Re: Anyone have an Android phone?
Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 11:26 pm
Well, I made up my mind and got the Droid 2 w/Verizon. Signed up yesterday.
I'm sure I would have loved the Droid X as well, but I really wanted the physical keyboard...I liked the slightly smaller screen (better for pockets I think) but really the screen is significantly bigger than the screen on my G1. I also liked the flush buttons on the front of the D2 opposed to the raised buttons on the X. The Droid X takes 720p video, but I don't take a lot of video to justify passing on the other features I prefered. D2's 480p video is fine. Plus I liked the overall look of the D2 a little better.
My contract with T-Mobile isn't up until Wednesday, but I signed with Verizon early and got a temporary number until I can switch my number over on Wednesday. I got it early because I wanted to test out the network where we live and test drive the phone for a few days...that way if something was drastically wrong with Verizon at our house or whatever, I could return everything and stay with T-Mobile for the time being.
So far, everything is outstanding. As expected, Verizon's 3G at our house (outside Edwardsville) is MUCH better than T-Mobile's. I've had a strong 3G signal (full bars) all over our house and around our property. I drove around today and didn't lose the 3G signal once. With T-Mobile I frequently lose 3G around the house and it isn't strong until I get into town...so in short, it sucks. Most of the time around the house I am on their Edge network, not 3G.
Before I went to the Verizon store to sign up, I called T-Mobile just to see what they would offer to retain me as a customer. They offered $50 off of the new HTC G2 Android phone...and that was it. I mentioned one of the main reasons I was switching was for the better network and 3G coverage around my house. The rep I talked to said T-Mobile's 3G network was faster than Verizon's. I almost drove off the road when I heard that because I thought there is no way...T-Mobile's 3G never seemed that fast to me...Verizon's had to be faster.
So after I got the D2, I did a 3G speed test on both while they are both still working.
T-Mobile (using the HTC G1):
Download: 656kbps
Upload: 368kbps
Verizon (using the Motorola Droid 2):
Download: 1778kbps
Upload: 846kbps
So yeah, the rep was just lying to me. The difference isn't even close really. Verizon had almost 3x faster download and over 2x as fast upload. I ran the test a few times and got similar numbers each time. After using the D2 for a couple hours, I expected numbers like this. The difference in speed is night and day. Granted, it's a much more powerful phone, but the downloads and web browsing were sooo much quicker.
Anyway, after a full day of use/testing, I'm extremely happy with the Droid 2. Great, great phone. It feels solid/well built and it has a little weight to it, which I like. The battery lasted over 24 hours and that was with some pretty heavy use...lots of app downloads and installs, messing with the wallpapers, camera, video, streamed XM radio for an hour or so, web browsing, a few calls, tons of overall tweaking/playing, etc. I imagine once I get the phone the way I want it and the usage levels off to a more normal level, I'll easily get a day and a half to two days use without a need to charge.
The Verizon sales rep offered to sell me accessories, which I turned down. They were selling chargers for $30 each...and a 3 pack of screen protectors for $15. I would get 25% off with my discount, but Amazon.com is a great resource for cheap cell phone accessories...and at much better prices even after my discount at Verizon. I just bought a Droid 2 docking station, a 5 pack of screen protectors (good ones), 3 mini usb to micro usb converters (so I can use my current mini-usb wall chargers & computer cables with the micro-usb Verizon phones), and two car chargers (with the smart chip that prevents overheating/overcharging), for $38 after shipping. That probably would have cost me over $125 at the Verizon store...maybe around $94 with my discount...before tax.
Anyway, if anyone is considering the Droid 2... it's fast, has a nice responsive touch screen, feels real solid and of course runs the best phone OS out there in Android and it's on a great network in Verizon.
The wife is anti-smart phone...she got an LG Cosmos. Which is actually a nice little phone with a slide out keyboard. It was free after mail-in rebate...so that was cool. And of course, that battery will last a week on standby...I wish smart phone batteries lasted that long. Someday...
