Before the Motorola Droid was launched to consumers, its marketing campaign promised “Droid Does.” So what exactly does the Droid do? With superior call quality, a growing app store, and an extremely functional GPS navigation feature in Google Navigator, Droid certainly does a lot. Any user is sure to get a lot out of the smartphone from the moment it is turned on.
Easy-to-Use Touchscreen Smartphone
The Droid is very easy to use out of the box. The first thing a new Droid user will do is link the Droid to a Google account. This will link the Droid to the user’s Gmail inbox, contacts, calendar and Google Chat. Buyers without a Google account can sign up for a free account.
The Droid is designed to be very to navigate. The static buttons along the bottom include back, more, home and search. The “more” function changes not only from app to app, but from screen to screen within an app.
The Droid comes with a few apps already loaded, but through the Android Market, users can personalize their Droid by downloading any number of the over 10,000 apps available, from categories such as Communication, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Multimedia, News & Weather, Productivity, Shopping, Sports, Tools and more. Many applications are free, and most paid apps are only $0.99. Some paid apps also have a “lite” version that is free to download.
Excellent Call Quality
Sometimes it is easy to forget that the Droid is in fact a phone. Luckily, the quality of the phone proves this feature was not overlooked during design – the call quality is spectacular. Not only is the quality great for the Droid user, but the sound quality for the person on the other end of the call has been described as “loud and clear.” The speaker phone function is also very crisp and clear, to the point that on-hold music is almost of the same quality as listening the Droid’s music player.
Top-of-the-line Camera
The Motorola Droid has a 5-megapixel camera, with flash funtionality. The camera includes settings such as Scene Mode (with 10 functions besides auto, such as portrait, sunset, landscape and night), White Balance, Color Effect, Store Location, Picture Size, Picture Quality and Focus Mode. The resulting photographs are crisp and clear, thanks to the flash and one of the highest megapixel levels among phones. Additionally, the Droid can also shoot video in high definition with great audio quality.
Three Modes of Typing
Users of the Droid can type in three different ways. The on-screen QWERTY keyboard automatically adjusts if the phone is held portrait or landscape. Additionally, the Droid had a physical slide-out keyboard, with automatically adjusting backlighting. The user can decide which keyboard is the most practical or efficient option depending on the situation. Most users will quickly adjust to using any of the three keyboard options, even when upgrading from a traditional cell phone to the Droid.
Multiple Ways to Communicate
The Motorola Droid easily syncs with a Google account, which includes not only Gmail, but also contacts, chat and calendar. Additionally, the Droid can sync to an Exchange server corporate account, to sync with email, contacts and calendar items. The app Corporate Directory easily connects to the Global Address List linked to the Exchange account. For social media, there are apps for Facebook, My Space and chat programs like AIM.
Google Navigation - Built in GPS Navigator
One very hand application that comes loaded on the Droid is Google Navigation. At no additional cost, the Droid doubles as a GPS navigation device that includes maps, destinations and traffic updates that are updated as frequently as Google Maps.
The Droid Car Mount can be purchased for an additional $29.99, which will mount to your windshield or dashboard. Google Navigation launches automatically when the Droid is placed into the Car Mount. Users can search for destinations by voice, and with a few touches on the Droid’s screen, can launch turn-by-turn audio directions, similar to any GPS navigation device. The function also displays real-time traffic information, and will reroute automatically if the driver makes a different turn.
Google Navigation still works without the Car Mount, accessible through the Maps application, but without the driver-friendly Google Navigation home screen. Considering other GPS navigation devices that offer updated maps and real-time traffic information can cost as much as the Droid, but function only as GPS navigators, the Google Navigation function on the Droid is extremely valuable.
Pay Attention to Battery Life
The Droid does a lot, and as such, the battery can wear down. The Droid comes with a wall charger, but Droid users should buy a car charger if planning to frequently use the Droid’s music player and/or Google Navigation app in the car. Additionally, the Multimedia Station, available for $29.99, includes an extra wall charger. The Multimedia Station turns the Droid into a handy desktop music player, digital photo frame and weather dock. Additionally, the cord that comes with the wall charger can be used to connect the Droid to a computer, and charge the Droid through the computer’s battery while sharing files between the computer and the Droid.
Overall Impression of the Motorola Droid
The Motorola Droid is a very powerful device. It combines a phone, camera, music player, GPS navigator, email inbox, calendar and much more into one pocket-sized device. Is it an iPhone killer? Probably not, as the iPhone has many loyal users. However, the Droid seems to be able to do everything the iPhone can do, and more, considering it has a QWERTY keyboard, a flash on the camera, Google Navigation, Verizon’s network, and an app store that will only continue to grow as more people purchase Android phones.
The Motorola Droid is currently available on Verizon Wireless for $299.99, with a $100 Visa gift card rebate. Users will have to add a data plan to their voice plan. Data plans start at $29.99 per month, which allows for unlimited data usage.
Maggie Wolff - Maggie has over seven years of experience in public relations and marketing in the fields of healthcare, performing arts, and professional ...
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