Take that! iPhone!!

[Bateluer]

you pinch to zoom out and separate fingers from a pinch position to zoom in.

Just an FYI, this is also available on the Droid. Dolphin now supports this feature.

Since Flash 10.1 is coming to Android and not the iPhone, this effectively makes the Droid the superior device by far. Not to mention the multitude of other features. Android is a great OS that gets better with every revision. It will dominate the market in a few short years. Symbian is already seeing its market share drop, and WebOS isn't going outside of the Palm Pre and Pixi(which makes no sense). Same weakness with Nokia's Maemo. WebOS and Maemo are very nice OSs, but they are stuck on the devices for their respective manufacturers and won't gain any traction.

I love my Droid. My only real complaint is the flat keyboard, it takes some getting used to it. If you've got large fat fingers, it can be a bitch to type on.

 

[MotF Bane]

you pinch to zoom out and separate fingers from a pinch position to zoom in.

http://www.droidforums.net/forum/dr...droid-does-include-multitouch-pinch-zoom.html

 

[destrekor]

you pinch to zoom out and separate fingers from a pinch position to zoom in.

multitouch browsing is coming to the Droid, at some point.
The Droid has multitouch, just none of the apps on the phone have multitouch. Don't know if Google didn't want to develop them yet for 2.0, or if they don't want to pay Apple to license the concept just yet. It sounds like the Milestone (European Droid) may have the bundled apps with multitouch. But the hardware and software support it, just the apps need to have it.

From what I have read and seen, a few apps have the feature in the Market. It's up to the app developer to add it at this point.
Here's to hoping a future update for the Browser, or that a great third party browser finds release.
I'm currently hoping that Firefox Mobile for Android will be a snappy and beastly browser. I can expect the beast but whether it is fast or not, remains to be seen. Hopefully they'll incorporate multitouch browsing for the phones that support it.

 

[Bateluer]

multitouch browsing is coming to the Droid, at some point.
The Droid has multitouch, just none of the apps on the phone have multitouch. Don't know if Google didn't want to develop them yet for 2.0, or if they don't want to pay Apple to license the concept just yet. It sounds like the Milestone (European Droid) may have the bundled apps with multitouch. But the hardware and software support it, just the apps need to have it.

From what I have read and seen, a few apps have the feature in the Market. It's up to the app developer to add it at this point.
Here's to hoping a future update for the Browser, or that a great third party browser finds release.
I'm currently hoping that Firefox Mobile for Android will be a snappy and beastly browser. I can expect the beast but whether it is fast or not, remains to be seen. Hopefully they'll incorporate multitouch browsing for the phones that support it.

Err, did you miss my post? 'Some point' was last week, at least, for the browser aspect.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Then you shouldn't look at any smartphone. No good smartphone is going to have great battery life.

Bold 9700.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Just an FYI, this is also available on the Droid. Dolphin now supports this feature.

Since Flash 10.1 is coming to Android and not the iPhone, this effectively makes the Droid the superior device by far. Not to mention the multitude of other features. Android is a great OS that gets better with every revision. It will dominate the market in a few short years. Symbian is already seeing its market share drop, and WebOS isn't going outside of the Palm Pre and Pixi(which makes no sense). Same weakness with Nokia's Maemo. WebOS and Maemo are very nice OSs, but they are stuck on the devices for their respective manufacturers and won't gain any traction.

I love my Droid. My only real complaint is the flat keyboard, it takes some getting used to it. If you've got large fat fingers, it can be a bitch to type on.

So Flash immediately makes all the other flaws disappear? Unusable camera, piss poor handling of media, low memory for apps, crummy app store...

I could do without stupid flash adds on my phone's web browser. Nothing beats the Mac OSX based iPhone for a phone OS when it comes to ease of use either.

 

[basslover1]

So Flash immediately makes all the other flaws disappear? Unusable camera, piss poor handling of media, low memory for apps, crummy app store...

I could do without stupid flash adds on my phone's web browser. Nothing beats the Mac OSX based iPhone for a phone OS when it comes to ease of use either.

Unusable camera: That has been fixed with the last OS update.
Piss poor handling of media: Uh, you save it to a removable Micro SD card, what's piss poor about it?
Low Memory for apps: Partially true. The core app service can only be saved to the on board 256M rom. However, any app has the ability to read and write to the SD card when necessary. Plus, Google is working on a fix that allows the entire app to be stored on the SD card.
Crummy app store: What's crummy about it? Just because it only has 1/10th of the amount of apps as Apple, does not make it crummy.


I used to own an iPhone, a first gen and a 3GS. I miss some parts of the iPhone, but I don't miss using it on a day to day basis.

