How's Motorolla Droid as an iPhone killer?

magnumfinger

Distinguished
Oct 19, 2009
4
0
18,510
It seems motorolla droid is ditching iphone by creating a sarcastic ads. the droid does commercial

"everything idon't" "DroidDoes"

now I was wondering what are your opinion for this one. I have an iPhone for myself but sometimes I feel it lacks something...

I have read a link on WIll motorolla droid kill iphone?

thanks
 

fulle

Distinguished
May 31, 2008
391
0
18,930
OK, so we know that the HTC Hero, running Android v1.6, and using hardware similar to a G1 (oooold), is a pretty impressive phone. The only lag it experiences is in the calendar or when doing a lot of multitasking, but this could be fixed by simply purchasing a class 6 MicroSD card. The iPhone still has an advantage on the Hero, IMHO, but its pretty close, and Android Market is definitely better than Apple's locked down BS.

Now if I had to name a few key advantages to the iPhone over a Hero, I'd say that it simply has stronger hardware (makes the OS feel a bit more "snappy", and improves app performance), and that it has a superior touch keyboard. With the Droid, we have a device with on par hardware performance, a QWERTY keyboard, and a superior OS. The gritty details are still hazy though... will the Droid have official multitouch features? Will it have ActiveSync? What kind of customization and skinning has Moto done to Android for use on the Droid? Information right now is pretty limited.

Personally, I think that the Droid will be the first device that can carry the "iPhone Killer" tag. Right now there are phones out there, like the Pre, that compete, and might be superior in some features, but inferior in others, but overall I think we all know the iPhone 3GS is the best phone on the market. Barring any unforeseen issues, and with my fingers crossed, I think that the Droid will at least temporarily dethrone the iPhone, as the "best" smartphone... but, we just have to wait and see if the Droid delivers.
-I hope it will, and I'm making a list of apps I want for my home screen already >.>
 

PatrickGSR94

Distinguished
Jun 23, 2006
11
0
18,560
Any new info or reviews? Considering this for my wife and I as a cheaper (plan-wise) alternative to the iPhone, as we just can't afford the monthly bill for 2 iPhones right now. Verizon would be about $120/mo for 2 Droids w/ 700 minutes and unlimited data plan vs. $160-$170/mo for 2 iPhones w/ same.

I'm not so sure about the slide-out keyboard. I'm afraid of it feeling flimsy vs. the iPhone's more "solid" feel. However I'm pretty impressed at the 854x480 screen resolution.

What I want to know is if there's a way to connect it to a car stereo (Pioneer, Alpine, etc) and control the music thru the stereo, or at least get a line-out signal from the phone. I use an iRiver MP3 player in my car now, with just a headphone jack going to the input on the rear of my car stereo, and I don't like having to mess with the volume on the player or try to hit buttons on the player to change songs/folders/etc.
 

PatrickGSR94

Distinguished
Jun 23, 2006
11
0
18,560
wait, looks like Verizon's smart phones will not work with the Family Connect plans that include unlimited data. You have to add data separately for either $29.99 (monthly charge plus per MB fee) or $44.99/mo for unlimited data.

Crooks. What a rip off. Damn I was really starting to like Verizon's deals over AT&T's but I guess not.
 

kleinberg

Distinguished
Nov 10, 2009
4
0
18,520
Here are my thoughts as a Droid owner of about 4 days:

Pros for the Droid (vs. iPhone)
(1) Google Account Integration - works great (calendar, gmail, tasks, and especially chat).
(2) Maps/Google Navigation - The built in app does turn by turn directions as well as any dedicated car GPS I've seen, and the "search for lunch along the way" uses Google maps, so it's leaps above a regular GPS.
(3) Nuts and bolts of the OS - the Droid has great features built in for checking what percentage of the battery each process is draining, which apps are running in the background and how much memory they're using etc.
(4) Keyboard - the Droid feels very solid even with the sliding keyboard, and the ability to use keyboard shortcuts and dedicated buttons is fantastic when navigating the necessarily limited interface of a smartphone.
(5) Multitasking - works great, you can switch between chat, browser, app market, metro map app, random stupid game app, and they (almost) all remember where you were and remain responsive the whole time.
(6) PC uploads - connect the USB and you can copy music/video/whatever onto the Droid much easier that I've ever seen anyone do it on the iPhone.
(7) Speaker - the Droid seems much louder and easier to hear when watching youtube videos at lunch or listening to nav directions in the car.
(8) Contact Integration - automatically consolidates phone, gmail, facebook and other contacts into one list. Automatically pulls their facebook/gmail photo to match the contact info.
(9) Removable battery/storage


Downsides for the Droid
(1) Pinch Zoom - apparently there are patent issues, so while the Droid (and some apps) can physically use pinch zoom, the built in browser/email/etc do not have it. Using the Droid zoom for text works great because it fits to the column size, but viewing webpages with large pictures is somewhat painful.
(2) Copy & Paste - much easier on the iPhone, all you do is long press and you can adjust the borders of the copy after the fact. In Droid, text copy requires either a keyboard shortcut or a 2nd level menu option, and you have to get it right the first time because you can't adjust the selection.
(3) App Selection - must of the functional apps exist in the android market, but the selection (especially games) is simply wider and of better quality on the iPhone.
(4) iTunes - as much as I hate iTunes on a personal level as a slow and limiting PC application, there simply aren't any Android apps that I've found that handle media as elegantly as the iPhone.

Since it looks like Android popularity is only increasing, and given the theoretically more open system, I have little doubt that workarounds/new apps/new OS ROMs will take care of the Droid shortcomings I listed.

Is it an iPhone killer? No, but that's a dumb question. The real question is "Which smartphone is better for me?" iPhone handles music better, has more app selection and is more sleek and polished. The Droid is more open, handles google accounts better, has a keyboard (but doesn't need it) and has a lot of room for improvement in the future.

Would I recommend the Droid? Absolutely, I love it. Is it better than the iPhone? If your style of smartphone usage plays to its strengths, then yes.
 

kleinberg

Distinguished
Nov 10, 2009
4
0
18,520


Nobody whose held my Droid has said it's flimsy. :sol: Retracted it feels much better than the iPhone, extended the keyboard is still rock solid. The Droid can supposeldy do line-out, I haven't tried that yet. I do know that there are ~$30 kits for the iPhone to control it through your car's reciever - hopefully the Droid will sell enough to warrant the same support down the line.
 

sedaine

Distinguished
Sep 10, 2007
32
0
18,590



If you have to ask - then it hasn't killed the iPhone.