ericclemens.com » Cellphones

My impressions of the Motorola DROID

ericclemens — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 05:19:10 +0000

On a whim, I stopped into the Verizon store while I was in Charlotte over the holiday. I’ve looked at the DROID before – but didn’t think it was for me given the form factor. I’ve also been holding out on an upgrade – waiting for the Palm Pre to arrive at Verizon (now confirmed for January 25th BTW).

First, I can’t stop saying DROID in a machine voice. The operating system is very fast on this phone. coming from my 4 year old TREO, the DROID is snappy and responds very well to key and touch screen input with little or no lag time. It responds predictably to my commands, doesn’t lock up, or freeze which is a HUGE delight.

I was quickly able to familiarize myself with the device and thought it was fairly intuitive – but I could see some places where a non-techie would become confused at what to do next.

My first frustration with the device is the keyboard. I just don’t understand why Smartphone designers insist on making keyboards that only and infant could love. There is little to no tactile difference between keys and you could just as easily be pressing 2,3 or even 4 keys at the same time (if you are holding it in a landscape view and operating it with your thumbs). I am just as slow typing on the physical keyboard as I am on the screen keyboard. I suspect that Motorola made the keyboard the way they did to keep the device thickness down.

Secondly, I found the “silent” operation to be just that, absolutely silent. When in silent mode, it doesn’t even vibrate. I had to ask for assistance from a Verizon rep to tell me that you have to download an application for that – what? The Verizon rep noted that it is a feature of the OS to be open for users to create applications to have the phone do things which it doesn’t already do. I suppose that is true for even the most basic of “features”.

Third, the “Back, Menu, Home, and Search” keys along the bottom of the device are just way to sensitive. Many times, while using the device, if I have my palm or part of a finger near those keys, it will activate those functions. I wish it was a little less sensitive.

Lastly, the built in accelerometer is quite sensitive and the only real hang up I have is when I am using the phone, as a phone the screen is quick to dim itself and turn off if it suspects you have the phone upright (and presumably to your face). This makes selecting other functions while on a call, a bit of a challenge.

One thing that I really love about the software on the phone is that it just loves working with my Microsoft Exchange (work) and Gmail (personal) accounts. they were both very easy to setup (along with my Facebook) and the software merges all of your contacts into a single contact list. So if you have a phone number for someone on your Facebook list, but not on your email account – it will still display that merged information when you lookup their one contact record. the only problem it had was distinguishing between my bother (Carl) and my Nephew (Carl Jr.). I suppose that if you have contacts with similar names, you may have this problem as well.

Also, I really like the Google Maps navigation. It is even better that it is free. The navigation is not as nice as our Garmin – but it does a great job directing me to where I need to go.

The application library had everything I could have needed. NBA scores, Weatherbug, LinkedIn and a few games… they are easy to pick from and more are being added every day as Google extends the number of handsets which are running the Android operating system.

The Built in 5MP camera took nice pictures and made it easy to share them instantly on Facebook.

I love the Car “dock” but didn’t care for the default “voice search” application assigned to the Car homepage. It will only search for contacts and dial the numbers of contacts which you have in your Google account. to solve this, you guessed it, I had to install another application.

Don’t waste your money on the multimedia dock. I was hoping that it was an induction charging system it isn’t. Like the Car home page, the multimedia dock displays a clock and some basic information (I suppose so that you can use your phone as your alarm clock). There are other ways to do this without spending the extra money.

In summary, i really like this phone, but I am 99% sure that I will be trading it in when the Palm Pre is released in a few weeks. I like the keyboard and form factor of the Pre – better. But if you are married to Google – I certainly think you can’t go wrong with the DROID. Several people whom I shared this phone with also commented on its rather hefty weight. For those who want something a bit more compact, and can do without a keyboard, get the Eris. It runs the same software, but has a bit more iPhone like form factor.

NEO: You may not want to wait in line for a Palm-Pre

ericclemens — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:48:26 +0000

According to this post and the related files on EverythingPre.com the stock levels at area Best Buy stores is quite low.

After downloading the pdf file and skimming for stores near me, this is what I found:

Store#	City	On Hand	On Order	In Transit
162	Parma	5	5	6
168	Mentor	2	2	1
271	Mayfield Rd	4	4	1
279	N. Olmsted	2	2	1
284	Elyria	3	3	1
1050	Avon	2	2	0
1161	Steelyard Commons	2	2	1

So, if you aren’t first or second in line at these stores… you may want to spend your time somewhere else.

