Anyone have an Android phone?

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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

Post by cprice12 »

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. :roll: 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. :okman:

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...
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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

Post by cprice12 »

Mrdcblue wrote:
cprice12 wrote:
Mrdcblue wrote:I just got the droid last weekend and i love it!
Which one?

the droid 1.

it was cheaper than the Droid 2 by far and it wasn't on back order.

i had a BB storm before and i would say anything is better than that
The D2 was on backorder?
I walked into the Verizon store in Edwardsville yesterday and walked out with a D2.
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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

Post by Mrdcblue »

cprice12 wrote:
Mrdcblue wrote:
cprice12 wrote:
Mrdcblue wrote:I just got the droid last weekend and i love it!
Which one?

the droid 1.

it was cheaper than the Droid 2 by far and it wasn't on back order.

i had a BB storm before and i would say anything is better than that
The D2 was on backorder?
I walked into the Verizon store in Edwardsville yesterday and walked out with a D2.

Lucky!!!!

yeah that's what he said but it could have been coming in the following tuesday for all i knew but i am happy with my D1 purchase.

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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

Post by rebelmusic »

I played with my buddy's Evo 4G for a while the other night, and it makes me wish I had waited a bit to upgrade my iPhone. Don't get me wrong, my phone still kicks ass, but his kicks more.
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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

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Mrdcblue wrote:
cprice12 wrote:
Mrdcblue wrote:
cprice12 wrote:
Mrdcblue wrote:I just got the droid last weekend and i love it!
Which one?

the droid 1.

it was cheaper than the Droid 2 by far and it wasn't on back order.

i had a BB storm before and i would say anything is better than that
The D2 was on backorder?
I walked into the Verizon store in Edwardsville yesterday and walked out with a D2.

Lucky!!!!

yeah that's what he said but it could have been coming in the following tuesday for all i knew but i am happy with my D1 purchase.
I imagine you got it at a pretty good price since the D2's are out?
Everyone seems to love the D1...so I'm sure you'll like it. Some even chose not to upgrade from the D1 to the D2 because they didn't feel it was enough of an upgrade.

I am coming from a G1 and the D2 blows the doors off of it. I couldn't be happier with the D2.
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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

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Image

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:grin:
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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

Post by cprice12 »

stlbluz wrote:Image

:lol:
You know, I used to use a bluetooth earpiece, but only when I was driving.

I felt stupid wearing one, but it is more convenient...and it felt safer. :oops:
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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

Post by stinkdified »

Aw man, i'm pumped...I've wanted to root my evo for a long time, but was waiting for good methods to come out.
They have been out for a while now, however, i've been down here in SouthAmerica, and didn't want to bite the bullet while outside of the country (mostly because the internets are so unreliable down here).
Anyway, i'll be in ole Saint Louie here in about 12 hours...
First thing is to hit best buy for a powermat, then it will be time to root! The fun is about to begin!

oh yea, and :goblues:
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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

Post by stlbluz »

cprice12 wrote:
stlbluz wrote:

:lol:
You know, I used to use a bluetooth earpiece, but only when I was driving.

I felt stupid wearing one, but it is more convenient...and it felt safer. :oops:
What's worse is those first few days that those things came out and all I could see were people walking around talking & laughing to themselves.
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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

Post by DaDitka »

Are there any phones that allow you to trade hockey cards wirelessly?
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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

Post by WindyCityBluesFan »

Picked up my new Samsung Epic 4G 2 days ago. The guy that sold me it said not to downlaod the update since it had some issues. Of course, that is what I end up doing that night accidentally and the phone craps out. I had to take it back the next day and get a new one. Aside from that (which I will say is a huge pain in the ass) the phone is absolutely amazing. I can't stop looking at it. As long as this phone doesn't crap out on me, I will be very happy with this purchase. I love the screen and the physical keyboard. That is what sold me the Epic vs. the EVO. Now, if Samsung would just figure out this update issue so that I can get the Samsung Media Hub thing, I will be set.

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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

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Oh yea, i forgot to let y'all know how the root ended up.
As could be assumed, it is freaking excellent. I highly recommend it for anyone who has any sort of tech experience. It really can even be done by a total n00b, just follow the directions. Its really hard to screw up.
Besides that, the results include a fast as shit phone, much better battery life, no carrier bloatware (the way android was meant to be), and total configurability (if that is a word) of the phone (different ROMs, boot animations, etc.).

Oh yea, FREE wireless teether, which works WAY better than expected.

with 3g wireless teether...
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with 4g wireless teether...
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Re: Anyone have an Android phone?

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I have been curious about rooting my phone, but I'm not going to do it.
Yeah, I probably wouldn't hurt the phone and I hear it's pretty easy...but on the slim chance I do screw it up or something bad happens, it's my only phone. We ditched our home phone and I use my Droid for personal and business use. So I don't want to mess with it. I'm very happy with the speed and performance of the phone as it is. Hell, the Verizon 3G is faster than my home ISP broadband connection.

Besides, I kind of like some of the custom features of the OS.
- Live wallpaper
- Graphical OS is a little better
- Automated integrated social sharing features across numerous apps (option to instantly upload photos taken into Picasa, Facebook, Twitter, etc. without logging into that social networking app and stuff like that).
- Pre-Installed Backup assistant. I wasn't even aware this was on the phone when I first got it or how it worked...and then a few days later I took it back to the store to have them port my phone number to it from T-Mobile when my contract with them expired. The process of porting my number wiped the phone (which they didn't tell me until after it was done), and I had already set it all up with my favorite apps. But when I entered my Google account name on the newly wiped phone, backup assistant started restoring my apps. After a few minutes, everything was back. Pretty cool. There were a few apps that I had to reconfigure and setup, but that was fine. That saved me quite a bit of time...and, of course, since my Android phone (and all Android phones for that matter) is synced with my Gmail contacts, all of my contacts, email address book, etc. were installed right away.
You gotta love that.

The only thing I don't like is that you can't remove the Blockbuster app and one other one that I can't remember the name of....it won't let you...kind of annoying, but whatever, not a big deal.
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