Droid X

[DTro]

I pulled the trigger on a new phone the other day and thought I'd start a discussion here to talk about some good apps and what people might like and not like about the phone.

I upgraded from a Blackberry Curve, and I'm blown away how advanced this phone is compared to that!

I think the hardest part for me so far, is getting used to the virtual keyboard vs the physical one on the BB. As of now, holding the phone vertically and using swype with one finger has been the cats meow.

Photos and videos are outstanding, very impressed in that dept.

I've installed a few good apps too, including Navionics Lake maps, google sky maps, google goggles, smart measure, bubble, gps speedo. I cannot believe just how many apps are out there. WOW

Every review I've read said that the battery life is horrible, but I was actually surprised to see how long it lasted. Maybe not as good as the Blackberry, but if you consider the screen on this phone is bigger than the entire BB, then you have to expect to use more energy.

So who else has one, and what do you think??

[LMITOUT]

Welcome to the world of Android! It sounds like you have a few of the apps that I've installed on my EVO.

Swype is the only way to fly with a virtual keyboard. It can be somewhat irritating at times but it beats trying to peck at the keys. Even with Swype I think I can still type faster on my BB keyboard because I made less mistakes.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Bought a used Mytouch to play with until I decide what a really want in a smartphone. You are right about those virtual keyboards. Tougher than I expected it to be. Better phone with Swipe would help, but I may decide I want a physical keyboard once I buy my new phone.

[Jim916]

I bought a Droid X also. My battery life has not been so good.I get from 3-5 hours of actual screen time and a few calls and texts.

I do like the phone and the screen is a nice size. My 15 yr stepdaughter was jealous of me getting a phone until she saw how big it was. She said, that is a brick and that will not fit in my pocket. I told her it was for people with bad eyes!!

The only bad part of my phone is that it is defective. My screen has been becoming unresponsive when I am typing or on the internet. I need to rotate it 90 degrees or turn the screen off and then back on.

Overall I am very impressed with it.I am getting used to using Swype and I like it when the phone is working.

Has anyone used the Blockbuster app to watch a movie on their tv? You can get a 6 foot micro cable for 7.00 from monoprice instead of the 25.00 one from verizon. I plan on ordering one shortly.

[LMITOUT]

If you haven't already, download AppBrain for your phone. Being able to browse apps on the PC and then have them sent to your phone is super slick and makes it easy to shop the app store.

[Shack]

DT touch screen will become second nature in no time. Owning the Iphone now for over year, all I can say is read the reviews before you purchase (pay for) any app. Also keep an eye out for an app that just displays on-sale or normally pay apps that are free for limited time. I purchased one a year ago for $0.99 for the Iphone called AppSniper. May even have one name the same for the Droid. It was a great tip I read on HSO and paying it forward.

I have only payed for one app since.

[hanson]

I'm going to be a putz... After 2 years of owning my Blackberry, I really don't see what the big F'n deal is with having a smartphone. E-mail? I sit on my computer at work from 8am-5pm and have my laptop on at home 24/7. Internet? The amount of time I've used the net for something "important" on my phone has not justified the cost at all.

Going back to a 39.99 voice plan only. Shoot... maybe get a flip phone even without a qwerty keyboard. LOL! Feels great, I'll be cutting my phone bill in half!

[deadeye]

As far as apps go my favorites so far are Pandora, Weatherbug elite, Navionics, Google sky, Advanced Task Killer, My Tracks and Beautiful Widgets

I use the weatherbug elite alot. The radar is better IMO than most of the full sites online. Plus the video weathercast is usually done by hot chicks.

The only fail so far that I paid for is Trimble Outdoors. Otherwise free apps are sweet. If they suck, they get deleted and forgotten.

Battery life is a pretty easy problem to cure. With ATK you can setup autokill and that helps quite a bit. Another huge thing is setting the brightness of the screen as low as possible. With beautiful Widgets you get a 1 touch widget that allows you to switch between bright and dim. That really helped a lot for me. The Facebook/MySpace stuff can drain a lot too so keep that in autokill.

I have got the old original Droid and I use the touchscreen most of the time and love it. I guess going from a flip phone to this I didn't have that blackberry step in between to mess me up.

For me this this is pretty much a source of constant information and entertainment. Its like a laptop that you can take anywhere. So when I'm fishing I can have the grateful dead channel playing on Pandora and I know when to go home before it rains cause I have radar. When I'm working I got email, texts, phone calls, prices on parts, maps to find stores, Google for any random question ect. Its just so sweet.

[DTro]

Hanson, not only is the browser on this phone 10x what the Blackberry is, it just blows me away how smart it really is.

For example, you can do a search for a random business, and say a phone number is included in that search. Even though the number isn't a link, the phone will recognize that it's a phone number and you can click a "non link" and it will bring up the dialer and call the number. How does it work? Beats the heck out of me.

same with Google Goggles. Take a picture of any item, it will scan it, and the connect to the internet and tell you everything about that object.

Here's another fun one. Key Ring. You can input all those "club cards" into one little App on the phone. For example, Super America card, Petco Card, Ace hardware card, Gym Card, library card, etc. So instead of carrying around all those membership cards, you are able to pull any one of them up with a simple click.

Also, I probably won't be using my H2O much now with the Navionics lake maps on the phone.

I'm waiting for it to cook me breakfast one of these mornings.

