# Verizon Droid First Impressions



## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Had some interest in another thread so I thought I'd post here. Got my Droid yesterday (Friday) and could not be happier with it. I don't feel like I have to worry about waiting for Verizon and Apple to dance around each other anymore... in fact I think this is probably better than the iphone. The one big thing it does not have that the iphone does is multi-touch, but that's a non-issue for me. Multi-touch is the multiple finger gesturing you can use to pinch and spread photos to zoom and such. On the droid you just click a magnifying glass which I actually find easier. So on to the bits I've heard are better...

The screen is much larger and brighter and clearer than any iphone I've seen. The touch screen itself is amazing. I can even type on the vertical keyboard and I hate typing on touch screen keyboards. The big sell on this for me was the slide out physical qwerty keyboard which a lot of reviewers have disliked but I find quite usable... except I find myself using the touch screen one a lot too. It's good to have the option though. You can cut and paste and SMS and everything else you would expect (but couldn't do at first on the iphone) and the camera is a huge 5 megapixels with a flash. The battery is removable and the memory is easily upgradable. It comes with 16gigs and you can put a 32 gig stick in I think?

There are only 10,000 or so apps in the app store, but unlike the millions of Apple's apps, these are really cheap. The GPS from Google on this thing BLOWS the gps on my brand new Garmin Nuvi out of the water. I can't get over it and am almost mad. My Garmin had this big lane assist feature that was a big selling point to me that is supposed to show you a representation of the road ahead and show you with arrows where you should be going. Well, it would be nice if it worked. It's one of those "in supported areas" things and only worked at major intersections even when it did. I've never seen it available and only know it works cuz I checked a route through to LA to make sure. My Google GPS on this phone? It gave me a photographic representation of the turn at the END OF MY STREET! In a tiny neighborhood... I was floored. It also has the voice recognition like my Garmin but it understands you much better and isn't so stringent. I saw a video where the guy said "Take me to the museum with the King Tut exhibit in Los Angeles." and it knew which he meant. If I tried that with my Garmin it'd either refuse to look it up or ask if I said "Ring Hut" or something and try to take me for donuts. I haven't used it as an actual GPS in the car so not sure how the route computer compares, but so far I'm really impressed. And the GPS apps for iphones? $80. This one? FREE!

Someone in another thread asked what email it supports and I have not messed with that too much, but you do need a Google account to link to your phone so of course gmail works. Okay wow... I just apparently set up my Cox email in literally 15 seconds. All I had to enter was my email address and a password and it set it up for me. It says you can set up most email accounts, so sounds like it'll support just about anything. The data plan is $30 for unlimited everything on Verizon. I did need to change from my $20 unlimited data plan but I'll survive.

The app store is a lot of fun and I'll admit not having done much with Apple's, but everything I've gotten so far is free and quite a few of the games are nifty. They have this star chart from google that lets you point the phone up to the sky and it gets a representation of it based on your gps position that shows you the names of the stars above you. Meebo works great for AIM and doesn't do that silly 32 character limit that most phone instant messenger providers do. There's a really nice app that lets you take any mp3 on your phone and snip it to create a ringtone in like two steps... this is apparently something iphone owners are supposed to be jealous of? I have Pandora!!! Not just that, I have Pandora on Verizon's 3G network!!!! And if I want to try something else I have Slacker Radio and at least two other streaming personal music station options out there.

It's fast and responsive and again, sorry to keep comparing it to the iphone but that's its real compeititon, you can have up to 5 applications running simultaneously which iphone only allows one. Flash player 10 also does (or will soon?) support Android based phones and has no plans to support iphones any time soon. I'm jumping around here, but the voice recognition isn't just in the GPS. You can start a Google search at any time from a bar at the top of your phone or you can click the microphone next to it and ask your search verbally. It's impressed me what it will recognize... I even got it to look up "What is the plot of Lysistrata?" and it spelled it correctly.

I'm sure the thing makes phone calls somehow, but I haven't tried. The ringers are nice and loud though which is a bonus and there's an easy way to turn it down without losing your volume settings for when you're out to dinner or a movie or in class or something. The accuracy on the GPS is kind of scary... I used a program that shows the phone as a dot on a Google Earth map and zoomed in on my house. It seriously had me sitting in the corner of the room I was in on the map's representation of my house. And keep in mind this was a signal it was getting while inside. My Garmin has issues even connecting from inside my home. There's apparently an app that allows you to send a pin number to your phone in case you lose it and it will email you back a photo showing its location... that's pretty insane.

Anyway... I'm sure there's tons more I'm forgetting and even more I don't know about yet. Like apps that turn the camera into a bar code scanner and others that somehow make it a metal detector  but I'll stop gushing now until someone else causes me to gush some more. Again, I've had little exposure to iphones so I am posting the above with my experience and the comments of friends who do own them in mind as well as reviews I've seen. If I got anything wrong please jump in and let me know, I'm not perfect. Just be nice! But Verizon owners... there's no reason not to go get this phone (assuming you have an upgrade credit cuz it's like $600 without one).


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

Just this week I heard why Google's voice-recognition is so good. It's because awhile back they started a free directory assistance (1-800-GOOG-411). Many people wondered why they did this since it wasn't making them any money. They revealed that their main reason for starting Goog411 was to perfect their voice recognition technology. The whole thing is voice-driven, when you say what you want, it asks you if you said such and such, yes or no, and by doing this they've had millions of people lend their voices to their database and "teach" it how to hear correctly. Pretty cool!

I also posted in the other (T-mobile) thread that Wirefly is selling the Motorola Droid (w/slide-out keyboard) for $149 with a new Verizon contract and the HTC Droid (all touch, no slide-out keyboard) for $49 with contract.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

That is pretty ingenious of them.  Is the cheaper phone Android 2.0?  I'd be careful going for cheaper since I think there might be a difference more than just the slide out keyboard.  I don't know much about the other Android based phones on the market though.  It just seems like the Verizon Droid is a new beast when compared to them.


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

You got me, one's called DROID and the other is DROID ERIS. I would assume they are the same software running on two different pieces of hardware.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I keep running across something called cupcakes which some phones don't support or something.  I only know the Droid runs off 2.0 and I have no clue on the other phones.  Also a small handful of applications that work on the other phones are getting upgraded so they can work on the Droid, so something definitely changed somewhere with them.  Nothing I've downloaded yet doesn't work for it though.


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

I love your review, Scheherazade    Have fun playing with your new toy!


