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I don't need cheerleaders...just a balanced opinion
- Thread starter chiocci
- Start date
windstrings
Active Member
Weather bug has never been enough for me...... before I upgraded to the droid, I paid 3.99 a month for the accuweather app after trialing them all and concluded it was the coolest...... now its free as a free app!
There are other choices too and I don't know if they are up to par but I do know about accuweather.
greenchicken
Member
well if everybody liked the same things, all the chicks would dig us now wouldn't they? :icon_ banana:
windstrings
Active Member
My phone before this one "the dare" I didn't use a protector and I"m extremely careful with my phone.
however, I put the screen faceing my leg when in my pocket so as to protect it from hard bangs or bumps I may run into with my leg... over the last year, I have notice tiny wear marks right in the center of the screen.
Because its in the center, I'm pretty sure its not from use of my finger swipes but rather rubbing on my jean and/or pants material...... so yes.. I got the protector too for the droid.... especially after putting a protective cover around the phone, I can't even tell the protector is on.
greenchicken
Member
I am using the bb pouch right now, I always put it in my front pocket like a nerd and the pouch keeps it tight enough not to slide out when I pick up something off the floor and the pouch keeps it tight enough in my pocket for that not to slide out either
greenchicken
Member
Yeah i ran out of protectors on my voyager about 6 months back and started doing the same thing as you, so far no wear marks, so it's good to sell to one of my friends. Won't get but a few bucks but it's better then nothing.
My 13 yr old daughter wants my old crackberry, it looks new... but we don't want her to have a phone yet
loboblanco
Member
I've been a Blackberry user for the last 4 years. I just switched jobs and my new job doesn't have an enterprise server and the Blackberry just isn't as good without it. However, I've grown so fond of how small the curve is and how fast I can type on the raised keys that I really debated just keeping it and living with the limitations of the Blackberry Internet Service. I'm very happy I got the Droid. Here is what I like and dislike.
Like
1. The internet browsing is WAY better than the Blackberry.
2. The free apps are great, I downloaded Quick Profile and now have a custome profile ability just like by Curve had.
3. The physical keyboard is not nearly as bad as people say. I can type pretty quickly on it, you just have to get used to a horizontal layout instead of a Blackberry's vertical. I thought the flat keys would be a problem, but there's still "give" when you push them. The biggest adjustment is because of the d-pad, it's harder to move your right thumb all the way over. I'm readjusting using my left thumb for the middle keys. (H, Y)
4. The virtual keyboard is great, and in landscape is better than the one on the iphone. I can type pretty fast on it one thumbed. I was laying down this morning and it was easy to type that way. I find that I am now using the virtual keyboard for short texts and emails and using the slide out for longer ones.
Dislikes:
1. Too heavy. I love the quality feel, but it's heavy in a pocket.
2. you can make the font larger on the internet but not for corporate email.
3. Text (SMS) is not combined in the inbox with email the way it is on BB.
4. Wish the notification bar was a little larger.
Like
1. The internet browsing is WAY better than the Blackberry.
2. The free apps are great, I downloaded Quick Profile and now have a custome profile ability just like by Curve had.
3. The physical keyboard is not nearly as bad as people say. I can type pretty quickly on it, you just have to get used to a horizontal layout instead of a Blackberry's vertical. I thought the flat keys would be a problem, but there's still "give" when you push them. The biggest adjustment is because of the d-pad, it's harder to move your right thumb all the way over. I'm readjusting using my left thumb for the middle keys. (H, Y)
4. The virtual keyboard is great, and in landscape is better than the one on the iphone. I can type pretty fast on it one thumbed. I was laying down this morning and it was easy to type that way. I find that I am now using the virtual keyboard for short texts and emails and using the slide out for longer ones.
Dislikes:
1. Too heavy. I love the quality feel, but it's heavy in a pocket.
2. you can make the font larger on the internet but not for corporate email.
