[Kylazin]

The reviewed it favorably on Attack of the Show. Other than them disliking the form factor and the keyboard, they said it was a solid device and very much worth it for Verizon customers. Hands down will be the best phone on the network soon.

[barnettj]

Case in point... don't let a girl show you what a phone can do... unless that girl is ME.


I will give you one point. On a BB you can pause and control volume of the Media Player (music or whatever) while the app is not necessarily the active app. There may not be a way to do that on the Droid.

I am using a G1 with Android 1.6 right now. Not sure about pause, but you can control the volume of media when it is running in the background. You can also pull it down from the status bar and make changes. if the lowly G1 can do it, surely the Droid will be able to, right?

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[JRSCCivic98]

I am using a G1 with Android 1.6 right now. Not sure about pause, but you can control the volume of media when it is running in the background. You can also pull it down from the status bar and make changes. if the lowly G1 can do it, surely the Droid will be able to, right?

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True, I guess what I meant is that on a BB, we have buttons that can accomplish these tasks with a simple press. Our Mute buttons act as pause when Media is playing and the Volume Buttons work outside of the Media Player. I'm willing to bet the volume buttons work the same way on the Droid, but there won't be a way to pause the music without bringing up the app or widget for it, which sometimes makes for not being able to do it quick enough in certain situations.

[barnettj]

True, I guess what I meant is that on a BB, we have buttons that can accomplish these tasks with a simple press. Our Mute buttons act as pause when Media is playing and the Volume Buttons work outside of the Media Player. I'm willing to bet the volume buttons work the same way on the Droid, but there won't be a way to pause the music without bringing up the app or widget for it, which sometimes makes for not being able to do it quick enough in certain situations.

Yeah I see what you mean.

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[StuartV]

Wow. Some of you people sure are sensitive!

Thank you to the couple of you that actually responded with useful information or at least constructive intent.

Yes, I have a Storm. Yes, it has been very buggy since Day 1. Yes, I have the latest 5.0 OS on it, and it is STILL buggy.

Unlike some of you, I'm not a blind sheep following any one manufacturer. Now that there are newer phones ostensibly offering a better "experience" than the Storm1 (e.g. the Storm2, the Droid, and other Android phones coming), I am taking the time to evaluate them all and possibly upgrade.

Yes, I did watch the video twice, the second time pausing it to write down notes with time stamps. You don't like thoroughness and details in questions that MAY have unflattering answers about the phone you've bowed down in front of?? Too bad.

[StuartV]

So...

I think my issues about screen orientation have been answered by one or two of you.

But, I'm not prepared to totally chalk up the issues with having to touch the screen or buttons multiple times as simply "she was using her fingernails". I guess time will tell on that one.

And what about useability issues like no dedicated "I want to make a phone call now" key? And needing 4 touch/swipes just to pause music - if you've navigated away from the music player?

Also, does anybody have any idea if the HTC Passion (aka Dragon?) will have any of the same kind of docking stations available for it? I like that multimedia dock and the car dock for the Droid. I like the charger dock for the Storm. I have 2 of them - one for bedside and one for office desk. I would be disappointed if I hold out for the Passion and then it doesn't have anything comparable.

[Semantics]

ummm...why keep coming on this board saying it's the ugliest phone ever? I seriously doubt that it is the ugliest phone you've ever seen...one can say the Hero on sprint is pretty darn ugly compared to the original one

Wait, are you seriously asking me, an Android owner to stop coming to the Android forum? Thats like me telling you to stick to the Storm forum section. In case your having some difficulty with reading comprehension, I'll explain what the sub forum here states, for you.

For discussion around smartphones running on Google's Android platform

This forum is for discussions about smartphones running Android OS, this is not the Verizon Droid subforum. And I'm sorry you seriously doubt that its the ugliest phone I've ever seen. Its not hyperbole, I think its awful looking. Look, I'm not slamming the phone, its got fantastic insides and the OS is wonderful, its just ugly as h e l l and thats been my only criticism. Check my posts, I've never said any else negative about it. I'm not trolling any carriers or trying to start a pissing contest, which you seem to claim that any poster does, who doesn't agree with your views.

I couldn't care less what YOU think about how the Hero looks, you don't have to use it, I do. Just as YOU shouldn't care, or get offended about how I think the Droid looks, I'll never have to worry about owning one.

[moni19]

@ Semantics, I think you need a lesson in reading comprehension...I did not say to stop coming on this board...I said "stop coming over here constantly complaining about how ugly the phone is", that's it...I get your point and it's getting pretty old...and I could care less about YOU and YOUR Hero or what YOU think about it or the Droid...I just made a comparison of the 2 phones and how people view the phones differently (aka when the Sprint Hero was release, a lot of people said it looked bland and it was ugly; I thought it was fine by the way). In addition, I never said that you said anything negative about the phone...I just responded to how many times you said the phone was ugly...it's a freaking phone...geez, people here are so ridiculous, it's not even funny...

