The Motorola Droid - One Week Later

It has now been a solid week since I bought the new Motorola Droid phone, and I wanted to take the time here to give an updated review now that I've used it more extensively.  The things I have discovered this past week have totally changed my own concept of what a mobile phone is capable of, and I hope that anyone who took the leap and bought the phone is enjoying it as much as I.

Quick disclosure:  I received a number of comments regarding my initial review on how many of the "features" that the Droid has are also available on other smartphones in some shape or form.  To clear up any confusion, what I should have mentioned in my review is that the Droid is the first smartphone I've ever actually owned and used on a regular basis.  I've played around with most of the smartphones out there in some capacity, as well as read many reviews for them, and for the most part, I've gotten a good grasp on their strengths and weaknesses.  But when it comes to the day-to-day operation of a smartphone, I am still discovering what is possible.

The Battery

So let me start with the battery life.  For the most part, the phone has a pretty good battery, but like all battery-powered things, its charge all depends on how you use it.  With all my previous phones, I was used to plugging them in at night, and if need be, going the next two days without it needing a charge.  But with all the apps I'm now able to download and use, those days are most likely gone.  The apps can quickly become the biggest users of battery power, since many of them constantly run in the background.  Moderation is obviously one way to conserve the juice, but you can also use certain apps to prolong your battery's charge.  The phone comes with a Power Control widget that you can place on one of your home screens that lets you quickly turn off power-hungry features like WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS when you don't need them.  I also downloaded an app called Advanced Task Killer, which lets you shut down many unused programs at once, freeing up memory and power.  When I first got the phone, I was burning through the battery by late afternoon, but I think I've got myself into a good pattern of use now, and can squeeze out a full day.

Google Maps Navigation

Click for larger version

I gave a lot of praise to Google Maps Navigation in my initial review, and to my surprise, I can give it even more praise.  Google has truly gone all out with it.  I mentioned my first "wow" moment after seeing my dotted location overlayed on top of a satellite image.  I played with this a bit more just to see how accurate it was.  Standing outside at the corner of my house, my location dot was indeed over the correct corner of my house on the image.  As I moved around the house, the dot changed to an arrow in the direction that I was moving, and continued to follow me.  The update happened fairly quickly, almost every two or three seconds.

And if it's even possible to top the first "wow", I discovered two even bigger "wows".  First, when using driving directions, as you approach your destination, the display will automatically change to Street View, displaying constantly updated photographs of your current location, and the direction that you need to go, until you reach the end.  This, of course, only works in areas where Google's Street View car has driven through.  And secondly, if you're standing in an area that is Street View enabled, you'll want to switch your display view to Compass Mode.  This will control Street View, not by moving your finger on the screen, but by tilting and pointing the phone in a north/south/east/west direction.  That, my friends, is very cool.

The Keyboard

I have always been a fan of a phone having a physical QWERTY keyboard, and I appreciated the fact that the Droid had one when I first heard about it.  However, after using it, the phone's physical keyboard was probably the biggest letdown for me in my review, and I think it still is.  Even after days of using it, I still never saw a noticeable increase in my typing speed.  As a remedy to this, I have now fully embraced the onscreen keyboard and haven't looked back.  I use the touch screen keyboard in landscape view exclusively, and because of it, my speed is almost as quick as using the physical keyboard on my previous phone.  Like other touchscreen phones, the keyboard has auto correction, which also helps increase my speed.  So typing words like "dont" or "Im" instantly corrects to "don't" and "I'm", respectively.  Even typing in "fam" switches to "family", which is pretty nerdy and awesome in my book.  I now see no reason why the physical keyboard should ever be slid out and used again.

USB

One other nuisance I failed to mention in the first review was the USB cable/charger.  The phone comes with a USB cable and wall outlet adapter.  To charge the phone using a wall outlet, you need to plug the adapter into the wall and then plug the USB cable into the adapter.  This is highly inconvenient if you're like me and charge the phone next to your bed every night, but also connect your phone to your computer.  You have to unplug the USB cable from the adapter just to use it on a computer.  Motorola should have included a single USB cable for computer use, and a single wall adapter with the cord for outlet use.  I'll probably end up buying a power adapter eventually.

The Apps

The following is a select list of apps I've download from the Android Market that I highly recommend you try out.  These apps are all free.

Flixster - movie releases and showtimes app.  Browse by current and upcoming movie releases, DVD releases, watch movie trailers, and find the nearest theater location via GPS.

