“The hardware (which is Motorola’s) mostly works. The keyboard is horrible and I’ve never used it, which means that it is a real design flaw given how much weight and mechanical operation it adds to the device. (The software keyboard works well enough that I’ve found it adequate but the other problems with the software make it barely useable.) The camera button on my Droid doesn’t work and never has, so I call up the camera from the home screen. The on-off button is poorly placed for one-handed operation and requires real force to actuate,” Alsop writes.
“The software (Google’s Android plus apps both from Google and from other developers) doesn’t work and is unacceptable on a mobile device. First, the operating system doesn’t work well enough to be considered a mobile OS. A mobile phone needs to have an OS that is really tied down and ready to perform at all times, like for receiving phone calls. This one isn’t,” Alsop writes. “The process management in the OS stinks. Press on an app icon; maybe it will come up and maybe the phone will just not respond. Who’s to know why?”
Alsop writes, “I’m not actually joking. The software is so bad that, for instance, when you open the phone app and click on search, there are multiple opportunities for the software to not respond or to respond incorrectly, which means that the phone is not useable unless you are starting intently at it and very, very patient about waiting for something to happen. If you want to search your contacts, you type the first letter and the phone will stop responding for 20-30 seconds. Don’t know why.”
Alsop writes, “After a month of using the phone (or trying really hard to use it) as my primary device, I have concluded that it’s a bad product and I have to get rid of it. It is plenty clear that Motorola was so desperate to get it on the market that it didn’t take time to test it properly and pushed or pulled Google into releasing crappy software on it.”
Full article – highly recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s always nice to see the truth in print, however rare it may be.
Ok, I will be the first to say it … Bloodbath
Google should stick to advertising.
The sad thing is that nearly everyone who’s getting one of these is going from something even more terrible, such as Windows Mobile or Symbian, so for them it’s an improvement. Those stubborn or stupid enough to shun the iPhone truly get what they deserve.
Have you guys even used a Droid? If you fanboys could pull your head out of Steve Jobs ass long enough to see what else is out there with an open mind, I think you would soon change your mind. The Droid may not be all that, but HTC has some Android phones that blow the iPhone away. By the way, they also are able to make phone calls on a reliable network. I had an iPhone for a year and now that I’ve discovered Android, won’t ever look back.
Keep up with your ignorance though, ignorance is bliss after all.
@Ben:
Thank you for your comments. Now don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
From what I hear the HTC Eris is as close As Android has been able to get to an iPhone. But you never hear anything about it. Someone needs to do a review on that one. Everyone knows the motorola droid phone sucks.
Ben, I agree. I have been using the iPhone since the 3G, then the 3GS. Worked very well but AT&T;service just plain and simply sucks. Over 70% missed calls. Had to go back to Verizon to get decent phone service and am enjoying the Droid. Haven’t found any software that I used on the iPhone that I can’t get for the Droid. Like you will never look back until Apple gets the balls to dump the worst cell network in the USA and go with something that works and is fast, I am with Droid. All this being said, everything else I own is Mac and just truly disgusted with Apple on AT&T;. They could quadruple there profits on a decent network.
Chrome OS anyone? Anyone?
@Ben
you pathetic troll, HTCs Android phones don’t even come close to the iPhone … what have you been snorting?
Totally reminds me of my Windows Mobile Phone. It was pure hell. The OS performed exactly the same and then the touch screen started developing dead spots. I was starting to worry if I had an emergency, I would be SOL. Traded up for a Blackberry. It’s no iPhone and I know BB gets some flack around here but, they really are the best phone that does have a keyboard.
Friend bought a droid, messed around with it last week. Not impressed at all. The user interface just isn’t on par with with iPhone. He went to play a movie and it locked up. He Had to remove the battery!
I wanted to like the droid. Competition would be good for apple. I guess well have to wait.
The screen is nice though…
@Ben,
You and I know that you never owned an iPhone. You can lie though, it’s not a crime to do so. Have people owned an iPhone and give it up for something else? Sure, my cousin Willie in San Fransisco is one. I am sure there are many others. At&t;experiences the same thing Verizon or Tmobile or anyone else would experience with a great useful product, overload. Android may or may not do well, who knows, look at how Windows being a cheap imitation paid off for Microsoft?
The device in comparion to the Droid (iPhone) is a superior device, it is without question. If the Droid gets the following and the actual usability of the iPhone it will crush Verizon’s network as well. The problem there is the if, there was never an “if” with the iPhone, everyone new it was going to be a smashing success because it was revolutionary. Google won’t get that chance because they were late to the party wearing a red dress that isn’t quite the same “look and feel”.
I know it sucks not wanting a product everyone wants and not knowing or understanding why everyone wants that product so bad. My brother has a Zune because of the same thinking. Being insane will drive you nuts. So just jump in front of traffic and end your own nightmare.
Thank You.
I bet Zune Tang® has bought several of these already!
Lets see, the iphone can barely make phone calls, can only run one app at a time, doesn’t support true background processes/notifications, has a glorified app store where useful apps are rejected for no good reason and at the same time is dominated by useless apps that make fart noises, rarely receives updates and is slow as balls (at least the 3G is), has a crappy camera, apple won’t allow you to record video with the camera even though it is capable, can’t replace your battery, can’t upgrade your memory… no thanks, I’ll take an HTC Passion with Android please.
“… but HTC has some Android phones that… “
But I don’t want some cheap plastic bulky phone, making strange noises when I use it.
HTC has Dell written all over it.
My phone and computer are my most important tools. I want the very best, that’s why I buy Apple.
(I’m not on ATT’s net, so I can’t comment on that).
