State Your Droid PRO'S & CON'S

[gardobus]

Bye! :icon_ devil:

 

[akj27]

It appears we're all kidding ourselves here.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Bye! :icon_ devil:

It does seem that he didn't bother to take a few minutes and learn a bit more about the Droid since at least half of the "issues" he listed are simply the understandable result of unfamiliarity with a new phone, but there's no point in getting all fanboy about it.

Whether or not we agree with the reasons, he prefers his Palm to the Droid given his current needs and if that works for him, then it works for him.

 

[lowtech]

I am on the verge of joining those who have returned to their previous phones. The latest issue (of many) with my Droid involves the email port settings. The phone is spontaneously changing the port asignment for my outgoing email (not Gmail - my personal account). This started today. I now cannot connect at all. Gmail shows my pop3 emails (which I have sent there as well), but nothing comes into my individual folders. If I cannot resolve this problem it will be the last straw. I love a lot of things about the Droid, but if I cannot use it for practical basics like email I must return to my Treo and hope the Droid evolves satisfactorily over time. I may try a BB later - but for now, it's the Droid or my faithful old Treo again.

 

[Ralo]

Bye! :icon_ devil:

It does seem that he didn't bother to take a few minutes and learn a bit more about the Droid since at least half of the "issues" he listed are simply the understandable result of unfamiliarity with a new phone, but there's no point in getting all fanboy about it.

Whether or not we agree with the reasons, he prefers his Palm to the Droid given his current needs and if that works for him, then it works for him.

Zenmervolt,

I appreciate your responses to my gripes. Let me make a few things a little more clear.

This issues I was having with the blank screen after completing a call was while using the speaker phone. I try not to ever put the phone up to my head, I use bluetooth or speaker. Just a habit. I guess the backlight went off after the timeout but when the call was over, the only way to activate the backlight was to either open the keyboard or press the power button. A little too awkward for my taste.

The phone memo issue; well I had already installed a couple of notes programs, but again, the whole 3 step process to start entering my notes was just more than necessary in my mind.

I see what you are saying about the on/off switch and the screen/battery issue. You know, it's the addition of all these different steps to do what is so simple and intuitive with the Treo that bothers me. Shouldn't these new devices make our lives easier? The Droid does have potential but as far as I'm concern it's just not ready yet.

Ok, about the four icons across the bottom of the screen, I found out what was happening there; if you hold your finger on the search icon, it will bring up the voice screen app automatically. My hands are so big that while simple holding the phone in the palm of my hand, it triggers those "buttons". So for what appears to be no reason at all, the voice search would jump up and then timeout as I share at it dumbfounded. But I was glad I figured that out because trying to trigger the voice search with my finger sometimes took several taps. That was annoying.

When I mention no native Outlook sync, I was referring to the stand alone version, not Exchange, and Contacts, Calendar, and Tasks, not email.

As far as the need to "unlock" the phone to answer it, I was referring to the need to slide my finger across the screen instead of just tapping the phone icon. No biggie. I figured it out, just not before it went to voicemail.

Anyway, as I said, I sure most of this will be corrected in time, so I'll check back from time to time. I don't want to leave Verizon and until I actually "need" a new phone it's no big deal.

 

[Wrenbjor]

Pros:
Fast
Touch screen is way more accurate than my LG Dare was.
all my social stuff with easy access.
Gmail supports labels and multiple accounts.
Txt messages are wrapped up like IM conversations, very convenient.


Cons:

The home button does not register all the time...
I would like more home screens without having to pa for aHome.

The Camera: You know the issues... No ISO control, Not enough Focus choices, so freaking SLOW! I could draw the damn picture by hand faster than this thing takes to click... Now I know that this is all software issues so this complant should only be temporary until someone makes a better camera app.

 

[ThePhoneGuy]

The DROID has gotten a lot smoother to use after owning it a week, as you get use to knowing with its capable of doing and not capable of, life gets simpler. As you discover the ins and outs, and tricks, repetitious use becomes mundane until the next discovery/secret.

I... find the DROID to be a real good phone according to my needs, the cons become insignificant, and don't get too comfortable with this phone, 2 years go by quick, then it starts all over again with a new phone.