No word on the stock levels at Sprint stores.

Palm Treo Pro for Verizon, not so fast

ericclemens — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:27:17 +0000

Last week I blogged about wanting a Palm Treo Pro as my next cell phone. Since Alltel is being acquired by Verizon, and Alltel offers the Treo Pro, I contacted Verizon customer service to find out if I could buy the Alltel version of the phone and activate it on my Verizon account.

I was very impressed with their response.

Although the legal transaction has been finalized and Verizon Wireless has legally become the owner of Alltel, it will be several months before Alltel customers become Verizon Wireless customers. Also, as part of the regulatory approval process required for this purchase, Verizon Wireless agreed to sell certain properties where both Alltel and Verizon Wireless overlap to preserve competition in those markets. As a result, Alltel customers in those areas will not be part of the merger with Verizon Wireless.

Since the transition period is not complete, Verizon Wireless cannot guarantee at this point that the device is compatible with our network. There is an substantial amount of testing and programming that must take place before we can determine if the device is compatible. With that being said I would hate for you to purchase a device that may not be compatible with the network.

In reference to purchasing the device from Sprint, i regret to inform you Sprint is not compatible with our network as well.

I was expecting a simple, canned, yes or no answer. Instead, it almost appears that my request was sent up through the corporate ranks for a proper response. Regardless, kudos to Verizon customer service.

I found my next phone: take 3?

ericclemens — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:18:38 +0000

You might expect me to select a different title for this post, but considering that twice now I’ve said that “I’ve found my next phone:, I thought that if I continue to say that each time I find a phone I like, it might be funny.

Buzz about the Palm Pre is not hard to come by. Although Windows 7 stole a lot of early thunder at CES 2009 – I think the clear buzz winner was the Palm Pre cell phone.

I dismissed the Palm Pre as an option for my next cell phone, then I saw this Palm Pre Video on engadget.com. I am very impressed and love that it has both a touch screen and a slide out keyboard. The number one feature of any phone to make my “next phone” list (besides having to be offered in a CDMA/Verizon flavor) is that it supports Microsoft ActiveSync with Exchange.

The Palm Pre website says that it supports Exchange ActiveSync (YAY!) and its release will be exclusive to Sprint which is a CDMA based network.

That means it is only a matter of time (hopefully) before Verizon has a version available.

It is speculated that the release date will be March 15, 2009. According to Palm, the release will be in the first half of 2009. My fingers are crossed.

Engadget: Alltel rolls out Palm Treo Pro

ericclemens — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 13:28:25 +0000

Alltel rolls out Palm Treo Pro.

I’d like to recant my prior statement about the HTC Touch Pro2 being my next phone. I think the Treo Pro will be the winner.

For the bulk of the last 5 years, I’ve been using the Treo line of phones. It stated with my 650 and then the 700w and 700wx. I really like the form factor of this device. It works very well for me.

Overall, I am just fed up with the Storm. It is SO slow. It literally takes 2 seconds for it to figure out that the device is no longer being held on its side (switching from landscape mode to portrait more). Even longer if I accidently pick up the device upside down (which I do quite often). The keyboard is nearly useless for me in landscape mode because the keys are so small. Unlike the tactile feel of the keyboard on the Treo, I cannot type anything without looking AT the device (a real pain for trying to dial while stopped at a red light).

I’ve sent an email to Verizon Wireless customer service, asking if (since Alltel is/has merged with Verizon that I can use the Alltel phone on Verizon service. Or perhaps the Sprint version will work. (they both use the same CMDA network that Verizon does.

We’ll see. I’ll keep you posted.

I found my next phone

ericclemens — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:28:47 +0000

Presenting the HTC Touch Pro2:

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2009/02/16/first-hands-on-with-the-htc-touch-pro2-with-video/

http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/htc-touch-pro2-is-awesome-in-ways-the-touch-pro-never-could-be/

It is due out in Aisa and Europe in Early Q2, “Other Major Markets” early summer.

I will have my fingers crossed on both hands until then, hoping that Verizon picks up this phone (or that it will work on their network). I may even go to church and pray.

I can’t wait to ditch my Blackberry Storm for an WinMo device.

Tags: HTC+Touch+Pro2, Cellphones