mistake of opening Facebook and all the contacts flooded in and it was a pain in the neck getting rid of them. So I had to log out of Facebook and will never log back in because they have screwed it up big time.

As far as Blur goes I think there is good and bad. I like a lot of it, but it would be better if they allowed you to modify the things you don't like. It would also be nice to delete the stupid apps that you don't want or need. I can't think of any good reasons as to why they force you to have apps you will NEVER use and refuse the ability to delete them.

However as a whole I wouldn't trade the new Droid 2 back for the Droid 1 for any reason. I had my original Droid since Nov 8th and loved it to death at the time and did everything with it.

I am very happy with the D2 and in the past week of almost constant use I have not had a single problem with it. (other than the goofy Facebook contact issue)

If your new D2 is crashing on you it might be a good idea to get another one and give that one a shot... Good luck!

can't you just un check sync facebook in accounts?



Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[dcw9ma]

Upgrade after 9 months

I got a couple of drops of water on my droid 1 and it blew out all of the software and it couldn't be reflashed from the bootlog. I got a new droid 2 replacement with the new every two upgrade even though It was far earlier than two years.

 

[Syraz]

After couple weeks it has grown on me, but alas still no d1, the offset keyboard to the right still drives me nuts to point i dont use it much anymore.. wish i could could trade my warrenty replacement d2 for an X...

 

[MrKleen]

Hello droid fans,

I'm looking to buy my first smartphone, and after much debate and research its come down to either the droid 1 or 2. I would almost automatically chose the droid 2 (since it has the improved keyboard and "more powerful" hardware), however, I have read a lot of negative reviews online about droid 2's:

A. battery life - not lasting more then a day, even with little to no use
B. signal - dropping out at random in places other verizon phones get good signal (e.g. the engaget review)
C. Wifi - I've read troubles with this on both the D1 and D2
D. bloatware on D2 - slowing the phone down, unable to delete, unless rooted.
E. overheating

Are these real problems, or have they been addressed over the last few months with upgrades to firmware/software? would getting the larger battery for the d2 fix the battery issue?

I do not plan to root as I dont want to void warranty (in fact i plan to get the extended warranty as I plan to keep it for 2 years).

Thanks!

I owned the Droid 1 since Nov. 8th until about a week ago when I got my Droid 2.

Having experience with both phones and also having used the D1 to it's fullest potential I can make the choice between the two phones VERY easily.

Get the Droid 2!

Yes I could flash roms very easily on the D1 which I really enjoyed.... But...

The D2 blows the D1 out of the water in every way. Much faster and snappier, my battery lasts much longer, no glitches, better call quality, better reception... And the operating system just seems like it was made for the phone and runs flawlessly. Blur also has some features that are pretty good. I do wish I could get rid of some of the apps that are not needed and of course wish flashing roms was easier.... but the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Get the D2!

 

[karnovaran]

Offset to the right? Uhm last I checked, the Droid 1 keyboard is smashed to the left while the Droid 2 keyboard is set up like 90% of keyboards on the planet.

 

[Syraz]

Offset to the right? Uhm last I checked, the Droid 1 keyboard is smashed to the left while the Droid 2 keyboard is set up like 90% of keyboards on the planet.

Got used to the droid1 being smashed to left

 

[kildonan500]

excellent! thanks for the input guys! cant wait to get my D2!!!