New Phone

[mustang84]

Yesterday I went to Verizon since it was time to upgrade my phone again. I'm literate in many things, but not the latest and greatest in cell phones...so I went in relying on my sister of all things. I went in with no idea what I wanted and ended up getting a Motorola Droid. It's basically a less expensive iPhone with open source applications and Google functionality. I downloaded a bar code scanner, a metal detector, a guitar tuner, a USA Today widget, Pandora...you can even download a Tourette's Guy sound board. All Google functions like Google Maps, Google Finance, Picasa, YouTube, etc. work flawlessly and fast. I can even read up on the latest news from Cheers & Gears.

The only thing I don't like is that there is no volume control button directly on the phone...you have to go into settings menu every time. I put a shortcut on the main page but it's still a pain in the ass when you need to turn off sound right away if the phone is locked. Also, the keys on the touch screen are kinda small so it's easy to hit the wrong keys, but I am getting better at it. But overall, it's like having a little computer that fits in your pocket and can access the internet just about anywhere.

The gold rectangle on the keypad is a thumbprint scanner allowing you to lock the phone to others.

[Intrepidation]

Tourette's Guy sound board FTW

How's the audio quality, say as an mp3 player?

[Justin Bimmer]

DO WANT!

When my phone's 2 years is up (1 more year) I'm getting something like this.

[FAPTurbo]

That thing looks awesome, and want one real bad. I especially like the open source aspect and the fact that Google is out to take on Apple and MS in the mobile market. But up my way, data plans are killer.

[Drew Dowdell]

I just got the HTC Hero from Sprint 2 weeks ago. Love the phone.

[mustang84]

Tourette's Guy sound board FTW

How's the audio quality, say as an mp3 player?

The audio quality is excellent with headphones. Without them, it's clear but since it's a phone speaker it's very 2D sounding. I like the fact that I can plug in regular headphones, unlike my old LG chocolate where you had to buy special headphones from Verizon that sounded like crap. And 16 gigs included with the phone FTW....plenty of room for music and movies.

[Intrepidation]

(Did some research) seems like a very compelling phone. One I'll consider whenever I decided (have the money to) upgrade to one of these smart phones.

[daves87rs]

I like it...

[PONTIAC06]

I would really like this phone I think, but I don't want to pay for the data plan...

[mustang84]

I would really like this phone I think, but I don't want to pay for the data plan...

Yeah, bad thing about the data plan is that you are basically locked into a 2 year contract. You have to have the data plan to have the phone, and if you cancel it's a $375 penalty I believe. The data plan is only $30/month though, so it's not too terribly expensive.

[SAmadei]

The only thing I don't like is that there is no volume control button directly on the phone...you have to go into settings menu every time. I put a shortcut on the main page but it's still a pain in the ass when you need to turn off sound right away if the phone is locked. Also, the keys on the touch screen are kinda small so it's easy to hit the wrong keys, but I am getting better at it. But overall, it's like having a little computer that fits in your pocket and can access the internet just about anywhere.

Just go on marketplace and download one of the volume widgets, then there will be a volume right on your desktop.

My sister has the Droid... I'm slightly jealous. Its really nice. But I'll stick with my G1 (Now on 1.6 Donut ) and Storm (on 5.0).

I'd recommend marketplace software to download, but I don't know where to start.

[CSpec]

The Droid seems like a great device. Google is slowly taking over the world, but I want one anyway.

[regfootball]

end of October i was forced to get a new phone and plan so i went verizon and got us two samsung rogues.

last week i took those back and got what i really wanted. 2 iPhones.

the samsung even though it was new was so inferior to the iPhones....the iPhones are phenomenal. best money i have spent in a long time. my wife even hated the samsung and she generally will not speak up to me about tech unless its an issue. she loves her iPhone now too. right now i am seamlessly putting some xmas tunes on her phone for her and told her i would rent a movie for her if she wants. she loves the email and facebook....everything is so EASY on the iPhone.

and it was cheaper than 2 blackberries and about as cheap or a little less than 2 droids.

the droid wasn't bad, i played with it. nice piece. i determined i did not like the keyboard on it all all. too flat, no tactility, all the keys line up instead of staggered. the rogue had the same issues. truth is the physical keyboards are useless when there is no feedback. now perhaps the droid is a far better tactile keyboard and perhaps its on screen keyboard when the slider is closed, is ok. it was better than most phones i played with. but even my wife has had no issues with the keyboard on the iphone. you can type one handed or two in either mode, and you get a click and a flashing letter as your feedback. the physical keyboards, if they are too hard to press, or feel where you are, all that...are actually tougher than the best touch screens.

A friend has a Droid and likes it. Good to see competition, and good to see Motorola making a comeback. You won't be able to pry this iPhone out of my cold dead hands though. I suspect Droid owners will have a similar feeling about their Droids. I have a feeling Blackberry is the ones who will take a huge hit in this battle. the storm 2 has not had great sales to start.......

[PONTIAC06]

Yeah, bad thing about the data plan is that you are basically locked into a 2 year contract. You have to have the data plan to have the phone, and if you cancel it's a $375 penalty I believe. The data plan is only $30/month though, so it's not too terribly expensive.

Isn't that on top of the regular plan though?

[Z-06]

I just got the HTC Hero from Sprint 2 weeks ago. Love the phone.

You finally did it? How do you like it so far? Didn't you say that there is a faster version of the phone coming to Sprint soon after Verizon releases it?