Blog - Sunday November 29, 2009 - 8 Comments
My New Verizon Droid: Plus, The iPhone, BlackBerry, Droid Report Card and Review
I’ve had my Verizon Droid for a couple of weeks now and, no, it’s not an iPhone killer or a BlackBerry killer, but it is a wonderful phone and a device that everyone looking for a new smartphone should consider. I like the Droid. I don’t love it. That being said, if you only want to carry one device, the Droid is a good choice.
First, this is a real Motorola phone running on the Verizon network. It’s a great phone and a great speakerphone. The screen resolution is exceptional, web-browsing is really fast, search is great (obviously) and the free turn-by-turn GPS directions are awesome.
There are plenty of apps available for the Droid — more are being created everyday. Don’t let the availability of 100,000 random iPhone apps sway your decision. The Droid runs Google’s Android operating system, there are plenty of developers working on plenty of apps.
Like all smartphones with big screens, battery life is an issue. One big selling point for the Droid is that it can run five apps at a time. (The iPhone can only run one.) This sounds great, but five apps running will take
a toll on battery life. One nice thing, unlike the iPhone, you can carry extra batteries for your Droid.
For me, the Droid’s keyboard is a serious disappointment. The keys are too far apart for quick touch-typing and, because they are flat, there’s not enough tactile feedback. I also really don’t like the integration with POP3, IMAP and exchange email servers. Syncing these accounts hourly would require you to carry several extra batteries. However, if you have a Gmail account, setting up this phone is as easy as entering your username and password.
On the whole, I like the Droid. It’s got a good camera, good video camera, good voice recorder, flawless integration with Google and Gmail and it’s a Motorola phone on the best wireless network, which means it’s a great phone. Would I buy one? I did. This Droid is replacing my BlackBerry Curve, which does a much better job with email, but simply can’t compete in the other areas.
To help you understand the benefits of the three most-talked-about smartphones, I’ve made a little chart.
The bottom line is simple. The Droid sits somewhere between the iPhone and a current-vintage BlackBerry (Curve, Tour, Bold, etc.) I say it’s not a BlackBerry killer because I don’t think businesses will gravitate to it immediately. RIM, the nice people who make the BlackBerry, have a pretty good lock on the business market. That being said, the Droid did kill my BlackBerry. I’m now carrying a 32GB iPhone 3GS and a Verizon Droid. I live in NYC and where I tend to spend most of my time, AT&T simply drops too many calls for me to use the iPhone as a phone.
As for my, now retired, BlackBerry Curve. I love it as an email device, but there’s more to life than email. For me, the Droid is a solid first effort and, so far, I’m in like! 
Shelly Palmer is the host of “Digital Life with Shelly Palmer,” a weekly half-hour television show about living and working in a digital world which can be seen on WNBC-TV’s NY Nonstop Tuesdays at 10p Eastern and online, and the host of “MediaBytes,” a daily news show that features insightful commentary and a unique insiders take on the biggest stories in technology, media, and entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group, LLC an industry-leading advisory and business development firm and the President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards). Mr. Palmer is the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV (2008,York House Press) and the upcoming, Get Digital: Reinventing Yourself and Your Career for the 21st Century Economy (2009, Lake House Press). You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net For information visit www.shellypalmer.com
Comments
8 Responses to “My New Verizon Droid: Plus, The iPhone, BlackBerry, Droid Report Card and Review”Davie199 November 29th, 2009 9:41 am
I tend to agree with you on most of your points. However, there are
a few flaws in your assessment… 1) The BB on Verizon does have
access to Visual Voicemail I would give it a B as it will als run
you $2.99/mo 2) Apps on the iPhone you gave an A. I gave a C+ at
best. Most are good, but out of the >100,000 apps how many of
those are duplicates, worthless and the app store is not the
easiest thing to maneuver around in. You also need to have WiFi
access to use it where the Android Market you do not. 3) You
mentioned the keys on the Droid are too far apart and scored it a
D. You also gave the iPhone a C. I on the other hand would give
them both a C+. There is no spacing between the keys so I don’t see
how you find them to be too far apart, you also mention that the
keyboard is flat and you fail to mention that with the iPhone.
Unless there is an app buried deep in the app store that raises the
keys and brings them closer together for the iPhone, I will need to
disagree you there. All in all I thought your review was spot on. I
was a loyal Blackberry user on Verizon, switched to the iPhone 3GS
the switched to the Moto Droid. They all have their pros and cons,
So if you are looking for a device to feed your inner nerd, the
Droid is the way to go, if you are trying to keep up with the
Joneses and are looking for the “cool” phone maybe the iPhone is
for you. Serious business user? Stick with your Blackberry…
Koustubh Warty November 29th, 2009 9:50 am
Thanks Shelly for this review and especially for the table of
comparison!!
Koustubh Warty November 29th, 2009 9:53 am
and BTW…forgot to mention that the biggest problem with Droid is
the integration with MS Exchange which has caused problem to
millions :(. We are hoping that Google fixes it in their first OTA
which is romoured to be around Dev 11. - Koustubh
Steve S November 29th, 2009 1:33 pm
I live in Southern California and I agree that the AT&T phone
service is dismal at best (and almost criminal at worst). Everyone
I know that has had AT&T as a mobile phone provider has hated
it compared to what they had before or after (regardless of the
phone they were using). The lack of coverage (my Dad could not make
calls at home or at work, in Los Angeles!), the dropped calls, the
“it just stopped working” syndrome, etc. Just an absolutely
miserable experience. I have heard some people posting that their
experience with AT&T was OK so I don’t know what “magic”
solution they had. Maybe AT&T’s network just does not scale
well for large metropolitan areas?
Steve November 29th, 2009 3:20 pm
Google Voice does gives me visual voice mail. Not only can I see
who called but I can literally read what they said (transcription
does have some issues). Visual VM on the iPhone is hit or miss.
Many time receiving notification of vm hours after it was left.
Glad I switched from the iPhone to Droid. Droid is not an iPhone
killer but is a competetor which is what we need.
iPhone Comparisons November 29th, 2009 8:31 pm
Wow! this post is one grate summary of comparisons. Thanks for all
the helpful info.
PJ November 29th, 2009 8:57 pm
I really think that the Droid’s keyboard deserves a D when the
iphone gets a C. I agree that the qwerty slider is not the best but
let’s not forget that it gives you the option of two virtual
keyboards, with even more downloadable (better) on screen ones in
the market.
zonnked December 28th, 2009 5:12 pm
Why is it these reviews always state that it is bad to be “Totally
integrated with Google”, however for the iPhone “iTunes and the App
store!” make it great? Can you even use the iPhone without total
integration with Apple? I personally don’t care for iTunes and
being forced to use it was a reason I went with a Droid. But
altogether, not a bad review of the different phones’ features!