I call BS. it isn’t as bad as this guy says and the iPhone isn’t as good as everyone here seems to believe. The truth lies somewhere in between.
@Ben?
The word “delusional” leapt to mind after reading your fanboi rant.
I tried to like an HTC phone (the Diamond2), I really did… but the reality is… it sucked so bad it was nigh upon unusable compared against the iPhone I replaced it with.
Nice try, though.
NOT.
I love bias, but come on
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quote an article about some dude who have a faulty device… If half of his rants were generic on all phones, every reviews out there would have declared the Droid the worst smartphone ever
Look… the complaint about iPhones not being as good as something else always boil down to being unhappy with ATT. That’s fair, but deal with the fact that Apple has a CONTRACT to use ATT in the US exclusively for another year. It is what it is. If ATT service sucks in your area, my heart bleeds for you. I am hopeful, like a lot of people, that Apple does not re-up exclusively with ATT again. Frankly, getting some iPhone users off the ATT network would allow all the iPhone users remaining on ATT perform better.
ha ha the only bad review i’ve read and it’s on a macdailynews site. surprise, surprise. i’ve used the iphone and now have a droid. i find it superior in almost every way.
@Ben
QUOTE: “apple won’t allow you to record video with the camera even though it is capable”
Hello, ever owned an iPhone? It’s been recording video for some time now… Blow the iPhone away? LMAO
Keep on spewing FUD – Your list is missing the classic, “That iPhone will never sell – who would want a phone without a keyboard?” He he he he he… You slay me.
@cartoonasaurus
okay, I am holding an iPhone 3G in my hand right now, please tell me where the video recording option is, because I can’t find it.
It isn’t there braniac.
You fanboys are so firkin irritating, just because the device is not made by apple and kissed by steve jobs doesn’t mean that it is made of crap. I own a macbook pro, ipod touch, and ipod shuffle but do you know why I don’t want a fucking iPhone, BECAUSE IT’S NOT FOR EVERYONE! IF SOMEONE WANTS ANOTHER TYPE OF PHONE ITS THEIR FUCKING DECISION! IT DOSENT MAKE THEM ANY LESS OF A PERSON! yes the other phones out there aren’t perfect, WELL NEITHER IS THE IPHONE, I could go on about the app store, the notification system, ATT, etc. but its pointless trying to tell a fat kid that these sugar-reduced cookies are just as good as your sugar cookies
@Ben
Video recording was enabled on the 3GS not 3G phone. You have to jailbreak the 3G to enable video recording.
These arguments are so silly. I see fanboys who love everything Apple and can never see faults, Anti-Apple folks who hate Apple no matter what and can’t see the Positives. The truth is that the iPhone is an amazing, groundbreaking device and the other phone manufacturers have started to follow Apples lead and make some pretty nice phones with the Android OS. I know people who own Droids and HTC phones and love them. The HTC phones are especially cool in my opinion. I have an iPhone 3G and I love it, it’s hands down the best phone I’ve ever had and it is the only reason I ‘tolerate’ the ATT Network.
QUOTE: “Video recording was enabled on the 3GS not 3G phone. You have to jailbreak the 3G to enable video recording.”
haha… I rest my case.
Apple made them pay for a hardware upgrade to get a software feature that could have easily been available on the 3G. Suckers.
I’m biased: I own an iPhone, AAPL stock, and I work for AT&T;. HTC almost makes a great phone, but they all run WinCE, so game over for those fools.
The iPhone is still the best smartphone. Blackberrys are cool too. Well made and useful. But there is nothing else in the same league. Certainly not the Google Adphone that Verizon is pushing.
I’ve had Droid owners come back and look at iPhones. Problem is, Verizon doubled their ETF to $350.00.
We take Verizon subscribers at a 3:1 clip. So AT&T;’s network can’t be all bad. I live on an island in the middle of Puget Sound and have 5 bars and never a dropp call. YMMV of course.
“the iphone can barely make phone calls”
This depends on the region you are in, it has nothing to do with the iPhone itself. Verizon’s fault for not accepting Apple’s offer in the first place. Where I live, I rarely ever get dropped calls.
“can only run one app at a time”
I can be listening to music while browsing the web while getting push notifications for an IM conversation. What do you define as “multi-tasking”?
“doesn’t support true background processes/notifications”
Wrong. Many new apps are utilizing push notifications, a feature added in the 3.0 software update. MacDailyNews’ app is one of them. It was thanks to a push notification I saw this article.
“has a glorified app store where useful apps are rejected for no good reason and at the same time is dominated by useless apps that make fart noises”
A app that glorifies the Droid/an app where I shake babies are considered “useful”?
“rarely receives updates and is slow as balls (at least the 3G is)”
The iPhone 3G was released in summer of 2008. Please compare the latest version of the iPhone, or I can simply compare the 3GS to some crappy cell phone released in 1998. Also, I own an iPhone 3G, and it’s fast enough for me.
“has a crappy camera, apple won’t allow you to record video with the camera even though it is capable”
Once again… Compare the latest iPhone to other phones. It can record and edit video, it has AF, etc.
“can’t replace your battery, can’t upgrade your memory…”
Why do I need to do this? After the battery starts to give out, it’s probably time for an upgrade.
“okay, I am holding an iPhone 3G in my hand right now, please tell me where the video recording option is, because I can’t find it.”
For the third time… MAKE COMPARISON USING THE LATEST IPHONE.
I have come to the conclusion you have no idea what you’re talking about.
@cuz i’m the taxman
HTC makes a whole bunch of Android phones. Like most Apple fanboys, you are grossly mis-informed.
