[BzB]

former storm 2 and storm 1 user checking in. got the droid friday morning and use it for work and personal about 50/50. here's my 2.5 day take on storm 2 vs droid.

things that stand out:

-the native email app on the droid is not good at all compared to the blackberry. however, the touchdown email app for the droid fixed this. it does push email using active sync just like the native email app, but it has better features and is more on par with a true business class email app. syncs calendar, contacts, tasks, sent items, and selected folders just fine.
only thing it's missing is being able to sync notes from your outlook which is minor.

-typing on the droid takes some adjustment. i find that i've been using the virtual keyboard in both landscape and portrait about 80% of the time over the physical keyboard, probably because i'm used to an onscreen keyboard from using the storm 2. i'm almost as good on the droid keyboard as i was on the storm 2. the predictive text engine works very well, so i've learned to let it do it's thing as i get better with the virtual keyboard instead of trying to correct minor errors.

-the physical keyboard could be better, but i don't use it much (yet) anyway. fully comfortable and satisfied with the virtual keyboards. having the option of the physical keyboard with a slimmer profile than the storm 2, and the added functionality of the d pad in some situations and applications is nice to have though.

-the camera has actually worked very well for me. maybe i'm lucky or something, or moto tweaked/fixed something right before they released it, but i had low expectations after some of the reviews. good to see that it's pretty good so far and takes better pictures than the storm 2.

-the native media related features could be better, but it's passable and gets the job done. nothing 3rd party apps won't soon improve upon.

the storm 2 is still a good phone in it's own right if you have to have a touchscreen blackberry. if you're not a blackberry loyalist then the droid is a better overall smart phone imo. the speed/stability of the os, the apps, the browser, the screen, on and on. using android 2.0 on the moto compared to os 5 on the storm 2 is a revelation. this phone feels like it can do anything i throw at it, conversely with the storm 2 i was still kind of tip toeing around the os, babying it, and waiting for it to catch up with me in a lot of cases.

with the os enhancements/improvements on the way and with the 3rd party support for android 2.0 brewing, this is one of the top two touchscreen phones right now. it might take a few days of use to see it, but it is really that good. very happy with the droid.

[cereal killer]

nice review BzB........

pretty straight forward...good job : )

[li2327]

Very good review. Glad you like it.

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[nate8u]

That's the respectible way to do a bb vs android review.

Props

[Bettermost]

So your saying with this Touch down app you get push e mail like a Blackberry's? Is this with outside GMail accounts such as AOL as well?

[Testingchip]

Well done sir. I'm glad your happy with it.

[kes601]

Dang you BzB, I had made up my mind to keep the Storm2 instead of trying the Droid until I read your post. Decisions, decisions....

[joshforde]

yeah i have got to get me one of these
so much good reviews

[nyc_rock]

I got to a VZW store this weekend and played with the driod for a while. I thinkthe keyboard is better than its being given credit for. The keys have a nice feel to them. I was expecting much worse. What I dont like about the keyboard is the directional pad. It screws up the ergonomics and makes you reach way to far with your right thumb. Had they just centered that exact same keyboard it would be fine for every day use. The onscreen keyboards are the issue. I was using an Eris as well and HTC has done a much better job. I could type fast and without error. If you can port those keyboards over the Droid would really benifit. As far as the overall device is concerned, I liked it very much. It was fast, the screen was incredible and web browsing was really Iphone-ish. Very well done. If my company supported anything other than blackberry I might even give it a real trial run.

[chuckz28]

Nice review. I think that his Droid is a breath of fresh air compared to what the storm was for me. The more I use it, the more I like it. It just works. It is blazing fast and like you said, it doesn't need babysat.

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[jbinbi]

Excellent review. I am getting my droid today to try out. I use outlook only, so i am concerned about the syncing of contacts, calendar, etc. I will post up something similiar within a few days.

[Un8elievable]

nice review. i agree. Droid rocks

[BzB]

just happy to contribute views on the droid from a former s2 user. thanks for the feedback.

bettermost - the touchdown app works with ActiveSync which provides push email from microsoft exchange servers. it does not do push for pop email like bis (technically) does. would have to manually sync those or use the refresh interval setting which is kind of what bis does anyway.

[DrewCSchultz]

To me it sounds like everything you like about the phone is due to android 2.0, and everything you don't like is hardware related. I kind of expected this. Ill probably wait for some better hardware (mainly better physical keyboard). Possibly something HTC branded or I may have to switch carriers to get that Sony/Erickson. Or maybe that gigantic dell that's coming out

Thanks for the review.

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[Maske]

I'm buying the Eris either today or tomorrow, mainly for a few reasons:

1.) Physical keyboard - everyone seems to not be using it, or using it a very small amount. When I played with it in store it didn't seem the best also. I can get the touch screen out of the Eris like I could with the DROID
2.) Flash - It doesn't bother me if I lack the flash on the camera
3.) Processor - From what I've heard, the processor seems to hold it's own and isn't far behind from the DROID (2~4 seconds when loading webpages) so I think it'll do me just fine.
4.) Eclair 2.0 - I know the Eris doesn't have it yet, but it'll be getting it soon.

So if I don't care about the major things the DROID offers, and the Eris is going to be balanced out with 2.0 soon, I thought it was a good choice.

