Just upgraded from the Droid1 to the Galaxy Nexus.. Update: Got the Droid4.

[Spoooon]

I returned the Galaxy Nexus today and picked up the Droid 4.

I gave the touch keyboard a fair chance. I certainly got better with it, but it still annoyed me. Way too many mistakes. Just wasn't ever satisfied with it.

I think I'll like this much better. So far it feels just as snappy as the Nexus, though I do notice there are a TON of silly apps that I'll never use nor do I want.

So far the only thing that's annoying me is that you have to unlock the phone twice? First the side swipe, then with your custom visible pattern swipe? Kinda odd.

How does the screen compare? Haven't seen one in person yet.

Be fun to try the keyboard out. I still mess with my og droid (with ics).

 

[Bateluer]

I think I'll like this much better. So far it feels just as snappy as the Nexus, though I do notice there are a TON of silly apps that I'll never use nor do I want.

About 31 by Android Police's count on their initial review. Its obscene. D4 won't be nearly as fast as the Nexus with the bloatware and excreBlur bogging it down, but at least you can type more accurately on it.

Lot of reports are saying the screen is nearly identical to the Droid 3/DX2/Bionic, often regarded as utter crud too. Haven't seen a D4 in person myself, but I know the X2 and D3's screens are truly awful.

 

[Eli]

I'm not sure I understand the screen thing. It's not like it's all pixely or anything. Maybe it's because I don't watch movies on my phone?

Dunno. The keyboard layout is quite a bit different from the Droid1, so that will take some getting used to. Just can't win.

I like the spirit of the Nexus. It was nice and clean.. so I do acknowledge that trade off. Maybe it will prompt me to finally root a phone.

 

[Rifter]

Wow you gave up a nexus for the crap screen on a D4? lol. I guess if you like the keyboard it might be worth it to you but i do to much multimedia/gaming to give up a super amoled for a crap TFT on the droid 4. And yes i have seen one in person, my S2 screen destroys it i can only imagine the HD screen on the nexus would be even better.

But hey if you love the real keyboard i guess the options are getting pretty thin.

 

[zerocool84]

I returned the Galaxy Nexus today and picked up the Droid 4.

I gave the touch keyboard a fair chance. I certainly got better with it, but it still annoyed me. Way too many mistakes. Just wasn't ever satisfied with it.

I think I'll like this much better. So far it feels just as snappy as the Nexus, though I do notice there are a TON of silly apps that I'll never use nor do I want.

So far the only thing that's annoying me is that you have to unlock the phone twice? First the side swipe, then with your custom visible pattern swipe? Kinda odd.

You should be able to turn off that pattern lock in the security settings.

 

[Deeko]

Wow you gave up a nexus for the crap screen on a D4? lol. I guess if you like the keyboard it might be worth it to you but i do to much multimedia/gaming to give up a super amoled for a crap TFT on the droid 4. And yes i have seen one in person, my S2 screen destroys it i can only imagine the HD screen on the nexus would be even better.

But hey if you love the real keyboard i guess the options are getting pretty thin.

There's more to a smartphone than the resolution of the screen. I certainly know what he's going through - the vast majority of what I do on a smartphone is typing based (including this post), so having a quaility keyboard trumps just about every other feature. This is why I carry around both a BlackBerry Bold and a Samsung Focus. The Focus actually has quite a good virtual keyboard - but it still can't hold a candle to the Bold's.

Either way, the screen on the Droid 4 isn't going to win any awards, but its certainly not BAD. It will do the job, I'm sure.

 

[Eli]

Yeah, I don't quite understand the screen thing. I don't game and I rarely even watch videos on my phone. Mostly texting, email, and the occasional web search and phone call. The screen seems fine.

As far as the lock.. I thought the custom swipe pattern would come up first like on the OG Droid and Nexus. But this one is making me swipe right to unlock, then input my custom swipe to completely unlock it. Probably just need to go through the settings again.

I already like it better.. the keyboard is really nice. The contours of the phone make it a little harder to slide open without it popping out of your hands. I think I saw another review mention that. I think I'll get used to it or figure it out, but it might be a little annoying. I really like using a phone in landscape mode. It fits in my hands better that way. With the Nexus in portrait mode, my hands were kinda scrunched up, which I think contributed to making more mistakes on the virtual keyboard. It really wasn't usable in landscape mode since the keyboard took up the whole screen. Didn't like that at all.

