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After all the marketing and commercials touting the Droid, I gave into the pressure and upgraded yesterday to find out what the Droid really does.  If you have followed my blog, you know that I am a big fan of Google and open source Linux software.  I have been intrigued by the iPhone and the G1 when it launched, but I strayed from Verizon once a few years ago and hated the call quality and switched back to Verizon once the contact was up.  Although I feel that the map commercials might be a bit of an exaggeration, I can say from experience that Verizon has always been reliable and I don’t want to risk being locked into a contract with another carrier that is not as reliable.

So now that you know that I am committed to Verizon, I will explain what I am comparing the Droid to.  I have been using the BlackBerry Storm 9530 for several months and really didn’t have any complaints with it being my first smart phone.  It was able to synch with all of my Google contacts and I didn’t have any issues with the SurePress touchpad, that I saw in forums and other reviews.  It seemed to be fairly quick for a mobile device and there were enough apps to keep me happy.

The point I am trying to make is that I liked the Storm and was not moving to another device due to issues with the Storm.  I really just wanted to be able to use the Android OS as a Google fan and someone interested in promoting open source software and devices.

Getting Started with the Droid

Now that I have provided some background, let’s get to my impressions on the Droid.  The first word that comes to mind is Awesome!  Being a big Google user, the first major benefit to the Droid is the quick integration of the contacts and calendar.  While at the Verizon store I was asked to enter my Google name and password after activation, I set the phone down and a couple minutes later it had all of my contacts and calendar information and I heard the “Droid” notification for emails in my inbox.  With the BlackBerry or previous cell phones, the sales assistant would have to take the phone in the back and do who knows what to transfer over the contacts, it was a seamless setup with the Droid.  Of course, non-Google users will have a bit more involved process but I was extremely pleased with it.

The other thing that I noticed right away was how fast it was in loading items and pages. I never considered the Storm to be slow, but I did think of it as being a mobile device that is not supposed to be as fast.  With the Droid, I no longer have that opinion, mobile or not, when you click on something it happens quickly.

Google Maps/Navigation

When I got in my car after leaving the store I had to test out the navigation feature and it worked well as expected giving me directions home even though I already knew the route.  I think that this is a huge feature, it was one of the things that drew me to the device and helped justify the cost (at least in my mind).  It will be interesting to see if Google begins to offer the feature on other platforms of Google Maps.  I also used the navigation for directions on a 45 minute trip and expected the battery to take a hit with the screen on the entire time, but it had barely gone down when I arrived.

Display

Speaking of the screen, it is 3.7 inches diagonal with 800 x 480 Pixels, which may be the highest resolution for any mobile phone.  But stats and specs don’t always mean everything, but to the naked eye it looks extremely bright and clearer than anything else that I have had the pleasure to look at.

Interface

The interface feels very intuitive, the home screen allows you to put shortcuts on it and the menu system is very easy to open and use.  Swiping and moving on the screen is very easy and feels natural.  I really like the format and can see that there are many options for customization to fit the taste of each user.

Keyboards

Another surprise was how well the touch screen keyboard works.  After getting used to the SurePress typing, I thought I would have issues hitting the wrong keys and having to backspace to correct things, but that was not the case at all.  Of course there are still times when I have to backspace, but it is much less that I expected.  The physical keyboard is alright, I cannot argue with some of the posts in the forums that feel that the keys are too flat and that you sometimes bump the wrong key.  I feel some of this will be overcome by using it more, but I can’t say that it is great.  Surprisingly though, the touch screen keyboard makes up for it so I am not going to complain too much.

Android Market

The Android Market compared to BlackBerry AppWorld is excellent.  Once again, I didn’t really have any complaints with AppWorld but after seeing all of the options in the Android Market I was impressed.  Once of the first things that caught my attention is the Barcode Scanner application which allows you to scan items to get more product information and compare online, but you can also find many other Apps online and scan a code that allows you to install the application without having to search for it in the market.

Camera

The camera seems to have some bugs that are expected to be fixed in a software upgrade relatively soon.  It is 5 MP so I expected it to be much better than the Storm, but there is an issue with the autofocus so it doesn’t always get the best shot.  From what I have read, the issue is that it is too fast so it keeps adjusting.  I got a couple really good shots when it focused correctly, but will be looking for the upgrade before I leave my digital camera at home if I need a good picture.

Phone/Google Voice

Since the Droid is a smart “phone”, I should mention the phone quality.  I do not typically use the phone as much as the data and other features, but it is still important for making and receiving calls.  On a couple standard calls, the quality was great and I didn’t have any issues.  The other great feature is the integration with Google Voice if you have an account.  With the Storm, the Google Voice application did not function well.  It actually worked more like a trackball phone and could only be used in landscape mode, which basically prevented me from using it for text messages.  The Droid is completely integrated with the Google Voice App and you can set it to always use you Voice number or ask on each call or text message which is a huge plus in my eyes.

The Verdict

As you have probably figured out from reading this article, I am extremely happy and impressed after a couple days of using the Droid.  After browsing the Market and doing some customization I can see that there are many more features and benefits that I will be testing and adding in the future.  I am impressed with it out of the box and even more excited about the future potential.  Feel free to comment with any of your Droid or other smart phone experiences and let me know if you have any suggestions or requests to try out new features on the Droid.

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