 

[Kadarin]

I also just picked up a new Droid on this past Sunday. Sure, the iPhone is a bit more polished, but if the network (AT&T) doesn't work then it isn't worth shit. My coworker picked up a new iPhone 3GS this weekend, and we did the "how fast does the page load, ready.. set.. go!" test on their respective 3G networks. As it turns out, regardless of the page, the Droid won by a mile every time.

It's a cool little device, and it'll be interesting to see what I can do with it once I get more familiar.

 

[zerocool84]

The thing about Android phones is how customizable you can make the OS compared to other phones. Every iPhone you look at is EXACTLY the same. Apps installed may be different but that's it.

 

[Glitchny]

So Flash immediately makes all the other flaws disappear? Unusable camera, piss poor handling of media, low memory for apps, crummy app store...

I could do without stupid flash adds on my phone's web browser. Nothing beats the Mac OSX based iPhone for a phone OS when it comes to ease of use either.

Umm Camera was never unusable, there were issues that have been fixed with it and it works fine, never had an issue with media at all? Not really sure what the issue there is.

The app memory thing is a retarded argument. The executable is stored in the rom memory (very small file) and the data is on the SD card. And either way a fix is on the way.

There really isn't anything wrong with the app store other than less apps, which makes sense.

All iPhones look the same. I also prefer the customization of Android to the OS of the iPhone and "Pinch" browsing is the most overrated thing I've ever seen. I've used it... and it's nothing special.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Umm Camera was never unusable, there were issues that have been fixed with it and it works fine, never had an issue with media at all? Not really sure what the issue there is.

The app memory thing is a retarded argument. The executable is stored in the rom memory (very small file) and the data is on the SD card. And either way a fix is on the way.

There really isn't anything wrong with the app store other than less apps, which makes sense.

All iPhones look the same. I also prefer the customization of Android to the OS of the iPhone and "Pinch" browsing is the most overrated thing I've ever seen. I've used it... and it's nothing special.

Yes but I've used my share of WinMo and a touch of Android and certainly I'm an S60 guy at heart but the iPhone browsing is the easiest to use.

It's like all the iPod hate. The click wheel is the easiest crap to use. Scroll wheel? D-Pad squircle? Come on. EVERYONE has tried to make something just as easy, but the wheel is so intuitive and simple. So is Apple's multi-touch. I think you have to give them credit for that. Just like Expose is much better than Flip3D (wtf is the point of that?). Alt + Tab > Flip3D too for that matter.

It might be nothing special to you, but you have to admit:

- Apple's on screen keyboard is probably the best out there. Review after review shows that nothing is able to overtake them yet. The capacitive sensitivity is so well tuned in. Although HTC comes close, the general consensus I've seen is that Apple's spell correction and ease of use makes the keyboard #1. I agree. I can type ridiculously fast on my iPod and 3GS.
- Apple's screen is amazing too. HTC's come close with the HTC HD2, but even your best AMOLED resistive screens and other capacitive screens can't keep up.
- HTC comes the closest in keyboard. HD2 and Droid Eris have amazing keyboards.

The Droid to me is nothing special. It's a raw phone almost. Lacks multi touch. Even HTC put in some customizations for the Droid Eris... and to think a cupcake phone can come close to an Eclair phone? Motorola is the absolute worst phone company. From their terrible UI dumbphones to their under-equipped smartphones. I see why they've fallen so hard in worldwide sales (but surprisingly maintained great US sales with stupid RAZR sales)

 

[foghorn67]

You say piss on the iphone, and the list a bunch of things that the iphone does better than the droid. I really like Android, but next time you make such a statement know what the fuck you're talking about.

And there are a bunch of things Droid does better. Now piss off and deal with it.

 

[foghorn67]

Yes but I've used my share of WinMo and a touch of Android and certainly I'm an S60 guy at heart but the iPhone browsing is the easiest to use.

It's like all the iPod hate. The click wheel is the easiest crap to use. Scroll wheel? D-Pad squircle? Come on. EVERYONE has tried to make something just as easy, but the wheel is so intuitive and simple. So is Apple's multi-touch. I think you have to give them credit for that. Just like Expose is much better than Flip3D (wtf is the point of that?). Alt + Tab > Flip3D too for that matter.

It might be nothing special to you, but you have to admit:

- Apple's on screen keyboard is probably the best out there. Review after review shows that nothing is able to overtake them yet. The capacitive sensitivity is so well tuned in. Although HTC comes close, the general consensus I've seen is that Apple's spell correction and ease of use makes the keyboard #1. I agree. I can type ridiculously fast on my iPod and 3GS.
- Apple's screen is amazing too. HTC's come close with the HTC HD2, but even your best AMOLED resistive screens and other capacitive screens can't keep up.
- HTC comes the closest in keyboard. HD2 and Droid Eris have amazing keyboards.