[LMITOUT]

Call Confirm is a handy app to have. A pop-up appears confirming that you really do want to dial a particular number. Too many times I would touch a contact's name and it would start dialing. Helps prevents accidental or "butt" dialing.

SilentMode OnOff is a nice widget to quickly select notification preferences between ring, vibrate, or silent.

[Loose]

I went with the droid yesterday was gonna go with a X but wanted a keyboard and the X wasnt in stock and the blackberry was on its last leg.

[Shack]

Hanson you were the first I knew of who had a Storm. Maybe it was not a true smart phone, but pretty darn close. Maybe it was?

I would be hard to switch back. Pretty soon you will not be able to. My son is up for an upgrade and him & my wife are not on a data plan. Verizon will not let a person hook up even a blackberry with data added to the plan. They offer only a couple phones that do not require a data plan. Pretty soon the backberry's will be the odd man out. Might as well get just give in. Lol

As I read this stuff you guys are finding neat, it makes me think how much my smart phone has integrated it's self into my every day life. I have not called 411 in almost a year and a half. Just type name, city & state in the GPS app and boom! All the info you need including store front pictures. Hit add as contact and all of it stored in contacts instantly.

[LMITOUT]

You're right, Shack, these devices really do become part of the daily routine. The BB I had before this was great but the apps that are available for Android really step it up a notch.

Google Maps has turn-by-turn directions which pretty much eliminates the need for a dedicated GPS such as a Nuvi. Especially with the screen size that the Droid and EVO has.

BB still has a stronghold on the business market and that's what put them on the map. Their I.T. security is second to none and they aren't going anywhere any time soon.

I read yesterday that Apple fired the head of the iPhone department. Doh!

[DTro]

Was it because of antennagate?

here's another thing to think about, especially with this phone. A co-worker just bought one and was able to cancel his IP provider and use this phone as a mobile hotspot for his laptop. He said it is actually very fast (faster than his Chaska Net wireless he was using) and he's impressed with it.

[DTro]

Anyone tried Layar Augmented Reality Browser? Looks like a neat concept. I installed, but haven't tried it out yet.

[hanson]

Hanson you were the first I knew of who had a Storm. Maybe it was not a true smart phone, but pretty darn close. Maybe it was?

I'd call it a smartphone and I liked it. After 2 years of using it, I'm just not sure how "necessary" it really is. I don't shoot video, hardly take photos, don't use it as an MP3 player, I stopped forwarding my work e-mail to it (if they want me to get e-mail, they can get me a phone. ), sure as heck don't play games on it (played Guitar Hero for awhile but that got old).

I mean I don't know... I need a phone, thats it. I'm gonna try it, basic phone and a basic plan. Sure as heck save me a lot of money. Its almost like I need to go to therapy to admit that I don't need a fancy phone anymore. LOL!

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I would look at going with a pre-paid plan if I wanted just a basic phone. I smartphone isn't for everyone.

[LwnmwnMan2]

Right, if you're at your office 8-5, and when you walk out the door you're away from work, there's no real need for a smartphone, unless you want to be attatched to the net 24/7.

When you're like I, or many other people, and the office is the cab of a truck 24/7, then a smartphone is a necessity. I even carry a netbook with me now so when it's 90+ outside, I can sit in the airconditioning for 10-15 minutes in between lawns to cool down and type away here.

[LwnmwnMan2]

I pulled the trigger on a new phone the other day and thought I'd start a discussion here to talk about some good apps and what people might like and not like about the phone.

I upgraded from a Blackberry Curve, and I'm blown away how advanced this phone is compared to that!

I think the hardest part for me so far, is getting used to the virtual keyboard vs the physical one on the BB. As of now, holding the phone vertically and using swype with one finger has been the cats meow.

Photos and videos are outstanding, very impressed in that dept.

I've installed a few good apps too, including Navionics Lake maps, google sky maps, google goggles, smart measure, bubble, gps speedo. I cannot believe just how many apps are out there. WOW

Every review I've read said that the battery life is horrible, but I was actually surprised to see how long it lasted. Maybe not as good as the Blackberry, but if you consider the screen on this phone is bigger than the entire BB, then you have to expect to use more energy.

So who else has one, and what do you think??

Where'd you get the "X"? Supposedly there are none around......

[DTro]

I ordered it online. It said 11-14 days, but I had mine in about 4

[LwnmwnMan2]

Gotcha... I forgot the BB at home today, figured I'd swing by and pick up an X and sell the BB online, but no one has them.

[DTro]

Yeah, that's what I did too.

I got $75 for the BB. Shipping it out today

[LwnmwnMan2]

I've got an 8530. Looking online they're running around $100 depending on what accessories, so that's where it'll go.

I'm also carrying a Gateway netbook, which it looks like I can get another $125 +/- for, so if the X does what I'm hoping it will, I'll eat the $300 cancel charge and dump the netbook as well.

I'll save the $300 in the $60 / month data plan before the end of the year.

I ordered the X online at lunch. Verizon's site said it'll ship before the 25th, so we'll see.

I'm hoping to get it sooner than later, don't want this 8530 to get any older than it is already.

[DTro]

Based on my experience, I would think you should get it next week sometime. Especially if they were still offering the 2 day express shipping for free.

[LwnmwnMan2]

They showed overnight shipping free.