(An)Droid

Finally, the new Verizon phones are here. Well namely Verizon's first Android phone, the Droid by Motorola out on Nov 6th. I've been waiting for an Android phone to come out on Verizon for a while now. I was just hoping it would be an HTC. If the HTC Imagio was an Android, that would be great! But... it's not. Maybe I'd like the Droid's design better if I saw it in person. Let's hope.

Update: I don't but Verizon does have an HTC Droid Eris which looks a lot better and has multi-touch and a cheaper price tag. But Motorola's Droid is so much more powerful. Basically if you care more about aesthetics and the interface and customization of the home screens go for HTC's Droid. If you ultimately care about performance and speed (those who do, would probably notice the difference) go for Motorola's Droid. The Motorola Droid's physical keypad isn't that hard to press. I think it was just the model I saw at BestBuy.


In the photos the corners of the Droid (left) seem a bit too harsh and cold and the transition from front to back are abrupt. The gold accents are a bit retro as well. The curved corners of the Imagio (right) are softer, friendlier, warmer and transitions much smoother from front to back. The Droid however has loads of powerful features that I can appreciate so I may be able to overlook the design on this one. I am more of an "it's what on the inside that counts" person anyhow. It has a big beautiful screen, fast processor, fast full web browser, 5MP camera with image stabilization and dual LED flash, video capture and playback, Google Maps Nav., 16 GB memory card (upgradable to 32 GB), and virtual and physical QWERTY keyboard. It's a tenth of an inch thicker then the iPhone but with a physical QWERTY keyboard, that's pretty amazing. It's also 1.2 oz. heavier.

If I had a smartphone, I know I'll be using it more for the web so Blackberry is out of the picture since web isn't its strong suit. And being a pc girl at heart (gasp!), I'm all for the ability to customize everything the way I want which is what the Android platform provides. So the iPhone is out. I don't want to switch carriers anyhow. I don't think it's worth all the dropped calls and spotty service but I know people do love their iPhones.

Regardless of the spotty service, I did play with both the iPhone and T-Mobile's Android phone, the myTouch 3G, a couple months back to see which I'd like better. I determined that I liked the myTouch. Between the two, typing was more accurate on the myTouch and the scroll ball allows the selection of a web link with greater accuracy. I also really like that Android is open sourced allowing any manufacturer to develop a phone with the Android system. That means more phones on more providers will be able to "speak" to each other with the Android platform and there will be opportunity for many more applications.

Granted Apple has mastered the simple design and the user friendly interface with the multitouch but the HTC Droid has it as well. The Motorola Droid has the multitouch ability too (jump to 2:55)... just not in the U.S. And while Apple doesn't share, Android does. I'm aware I'm a bit of a techie and biased toward the underdogs and playing nice so I'm excited to get my hands on a Droid to do a comparison. Aside from the interface and touch accuracy (which isn't as critical in the Droid), battery life will be one of the big questions.

Alright, this techie is signing off. I'm sure I'll update my thoughts once I get my hands on a Droid. In the meantime, I am actually contemplating getting a refurbished MacBookPro versus a new PC. Gasp! I know. But it makes sense for my design work but I may still need a PC depending how much Solid Works I do.