Droid Considerations

[Mr.Erskine]

Before I write anything else, two things. One, I understand that there are several Droid threads. Two, I have NO interest in purchasing the iPhone.

I am on Verizon Wireless, and I am considering getting a Droid Incredible, but the Droid 2 has also gotten my attention. I have read about the apps, and all of the specs on the phones, but I would like some opinions on the phones from people that actually use them, and more up-to-date opinions.

Thanks in advance because this will be a major purchase for me.

[JaKaacH]

Does that droid come in a Churchill size..?

[Mr.Erskine]

CRAP--WRONG SECTION... I'm SO sorry.... I clicked on the wrong thing... Can this be moved?

[dunng]

I'm waiting... I want LTE and GSM for international!

[Silound]

I have a Motorola Droid 2, my brother has the HTC Incredible. Some rundowns (TLDR at bottom):

Screen: The HTC has a better looking screen hands down (Droid 2 has the same screen as the original droid). It eats battery life like no tomorrow, so unless you're NOT going to be using the screen frequently, Droid 2 wins based on battery life (mine goes 2-3 days without charging if I use it lightly, or about 4 hours if I play a game).

Size: Droid2 is heavier and thicker (more so if you have a shell and holster like I prefer) than the HTC, but I like the weight of the Droid2 (I know it's there and when it vibrates, it vibrates). HTC is nicer if you keep it in a pocket mostly since it's thinner and lighter. I personally don't want mine scratched, so I use a holster 99% of the time.

Text Entry: HTC is purely touch based (including Swype entry). Droid2 has the slide out QWERTY keyboard AND touch/Swype. Both are perfectly fine, it just depends on what you can do faster. The HTC's slightly larger screen makes it easier to type/Swype on, while the Droid's more squarish design makes it comfortable to hold and type on the slide out. I can type slightly faster on the keyboard, so that won in my favor.

Battery Life: Droid2 wins by a mile, but your usage may vary. I made some habits of turning off the screen immediately after use and things like that to help preserve battery life. So far that seems to help a lot. Advanced Task Killer is also your friend.

OS: Both run AndroidOS, but the respective companies tweak the software just a little. I happen to think the HTC tweaks are cosmetically nicer looking by just a little bit, but you can download apps and skins to make them look nearly identical if you wanted. HTC phones have had a few issues with Froyo (Android 2.2), whereas the Droid 2 shipped with that version. Problems were resolved quickly, but in my brother's case it nearly meant getting a new phone to fix the issues then and there rather than waiting on HTC to fix it under warranty.

Edit to add that by "new" I mean the Verizon store was just going to replace his phone with a new one off the shelf rather than make him wait for his to get fixed. He opted to wait because his HTC was one of the originals with the AMOLED screen and he wanted to keep that.


TLDR: If you don't have a preference for any particular feature, both phones are great devices and you can pick whichever you feel more comfortable with.

[Mr.Erskine]

I am liking the Droid 2 more and more the more I read about it. A friend of mine in telecommunications told me that the Droid 2 would probably be the better choice because of all the phones he's worked with HTC has given more fits, mostly with electrical things, not OS stuff. I like the idea of the external keyboard.

Does anyone know if the applications run differently on the two?

P.S. Thank you to whoever moved this

[MikeyC]

I'm thinking of going back to Verizon and picking up a Droid myself. If I was going to get a Droid phone right this second I would get the Droid X. I'm waiting for some of the new 4G Droid phones to come out though like the Thunderbolt and the Droid Bionic. I've read in some places that the 4G Droids will be able to use data and voice at the same time. Coming from an AT&T iPhone I'm used to having this functionality and it's a nice plus.

[Mr.Erskine]

I don't need to newest thing, and I've never had voice and data.. plus I don't want my phone bill to be too astronomical

[dunng]

Originally Posted by MikeyC

I'm thinking of going back to Verizon and picking up a Droid myself. If I was going to get a Droid phone right this second I would get the Droid X. I'm waiting for some of the new 4G Droid phones to come out though like the Thunderbolt and the Droid Bionic. I've read in some places that the 4G Droids will be able to use data and voice at the same time. Coming from an AT&T iPhone I'm used to having this functionality and it's a nice plus.

Interesting comparison - http://t.co/4k1ZHeN

[md4958]

I have the Incredible, and I love it.... but it's no iPhone.

[Eleven]

I have the Droid X, and my wife has the Droid 2. I am not a fan of the 'slide out' keyboards, and I like the HUGE screen on my Droid X.

My wife loves the bigger screen on my phone, but she says the phone itself is just too big.

I have been a screen typer since the Storm came out, so keyboards just don't appeal to me anymore. My wife is the opposite.

I also think the Droid X is similar to the HTC, maybe even a littler bigger. I don't mind, it fits in my back pocket with a silicone cover on it, and it fits comfortably in my jacket pockets too.

I would never go back to a smaller phone now that I am used to the big ol screen on this X.

Good luck!

[Volusianator]

Have you considered the iPhone?

[GTsetGO]

i have the droid 1 and will be getting the x as soon as i get back to the states.

[Mr.Erskine]

Originally Posted by Volusianator

Have you considered the iPhone?

I have zero interest in the iPhone.

The Droids appeal to me more because from everything that I have seen and read, they are more user friendly, and Motorola has never been better to me.

[Kreth]

Originally Posted by Mr.Erskine

The Droids appeal to me more because from everything that I have seen and read, they are more user friendly, and Motorola has never been better to me.

Cue the parade of iDrones praising the manna from Jobs.
Posted via Mobile Device

[rebelknight]

As of right now I say Droid 2, personal preference. But if you sit on your upgrade for a month or two I bet verizon will release a sweet new little toy. I can't say for sure if they will or not but I've had an upgrade for about 3 months now that I'm just sitting on because the guy at verizon told me it wouldn't hurt to hold out

[dunng]

Originally Posted by rebelknight

As of right now I say Droid 2, personal preference. But if you sit on your upgrade for a month or two I bet verizon will release a sweet new little toy. I can't say for sure if they will or not but I've had an upgrade for about 3 months now that I'm just sitting on because the guy at verizon told me it wouldn't hurt to hold out

HTC Thunderbolt and Droid Bionic are the confirmed ones on the way... Also, hopefully we will see a ATT/Verizon iPhone 5 in June.

[MiamiE]

Originally Posted by Mr.Erskine

Before I write anything else, two things. One, I understand that there are several Droid threads. Two, I have NO interest in purchasing the iPhone.

Its a major purchase, so treat it as such and get the best device out there. You already know where I am going with this...

[neoflex]

In a couple weeks the Driod Thunderbolt is supposed to drop with the Bionic coming 2nd quarter which specs wise will be an iPhone killer which is the rumor why Verizon delayed the Feb 14th release date of the Thunderbolt. They were supposedly afraid it would hurt the newly released iPhones sales. Makes plenty of sense. I'm dumping my Blackberry once the Thunderbolt hits. Was thinking about the 2 because of the keyboard being an actual keyboard but after herfing with Mister Moo I played with his phone a little and typing on a touch screen is not nearly as bad as I first imagined plus the Driod voice recognition seems to work very well which can be used to reply to texts and e-mails. Like yourself I have zero interest in the iPhone and that's coming from a die hard Mac guy. Too me the iPhone is handicapped out of the box due to zero Flash capability for one and when compared to the new Driods that are due to hit the market soon they just have zero appeal to me.

[neoflex]

Oops, just spotted Dunng's post. Sorry for repeating what's already been posted.