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## Shizu (Oct 27, 2008)

Thanks for the review, Scheherazade. Sound wonderful I might have to consider Droid now. One of the reason my daughter chose iPhone was that it can type Japanese and see Japanese site. I wonder Droid can. I'm searching for the answer right now. LOL


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

Wonderful review Sheherazade.



Scheherazade said:


> I'm sure the thing makes phone calls somehow, but I haven't tried.










I went into a Verizon store to look at one today. After I finished looking & drooling, I turned to the woman next to me, asking if she was wanting to look at it. She said yes & then asked "This is a phone?" I almost said, well yes, but I haven't a clue how to use the phone! I was looking at you tube & photos!



Scheherazade said:


> But Verizon owners... there's no reason not to go get this phone (assuming you have an upgrade credit cuz it's like $600 without one).


I am so sad - I'm only one year into my contract & so have a long long wait until I can get my hands on one.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

CegAbq said:


> I am so sad - I'm only one year into my contract & so have a long long wait until I can get my hands on one.


That does always stink. You could always call Verizon and see what your options are as well.

As for the Japanese characters, I just did an app search and one came up that allows you to type with an onscreen Japanese keyboard. People were saying some Kanji were missing, but I'm betting there's other stuff out there like it. Would have to assume that means you can read it on the phone as well. Apparently there's one called Simeji that most people are using that works better than the one I found on my quick search.


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## Shizu (Oct 27, 2008)

Scheherazade said:


> As for the Japanese characters, I just did an app search and one came up that allows you to type with an onscreen Japanese keyboard. People were saying some Kanji were missing, but I'm betting there's other stuff out there like it. Would have to assume that means you can read it on the phone as well. Apparently there's one called Simeji that most people are using that works better than the one I found on my quick search.


Thanks for doing the search, Scheherazade. There wasn't much info when I searched but with Simeji, I found some. Looks very good. I won't be able to get it until March but my daughter's T-mobil phone's battery won't last a day nowadays so she might want this since her contract is already matured.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I'm still trying to get a good handle on the battery life of this one.  It seems to go down pretty fast but I've also been putting it through its paces and I can't be quite sure if I have the gps always active or what.  I am betting it is and that if I shut it off somehow I'd get much longer use from it.  It can apparently get GPS from satellites which is more accurate but uses a lot more power or it can triangulate cell towers which is less accurate but uses far less power.  I don't mind keeping it charged for now, but I may be looking into some sort of power control app at some point.  I imagine a larger capacity battery will be around the corner, too, if not already available.


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## angelad (Jun 19, 2009)

I've seen someone with it, they are very happy with their puchase.


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

My favorite part of the iphone is that the MP3 is built in and uses itunes. Does this one have an MP3 and how do you access music (and more important~audio books) if it does?


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## Brenda M. (Nov 26, 2008)

Thank yu so much for your review. December 3rd can't some soon enough.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

It does play mp3s and has a built in media center that links to Amazon's mp3 marketplace by default I believe. They also have an application for your computer now, or so I have heard, that works like itunes in terms of allowing you to organize and sync content. I haven't messed with it yet, but I read a good review last night that said it was pretty usable once you got used to its nuances. I still have my brand new Zune so it'll take a bit to get me away from that for my music needs. But having Pandora on my phone is pretty amazing.

No Kindle app yet but it does have some sort of epub reader. I figure it's just a matter of time since they're not blocking applications, not even Google voice, so I don't see what's stopping them from developing a Kindle app unless Amazon is just being difficult not wanting to deal with Google.

This is the review I read last night. He says the phone is more than capable of replacing an mp3 player.
http://skattertech.com/2009/11/motorola-droid-verizon-review/


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Okay... I just actually used the phone.  For like a phone call.  It was so clear on my end and the microphone actually cancels out background noise.  I usually have complaints when I'm sitting by my fan, but the person on the other end thought I was in a silent room.  I also called my voicemail which was always a pain on my other phone.  I'd have to hit the volume key to get the screen to wake up then hit the unlock button to pull up the keypad and put in my pin on the touch screen.  On this phone, it literally knows when you pull it away from your ear and wakes up the screen then has a whole separate button to pull the keypad up again.  I probably looked like an idiot, but I kept putting it up to my ear then pulling it away and looking at the screen like I'd just discovered fire... then I kept doing it trying to sneak up on it and fool it.  The screen never failed to come on when I pulled away and shut right off when I put it back to my ear.  A small thing I know, but it really impressed me so I had to share.


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> Okay... I just actually used the phone.


_Gasp!!!_



> I probably looked like an idiot, but I kept putting it up to my ear then pulling it away and looking at the screen like I'd just discovered fire... then I kept doing it trying to sneak up on it and fool it. The screen never failed to come on when I pulled away and shut right off when I put it back to my ear. A small thing I know, but it really impressed me so I had to share.












I just came across this article on Droid battery life, which I actually think applies to smartphones in general that some of us use as 'always on' multiple apps at-one-time (my Moto Q9c, case in point)
*http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/181684/droid_battery_life_requires_new_charging_habits.html*


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Yeah, the review I posted above said he got 4 hours of heavy use on a 75% charge, but I haven't let it go past 40% or so.  I am definitely having to charge it more often than my other phones, but I totally expected having to.  The cord they give you with it is soooo short though it's kind of a pain, so I'll be looking for an alternative for that soon here.  It'll work as a USB charger through my car stereo in the meantime though.  I am pretty sure my GPS is almost always on and if I shut it off I'd get a lot more time out of it, but it's kinda handy having it on so I'm not messing with it yet.  I did get an app that allows you to shut down stuff running in the background which has helped a lot.  Depending on what you get running in the background it can drain the battery pretty fast.


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

Thanks for this terrific review.  We stopped by the Verizon store today (as we only have around 12 days left with shite T-Mobile).  We looked at both the Droid (Motorola one) and the BB Storm2.  We still haven't made a decision yet and it just might come down to the economics of the whole thing (I cannot believe I am saying this!!!).

We loved the features of both phones - the only pluses for the Storm2 over the Droid would be the facts that I can instant sync with my Outlook and we can get 2 Storm2s for less than 1 Droid - Storm2 $179 (+ BOGO free) vs. Droid $199 each.

I wish we were flush with money and could get the coolest phone......another 12 days will tell.


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

As I posted earlier F1, with Wirefly.com you can get the HTC Droid phone without a keyboard (all touchscreen like an iPhone) for $49.99 with a 2-year agreement... They have the Moto Droid with the keyboard for $149.99.

This is the HTC version...


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

911jason said:


> As I posted earlier F1, with Wirefly.com you can get the HTC Droid phone without a keyboard (all touchscreen like an iPhone) for $49.99 with a 2-year agreement... They have the Moto Droid with the keyboard for $149.99.
> 
> This is the HTC version...


