How good is the Droid 1 right now?

[furbearingmammal]

Please do not suggest ROMs as the OP did not ask about them. Thank you for your cooperation.

OP, if you are interested in ROMing your phone, please do your own research and testing. Every ROM has its quirks, Bugless Beast and Ultimate Droid among them. Do not be swayed till you have tested a few. Be forewarned, Bugless Beast is notoriously difficult to install for some reason.

 

[hookbill]

If something happened to my D2 I would pick up my D1, activate it, root it, and I'd be fine until Asurion sent me my new or refurbed D2.

 

[craig.agrona]

The D1 is the foundation of all Android powered phones. It is as solid today as it was when it was released I traded my brand new Storm2, out of the box, for a used D1 a couple of months ago. Absolutely no regrets. I keep my tech needs in check by using new ROMS and trying new kernels. I have found it very hard to brick this phone. I have been up for a new contract since I got the D1, my problem is that I have not found a phone that I believe will be better than the D1. I too am waiting on 4G, but live in Roanoke, so 4g wont get here for some time. My suggestion is to go on craigslist in your area and look for a cheap D1. Thats what I did, i even paid his gas money!!!

 

[smd12]

make sure you have a plastic straw that you can wedge in the gap around the audio adapter. :tongue:

 

[Reefdiver]

I should have came here before I bought my Droid 2 Global. I have an Incredible and I hate it so much, that I bought a Droid 2. I was going to do the same as you and get an older Droid to wait and see what comes down the road, but just winded up getting the Droid 2 Global. I do have to say the Droid 2 Global is awesome!! I love this phone but It was pricey I could have gotten a way better deal on a Droid, but I thought that it was really outdated, It sounds like it is a great phone from these post.

 

[waco]

Please do not suggest ROMs as the OP did not ask about them. Thank you for your cooperation.

OP, if you are interested in ROMing your phone, please do your own research and testing. Every ROM has its quirks, Bugless Beast and Ultimate Droid among them. Do not be swayed till you have tested a few. Be forewarned, Bugless Beast is notoriously difficult to install for some reason.

The OP did ask for rom recommendations in their second post. Not disagreeing they should try several out because what's good for me may not be good for them.

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums App

 

[furbearingmammal]

You're right. I missed that.

However, recommending ROMs is never a good idea for the reasons outlined in my post.

 

[Essenar]

You guys sold me on it.

I'll be picking up my Droid 1 today!

A local distributor for Cricket wireless is selling them for $175 unlocked and flashed for their service. I was going to pick one up for $150 but the seller isn't replying and I'm unsure of the condition. If he does reply and it's fully functional with all pre-packaged accessories, I'll bite.

If CES shows some nice Android devices, I might just stay with Android. One big question is whether the Verizon iPhone will be an iPhone 4 equivalent or better, because it looks like the 2011 Verizon Android devices are going to have huge upgrades in processing speed, ram and other amenities.

Thanks for the advice guys! I was worried about the Motorola brand (I haven't had great experiences with Motorola and my friend hates his Cliq) but it seems like the Droid is Android by Motorola done right.

I'll also try out all the roms and see which one works best. My biggest desire is that it functions well when over-clocked as I have zero intention of sticking with the 550MHZ processor.

 

[furbearingmammal]

What I've heard about the VeriPhone is that they'll be announcing it over the summer when they have LTE more rolled out and it will be LTE-capable.

But, like any rumor, who knows.

 

[dan.dar]

On the other hand, when ROMed the D1 can and does outperform stock Xs in almost all regards that the software is capable of. Especially when overclocked.

That's true. I played with my sister in law's Dx and it did not feel any faster than my OG Droid @800mhz. That phone begs for root and a good ROM.

 

[takeshi]

How much customization is out there for Droid 1? Does it have Froyo?

Take a look at the related subforums on this site.

How smooth is the OS compared to the speed of say, a Galaxy S phone or an iPhone 3GS?

You really need to assess this for yourself. The D1 can be very smooth. That said, there are those that still prefer iOS. Nexus S is reported to be very smooth out of the box whereas you may need to tweak the Droid.

Is 256MB of ram enough? With the G1, I needed to use an app called Apps2SD in order to not run out of memory.

Again, you need to assess this for yourself. How much RAM did the G1 have? "Enough" depends on your specific usage. For some it is, for others it isn't.

Can the Droid 1 be used with data to send free text messages/make calls over 3G using Google Voice/Sipgate?

Any Android device meeting the requirements can.

However, recommending ROMs is never a good idea for the reasons outlined in my post.

Suggestions don't hurt but test driving is a must. Selecting a ROM is really like selecting anything else. It's always about finding what suits the individual best.

 

[tacdusty]

Had mine for almost a year I love it.

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums App

 

[add119]

it great and good phone for 2009 device. 97% apps and games work from my experience.

Here's my situation:
I need a cell phone badly but I don't want to sign a new contract until I see all the Q1 releases. I want to pick up a phone to use in the meanwhile, while I "weather the storm", see what comes out and how they stack up. Plus Verizon has those LTE network ready devices coming and I don't want to be stuck with a regular 3G device when faster speeds are out there.

After all my mediocre experiences, I'm fairly certain I want Verizon to be my primary provider. At first, I was going to pick up a Droid 2 and call it a day, but then I saw that Verizon will be getting an iPhone. I also saw reviews on Youtube of the Samsung Galaxy S GPU and how powerful it was compared to every other powerful Android device (I like playing games) but it has GPS issues.

I need service now (I have no phone), but I want to wait until mid February until I at least see what's going to officially come out in the first half of this year before I sign a contract.

So:
1) How fast is the Droid 1? Can it play games like Hero of Sparta?
2) How much customization is out there for Droid 1? Does it have Froyo?
3) How smooth is the OS compared to the speed of say, a Galaxy S phone or an iPhone 3GS?
4) Is 256MB of ram enough? With the G1, I needed to use an app called Apps2SD in order to not run out of memory.
5) Can the Droid 1 be used with data to send free text messages/make calls over 3G using Google Voice/Sipgate?

I plan on buying a cleared Droid 1 on Craigs List if it's relatively quick and using it with a month-to-month carrier like Cricket until I see what Verizon has planned for the next few months.

 

[samiusmc]

I've had mine since November 2009. Can't find anything out there that would make it worthwhile to replace.

 

[furbearingmammal]

I've had mine since November 2009. Can't find anything out there that would make it worthwhile to replace.

Especially with a functional Gingerbread ROM!

Just upgraded to one myself and, other than the PITA it is to set it back up (and figure out what my old user ID is in one of my apps), it's pretty slick.