@Ben,
Not certain about the 3g, but the 3Gs has had it since it came out. So that would be a “yes.”
He may not like the Droid, but he’s still an asshat.
He can’t write his way out of paper bag. it’s a shame what passes for journalism these days.
And using a phone while driving? He deserves to have a fatal accident.
Maybe his automobile will spare us from his further drivel.
I do get tired of the constant bitching about AT&T;’s network, but I know the problems are real. Do me a favor though, call 611 from your phone, and report your dropped calls. We take down the exact location and time of your network problem. That info goes into a database that network engineers use to target resources for improving and repairing the network.
If you’re not reporting your dropped calls, you should be. AT&T;is spending $15 billion this next year on network upgrades. Your input is used to decide where to spend that money.
“Apple made them pay for a hardware upgrade to get a software feature that could have easily been available on the 3G. Suckers.”
I can tell you’re not the best informed.
The 3GS brought voice control, a compass, faster hardware (yeah, it’s faster:
and
), increased battery life, a vastly improved camera (I’m talking beyond the video recording) and larger capacity.
@411-RED
” What do you define as “multi-tasking”?”
I dont know about you but multi-tasking to me is using an application, say a game, getting a text message or email, pause the game, reply to said email or txt, then return to the game exactly where u left off without having to restart the app
Can your PHONE on your NETWORK do that???
@Ben
HTC may make a sh1tload of Android phones, but AT&T;doesn’t offer them. That’s my perspective. Frankly, I don’t care enough about also-rans like HTC to learn their entire catalogue.
@cuz i’m the taxman
I dialed 611 and it said “Called Failed”
@cuz i’m the taxman
and why should you care about HTC? Their phones don’t have an apple logo and therefore don’t appeal to you fanboys.
Unless you live in the middle of nowhere I find it hard to believe that anyone is missing “70%” of their fuckin calls. Gimme a break. I have two dead areas in the entire Los Angeles region and one of them has never given me a signal regardless of the network I was on (sprint, tmobile, at&t;). Quit whining. The network isn’t as bad as everyone makes it out to be.
I have a Blackberry Bold and I love it. RIM is the only legit competition for Apple. WinCE is as good as dead. Symbian? Please.
Google Adphones may one day get there. I’m betting they will. However, the Motorola hardware is just sh1tty, and the Droid UI is a clusterfsck.
@ Birdman and others
Stop whining about ATT’s cellular service. Absolutely ridiculous. There are a few spots in the US that ATT does not serve well. There are a few spots in the US that Verizon does not serve well. ATT has never let me down and I switched from Verizon, which I think was inferior. Customer support wise, technically wise, network wise, every which way inferior. Now, all their iPhone wannabe phones are inferior too.
The problem with Verizon and everyone else trying to “catch up” to the iPhone is just that – catching up.
How about making something new Verizon and Motorola? Stop copying and start creating. Breath some life back into the market for smartphones. The iPhone is light years more advanced with a better OS and integration for apps, etc. So, don’t play catch up to 100,000 apps, make something different and bring out a product that is truly great.
Stewart Alsop is an idiot.
Stewart Alsop for Fortune Magazine February 3, 1997
Apple did precisely the wrong thing. Now the only future for the company is to get smaller and smaller until there’s nothing left. In fact, the only sensible conversation to have about Apple is the one in which you argue about how long it will take to die.
It takes a long time to kill an $11-billion-a-year company. Apple’s already down to around $8 billion a year. I give it another three years, until the millennium, to fall the rest of the way to the ground.
@Planar
Wake up buddy. The AT&T;complaints are far too many to not be true. Congratulations that you have good service with them, that sadly is not the case for a large number of number. AT&T;failed to invest in their infrastructure and is now paying the price. It is a commonly known fact. Yes, fact.
Also, congratulations on your 100,000 apps… 95,000 of them seem to be made with childish amusement in mind. I’ll take quality of quantity any day.
@ umm:
To a certain extent. Many games do not, but some (like Rolando 2) save automatically when you log out.
Oh, and your compairson is flawed. I can’t do that on the other smartphones because they don’t have any games.
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Still waiting for that reply, Ben.
@ Ben:
I’d like to drop 15 million data hungry phones onto Verizon’s network and watch what happens. I promise you, the result wouldn’t be pretty.
Cut AT&T;some slack.
@411-RED
AT&T;should have seen that coming and prepared adequately. Simple as that.
Please go away. This is an Apple forum, so yes there will be a lot of Apple product fans here. You like your Droid phone, great, we don’t care.
I live in Dallas, a major US market, and I have never had an issue with dropped calls or bad service with my iPhone; not one. I understand there are regions within the US that have problems with AT&T;. If you live in one of these areas then it would be wise to use a different phone.
The iPhone is a game changing device and that kind of success always invites detractors and people who hate for no reason. Michael Jordan was a game changer for the NBA in the 90’s and is arguably the greatest of all time. And yet people boo’d him for no other reason than he was a winner. It makes no sense, but it happens.
Nobody saw the success of the iPhone coming… nobody. In fact everyone predicted epic fail. Cut AT&T;some slack.
@ Dave:
While predicting the iPhone’s success is one thing, predicting how massive a success it was is another. Besides, making massive accommodations for the phones in a span of two years (and seeing as you’ve all been whining for a long time, I could say one year) isn’t easy.
Next year I’ll be moving to an area where apparently Verizon has the only decent coverage. So until ATT increases their coverage or the iPhone moves to Verizon, should I get a Blackberry? It seems they only have the Storm…
“Motorola’s Droid sucks”
And C-3PO’s drive stays hard.
“Nobody saw the success of the iPhone coming… nobody.”
