“The hardware (which is Motorola’s) mostly works. The keyboard is horrible and I’ve never used it, which means that it is a real design flaw given how much weight and mechanical operation it adds to the device. (The software keyboard works well enough that I’ve found it adequate but the other problems with the software make it barely useable.) The camera button on my Droid doesn’t work and never has, so I call up the camera from the home screen. The on-off button is poorly placed for one-handed operation and requires real force to actuate,” Alsop writes.
“The software (Google’s Android plus apps both from Google and from other developers) doesn’t work and is unacceptable on a mobile device. First, the operating system doesn’t work well enough to be considered a mobile OS. A mobile phone needs to have an OS that is really tied down and ready to perform at all times, like for receiving phone calls. This one isn’t,” Alsop writes. “The process management in the OS stinks. Press on an app icon; maybe it will come up and maybe the phone will just not respond. Who’s to know why?”
Alsop writes, “I’m not actually joking. The software is so bad that, for instance, when you open the phone app and click on search, there are multiple opportunities for the software to not respond or to respond incorrectly, which means that the phone is not useable unless you are starting intently at it and very, very patient about waiting for something to happen. If you want to search your contacts, you type the first letter and the phone will stop responding for 20-30 seconds. Don’t know why.”
Alsop writes, “After a month of using the phone (or trying really hard to use it) as my primary device, I have concluded that it’s a bad product and I have to get rid of it. It is plenty clear that Motorola was so desperate to get it on the market that it didn’t take time to test it properly and pushed or pulled Google into releasing crappy software on it.”
Full article – highly recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s always nice to see the truth in print, however rare it may be.
“Nobody saw the success of the iPhone coming… nobody.”
“The tree which had long been dead and withered,
In one night it will come to grow green again:
The Cronian King sick, Prince with club foot,
Feared by his enemies he will make his sail bound.”
– Nostradamus
Spooky, right?
@BEN,
Glad you like your Droid but if you bring it to my house it will only work as a paperweight or door stop. Verizon used to have good coverage here, but apparently decided not to invest in infrastructure, but AT&T;did.
We are all guilty of mistaking our own ignorance and prejudice for the truth.
This article is certainly making the rounds. I’ve had the droid now for a couple of weeks. It works fine. No problems. I’ve used the iPhone and it’s great, I just like Verizon more. Droid solves my problem.
My friends who mostly have iPhones have looked at my Droid and like it, but they’re not going to switch for the iPhone. No one that has a droid is going to switch to AT&T;for the iPhone. The fanboys need to get a life.
@nemov:
After three hours, you’re the only Droid owner on this thread that appears to be an adult. Thank you.
BIG surprise lashing of a non-snapple product!! Benchmark tests after tests have proven that iphone call quality blows, web loading and surfing is slower, and it cannot run simultaneous apps. Not to mention that iPhone exists on a crappy service provider. Just google any droid comparison video on youtube or phonearena.com. All you iphone drones are left with is a pretty little expensive toy that surfs the web.
LOL mac daily news… Who would look here for an open minded review of a potential iPhone competitor ( I’ve just given you guys ammo for two weeks against me right there.). I’m writing this on my Droid phone. Now your site is tainted. Yucky huh? I’m not checking back for some silly responses about how stupid I am for going open source with my phone. I’ll be moving on to a Microsoft based fan site to see if they have any reviews of Mac or Linux and see how open minded they are…. Have fun duking it out pointlessly.
@Arom68:
Please, show proofs on your following statements:
1. “Benchmark tests after tests have prove that iphone call quality blows…” Remember, one link does not make a proof. It has to be unbiased.
2. “Web loading and surfing is slower” again, show proof where this exists. Prior to the iPhone, no one could surf the web like the iPhone.
3. “…the iPhone exists on a crappy service provided.” What do mean by crappy? Also, if you say one service is crappy, does that mean the other service does not experience the same thing? You need to quantify based on your definition of what crappy means.
4. “…it cannot run simultaneous apps.” You need to define what you mean by simultaneous. I can move around in different apps with my iPhone while in a conversation using the phone. If you can show my a phone that can do multitask without having to move from app to app, meaning, all the apps appear in front of you to play with, then I can show you a non-existing phone.
