Verizon Droid....iPhone killer??

Verizon looking to bump early termination fee to $350 on 'advanced' devices

So I wonder if this would give me leverage to trade my Storm for a Droid now instead of a year from now? May be able to opt out of contracts and stuff if they change the terms, no?

Edit: Oh, drat, it's for new customers purchasing, not retroactive. Darn. Oh well, I <3 my updated Storm. Will have a selection of Droid and other devices to choose from when my time comes :)
 
Looks like no tethering support until sometime next year :( Being linux based, wonder if someone finds a way around that earlier...

Just spoke to BB, the phones are in, but they can't give them out until Friday. On the bright side my phone is already set aside and waiting for me, so I don't have to worry about them running out :)

-Mike
 
Anyone have one yet that can let us know what they are like? Picking mine up at lunch today; Best Buy actually called to make an appointment to pick it up in case there's any lines (also probably to try to sell some services too...)

BTW looks like some other neat ones coming this or next year. One of the Android units had both a compass and an FM Radio (as well as double the storage), but I didn't recognize the brand name. Still no confirmation yet if VZW is going to carry it.

-Mike
 
My android phone has a compass, it's pretty good too. Plus it lets me use the oh so useful metal detector app from the Market.

Btw, I'm on the samsung moment now due to an odd flaw in my hero. Liking the moment alot except the battery guage is whacked out out of the box, looks like it needs training as I've done 3 complete drains of the battery to the point it won't start and now the guage is working much better.

Stuart, did the official production model have all the metal that I saw or was that just the display model? After that, the cramped keyboard is my biggest complaint, but that's just personal opinion for me.

Looking forward to your hands on review. Of course since it's android, it's already teriffic. Since it's got 2.0, PLEASE check out the new google maps turn by turn.

Oh and if you can, can you try to get the "DROID" ringtone/notification out of it? I found a couple decent ones online of it, but it would be nice to have the original file. But then again not sure you can access that part of the OS without rooting it or get a dump of the phone.
 
My android phone has a compass, it's pretty good too. Plus it lets me use the oh so useful metal detector app from the Market.

Btw, I'm on the samsung moment now due to an odd flaw in my hero. Liking the moment alot except the battery guage is whacked out out of the box, looks like it needs training as I've done 3 complete drains of the battery to the point it won't start and now the guage is working much better.

Stuart, did the official production model have all the metal that I saw or was that just the display model? After that, the cramped keyboard is my biggest complaint, but that's just personal opinion for me.

Looking forward to your hands on review. Of course since it's android, it's already teriffic. Since it's got 2.0, PLEASE check out the new google maps turn by turn.

Oh and if you can, can you try to get the "DROID" ringtone/notification out of it? I found a couple decent ones online of it, but it would be nice to have the original file. But then again not sure you can access that part of the OS without rooting it or get a dump of the phone.

The production unit is all metal which I actually prefer due to bumps and nicks during the day on plastic models of phones....it also gives it a heavier feel....I will be honest typing I havent done alot on but it hasnt been bad for me so far. The navigation is Amazing in my short time with it, voice look up, spot on instant lock gps...its been great! my write up will come this afternoon as I have to deliever payroll (and of course put the phone through its paces including gps in the car). About the droid ringtone I will look for it, I dont know much about android at this point, but if I can get it, I will send it to ya.
 
I got it :) and its amazing so far, no flick scrolling in contacts which is sad, but I am going to do a mini review for fun in a little bit!

Were there actually any lines or just hype? I'm betting it will sell well, but the "lines" and "mobs" were probably an exagerration.

-Mike
 
Were there actually any lines or just hype? I'm betting it will sell well, but the "lines" and "mobs" were probably an exagerration.

-Mike

I was one of about 20 people in line...but between 8 and 9 there were alot of people in the store...they expected to sell out today and said they had plenty of units.
 
I arrived at 8:20am, was 6th in line, took about 20 minutes, but I was able to play with the phone while I waited.

They wanted to setup the email for me, I said NO, I'll do that myself, thank you very much. :)

I love it! The screen quality BLOWS away the iphone. The feature-set is very nice. I too will review it, but probably not until tomorrow. I have some stuff I need to do today. Plus, I am still just figuring the whole thing out.

But gmail is up and synced, and that was easy as pie. This is without a doubt the most powerful phone I have ever owned.