“The tree which had long been dead and withered,
In one night it will come to grow green again:
The Cronian King sick, Prince with club foot,
Feared by his enemies he will make his sail bound.”
– Nostradamus
Spooky, right?
@BEN,
Glad you like your Droid but if you bring it to my house it will only work as a paperweight or door stop. Verizon used to have good coverage here, but apparently decided not to invest in infrastructure, but AT&T;did.
We are all guilty of mistaking our own ignorance and prejudice for the truth.
This article is certainly making the rounds. I’ve had the droid now for a couple of weeks. It works fine. No problems. I’ve used the iPhone and it’s great, I just like Verizon more. Droid solves my problem.
My friends who mostly have iPhones have looked at my Droid and like it, but they’re not going to switch for the iPhone. No one that has a droid is going to switch to AT&T;for the iPhone. The fanboys need to get a life.
@nemov:
After three hours, you’re the only Droid owner on this thread that appears to be an adult. Thank you.
BIG surprise lashing of a non-snapple product!! Benchmark tests after tests have proven that iphone call quality blows, web loading and surfing is slower, and it cannot run simultaneous apps. Not to mention that iPhone exists on a crappy service provider. Just google any droid comparison video on youtube or phonearena.com. All you iphone drones are left with is a pretty little expensive toy that surfs the web.
LOL mac daily news… Who would look here for an open minded review of a potential iPhone competitor ( I’ve just given you guys ammo for two weeks against me right there.). I’m writing this on my Droid phone. Now your site is tainted. Yucky huh? I’m not checking back for some silly responses about how stupid I am for going open source with my phone. I’ll be moving on to a Microsoft based fan site to see if they have any reviews of Mac or Linux and see how open minded they are…. Have fun duking it out pointlessly.
@Arom68:
Please, show proofs on your following statements:
1. “Benchmark tests after tests have prove that iphone call quality blows…” Remember, one link does not make a proof. It has to be unbiased.
2. “Web loading and surfing is slower” again, show proof where this exists. Prior to the iPhone, no one could surf the web like the iPhone.
3. “…the iPhone exists on a crappy service provided.” What do mean by crappy? Also, if you say one service is crappy, does that mean the other service does not experience the same thing? You need to quantify based on your definition of what crappy means.
4. “…it cannot run simultaneous apps.” You need to define what you mean by simultaneous. I can move around in different apps with my iPhone while in a conversation using the phone. If you can show my a phone that can do multitask without having to move from app to app, meaning, all the apps appear in front of you to play with, then I can show you a non-existing phone.
5. “…pretty little expensive toy that surfs the web.” Prior to the iPhone, no one could surf the web like the iPhone….no one still can except the iPhone…eve with the original iPhone, the current offerings by other carriers can’t even compete on the browsing feature alone.
It’s very easy to say something sucks without any quantification. It’s harder to prove with it. Because when you look at it, the only phone that matters is the phone that everyone is using at the moment.
Ben,
Stewart Alsop tried it and report that this phone is shit after he tested it… Gulp it down… At least, it’s not like those guys who never tried a Mac and says bad things about it…
@Ben….
(deep breath….)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH!!
now, if you don’t like iPhone, fine. Quit trying to convince me it sucks because it doesn’t. if you want to shove your HTC up your ass and moan, go right ahead. Otherwise, get back under your bridge you stupid worthless troll…
I’m just bored and want to make all the fanboys out there get all riled up because I say something bad about their beloved phone. The truth is the Droid sucks, the iPhone sucks, WebOS sucks, HTC sucks, and the Blackberry is the best platform out there by far. Suck it bitches.
The Blackberry’s browser is far superior to anything out there on the market.
@ben
I understand that you hate the iphone, I as well as many others don’t fully understand why the 3g doesn’t allow for video recording, apple claims its a hardware reason, I don’t know enough about the inners of the phone to make a call on it. no about the topic of the post. The Droid is a major letdown, I love tech and I get excited when something comes out that has hope for an advancement in tech. The droid just isn’t that at all, its a poor attempt at an iphone. the hardware keyboard is something of the past, with a proper software keyboard typing is no longer painful as it is with most hardware keys. and there are infinite possibilities with the software keys. The droid fails there too by the way. good, but not usable enough to be used as a main keyboard. The g1 had lots of promise, and I hoped it was the start of something new and exciting, but google has started too many projects with other makers to refine the g1 into the yet to be released “iphone killer”. so until the anyone can make a proper phone that works right, and is a joy to use I will keep my iphone 3gs and let people like you and zunetang buy the other phones. and by the way if I hear one other person say that running multiple apps make a phone better, I will scream. Its a weak argument, Running multiple apps at the same time slows down the performance of the phone, and makes it run like windows! The iphone is fast enough and easy enough to use that closing an app and starting another one and going back is easier and faster than running multiple apps, and a lot more reliable. I have tested this and its true. so until you can provide a proper alternative to the iphone and better arguments than what the marketing people at motorola, palm, and htc provide to get the weak minded to buy their products SHUT THE HELL UP AND STOP VISITING MDN!
