Should I get a Droid today? Any reason to wait?

[RaiderJ]

I'm currently off-contract with AT&T and want to switch to Verizon as I get a work discount on the plan price, and I want a Droid phone. Not into the iPhone.

Any reason I shouldn't pick up the Droid? It's $20 on Amazon, with a new 2-year contract (which I'd sign up for). If there's something coming out in the next couple months that would be better, I can wait. Otherwise, Droid seems like the best Android based phone out there.

Thoughts?

 

[Riverhound777]

Nexus 1 and HTC Incredible both should be out "Soon". Both better than droid. I'm waiting for the Incredible.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Verizon will be getting the Nexus One any day now.

 

[Deeko]

If you want a full keyboard, Droid is still your best bet at the moment (unless you're into the Pre). LG's first Windows Phone 7 device is supposed to have a keyboard, but that won't be out for another six months or so.

If you don't care about the keyboard, the Nexus One and/or Incredible are superior phones to the Droid is most other ways.

 

[Pantlegz]

Anyone check into the issues the Nexus One(and supposidly every other HTC andriod phone) has with it's touch screen? I was waiting for the N1 but I'm kind of worried if they're going to have issues with the screen.

 

[AstroManLuca]

(unless you're into the Pre)

I wouldn't get a Pre right now. Palm is a sinking ship. Also, the keyboard on the Pre is awful and it's not easy to get an on-screen keyboard. Android has a great number of free and paid on-screen keyboard choices.

 

[Deeko]

I wouldn't get a Pre right now. Palm is a sinking ship. Also, the keyboard on the Pre is awful and it's not easy to get an on-screen keyboard. Android has a great number of free and paid on-screen keyboard choices.

Hence I said get the Droid, unless you're into the Pre. Some people do actually prefer WebOS...having used both, it really is superior to Android in some ways, even if the Pre's hardware is lackluster. As for the hardware keyboard, lets be serious - both the Droid and the Pre have crappy keyboards compared to the competition. Pit the Pre vs a Blackberry, or the Droid vs a Touch Pro 2, neither of them compare.

 

[bucwylde23]

As has been said, I'd wait for a Nexus One or even the Incredible if you don't care about the keyboard.
If you can wait a couple months, why not wait (most likely) a month or less to get a nexus one.

 

[RaiderJ]

Thanks for the info - I like physical keyboards, but not impressed with the Droid's keyboard. Preferred the touch screen one.

Both Nexus One and the Incredible are coming to Verizon?

 

[dguy6789]

Thanks for the info - I like physical keyboards, but not impressed with the Droid's keyboard. Preferred the touch screen one.

Both Nexus One and the Incredible are coming to Verizon?

Yup, both are coming to Verizon.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I'd avoid the N1. The Droid smacks the N1 in terms of RF and call quality. If you just do data, sure you can get the N1. But coming from Milestone to N1, I have to say the earpiece is terrible. Voices sound tiny, and it's usable only in quiet rooms. The speaker itself is just terrible, and I have a Youtube video demoing the 2 phones side by side. The Droid would feel like a boombox while the N1 is just whispering.

But Droid on custom ROMs and stuff, you can get 2.1, put on live wallpapers you can OC to over 1ghz. You're NOT at a speed disadvantage. I see nothign wrong with getting a Droid. If this were Milestone versus N1, the outcome would be entirely different.

 

[RaiderJ]

I'd avoid the N1. The Droid smacks the N1 in terms of RF and call quality. If you just do data, sure you can get the N1. But coming from Milestone to N1, I have to say the earpiece is terrible. Voices sound tiny, and it's usable only in quiet rooms. The speaker itself is just terrible, and I have a Youtube video demoing the 2 phones side by side. The Droid would feel like a boombox while the N1 is just whispering.

But Droid on custom ROMs and stuff, you can get 2.1, put on live wallpapers you can OC to over 1ghz. You're NOT at a speed disadvantage. I see nothign wrong with getting a Droid. If this were Milestone versus N1, the outcome would be entirely different.

Which phone is the N1? Definitely want a phone that acts like a good phone.
EDIT: Nexus One

You do have a good point with the Droid's speed - and plus I'm not a power user. The Droid is $20, which is a great price. Not sure if I'd want to spend $150 or more on a "newer" Android phone either.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Which phone is the N1? Definitely want a phone that acts like a good phone.
EDIT: Nexus One

You do have a good point with the Droid's speed - and plus I'm not a power user. The Droid is $20, which is a great price. Not sure if I'd want to spend $150 or more on a "newer" Android phone either.