The Droid to me is nothing special. It's a raw phone almost. Lacks multi touch. Even HTC put in some customizations for the Droid Eris... and to think a cupcake phone can come close to an Eclair phone? Motorola is the absolute worst phone company. From their terrible UI dumbphones to their under-equipped smartphones. I see why they've fallen so hard in worldwide sales (but surprisingly maintained great US sales with stupid RAZR sales)

-What about Apple's screen? It's seriously neutered compared to most smartphones being released today. If you honestly think it's still amazing, go seek help.
-Motorola's have a bad rep since trying to continue the success of the RAZR. But they have the best radios hands down. Everyone knows this. Read the reviews, everyone mentions great call quality. The only radio that comes close is Qualcomm.

 

[Tom]

for me the droid or the iphone aren't as good as the Touch Pro 2. particularly on Sprint.

 

[Zenmervolt]

The Droid to me is nothing special. It's a raw phone almost. Lacks multi touch.

No it doesn't. The included apps do, but the hardware is capable. If you want multi-touch in the browser, simply download Dolphin Browser and you have it in the web browser and PicSay has multi-touch in image viewing. Dolphin Browser is free and PicSay has a free version that does everything most people would need.

Frankly though, I fail to see what's so special about multi-touch. All it really does is force you to use two hands (one to hold the phone and one to do the fancy multi-touch zoom) instead of being able to hit a zoom slider with the thumb of the same hand that's holding the phone.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

No it doesn't. The included apps do, but the hardware is capable. If you want multi-touch in the browser, simply download Dolphin Browser and you have it in the web browser and PicSay has multi-touch in image viewing. Dolphin Browser is free and PicSay has a free version that does everything most people would need.

Frankly though, I fail to see what's so special about multi-touch. All it really does is force you to use two hands (one to hold the phone and one to do the fancy multi-touch zoom) instead of being able to hit a zoom slider with the thumb of the same hand that's holding the phone.

Well I'm glad the hardware is capable and it's capacitive and what not... Multitouch makes typing easier too. You can type a lot faster on a capacitive screen. This is what many iPhone users noted about the N97 and other touchscreen phones. You have to lift your finger off before you can type the next.

Go speed type on the Droid Eris and iPhone. You will notice both keep up very well. The iPhone has slightly better spelling correction IMO.

The Droid? Completely messes up. Won't catch my keypresses. Of course if you're a proficient iPhone typer, this is going to be a problem. If you're one of those who's not a crazy touchscreen typer it won't hurt you at all. IF you grew up using resistive screens, you'll be ok too.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

-What about Apple's screen? It's seriously neutered compared to most smartphones being released today. If you honestly think it's still amazing, go seek help.
-Motorola's have a bad rep since trying to continue the success of the RAZR. But they have the best radios hands down. Everyone knows this. Read the reviews, everyone mentions great call quality. The only radio that comes close is Qualcomm.

Apple's screen is neutered? You mean the resolution sucks? I'll give you that one. I'm talking about sunlight readability and just contrast in general. I've seen them take AMOLED screens to compare. Sure it's resistive, and indoors the Samsung Omnia II matches the iPhone, but outdoors? Nah. Even the Omnia II seems to do better than the HTC Touch HD2. Both don't hold a candle to the iPhone outdoors.

I have yet to see a Droid outdoors, so I can't comment, but the fact is the iPhone's screen has been quite amazing. In terms of a touchscreen too the responsiveness has not been matched. Clearly to me HTC has done better than Moto has done with the Droid. I've used both the Eris and the regular Droid side by side. And if most reviews say HTC still isn't at iPhone level yet, than I think it's safe to say Moto has to do a lot of work.

As for the Razr it was a decent phone when it first came out in 2004. By the time it sold like hotcakes in 2005-2006, it was old tech. But of course that's when everyone in the US thought it was the most amazing thing ever...

 

[Hadsus]

I got an iTouch and Droid. iTouch is pretty much a music player (32 gig) plus a couple of pages of apps. IMO, Droid superior by significant margin. Screen resolution and quality....no contest, Droid hands down. Pinch to zoom....as others mention, non issue with Dolphin. Virtual keyboard....close to even though I prefer the Droid as the iTouch seems to be too sensitive. Multitasking....Droid does it and iTouch doesn't. Hard keyboard.....use it enough and many if not most will prefer it. Screen layout.....iTouch is monotonous after awhile. Pages and pages of icons. Droid has home alternatives. Widgets. Wallpapering beyond the lock screen. IMO, it's the Apple that is living on reputation.

