Android platform phones

[Phil]

I've had the DROID for about a week. It is slick and should be easy to use once you find all the pertinent information.

I find the screen for mapping is way too small to be visible by a driver of the vehicle. A window mount would definitely put it out of sight for most of us. I haven't found any voice prompts so one must watch the screen to see if they are on course. Voice prompts definitely would help replace separate GPS units.

I'm still undecided about this phone but it's fun to fool around with the various screens. I have not found a listing of missed calls as in most phones. It's a foreign world when compared to normal cell phones which means a learning curve that may or may not be steep.

I have been playing with the Droid navigation and I really like it. It is much faster than my Storm 1.  I use the voice prompts so I don't need to look at the screen.  The window mount will work on the window or dash or console.  It is very adaptable.  The mount has a magnet in it that switches on the navigation menu.

The navigation screen can use the map or satellite view.  With satellite view, you can access the street level view to see the turns at eye level.

It takes a while to get comfortable with all the settings.

The missed calls are in the call log but, I would like a better notice of missed calls.

I loaded 60 apps before I started deleting the ones that I don't really use.  App memory does not seem to be an issue.

Like Ned, I use the on screen keyboard and it is OK.  The "real" keyboard is nice if the Droid is flat on a table.

So far, I have not found anything that makes me want to send it back.  

Phil

[Bob Buchanan]

Like Ned, I use the on screen keyboard and it is OK.  The "real" keyboard is nice if the Droid is flat on a table.

When looking at units earlier this year, keyboards were a major issue. I was OK with my Motorola Q fixed keyboard - other than it lacked certain important (to me) keys. I am a good touch typist, and was pleased to find that "thumb" typing motor movements to keys translated very well. That was a phone like the older blackberries in that the keyboard and screen shared about half of the phone face. When I chose my current Samsung Omnia i910, I had to give up the manual keyboard for the on-screen concept. I didn't like the phones with slide out keyboards because they were too heavy/bulky -- and were referred to as "bricks" by reviewers. From what I read by some on this thread, that is still an issue.

Now that I have had my Omnia for 6 months or so, am still not a happy keyboard camper.  I find the on screen keyboard concept just, OK - but not very satisfying. The only good news is that multiple keyboards are available so there is no lack of certain keys. But other than that, screen touch typing is slow, inaccurate, and leaves the phone face very smudged by noon. As a result, I just don't do much text editing other than short notes and such.

The "still" neat concept of the Omnia that keeps me from going to another phone is the fact that I can use the screen keyboard, the stylus that comes with the phone, or the mouse cursor (that I haven't seen on any other phone}. The later is not a joy stick pointer, but rather the mouse pad movement type. I use all three extensively according to what my needs are. For most accurate texting, I revert to the stylus. And that is unfortunate because unlike "thumb" typing, my motor touch typing skills do not translate - and I am reduced to "hunting and pecking".

Anyway, that is my frustration with all the phone keyboards I have tried so far -- and I also messed with iPhones just to check out their on screen keyboards.  And they are the pits just as are most of the others. The Droid has turned my head, but from the reviews, it appears it is also "a brick". My question to those testing here, "is that true in your tests so far"? Am not close to a Vz store so can't check one out myself as yet. The 48gb  Omnia II is due out early next year, so am anxious to try that puppy out.

BTW. I believe the slide out keyboards are meant to be used by thumb typing vs. placing it on a table and trying to type as with a normal keyboard. Or did I mis read your post, Phil? Actually, that is true with the on screen keyboards a well. 

[Tom]

Bob,

A "brick" is probably a good description of how the Motorola Droid felt to me. It's definitely heavy, and I wondered how long that slideout keyboard would last. The keys sure are small and close together, and I figured I would have far better chance of accuracy with one of the (larger) on-screen keyboards.

Obviously, others are far more comfortable with that small keyboard, and I can only smile with admiration as I watch the kids play with them, texting each other as they find a "live" device at a wireless store or booth.

