

Ask HN: anybody bought droid? what has been your experience? - vijayr

Anybody bought droid? how is it compared to iPhone?
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JshWright
Picked one up yesterday.

Has a nice heft to it, it's very snappy, and the screen is _beautiful_.

The turn-by-turn works well, and the voice recognition is _phenomenal_.

Oh, and the camera sucks (in bright light it's not bad, but in low light, it's
unusable).

~~~
scythe
Do you think the problems with the camera are with the hardware or the
software? On a related note, is there an SDK?

~~~
michaelcampbell
Rumors are that it's software. Unconfirmed and I have no cite, but I've read
already that some aspect of the autofocus has already been fixed, but hasn't
yet been pushed out.

FWIW, I find the camera ok; I haven't had too much autofocus issues, and it's
worked ok in low light for me. Not great, but I have a 'real' camera for
'real' photos. Phone shots are spur of the moment things for me.

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ShabbyDoo
I looked at one today. My biggest concern is the 5GB transfer limit. Worse
than that, it's not a limit! Each additional GB is $50. The sales guy at the
Verizon store tried to tell me that the limit was for tethering only, but I
don't think he was correct. Does any have a definitive answer?

~~~
teuobk
I think it really is unlimited.

For my Droid, I have the "email and web for smartphone" plan ($30). I also
have a separate wireless broadband card and plan ($60). When I look at my
account on Verizon's web site, I see a data cap of "5GB" for my broadband card
and a data cap of "unlimited" for my Droid.

~~~
calvin
Verizon stopped using the term "Unlimited" on any of their plans after they
lost some lawsuits. Look closer at the small print and there is always a limit
stated.

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BrianHV
I haven't used the iPhone much so I can't give a good comparison to that. I
came from a Treo, and have been a Palm user for about 10 years.

I knew when I bought the Droid that there would be things I'd be missing that
I took for granted on Palm. I was right. There are configuration options that
seem to be missing completely, like the ability to order contacts by last
name. I was also surprised that using an unlock pattern disabled the mute
toggle on the lock screen.

I also miss synchronization with my Mac. I think The Missing Sync should work
on it soon, but the current prerelease does not.

I agree with ckinnan that the keypad is awkward, and unlike him I have small
hands. I've been using the virtual keyboard and it's been working all right.

The email application does what I need it to, although you need to be able to
connect to an smtp server to set it up. I use an ssh tunnel to my smtp server,
so that was a problem for a bit; fortunately, ConnectBot let me set up an ssh
tunnel very easily.

The browser has been fine for me; much better than the Palm's.

On the whole, I think it's going to be a good device. I'm looking forward to
getting the SDK so I can scratch some of my itches.

~~~
vijayr
Personally, camera isn't that much of an issue. My guess is that
synchronization and configuration problems should be fixed, sooner or later.

Keyboard is definitely an prob, I like the physical keyboard.

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JangoSteve
I picked mine up Friday, and I have to say it is amazing. The physical
keyboard takes a bit of getting used to (the trick is to use the flat part of
the tip of your thumbs and to be confident). The navigation feature of Google
maps is also very useful. When you get close to your destination, it
automatically jumps into street view facing the side of the road corresponding
to your destination address.

For another $3/mo, you get visual voicemail which is a nice first for Verizon.
I've been using a Blackberry Pearl and iPod Touch for the past couple years as
my mobile solution and was happy overall, but this is much better.

Sure, maybe the iPhone is a bit better due to its app selection, but that
doesn't even come close to the benefits of Verizon's network in my situation.

Bottom line: if you're on Verizon and looking for a better phone, get it. If
you're simply deciding between an iPhone and a Droid, the hardware/software of
the two are close enough that you can look at other factors (like network
coverage) to make your decision.

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ckinnan
I checked it out today, I was disappointed with the keypad, which is important
to me as I have big hands. The Droid keys don't have much separation and
aren't raised like Blackberry's.

If you buy it online the $100 rebate is instant and you can score another $50
off if you are a new Verizon customer or if you're existing and are out of
contract.

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dfischer
Take a look at this unless you already did:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=927927>

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talleyrand
Yes, I was very pleasantly surprised after all the nit-picky and sometimes
outright wrong reviews I read (there's nothing wrong with the camera!). I'm
very pleased with the Droid. Keep in mind however, I've been dealing with the
Fuze (Touch Diamond - WinMo) on AT&T for the last year, so I haven't really
had any smartphone service at all.....

~~~
asnyder
I felt the same way with my Fuze, but then I upgraded it to Win Mobile 6.5
using XDA's EnergyROM and I must say, it's a completely different experience.
My Fuze actually functions as a decent smartphone now. Apps, interface,
experience, etc.

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oomkiller
I have never used an iPhone, but used them extensively. I got my Droid today,
and I love it. I came from a long line of Blackberries. The Droid is SOO much
faster, and the voice search/navigation is really amazing. The Market has some
pretty cool apps on it too, not as many as the iPhone, but plenty.