5. “…pretty little expensive toy that surfs the web.” Prior to the iPhone, no one could surf the web like the iPhone….no one still can except the iPhone…eve with the original iPhone, the current offerings by other carriers can’t even compete on the browsing feature alone.
It’s very easy to say something sucks without any quantification. It’s harder to prove with it. Because when you look at it, the only phone that matters is the phone that everyone is using at the moment.
Ben,
Stewart Alsop tried it and report that this phone is shit after he tested it… Gulp it down… At least, it’s not like those guys who never tried a Mac and says bad things about it…
@Ben….
(deep breath….)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH!!
now, if you don’t like iPhone, fine. Quit trying to convince me it sucks because it doesn’t. if you want to shove your HTC up your ass and moan, go right ahead. Otherwise, get back under your bridge you stupid worthless troll…
I’m just bored and want to make all the fanboys out there get all riled up because I say something bad about their beloved phone. The truth is the Droid sucks, the iPhone sucks, WebOS sucks, HTC sucks, and the Blackberry is the best platform out there by far. Suck it bitches.
The Blackberry’s browser is far superior to anything out there on the market.
@ben
I understand that you hate the iphone, I as well as many others don’t fully understand why the 3g doesn’t allow for video recording, apple claims its a hardware reason, I don’t know enough about the inners of the phone to make a call on it. no about the topic of the post. The Droid is a major letdown, I love tech and I get excited when something comes out that has hope for an advancement in tech. The droid just isn’t that at all, its a poor attempt at an iphone. the hardware keyboard is something of the past, with a proper software keyboard typing is no longer painful as it is with most hardware keys. and there are infinite possibilities with the software keys. The droid fails there too by the way. good, but not usable enough to be used as a main keyboard. The g1 had lots of promise, and I hoped it was the start of something new and exciting, but google has started too many projects with other makers to refine the g1 into the yet to be released “iphone killer”. so until the anyone can make a proper phone that works right, and is a joy to use I will keep my iphone 3gs and let people like you and zunetang buy the other phones. and by the way if I hear one other person say that running multiple apps make a phone better, I will scream. Its a weak argument, Running multiple apps at the same time slows down the performance of the phone, and makes it run like windows! The iphone is fast enough and easy enough to use that closing an app and starting another one and going back is easier and faster than running multiple apps, and a lot more reliable. I have tested this and its true. so until you can provide a proper alternative to the iphone and better arguments than what the marketing people at motorola, palm, and htc provide to get the weak minded to buy their products SHUT THE HELL UP AND STOP VISITING MDN!
This guy can’t have used the Droid because NOTHING he says has happened to me once and I’ve been using it for almost a month. Look, I am “The Mac Guy” to all my friends and have been an Apple/Mac “evangelist” my whole adult life. I’ve defended myself in many debates in person, online and on the job with IT to keep and grow Macs. Even with this, I’m open to other technologies and other options. Sure I wanted/want an iPhone but I won’t change to AT&T;to get it. I have professional reasons, service reasons and almost all of my family is on Verizon so I choose to stay on Verizon. In my area, only about 40 mins away from Atlanta, GA, AT&T;’s home, and there is NO AT&T;3G coverage here but FULL Verizon 3G coverage like a blanket around here. I’ve kept biding my time hoping that Apple would make a CDMA/GSM cross compatible phone but it’s never happened. I’ve not seen ONE phone on Verizon that tempted me until the DROID. I made the jump and purchased it and have used it daily since Nov. 7 and have LOVED it. It sounds great. Browsing is fast and consistent. The global searching and voice searching is spectacular and accurate and it is EXCEEDINGLY versatile. I have friends with iPhones and have used their iPhones and put them through their paces and compared them side by side with my DROID and I can’t find one thing I like better about the iPhone then the DROID but there are shortcomings to both (like no hardware answer/end buttons). I can find a few things I like better about my DROID than the iPhone though:
1) Competitive Apps allowed: If I don’t like the way something is done on the phone, I can change it. I don’t like iTunes as a player, I replace it. I don’t like the camera app: I replace it. I don’t like the interface: I change it. Browser, at least 3 to choose from. All of this without “Jailbreaking” it. Where Apple refuses to allow apps that compete with it’s own services, Google encourages it. I even have a tethering app installed that works with my Macbook Pro and I didn’t have to do anything shady to make it work.