I'll be switching from a Storm 2 as well.

[thebignewt]

Isn't the screen on the Eris smaller than the Droid? Is the Eris the phone with a trackball like a Bb? Maybe I looked at he wrong phone the other day.

[FarSide792]

Very nice review BzB.

On a side note, aside from the keyboard-hate, the only real major drawback that I've concluded from reading (I don't own a Droid yet, but I'm heavily considering it) are the complaints coming from Outlook users that are having out-of-the-box issues with syncing it. From what I see, if you use gmail and the plethora of other google apps for your primary means of communication, that you will have no problems getting things setup and working well.... I think my only drawback for going to the Eris (and I know this is a horrible comparison...but it still haunts me) is to that of the HTC Touch (the original white POS that I had for ~1 month). Absolute HORRID phone, and the idea of not having a physical keyboard, even if you don't use it, still worries me....[along the same lines as the concept of you and your gf still having separate apartments, even though you 'live' together....just a safety-blanket type thing I guess? lol]

[mrjam3s]

I agree...nice review!

[StuartV]

Hey BzB,

Any progress on setting up ActiveSync against 2 separate email accounts?

I would still really like to know how Android handles syncing 2 separate sets of Contacts and Calendar entries (if it even can).

Also, what about the native ActiveSync email client was a problem that TouchDown fixed/does better? How much does TouchDown cost?

[ferniesp]

I am on wifi right now getting my oil changed. So fast.
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[stevcha]

nice review. i agree. Droid rocks

Awesome avatar!!

[numus]

I'm buying the Eris either today or tomorrow, mainly for a few reasons:

1.) Physical keyboard - everyone seems to not be using it, or using it a very small amount. When I played with it in store it didn't seem the best also. I can get the touch screen out of the Eris like I could with the DROID
2.) Flash - It doesn't bother me if I lack the flash on the camera
3.) Processor - From what I've heard, the processor seems to hold it's own and isn't far behind from the DROID (2~4 seconds when loading webpages) so I think it'll do me just fine.
4.) Eclair 2.0 - I know the Eris doesn't have it yet, but it'll be getting it soon.

So if I don't care about the major things the DROID offers, and the Eris is going to be balanced out with 2.0 soon, I thought it was a good choice.

I'll be switching from a Storm 2 as well.

Be very careful about statement 3.. The Eris uses a 528Mhz Qualcomm (same as the hero).. while the droid only has a 600 Mhz processor.. it is the new Coretex A8 which is equivalent in speed to the 800 MHz ARM11 used in the samsung moment.. The droid is much faster then the Droid Eris so don't base your decision on the MHz of the processors..

The one thing i do not like about the droid (friend bought one and i have been playing with it for a little) is the lack of a physical end/call button.. any storm I/II users find this a little difficult and/or hard to adjust to?

[noized77]

Let's not forget. The Eris screen resolution is almost half the Droid and they looked pixilated in comparison(800x460 vs 600x320). I also wanted to go this route since I can't stand the droids slide out design. But man, the screen looks terrible next to the Droid. That's the deal breaker for me.

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[BzB]

Hey BzB,

Any progress on setting up ActiveSync against 2 separate email accounts?

I would still really like to know how Android handles syncing 2 separate sets of Contacts and Calendar entries (if it even can).

Also, what about the native ActiveSync email client was a problem that TouchDown fixed/does better? How much does TouchDown cost?

stuartv, i still haven't had a chance to try this yet but i'm 90% sure it can be done. want to get everything completely setup and then backed up before experimenting. however, when looking through the standard email app and touchdown both allow you to create profiles which keeps the email separate. just like adding a new pop mail account on the blackberry but without the limitation of one bes account per device.

as for the native activesync email client here are the things that bothered me that touchdown solved:

-didn't like the way the native app aggregated emails. with my bb i was used to received and sent items being show in one view. the native client can't do that. touchdown can show messages from whatever folders you want in one view, i have mine set to show messages from my inbox and sent items.
-no option for a signature in native email app.
-doesn't seem to send in html format.
-better custom alerts and also customizable led colors with touchdown.
-the touchdown ui just plain looks better (cleaner) and has categories within the ui that allows you to quickly switch between calendar, contacts, tasks, email. it also has a today style view and widget you can place on a main screen for whatever view you want.

those were the major issues. the native app works, but it's not that visually appealing or full featured as the add on email apps. i think the cost for touchdown was $10 and it is well worth it. now only if they add note syncing i'll be 100% satisfied.

the main thing to keep in mind with the android os and email when comparing to a blackberry is that it's not a dedicated email device like the bb is. it can do email very well with add-on apps, but out of the box android's standard email functionality wasn't good enough for me.

it bears saying again, the blackberry os just isn't on the same level as android 2.0 and the guts of the droid when it comes to a full featured smartphone. this thing is a beast.

[BzB]

The one thing i do not like about the droid (friend bought one and i have been playing with it for a little) is the lack of a physical end/call button.. any storm I/II users find this a little difficult and/or hard to adjust to?

i wondered about this too, but it hasn't been an issue or difficult adjustment at all. when phone calls come in it defaults to the answer screen. to start a call you do have to go to the phone app, but that's one of the apps on my home screen and it's just one press more than you would normally do on the storm 2.