I'm sure I would have loved the Droid X as well, but I really wanted the physical keyboard...I liked the slightly smaller screen (better for pockets I think) but really the screen is significantly bigger than the screen on my G1. I also liked the flush buttons on the front of the D2 opposed to the raised buttons on the X. The Droid X takes 720p video, but I don't take a lot of video to justify passing on the other features I prefered. D2's 480p video is fine. Plus I liked the overall look of the D2 a little better.
My contract with T-Mobile isn't up until Wednesday, but I signed with Verizon early and got a temporary number until I can switch my number over on Wednesday. I got it early because I wanted to test out the network where we live and test drive the phone for a few days...that way if something was drastically wrong with Verizon at our house or whatever, I could return everything and stay with T-Mobile for the time being.
So far, everything is outstanding. As expected, Verizon's 3G at our house (outside Edwardsville) is MUCH better than T-Mobile's. I've had a strong 3G signal (full bars) all over our house and around our property. I drove around today and didn't lose the 3G signal once. With T-Mobile I frequently lose 3G around the house and it isn't strong until I get into town...so in short, it sucks. Most of the time around the house I am on their Edge network, not 3G.
Before I went to the Verizon store to sign up, I called T-Mobile just to see what they would offer to retain me as a customer. They offered $50 off of the new HTC G2 Android phone...and that was it. I mentioned one of the main reasons I was switching was for the better network and 3G coverage around my house. The rep I talked to said T-Mobile's 3G network was faster than Verizon's. I almost drove off the road when I heard that because I thought there is no way...T-Mobile's 3G never seemed that fast to me...Verizon's had to be faster.
So after I got the D2, I did a 3G speed test on both while they are both still working.
T-Mobile (using the HTC G1):
Download: 656kbps
Upload: 368kbps
Verizon (using the Motorola Droid 2):
Download: 1778kbps
Upload: 846kbps
So yeah, the rep was just lying to me. The difference isn't even close really. Verizon had almost 3x faster download and over 2x as fast upload. I ran the test a few times and got similar numbers each time. After using the D2 for a couple hours, I expected numbers like this. The difference in speed is night and day. Granted, it's a much more powerful phone, but the downloads and web browsing were sooo much quicker.
Anyway, after a full day of use/testing, I'm extremely happy with the Droid 2. Great, great phone. It feels solid/well built and it has a little weight to it, which I like. The battery lasted over 24 hours and that was with some pretty heavy use...lots of app downloads and installs, messing with the wallpapers, camera, video, streamed XM radio for an hour or so, web browsing, a few calls, tons of overall tweaking/playing, etc. I imagine once I get the phone the way I want it and the usage levels off to a more normal level, I'll easily get a day and a half to two days use without a need to charge.
The Verizon sales rep offered to sell me accessories, which I turned down. They were selling chargers for $30 each...and a 3 pack of screen protectors for $15. I would get 25% off with my discount, but Amazon.com is a great resource for cheap cell phone accessories...and at much better prices even after my discount at Verizon. I just bought a Droid 2 docking station, a 5 pack of screen protectors (good ones), 3 mini usb to micro usb converters (so I can use my current mini-usb wall chargers & computer cables with the micro-usb Verizon phones), and two car chargers (with the smart chip that prevents overheating/overcharging), for $38 after shipping. That probably would have cost me over $125 at the Verizon store...maybe around $94 with my discount...before tax.
Anyway, if anyone is considering the Droid 2... it's fast, has a nice responsive touch screen, feels real solid and of course runs the best phone OS out there in Android and it's on a great network in Verizon.
The wife is anti-smart phone...she got an LG Cosmos. Which is actually a nice little phone with a slide out keyboard. It was free after mail-in rebate...so that was cool. And of course, that battery will last a week on standby...I wish smart phone batteries lasted that long. Someday...