Efficiency vs. Obsolescence

[Nolano]

As it is, the Droid is the second fastest Android device on the US market. It's leaps and bounds ahead of anything else except the nexus one. I did a simple analysis using the "Neocore" benchmark.
Note, due to variations in OS, possible versions, etc, these results are FAR from scientific. i've listed first the screen resolution, then the framerate, and then the actual amount of pixels rendered by the device in a second. Note, the non Droid results are not firsthand, I got the framerate off the internet.

G1: 153600px 26.5fps 4070400pps

Droid: 409920px (2.66875x the G1) 20.8fps 8,526,336pps(2.094x the g1)

N1: 384000px (.93x of the Droid) 26.7fps 10,252,800pps (1.202x the Droid)

Linpack for Android is also somewhat telling:

Droid: 4.66-5.5 MFLOPS depending on who you ask.

Nexus 1: roughly 7 is what I'm seeing.

So the Nexus One is faster, yes. But not ridiculously faster. And it looks from the Neocore results like the GPU isn't as improved over the Droid as the CPU is.
And finally, the reason I don't regret buying the Droid. If, as a technology consumer, you ALWAYS wait for the latest and greatest, you will NEVER BUY ANYTHING.

 

[wil318466]

You guys are looking at this in the incorrect light. True, when Verizon goes LTE only, yes. But we know that won't happen quickly.

The real issue is that we are OS dependent. When the Droid can't do what Android OS wants to do, it'll stop being updated. 2.1 is on the Nexus, will be on the Droid in a few days, but it sure as hell isnt' on every Android device out there. Why? Because the hardware can't support the OS.

So, its really about what the hardware you just bought can do compared to other phone's hardware, and if their OS is being updated and yours is not. The Nexus and the Droid are in the same league as far as hardware goes. I think we're good shape.

Personally, when the Droid stops getting OS updates because of its "outdated" hardware, I'll probably upgrade. Until then, the question is : Why would I change phones? Does my phone not do what I want it to do?

Same conversation me and a friend had once. I wanted to buy a new computer, quad core Intel with a new motherboard, video card, etc. Then he asked me : why are you doing this? Can you name 1 game you can't run, or one application that doesnt' run on your system because of your hardware? (He knows I only play 1-2 games and they run fine on my computer). So, I answered no, and he said "well, then just wait. Why throw away 800 bucks? Pretty much the same argument as here, but at this point you already have a "quad core" you just want the 2.8 gigahertz machine instead of the 2.6 gigahertz one.



-Wil

 

[NVash]

Thats a very good point. My comp needs serious updating but I dont intend to for awhile yet. Guess itll be the same with the Droid but everythings working great now.

 

[Martin030908]

You guys are looking at this in the incorrect light. True, when Verizon goes LTE only, yes. But we know that won't happen quickly.

The real issue is that we are OS dependent. When the Droid can't do what Android OS wants to do, it'll stop being updated. 2.1 is on the Nexus, will be on the Droid in a few days, but it sure as hell isnt' on every Android device out there. Why? Because the hardware can't support the OS.

So, its really about what the hardware you just bought can do compared to other phone's hardware, and if their OS is being updated and yours is not. The Nexus and the Droid are in the same league as far as hardware goes. I think we're good shape.

Personally, when the Droid stops getting OS updates because of its "outdated" hardware, I'll probably upgrade. Until then, the question is : Why would I change phones? Does my phone not do what I want it to do?

Same conversation me and a friend had once. I wanted to buy a new computer, quad core Intel with a new motherboard, video card, etc. Then he asked me : why are you doing this? Can you name 1 game you can't run, or one application that doesnt' run on your system because of your hardware? (He knows I only play 1-2 games and they run fine on my computer). So, I answered no, and he said "well, then just wait. Why throw away 800 bucks? Pretty much the same argument as here, but at this point you already have a "quad core" you just want the 2.8 gigahertz machine instead of the 2.6 gigahertz one.



-Wil

I go through the same thing every year with my PC. I am always looking to update it... and my buddy keeps asking me the same thing.... "What can't you do?"... I say "nothing" and he tells me to save my money as well.
Someday maybe we'll learn

 

[DROIDMASTER]

Verizon I doubt is gonna go 100% Lte. unless someone is going to buy old cdma networks they will lose billions of dollars. Personally I think lte networks will drive verizon into the ground if they build them. Think about phones right now from verizon some of their cheap ones. Those phones probably average about 500 kilobytes per second for downstream rates. lte networks will avergage 8-12 megabytes per second thats a a big difference. To me that suggests the phones the phones will cost about 16* times more than how much cheap phones cost now. Some people will not want to spend money for their phone. I know some people that only get the phones that are free. With lte networks they will not be free. If Verizon does make lte networks I bet they will require a data plan for every phone since data is what the network is meant for.

*I get 16 beacause they suggest data speed will be between 8000-1200 kilobytes persecond and I guess a free phone speed will be 500 kilobytes persecond 8000/500= 16

 

[jsh1120]

Here's a somewhat different take (and one that I suspect mirrors that of many consumers.) I moved to a "smartphone" about five years ago in order to (a) support some requirements for business that my old phone wouldn't support and (b) to improve the readability and functionality of the device. Went first to a Palm Treo and then to a WM Motorola XV6700.

The integration with my desktop wasn't ideal with either device but each provided reasonable functionality if I put enough effort into keeping things synched. What was a problem was that neither device hit the "sweet spot" of having providing a readable display (without my glasses), especially in the sun; was large enough to use easily; and was not a pain to lug around.

In short, it was not so much the upgraded "computing power" of the Droid that led me to selecting it. It was the form factor of the device, itself. I've since been pleasantly impressed by the level of integration with my desktop the Droid (and Google) provides. But even without it, I would be delighted with the device.

Do I want more power? Of course. More storage? Of course. Do I want better speech recognition? Yup. Apps that read my mind via the chip embedded in my skull? Probably. But the biggest challenge for designers as far as I'm concerned is to hit that sweet spot that balances functionality with size and weight. If technological progress is aimed in that direction, I'll be upgrading. If it's devoted to a better "gaming" experience, I'll pass.