To get it out of the way, the first thing I’ll mention is the concern I still have over the kind of service I received at the Big Box store where I purchased the phone.
I walked around the mobile area for about 10 to 20 minutes waiting for someone—anyone—to approach me. But it wasn’t until I approached the table where all of the reps were sitting that I finally got acknowledged. And even then, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t impressed. So I expected the same scenario to play out when I went back to return the phone, but, for some reason, I was helped right away. Last I checked, that’s how service should always be, especially when you’re first thinking about purchasing an item. I’m not going to delve any further, but the experience was just a little disheartening.
Now, instead of reading me complaining, let’s look at the Droid.
To start off, I was impressed with the construction. Made of either steel or aluminum, the phone is a heavy-duty piece of equipment. It reminds me of the old Motorola V.60, also made of aluminum. The speaker quality was pretty good with only some echoing on my end. Meanwhile, my friend on the other side said he could hear me clearly, another positive aspect (after all, that is the ultimate point of a phone). Unlike the Cliq, the battery lasted not just throughout the day, but well into the next day. I had forgotten to charge it one night and woke up to find that it still had a 20% charge left even though I had last unplugged it the morning before. The screen was also incredibly clear, and the 5-megapixel camera quality was a nice addition. As for the Android operating system, one thing I absolutely love about it is the manipulation of every aspect of the interface. The Droid uses the newest version of this system and was pretty quick on the uptake when I wanted to do something. Hands down, the Droid is better than the Cliq.
But now that I’ve spoken about the positives, there were a few negatives that really did kill it for me...and I’m not the only one complaining.
To start with: the screen reaction time. Here the Cliq wins, with a response time on the screen that I judged to be significantly faster than on the Droid and more in line with the iPhone. In order for me to do anything, I had to hold down on the icon for about 3 seconds. When dragging the icon, there would be an initial lag, and then it would all speed up. Again, the Cliq beat out the Droid on this.
The other issue I had with the Droid was the placement of the keyboard under the screen. At the bottom of the phone is about a half-inch of spacing. This is also where the microphone is located. While it’s great that the microphone is there, the issue comes when you slide the screen up. With the placement of the keyboard directly underneath the screen, it was really uncomfortable trying to reach for the letter H. The buttons were also very small for my hands (and I have really thin, bony fingers), so I often had to delete what I had just typed and try spelling it again. Frankly, Verizon could have put their logo somewhere else on the phone, and Motorola could have shrunk that half-inch into the base. While CDMA and TDMA is now considered older mobile technology, the tech involved in making it all happen has still managed to shrink over time, so I have to wonder what the point of an extra half-inch could be, other than something less than functional.
Finally, the thing I just don’t like about the phone (and really, it’s not the phone, it’s just the Android OS) is that there aren’t enough developers yet for it, so the marketplace is very small compared to the iPhone’s App Store. The kinds of apps I downloaded were ringtone apps to customize it, a Twitter app, and the Facebook app. And the games that are available make up only a small category and can all become rather repetitive. It was also a little annoying that I kept seeing differently named flight sims…all with the same idea. While I could download the old version of DOOM, I also needed the old .WAD files in order to play it fully...and the game was a poor port of the original DOS version from the early ‘90s. Frankly, the Android OS has a lot going for it, and with the greater open approval process, I’m surprised that more people haven’t jumped on the Android bandwagon yet.
I’m hoping to be able to review the Nexus One next, and since AT&T is going to be selling Android-based phones soon, I would like to really explore those as well. As for the iPhone, there are many articles online requesting more information about the much-hoped-for iPhone 4.0 OS. Do we really know what’s going to be in it? No. Not at all. So it’s all hope and possibly even just hype. But would I like to see some of the features that the Android now has eventually integrated in the iPhone whenever 4.0 becomes available? Absolutely. My concern is that the battery would drain faster than it already does. But for me, that’s a small price to pay. I love a lot of what the Android interface can do, but the response time overall just doesn’t cut it when compared to the iPhone.
Having looked at only two Android-based phones, the final verdict will probably come after I get to try out one more phone running it. From phone to phone, things are different, so maybe the Nexus One will utilize the OS best.
Overall, the Droid is a fantastic phone—there’s no denying that. But while it’s a worthy response to AT&T’s iPhone, it doesn’t quite make the cut. Form factor really kills it for this device.
Andy Edelheit is a techno geek who works for a computer retailer in Long Island, NY.
Editor’s Note: I have the Droid, and I love it. Multi-tasking capabilities, Google-enhanced search features, built-in GPS with turn-by-turn navigation, both a touch screen keyboard and a physical keyboard, high-def videos, removable (and upgradable) storage space—I’m sold. And yes, before you ask, it does.