The Motorola DROID Review: High Resolution, Megapixels, And Hope

The DROID has landed, and its proving worthy of being considered an iPhone killer by not only a few, but many gadget nerds and techies. So, here at Ziggytek, we found it of the utmost importance to assemble reviews from all over for you, the dedicated readers. Why get only one point of view when you can get insight from multiple sources. Here they are:

Display

Engadget:

As we mentioned, the screen on the DROID is a 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen — a full glass display with a WVGA resolution clocking in at a handsome 480 x 854. We found the responsiveness on the DROID to be on par (if not better) than most of its Android contemporaries; gestures and flicks registered with little to no lag. Whether that can be attributed to Moto’s screen technology, Android 2.0 improvements, or just the speedy CPU inside the DROID is anyone’s guess, but we certainly won’t knock the phone for it. Another perk to having that big screen is seeing webpages how they’re meant to be viewed (or at least closer), and browsing on the DROID is a solid experience.

PCMag:

The Droid’s massive screen is a game-changer, because it shows the full width of desktop Web pages. Everything looks better and more readable on this screen—e-mails, calendar items, icons, whatever. But the real pleasure is turning the phone sideways and loading up a Web page. (Just like the iPhone, the Droid’s screen rotates when you turn it.) Web pages no longer need horizontal scrolling, and if you have relatively sharp eyes, you can read everything. Double-tapping zooms easily, and scrolling around pages feels fluid.

NYT (Pogue):

The gorgeous screen is slightly bigger than the iPhone’s; on close examination, its higher resolution (854 x 480 pixels) make text look sharper and curves smoother.

Our Input: We can see that the screen is very generous with space, has better resolution than the iPhone and has a great Android on screen keyboard. This is already hinting at the DROID being an iPhone killer.

Keyboard

NYT (Pogue):

Anyone who hates typing on glass will love that the Droid gives you a choice: on-screen keyboard or illuminated, slide-out physical keyboard.

Engadget:

Visually, the keyboard is an easier read (and more aesthetically pleasing) than those other QWERTY phones too, though sometimes the keys can feel a bit cramped. Additionally, we had major issues with the auto-dimming on the DROID. If we left the screen in auto brightness mode, the constant on / off dimming of the keyboard was intolerable; eventually we had to just switch the auto dim off altogether. We also had issues with the keyboard not lighting up at all in some instances, requiring us to close and open the pad again. Not a huge deal, but annoying when you’re trying to quickly tap out a message. Admittedly, we missed the CLIQ’s two-stage keyboard backlighting that only enabled the second light when ALT was pressed, but it’s a luxury we can do without.

PCMag:

Slide the screen to the right to reveal the first real disappointment, the Droid’s keyboard. The QWERTY keys are a little too small, a bit too flat, and a touch too tight to put this in the first rank of keyboards. The Droid offers two decent touch keyboards as well, with word completion and correction. But even though I didn’t love the physical keyboard, I was very glad it was there—even a mediocre physical keyboard is better than a touch keyboard, in my view.

Our Input: The keyboard is one of the weaker features on the DROID, crippling its overall stlye and functionality just a bit. Hopefully, the DROID gets a keyboard makeover in a second version in the future. All we can say now is that the onscreen keyboard is your best bet.

Camera

Engadget:

While the camera certainly seems capable of taking great looking photos, getting everything to play nice isn’t as easy as it should be. First off, the camera is painfully slow to focus and snap pictures — and when it does, the results can be unpredictable. Strangely, the lens seems to be able to take pretty sharp macro photos (it’s even a setting in the camera app), but it struggled with getting adjusted to close subjects, even in broad daylight. Sometimes we got lucky and cranked out a decent pic, but the process was frustrating.

NYT (Pogue):

The camera has an LED flash, which helps at close range at night, but the camera itself is balky and slow to focus and fire. You can record videos (at a high 720 by 480 resolution, although they don’t look any sharper) and upload them to YouTube, but you can’t trim the dead air off the ends first.

PCMag:

The fast processor also made it more frustrating when programs would occasionally freeze or crash. The sluggish, poorly programmed camera app was the worst perpetrator by far.

Our Input: The camera can be slow at times and may freeze or crash. When capturing the images, the camera may lag, and snap pics kind of late. Not the worst camera in the world, but not the best either, bearable.