I've used both, and I don't know how big of a factor it will be onVZW, but when using both phones on AT&T's network, I noticed the Nexus One got significantly lower RF values. -10dBm or so lower. I'd fail to complete some speedtests on my N1, and while playing games at work, I'd drop out constantly. I've never dropped connection on my Milestone (GSM Droid). EVER. I know reception kinda sucks at work, but I maintain 3-4 bars on 3G on my Milestone. The Nexus One fights for it and drops to EDGE a lot. 1-2 bars 3G typically. It's bad.

As for calls, I hate the earpiece. It's a tiny POS. The Droid can blow your ear up if you wanted it to . The Nexus One makes voices sound tiny (you know Apple earbuds turned up way too high where sound is leaking through? Yeah like that). The Droid's earpiece sounds full like you're carrying out a live conversation. Then the ringer too. You can set the ringer at 1 bar from bottom on the Droid and you'll get it. Do the same on the N1 and you'll probably miss 99.9% of your calls. The N1 can get loud too if you crank it up but by then the speaker is crackling. The Droid keeps going louder and can be a freaking boombox if you wanted it to be. Loud like the N95 although the N95 had better stereo sound with 2 speakers.

My complaints are the Droid is a bit too slow. Where the iPhone is smooth in UI scrolling, the Droid is slightly choppy. The Nexus One resolves this. However, given the unlocked bootloader of the Droid, and the number of people on this forum using custom ROMs and overclocked Droids, you can see it's pretty easy to counter the Droid's speed and to bring it up to Nexus One speeds. At that point, I see no reason why one has to go with the N1. The Droid's build is better, is a better phone, has hardware QWERTY, and only suffers in speed. That and Android 2.1, but if you're going to root and use custom roms, you will have Android 2.1 also which pretty much irons out any of the Droid's shortcomings.

 

[RaiderJ]

What about the upcoming "Incredible" phone? Anything there that would make you wait and see over what the Droid does now?

I have several co-workers who have customized their Droids, I would definitely follow suit. Any custom ROMs you suggest?

 

[Deeko]

The Incredible has HTC Sense. It is a much improved interface over the stock Android. Given the choice between the Nexus One and Incredible, I'd take the Incredible in a heartbeat.

 

[BigSmooth]

My complaints are the Droid is a bit too slow. Where the iPhone is smooth in UI scrolling, the Droid is slightly choppy. The Nexus One resolves this. However, given the unlocked bootloader of the Droid, and the number of people on this forum using custom ROMs and overclocked Droids, you can see it's pretty easy to counter the Droid's speed and to bring it up to Nexus One speeds. At that point, I see no reason why one has to go with the N1. The Droid's build is better, is a better phone, has hardware QWERTY, and only suffers in speed. That and Android 2.1, but if you're going to root and use custom roms, you will have Android 2.1 also which pretty much irons out any of the Droid's shortcomings.

You know the N1 can be overclocked too, right? Last I saw, someone was able to run it at around 1.3GHz and that was a while ago. The Droid's processor simply won't ever be able to match the N1's. And there are plenty of excellent ROMs for the N1 as well (CyanogenMod, MoDaCo's HTC Desire ROM with Sense UI), and those should only continue to get better as the N1 picks up users on other networks. I agree with you on the N1's weak points: the physical build quality is inconsistent, the external speaker is nothing great, and the RF has some issues. However, it's also far thinner and lighter than the Droid, it's faster, it has dual-mic noise cancellation (which really does work), and in the opinion of most it has a slightly better screen.

In addition, perhaps the single biggest advantage of the Nexus One (IMO) is that you know it will always have the latest and greatest version of Android since it is currently Google's baby. As you mentioned, the Droid (and other phones) can be brought up to speed via ROMs etc., but for those that don't want to mess with bootloaders, the N1 is a better choice since it will always be running the newest version of Android and any Google apps natively. The N1 has been running Android 2.1 with since January when it was released - 99% of Droid users are still waiting for it nearly three months later. Don't get me wrong, the Droid is great and has some clear advantages over the N1, but the N1 has a lot going for it as well.

 

[Lumathix]

The Incredible has HTC Sense. It is a much improved interface over the stock Android. Given the choice between the Nexus One and Incredible, I'd take the Incredible in a heartbeat.

Some of us don't want HTC bloatware installed on their phones. Is it possible to use the default if you don't like Sense UI? Like maybe an on/off setting?

 

[preslove]

Some of us don't want HTC bloatware installed on their phones. Is it possible to use the default if you don't like Sense UI? Like maybe an on/off setting?

yes

 

[Deeko]

Some of us don't want HTC bloatware installed on their phones. Is it possible to use the default if you don't like Sense UI? Like maybe an on/off setting?

They would be the minority...most consider Sense to be considerably better than stock Android.

However, they're in luck, as Sense is quite easy to disable.

 

[Spoooon]

Wait for the Inredible so that you can play around with it and see what you think, then get the phone you like the best. I wouldn't be overly concerned about the specs. My Droid can go up to 1.2Ghz with no problems (aside from a little warmth) and to 1Ghz with no discernible difference in heat generated and battery life from stock.

