The motorola Droid

[Tymon]

It's 2.0.1, already looked through that.

Looks like I'm fucked anyway, if you don't take the phone back within > 3 < days, not 30, you can't opt out of the contract. It's 30 for the phone, only.

Hoping I can get some sort of fix for it, or a new droid that might not have the problem, at best.

[Mafai]

It's 2.0.1, already looked through that.

Looks like I'm fucked anyway, if you don't take the phone back within > 3 < days, not 30, you can't opt out of the contract. It's 30 for the phone, only.

Hoping I can get some sort of fix for it, or a new droid that might not have the problem, at best.

yea thats a scam. they tell you bring it back within 30 days for a refund (on the phone), but your still locked into their contact.

you will be happy after you get your problem sorted out.

[Tymon]

Oh, I know I'll be happy. I love the phone. Just have to get this in particular sorted out. Since I can't opt out, I'll just keep the phone and wait for a fix. It isn't dealbreaking, after all.

[Spekkio]

i've actually had a different problem i can't figure out how to sort. it seems like the in-call volume sometimes leaps up for a while, forcing me to hold the phone away from my head so i'm not deafened. this is despite me turning the in-call volume all the way down. has anyone else experienced this?

[avelle]

Just picked one of these up today and wondering if theres a way to make it download pictures from email attachments. Some of the time I can click on the image at the bottom of the message, other times I guess the picture is embedded in the email and I can't download it. Is there some trick to this?

[Akucaen]

I've been thinking about getting one since I think I'm nearly up for my new every 2 plan. I'm still not entirely happy about my upgrade from my EnV2 to my Dare. I just really can't get used to the touch keypad, it seems really slow and inaccurate.

Is that monthly data plan *REQUIRED* or will I be okay with my premium family share plan I already have?

Verizon will not subsidize the phone cost under a renewed contract on smartphones unless you buy a dataplan. Tried this at multiple stores in my area. If you're willing to buy the phone outright though, they have no problem selling it to you.

[killerx]

So i wanted to get an iphone but apparently they are a pain and i can't get one without a 500 deposit. So this droid looks like a good phone. But it seams like the Samsung Omnia II does more. Any one have a preference or anything to say either or.

[Ferien]

Verizon will not subsidize the phone cost under a renewed contract on smartphones unless you buy a dataplan. Tried this at multiple stores in my area. If you're willing to buy the phone outright though, they have no problem selling it to you.

Adding the phone onto an existing family share plan works too. They let me add the data plan to my existing plan, and bumped my Premium line down to Select, so I lost nothing.

So i wanted to get an iphone but apparently they are a pain and i can't get one without a 500 deposit. So this droid looks like a good phone. But it seams like the Samsung Omnia II does more. Any one have a preference or anything to say either or.

Haven't seen an Omnia II yet, but I'd vote Droid on the OS alone. It multitasks like a dream and I've only had it freeze once in the two months I've had it.

[Tymon]

Wanted to update that I fixed my audio problem by updating my roaming services or something like that

Got the insurance for the phone since it's pretty fragile and one of those protective cases, too

Loving the phone now, great buy

[Kenshiin]

Loving my Droid. Sitting in my Tampa hotel room typing this to which the navigation took me right to while listening to Pandora while my wife was on Facebook. Its like the PS3, it does everything.

[killerx]

Adding the phone onto an existing family share plan works too. They let me add the data plan to my existing plan, and bumped my Premium line down to Select, so I lost nothing.



Haven't seen an Omnia II yet, but I'd vote Droid on the OS alone. It multitasks like a dream and I've only had it freeze once in the two months I've had it.

Yeah only reason i was asking was because on their site the Droid wasn't showing it did e-mail/ aim or yahoo but the omnia II did. I can't remember the other stuff but those kinda stood out.

[Rhinox]

Omnia 2 just from the youtube video alone looks and feels like a BB Storm. Even has those annoying clicks

If you really want a decent alternative I'd look into the Xperia x10 which should be coming out sometime next month. Only drawbacks for the X10 is that it runs Andriod 1.6 and its on At&t from all accounts.