This guy can’t have used the Droid because NOTHING he says has happened to me once and I’ve been using it for almost a month. Look, I am “The Mac Guy” to all my friends and have been an Apple/Mac “evangelist” my whole adult life. I’ve defended myself in many debates in person, online and on the job with IT to keep and grow Macs. Even with this, I’m open to other technologies and other options. Sure I wanted/want an iPhone but I won’t change to AT&T;to get it. I have professional reasons, service reasons and almost all of my family is on Verizon so I choose to stay on Verizon. In my area, only about 40 mins away from Atlanta, GA, AT&T;’s home, and there is NO AT&T;3G coverage here but FULL Verizon 3G coverage like a blanket around here. I’ve kept biding my time hoping that Apple would make a CDMA/GSM cross compatible phone but it’s never happened. I’ve not seen ONE phone on Verizon that tempted me until the DROID. I made the jump and purchased it and have used it daily since Nov. 7 and have LOVED it. It sounds great. Browsing is fast and consistent. The global searching and voice searching is spectacular and accurate and it is EXCEEDINGLY versatile. I have friends with iPhones and have used their iPhones and put them through their paces and compared them side by side with my DROID and I can’t find one thing I like better about the iPhone then the DROID but there are shortcomings to both (like no hardware answer/end buttons). I can find a few things I like better about my DROID than the iPhone though:
1) Competitive Apps allowed: If I don’t like the way something is done on the phone, I can change it. I don’t like iTunes as a player, I replace it. I don’t like the camera app: I replace it. I don’t like the interface: I change it. Browser, at least 3 to choose from. All of this without “Jailbreaking” it. Where Apple refuses to allow apps that compete with it’s own services, Google encourages it. I even have a tethering app installed that works with my Macbook Pro and I didn’t have to do anything shady to make it work.
2) Built in Turn by Turn: Very good, very powerful and free and it’s still in Beta so that means it will get better. Voice search on it is VERY accurate.
3)Global Search: I use the voice search and global search all the time and it’s very powerful and very intuitive. I have only had problems with the voice search when there was to much loud noise around and it couldn’t pick out my words accurately.
4) AVAILABILITY of a real keyboard: I have the option of using either and I’m still trying to decide which I like better. Sometimes one, sometimes the other, but either way, I have the option of choosing.
5) Legally install apps from other sources other than the Market (App Store): I can download apps and transfer them to the phone and install them legally without having to Jailbreak it.
6) Over the air syncing WITHOUT paying $100 a year: Since it runs off Google Apps, I can change, update things on the phone and have it sync straight to my FREE account on Google and vice versa.
7)Widgets: Just like dashboard widgets in OS X. Quick apps that execute immediately from the desktop are handy to use without actually having to launch an App.
8) Different Modes: The Navigation/Car mode gives a great interface for quick access to the most needed features in a clean, easy to use manor and the Entertainment mode is really a nice execution of a fun way to use it when it’s charging/docked.
9) Screen: The image is remarkably clear and clean and with the higher pixel density than the iPhone, even small test is remarkably readable and clear. I’ve compared THIS site on both when at “full screen” mode and I can read some text on DROID at full screen but on the iPhone it’s hardly legible.
10) Replaceable Battery: If I go on a long trip and want to use it for watching or listening and can’t get to a charger, I can simply swap a fully charged battery for the dead one. Otherwise I think it gets about the same life as an iPhone.
11) Replaceable memory: If I want to “upgrade” to a 32 GB DROID, I can just buy a new card and BAM. No need to buy a new phone.
(cont…)
DISLIKES:
1) App Store/Market: Decent selection but hard to navigate. For a “search” company, it’s hard to search through to find what you want without knowing what you want to begin with. Google REALLY needs to work on this and create a desktop client like iTunes, even if it’s web based, to purchase, organize and sync with as the store grows.
2) Camera: Even though it 5 megapixel, it’s weak in quality. I think though, that it’s fixable with a firmware revision which should be coming soon. The Camera button works fine. It’s a press-n-hold to activate. If he just “clicked” it, he was doing it wrong.
3) Physical answer/end button: This would be nice and I think it could be done by multi-purposing the camera or on/off button with a software revision (this weakness is on the iPhone too). To me, it’s a matter of improving ease of use and safety, especially when driving.
4) Apps only install on internal memory: This could be changed with a firmware update too but even as it is, it’s not as bad as it sounds since developers have learned that you can have a boot file on the internal and all the components on the external memory and save space. Many of the Apps I’ve downloaded have been that way.
5) Multi-Touch: It IS capable of Multi-Touch as some 3rd party apps have shown but they’ve chosen not to challenge Apple’s patent. It would be nice if they would “license” the use though and be the first to legally implement it outside the iPhone. Even without it, the fixes that are in place work well.
Like I said, I’m as big a fan of Apple products as anyone out there, maybe even more so, but I’m also objective and find the best options to solve the needs I have and the DROID is that phone for me and it’s MUCH better than this reviewer seems to have had and it’s LIGHTYEARS better than any Blackberry I’ve seen/used/troubleshot. Heck, I’ve even skinned my Droid with an OS X theme to give it a more Apple appearance. It’s a lot of fun and very powerful phone. If some of you guys would step away OBJECTIVELY and try it out you might surprise yourself.
AT&T;works great for me! Funny how different the experiences are! I love AT&T;! There! I said it!
I’ve played with the droid and it is very fast. Since I travel it is no alternative to the iPhone. But the phone itself is very fast. Not as refined as the iPhone.
To bad it works only locally. One would think that some CEO’s would ever travel using a passport. So they need a second phone for travel purpose. Strange.
@Dave
So Dave… let’s pretend for a moment that you aren’t a complete moron and ATnT did see it coming. What was the option? “Ok Apple, we’re in, but FIRST we need to upgrade our networks to handle the massive explosion of data that the iPhone will probably bring us. That should take 3-5 years. Mind waiting?”
Yeah, I think we all know what Apple’s answer to that would have been. And please… don’t make me laugh at the notion Verizon would have been any better off. No one could have been prepared for this, and NO ONE could have upgraded their networks overnight, or even in a matter of a couple years, to handle it. Even if technically/physically possible, no one would have devoted so many resources so quickly on an unproven thing. Or do you REALLY think ATnT has a team of engineers/workers just sitting around waiting to upgrade their entire frickin’ network in a matter of weeks?