Oh, and did I say anything about the screen quality.. :) You should see google maps on it. Unbelievable.

My only annoyance - Verizon charged a $20 fee for the privilege of doing an annual upgrade. :rolleyes:
 
I arrived at 8:20am, was 6th in line, took about 20 minutes, but I was able to play with the phone while I waited.

They wanted to setup the email for me, I said NO, I'll do that myself, thank you very much. :)

I love it! The screen quality BLOWS away the iphone. The feature-set is very nice. I too will review it, but probably not until tomorrow. I have some stuff I need to do today. Plus, I am still just figuring the whole thing out.

But gmail is up and synced, and that was easy as pie. This is without a doubt the most powerful phone I have ever owned.

Oh, and did I say anything about the screen quality.. :) You should see google maps on it. Unbelievable.

My only annoyance - Verizon charged a $20 fee for the privilege of doing an annual upgrade. :rolleyes:

Finally!! Someone sees the the light of how stupid the iPhone 3G(s) was for using a QVGA screen from several years back was. How's the real keyboard working? ;)
 
Finally!! Someone sees the the light of how stupid the iPhone 3G(s) was for using a QVGA screen from several years back was. How's the real keyboard working? ;)

The keyboard is small, and will take some time getting used to, but it is better than virtual keyboard on the Omnia.

The on-screen keyboard is very nice.

I need to get a Zagg Invisible Shield for it - and stat! :)
 
Nice reports, keep 'em coming :) Hope to get mine in an hour or so...

I'm hoping to find a decent case/cover for it... My XV6800 came with a sleeve that I use when it's in my pocket to keep it from getting scratched.

-Mike
 
Not much excitement out there.
All related stocks are flat. MOT is down by 3.65% A article appears that ATT activated 3.2MIllion new iphones in the 3rd qtr and 40% were new customers. HOWEVER, that report didn't do much for their stock either. It seems only apple got a small boost with their total 3rd qtr earnings report but since has slid back. No market action from VZ (flat) either.

All in all this is not a good show for the Droid.

As for investments- I'm neutral. I own stock in all the communications companies except for MOT. I don't think MOT has had a good show on a cell phone since the old Motorola Flip phone which was back in the analog days.


I'm disappointed as I had hoped for a significant bounce in VZ stock from all the hype on the Droid, but it looks like it just can't create the buying frenzy that Apple gets with their iphone.

So much for the business end of this. Keep the tech reports coming. I'm excited for all of you in getting the Droid. Even if it can't create the frenzy of an iphone cult, at least I know it is a superior piece of hardware on a superior network. Hmmmm... Betamax vs. VHS?
 
Not much excitement out there.
All related stocks are flat. MOT is down by 3.65% A article appears that ATT activated 3.2MIllion new iphones in the 3rd qtr and 40% were new customers. HOWEVER, that report didn't do much for their stock either. It seems only apple got a small boost with their total 3rd qtr earnings report but since has slid back. No market action from VZ (flat) either.

All in all this is not a good show for the Droid.

As for investments- I'm neutral. I own stock in all the communications companies except for MOT. I don't think MOT has had a good show on a cell phone since the old Motorola Flip phone which was back in the analog days.


I'm disappointed as I had hoped for a significant bounce in VZ stock from all the hype on the Droid, but it looks like it just can't create the buying frenzy that Apple gets with their iphone.

So much for the business end of this. Keep the tech reports coming. I'm excited for all of you in getting the Droid. Even if it can't create the frenzy of an iphone cult, at least I know it is a superior piece of hardware on a superior network. Hmmmm... Betamax vs. VHS?

I walked into a standalone Verizon store at 8 i the morning, and almost every space in the parking lot was full. Sure not iphone hype, but Verizon actually made sure they had stock (120 phones for the Bloomington, IL store alone), and not try to artificially create a shortage (not that apple would ever do that :rolleyes: ).

What impact this will have on VZW's stock, I don't know, but I do know that Verizon now has a worthy competitor, and has a better network.

Guys, you should see what it is like browsing satelliteguys on this phone. It is truly unbelievable. It is like holding a small computer in your hand, and it processes normal webpages like they are nothing. No need to just work in a stripped down PDA mode. It might not be an iPhone killer, but the Droid is worthy.