Cheers for the repost info,but IMO the HTC Droid isn't worth the money. Even at the Wirefly price $149 each is a lot more than $179 for 2 (of the Storm2). Still considering carefully. Thanks again.


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## Adele (May 30, 2009)

My son ordered one and he can't wait for it to arrive - I have another year on my contract so I can't upgrade without it costing me about $300 or more - looks like I'll have to wait.  That won't be easy - because I know he'll be pointing out all the features I DON'T have.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I'm still pretty happy with it a week later even after seeing some of the limitations.  Apparently apps are limited to a small space of onboard storage, but app developers are learning to make a shell that loads there at under a megabyte and then putting the meat of the application on the expandable memory card so that shouldn't be too much of an issue.  The camera is better technically than most phones but the autofocus is apparently not working right so the pictures are kind of subpar, but they have a fix coming in December 11th for a lot of the issues including this one.  The video is still really nice even though it's something I'll probably never use.

But I've found so many useful things... Google Voice lets me listen to "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" without having to hook up my Zune and try to convince the software to log me in (which it only does 5% of the time).  The turn by turn gps is really nice but I can't give it a fair shake until/unless I get the windshield mount.  I still find my Garmin easier to use, but that could just be because I'm used to it being mounted to my windshield and of course having used the interface for about 5 years now.  But you can't argue with free GPS of that sort of quality.  Pandora is of course really excellent and was one of the driving forces behind me wanting to get a compatible phone... the droid just beat the iphone to my market.

I even found a sound machine that does white noise and thunderstorms and such for when I'm stuck sleeping somewhere without my alarm clock.  There's an online manga reader that still needs some work, but really cool to even have.  And of course plenty of games to keep me occupied... perhaps a bit too much.  I just have to convince my bank to let charges through to the UK so I can get some of the premium versions of the games I really like.  Almost everything I've downloaded is free, but there are a couple apps I wouldn't mind paying for.  Even small things like having weather at a glance is really handy, and if I want a new background for my home screen it's so simple to just browse the web and download one.  I've never changed screens so much on a phone in my life...


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> I'm still pretty happy with it a week later even after seeing some of the limitations...a new background for my home screen it's so simple to just browse the web and download one. I've never changed screens so much on a phone in my life...


OK, I just have to ask - have you decided on a skin for it yet


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

F1Wild said:


> Cheers for the repost info,but IMO the HTC Droid isn't worth the money. Even at the Wirefly price $149 each is a lot more than $179 for 2 (of the Storm2). Still considering carefully. Thanks again.


Got it... but just to clarify, the HTC Droid at Wirefly is $49/each.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

F1Wild said:


> OK, I just have to ask - have you decided on a skin for it yet


There isn't a whole lot there to skin... I guess I could do the back but making it more tactile might be a bad thing as I've heard people saying the back slides off when pulling it from tight cases sometimes. I considered it but am kind of flip flopping. I'll have to see what/if decalgirl has some for it. I know my sister has a skin on her phone and it looks kind of silly cuz it can hardly cover any of it due to all the buttons and such. This one is all screen on the front though so it'd just be something on the back but would have to allow for the battery door and the speaker.

Edit: Yeah, doesn't look like anyone even has them yet judging from my quick "before I run out the door" google search.


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

ok I have a couple of probably dumb questions - I just have a plain ole Verizon phone with the minimum minutes that were available 2 yrs ago (450) so if I update my phone to the Droid (hubby would stay with his regular phone - not a gadget nut like me) what would it cost a month over what I am paying now?  Is it the $30 more I hear about and does that cover texting or is that additional?  

And 

1.) What is the average GB used in a month?  I see mention of a 5 GB max a month - no idea how to figure what I might use

what is really making me want to get a Droid is the Google navigation. So.
2.) If I were to use the Google navigation on a daily basis  - how much GB would this total up to towards the 5GB cap.

Can you only access gmail or can you get other mails like the one I use on my MacBook Pro (don't know the name of it) 

thanks -- our plan ran out a couple of months ago and just haven't updated yet - so this is a possible for me ....


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## Brenda M. (Nov 26, 2008)

Has anyone ordered from wirefly? I really like the $149 vs the $199 at the Verizon store. And, the $199 is after a rebate card.


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

911jason said:


> Got it... but just to clarify, the HTC Droid at Wirefly is $49/each.


Do you know of anyone who has the HTC Droid? We checked it out - comparing it to both the Storm2 and Motorola Droid and basically there was no comparison at all - which I assume is reflected in the low, low price. It would be interesting to hear first hand accounts for this one as well.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

HTC Droid runs on an older version of Android I think and doesn't have the hardware that the Droid has.  From everything I've seen, the Droid is a n upgrade all around compared to the other android phones.

As far as the phone plan goes, yes you do need the $30 data plan.  I had an older unlimited data plan that was $20 a month and they even made me switch that one over, so I am paying $10 more a month for this one, but I am using the data features on this phone infinitely more than I ever did with my other so I think it's worth it.  That $30 a month is unlimited data and gps and everything else, so you wouldn't ever have to worry about counting gigabytes again.  I, too, had an older 450 minute plan.  I was able to keep the low price on the minutes and just needed to upgrade the data plan.  Average usage a month is hard to say because many of the applications are always accessing it as long as they're running.  If you have insurance I believe that is also $2 more a month.

You can access other emails, but I hear there's an issue with yahoo?  I think there's an app to solve that problem, though.  Email set up is pretty easy, but gmail has a whole separate thing.  You do need to have a google account to set up the phone and it'll use that email to send you any notifications about purchases and such, but accessing other emails is always an option as well.

I really think it's worth the extra $30 a month, especially if you think you'll be using the gps feature.  I really need to get the windshield mount so I can give it a good run through its paces, but you'd easily pay $200 or more for a stand alone GPS device with all the features you get on their free GPS app and this does several of them better.  And since it's always connected to the internet and not just GPS satellites you never need to download (or pay for) map updates.  I'd be glad to go over how this GPS compares to my Nuvi which was considered the flagship model just two months ago (it may still be but I never assume these things when it comes to electronics).


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

You're right, the HTC runs on Android 1.5 while the Motorola runs Android 2.0... I didn't know that until I read this review. It's a pretty well-written review that I'd recommend for anyone considering either of these two phones.


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## DawnOfChaos (Nov 12, 2008)

Nice review!