So far the biggest adjustment i had to make is to eyeball the DROID if i'm home or in noisy area to make sure i didn't miss a incoming call/text/message/VM.

 

[Zenmervolt]

This issues I was having with the blank screen after completing a call was while using the speaker phone. I try not to ever put the phone up to my head, I use bluetooth or speaker. Just a habit. I guess the backlight went off after the timeout but when the call was over, the only way to activate the backlight was to either open the keyboard or press the power button. A little too awkward for my taste.

Fair enough. Though when I've used bluetooth on my Droid it hasn't shut the screen down during the call. Perhaps there's something wrong with your particular instance that it's shutting off the screen during an active call. I agree that what you describe is definitely not how I'd want my phone to behave.

The phone memo issue; well I had already installed a couple of notes programs, but again, the whole 3 step process to start entering my notes was just more than necessary in my mind.

Fair enough, though my Treo 750p didn't offer notes directly from a live call either; and it wouldn't keep a call active if I navigated to the notepad. I realise that my 750p used Garnet rather than WinMo like your 700wx, so that probably explains why my 750 won't do what your 700 did.

Personally, I still prefer a physical notepad to one on my phone, but I can see why you'd be unhappy with having to take extra steps if you were in the habit of keeping your notes on the phone though.

I see what you are saying about the on/off switch and the screen/battery issue. You know, it's the addition of all these different steps to do what is so simple and intuitive with the Treo that bothers me. Shouldn't these new devices make our lives easier? The Droid does have potential but as far as I'm concern it's just not ready yet.

I had several occasions with my Treo where the phone would turn itself on in its holster and I'd have to delete a 50+ character string that got entered into the password box because the power key would get activated while the phone was in the holster. Frankly, I think that if the power button were more accessible there would be far more complaints about the phone activating too much than there are now about the power button being inconvenient.

The Treos had a recessed screen that required moderate pressure to register a touch while the Droid's screen is flush and requires only the presence of a static charge to register a touch (just like the iPhone) which makes things a little more complicated in terms of keeping the screen from being inadvertently activated. It does require some design concessions that some people will like and others will dislike.

Ok, about the four icons across the bottom of the screen, I found out what was happening there; if you hold your finger on the search icon, it will bring up the voice screen app automatically. My hands are so big that while simple holding the phone in the palm of my hand, it triggers those "buttons". So for what appears to be no reason at all, the voice search would jump up and then timeout as I share at it dumbfounded. But I was glad I figured that out because trying to trigger the voice search with my finger sometimes took several taps. That was annoying.

Definitely makes sense to avoid a phone that doesn't feel comfortable in your hand.

When I mention no native Outlook sync, I was referring to the stand alone version, not Exchange, and Contacts, Calendar, and Tasks, not email.

Ahh. Interesting. I've always stored my Contacts, Calendar, and Tasks on the Exchange server which means that they're tied into my Exchange account rather than stored locally on my machine. That way they follow me wherever I go no matter what. They're on the server, they cache on my local machine, they show on my phone, and they're available through OWA. Plus, I never have to manually sync with my computer as they all sync automatically OTA.

I guess if you were manually storing things on your local machine rather than as part of an E-mail account it would be more difficult to sync with any mobile OS other than the WinMo you're currently running on your 700wx.

The only way I can find to sync locally-stored Outlook contacts is to export those contacts to CSV, then import that CSV to your GMail account. The GMail account will then sync with the Droid OTA. Definitely not as slick as a tethered sync which I would imagine that WinMo allows.

As far as the need to "unlock" the phone to answer it, I was referring to the need to slide my finger across the screen instead of just tapping the phone icon. No biggie. I figured it out, just not before it went to voicemail.

Yeah, I think this is another one of those concessions to the ease with which the screen can be activated and an attempt to prevent accidental activation of a function. It did take a little getting used to.

Anyway, as I said, I sure most of this will be corrected in time, so I'll check back from time to time. I don't want to leave Verizon and until I actually "need" a new phone it's no big deal.

As other companies add their custom UI to the base Android OS, I think there will be a lot of improvements. Definitely something to keep an eye on. Now that I know a bit more about what you need I have to agree that it doesn't look like the Droid would meet your needs right now. Apologies if I came on a little strong.

