To Droid Or Not To Droid
Okay folks, the Droid is finally out now. Through all the iPhone-bashing and the creepy ad campaign, it has made its way into our minds and hearts (sort of). At the very least it has forced people to take a look at it and decide what it’s really like.
Overall, the reviewers have liked it and from what I have seen of it, I like it too. But whether that liking will germinate into a purchase is completely up to the individual and I can’t really advise for or against it. To me it is a mixed bag and you have to take your pick.
Here are reasons for choosing it.
That Display
You gotta admit it, that 854x440 display looks really great compared to the iPhone’s puny 480x320 display. And the screen looks positively gorgeous. If I wanted a great smartphone to watch movies on, I would definitely choose this.
Google’s Got Your Back
When you have a company like Google making applications for you, you know you will have things to like. Google’s minimalist approach, tight online integration and great web presence makes it the perfect giant to have backing you up in your connected life.
One of the main features of new Android OS is the Navigation feature on Google Maps. People liked it so much that everyone predicted it being the future and the death of all standalone devices and expensive apps. Best of all, the service is free and integrated with Google Maps. It does have some hiccups but I am sure they will be cleaned out soon enough.
iPhone’s lack of an integrated Instant Messenger app really lets it down and the presence of the very same thing lifts up the Droid. From what I read about the user experience on the Droid regarding this and other Google apps, you folks are going to love ‘em to death.
And if there’s one thing that we all love about Google, it is Gmail. It is what I use for my personal account and it is also what I use on my own domain through Google Apps. Gmail on the Android 2.0 is like a perfect little version of the actual Gmail, complete with full labels and threaded emails. If you like Gmail, you will like it on Droid.
Also, the Wave is coming and the Android might have something special for the Surfers.
NOT AT&T
Not having to put up with AT&T’s finicky (and frustrating) network and working on the best network in the country will really help you love the Droid. Imagine a (almost) headache free network experience… makes me feel all fuzzy inside.
It’s Android!
Some people will choose it simply because it is the first Android 2.0 phone and has the best Android experience so far. Some will also choose Android because of Android’s (mostly) open source philosophy. But that is not a very practical reason. The multi-tasking however, is a very practical reason and Droid does it quite well thanks to Snapdragon and Android.
And now for the other side of the debate.
Multimedia Meh
If you want agreat multimedia experience, stay on the iPhone. It’s not like the Android cannot play media but the experience is just not the same. It’s like the latest Linux and the Mac OS. One does it and the other does it well.
iTunes Baby!
I refuse to believe anyone who claims that they have it better without the world’s largest mobile app and digital music store. Not to mention movies and the other things that are rumored to be coming. If you have used it, you will miss it on Android and there are no comparable replacements for this. Nothing compares to iTunes.
Show Me 10,000 Apps And I Will Show You 100,000
The Android Marketplace over 10,000 apps and there are quite a few apps there which the iTunes Store does not have. But the iTunes has ten times as many apps at over 100,000. Do you still need me to spell it out for you?
Also, since the Droid runs a standard Android install, it does not do much out of the box You will have to download various apps for doing things like viewing PDFs and different mail attachments, etc. Sure the apps are free but you have to find them and install them. With the iPhone, you can hit the ground running.
Other customized Android phones come with these apps pre-installed though.
Security
You cannot lock the screen with a pass code. There is also no support for a remote wipe. You can get that through another app but nothing as integrated as the Find My iPhone Feature. Plus, you can install apps from sources outside the Marketplace.
That’s a good thing right? Yes but you will also be vulnerable to malicious apps that can cause some serious damage. You will receive a warning if you try to install from outside the Marketplace but it can be done.
Tough Keyboard, No Multitouch
One of the few complaints with the physical parts of the phone is the keyboard. Reviewers and users have been reporting having a tough time with the keyboard. As for the virtual keyboard, it is all good except for the fact that there’s no multitouch. Multitouch has been intentionally disabled on the Droid as per agreements between Motorola, Google and Verizon.
So there you have it, the most popular pros and cons laid out for you. Choose for yourself and choose wisely.