I'd have probably kept it if there was a wireless keyboard case available for it, though.

Another thing, which will probably seem odd.. I like the heft of the Droid. I like knowing it's in my pocket. The Nexus was really light, which I'm sure is an advantage in most people's books, but I was always checking to see if it was still in my pocket, lol.. it was weird.

 

[Bateluer]

There's more to a smartphone than the resolution of the screen. I certainly know what he's going through - the vast majority of what I do on a smartphone is typing based (including this post), so having a quaility keyboard trumps just about every other feature. This is why I carry around both a BlackBerry Bold and a Samsung Focus. The Focus actually has quite a good virtual keyboard - but it still can't hold a candle to the Bold's.

Either way, the screen on the Droid 4 isn't going to win any awards, but its certainly not BAD. It will do the job, I'm sure.

Resolution is only one factor when talking about screens. The SGS2s have incredible screens, but are only 800x480. The DX2, Bionic, D3 and D4 all have qHD screens, but use Pentile. Makes their colors washed out, text blurry, and visibility in sunlight suffers.

My old D1 and Tbolt were unusable in full sun, my Nexus is usable.

 

[Deeko]

Resolution is only one factor when talking about screens. The SGS2s have incredible screens, but are only 800x480. The DX2, Bionic, D3 and D4 all have qHD screens, but use Pentile. Makes their colors washed out, text blurry, and visibility in sunlight suffers.

My old D1 and Tbolt were unusable in full sun, my Nexus is usable.

I know that its pentile, but its still a usable device, and if keyboard is more important to you than screen, there's little reason to get the Nexus over the Droid 4.

 

[soccerballtux]

Resolution is only one factor when talking about screens. The SGS2s have incredible screens, but are only 800x480. The DX2, Bionic, D3 and D4 all have qHD screens, but use Pentile. Makes their colors washed out, text blurry, and visibility in sunlight suffers.

My old D1 and Tbolt were unusable in full sun, my Nexus is usable.

qHD on 4" screen is fine with
1. black text on white, I don't notice it at all and if I look really close it doesn't bother me because it's so small
2. dark background wallpaper. Don't use a lighter colored one, it makes the pentile noticable.

I have an Atrix4g and it's fine.
My friend's Bionic looks terrible though. 0.3" larger makes all the difference it seems, or possibly the screen pentile tech is different...who knows...if I were getting a 4.3" screen with pentile I'd go cry in a corner.

 

[shortylickens]

Resolution is only one factor when talking about screens. The SGS2s have incredible screens, but are only 800x480. The DX2, Bionic, D3 and D4 all have qHD screens, but use Pentile. Makes their colors washed out, text blurry, and visibility in sunlight suffers.

My old D1 and Tbolt were unusable in full sun, my Nexus is usable.

Gee thats funny cuz my D1 was just fine in direct sunlight.
:hmm:

 

[podspi]

Resolution is only one factor when talking about screens. The SGS2s have incredible screens, but are only 800x480. The DX2, Bionic, D3 and D4 all have qHD screens, but use Pentile. Makes their colors washed out, text blurry, and visibility in sunlight suffers.

My old D1 and Tbolt were unusable in full sun, my Nexus is usable.

Gee thats funny cuz my D1 was just fine in direct sunlight.
:hmm:

Yea, the D1's screen is pretty awesome. no problems in or outside.

I think the rage against pentile screens is completely overblown. Yes, it will bother some people, but I would wager most people don't care.

At the end of the day, if you value the hardware keyboard enough (and the D4 has a great hardware keyboard), then the weight/screen/MotoBleh trade-off is worth it.

Also, I expect MotoBlur is going to be on its way out soon enough. Though they'll probably continue to update it for older phones (UI consistency), oh well...

 

[coloumb]

What I like about a physical keyboard [from using a work supplied Blackberry 9000] is the physical feedback from touching/pressing the keys. I also have a Nextel PTT phone with the large horizontal slide out keyboard and HATE it simply because I have to use 2 hands to text.

On my LG Optimus S [don't laugh too hard] - I find the touch screen can't keep up with how fast I can type - where as the blackberry it can. And if I use Swiftkey, I spend a lot of time not pressing the area exactly where needed to choose the word [I use my right thumb] - I will either press the "w", "y", or "o" key or the box with the word I want to choose. On the Lg Optimus - I find myself using the voice input a lot if I'm in a situation where I don't mind people overhearing my text conversation.

