Thread: Droid Impressions After 6 Days (Former Storm User)

So, last week I bit the bullet and paid full retail for a shiny new Moto Droid A855. I was using the Storm 9530 but felt the need to move on once the Droid hit the market. Plus, I was coming to the realization that the actual need to click the screen was killing my thumbs with the Storm. So, i'm now a Droid user. Impressions after 6 days:

Very PC-like user experience. Doesn't really feel like the iPhone, as the GUI is infinitely more customizable. Feels more like Windows 7 complete with widgets. Yet, in some ways also feels like what it is: a dressed up Linux. Some people consider lack of a proprietary GUI to be a con, however I consider it a pro. I love the stock interface. The available memory seems to be plenty to store tons of apps, I have too many installed to name and still have ~200MB available.

Console emulators available from the market in free versions right out of the box are a huge plus, unlike the iPhone which needs to be jailbroken. And 16GB of SDHC storage provides PLENTY of room for ROMS. I had a realization hit me the other day while I was playing "Mario Kart Advance" on my Droid: the emulator gaming on the Droid kills the native gaming capabilities of the BB Storm. As it sits right now, the Storm 1 couldn't even RUN a game like "Mario Kart Advance" at a playable framerate.

Web browsing is a very PC-like experience, the screen resolution plays a big part in this. The Storm's browsing experience was a painful experience, much like one would imagine ancient torture rituals to be. Any JavaScript would literally KILL the browser, making the page take minutes to load. The Droid, on the other hand, is "Enter URL, wait a few seconds, read page".

Finally, on-screen keyboard. How do I say this? The Storm keyboard cannot TOUCH the Droid, in portrait or landscape. Despite the many complaints I hear about the stock keyboard, I absolutely love it. My fat fingers find it very easy to type with a feather touch, and very accurately too. I can bang out a text message in a matter of seconds. And no pain from physically depressing the screen. I hate to make another iPhone comparison, but I find typing on the Droid to be VERY "iPhone-ish".

Oh, and one more thing that the Droid KILLS the Storm with (assuming a Storm on a BIS plan):

Exchange email support. Yeah, I might have to manually refresh my subfolders. But at least I can access them. Accessing Exchange via OWA on BIS, there is literally no way to see subfolders at all. I had to have a bunch of rules set up to copy all of my emails to my main inbox. Now, I just periodically resync important subfolders.

Ohhhhh and it even works good as a PHONE. Forgot to mention that

(I won't get into the physical keyboard, it's USEABLE, put it that way. But, I felt the same way about the BB Tour. It does make a relatively decent controller for the emulators and is better than having to use an onscreen controller ala jailbroken iPhone emulators)

I like your feedback. In also a Storm 1 owner and I'm on the fence of using my upgrade for the droid. I was in the VZW store this evening and I was playing with the ERIS and the Droid and it is lightning fast. Just a little awkward after using the storm but I'm sure it is easy to get used to after regular usage.
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Originally Posted by Dave12308

So, last week I bit the bullet and paid full retail for a shiny new Moto Droid A855. I was using the Storm 9530 but felt the need to move on once the Droid hit the market. Plus, I was coming to the realization that the actual need to click the screen was killing my thumbs with the Storm. So, i'm now a Droid user. Impressions after 6 days:

Very PC-like user experience. Doesn't really feel like the iPhone, as the GUI is infinitely more customizable. Feels more like Windows 7 complete with widgets. Yet, in some ways also feels like what it is: a dressed up Linux. Some people consider lack of a proprietary GUI to be a con, however I consider it a pro. I love the stock interface. The available memory seems to be plenty to store tons of apps, I have too many installed to name and still have ~200MB available.

Console emulators available from the market in free versions right out of the box are a huge plus, unlike the iPhone which needs to be jailbroken. And 16GB of SDHC storage provides PLENTY of room for ROMS. I had a realization hit me the other day while I was playing "Mario Kart Advance" on my Droid: the emulator gaming on the Droid kills the native gaming capabilities of the BB Storm. As it sits right now, the Storm 1 couldn't even RUN a game like "Mario Kart Advance" at a playable framerate.