Thanks for the tip Martin.
It is for these kinds of posts that I follow GHacks.
What’s up with the generic comment, are you a bot?
2G?
Where on the planet is that still in use? I was forced to give up using my RAZRV3 years ago because 2G was phased out by AT&T.
Everywhere 3G has been turned off and you don’t have LTE coverage, and believe me there are many developed countries where this is the case and if it weren’t for 2G you wouldn’t even be able to make a phone call.
Maybe I missed it, but I don’t believe tha term “2G” is in the article. Perhaps you are referring to “AGM G2”??
@Martin
Your website has gone insane.
When I the post button I then saw my comment posted on a different article page. When I opened this article again, it is here.
@Tachy @Martin Brinkmann
” Your website has gone insane. ”
Same here. Has happened several times.
@Tachy,
@Martin P.,
For over two weeks now,
I’ve been seeing “Comments” posted by subscribers appearing in different, unrelated articles.
https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4572991
https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4572951
For the time being,
it would be better to specify the “article name and URL” at the beginning of the post.
@tachy a lot of non-phone devices with a sim in them rely on 2G, at least here in europe.
Usually things reporting usage or errors/alarms on something remote that does not get day to day inspection in person. They are out there in vast numbers doing important work. Reliable, good range. The low datarate is no problem at all in those cases.
3G is gone or on its last legs everywhere, but this stuff still has too much use to cancel.
Anyhow, interesting that they would put that in. I can see the point if you suspect a hostile 2G environment (amateur eavesdroppers with laptop, ranging up to professional grade MITM fake towers while “strangely” not getting the stronger crypto voip 4G because it is being jammed, and back down to something as old ‘stingray’ devices fallen into the wrong hands).
But does this also mean that they have handled and rolled out a fix for that nasty 4G ‘pwn by broadcast’ problem you reported earlier this year? I had 4G disabled due to that, on the off chance that some of the local criminals would buy some cheap chinese gear, download a working exploit and probe every phone in range all over town in the hope of getting into phones of the police.
>”While most may never be attacked in stingrays, it is still recommended to disable 2G cellular connections, especially since it does not have any downsides.”
The downside would be losing connectivity. I spend a lot of time way out in the countryside where there’s often no service or almost none. My network allows 2G, and I need it sometimes. I have an option on the phone to disable 2G, I may do that when I’m in the city and I have good 5G connectivity, but not out in the country.
I would imagine that the stingray exploits, like most of the bad things in this world, are probably things you will run into in the crowded big cities.
I stopped using it in a mobile (Wi-Fi line) environment, so I’m almost ignorant of the actual situation,
But the recent reality in Japan makes me realize that “the infrastructure of the web is nothing more than a papier-mâché fiction”.
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/17/google-chrome-to-enable-https-first-by-default-for-all-users/#comment-4572402
It is already beyond the scope of what an individual can do.
What we should be aware of is the reality that “governments and those in power want to control the world through the Web”, and efforts to counter (resist and prevent) such ambitions are necessary.
Why do you want people to disable the privacy features? Hmmmmm?
Now You: do you plan to keep the Ads privacy features enabled?
I’d like to tell you, but apparently if you make a post critical of Google, you get censored. * [Editor: removed, just try to bring your opinion across without attacking anyone]
@Martin
You website is still psychotic. Comments attach to random stories.
@Martin please do fix the comments, it’s completely insane commenting here! :[
@Martin
The comments are seriously messed up on gHacks now. These comments are mixed with the article at the below URL.
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/18/android-how-to-disable-2g-cellular-connections-to-improve-security/
And comments on other articles are from as far back as 2010.
What does this article has anything to do with all the comments on this article? LOL I think this Websuite is ran by ChatGPT. every article is messed up. Some older comments from 2015 shown up in recant articles, LOL
The picture captioned “Clearing the Android Auto’s cache might resolve the issue” is from Apple Carplay ;)
How about other things that matter:
Drop survival?
Screen toughness?
Degree of water and dust protection?