Droid: Full Review

I've been test running the Droid for a week now, and this phone is legit. That's not to say it doesn't have its shortcomings. I'm not going to get into the technical specs, you can get those here.

The Good: Phones are supposed to make phone calls, and since I've switched from my Juke, several people have commented on the improved voice clarity. The video player is really crisp. I've actually found the MP4 fomrat I was using compressed the video too much; making the resolution too pixilated. So I had to switch from a 176x144 to a 352x288 output. The Browser is nice and fast. When I compared it side by side with my friend's iPhone, it loaded pages faster both over Wi-Fi and the 3G networks, but there have been reports online of the browser battle going the other way around I have become a big fan of the of the pull down menu on the Driod. It's a nice little tab that stores all your notices, email, Text messages, voice mail, etc, and let's you know what've missed.

The Surprising: I initially wanted the phone because of the slide out QWERTY keyboard, but the touch screen keyboard responds so well, I find myself using it more than I thought I would be. Smart phones today live and die by their apps. While the Android Market boast 10,000 applications, many free, and while it may take some hunting to find the really well made ones, they're out there, and more are added every day.

The Bad: The Android 2.0 OS did freeze up on me once since I've had it. I think it's because the app I was using was designed for the original android OS. While I was running the app, slid open the keyboard and the phone froze up. One other OS note, sliding between the panes is a little choppy. Not so much a bad feature, as a quirk, the volume for the built in voice navigation system comes off as a little soft spoken, and the voice itself is awfully robotesque. I still have not been able to sync all my contacts from my Facebook account with my old phonebook. The phone just won't let me. I've also found the battery life is far from even tolerable. The phone can not go a whole night of regular use without needing to be plugged in.

Overall, the Droid is not only a great phone, but a great piece of technology. But it will not be the one to topple the iPhone.