3. Text (SMS) is not combined in the inbox with email the way it is on BB.
4. Wish the notification bar was a little larger.
windstrings
Active Member
Dislikes:
1. Too heavy. I love the quality feel, but it's heavy in a pocket.
Agree.. a bit heavy, but I'd rather have that than the cheap cheezy plastic many phones are made of, I certainly would not want to skimp on guts, quality of screen etc.
2. you can make the font larger on the internet but not for corporate email.
Agreed, my older eyes need bigger fonts... many are needlessly tiny.
3. Text (SMS) is not combined in the inbox with email the way it is on BB.
I'm having trouble sending multiple pics to one address or arranging contacts in groups... the gmail is definitely different "and needs some tweaking" to match the usability of the regular phone services.
4. Wish the notification bar was a little larger.
Me too!
1. Too heavy. I love the quality feel, but it's heavy in a pocket.
Agree.. a bit heavy, but I'd rather have that than the cheap cheezy plastic many phones are made of, I certainly would not want to skimp on guts, quality of screen etc.
2. you can make the font larger on the internet but not for corporate email.
Agreed, my older eyes need bigger fonts... many are needlessly tiny.
3. Text (SMS) is not combined in the inbox with email the way it is on BB.
I'm having trouble sending multiple pics to one address or arranging contacts in groups... the gmail is definitely different "and needs some tweaking" to match the usability of the regular phone services.
4. Wish the notification bar was a little larger.
Me too!
I went DROID after going through all three generations of iPhone and have no reservation whatsoever stating that the DROID is a far superior device in (almost) every respect.
Display quality, display resolution, software flexibility, sound quality (both call and media), customization options, and overall OS stability is like entering into an entirely more advanced world.
I have yet to experience any 'storage capacity' issues and I have more apps installed than I'll (probably) ever use.
Also understand that the wealth of Android applications are (typically) very small in size, and any/all media files are easily stored on the (surprisingly quick) included 16gb microSDHC card.
Whether the decision is to buy now, or buy later, the DROID currently represents the finest of smartphone offerings offered on the US market.
Display quality, display resolution, software flexibility, sound quality (both call and media), customization options, and overall OS stability is like entering into an entirely more advanced world.
I have yet to experience any 'storage capacity' issues and I have more apps installed than I'll (probably) ever use.
Also understand that the wealth of Android applications are (typically) very small in size, and any/all media files are easily stored on the (surprisingly quick) included 16gb microSDHC card.
Whether the decision is to buy now, or buy later, the DROID currently represents the finest of smartphone offerings offered on the US market.
Not sure if my reply is too late.. but here is what I've got for an opinion so far...
I had an iPhone 3G (not the latest one), and it was really cool. In my honest opinion, the iPhone beats the Droid (and any android phone UI) for one main reason.. simplicity, broken down into two areas. The iPhone has a purely consistent UI design. From the moment you log in, it is all, and only all icons. That is it. So, for mom and pop, this is ideal. It's really easy to use. BUT.. and I honestly did NOT think I was going to say this... for MORE users these days (than say 5 years ago or so), I think the DROID (and android UI) is a LOT more fun! The iPhone may have the edge on the rounded looks, but to me the UI in Android phones allows you to enjoy the phone more. I think it was Android 1.6 that brought in the widget thing.. that is genious. I am not too happy I only have 3 screens to use them on, as I filled all 3 up very quickly. But, that said, being able to put a clock, power bar, facebook stats widget, calendar widget, and some favorite icons all within a single flick (if they aren't ont he main home page), is brilliant. The fact that you can customize the home pages so much is even more fun, and to me what a lot more teens/20 somethings are going to probably migrate to Android phones for. There is just SO much more you can do to the UI interface on the Android phones. I compare it to MySpace... you see how many teens/kids jumped on MySpace and loaded up their page with their favorite dooda's? Well, to me that is a big bonus for Android UI.. it allows kids/teens (and all the rest of us too) to customize it how we like. I don't know for sure as I've only owned an Android phone for 2 days now, but I think there are apps that bring even more home screens and customizations.. I just came across some "themes" or something that are like .99 each for an app you buy called aHome or something?