Any phone you go with will be fine for the life of your contract.

 

[YoungGun21]

What about the upcoming "Incredible" phone? Anything there that would make you wait and see over what the Droid does now?

I have several co-workers who have customized their Droids, I would definitely follow suit. Any custom ROMs you suggest?

These are the specs of the HTC Incredible (not yet official but most were confirmed by testers)
Update:
3/29/2010 10:19 CST
A few changes to confirmed vs. unconfirmed spec's, mainly 720p recording.

Confirmed:
1 Ghz Snapdragon processor (QSD8650) (245 Mhz at idle)
RAM - 512 MB (320 usable...like N1...more to become available with OS update)
ROM - 512MB flash + 8GB moviNANDe
8 MP camera (Dual flash and AF)
Android 2.1
Sense UI (w/ Friendstream)
Optical track pad (vs. "ball")
3.7 inch screen
WVGA resolution
AMOLED
1300 MaH battery
FM Tuner
802.11 b/g
Dimensions: 117.5 mm (L) x 58.5 mm (w) x 11.9 mm (T)
Weight: 4.59 ounce
No multitouch BUG as found in N1

Unconfirmed:
8GB MicroSDHC card
RAM - Possibly 1 gig...further confirmation needed
Noise canceling dual mic? (like on Nexus One)
Release date: Most credible (although still rumored!) date is April 17th, confirmed by several sources, including a few to myself directly...take it for what it's worth.
720p recording: Some recent evidence from a leaked ROM confirm that capability is there...further vetting continues to confirm if capability will be enabled at launch.

This was copied from Android Forums where there is currently a thread with over 18,000 posts and almost 1.1 million views dedicated to the HTC Incredible.

Rumor mill points to a release sometime in the next 2 weeks.

 

[Bateluer]

Thanks for the info - I like physical keyboards, but not impressed with the Droid's keyboard. Preferred the touch screen one.

There seems to be some differences in the Moto Droid's keyboard. My Droid's keys have a slight bevel to them, but a demo model I worked with at work was entirely flat. With the slightly bevel keys on mine, I can type just as fast as I could with my Env2.

With the default Android screen keyboard, I am forced to slow down to almost a snail's pace because it simply cannot keep up with me. Looked a few paid keyboard apps a while back, but nothing really looked appealing to me, haven't kept up since.

The N1 and Incredible should be some nice phones, if you can go touch screen only though.

 

[Spoooon]

Mine are completely flat. It's not ideal, but you get used to it. And it is nice at times to get the extra screen real estate.

As far as touch keyboards go, you should check out that HTC keyboard. I feel like I can type fairly quickly.

 

[bucwylde23]

These are the specs of the HTC Incredible (not yet official but most were confirmed by testers)
Update:
3/29/2010 10:19 CST
A few changes to confirmed vs. unconfirmed spec's, mainly 720p recording.

Confirmed:
1 Ghz Snapdragon processor (QSD8650) (245 Mhz at idle)
RAM - 512 MB (320 usable...like N1...more to become available with OS update)
ROM - 512MB flash + 8GB moviNANDe
8 MP camera (Dual flash and AF)
Android 2.1
Sense UI (w/ Friendstream)
Optical track pad (vs. "ball")
3.7 inch screen
WVGA resolution
AMOLED
1300 MaH battery
FM Tuner
802.11 b/g
Dimensions: 117.5 mm (L) x 58.5 mm (w) x 11.9 mm (T)
Weight: 4.59 ounce
No multitouch BUG as found in N1

Unconfirmed:
8GB MicroSDHC card
RAM - Possibly 1 gig...further confirmation needed
Noise canceling dual mic? (like on Nexus One)
Release date: Most credible (although still rumored!) date is April 17th, confirmed by several sources, including a few to myself directly...take it for what it's worth.
720p recording: Some recent evidence from a leaked ROM confirm that capability is there...further vetting continues to confirm if capability will be enabled at launch.

This was copied from Android Forums where there is currently a thread with over 18,000 posts and almost 1.1 million views dedicated to the HTC Incredible.

Rumor mill points to a release sometime in the next 2 weeks.

Man if that ends up being accurate, I can't see how I can get a N1 over the Incredible. I was considering buying the Nexus One at off-contract price. Hopefully the incredible will be similar in price.

 

[Lumathix]

They would be the minority...most consider Sense to be considerably better than stock Android.

However, they're in luck, as Sense is quite easy to disable.

That's good to hear, and makes the Incredible look more viable for me at least.

Another reason to not want Sense UI is with a "Google Experience" phone you'll receive OS updates right when they're released and not have to wait on HTC's Sense or Motorola's Motoblur.

Just like my computers, I really don't want unnecessary software pre-installed. But that's me.