Ok.... back to figuring out more about the phone. :)
 
Leave it to VZW to cock up the best release of the year with BS fees. :rant:

As long as I have been with them (1999), I should have known...what they SHOULD have done is introduce a CHEAPER unlimited all in one voice/data/tethering plan, say 100.00/Mo like Sprint does...sheese can you IMAGINE the sales? But NOOOOOO.....:rant:

Keeps this up us cheap guys will NEVER have data on our phones...:rant:
 
Viewing this from the droid. Keybrd still taking time to get used to but very easy to use in normal mode.

Device runs warmer than my omnia....
 
Viewing this from the droid. Keybrd still taking time to get used to but very easy to use in normal mode.

Device runs warmer than my omnia....
 
Alright...I am back I will give you a quick run down right now and make it a better "review" over the weekend...also I will not be talking about my experience at verizon (which wasnt bad, I just want to talk about the phone, because if I start talking about the store then I will ramble on about how nice and hot the two girls were that waited on me)...

First Impressions
: Wow, I mean really WOW.. This thing is really solid (it is one of the heaviest phones in recent memory that I have had) it is built out of metal except for the little "chin" that houses the antennas. The slider is not a assisted slider, but you actually have to push on it, again I like this, less parts to break, and I believe it will last longer over time as compared to a wheel assisted slider. The phone to me looks good, I have always liked the look of it, ESPECIALLY when you turn it on as mike said that screen is amazing...more on that later. There are not alot of buttons on the side that get in the way I feel the buttons are placed with purpose so they are triggered by accident. The keyboard while small is not a problem for me, I have medium sized hands and I have had no problems typing on it, but I do have one question here..why the two blank keys? really you couldnt put somehting there? or given us larger keys somewhere (cough cough space key). I turn the phone on and the start up time is fast compared to my storm, and a little faster then the touch pro running a mighty rom. Oh the screen is amazing. When starting to use the phone I notice the speed, coming form winmo and storm (both had bad memory) this things is amazing, my first thing was to look for (on this screen I could look all day) a way to control what programs are open, I have yet to find that, i guess they arent concerend with memory. The menus fly and I have yet to find any lag. I fired up the camera to see if I could hear clicks and have 4 red corners (no focus) and of course its there!! dang it, how did that get by quality control,( stopr right here for a second...I have been reading there is a software fix for this and it will be out within a month month and a half).
Next up was Gps on this amazing screen :) and I have to say, this is beta? wow this program is nice and I really love the view it gives you while driving, it automatically adjusts the zoom level and just looks really nice, it was easy to use and the voice commands work flawless ( out of 5 searches, some trying to trick it, it got all 5). Powered by google maps there will never be another reason to update my maps program. Next up call Quality and in that area its top notch, Voices sound clear and my wife could hear me fine (also spent 2 hours on the phone with various companies without a problem).
Email is next and it is instant if you have gmail accounts...I am setting up my satelliteguys email so I dont know how push is doing yet, I will update this later. Battery life was good, not great as I went to one of our stores that is a VERY low cell signal area and it drains any battery fast, while there I used 30 % of my battery in one hour...but everywhere else I used 10% in the other 3-4 hours.
Web Browsing has already been covered by Mike, and he hit it right on the head, its like holding a mini computer..when flash comes to this phone (which should be early next year I think) I dont think I could ask for anything else. For me satelliteguys.us loaded in just over 3 seconds when connected to evdo..double tap to zoom, login and I am looking at the full page. While I would love to have the pinch feature that others (htc) have double tap worked for me when I needed it so far.
Music player I know people always want to compare them to the iphones, but to be honest, This is a nice player and gets me to where I want to be, It has album art work, and repeat options, what else could you ask for (yes it has shuffle and all that stuff, and while we are at it, do you really use coverflow a ton on your iphone other then to see how fast you can get album covers to go by?)

I am going to stop here for now, but as I said I will be adding more as I will get to play with this phone, if you guys have any questions please feel free to ask me..but as of right now, I have to say hands down this phone takes top honors in my book. its fast easy to use, and works! Oh and get the 12.99 privacy screen protector, it works...I dont have any touch problems and someone sitting next to me cant see my screen!
 
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On battery life with any new smartphone, I would not compare it until at least a week or two out. The first day you have it, you haven't allowed the battery/phone to fully adjust to the cycles and determine the battery life, plus you are playing with it all day since it's new and cool.
 

Motorola Droid Update rolling out!

Droid or i pod Touch?

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