As for the keyboard.. having daily swearing sessions on the iPhone virtual keyboard for constantly screwing up my typing.. UGH! I was so pissed. So, let me tell you what a pleasant surprise the Droid phone's virtual keyboard is! I've read a lot of reviews saying it wasn't so good, or that the auto-correct wasn't so good. Well, true, the auto-correct isn't as good, but I seldom fat finger two keys on the Droid virtual keyboard. I am extremely impressed with the accuracy of the screen! As for the physical keyboard, well I think it will be fine for kids, but I have big hands and fingers, so I do tend to have a bit of trouble with it. However, it is better than I thought it would be. Coming from an iPhone, with no keyboard, I find it to be fine for most things. I would rather have seen some spacing between the keys tho.. even if that meant they were a little smaller. For the most part, I've barely used it with the accuracy of the virtual keyboard.
I've only experienced one issue, which showed up twice and so far not again. I put my phone down after bringing it home Friday, and it went into a sleep mode I guess? I couldn't get it out. I looked online, apparently the TMobile G1 had a similar issue.. at least some users did. I had to pull the battery out and back in to get it to come on. I don't know if there is some special way to physically reset the phone, like CTRL-ALT-DEL lol, but I tried every key, combos, long presses, etc..nothing. The next morning when I woke up..same thing. Since then, it's not happened tho. I am hoping it wont show up again.
As a java developer and one learning android development, I had a bit of a time getting the Droid to show up on my Linux development box. Thankfully I came across a post that explained what to do specifically for the Droid and am now able to deploy my apps onto it. I suspected tho it being so new that it may be a short while before it works for this purpose, so it was nice to see it actually work on day 1.
Overall, I gotta be honest, as a techie/developer, I love the Droid WAY more than the iPhone. In fact, after having the Droid, there is something I noticed about the iPhone that really bugs me (my wife still has hers). There is no back button. When you are in an app, you have to press the only button iPhone has, the home button, and it takes you back out of the app. I suppose this is because the iPhone can only run a single app, which makes sense. But it is VERY nice to be able to have those 4 buttons that take you home, back you up a step, or go do a search, as well as a menu button that is context sensitive. I believe the rumor is the next version of the iPhone besides being more powerful, will bring in mult-threaded apps so that more than one can run at a time. But until then, the Android phones have a huge advantage in this respect and in my opinion, allows more flexible options when running apps and navigating in general. It is indeed odd tho that there is no talk/hangup buttons. I see why they did it sort of.. but I would love to have those still.
Oh..the video recording is pretty decent. I did not know there was going to be an update in December.. anyone got a URL for info leading to it? I'd love to know how I can stay atop of upcoming updates, what will be in them, etc. I'll look around the Android forums some more to see if I can find anything about that.
I'd honestly say, get the phone now. Start enjoying it now. Learn it, etc. By the time the updates come and fix any issues, you'll already know your way around the phone.
I had an iPhone 3G (not the latest one), and it was really cool. In my honest opinion, the iPhone beats the Droid (and any android phone UI) for one main reason.. simplicity, broken down into two areas. The iPhone has a purely consistent UI design. From the moment you log in, it is all, and only all icons. That is it. So, for mom and pop, this is ideal. It's really easy to use. BUT.. and I honestly did NOT think I was going to say this... for MORE users these days (than say 5 years ago or so), I think the DROID (and android UI) is a LOT more fun! The iPhone may have the edge on the rounded looks, but to me the UI in Android phones allows you to enjoy the phone more. I think it was Android 1.6 that brought in the widget thing.. that is genious. I am not too happy I only have 3 screens to use them on, as I filled all 3 up very quickly. But, that said, being able to put a clock, power bar, facebook stats widget, calendar widget, and some favorite icons all within a single flick (if they aren't ont he main home page), is brilliant. The fact that you can customize the home pages so much is even more fun, and to me what a lot more teens/20 somethings are going to probably migrate to Android phones for. There is just SO much more you can do to the UI interface on the Android phones. I compare it to MySpace... you see how many teens/kids jumped on MySpace and loaded up their page with their favorite dooda's? Well, to me that is a big bonus for Android UI.. it allows kids/teens (and all the rest of us too) to customize it how we like. I don't know for sure as I've only owned an Android phone for 2 days now, but I think there are apps that bring even more home screens and customizations.. I just came across some "themes" or something that are like .99 each for an app you buy called aHome or something?