 

[gardobus]

I would like more home screens without having to pa for aHome.

The app PandaHome is free and if you read its description in the market, it says that in 3 days it will support the Droid. Not sure how long ago that description was updated so it could be available any time now.

 

[Malvado]

PROS: Fast, Bright screen, Google GPS, Customizable, Loud speakers (real head turner when i get a message and u hear "DROID" i love that!), good Apps (I know apple has more, but droid has everything I need and then some), Great Touchscreen keyboard (although i've been using the Hardware keys, and they arent so bad either), Web pages with video players are supported. Flash 10 support in 2010.

CONS: Camera, the constant need to Kill Apps, no PUSH support for POP3/IMAP, phone sometimes acts wonky when trying to sync a contact from facebook, media player isnt that great, only 3 home screens

Overall though, I love this phone. The issues that I have with it can hopefully be ironed out via software updates. The phone has crashed on me one time [android.process=acore failed?], and my wife's droid randomly turned off by itself last night (we are bringing it back to vzw later today) Other then that, as previously stated, I am a believer that the Droid is a wonderful phone with many potentials to be a great one, in due time we shall see. :greendroid:

theres no need to kill the apps =]...

 

[Corinacakes]

well now that i've had my droid for over 10 days which gave me plenty of time to figure things out....(adding my audible books yeehaw!:icon_ banana i have no cons!! sounds to me like there's alot of ppl that need to get a mini laptop! good grief!! :icon_eek: or go back to your beloved old phone ffs

 

[CharlieJ]

PRO's:
- Excellent resolution and screen size - Coming from the BB Pearl, there is lots of real estate to be seen on the Moto Droid.

- Apps! - The AppWorld for BB is OK, but the Market for Android is awesome. I tried most of the built-in apps (some are good; some suck)... but allowing the community to download and replace apps that easily customize the phone to my liking is a HUGE + to me.

- Variety - I used to carry my laptop, iPod and a P&S Canon 5MP camera with me. Now, I carry only my Droid. I have all my podcasts and music, WiFi/3G and a 5MP autofocus camera in one device. Now, THAT is cooool tooools!

- 16GB - The installed SD card has plenty of room for my data, music and podcasts. And I didn't have to go buy another card to start using my phone. Right out of the box, it came with enough memory.

The cons for me are:
Keyboard - My right thumb naturally wants to settle in around the "L", so typing is a stretch. Space bar is hard to hit. I find holding the device with my right hand and just single finger typing with my left is much easier for me.

Agreed. I know this is a learning curve because I hated the kybd on my BB Pearl when I first got it, too. I'll learn, but it seems the kybd is a little wide for my hands at times -- and I'm an avg size guy (5'9").

Screen - Sometimes too sensitive. I find myself barely touching a button and end up on a screen I don't want to be on.

Screen - Sometimes not sensitive enough. It can take several touches to get it to do what I want.

Agreed - on both accounts. There are times when the screen is too sensitive to the touch. Other times, it seems not sensitive enough. I guess that's a learning curve, too.

LED - When I read my SMS or check my email, I'd like for the notification LED to go off on its own. I don't want to have to open the Notifications bar and hit Clear to turn it off.

The PRO's are mostly conceptual and therefore "larger" than the small pet peeves of the cons (which are mostly "just getting used to it" issues). Overall, the Moto Droid is the best phone I've ever owned. Motorola build quality, Android v2.0 OS, Apps, Resolution, WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth, MP3, 5MP camera -- for me, it's pretty much all there.

 

[Boris Badenov]

I’ll be brief…

Cons:

• Navigator does not adjust screen brightness when it gets dark. WTF?
• Cant seems to set different audible notifications for separate email accounts.
• There is a good belt holster for droid, but there are no “in holster/out of holster” modes. :blackberry:s can do it, why not :motdroidvert:?

Pros:
Everything else

 

[sin vicious]

I really dont have any cons.. I pretty much love the phone. I would like to see Flash support, but thats a long time coming.

 

[absolutecoug]

I don't know if it's just me being stupid but I can't seem to get the vibrate function on. I toggle the volume down to where it shows 'vibrate' but I've never actually had it vibrate, it acts just like silent. Any tips?