I wonder how well the Droid is selling?
Judging by the desperate trolls, I assume it’s flopping pretty hard.
@iPhone killer!! (nice name faggot fanboy)
its nearing a million units sold in about 3 weeks time. doesn’t sound like a flop to me. learn to math.
@PowerPlay
First off, let me say that I have to agree that the review in question must be pretty skewed. With all the largely positive reviews the Droid has gotten, I simply can’t believe that this one guy really knows the real scoop.
Now that that’s out of the way, while I agree with many of your points in favor of the Droid, I have to take exception to a number of them.
“2) Built in Turn by Turn: Very good, very powerful and free and it’s still in Beta so that means it will get better. Voice search on it is VERY accurate.”
Hardly a Droid feature so much as a Google app that has come to it first. Presumably, Google is working on an iPhone version. Even if not, there are navigation apps for the iPhone (albeit not free), so this would hardly be an overriding reason to go with the Droid vs. the iPhone. I’d see it as a nice bonus if I had other reasons though.
“9) Screen: The image is remarkably clear and clean and with the higher pixel density than the iPhone, even small test is remarkably readable and clear. I’ve compared THIS site on both when at “full screen” mode and I can read some text on DROID at full screen but on the iPhone it’s hardly legible.”
I admit I’ve never so much as seen a Droid, but I have no issues with legibility on my iPhone. I wouldn’t mind having greater pixel density in theory, but I also don’t really see tangible need for it.
“10) Replaceable Battery: If I go on a long trip and want to use it for watching or listening and can’t get to a charger, I can simply swap a fully charged battery for the dead one. Otherwise I think it gets about the same life as an iPhone.”
There are plenty of plug-in battery chargers for the iPhone that are just as simple to carry around as a spare battery, AND they hold more of a charge. Take the Incase Power Slider Case for example. It fits to the iPhone like a regular case and adds a lot more hours of battery life. I’d take that over a spare battery any day. I generally hate removable batteries, if only because the blasted cover eventually starts to come off all too easily and inconveniently.
“11) Replaceable memory: If I want to “upgrade” to a 32 GB DROID, I can just buy a new card and BAM. No need to buy a new phone.”
Good luck installing apps onto those SD cards. You are limited to using apps that reside on the internal RAM, and supposedly only half of it is available to apps (at 256 megs). I have apps that are bigger than that. If that could be changed with a simple firmware update, then I simply have to ask: WHY didn’t they just do so from the get-go?
I just sold my used iPhone 3G for $300.
Want to know why the buyer needed a new iPhone? His old one wouldn’t hold a charge any longer. He basically is out $300 due to a dead battery.
And that my friends is why you want a replaceable battery.
ROFL, im floored at the immaturity of these comments but can’t help but to read it all because it’s so amusing to see 50 year olds bitch each other out like two school girls…bahahaha…please continue…
Child psychology: Ignore the bad, positive reinforcement for good. You know who you are.
@Will
Contrary to popular belief, the iPhone battery is replaceable. There are plenty of places that will do it for you, or just buy the battery yourself for 6 bucks and follow some readily available instructions on how to do it yourself. Seriously… do people really believe Apple services these things by magic?
http://www.geardiary.com/2009/07/09/got-iphone-battery-issues-replace-it-yourself/
“Please go away. This is an Apple forum, so yes there will be a lot of Apple product fans here. You like your Droid phone, great, we don’t care.”
I don’t think the article mentioned Apple once. If you want to crap on about your love affair with the Iphone find a thread that’s about the Iphone fanboy.
@FB
Your points/rebuttals are fair but I do want to comment on them.
Nav App: Yes, it MIGHT appear on the iPhone IF they clear it, but it came on the DROID now and works pretty well AND it’s FREE. I know it’s kind of splitting hairs, but all the Turn-by-turn on iPhone are pay and pretty expensive at that.
Screen: Sure, higher pixel density isn’t “necessary” but it sure is nice. It’s kind of like HD vs Standard Def. You can watch the same movie on both but there is a distinct difference between the 2 and it really makes a difference, especially to someone with glasses, that it’s much clearer and easier to read, in my experience, than the iPhone/iPod Touch.
Apps on the Card: Like I said in another part of my list (2nd post – my Dislikes), The Apps don’t install on the card (but I know they could if it were written into the firmware) but the App developers have found a way around it. All they need to do is put the primary launching app on the internal and all the support files on the card. This keeps the footprint on the internal to a few K even if the download is much larger. I’ve close to 150 apps on it right now and have used less than 100 of the internal memory. I’m hoping they will change the “no install on card” but even if they don’t, since you can get around it pretty effectively, it’s not nearly as big a deal as I thought it would be.
Oh, another feature I just remembered that I like about it almost any sound you find can be a ringtone simply by saving the file down and clicking on it and holding and selecting “make ringtone” and it adds it to the list. Those that don’t work that way can be added with “ringdroid” free app. No $2 fee.
@g4Duelle
Read that old Alsop post carefully instead of just quoting a few lines and he actually got it exactly RIGHT. He said that what Apple needed wasn’t Next, but Steve Jobs. Because it needed leadership.
While he read SJ’s mind wrong, he diagnosed Apple exactly right.
Next vs. Be didn’t matter. Steve Jobs mattered.
Seriously, if I’m Alsop I’m proud of that call. Misreading SJ’s mind is relatively minor. But in the end Apple got exactly what he said they needed and the rest is amazing history.
