Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home IT Management
    • IT Management
    • Mobile
    • Networking
    • Servers

    Motorola Droid Is a -Killer Phone,’ Journal, Times Agree

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    November 5, 2009
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      The Motorola Droid will be available on the Verizon Wireless network this Friday, Nov. 6., and The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have weighed in on the Android-running, iPhone-provoking device.

      “I regard it as a success overall,” wrote the Journal’s Walter Mossberg on Nov. 5. “It’s the best super-smart phone Verizon offers, the best Motorola phone I’ve tested and the best hardware so far to run Android.”

      The Times’ David Pogue, in his Nov. 5 review, enthused: “Motorola’s new team faced a spectacularly difficult task and did a spectacularly great job.”

      But is it an iPhone killer? Pogue summed up the sentiments of both reviewers. “No, but it’s certainly a killer phone.”

      Both reviewers applauded Google’s update to Android 2.0, which, as Mossberg wrote, “sands off some of the rough edges of Google’s platform and adds some features – notably, a free voice-prompted turn-by-turn navigation program.”

      Each was also pleased with Verizon’s service, which Pogue called “superior” and free of dropped calls, before continuing, “The Droid is just incredibly fast, so it’s a delight to use. Audio quality is superb, both on phone calls and music.”

      Both liked the albeit Star Wars-esque look of the Droid, with Pogue calling the screen “gorgeous” and Mossberg calling the device “handsome.” Though it’s 1.4 millimeters thicker than the iPhone, it manages to fit in a slide-out keyboard. “But it’s 25 percent heavier, which makes it less comfortable to carry around in a pocket,” Mossberg qualified.

      Pogue was glad for the keyboard, but Mossberg found it awkward to use and defaulted to the on-screen keyboard. And as for that gorgeous screen, while it’s touch sensitive, it lacks multitouch features such as two-finger zooming, which disappointed both critics.

      Each was glad for the Droid’s ability, like the Palm Pre’s, to accommodate several open applications at once, but Mossberg complained, “The Droid’s screen has only three panels for displaying apps, versus 11 on the iPhone, and some large apps, called widgets, hog much of the space on these panels.”

      Pogue found the Droid’s browser to be good, though slower than the iPhone’s, and noted that the Droid doesn’t work outside the United States, like the iPhone will, for a fee, and despite Google having grown its Android Market to now 12,000 apps, Pogue couldn’t help but miss Apple’s App Store, which has “100,000 – and over all, they seem to be more useful and imaginative.”

      He was, however, thrilled about Android’s 2.0 navigation software. “The real mind blower/game changer? This software is free. All of it.” Pogue noted that spirits were likely low at this year’s Garmin Halloween party.

      Mossberg was happy with the Droid’s battery life, liked the optional $30 docks for the car or nightstand, and bumped into just one issue, likely a glitch, in which he couldn’t send a multimedia message. Overall, however, he gave the Droid high marks.

      “The Droid is potentially a big win for Verizon, Motorola and Google, as well as for loyal Verizon customers,” Mossberg wrote. And Pogue agreed.

      Settling the iPhone vs. Droid debate prompted by Verizon, Pogue said that the iPhone wins on the fronts of simplicity, refinement, thinness and design, Web browsing, syncing music and video with a computer, accessories and its app store. And the Droid? “The Droid wins on phone network, customizability, GPS navigation, speaker, physical keyboard, removable battery and openness (free operating system, mostly uncensored app store.)”

      Which certainly counts for something.

      The Droid, also debuting in Europe and South America as the Milestone, will be priced at $199.99, with a $100 mail-in rebate – though at Best Buy the rebate is instant – and a minimum $70 monthly service plan for two years.

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×