I'll probably be looking for one of these in two years, since I just picked up my Verizon Touch Pro 2 (which I have deep love for  )


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

There are some lively debates ongoing in the Android forums about the Motorola Droid vs the HTC Droid Eris. There are a lot of folks who much prefer the feel of the Eris onscreen keyboard over the MotoDroid, the fact that it has pinch/pull (is that what it's called) for some web-browsing & the Sense UI; there are also very strong rumors that the Eris will be upgraded to 2.0 before very long.

And I'm hearing that Verizon is sending special invites to customers to permit them in-store (not online) to get one of these new phones at similar prices to what non-contract or new customers are being offered (just another 2-year extension of the contract; and they've now upped the ETF to $350.00!). I got something in the mail from them recently that hinted at that, but since I'm not ready to fork out any money for a new phone just yet, I haven't tested it out.


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> . That $30 a month is unlimited data and gps and everything else, so you wouldn't ever have to worry about counting gigabytes again. I, too, had an older 450 minute plan. I was able to keep the low price on the minutes and just needed to upgrade the data plan. Average usage a month is hard to say because many of the applications are always accessing it as long as they're running. If you have insurance I believe that is also $2 more a month.
> 
> You can access other emails, but I hear there's an issue with yahoo? I think there's an app to solve that problem, though. Email set up is pretty easy, but gmail has a whole separate thing. You do need to have a google account to set up the phone and it'll use that email to send you any notifications about purchases and such, but accessing other emails is always an option as well.
> 
> I really think it's worth the extra $30 a month, especially if you think you'll be using the gps feature. I really need to get the windshield mount so I can give it a good run through its paces, but you'd easily pay $200 or more for a stand alone GPS device with all the features you get on their free GPS app and this does several of them better. And since it's always connected to the internet and not just GPS satellites you never need to download (or pay for) map updates. I'd be glad to go over how this GPS compares to my Nuvi which was considered the flagship model just two months ago (it may still be but I never assume these things when it comes to electronics).


thanks - The GPS feature is interesting to me since I have to either update my GPS (for $99 or so) or buy new and hubby could put the GPS as is in his truck since he doesn't need it completely up to date. And if we are going somewhere really new and a ways away we are together so I could use the Google one.

you can read this website and others too with no problems? I don't care about You Tube or anything like that.. don't use them that much even on the computer -but websites like this and facebook and a few others I like to keep up on - and email (I do have gmail as a secondary mail so that is no problem) and looking things up on google of course...

oh have you used the voice recognition thing yet - my voice comes and goes (it is gone now) will it recognize a soft scratchy, hoarse voice or will I have to sing at it to make it recognize me....


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## lynninva (Feb 7, 2009)

My DD was in the market for a new phone & she opted for the HTC Droid vs the Motorola after checking them out at the Verizon store.  I think the size was a factor for her.  Although she had a phone with a slide out keyboard, she was comfortable with the on-screen version.  

From what I have read, Google maps only works on v 2.0.  The Verizon rep told her that the HTC is supposed to be upgraded to v 2.0 in January.

I thought I also read a review that the voice navigation turns off if you are on a phone call.  That might be worth checking out if you plan to use that feature while driving. 

I think Best Buy adverstised one of these phones this week, with a statement saying it was the same price new or upgrading.  Not sure about that though.


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## bkworm8it (Nov 17, 2008)

Thanks for the review.  I've never had phone envy or been one of those people who wanted the latest greatest phone, up until now!  now I can't wait for my contract to be up for a new phone but alas as someone else said, I have a year left. That and I need to finish school and get a job so I can afford one!!   So by the time I may be able to get one the price should be down at least 50$$ I hope!

Thanks again for the reviews!

Theresa


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I have heard rumors that the Droid is going to get multi-touch at some point.  The European Droids do have it and people are saying they didn't want to launch with it in the states to avoid any problems with it getting held back due to Apple having fits over it.  Seems odd to me though since the Eris has it and the Zune has it as well.  The phone -does- have the capability, they just need to upgrade the firmware.  I know a friend of mine got her Droid for $99 due to having a Verizon contract already or something.  I also had a contract already and still had to pay $199, but I got it at Best Buy cuz I hate dealing with the Verizon store.  Maybe I should have.

Here's my take on the GPS in the short time I've used it as compared to my Nuvi.  I have a Nuvi 885T which has lane assist, voice recognition, MSN Traffic and Weather and all the other things you'd expect with a GPS.  What it doesn't have that some of the cheaper models had was this 3D building rendering software which basically took buildings and put grey blocks shaped like them on your map.  More well known buildings are mapped with textures, but it seemed kind of silly and useless to me so I wasn't too upset not having it.

First thing I'll cover is the voice recognition.  The Nuvi is made specifically for car use, so it comes with this handy steering wheel clip for the button you press to activate the voice recognition.  This definitely beats out the Droid interface where you hit the button on the screen, but that's about all it beats.  The Nuvi voice recognition is done very well in the menus, but once you start telling it words for place look ups it really doesn't keep up.  Some more well known places will be easily recognized like Best Buy or McDonalds, but even then it'll be like "You said Mist Dolls, is this correct?"  It's infuriating and can be pretty slow.

The Google Voice recognition on the Droid is leaps and bounds over anything I've ever used.  It's not limited to the GPS either, you can do pretty much any sorts of search and even text message (or so I've heard, haven't tried) and make phone calls using it.  The Garmin will not let you spell out street names or input numbers with voice, but the Droid lets you do pretty much anything.  I have tried fooling it and did manage to a few times, but when you tell it to look up "Lysistrata" and it actually recognizes it and spells it correctly?  Well, that impressed me.  Ironically it couldn't pick up "Aristophanes" and thinks you said "erised of annie's" but maybe I'm saying it wrong.  I think if I tried that with my Nuvi, though, that it'd just stare at me blankly.

Navigation seems pretty spot on.  I have not had the occasion for it to have to avoid traffic for me but one time, and it did find an alternate route to shave some time off my drive.  The Nuvi has always impressed me with how it does this as well, but it only picks up traffic on major highways.  I am pretty sure the Droid is actually monitoring traffic on even smaller back roads.  Several times I've had my Nuvi avoid traffic and put me in a worse predicament on side streets.  The big thing here in terms of traffic though?  Droid traffic is free.  Garmin you either pay monthly or another $150 for a lifetime subscription to the service.  I am not sure how Google tracks it (I'm sure it has something to do with the cloud) but I am pretty sure Nuvis are dependent on other devices in the area sending back information about driving speed to calculate it.

Searches on the Droid are above and beyond anything I could ever do with my Nuvi.  Nuvi searches are nice, but they are very slow and usually give you a lot of options that are nowhere close to the place you are looking for.  I recently tried to get my Nuvi to take me to a place called GoHo Auto Audio and it had a horrible time trying to find it and the voice recognition refused to pick it up at all.  I just tried it on my Droid and it found it first try.