[Rhinox]

Before purchasing this phone on Amazon I went to my local Verizon store to test drive the Motorola Droid. I walked into the store 8 days after the phone's release. I did not see one sign, poster or display that indicated that this phone even existed. There was not ONE dummy phone on display in the entire store. This is a large store in a major market!! When I inquired about the Droid I was told they have a functional model in the "back room." There were 10 customers and 2 employees in the store. I left and went to Best Buy. The exact same story. No phones on display and no signage. Nothing!! I live 15 minutes from the Best Buy world headquarters so this is not a Verizon store or Best Buy issue. Note to Google, Motorola and Verizon: If you are going to label a phone an "iPhone Killer" maybe you should have a functional model on display and some signage in the two most important stores selling your product. You can go to Walmart and demo a functional iPhone. Walmart people!!

I was able to obtain a functioning model from a Best Buy employee that was stored in a locked cabinet!! I sat down with the phone for 45 minutes to demo it. Due to the nature of my business I have used 3000-7000 cell phone minutes a month for the last 7 years. I receive 100-200 emails a day on my cell phone. In 7 years I have owned and wore out 4 Treos and 3 BlackBerrys. I know what a smart phones does and should do and the Droid does not. With the demands I put on my phone, functionality is absolute paramount but I must comment on the Droid's appearance first because mobile phone design has been taken to a high art in recent years. The overall appearance of this device can only be described as embarrassing. How could the company that created the Razor have produced this device? As you may recall, the Razor was the pinnacle of mobile phone design for it's time. The best way describe the Droid's overall appearance is to compare it to an early 1980's Texas Instruments calculator. The gold accents and the flat black appearance are just awful. Look at a photograph of the keyboard and you will see the gold color of the directional device. Enough said!!

As I have previously mentioned, my use of smart phones is comprehensive and significant so I have no problem saying the functionality of this phone is a mess. Yes, there are learning curves and software updates to be had but the most important communication device you own should not take more than 15-45 minutes to obtain an understanding of it's functionality. I taught my wife to use a BlackBerry in 30 minutes. She had never used one and has abandoned ever electronic device I have ever bought her. 5 hours after using this device I am still uncertain what I encountered. The screen lagged at times and was too sensitive at others. The directional device on the keyboard is virtually useless. The keyboard is like something from the previously mentioned 1980's calculator. The keys are flat and smooth with no feedback. The top row of keys can barely be used because your thumbs touch the edge of the device and my hands are tiny. My 12 year son has bigger thumbs. This keyboard is fine for 5-10 emails a day but no business user could send 50-100 emails a day without going insane. Look at a close up photo of the keyboard. It doesn't even look like it could be on a device built in 2009. People have raved about the Droid's on screen keyboard but I found it to be sluggish and inaccurate. Previous reviews have detailed the Droid's email abilities and if you are a heavy email user you should beware. This phone has a long way to go to compete with Blackberry.

Additional issues: How could they release this phone without the ability to Sync with Outlook? I know it is possible wirelessly but does it have to be that complicated? No physical phone buttons? It is a 3 step process to hang up a call on this phone. I was very under whelmed by the screen quality and may have been a victim to the "better than iPhone hype" but I just don't see it. I have had my Blackberry Curve 8900 for 11 months and at least once a day I am amazed by the screen. I held the Droid for 45 minutes and I was never once was "wowed" by it's screen. I don't know how long Verizon has exclusive rights to the Droid but I suspect, based on what I have seen, this phone will be heavily discounted and available through other wireless providers in a short period of time. The reason I mention this is that I am a "charter customer" with T-Mobile because I signed up with their service when they first started doing business in the U.S. in the late 90's. This allows me benefits and discounts not available to everyone so it would be a significant step to leave them for Verizon. But, after testing this phone it is highly unlikely that I would purchase one at a steep discount if it became available at T-Mobile let alone switch wireless providers to obtain it.