2) Built in Turn by Turn: Very good, very powerful and free and it’s still in Beta so that means it will get better. Voice search on it is VERY accurate.
3)Global Search: I use the voice search and global search all the time and it’s very powerful and very intuitive. I have only had problems with the voice search when there was to much loud noise around and it couldn’t pick out my words accurately.
4) AVAILABILITY of a real keyboard: I have the option of using either and I’m still trying to decide which I like better. Sometimes one, sometimes the other, but either way, I have the option of choosing.
5) Legally install apps from other sources other than the Market (App Store): I can download apps and transfer them to the phone and install them legally without having to Jailbreak it.
6) Over the air syncing WITHOUT paying $100 a year: Since it runs off Google Apps, I can change, update things on the phone and have it sync straight to my FREE account on Google and vice versa.
7)Widgets: Just like dashboard widgets in OS X. Quick apps that execute immediately from the desktop are handy to use without actually having to launch an App.
8) Different Modes: The Navigation/Car mode gives a great interface for quick access to the most needed features in a clean, easy to use manor and the Entertainment mode is really a nice execution of a fun way to use it when it’s charging/docked.
9) Screen: The image is remarkably clear and clean and with the higher pixel density than the iPhone, even small test is remarkably readable and clear. I’ve compared THIS site on both when at “full screen” mode and I can read some text on DROID at full screen but on the iPhone it’s hardly legible.
10) Replaceable Battery: If I go on a long trip and want to use it for watching or listening and can’t get to a charger, I can simply swap a fully charged battery for the dead one. Otherwise I think it gets about the same life as an iPhone.
11) Replaceable memory: If I want to “upgrade” to a 32 GB DROID, I can just buy a new card and BAM. No need to buy a new phone.
(cont…)
DISLIKES:
1) App Store/Market: Decent selection but hard to navigate. For a “search” company, it’s hard to search through to find what you want without knowing what you want to begin with. Google REALLY needs to work on this and create a desktop client like iTunes, even if it’s web based, to purchase, organize and sync with as the store grows.
2) Camera: Even though it 5 megapixel, it’s weak in quality. I think though, that it’s fixable with a firmware revision which should be coming soon. The Camera button works fine. It’s a press-n-hold to activate. If he just “clicked” it, he was doing it wrong.
3) Physical answer/end button: This would be nice and I think it could be done by multi-purposing the camera or on/off button with a software revision (this weakness is on the iPhone too). To me, it’s a matter of improving ease of use and safety, especially when driving.
4) Apps only install on internal memory: This could be changed with a firmware update too but even as it is, it’s not as bad as it sounds since developers have learned that you can have a boot file on the internal and all the components on the external memory and save space. Many of the Apps I’ve downloaded have been that way.
5) Multi-Touch: It IS capable of Multi-Touch as some 3rd party apps have shown but they’ve chosen not to challenge Apple’s patent. It would be nice if they would “license” the use though and be the first to legally implement it outside the iPhone. Even without it, the fixes that are in place work well.
Like I said, I’m as big a fan of Apple products as anyone out there, maybe even more so, but I’m also objective and find the best options to solve the needs I have and the DROID is that phone for me and it’s MUCH better than this reviewer seems to have had and it’s LIGHTYEARS better than any Blackberry I’ve seen/used/troubleshot. Heck, I’ve even skinned my Droid with an OS X theme to give it a more Apple appearance. It’s a lot of fun and very powerful phone. If some of you guys would step away OBJECTIVELY and try it out you might surprise yourself.
AT&T;works great for me! Funny how different the experiences are! I love AT&T;! There! I said it!
I’ve played with the droid and it is very fast. Since I travel it is no alternative to the iPhone. But the phone itself is very fast. Not as refined as the iPhone.
To bad it works only locally. One would think that some CEO’s would ever travel using a passport. So they need a second phone for travel purpose. Strange.