I have three iPhones and and three mac books I’m sorry but motorola droid is off the hook screen resoultion is niiiiiiiiice HD status!!!!
jvh:
ha ha the only bad review i’ve read and it’s on a macdailynews site. surprise, surprise. i’ve used the iphone and now have a droid. i find it superior in almost every way.
clearly you missed Robert Scoble’s Droid review. He wasn’t suite as scathing but he clearly did not feel the Droid was up to the iPhone’s standards or even the Palm Pre. He mentioned the battery door falling off repeatedly and within hours of getting the device and described the hardware as bulky heavy and clunky, and the software as sluggish and unpolished and the camera as terrible.
If you really do have a Droid and enjoy it you clearly have very low expectations and standards.
To say the Droid is in any way superior is clearly trolling BS. If you meant ATT vs Verizon in your area that’s not what you said. You are a tool.
The proof will come in cust surveys and returns of Droids in the bext few months. I have a strong feeling the Droid is going to faceplant and Motorolla is going to go out of business soon. The whole phone industry is going to see dome major shake ups in the next couple years.
Sounds like FUD from MDN. Fearing competition?
Droid owner for three weeks; NONE of the problems listed in the article. It’s called a defective phone. Bring it in, and get a new Droid, you idiot.
“…call 611 from your phone, and report your dropped calls”
OK Mr AT&T;man, make me an app for that, please….
These silly arguments raised by people like “Ben” are too funny. The war has been fought over the last 10 years, and guess what, iPhone won it in two years. IT is THE computer-phone-camera that 90+% of normal people want, full stop.
“The keyboard is horrible and I’ve never used it…”
How can a serious reviewer even make a statement like that? Did they just hear that the keyboard was horrible and decided that it wasn’t even worth trying? Or did he actually use it and decide it was horrible then, which makes the second part of that statement false?
Things like this drive me nuts, and make the whole review suspect because it just sounds like he’s being emotional about it.
HazMatt
@Will
I also sold my iPhone 3G after buying the 3Gs and I got $300 for it. The guy was buying it to jailbreak it and use on tmobile. If you noticed when you put it up for sale.. online many are advertising a jailbroken phone mostly more than a non jailbroken one.
Wow. The trolls and astroturfers are out in force today…
People love Apple products, and others who hate Apple think that by spewing their opinion on a public forum that suddenly others’ preferences will change. How utterly pathetic and boring.
It cracks me up at how the mere mention of liking Apple’s goodies gets douchenozzles all pissed off. Keep the laughs coming!!
Another piss poor review.
I have a G1 on T-Mobile and have experienced zero of the issues he is talking about. The G1 has been a great alternative to the iPhone. (AT&T;is not an option). I think the review should be Crap Motorola + Crap Verizon = utter crapiness. There that’s better.
The story is told that at an early product meeting at Apple, Steve Jobs effectively called the early prototype of the iPhone “crap” and demanded the engineers come back with something a lot better.
Anecdotal, perhaps, but the determination to ship something “insanely great”, and not just any junk, is what makes Apple what it is. What’s missing at Nokia, and HTC, and the rest is someone to look at their latest proposed “iPhone killer” and call it what it is – crap – and push them to deliver something worthwhile.
I have an android device, and even though it’s a huge improvement over my old phone, I can tell it’s slow and unresponsive. I blame that on the apps though, Google should be more careful about what they put in their app market.
I havent tried Droid but from what I have read and the videos I watched about it, looks like garbage to me.
If I’d buy a new device, I’d wait until HTC release their next generation of HTC Sense or I’d look for other offers (I have heard the N900 is pretty good).
Were do people with missed calls live? I’ve lived in the NYC area, Miami area and now in the Seattle area. I have never had missed call or any other problem with ATT. What am I missing?
Hey Ben! Why hide the truth? Im using Motorola Droid too. And guess what i hate it! It lags too much n hangs sometimes! And i juz bought it 1 month ago! Yes some of Motorola’s Droid features is cool but it LAGS!
If iphone has drop calls blame ATT not apple. Im buying my iphone 3GS nxt mth! No ATT for me; im Canadian 😀
@ Ben
Oi fink oi wuv oo. Pleez marrie mee.
Yu r soo kewl wiv your mad rents.
r yew a rent buoy?
Hahah, sure, Dave. The Droid is selling like hotcakes.
I seem to recall another smartphone that was selling like hotcakes shortly after its launch. What was it called again? Oh. That’s right. It was called the Palm Pre.
But wait, the Pre was a total commercial failure. It couldn’t possibly have sold that well. But the numbers say it did. What’s going on?
Here’s how it works. A lot of companies like to play a game. The game is that they count units shipped to retail as units sold, which they technically are since they’re sold to retail. But the number of units sold to retail doesn’t indicate how well a product is selling to real customers. Companies like to do this because they can wildly misrepresent how well their product is faring. They can ship 300,000 units to retail on launch day and they can claim them as 300,000 units sold. That’s what Palm did, which is why the Pre was able to fail despite having such apparently strong sales.
Motorola’s playing the same game with the Droid, and just like with the Pre, the desperate trolls jumping to its defense are indicative that it is, in reality, bombing. Hard.
Do you guys realize your iPhone is locked down? Developers are sick and tired of the way Apple has treated them. Do you realize Apple bars apps from being created that compete with their own software? (Browsers)
Do you realize you cannot customize your iPhone.
Why does this article talk about the OS of an Android phone for? You have an iPhone. There is no operating system for the actual user. You given what they give you.
Let the sheep graze…
Lol, you can’t take a non-mac item review seriously if it’s coming from someone working with/for mac.
They are obviously going to be biased, and try to make their product seem better.