I must say that I am no fan of Apple or the iPhone. The ad campaigns to the masses selling the iPhone and extolling it's ability to "cut and paste" make me want to puke when the first smart phones could do that 7 years ago. Motorola, Verizon and Google had a tremendous ad campaign for the Droid and I wanted to believe it. After all I am their target market. It worked!! I was ready to abandon my Unlimited Plan for $50 at T-Mobile and my Blackberry but the Droid under delivered big time. The geek in me wanted to so bad walk away with this phone. The bottom line is years I ago I would have bought this phone and had a lot of fun playing with it. But today, most people rely on their devices to perform and perform well at a high level and the Droid is not a high performance device. In the meantime I will wear out two more BlackBerrys waiting for the next version of the Droid!!

Spoiler: show

Obviously this is a review by a BB fanboy on Amazon but as I like to read the negative reviews mainly on a product can you guys tear this douche review apart mostly concerned about not being able to sync to outlook is that true? I'm hoping to get the driod sometime in the next three weeks

[Salodin]

I don't like to troll but that dude be stupid lol.

The phone isn't perfect, but really what phone is. Its biggest selling point to me was it is a similar phone to the iphone in function but on a network that doesn't suck. Its not slow and laggy, but usually very fast and responsive unless you have a crappy app running to slow things down, but that'll happen on any phone in the same situation.

A complaint I hear all the time is the physical keyboard sucks, and yes it kinda does. Compared to keyboards on things like the enV, the keyboard is shit. But ya know what? You get used to it. When I first got the phone I hated it, but now that i ve had it for a few weeks I love it! Infact I wrote all this on the physical keyboard on the phone and I did it faster then the virtual keyboard or faster then if I had my old env keyboard. Bottom line is, if you want a good smart phone and like verizon, get a droid. You won't be dissapointed.

[Ferien]

Yeah only reason i was asking was because on their site the Droid wasn't showing it did e-mail/ aim or yahoo but the omnia II did. I can't remember the other stuff but those kinda stood out.

Oh that's dumb. It definitely does email (and GMail is integrated right into the phone), AIM and Yahoo are available through multiple free apps.

[Ruiner]

Before purchasing this phone on Amazon I went to my local Verizon store to test drive the Motorola Droid. I walked into the store 8 days after the phone's release. I did not see one sign, poster or display that indicated that this phone even existed. There was not ONE dummy phone on display in the entire store. This is a large store in a major market!! When I inquired about the Droid I was told they have a functional model in the "back room." There were 10 customers and 2 employees in the store. I left and went to Best Buy. The exact same story. No phones on display and no signage. Nothing!! I live 15 minutes from the Best Buy world headquarters so this is not a Verizon store or Best Buy issue. Note to Google, Motorola and Verizon: If you are going to label a phone an "iPhone Killer" maybe you should have a functional model on display and some signage in the two most important stores selling your product. You can go to Walmart and demo a functional iPhone. Walmart people!!

Ok? I walked into a Verizon store near me and was able to demo a Droid immediately. There were three functional models on display, able to be fiddled with. Protip: don't ever go to Best Buy.

I was able to obtain a functioning model from a Best Buy employee that was stored in a locked cabinet!!

OMG A LOCKED CABINET!!

I sat down with the phone for 45 minutes to demo it. Due to the nature of my business I have used 3000-7000 cell phone minutes a month for the last 7 years. I receive 100-200 emails a day on my cell phone. In 7 years I have owned and wore out 4 Treos and 3 BlackBerrys. I know what a smart phones does and should do and the Droid does not. With the demands I put on my phone, functionality is absolute paramount but I must comment on the Droid's appearance first because mobile phone design has been taken to a high art in recent years. The overall appearance of this device can only be described as embarrassing. How could the company that created the Razor have produced this device? As you may recall, the Razor was the pinnacle of mobile phone design for it's time. The best way describe the Droid's overall appearance is to compare it to an early 1980's Texas Instruments calculator. The gold accents and the flat black appearance are just awful. Look at a photograph of the keyboard and you will see the gold color of the directional device. Enough said!!

I think the Droid is sexy, and most people agree with me. I don't know why the gold accents are so offensive to this guy, I find them quite tasteful. For the record, I've always thought the Razr looked like shit.

