General Question for possible droid purchase...

[DaDroidDude]

Hi all.
I'm trying to decide if I should buy the droid or not and have several concerns/questions.

1. I use Outlook and/or Palm Desktop as my desktop PIM. I currently use a Palm TX to sync with that. Is there a way to sync the Droid with either of those? I know there are aftermarket apps that can do this on the Palm Pre Plus.

2. I've read that voice dialing, specifically from a blue-tooth headset, cannot be done on the Droid. Is that true? Will that be fixed at any point? That seems like a HUGE oversight!

3. I am currently using an LG Dare. One of the problems I have is, if the phone is in a tight case it doesn't shut off quickly enough after finishing a bluetooth call and the touchscreen gets activated with random, always negative results; dialing another number, starting a note... Is there any way around this with the Droid. I had to start keeping the Dare in my shirt pocket as I make lots of calls when driving.

4. Is there voice recording capability on the Droid?

5. What kind of battery life do you all get?

6. Any idea when they'll implement flash support?

7. Is the speaker phone loud enough to use in a car? I used to have an LG flip phone that I loved and used all the time. Then I upgraded to the Dare and the speaker phone on it is too quiet to hear clearly in my quiet Toy Camry!! What a drag! I heard that the Droid speaker is LOUD.

That's all I can think of right now. It seems like a helluva phone.
What say you all?

Thanks
Butch

 

[Trip]

DaDroidDude,

1. I use Google Calendar Sync for Outlook, it syncs my outlook calendar to my google account online which in turn syncs to my droid, works fine for me.

2. There is not direct voice dialing via bluetooth headset at this time. You can hit a button on the phone and speak to it to dial, but not through the headset.

3. The droid is a capacitive screen, not pressure sensetive like most other phones, meaning you have to have skin contact to do anything, so if the phone is in your pocket or a case it will not do anything even if the screen is on.

4. I cant say I'm 100% positive (I don't need to record voice so I never looked), but I would bet theres an app to do it.

5. It depends on your usage/signal strength etc., I typically get 1 1/2 to 2 days on a charge, but I'm not a heavy phone user, I check email etc. more than I talk on the phone.

6. It keeps getting pushed back...but on the positive side, Adobe has put up a sign up for beta users so hopefully soon.

7. I have used the internal phone speaker a few times in my car, it seemed adequate. (my car has a built in bluetooth hands free adapter so usually I have the phone over the stereo speakers).

Hope thats helps.

Good luck with your decision. :motdroidhoriz:

 

[takeshi]

There are quite a few threads on Outlook sync. I suggest reading up on them.

I've read that voice dialing, specifically from a blue-tooth headset, cannot be done on the Droid. Is that true? Will that be fixed at any point?

That's anyone's guess. If you need it, get a BT headset with built-in voice dialing.

I am currently using an LG Dare. One of the problems I have is, if the phone is in a tight case it doesn't shut off quickly enough after finishing a bluetooth call and the touchscreen gets activated with random, always negative results; dialing another number, starting a note... Is there any way around this with the Droid. I had to start keeping the Dare in my shirt pocket as I make lots of calls when driving.

Hit the power/lock button.

What kind of battery life do you all get?

The battery life I get isn't indicative of what you'll get (see all the battery life threads). I charge nightly and have no issues making it through the day unless I browse a lot or play games a lot. For the most part I only use GPS while connected to a car charger.

Any idea when they'll implement flash support?

As with any such speculative question -- pick your favorite current rumor.

 

[jsh1120]

...

4. Is there voice recording capability on the Droid?

5. What kind of battery life do you all get?

...

7. Is the speaker phone loud enough to use in a car? I used to have an LG flip phone that I loved and used all the time. Then I upgraded to the Dare and the speaker phone on it is too quiet to hear clearly in my quiet Toy Camry!! What a drag! I heard that the Droid speaker is LOUD.



Thanks
Butch

Other questions have been answered adequately. Here's my take on those above.

4. There are a number of voice recorder apps. I use NoteEverything(Pro), a great application that provides just about every note taking format (voice, finger, typed, etc.) and sharing you can imagine. It substitutes for several other applications. I recommend it highly.

5. Battery life is highly susceptible to individual use and preferences. I purchased an $11 OEM battery and a $15 standalone battery charger on Amazon. With those, a charger attached to the wall, and a car charger, I can last indefinitely.

7. The speaker phone is the best I've had on any phone.