Motorola Droid 4 Offers Killer QWERTY Slider Keyboard

Meet the Droid 4

The Droid 4 begins like the other Droids in physical appearance. This device has a 4-inch thin-film transistor (TFT) LCD display with a 540 x 960 resolution.

Bringing Up the Rear

The device has an 8-megapixel camera on back, paired with a 1.3MP shutter in the front for video chat. The video camera records and plays back in HD 1080p.

Side View

In a time of thin Samsung Galaxy devices, and the super-thin Droid Razr, the Droid at 0.51 inches might be a little thick for some users' tastes. But it is a slider after all, so it's bound to be thicker. It also weighs 6.3 ounces, which could be more of a deal-breaker for some folks.

Powering Up

Powering up the Droid 4 reveals the Motoblur UI, and you can get a good look at the redesigned QWERTY keyboard.

Droid 3 Keys

You can see the older QWERTY keyboard from the Droid 3 in this picture. Note no caps lock or tab button, which the Droid 4 has.

Droid 4 Keys Lit

We mentioned the Droid 4's keys lit up when accessed. Check it out here.

Get Smart

The Droid 4 is preloaded with several applications, including Motorola's helpful Smart Actions smartphone-management tool, which lets users prescribe several rules for the Droid lineup.

MOG

The MOG music service comes preloaded on the Droid 4.

Slingbox

So does Slingbox, the remote television-management service.

VideoSurf

The Droid 4 includes VideoSurf, a video search engine that helps people search, discover and watch online videos. This seems a little like overkill for a phone that already has a YouTube app optimized for Android, but extra choice is a good thing right?

Netflix

Of course, what would an Android phone be these days without Netflix?

Et tu, Droid 3?

Some users who looked at the Droid 3 when it launched last July may wonder what the differences between the 3 and Droid 4 might be. The Droid 3 was 3G-only and had a slightly slower processor-1GHz dual-core. Also, while both phones' rear cameras are 8 megapixels, Motorola vastly improved the front-facing shutter for the Droid 4.

Physical

Both phones have 4-inch screens that use quarter-high-definition (qHD) technology, but the Droid 4 is a little crisper, as you can see from the physical specs. Also, the new phone is 5 grams lighter.

Battery

The Droid 4's battery is also more powerful than its predecessor's power supply. The Droid 3 has more standby time.