As I have previously mentioned, my use of smart phones is comprehensive and significant so I have no problem saying the functionality of this phone is a mess. Yes, there are learning curves and software updates to be had but the most important communication device you own should not take more than 15-45 minutes to obtain an understanding of it's functionality.

Says who? The more complicated and feature-filled a phone is, the longer it will take to learn, but the more rewarding it will be once familiar with it.

I taught my wife to use a BlackBerry in 30 minutes. She had never used one and has abandoned ever electronic device I have ever bought her. 5 hours after using this device I am still uncertain what I encountered. The screen lagged at times and was too sensitive at others. The directional device on the keyboard is virtually useless. The keyboard is like something from the previously mentioned 1980's calculator. The keys are flat and smooth with no feedback. The top row of keys can barely be used because your thumbs touch the edge of the device and my hands are tiny. My 12 year son has bigger thumbs. This keyboard is fine for 5-10 emails a day but no business user could send 50-100 emails a day without going insane. Look at a close up photo of the keyboard. It doesn't even look like it could be on a device built in 2009. People have raved about the Droid's on screen keyboard but I found it to be sluggish and inaccurate. Previous reviews have detailed the Droid's email abilities and if you are a heavy email user you should beware. This phone has a long way to go to compete with Blackberry.

The keyboard is quite smooth, yes, but it has plenty of feedback. I've had no problem typing emails and writing forum posts with it on a daily basis. I have pretty normal-sized hands, and I've encountered no such issue with the top row of keys. Dude's obviously just a BlackBerry fanboy.

Additional issues: How could they release this phone without the ability to Sync with Outlook? I know it is possible

Looks like he answered his own question.

It is a 3 step process to hang up a call on this phone.

This is simply untrue. To hang up a call, all you do is remove the phone from your ear, and press the "end" button on the phone screen.

I was very under whelmed by the screen quality and may have been a victim to the "better than iPhone hype" but I just don't see it. I have had my Blackberry Curve 8900 for 11 months and at least once a day I am amazed by the screen. I held the Droid for 45 minutes and I was never once was "wowed" by it's screen.

It's pretty damn obvious that this guy just doesn't want himself or others to like this phone. The Droid has a screen resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 has a screen resolution of 480 x 360 pixels. Those are the facts, and I find them much more convincing than "it never wowed me!!"

I don't know how long Verizon has exclusive rights to the Droid but I suspect, based on what I have seen, this phone will be heavily discounted and available through other wireless providers in a short period of time. The reason I mention this is that I am a "charter customer" with T-Mobile because I signed up with their service when they first started doing business in the U.S. in the late 90's. This allows me benefits and discounts not available to everyone so it would be a significant step to leave them for Verizon. But, after testing this phone it is highly unlikely that I would purchase one at a steep discount if it became available at T-Mobile let alone switch wireless providers to obtain it.

I must say that I am no fan of Apple or the iPhone. The ad campaigns to the masses selling the iPhone and extolling it's ability to "cut and paste" make me want to puke when the first smart phones could do that 7 years ago. Motorola, Verizon and Google had a tremendous ad campaign for the Droid and I wanted to believe it. After all I am their target market. It worked!! I was ready to abandon my Unlimited Plan for $50 at T-Mobile and my Blackberry but the Droid under delivered big time. The geek in me wanted to so bad walk away with this phone. The bottom line is years I ago I would have bought this phone and had a lot of fun playing with it. But today, most people rely on their devices to perform and perform well at a high level and the Droid is not a high performance device. In the meantime I will wear out two more BlackBerrys waiting for the next version of the Droid!!

LOL, T-Mobile.

[Ferien]

Going to ignore the first two paragraphs since the first is obviously an issue with his local stores and the second is an aesthetic issue. If you're already considering buying the phone then obviously you already like the way it looks more than most other phones in the category.

Yes, there are learning curves and software updates to be had but the most important communication device you own should not take more than 15-45 minutes to obtain an understanding of it's functionality. I taught my wife to use a BlackBerry in 30 minutes. She had never used one and has abandoned ever electronic device I have ever bought her. 5 hours after using this device I am still uncertain what I encountered.