Qik - live video streaming directly from your phone.  When the app is active, viewers can log on to your personal page on qik.com and watch the feed.  A strong wi-fi signal or 3G coverage area is highly recommended.

TWiT.tv - the current TWiT network of technology podcasts, available as streaming audio or video

Advanced Task Killer - close multiple unused apps at once, freeing up memory and extending battery life.

Speed Test - the mobile version of the online bandwidth tester.

Documents To Go - view Microsoft Word and Excel documents.  The paid version allows you to open, create, or edit Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files, as well as view PDF documents.

Twidroid - Twitter application designed specifically for Android phones.

Mother TED - wonderful app for watching the many presentations held annually at the various TED Conferences, devoted to technology, entertainment, design, world issues, and open thought.

Pandora - the popular music streaming website in mobile form

Photoshop.com Mobile - photo editing app.  Quick way to do basic adjustments on your photos, such as exposure, cropping, and even various effects

ShopSavvy - barcode scanning app.  Use your phone's camera to scan the barcode of a product, then find out if it's selling any cheaper at a different location near you

The Weather Channel - weather app, giving the forecast of your exact GPS location or any location you choose

The Docking Stations

Accessories for the Droid are mostly relegated to Bluetooth headsets and speakers at the moment, but Motorola will soon be releasing two docking stations specific to the Droid.  One is a car dock that switches your phone to car mode, and the other is a multimedia dock that switches your phone to a media station and desktop clock.  I can see the benefits in having both docks and will probably get both when they are available.

Final Thoughts (Again)

The Droid, for me, has indeed become indispensable.  I can't say enough about the many features that Google has provided with its Android operating system.  It's a great phone.

If you've also bought the Droid, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.  And if you have any apps that you'd like to recommend, send them my way.

Comments

[Jud]

Here's a few of my thoughts on the device:

0. I agree the the physical keyboard isn't great, but in my mind it's still way better than a screen keyboard (if no other reason than the real estate you lose when the keyboard is visibile). I'm very glad to have it.

1. My biggest complaints with the hardware were the lack of dedicated "phone send/end" buttons and the touchiness of the volume rocker. Discovering "direct dial" shortcuts partly mitigated the first, the "Volume Control" app totally solved the second. It's a beautiful thing having so much third party software available. I've always said that hardware is cool, but what separates the men from the boys is software, and Android has it in spades.

2. Speaking of software, here's some new apps I like:

WeatherBug - I tried both it and Weather Channel, and preferred the former.

Robo Defense - GREAT game. Kept me happily occupied for over 2 hours on a plane yesterday.

MusicSleep - Works seemlessly with Pandora, Google Listen, and other music/audio players to shut them down after a period of time. Perfect for having music on while going to bed.

Phonalyzr - See nifty stats on your calling habits

SambaExplorer - I can't get it working at the moment, but in theory it'll provide wireless access to files on my home file server, complete with auto-sync. Would be awesome to keep my music collection updated.

Tricorder - Wicked cool for a trekkie.

WiFi Analyzer - Graphical view of all wifi signals in an area. Helped me pick a new channel for my home access point to better seperate it from other signals.

Brightness Level - I hated the Droid's "auto brightness" thing. This little widget puts a quick brightness aduster on my desktop. I typically keep the display at "0%" brightness to save battery, but can dial it up quickly if needed.

Car Locator - Never again forget where you parked. Well, I guess you'll still forget, but it won't matter.

Flexilis - Complete anti-virus and backup solution. Not sure if the A/V is needed, but I don't like to take chances. Also includes a "phone locator" feature that'll show your phone's location via a website, and can force it to "scream" thru the same interface. Probably a better feature for my wife than for me.

Gmote - Haven't set it up yet, but in theory it'll let me control my PC via the phone over WiFi. The sky's the limit at that point with what the phone will be able to do. I'm thinking home theater control, lighting control, etc. Supposedly there are "remote desktop" apps as well, but that seems a bit risky to me.

By the way, I have the car dock, it's not that special, just a custom mount (car charger / audio interface) is not included. I'm going to pick up a multimedia dock for work, and maybe one for home too if I like it's features.

Well, that list should keep you busy! :-)

[Ashutosh Ranjan]

Thanks for sharing nice information on motorola phone. I think this is the good one from motorola. I like this phone.

[Sherry S. Hayhurst]

I like what you wrote, I believe you also like what I would recommend.someday,i find my favoraite shop,in this shop, you can find huge selection of . Best of luck for you.Levi's Eyewear

[online replica Audemars Piguet Royal Oak]

You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her.-online replica Audemars Piguet Royal Oak