As for the keyboard.. having daily swearing sessions on the iPhone virtual keyboard for constantly screwing up my typing.. UGH! I was so pissed. So, let me tell you what a pleasant surprise the Droid phone's virtual keyboard is! I've read a lot of reviews saying it wasn't so good, or that the auto-correct wasn't so good. Well, true, the auto-correct isn't as good, but I seldom fat finger two keys on the Droid virtual keyboard. I am extremely impressed with the accuracy of the screen! As for the physical keyboard, well I think it will be fine for kids, but I have big hands and fingers, so I do tend to have a bit of trouble with it. However, it is better than I thought it would be. Coming from an iPhone, with no keyboard, I find it to be fine for most things. I would rather have seen some spacing between the keys tho.. even if that meant they were a little smaller. For the most part, I've barely used it with the accuracy of the virtual keyboard.
I've only experienced one issue, which showed up twice and so far not again. I put my phone down after bringing it home Friday, and it went into a sleep mode I guess? I couldn't get it out. I looked online, apparently the TMobile G1 had a similar issue.. at least some users did. I had to pull the battery out and back in to get it to come on. I don't know if there is some special way to physically reset the phone, like CTRL-ALT-DEL lol, but I tried every key, combos, long presses, etc..nothing. The next morning when I woke up..same thing. Since then, it's not happened tho. I am hoping it wont show up again.
As a java developer and one learning android development, I had a bit of a time getting the Droid to show up on my Linux development box. Thankfully I came across a post that explained what to do specifically for the Droid and am now able to deploy my apps onto it. I suspected tho it being so new that it may be a short while before it works for this purpose, so it was nice to see it actually work on day 1.
Overall, I gotta be honest, as a techie/developer, I love the Droid WAY more than the iPhone. In fact, after having the Droid, there is something I noticed about the iPhone that really bugs me (my wife still has hers). There is no back button. When you are in an app, you have to press the only button iPhone has, the home button, and it takes you back out of the app. I suppose this is because the iPhone can only run a single app, which makes sense. But it is VERY nice to be able to have those 4 buttons that take you home, back you up a step, or go do a search, as well as a menu button that is context sensitive. I believe the rumor is the next version of the iPhone besides being more powerful, will bring in mult-threaded apps so that more than one can run at a time. But until then, the Android phones have a huge advantage in this respect and in my opinion, allows more flexible options when running apps and navigating in general. It is indeed odd tho that there is no talk/hangup buttons. I see why they did it sort of.. but I would love to have those still.
Oh..the video recording is pretty decent. I did not know there was going to be an update in December.. anyone got a URL for info leading to it? I'd love to know how I can stay atop of upcoming updates, what will be in them, etc. I'll look around the Android forums some more to see if I can find anything about that.
I'd honestly say, get the phone now. Start enjoying it now. Learn it, etc. By the time the updates come and fix any issues, you'll already know your way around the phone.
windstrings
Active Member
I'm just getting all this figured out.. but I used the regular calendar "not the corporate" and as I put in my dates into my phone, it was cool to see that within a few minutes, it was updated on the web calendar on your google account.
On your google page after logging in, just go to "more" then calendars and it will be there.