@Dave
So Dave… let’s pretend for a moment that you aren’t a complete moron and ATnT did see it coming. What was the option? “Ok Apple, we’re in, but FIRST we need to upgrade our networks to handle the massive explosion of data that the iPhone will probably bring us. That should take 3-5 years. Mind waiting?”
Yeah, I think we all know what Apple’s answer to that would have been. And please… don’t make me laugh at the notion Verizon would have been any better off. No one could have been prepared for this, and NO ONE could have upgraded their networks overnight, or even in a matter of a couple years, to handle it. Even if technically/physically possible, no one would have devoted so many resources so quickly on an unproven thing. Or do you REALLY think ATnT has a team of engineers/workers just sitting around waiting to upgrade their entire frickin’ network in a matter of weeks?
I wonder how well the Droid is selling?
Judging by the desperate trolls, I assume it’s flopping pretty hard.
@iPhone killer!! (nice name faggot fanboy)
its nearing a million units sold in about 3 weeks time. doesn’t sound like a flop to me. learn to math.
@PowerPlay
First off, let me say that I have to agree that the review in question must be pretty skewed. With all the largely positive reviews the Droid has gotten, I simply can’t believe that this one guy really knows the real scoop.
Now that that’s out of the way, while I agree with many of your points in favor of the Droid, I have to take exception to a number of them.
“2) Built in Turn by Turn: Very good, very powerful and free and it’s still in Beta so that means it will get better. Voice search on it is VERY accurate.”
Hardly a Droid feature so much as a Google app that has come to it first. Presumably, Google is working on an iPhone version. Even if not, there are navigation apps for the iPhone (albeit not free), so this would hardly be an overriding reason to go with the Droid vs. the iPhone. I’d see it as a nice bonus if I had other reasons though.
“9) Screen: The image is remarkably clear and clean and with the higher pixel density than the iPhone, even small test is remarkably readable and clear. I’ve compared THIS site on both when at “full screen” mode and I can read some text on DROID at full screen but on the iPhone it’s hardly legible.”
I admit I’ve never so much as seen a Droid, but I have no issues with legibility on my iPhone. I wouldn’t mind having greater pixel density in theory, but I also don’t really see tangible need for it.
“10) Replaceable Battery: If I go on a long trip and want to use it for watching or listening and can’t get to a charger, I can simply swap a fully charged battery for the dead one. Otherwise I think it gets about the same life as an iPhone.”
There are plenty of plug-in battery chargers for the iPhone that are just as simple to carry around as a spare battery, AND they hold more of a charge. Take the Incase Power Slider Case for example. It fits to the iPhone like a regular case and adds a lot more hours of battery life. I’d take that over a spare battery any day. I generally hate removable batteries, if only because the blasted cover eventually starts to come off all too easily and inconveniently.
“11) Replaceable memory: If I want to “upgrade” to a 32 GB DROID, I can just buy a new card and BAM. No need to buy a new phone.”
Good luck installing apps onto those SD cards. You are limited to using apps that reside on the internal RAM, and supposedly only half of it is available to apps (at 256 megs). I have apps that are bigger than that. If that could be changed with a simple firmware update, then I simply have to ask: WHY didn’t they just do so from the get-go?
I just sold my used iPhone 3G for $300.
Want to know why the buyer needed a new iPhone? His old one wouldn’t hold a charge any longer. He basically is out $300 due to a dead battery.
And that my friends is why you want a replaceable battery.
ROFL, im floored at the immaturity of these comments but can’t help but to read it all because it’s so amusing to see 50 year olds bitch each other out like two school girls…bahahaha…please continue…
Child psychology: Ignore the bad, positive reinforcement for good. You know who you are.
@Will
Contrary to popular belief, the iPhone battery is replaceable. There are plenty of places that will do it for you, or just buy the battery yourself for 6 bucks and follow some readily available instructions on how to do it yourself. Seriously… do people really believe Apple services these things by magic?
http://www.geardiary.com/2009/07/09/got-iphone-battery-issues-replace-it-yourself/
“Please go away. This is an Apple forum, so yes there will be a lot of Apple product fans here. You like your Droid phone, great, we don’t care.”
I don’t think the article mentioned Apple once. If you want to crap on about your love affair with the Iphone find a thread that’s about the Iphone fanboy.