With the power and innovation of Google the engineering and design of Motorola and then network and connectivity of Verizon we get the powerhouse smartphone known as the Motorola DROID. Does the first Android 2.0 smartphone make the impact that all that hype says it can. If your phone now can’t do it DROID DOES?
The Motorola DROID is the first Android 2.0 handset and the first Google phone on the Verizon Wireless network. Motorola worked closely with Google to design this phone and it shows in every aspect. From its sleek and sexy design and nice and bright screen the DROID was thought form the very beginning to be a competitor to the very popular iPhone but with a Android frame of mind.
Accessories
Accessories are pretty light in this package. All you really get is the basics and really nothing much more. The 16GB micro SD card is the crown jewel of the accessories as that is more than you would get in most packages.
Hardware
The phone has a nice weight to it not to heavy and not too light. The 3.7 capacitive touch screen is shows everything on the screen bright and vibrant colors. The phone keeps the physical buttons to a minimum and only have what is necessary. The slide out on the keyboard is nice and smooth and had a nice snap to it. The keyboard is very flat and has no travel on it and back-lit. It will take some time to get used to using the keyboard its not bad but its no Touch Pro 2 keyboard going back to this style of keyboard is a bit of a challenge but it can be done. If your haven’t used a Touch Pro 2 keyboard then this transition should be fine just beware that there is no travel on the keyboard so you will need to get used to that.
There is a 5MP camera with flash and be sure to check out the pictures below to see the quality. Outside and well lit areas the camera takes great shots while inside its not as good but does pretty well and better than most cameras. To round up the hardware features you get GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-fi and 3G data speeds via EV-DO. All in all the hardware is featured packed.
Android 2.0
This is the first Android 2.0 device offered in the market and includes a lot of feature improvements. Boot time is a bit slow but you won’t be rebooting very often. The phone has great basic messaging and e-mail features. The phone feature is still a bit lacking and pretty much unchanged from previous version of Android OS. The Calendar works great and has shared calendar support so you can put several calendars on your phone and also a corporate calendar is supported as well since this phone does support multiple exchange accounts and multiple Gmail accounts so you can get all the communication you need in one place
Customization is very important part of the phone as you can pretty much customize anything you wish on the phone to tailor it to your needs and gets very granular. Anything you can’t find built in there is most likely an app available in the Android Market and is usually free.
The browser is good while not as a fast as the downloadable Dolphin browser that include multi touch and opera mini. The browser is solid though and works well.
GPS and Navigation is the biggest new feature in Android 2.0. The navigation works great as I used it over the holidays and it was solid and worked great. Turn by turn is loud and clear. I definitely see more coming to this particular app and is already setup for those that are look for a walking GPS.
With so many improvement in Android 2.0 and the solid DROID hardware this is a match made in tech heaven that is real. There are some areas of improvement still needed but a lot of this have been address in latest Android OS and most areas of complaint are more of a preference thing than anything else. This is a solid competitor in the smartphone market and should be in your consideration when purchasing a new phone.
If you are a smartphone junkie this is the phone for you. If you like a true desktop like experience in a mobile device this is for you. And to answer the question DROID DOES!
Comments