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The second coming of Android
- Large, excellent display
- Fast web browsing
- Good call quality
- Very long battery life
- Awkward QWERTY keyboard
- Slider feels loose
- Poor camera
- Mediocre media integration
Droid debuts improved Android OS
After the release of the first Android phone last year, the ho-hum T-Mobile G1, experts began questioning whether the Android platform was viable. Not anymore. PCMag.com's Sascha Segan deems the Motorola Droid "lust-worthy," while Matt Buchanan calls it "a champion of possibilities" in his Gizmodo.com review. The Droid for Verizon Wireless is the first cell phone to use Google's Android 2.0 operating system, which reviewers say capitalizes on the potential of its predecessor OS. Most agree that it isn't quite as intuitive or slick as Apple's iPhone interface, especially when dealing with multimedia -- there's no PC syncing; you're limited to drag and drop. Yet many experts find that the Droid is the best phone available on Verizon (which many also note has the most reliable network), and in many ways is second only to AT&T's iPhone 3GS (*Est. $200 with contract). CNET reviewers Bonnie Cha and Kent German conclude, "Droid delivers on much of the hype."
One of the standout features of the Droid is its capacitive WVGA touch screen, which measures a whopping 3.7 inches (2 inches bigger than the iPhone's), and features a resolution (480 pixels by 854 pixels) much greater than most phones on the market. With such a large and impressive screen, the Droid is necessarily big and heavy: it measures about 4.5 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.5 inch and weighs nearly 6 ounces. The Droid is very angular and durable. More than one reviewer notes that it's a very masculine-feeling phone: Philip Berne at InfoSyncWorld.com says it's "like a phone cut from a steel girder, or a large sword."
However, not all aspects of the Motorola Droid impress reviewers. The slide-out QWERTY keyboard is universally criticized as being cramped and hard to use, and some also note that the slider feels loose. Most Droid testers report poor results from the 5-megapixel camera, saying it is very slow and has focusing problems.
Stand-out performance
Reviewers are very positive about the Droid's overall performance, citing very fast speeds. Coupled with the big screen, this makes the Droid an excellent web-browsing phone, and its superlative integrated social networking features and free turn-by-turn navigation app (Google Maps with Navigation) are also praised. Call quality is good, but some reviewers find that is the case thanks more to Verizon's network than to the Droid itself. All who test its battery life, however, concur that the Droid has the longest talk time they've seen on an Android phone, about seven hours. In general reviewers rank the Droid above the Palm Pre and BlackBerry smartphones, but a notch below Apple's iPhone 3GS.
We found many thorough evaluations of the Droid, making it clear that it's a reviewer favorite. Cell phone and technology specialists CNET, PCMag.com, PC World, and InfoSyncWorld.com all weigh in on the phone. Bloggers at the Los Angeles Times and Time magazine also take a look at the Droid, and the phone gets further attention from Engadget.com, BoyGeniusReport.com and Gizmodo.com, who all provide copious photo documentation.
Our Sources
1. CNET
CNET reviewers Kent German and Bonnie Cha team up to give the Motorola Droid an exceedingly thorough and complimentary review. They say the display and speed are very good, and go into detail about the Android 2.0 operating system's improvements. The QWERTY keyboard and multimedia integration, however, lag behind the competition.
Review: Motorola Droid (Verizon Wireless), Kent German and Bonnie Cha, Oct. 30, 2009
2. PCMag.com
PCMag.com's Sascha Segan gives the Motorola Droid and Editors' Choice award in this review. Segan loves the Droid's fast processor and big screen, especially for web browsing, but doesn't like the slide-out QWERTY keyboard. He says the Droid's call quality isn't the best, though it benefits from being on Verizon's superior network. Battery life is very good.
Review: Droid by Motorola (Verizon Wireless), Sascha Segan, Oct. 29, 2009
Mark Milian, writing for the Los Angeles Times' technology blog, says the Motorola Droid is the best Android phone, as well as the best phone for Verizon. While calling is excellent, Milian says the Droid still lags behind the iPhone in terms of media integration and overall user-friendliness. Talk time isn't mentioned.
Review: Motorola's Droid Review, Mark Milian, Nov. 5, 2005
4. PC World
PC World gives the Motorola Droid a very high rating in this mid-length review. Robert S. Anthony says call quality is excellent, but doesn't mention battery life. The screen, as well as GPS and social-networking integration, are big pluses. Anthony finds that the hardware design (the cramped keyboard especially) keeps the Droid down, and that the Android Marketplace lags behind the iPhone's App Store.
Review: Motorola Droid, Robert S. Anthony, Oct. 28, 2009
Philip Berne at InfoSyncWorld.com rates the Motorola Droid well, and a chart at the end of the review makes it clear that it ranks highly among smartphones. He says the phone's build quality is excellent and rather masculine. The big display is praised, but he says the keyboard is "terrible" and the camera isn't much better.
Review: Motorola Droid Review, Philip Berne, Oct. 29, 2009
Peter Ha of Time's Nerd World blog feels that the Droid's capacitive touch screen is the best he's seen on any mobile device. The keyboard isn't great, but not a "deal-breaker." The "horrible" camera and multimedia playback are big disappointments for Ha, though he feels this is more a fault of software than hardware. Ha praises call quality and battery life.
Review: Motorola Droid Review, Peter Ha, Nov. 5, 2009
7. Engadget.com
Joshua Topolsky is enthusiastic about the Motorola Droid, calling it the best Android phone to date. He rates call quality, battery life and hardware very highly, though the camera disappoints. The Android OS still has a ways to go before it's as seamless and intuitive as that of the iPhone, but Topolsky finds Android 2.0 superior for messaging, email, and customization.
Review: Motorla Droid Review, Joshua Topolsky, Oct. 30, 2009
This subjective, but detailed, blog preview of the Motorola Droid praises its industrial design, call quality and battery life. As many later reviewers note, the screen is a standout, while the keyboard falters -- Boy Genius speculates this is because of a number of design changes during the phone's development. He finds the Droid a big improvement over the Motorola Cliq and Palm Pre, but not as "straightforward" as an iPhone or Blackberry.
Review: Motorola Droid Preview, "Boy Genius", Oct. 23, 2009
9. Gizmodo.com
Gizmodo.com's Matt Buchanan raves about the Motorola Droid's screen, while lambasting its camera and keyboard. Speed, call quality, and battery life are all good, though Buchanan notes some bugs. He says the Droid is the best smartphone after the iPhone, lacking only polish and multimedia prowess.
Review: Motorola Droid Review, Matt Buchanan, Nov. 3, 2009