[demanufacture330]

As stated before If you've ever used an android phone before there is an option to lock the orientation (my dads g1.) I've updated my storm to the 5.0.0.328 OS its a million times better than when the phone was released yes there are still some bugs but.... honestly what device in general have you used that doesn't have at least 1 bug or 1 thing NOT wrong with it? I'm not trying to defend any phone or os platform I'm like yourself and looking at all possible options and seeing if any of these new phones are worth upgrading to. (storm2/droid) are the ones I'm looking at but since the latest os update for the storm it almost feels like a brand new device, I might not even get a new phone at all...

-My 2 cents.

[Semantics]

@ Semantics, I think you need a lesson in reading comprehension...I did not say to stop coming on this board...I said "stop coming over here constantly complaining about how ugly the phone is", that's it...I get your point and it's getting pretty old...and I could care less about YOU and YOUR Hero or what YOU think about it or the Droid...I just made a comparison of the 2 phones and how people view the phones differently (aka when the Sprint Hero was release, a lot of people said it looked bland and it was ugly; I thought it was fine by the way). In addition, I never said that you said anything negative about the phone...I just responded to how many times you said the phone was ugly...it's a freaking phone...geez, people here are so ridiculous, it's not even funny...

Moni, the phone is ugly.

[cereal killer]

I like how the Droid looks. Its not fufu looking : ) its rugged and stealthy like an A-10 Warthog.

I like my women to have sleek and sexy lines not my electronics. Of course this is my own personal preference but I like rugged and sturdy looking devices. That's why the iPhone doesn't appeal to me. Great device but its too sleek and clean give me a device that looks battle ready and I'm on it.

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[moni19]

Moni, the phone is ugly.

@ Semantics thanks for letting me know that, I appreciate it

[Semantics]

@ Semantics thanks for letting me know that, I appreciate it

Sorry the wink and sticking tongue thing out didn't register I was trying to lighten up our last exchange with a bit of sarcasm.

[moni19]

yeah, I knew what your intent was...we're cool

[StuartV]

@Civic, totally understand and agree.

OTOH, even if it's a Class A Marketroid giving the demo, if they click the Home screen button, shouldn't I expect it to go to the Home screen? Not have to press it 2 or 3 times? Ditto for (apparently) trying to start Pandora?

And if it was somehow operator error, well, that's why I brought it up in this forum. So some Android Illuminati could explain it to me. I really like the concepts in Android and I really hope there is an Android phone out soon that I like better than my Storm!

And to whoever made the comment about the device being pre-release, maybe so, but the Marketroid said specifically during the video that the Droid being shown was running the final, Release software.

[StuartV]

One more question for the Droid Disciples: How can you rationalize the part of the video where the Marketroid opens the USA Today app and it just displays an error message that it doesn't support Landscape orientation? I've never seen a Storm app do that. It makes me wonder how many other apps won't "just work" on Android.

Also, when you start trashing the Storm because of memory leaks, keep in mind that, it appears, with the latest official OS release, the biggest problem with memory leaks is coming from aftermarket themes, not the OS itself. As a software developer myself, I will say categorically that it doesn't matter what platform you're talking about, it will ALWAYS be the case that programmers developing for that platform can develop bad software that hoses up the platform for everybody else, too. That doesn't make the Storm OS - or Android - "bad".

[cereal killer]

Stuart why do you keep beating the Storm drum in here? You can't compare the Storm to a higher end device like the Droid. Not trying to be nasty but you can't put the Storm in the same category as these new devices.

The Storm is running an old outdated OS. No comparison.

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[bearkat38]

As a software developer myself, I will say categorically that it doesn't matter what platform you're talking about, it will ALWAYS be the case that programmers developing for that platform can develop bad software that hoses up the platform for everybody else, too. That doesn't make the Storm OS - or Android - "bad".

So as a software developer yourself (as you so proudly proclaimed) can you honestly say that the current BB OS is even in the same ballpark with Android 2.0?

[bearkat38]

Yes, but according to several more techie reviewers, the bottom buttons require a bit more pressure (dunno why) to actually do their bidding. Couple that with the chance for sweaty fingers, because the person might be nervous during the presentation on camera, and you can see how there's a few things that can play into the whole "my capacitive touchscreen hates me" persona. Now I'm not defending the phone in any way, because I haven't seen one in person myself to judge, but I can't help but feel there's a lot of variables that the presenter wasn't aware of. For example, don't leave it in the car cradle if you plan on wanting to show someting in portrait mode... why...? Because it won't work, the car cradle seems to want to keep it lock oriented in landscape, so you'll look like a fool trying to show isht in portrait. Probably just what she realized when she took it off after several attepts of portrait use while in the cradle... duh move!

Anyway, I'll wait and see what up with the Droid when it comes out... as of right now, I'm about to fracking kill my S1 and it's POS 5.x OS release. NOTHING FROM .323-328 SEEMS TO WANT TO WORK FOR ISHT!