This is my first smartphone, and it took me 5 minutes to figure out. The UI, IMO, is very intuitive. I'm also a hands-on, learn-as-you-go type, so take it for what it is.

The screen lagged at times and was too sensitive at others.

It does lag occasionally, but idk what "too sensitive" means.

The directional device on the keyboard is virtually useless.

IDK what he's talking about. I rarely use the dpad, but it does the exact same thing as the roller-ball on a BB. The phone being touch-screen, however, and a really precise one at that, makes it less useful than it could be. That being said, the physical kb & dpad were there mostly for people coming from non-touch phones who preferred to use physical buttons, and they serve that purpose very well. My roommate, who has used multiple touch smartphones in the past, rarely uses the physical buttons, whereas I use the kb very often.

The keyboard is like something from the previously mentioned 1980's calculator. The keys are flat and smooth with no feedback. The top row of keys can barely be used because your thumbs touch the edge of the device and my hands are tiny. My 12 year son has bigger thumbs. This keyboard is fine for 5-10 emails a day but no business user could send 50-100 emails a day without going insane. Look at a close up photo of the keyboard. It doesn't even look like it could be on a device built in 2009. People have raved about the Droid's on screen keyboard but I found it to be sluggish and inaccurate. Previous reviews have detailed the Droid's email abilities and if you are a heavy email user you should beware. This phone has a long way to go to compete with Blackberry.

As I said before, I use the physical kb about 80% of the time. Coming from a Samsung SCH-u740 (Alias v0), it took me time to get used to the buttons not being raised, and I actually felt the kb was a little too big. Feedback on them is good though. The on-screen kb is very good, and if you're accurate, it will be too. Also, using the on-screen kb, it will try to anticipate what you're typing, and does autocorrect a lot of mistakes.

Additional issues: How could they release this phone without the ability to Sync with Outlook? I know it is possible wirelessly but does it have to be that complicated?

Uh...It syncs with Outlook, and it's not complicated. IDK what he's talking about.

No physical phone buttons? It is a 3 step process to hang up a call on this phone.

Like Ruiner said, take the phone away from your ear, press the big red End button. Physical Send/End keys would have been nice, but certainly not a dealbreaker.

I was very under whelmed by the screen quality and may have been a victim to the "better than iPhone hype" but I just don't see it. I have had my Blackberry Curve 8900 for 11 months and at least once a day I am amazed by the screen. I held the Droid for 45 minutes and I was never once was "wowed" by it's screen.

Again, Ruiner has the specs. The screen's resolution is about the same as my roommate's netbook, and blew away most (if not all, though I think there was a WinMo device or two with a similar size screen) phones when it came out. The Omnia II is close, but still only 800x480 (vs Droid's 854x480).

I am very, very happy with my Droid. As a first-time smartphone user, my main concerns were size and stability. The size is typical of the touchscreen phones, and is on par with the iPhone. Without the physical kb, it probably would have been the thinnest touch phone on the market. Android 2.0 is phenomenally stable as well, as I said earlier I've only had the phone freeze on me once. The Android marketplace is also phenomenal, and has been exploding since the Droid's release.

That said, if you're not set on Verizon, you might want to hold off until the Google Nexus One is released. T-Mobile is supposedly subsidizing it with a 2-year contract, but you can buy it directly from Google for use on any GSM carrier. There's also a new Moto Android phone with better specs than the Droid rumored to be on the horizon, but it may not be legit, and even if it is it may not be out any time soon.

[Tymon]

Is there a way to make it where I don't have to slide the screen to answer a phone call? I don't mind sliding to unlock the phone, but having to do it to pick up calls is annoying to me. I'd rather just touch the screen, like you do to hang up..

[Xanthe]

Is there a way to make it where I don't have to slide the screen to answer a phone call? I don't mind sliding to unlock the phone, but having to do it to pick up calls is annoying to me. I'd rather just touch the screen, like you do to hang up..

I prefer it that way. It does a good job of preventing you from answering prematurely when fishing it out of your pocket.

[Rhinox]

not sure if this is a sale or not but its a really nice price on the phone.

http://mobility.dell.com/specialoffe...465ee6f5d044ef