Since the Google GPS is connected to "the cloud" you can also do complex searches.  You can specify "Navigate to Best Buy Chesapeake" and it will find the Best Buy in Chesapeake even though the one in Newport News is closer.  Try to get the Nuvi to recognize you saying "Chesapeake" and you'll be there all day.  I even saw a video where the guy actually said "Navigate to the museum in San Fransisco with the King Tut exhibit".  This was an exhibit that was only scheduled to be there for two weeks and he didn't even know what museum it was in, but the Google GPS found it.  There's no way my Nuvi would do that for me.

(Okay... I seriously just tried this and it worked and I'm amazed.  I said (actually spoke) to "Navigate to the museum in Newport News with the big propeller out front." and it seriously found The Mariner's Museum which is the one I meant and it was the first on the list.  Maybe I'll stop using my Nuvi despite some of the perceived drawbacks which may just be due to me being so used to Garmins.  Gotta say that amazed me.)

The nuvi screen is bigger and actually seems more tailored to its use as a GPS device.  There's no glare on it and the menus are very intuitive for the most part.  You can easily see information about your speed or the distance from your next turn and the like.  That being said, you can add things called layers to the Google GPS and it seems like you can even have user defined layers.  I was playing with Google Maps and looking at Delphi and Delphi now shows up as a layer option.

What the layers do is allow you to put layers of information on your route map.  There is a traffic view which colors roads based on traffic delays, a satellite layer which I find really fun and overlays Google Map satellite images along your route, the other defaults are Parking, Gas Stations, Restaurants and ATMs/Banks.

Another handy feature is something that my Nuvi claimed to have.  They call it Lane Assist and it's more difficult to get to on the Droid, but it actually -works- on the Droid.  Lane Assist on the Nuvi gives you a graphical representation of your next turn with roads signs and an arrow to show you which way you want to go.  This is supposed to be handy at confusing interchanges and the like.  The problem is, it's not supported everywhere.  I think Virginia Beach is pretty metropolitan as well as Norfolk and even most of the Hampton Roads area.  I have never run across a turn where this feature worked.  I had to put in a destination in Los Angeles and follow the route to even make sure it worked at all.  It did there.

The Droid Google GPS seriously has this information on the turn at the corner of my house in a pretty small neighborhood.  Not only does it have the information, but it also has it as a photo and not some 3D representation of what it should look like.  So I have a realistic street view photo of the turn with an arrow showing me which way to go.  You can also get streetside photos of your destination.  It isn't always perfectly accurate in both cases, but it's very close and a really fun feature.  Not only can you get these photos, but you can then click a button and move into a 360 degree view mode of the area with clickable arrows that let you "walk" up and down the street.

The voices on both tend to be pretty robotic, but the Nuvi does win here.  You can download all sorts of different voices and car icons for your GPS.  I have mine set on a British Gentleman which is fun... they even give you British directions.  I can't think of one right now since I'm so used to it, but some directions will actually have British terms instead of US English.  As far as I can tell you can't change the female voice on the Droid, but she isn't horribly annoying.  She does seem to be a lot more chatty than the Nuvi, but both read full names and give full turn by turn directions.

Both devices do well in the precision of directions.  A lot of GPS's will tell you things like "Turn in .01 miles" but these both go down to distances in feet.  The Droid gives an estimate of how long your trip will take you in the corner, but I like how the Nuvi does this better.  The Nuvi actually gives you an estimate of the time you will arrive instead of the time it will take.  This is just a matter of simple math of course, but having it at a glance is handy and I use it every day to make sure I'm not going to be late to class. 

A few small things my Nuvi does that I wish the Google GPS did... when the Nuvi loses its link to the GPS it will actually take your speed of travel and the logical direction of your travel and continue to track you on the map.  This is pretty nice to have around here with so many tunnels.  If it realizes that you've been too long without coverage it will then warn you.  The Nuvi also warns you when you've taken a wrong turn and that it is recalculating your route.  From what I can tell with my Droid, it just chooses a new route and starts giving you those directions without any sort of warning.  That startled me a bit and hopefully it's something they'll fix, because it's nice to know when you've gone off route.  It did seem to pick a new route quickly though.  Both devices are very good about rerouting quickly.

Okay this is getting pretty long winded.  I can try to post some pictures too if you think that'd help in your decision.  Keep in mind that some of my issues with the screen and ease of navigating the software itself may be due to me not having a windshield mount for my Droid yet.  But I did spend time playing with it out of the car where I could concentrate on menus and such.  I have also not had a lot of time with the Droid to get used to its quirks since half of the week or so I've had it we were underwater and I couldn't drive anywhere anyway.

The biggest advantages I see to offset the few disadvantages?  First and foremost is price.  The Droid is actually cheaper than the Nuvi I purchased and it does so much more that I can't even begin to give a list.  You also get free map updates (they're like $70 and only released a couple times a year for the Nuvi) and the updates are constant.  You also get free traffic, though I have yet to see if the alerts are done as well on the Droid as they are on the Nuvi.  But they're free!  The Droid is also far more portable and something you will be carrying with you anyway.  I can't comment on the windshield mount as I don't have one yet.  I know I really like the Nuvi mount.

I haven't received a call while navigating yet so I don't know how that works.  I know it can run simultaneous apps so it shouldn't be a problem running the GPS, having it playing music plus getting a phone call, but I have not tested any of these combinations either.  The nuvi is a dedicated device so of course it does a lot of small things better, but Google is just starting with this and I bet it gets pretty impressive as they work out the kinks.

It's going to be pretty biased, but here is a good video and some screen shots www.google.com/navigation  If you actually read all this, congratulations!  I applaud your conviction.

Edit: A couple additions after using it tonight.  A night mode like my Nuvi has would be nice.  It basically makes the graphics on the screen darker so it isn't blinding you attached to your windshield while driving at night.  The Droid is very bright and white unless you layer it with satellite images.  There also doesn't seem to be a speed limit indicator which isn't always available on my Nuvi but when it is it's handy.  You also can't set avoidances from what I've seen on the Droid which can be handy but not something I usually use on my GPS.  The graphic turn representations are also really hit and miss with the Droid.  One picture I got today was just the side of a truck with my turn arrow going through it.  But again, it's better than it not working at all like on my Nuvi.  When the Nuvi Lane Assist -does- work and is available, it's far superior.