 

[hanoverphist]

i have gotten pretty used to the resistive screen on my omnia. so much so, that when i mess around on my kids itouch i forget i cant use my fingernails and have to retrain myself on it. i can type equally fast on either once i remember to use fingertips, but i still prefer the omnia screen. i dont have any real issues in sunlight, as i usually put my phone in a shadow to use it anyway. i hate the glare. i do the same with my kids itouch tho. ive also had many sessions trying to figure ouot stupid lock ups on the itouch, bad apps being installed, freezes for no apparent reason as well as features stopping working. like it muting itself when switching from headphones to speaker, regardless of the volume settings. pretty much every issue ive had with my omnia i created myself by tweaking and playing with it. i just went through a slew of different interfaces to see which ones i liked and possibly will use. i need to reset the phone now, some settings get messed up when playing that much.

i have 2 droids available here at work to play with, and i havent had many issues at all with them, inside or ouotside. pretty nice phones. but until i can take email attachments from an email and save it to the SD card for use on my laptop, ill stick with my omnia.

 

[vshah]

you pinch to zoom out and separate fingers from a pinch position to zoom in.

does iPhone have non-pinch zoom as well? (tap or double tap, or on screen buttons?) I much prefer being able to zoom in and out with one hand as opposed to holding the phone in one hand and zooming with the other.

 

[Red Storm]

The Droid screen (854x480 resolution) is hands down better than the iPhone for everything be it watching videos, Youtube, or web browsing. I switched from an iPhone to the Droid and have not had any regrets. It's a better phone (on a MUCH better network).

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

does iPhone have non-pinch zoom as well? (tap or double tap, or on screen buttons?) I much prefer being able to zoom in and out with one hand as opposed to holding the phone in one hand and zooming with the other.

Yes you have double tap. Most of the time I'll use that in browsing because when you do so it'll zoom where the text fits the screen. No need to pinch zoom unless you're looking for that specific zoom.

On my N-Series there's just the zoom button. And browsers have that built in AI that wraps text accordingly so you zoom to a reasonable level. But I'd say there's a 20% chance that I want a more specific zoom adjustment. Same with on the iPhone or any browser. Sometimes its better to get a better zoom. And this is where pinch zoom comes in.

Just imagine. If MS Word had only preview mode and fit to screen width, that would be annoying. Ctrl + Mouse wheel is awesome.

Yes the droid screen is better resolution. But it's like the people going "but omg the iPhone has a Cortex A8 unlike the Touch Pro." Yes but usability is another. I like the iPhone sensitivity. The Droid needs to get up there. Then there's sunlight readability. Every phone other than the Droid has not been able to dethrone the iPhone in terms of sunlight readability and indoors use. Maybe the Droid does it. Who knows, but AFAIK the HTC HD2 can't beat even a resistive AMOLED screen in sunlight.

Do I want a better resolution iPhone screen? Sure. But I honestly believe watching movies on a cell phone is really a nonfactor. At least to me. That's why we have youtube right? Quick and dirty. If you want the full quality deal, I'd usually wait till I get home till I'm in front of my computer at least..

 

[Glitchny]

Yes you have double tap. Most of the time I'll use that in browsing because when you do so it'll zoom where the text fits the screen. No need to pinch zoom unless you're looking for that specific zoom.

On my N-Series there's just the zoom button. And browsers have that built in AI that wraps text accordingly so you zoom to a reasonable level. But I'd say there's a 20% chance that I want a more specific zoom adjustment. Same with on the iPhone or any browser. Sometimes its better to get a better zoom. And this is where pinch zoom comes in.

Just imagine. If MS Word had only preview mode and fit to screen width, that would be annoying. Ctrl + Mouse wheel is awesome.

Yes the droid screen is better resolution. But it's like the people going "but omg the iPhone has a Cortex A8 unlike the Touch Pro." Yes but usability is another. I like the iPhone sensitivity. The Droid needs to get up there. Then there's sunlight readability. Every phone other than the Droid has not been able to dethrone the iPhone in terms of sunlight readability and indoors use. Maybe the Droid does it. Who knows, but AFAIK the HTC HD2 can't beat even a resistive AMOLED screen in sunlight.

Do I want a better resolution iPhone screen? Sure. But I honestly believe watching movies on a cell phone is really a nonfactor. At least to me. That's why we have youtube right? Quick and dirty. If you want the full quality deal, I'd usually wait till I get home till I'm in front of my computer at least..

After using both, the Droid wins easily. The Droid screen is easily as responsive and fast as the iPhone and the readability indoors or outdoors in the sun is better. Indoors it isn't even a competition the Droid hands down laughs at the iPhone screen. Outside they are pretty much even.

I'll pretty much reiterate what a comparison said online. If you are on AT&T get an iPhone, if you are on Verizon get a Droid. They are virtually equivalent as far as "capabilities" go (they both win some categories) but Verizon's network is easily better.

 

[OS]

i think the droid gui/screen responsiveness also got better with last update

i had the iphone for a month, then storm, now droid.

the droid is every bit the iphones equal and kills the bb storm 1/2.

 

[teneriffa2005]

Thought to buy an iphone for christmas, but now I think - after reading all the posts - I will switch to Droid

Thanks for all the great posts !

Tom