Web browsing is a very PC-like experience, the screen resolution plays a big part in this. The Storm's browsing experience was a painful experience, much like one would imagine ancient torture rituals to be. Any JavaScript would literally KILL the browser, making the page take minutes to load. The Droid, on the other hand, is "Enter URL, wait a few seconds, read page".

Finally, on-screen keyboard. How do I say this? The Storm keyboard cannot TOUCH the Droid, in portrait or landscape. Despite the many complaints I hear about the stock keyboard, I absolutely love it. My fat fingers find it very easy to type with a feather touch, and very accurately too. I can bang out a text message in a matter of seconds. And no pain from physically depressing the screen. I hate to make another iPhone comparison, but I find typing on the Droid to be VERY "iPhone-ish".

Oh, and one more thing that the Droid KILLS the Storm with (assuming a Storm on a BIS plan):

Exchange email support. Yeah, I might have to manually refresh my subfolders. But at least I can access them. Accessing Exchange via OWA on BIS, there is literally no way to see subfolders at all. I had to have a bunch of rules set up to copy all of my emails to my main inbox. Now, I just periodically resync important subfolders.

Ohhhhh and it even works good as a PHONE. Forgot to mention that

(I won't get into the physical keyboard, it's USEABLE, put it that way. But, I felt the same way about the BB Tour. It does make a relatively decent controller for the emulators and is better than having to use an onscreen controller ala jailbroken iPhone emulators)

I also took the plunge and got a Droid. Your mini review is on point. I especially like the fact that I'm no longer a slave to battery pulls or having to wait on my Storm to decide it's ready to do what I want it to do. As a bonus, when you do a factory reset on the Droid it automatically reinstalls all your apps when you log back in. Awesome!

oh how you all make me want this phone more and more...

why cant i get paid more

Just picked one up recently, as well. Switched from the Storm2. While the S2 is definitely better than my S1, I just couldn't get over the fact that I paid roughly $200 for it. For that $, I don't think it's worth it.
What finally did it was when I tried to bring up some tracking info on UPS's site. The phone just sat there for a few minutes and was still having trouble loading the page. Yes, they do have a mobile site, but I hated being tied to only mobile sites for the Storm to work half way decently.
I think this phone will finally put the nail in the coffin of my iPhone. For me, the Droid is like a jailbroken iPhone on a GREAT network. No more dropped calls and a phone I can actually use INSIDE a building.
I also hate the battery of the iPhone. I am constantly having to weigh the consequences of using the phone. Do I use the browser now? Or maybe forgo using it now so I have battery power later? If I use GPS now, will I have enough battery power to make a phone call later? That is one thing that I just can't stand with that phone.

I would love to have this phone but can't afford to pay full retail will vzw let you pay half at the store at put the other on you bill.
im reaching on ways to get this phone

Originally Posted by biggmoney31

I would love to have this phone but can't afford to pay full retail will vzw let you pay half at the store at put the other on you bill.
im reaching on ways to get this phone

This is how I did it. Basically, they allowed me to put less than half of the cost on my bill, $250 was allowed. It made the cost a little more palatable.

After about 24 hour with my new Droid I have to say this thing is amazing....

as long as I can get my corporate email & calendar synced properly when I go in on Monday, this thing will be better than I even dreamed....

it is so nice to move between applications, browser, etc. and have absolutely no lag....smooth as silk!

I was a little worried about how email is handled, but so far in using my new gmail account & home account I am quite happy....:hail:

oh and the virtual landscape keyboard is fantastic...no need to even use the slider.....

nice review dave....welcome to the droid!

Thanks, catstide. Nice to be a Droid user. I think i've found the perfect (for me) smartphone at last.