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

so it has been a few days - still feeling the love - any new points to consider -


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

We still haven't made our final decision yet...so any more info would be so appreciated and certainly doesn't have to be official review stuff.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Still really enjoying it.  I've only had it shut down on me a couple times.  The battery door -does- slide off pretty easily, but a case or something would solve that small issue.  There's the thing about the 256MB of onboard memory being the only space allotted for apps, but the app developers are working around it by having a shell program access the bigger data off your expandable 16/32 gig memory card.  The camera is not that great at pictures, but they have a fix coming December 11th.  I'm really happy with the support and that they are rolling in an update that quickly to focus on some of the issues.  What it can't do in pictures it seems to make up for in video, so I'm hoping the bad pictures is a software issue... not that I got my phone to be a camera.  The vibration is also a bit weak, but it's also not so loud that having it on is just as bad as having your ringer on like a lot of phones.

The photos of your destination and turns on the GPS aren't always accurate, but still a fun feature and I have used it instead of my Garmin for back and forth to school all week.  I'll still use my Garmin for longer trips just because it's more streamlined in terms of information on the screen, though the Droid still does several things better.  The Garmin also seems to give more accurate destination arrival times.  I've had my Droid be spot on sometimes and way off others, but it's more accurate than not.  I've used the two side by side and the routing seems to be very similar and Garmins have the best routing in the business so that's a plus.  You also seem to have to be careful when using a voice search as sometimes it will pick the wrong spot and start giving directions.  I asked for ODU in Norfolk and it had me heading to "Norfolk" as a destination (I guess it was like the center of the city or something).  Otherwise the voice search is crazily accurate and finds things I still can't fathom it figuring out at all.

So yeah, still happy and no regrets.  The "yay new!" is wearing off a bit, but I still find things that impress me when I play around with it.


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

Thanks so much, Scheherazade!  We're looking foe the good, bad and ugly as we know no device is perfect.  We're just trying to find the best fit and your info has been stellar!


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

F1Wild said:


> Thanks so much, Scheherazade! We're looking foe the good, bad and ugly as we know no device is perfect. We're just trying to find the best fit and your info has been stellar!


Ditto!


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

No worries.  If ya'll have more specific questions feel free to shoot em my way.  I'll be glad to do my best to answer if I know and test it if I don't.  Glad to be of help


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## Dankinia (Jun 20, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> There isn't a whole lot there to skin... I guess I could do the back but making it more tactile might be a bad thing as I've heard people saying the back slides off when pulling it from tight cases sometimes. I considered it but am kind of flip flopping. I'll have to see what/if decalgirl has some for it. I know my sister has a skin on her phone and it looks kind of silly cuz it can hardly cover any of it due to all the buttons and such. This one is all screen on the front though so it'd just be something on the back but would have to allow for the battery door and the speaker.
> 
> Edit: Yeah, doesn't look like anyone even has them yet judging from my quick "before I run out the door" google search.


I picked up my Droid on New Years Eve and adore it so of course I had to come back to this thread. I used to have a Palm Treo so this is not my first "Smartphone" and I was a bit worried about adjusting from the Palm to the Droid, but in a matter of minutes I had everything set up and working. I am still trying out applications and tweaking things, but that is to be expected.

Oh and DecalGirl does have skins for it now. One big plus is they are doing matching wallpapers with the designs which look really nice on the website. I am debating ordering one, but I worry that the case I ordered won't fit with the skin on.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

If they made it so the skin holds the battery cover on I'd pay even more for it   I'll have to check out what they have.  Thanks for the heads up on them releasing them finally!


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

Those of you who have a M-Droid - do you still like it? I am seriously considering getting one within the month & wondered what your thoughts are at this point, 3 or so months into use?


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Still liking mine and find myself impressed with it even still as I find new stuff.  I was able to use Google Goggles the other day to help identify the interior of Palazzo Vecchio by a photo I saw of it online the other day.  It was one of those "this place looks familiar" things and I thought, eh, may as well try and sure enough the thing found it for me which was really surprising.  I've gotten used to keeping it charged so that isn't an issue, but the battery door is still a bit irksome.  It's not a deal breaker though, you really can't get anything better on Verizon and I think it's even better than an iPhone in a lot of ways.  If you have more specific questions let me know.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I'll try to be a bit more erudite now that I'm awake.  My Droid is still my go to device for around town driving in terms of GPS.  I love my Garmin, but carrying it when my cell phone is something I'll have with me anyway and nearly just as good just isn't happening.  I still opt for my Garmin on long trips, but just going back and forth when I don't even know if I'll need a GPS, my Droid is -very- usable and has helped me out more than once.  I love pretty much everything about the Google Maps app.  We used to have a camera shop locally that was demolished a few months ago.  Having just bought a camera I needed to find someplace to get some filters and such for my first quick last minute outing with it.  I asked my Droid and it found, much to my surprise, that the local camera shop still existed.  They apparently had moved it and I had no idea.  It's little things like that which I find incredibly useful.  I am constantly using it when I can't decide where to go out to eat as well... it's just really handy.

The GPS is amazing and best of all free.  The voice recognition is pretty top notch... everything I've written before about it still tends to be true, but I do find myself aggravated sometimes when it doesn't understand my slight accent.  It's usually just a small thing to enunciate and get it right the second time however, or just type it in manually.  Text messaging is very nice and the visual voicemail is also a nice option that I can see being useful for those who get a lot of it.  Since it's a paid by the month service on top of your plan I haven't tried it as I get like one voicemail every week or so.

In terms of apps, there are plenty out there to be had and a lot are being ported over or remade that have been popular on the iPhone.  People will always argue back and forth about which is better or worse, but this is the one I have so it's best for me.  I still think that the Droid out performs the iPhone on a very basic level, however (multiple apps and free GPS for instance).  Some of my favorite apps, all free unless otherwise stated...

Shop Savvy - This is a barcode scanner that also looks up the product and gives you prices locally or on the internet.  Very handy.  It uses the camera to scan in the barcodes and can keep you from impulse buying something you could have gotten at half the price on Amazon or something.

Google Goggles - I mentioned this briefly before.  You take a picture of something at the application scans it and attempts to match and identify it.  It works really well with architecture, statues, paintings and the like and even does OCR.  It will also scan business cards and add all of the information automatically your contact list.  Very handy little application.

Plink Art - Works like Google Goggles but specifically branded for scanning paintings and artwork.  I use this when Goggles fails to get results, but sometimes neither will find what you're looking for.  But for free you can't really complain!

Lightning Bug/White Noise Lite - Both applications play the clock radio style nature sounds.  I can't sleep without white noise, so having this will be huge the next time I end up sleeping away from home.  The quality is actually pretty impressive as well.  Both have pay options but the free ones work fine for me.