Android 2.0, Speed and Power

NYT (Pogue):

And the Droid multitasks — it can keep multiple programs open at once. Now, the usual response to this subject is: “Ooh, so you can check your calendar or e-mail while you’re on a call! You can listen to your music while surfing the Web!” True, but even the “nonmultitasking” iPhone does all that. Still, the Droid’s multitasking pays off in two situations: when you want to listen to Internet radio while you work in other apps, and when you’re switching between programs a lot. Since they’re already open, you don’t have to wait for them to start up again with each switch. Meanwhile, Droid brings all the advantages of Google’s open, customizable, now more refined Android software: a single Inbox can consolidate all of your e-mail accounts; the software now handles corporate Microsoft Exchange e-mail/calendar systems; there’s a system-wide Search command (and a dedicated button) and voice search; you can put a Facebook widget on your Home screen; and so on. The Droid’s Web browser is good, but slower than the iPhone’s. And you have to zoom in and out by tapping +/- buttons or double-tapping the screen.

PCMag:

The Droid runs Android 2.0, but it’s also a “Google Experience” phone. That means it runs the most basic version of Android possible. Google relies on the curiosity and tech-savvy of their customers to turn the phones into what they want to make of them. The world’s first Android 2.0 phone is also the fastest, by a long shot. This is the first Android phone with an ARM Cortex-A8 processor, coming in the form of the TI OMAP 3430 chipset.

Engadget:

The first thing you should know is that Android 2.0 isn’t drastically different than 1.5 or 1.6, save for a few notable features and tweaks that have significant impact. True to form, Google hasn’t gone for visual flair or wild embellishments for the sake of a few dropped jaws; most of these changes are about functionality and usability.One of the first major changes Google has made is support for multiple Gmail or Exchange accounts, and a new universal inbox which allows you to get a look at your electronic correspondences in a single view. For BlackBerry users, this concept is old hat, but for most people with multiple accounts, it should feel like manna from heaven. We haven’t had a lot of time to put the DROID through its paces when it comes to battery life, but at a glance it seems to be holding its own against the current crop of 3G devices — impressive considering it’s only packing a 1400mAh battery behind that extremely sexy door.

Our Input: From what we’ve seen, the Android software hasn’t gotten an extreme makeover (pun not intended), its gotten slight changes for better usability and functionality. Nothing big on the user friendly side either.

Audio (Calls on Verizon Network)

Engadget:

The sound on the DROID is second to none — really. In fact, this is simply one of the best sounding devices we’ve ever used. Whether it’s audio through the loud (but undistorted) earpiece, or a speakerphone call — even music — the sound which Motorola’s device outputs is crystal clear. Now, obviously Verizon’s reception has something to do with our in-call sound, but it’s likely Moto put some thought into the aural aspect of the phone.

PCMag:

Like the iPhone, the Droid is not the greatest voice phone. Verizon’s excellent network helps cushion the blow here. But calls on the Droid sounded more muffled, compressed, and computer-y, in both directions, than calls on a BlackBerry Curve 8330. Call quality was still acceptable, but I wouldn’t call it good. The phone’s speaker was loud at top volume, and distorted slightly when listening to a very loud sound source. The speakerphone, a long bar on the back, was of average volume and quality. The Droid got an amazing 7 hours, 7 minutes of talk time, one of the longest results we’ve ever seen for a Verizon Wireless phone.

NYT (Pogue):

Audio quality is superb, both on phone calls and music. There’s no iTunes-like auto-synching software for the Droid, either, so loading music, photos and videos is a drag-and-drop operation.

Our Input: The sound is great on teh DROID, music is as clear as a bell, but calls can dpepend on how strong the signal from Verizon is. Some say that the call quality was amazing while others may complain about certain disruptions on the line. Bottom line, call quality is good, other audio is superb.

Wrap-Up

NYT(Pogue):

The Droid wins on phone network, customizability, GPS navigation, speaker, physical keyboard, removable battery and openness (free operating system, mostly uncensored app store). The iPhone wins on simplicity, refinement, thinness, design, Web browsing, music/video synching with your computer, accessory ecosystem and quality/quantity of the app store.

Engadget:

Yes, the DROID is an excellent smartphone with many (if not all) of the features that a modern user would expect, and if you’re a Verizon customer, there probably isn’t a more action packed device on the network. That’s not to say the device doesn’t have its faults; the camera was unpleasant to use, the application selection feels thin in both quantity and quality (despite the claim of 10,000 options), and the phone has bits of basic, non-intuitive functionality that might chafe on some users after a while. But even still, it’s hard not to recommend the DROID to potential buyers eager to do more with their devices.

PCMag:

The Droid is the most exciting device on Verizon Wireless right now, and Verizon Wireless is where a lot of people want to be.

Our Input: There you have it folks, one order of iPhone killer. It stepped up and blew right to the top.The DROID is an amazing phone indeed, and its proving worthy through its exceptional audio, superb screen resolution, and near perfect Android 2.0 software.