Motorola DROID Consumer Review

Yes, there are hundreds of thousands of reviews of this phone all over the world wide web. The difference between those reviews and the proceeding review is the reviewer. I'm not going to glaze over everything and give you a list of hardware specs in comparison to the iPhone. This is all about my experience, in every day life, using this phone since the day it was released. My every day common usage, no benchmark-like test results.

To preface this review, I am a software engineer and I use this phone primarily for personal use. My previous phone that I used for approximately 1 year was the T-Mobile G1 (HTC Dream). Like the DROID, the G1 also runs Android OS although a different version. Due to my familiarity with Android, there was no time required for me to become familiar with the interface of the DROID.

The Network

My experience with this phone has been nothing short of extraordinary. The best feature of this phone, hands down, is the Verizon Wireless network. I have been a customer of Qwest Wireless, Cingular, Alltel, T-Mobile and now Verizon Wireless. All subsequent wireless providers pale in comparison when it comes to both stability and coverage. The features on my G1 were very similar but the issue I continued to run in to was that every time I wanted to use most of these awesome features I didn't have a signal. This made it very difficult to show off the impressive capabilities of Android. I've traveled thousands of miles with my DROID and found minimal data coverage dead zones and have yet to come across a voice coverage dead zone.

Android OS

On to the phone itself. The newer version of Android OS (v2.0.1) seems to be significantly more stable than version 1.6, with fewer crashes and "force close" pop-ups. Android OS  seems to run noticeably faster on the DROID than on the G1, due to the combination of better hardware and a refined OS. The interface is much more responsive and appears to respond more fluidly while I have fewer applications crashing presenting the "Force Close" window.

QWERTY Keyboard

Another must have feature on any phone of mine is the QWERTY keyboard. I prefer the slide action of the G1, that I would describe to be an "assisted opening/closing" slider, compared to the DROID although it does have a satisfying "click" when slid completely into the open or closed position. I have experienced some minor issues with the slider while carrying my DROID in my pocket, when I take it out of my pocket the slider is just slightly open and not clicked firmly into the closed position. Another benefit to the physical keyboard on the DROID is the D-Pad on the right hand side of the keys making it easier to play games (specifically Nintendo emulator games) on Android!

5.0MP Camera

There has been some controversy over the camera in the Motorola Droid, specifically the time it takes to focus and take a picture and after doing so, the horrible quality of the pictures. It has been discovered that there was a bug in the software that focuses the camera using a time stamp, and that bug is only revealed during a certain time frame every other month. Verizon has pushed an OTA (over-the-air) update for Android 2.0.1 to customers resolving this issue and pleasing hundreds of thousands (soon to be millions) of DROID owners out there!

Performance

My growing list of smart phones includes the Motorola Q, T-Mobile G1 and my Motorola DROID. In comparison to both the Q and the G1 the DROID is lightning fast. A combination of better hardware and a more efficient operating system (Android 2.0.1) contributes to a much more fluid and responsive experience using the DROID. Another factor that affects performance is the network, and on Verizon's 3G network the internet applications available for Android just scream on the DROID.

Accessories

For every smart phone I've owned I also purchased a car charger, car dock and home/desk dock. Until now each of those accessories was aftermarket and low quality. The DROID is the first phone I've owned that was released with a line of OEM branded accessories including more than just car chargers and carrying cases. The car dock and multimedia dock from Motorola not only hold the phone in place but each one activates a feature of the phone that enables more functionality in the dock. The car dock automatically opens the Car Home application so you don't have to scroll through your applications to start the app while driving. The multimedia station dock automatically launches a proprietary application for the DROID that displays a clock along with the weather and shortcuts to your multimedia, making the DROID a convenient alarm clock on top of it's astounding list of features.

Conclusion

As a gadget geek I am always fascinated with the newest and fastest technology and I've always been an early adopter. I know that the next big Android device that comes out will probably end up in my hands and the DROID will end up on eBay. Having said that I feel that the DROID is the best smart phone, multimedia and web device on the  market. There are tons of options out there for Android smart phones, on virtually every cellular provider now, but I strongly believe that the DROID is the best in every aspect.

Feel free to leave a comment with your input!