Calorie Counter - This is a very useful app.  You tell it the food you ate and it tells you the calories, allows you to insert it into a food journal to keep track of it and all sorts of other stuff I haven't even fully explored with it.  It will also scan barcodes and remember your favorite foods for quick entries.

Hi AIM/Meebo - AOL Instant Messaging programs.  Pretty self explanatory but both are the best I've ever used on a phone.  They don't just turn your IMs into texts, it actually functions across the networks so it's not really like mobile AIM on other phones.

MotoTorch - Deceptively simple, this app allows you to turn your LED on or produce a white screen to use as a flash light.  I can't count the number of times this has been useful and works every bit as well as a maglite. 

MangaDroid - It's a bit of a small space to try to read Manga, but this app gives you access to a ton of it for free and it is very readable in a pinch when you don't have your Kindle to keep you entertained.

Pandora - Free streaming music application.  You tell it what you like and it creates a "station" that plays that music along with similar titles.  Very handy when you forget your Zune.

Shazaam/Sound Hound - Shazaam is the usual "listen to a song and figure out what it is based on some sort of code digitally projected by the song" application that only works on studio recordings and I find it doesn't work more than it does.  Sound Hound, on the other hand, was really impressive.  It did cost $4 or so, but you can seriously just hum or sing a song to it yourself and it will ID it.  I was pretty impressed by this one.

WordUp - I have this and about 3 or 4 other word games ranging from word searches to linking letters to form words and using scrambled ones to create words ala Scrabble.  I enjoy word games and these never fail to pass the time. 

Shortyz - This is hands down one of my favorite "games" on my Droid.  It allows you to download crossword puzzles daily/weekly from several major newspapers.  The interface is very usable once you get used to its quirks and it has this feature that will make the board red and turn your entires white when they are correct.  I love crosswords but they always annoyed me, this makes them fun again.

Weather Bug - Self explanatory but it's nice getting updates and advisories straight to my info bar.  It's a quick click to see the forecast and I always have the temperature handy.

Flight Director - This was like $3 I think?  There is a lite free version that's entirely playable but I liked it enough to buy the full.  You basically draw lines from flying planes to landing strips at airports and keep them from crashing.  From what I've seen this one is a lot better than iPhone's and one I find myself playing quite a lot 

There are tons of other games and such that I don't want to really go into too much detail with here and make this post longer than it already is.  Uno which was $5 but very worth it, Solo Lite that turns your phone into a guitar, Solitaire, Sudoku (some Sudoku apps will even use the camera to scan in physical puzzles and make them playable on your phone), dice games and even a few fun platformers.  There's plenty out there to be had and the community is adding and improving on them all the time.

A few annoyances... sometimes the phone will get bogged down if you make it do too much at once.  This is more of an issue with learning where that line is and not to cross it as it can multitask with the best of them.  Just don't try to make it updated 15 apps at once.  Sometimes the 3G coverage will "hang up" but you can usually give it a kick by opening an app that forces it to refresh and it's rare that this happens.  The Droid is not a very good "cradle with your shoulder as you talk" phone.  It's difficult for the person on the other end to hear you when you try, but this can be remedied by a headset or just holding it correctly.  As I mentioned the battery cover slips off pretty easily.  This is my biggest gripe, but I've learned to live with it as a minor annoyance.

The Droid has a lot of space for music and the like on the SD card, but has limited space for apps themselves.  The apps can only be stored on the 256 MB of storage that is set aside for them in the built in memory of the phone (there is 512 total but 256 of that is used by the phone's operating system).  I -have- filled this up, but only when I went crazy downloading stuff, half of which I didn't need or use and was very easy to just get rid of.  This isn't as bad as it sounds right off, but it is something to keep in mind.  A lot of developers are making it so the more memory intense resources of their apps are stored on the SD card and only the shell of the app is stored on the internal memory.  So you see apps under 1 MB mostly and rarely see them get much larger than 2 or 3.  I start assessing the usefulness of an app when it starts taking more than 3MB of space in storage.

The camera is still really hit or miss.  It's not the best in the world by far.  The 5 megapixels is a nice number to throw at the consumer, but when the sensor isn't all that great all the pixels in the world won't make a difference.  It works well in well lit situations, but in low light it's pretty bad.  But unlike some phones it does have a flash to help remedy this a bit.  The video recording, if this is your sort of thing, is actually pretty high quality and more impressive than the camera.  Try to make sense out of that one.  I rarely find myself turning to my Droid for pictures, but then again I never was much for snapping shots with my cell phone.

I've never had it shut itself on and start randomly dialing numbers or opening applications when I've tucked it away.  This is the first phone I've ever had not to be plagued with this problem.  BUT!  You -have- to make sure that you put it to sleep first.  If you have the unlock screen up when you put the phone away it will sometimes unlock it and start doing stuff.  But everytime I've put mine away, pocket or otherwise, with the screen asleep it has never gone on a dialing rampage like every one of my phones in the past has done.

I think I've hit the major highlights and lowlights, but again please let me know if you have more specific questions or concerns!  I may be more awake now but it's still 2am so it's very possible I've missed something


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## Adele (May 30, 2009)

Here's some more apps you may find helpful -

Car Locator - You can set it so that you can relocate your car in a parking lot.  It also has a parking timer in case you have to feed a meter.

Timeriffic - Set timers so you bluetooth goes on and OFF during the same time/day.  Set so your background light dims at night or the sounds turn off at night.

WalletPro - A place to keep all your passwords - it's encrypted.

Where's My Droid - In case you misplace it you can send a message to it to give off sounds, even if the sounds were turned off.

WaveSecure - In case someone steals it you can send a SCREAMING sound that will not turn off, it locks the phone and you can wipe out all data.  Suggest you also use the backup feature with this or use MyBackupPro.

TasKiller - This will close your apps so clear the cache.


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

Wow - thank you both very much for these posts. Very helpful.


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## wazdakka (Apr 5, 2009)

I have been considering the leap from PDA and "dumb phone" to a smart phone.  I have been carrying around two devices for ten years and I am kind of sick of it.  The thing that I really like about having my Palm PDA with me, however, is that I always have access to all my calender, contacts, tasks, and notes that I keep in Microsoft Outlook.  I have come to really depend on that.  I like to be able to make updates to those things from my PDA and have them sync to my desktop, and vise versa, and I would not want to give that up.  

Can the Droid sync to Outlook calender, contacts, tasks, and notes?


