The Motorola Droid is going to be succeeded. We know it is. Motorola does, as do Verizon and Adobe (look at Moto’s and VZW’s sites). And hence, the original Droid that so many millions own will be out of date, until its FroYo 2.2 update nears. In fact, the official announcement of “the next generation of Droid” is tomorrow, so let’s go over a quick look at what the Droid was, and what it truely is.
Price as Reviewed: $149.99 on 2-year contract with Verizon
Full Disclosure: Sent in by Motorola, Inc. for review.
The Specs
A 3.7-inch TFT LCD screen with a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. The Arm Cortex™ A8 550 mHz processor. 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash. Android 2.1 stock. 16 GB microSD pre-installed. A full slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Wi-Fi/GPS/EV-DO bands on Verizon Wireless. And the thousands of improving-in-quality apps on the Android Market. Very nice, Moto, Google, and Verizon.
The Feel And Quality Of The Grandfather DROID
It’s heavy, and that’s been one of the Droid’s main complaints. At 6 oz. (169 grams) the Droid is no featherweight, but that comes with a plus of great build materials all around. Even with the iffy keyboard, the plastic keys which were built too flat to recognize while typing are at least of good quality The screen is one of the most beautiful things you’ll look at, because if you’re paying close attention, the Droid uses the same screen technology as the EVO 4G, with the same res, albeit a difference of 4 measly pixels. Also the DROID has a very industrial look, which makes it one of the best looking phones designed to date. And that awesome “Drooooooiiiiid” sound is just-just…let the gallery at the very bottom of this review do the talking, will you? Oh, here’s some video:
The 5MP Camera…Sucks
Sadly. *insert sad face here* The DROID’s camera sucks. There’s nothing softer, nor harsher we (read: I) can say. It’s grainy, out of saturation and contrast, and is just ghastly to look at compared to what’s out there, even what Motorola offers. But at least you can capture moments quickly, due to the incredible speed it takes these lackluster photos. The flash is also particularly useful, as seen here:
It’s Fast, But Not Blazing
With the coming and going of the 1GHz Snapdragon chip, the Droid’s A8 550Mhz Cortex is less than the aforementioned. But lag is hardly a issue, and battery life lasts throughout an entire day because of it. According to benchmarking platform Linpack for Android, the Moto DROID achieves an average of 4.549 megaflops. Not on the same class as the Nexus One running 2.2 FroYo, but again the Droid isn’t a slouch running Android 2.1 “Eclair”. It does. Droid Does. And it’ll do more when 2.2 “FroYo” is served to it.
It’s Time For The Bottom Line
Right now, if you asked me what’s a great Motorola Android phone to buy, I’d quickly yelp “the DROID dude”. Tomorrow I’d say the “Droid X is awesome; Droid 1 is for old people”. See what I mean? Mobile moves fast, and it’s nearly impossible to keep up. So with that, the Droid is still always going to be, “the Droid”. Why? Because it was the first truly awesome Android smartphone.
Pros:
- It awesome looking. Screams industrial brilliance.
- At some point, Batman probably owned it.
- Verizon’s always-reliable network.
- The gorgeous screen
- It’s a Droid. Duh. D’oh!
- The all day battery, which lasts through heavy multitasking.
Cons:
- Awful, awful keyboard.
- That it’ll be old in less than 48 hours.
- That horrid camera.
MOTOROLA DROID REVIEW GALLERY
[Thanks, Motorola!]
Motorola DROID @ TestFreaks.com