Spoken like a TRUE Genius of Geniuses!!

[cereal killer]

So as a software developer yourself (as you so proudly proclaimed) can you honestly say that the current BB OS is even in the same ballpark with Android 2.0?

ill answer that......no.

He's driving a Model T in a fuel injection society.

Let's be honest and drop the tech talk. That's just the way it is. I love bb's but I can't/wont defend their half arsed attempts at bringing "new" product to market.

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[StuartV]

Stuart why do you keep beating the Storm drum in here? You can't compare the Storm to a higher end device like the Droid. Not trying to be nasty but you can't put the Storm in the same category as these new devices.

The Storm is running an old outdated OS. No comparison.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I did NOT bring up the Storm in this thread. Somebody else did and I have just been responding.

[StuartV]

So as a software developer yourself (as you so proudly proclaimed) can you honestly say that the current BB OS is even in the same ballpark with Android 2.0?

Well, duh! Of course I can say that it's in the same ballpark. Android might be better, but it's not so much better than you can't even compare them.

Stock browser? Android is better.

Message/PIM? Right now, it looks like BBOS (even 4.5) is better. My BB gives me instant direct push email, plus sync of my Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Notes. ActiveSync doesn't even support sync of Notes at all.

Music player? Seem about equal.

Current Flash support? Seems equal. Both have Flash support announced as coming.

Multi-tasking? Seem equal.

etc., etc..

Like I said, Android may be better. It seems to offer a more advanced infrastructure to build apps on top of. But you certainly can compare them.

[StuartV]

[snip]
as of right now, I'm about to fracking kill my S1 and it's POS 5.x OS release. NOTHING FROM .323-328 SEEMS TO WANT TO WORK FOR ISHT!

That is unfortunate. My S1 with .328 is working quite well for me. But, I probably don't do as many different things with mine as you do with yours.

Also, at your other post. Say what you will about the Droid, but I think you'd constitue yourself as dumb if you think ANYTHING from RIM can stack up against it or ANY other device in terms of browsing experience.

Did I say ANYwhere that I thought that? No. 'Cause I don't. Duh. The stock RIM browser is pretty sucky. OTOH, I haven't used any other smartphones, so I would be unlikely to say anything one way or another about how the RIM browser stacks up to others in terms of browsing experience. Except, of course, for the other ones I've tried on my phone (i.e. Bolt, Opera 4.2, and Opera 5).

[roeod4]

6:37 Takes phone out of Multimedia dock and says "it goes right back to whatever application I was using previously" but what actually happens is she presses the Home (? I think) physical key 3 times on the phone before it finally goes back to the Home screen.

Technically the media app was the app she was using previously. She hit the home screen button to stop it.

7:14 Does a voice search from the Navigation Screen (for the W Times Square hotel). Says it will come up with a list of results and then be able to navigate you. Maybe so. But the actual results look an awful lot like a regular browser with results from a standard Google search. Hard to imagine how that would then turn into a real GPS-enabled turn-by-turn navigation program. Building a Nav program on top of browser search results seems like an awfully goofy way to go about it, if that's really how it works.

It probably is a regular browser screen. In a few of the screens you can actually see sponsored links at the top of the list. Keep in mind that google is a search engine company first and everything else second. All of their designs are intended to drive traffic to google and get people to click on sponsored (payed) links. This is why most of their software is free, they charge for the advertising. I have seen stuff in beta for their new nav program that will further their advertising. The software may be free to you, but the advertisers that use google are footing the bill.

9:41 Turns phone back to Landscape, screen does not change, she turns phone back to Portrait. Opens YouTube Video Camera. Phone is still Portrait but app opens in Landscape. She then turns it to Landscape again.

10:20 Again turns phone to Landscape and tries to do something with YouTube widget. But phone doesn't change orientation, so she turns it back to Portrait to select a video to play.

10:35 Video starts playing in Landscape, even though phone is in Portrait.

This is how Android works, at least from what I have seen of 1.5 and 1.6. Landscape works for some things and doesn't for others. It isn't really a big deal once you play around and get used to it. The youtube app (can't speak for the widget) works best in portrait mode when you are searching, but will only play in landscape mode. If you open the keyboard in landscape to search for something then portrait mode will work. Also, the videos will play audio over bluetooth with this phone.

[roeod4]

Did I say ANYwhere that I thought that? No. 'Cause I don't. Duh. The stock RIM browser is pretty sucky. OTOH, I haven't used any other smartphones, so I would be unlikely to say anything one way or another about how the RIM browser stacks up to others in terms of browsing experience. Except, of course, for the other ones I've tried on my phone (i.e. Bolt, Opera 4.2, and Opera 5).

I'll save you the trouble. The Android browser on 1.5 and 1.6 blow all the BB browsers (those that are out anyway) out of the water. They are faster, smoother and render pages better. 2.0 looks like it is only improving what is already there.