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## Tip10 (Apr 16, 2009)

You could also look at something along the lines of the HTC TouchPro 2 or Imaggio if you are on Verizon -- both support Microsoft ActiveSync and Exchange services natively.

My understanding (and could be wrong) is it can be done with the Droid but is a might bit towards the ugly side to get it all set up.

I went with the TP2 over the Droid because I found (personal opinion here) that the touch was better suited to me and the overall support for business type functions was much better. 

The Droid is a good phone -- just not as good as some in the business arena.

The side benefit of the TP2 is that I can unlock the SIM side of things and actually get it to work on either Verizons CDMA network or AT&T's GSM network or BOTH!!


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

I currently have a Windows Mobile Smartphone but now exclusively use the Google system. I completely weaned myself away from Outlook so I no longer need to sync with Outlook. I got my smartphone to sync up with my gmail, google contacts & calendar, which is why I am so looking forward to a Droid. I believe, as Tip10 comments, that syncing with Outlook could be done but it might not be automatic to get set up.


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

wazdakka said:


> I always have access to all my calender, contacts, tasks, and notes that I keep in Microsoft Outlook. I have come to really depend on that. I like to be able to make updates to those things from my PDA and have them sync to my desktop, and vise versa, and I would not want to give that up.
> 
> Can the Droid sync to Outlook calender, contacts, tasks, and notes?


This was one of the big reasons why we ended up going with Blackberry Storm2s instead of the DROID - I use my outlook every day and needed access to it. Of course the other big factor was that Verizon was running a BOGO free deal - so we got 2 BB phones for less than one DROID. 
I'm certainly not knocking the DROID, though.


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## Adele (May 30, 2009)

wazdakka said:


> I have been considering the leap from PDA and "dumb phone" to a smart phone. I have been carrying around two devices for ten years and I am kind of sick of it. The thing that I really like about having my Palm PDA with me, however, is that I always have access to all my calender, contacts, tasks, and notes that I keep in Microsoft Outlook. I have come to really depend on that. I like to be able to make updates to those things from my PDA and have them sync to my desktop, and vise versa, and I would not want to give that up.
> 
> Can the Droid sync to Outlook calender, contacts, tasks, and notes?


I don't think you can. - I put my contacts on gmail so I would not have to reenter again if/when I get a new phone.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I am not sure about the whole syncing of Outlook to the Droid and what features or caveats you would need to look out for, but Googling "Sync Outlook with Verizon Droid" brought up a lot of information.  I would try to regurgitate it here all summed up in a nutshell, but I'm not sure which part of the nut to include to be most helpful for what ya'll need so... definitely Google it, there's lots of information about it and apps that apparently help with it, but again I don't know what drawbacks would be deal breakers or what features are must haves.


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## Dankinia (Jun 20, 2009)

I still love my Droid!!!  There are a ton of good apps out there and while I do find the number of quality games lacking, I didn't get the phone just to play games.

I actually use a Seidio case for my Droid which resolved the battery door issue for me.  I used to use Seidio products for my Palm Treo/Centros and the quality and service is excellent.  The only downside is the Motorola docks are not ment to be used with a case so if the dock is important to you, you either have to order one from Seidio that works with the case, or take the case off.

I use my Ipod touch for music and videos for a few reasons, but I did try both out on the Droid and was impressed by the sound quality.  It is not excellent, but it is better then I thought it would be.  The video quality is better the the Ipod IMHO.  

I agree that the camera is hit or miss.  Outside it can take great pictures, inside they don't turn out as well.  I tend to use my digital camera for pictures more then my phone so it is not a huge issue for me.

Sadly the Droid does not play well with Outlook.  It is designed to work with the Google Calendar and contacts.  There are a few note programs on the app store that will take your Palm notes and move them to the Droid that have good reviews.  I didn't use them, because they were available yet when I made the switch. It took a little getting used to, but I have adjusted to the Google Calendar and Contacts and sort of like it better because I have access from any computer instead of just my laptop.  The operating system is much better then the current offerings from Palm in my opinion and was easy to adapt to.  There is also a forum www.droidforums.net which is extremely helpful and full of excellent information.


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

Great feedback folks. I love Kindleboards.


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## Shizu (Oct 27, 2008)

My daughter and I just got Droid. Now it is time to learn how to use it LOL  I have to re-read this thread now


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

I got mine on Feb 26; am absolutely loving it.
One forum I've found that is invaluable is: http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid/
There is one thread with lots of great recommendations for apps: http://androidforums.com/sprint-htc-hero/44563-must-have-apps.html

And another person's app recommendations: http://nimbu.amorvi.com/2010/02/top-50-apps-for-android-1-5-cupcake/

Before getting my Droid, I was a complete google user: gmail & contacts, calendar, tasks; I think that made my transition very seamless. I've noticed threads regarding trying to get the Droid to work easily with other email systems & it sounded kind of like it wasn't quite as easy. 
But since I'm a complete google fan, it's been great. I've even got 2 separate gmail accounts synced up with my Droid - it's just a dream.

(In fact, obsessing with my Droid has caused significant absence here from KB!  )


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## Shizu (Oct 27, 2008)

I have a question using Gmail. I have lots of labels. Can you see those label with Droid? I know I have to play with it more but I'll ask lol. I saw inbox but don't know how to go to labels


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

Shizu said:


> I have a question using Gmail. I have lots of labels. Can you see those label with Droid? I know I have to play with it more but I'll ask lol. I saw inbox but don't know how to go to labels


Yep! The labels are all there. I've got tons too. I can also get to my google reader with all of its folders.
(I'm posting here from my Droid right now!)


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## Shizu (Oct 27, 2008)

CegAbq said:


> Yep! The labels are all there. I've got tons too. I can also get to my google reader with all of its folders.
> (I'm posting here from my Droid right now!)


how do you go to labels? lol


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

Shizu said:


> how do you go to labels? lol


Shizu - sorry for this delay & you've probably figured this out already, but just in case not:
from Home screen, tap the 'Gmail' icon.
If you are not at your overall inbox, tap the menu button & then tap 'back to inbox'
then tap the menu button again, & one of the options is to 'View labels.

From the Inbox listing, under the the Subject line of each email, you can see the label(s) that the email has been assigned to.


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## Shizu (Oct 27, 2008)

CegAbq said:


> Shizu - sorry for this delay & you've probably figured this out already, but just in case not:
> from Home screen, tap the 'Gmail' icon.
> If you are not at your overall inbox, tap the menu button & then tap 'back to inbox'
> then tap the menu button again, & one of the options is to 'View labels.
> ...


Thanks I got it. I tried to reply to you the other day but KB had error and I couldn't


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