I should probably go to a wireless carrier store and try out touchscreen keyboard on a modern phone - maybe it's more responsive and easier to type on a larger screen. I just wish vendors would offer a blackberry size keyboard [slide out] as well..

 

[lothar]

Yea, the D1's screen is pretty awesome. no problems in or outside.

I think the rage against pentile screens is completely overblown. Yes, it will bother some people, but I would wager most people don't care.

At the end of the day, if you value the hardware keyboard enough (and the D4 has a great hardware keyboard), then the weight/screen/MotoBleh trade-off is worth it.

Also, I expect MotoBlur is going to be on its way out soon enough. Though they'll probably continue to update it for older phones (UI consistency), oh well...

Shens.

 

[podspi]

You really think Google is going to keep developing MotoBlur? I mean, it is a possibility, but I have a hard time believing it...

That being said, I know a few people who prefer MotoBlur to stock. In fact, everyone I know w/ a Moto phone (3 people) prefer the skin to AOSP. One of which actually spent a lot of time w/ AOSP (I installed CM7 for them). So maybe you are right. But what does that say about the stock Android UI?

 

[lothar]

You really think Google is going to keep developing MotoBlur? I mean, it is a possibility, but I have a hard time believing it...

That being said, I know a few people who prefer MotoBlur to stock. In fact, everyone I know w/ a Moto phone (3 people) prefer the skin to AOSP. One of which actually spent a lot of time w/ AOSP (I installed CM7 for them). So maybe you are right. But what does that say about the stock Android UI?

Yes, I think Motorola Mobility Inc will keep developing MotoBlur.

Those people are nuts.
MotoBlur is one of the worst Android skins out there.
Both Samsung's TouchWiz and HTC's Sense are better than it by a mile.

 

[cr2250]

I have the Mytouch 4g slide, best android phone out today. Keyboard is great, screen is pretty good and battery life isn't too bad

 

[Deeko]

Yea, the D1's screen is pretty awesome. no problems in or outside.

Yea, I don't recall having problems with my D1's screen.

I think the rage against pentile screens is completely overblown. Yes, it will bother some people, but I would wager most people don't care.

Agreed. Its a matter of personal preference, but it just doesn't bother some people. I can recognize that my Focus has PenTile because I know what to look for, but it still doesn't bother me. I still think the screen looks great.

 

[rh71]

still loving swype, not missing the physical keyboard... not many mistakes at all.

 

[Valis]

So what's your biggest pros and cons about the Droid 4? I'm thinking about getting one. (my first ever smartphone) Well, if they ever make it over here, to Europe.

 

[Eli]

Well.. the biggest pro is the keyboard. It's really, truly awesome. It will take a couple of days for you to get used to, even from the Droid1, but once you do - it's amazing.

I used the on-screen keyboard on the Nexus for something like 10 days, and while I certainly got better at it, I just didn't like it. Sure, auto-correct worked great, but it annoyed me greatly to have to look every time to see if auto-correct picked the right word if I screwed up.. and I screwed up a lot, compared to a real keyboard.

It's like I have my old phone back, only better - faster, more refined. It really does feel every bit as fast as the Nexus. I've never encountered anything that one could call "lag".

I like how the Droid fits in my hands. I like how landscape mode operates "correctly", or I guess how I was used to it operating.

The case I got fixed the sliding the phone open problem. Battery life seems slightly better than the Nexus during use, probably because of the smaller screen?

Overall, I see the internal battery as a pretty big downside. I don't like that at all. But the phone and battery will likely last for 2 years, so I guess it doesn't matter much overall.

 

[Valis]

Battery can't be replaced? D:

 

[Spoooon]

Battery can't be replaced? D:

Well, it can be replaced in the sense that almost anything is replaceable.

I think it's glued in, not sure if there is solder involved. Ars linked to the teardown recently.

 

[Eli]

Yeah, like the iPhone.. it's inside the phone, so you would have to take it apart. I guess "can't" is too strong a word.

Battery life seems much better than the Nexus now that I've used it a bit. Casual use all day today and it's still at 50%.

Another thing that I've noticed is that in any given situation, signal is much better. I can get nice solid 4g in parts of my building that it would drop to 3g before.