Truth is, the Droid is a good competitor to the iPhone but its flaw is how long its been out in the market.
When the Droid is out and has more apps and bugs fixed, it will be a lot better than it already is.
iPhone users, get your stubborn mind out the apple you’ve bit and taste some of the droid
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I am a recent Droid owner coming from an iphone. iphone is a great phone the problem is at&t;because of them I am back with Verizon and won’t look back. My droid has performed perfectly, it’s missing a few apps i would mind having back but i don’t miss not having service at my house. For me Droid is a much better choice thanks to verizons much stronger network and a very well put together phone.
I had an Iphone, until I moved to a new area and had zero service. I loved my Iphone and would have kept it forever, except it just plain didn’t work here. Zero bars.
Switched to Verizon and had the Storm, which I hated. Missed my Iphone dearly. Stared longingly at it up on the bookshelf.
Got a Droid, and I have forgotten about my Iphone. I’ve never had any of the issues to which this author claims. It works perfectly. I prefer everything from the pattern to unlock to the simplicity of the camera. The ability to customize and make the phone my own WITHOUT jailbreaking is awesome.
The Iphone will stay on the shelf, or perhaps find it’s way to Ebay.
it cracks me up how hypocritical apple fanbois are
they call products that they have never used or seen utter crap, but when someone calls the iPhone utter crap they defend that you have to use it first before you can call it utter crap.
when it comes to OSX vs Windows regarding apps its Quality over quantity, but when it comes to your beloved iPhone App Store its Quantity over Quality, make up your fucking mind!
you guys tell people to research their facts about the iPhone before they talk crap, but you guys LOVE to talk crap about other phones before doing your own research unless you call reading other fanboi rants research
i think that apple fanbois give a bad representation of the rest of the mac community i personally own a macbook pro and 2 ipods, ive own a total of 7 ipods in my life, but IMHO i like the DROID better so STFU STUPID ASS FANBOIS!!!!!!!
@Iphone killer1.
Bwahahaa, Droid bombing? Sorry but you’re wrong. Several reliable sources have already estimated 700,000-800,000 units sold in under a month. It should hit a million by the holidays easy.
And this poorly written trash piece that’s posing as journalism is making the rounds on the forums – it’s comedic value is too much to ignore I guess.
You Apple fanboys are soooo damn funny!!!!
These Apple fanboys are really killing the culture of their beloved culture and turning it into something synonymous with douchebaggery. You are turning off interested people from using a nice product by continuing this path.
I have had my DROID for almost a month now and I have NOT encountered any of the issues listed above. Could it be that the negative and probably inaccurate comments in this story are made by an iphone bigot and are intended to discredit the current success of the DROID thereby discouraging others from buying this great device? I currently have dozens of apps loaded on my phone and several are likely to be open at any point in time. The internet access is incredibly speedy and the screen is gorgeous! I have an android version of ereader which allows me to download and read books from fictionwise and ereader.com. Very crisp and clear text. Some neat games are available as well. I have only one complaint and that is the lack of voice command via bluetooth which I used quite heavily on my old Motorola Q.
@Ben,
Being an anti-Apple fanboy is just as bad or even worse when you are on an Apple appreciated site.
“Lets see, the iphone can barely make phone calls,” —- total troll crap, sorry.
“can only run one app at a time” — wrong again. it multi tasks just fine,listening to music while checking the weather right now.
” doesn’t support true background processes/notifications, ” – as defined by an apple hater…. yea LOL
“has a glorified app store where useful apps are rejected for no good reason and at the same time is dominated by useless apps that make fart noises” — says Steve Ballmer…. ” the number of apps does not matter, as long as we are behind. LOL
“can’t replace your battery, can’t upgrade your memory.”..- actually the battery can be replaced , just by Apple. and , er, hmmm why did you not list “no cut and paste” as a killer decision maker. ….. LOL
bla, bla, bla…., Just a MS troll blathering on with out knowing day from night.
Sorry Ben, we have your number.
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Just a thought, en
As someone who loves apple, I leave this comment:
I Love My Droid.
I also truly enjoy the iPhone.
I Love my macbook
I love my apple keyboard
I love my iPod touch
I dislike Windows
I’m very happy with Android.
I once read MDN on a daily basis–it was my go-to source for mac news. Then, I started to recognize how utterly immature apple fanboys are. The majority of the people on this website give apple users a bad reputation. Funny how there was a time when Windows fanboys were like this to “us” apple people, and we hated it.
The truth has been echoed by a wise few who have left comments. Ultimately, you get the phone that is best for You. I had an iPhone for about two months here in Pennsylvania (originally from ATL), and found the ATT network to be…lacking. Granted, there is a heavy iPhone presence that does drag down the network, but it still affected MY user experience.
I came to Verizon, dealt with a crappy blackberry (had to have my curve replaced 5 times). After a long history with blackberries, I purchased a droid.
I wish MDN and many of the fanboys and girls who roam this site would take a lesson in the concept of “balance.” Perhaps, attempt to not be so utterly hypocritical–that would be a fresh change.
Until that day, I will probably not come back here to read my news (insane Bias).
I only PRAY that Droid fanboys don’t become like most of you.
Apple Love,
M
What a joke…You guys are plain idiots and i smell Steve Job’s poop on your head…
This has turned out to be a $500 paperweight. I fucking hate this phone. I can’t count the number of times that native applications like Messaging and Contacts have to be force closed. I’m so glad my employer purchased this device and I paid $0.00 for it, because it really is a worthless hunk of junk.
What an Apple Fanboy article … saw this and had to comment. Assbag.
Thanks for giving this helping article.