On the HTC Droid Eris, I've been wishing I could use a stylus. Not wanting to risk damaging the screen, I tried a rubber-tipped stylus I have for Palm, but not surprisingly it wouldn't work.

I wish my camera choice had been this easy  

[Jim Dick]

Hi Phil,

Thanks for that info. I finally figured out how to get the voice navigation. That certainly adds a plus to the unit. I find I use the virtual keyboard more than the pull out.

I agree the missed calls should be in a separate menu along with dialed calls and received calls. It's going to take a lot for me to adapt to the new method.

[Ned]

Jim, for missed calls, open the Phone, click on Call Log on the top, and missed calls will have an angled red arrow next to them, above the day.

You're right about the screen size for a car GPS, especially for us older eyes.  For a walk around GPS, it's more than adequate, and the Google maps with street view is a nice feature.

Airplane mode is on the Wireless & Network Settings page, right above the  WiFi toggle button.  You might have hit it accidentally turning the WiFi on or off.  Get the Power Management application and use that instead of the menus to toggle the radios.

[Ned]

I suspect the small keyboards are the source of a lot of the "leet speak" misspellings   A touch typist will never be comfortable with these, but I don't see how they can be larger without using the whole screen, blocking the field you're typing into.

Even with the slideout keyboard, the Droid is remarkably slim, just over .5".  I think the heft of it makes it feel like solid construction and the weight isn't that bad.  My Chocolate 3 always felt fragile, the Droid feels more like the old Nokia candy bar phones we all loved so well

[JerArdra]

Ned,

What was your one-time buy-in cost and what is your monthly cost?

JerryF

[Ned]

The phone was $199 after a $100 mail in rebate.  The monthly cost is the $40 for my voice plan plus $30 for the unlimited data plan.  I saved the $5 I was paying for email on my previous phone, so the net is $70/month vs. the $45 I was paying.

If you are eligible for a new every two, I believe the cost is $149 for the phone.

[Bob Buchanan]

A touch typist will never be comfortable with these, but I don't see how they can be larger without using the whole screen, blocking the field you're typing into.

No really true, Ned. I was very compfortable with my MotoQ -- with similar real k/b to a blackberry, but better. I could go as fast thumb typing as the best kids in the neighborhood.   And with the Omnia and in horizontal mode, the keyboard allows several lines, say, in a Word document to view while typing. That's why I am asking about and looking forward to getting the feel of the Droid slide out k/b. It is larger than the real non slide k/b's - if it doesn't make the entire phone too bulky. If I recall seeing you with your older phone, you are an old huntandpecker stylus typist - so that wouldn't be an issue with you either way.

BTW, I assume the Droid shifts from horizontal to vertical display automatically. Someone asked about the keyboard lock. That's the reason for it. Otherwise, the touch keys w/make calls and the accelerometer would be buzzing in one's pocket all the time.  

[Ned]

Bob, I'm a (good) touch typist and have never done thumb typing.  Too many years with computer keyboards.  Perhaps that's why I don't really like the slideout keyboard.  I want to touch type but can't.  The on screen keyboard forces me to type with one or two fingers and it drives me nuts to type so slow

Yes, the screen shifts from portrait to landscape automatically and forces landscape when the slide out keyboard is used.  The slide out keyboard has a 4 way directional pad with a center select button as well.

[Phil]

BTW. I believe the slide out keyboards are meant to be used by thumb typing vs. placing it on a table and trying to type as with a normal keyboard. Or did I mis read your post, Phil? Actually, that is true with the on screen keyboards a well.  

Bob,

I can thumb type on either keyboard but, the screen keyboard has larger keys.  The audible feedback option on the screen keyboard helps a lot.  I can type much faster now than I could a few days ago and, I can type much faster on the Droid than I can on the BlackBerry.  "Practice makes perfect."   

Phil

[Tom]

The slide out keyboard has a 4 way directional pad with a center select button as well.

It looked to me like that pad is taking up real estate, and caused the keys to be smaller &/or closer together. I've read similar comments in the reviews. While shopping, I saw other devices (not Droid, probably Blackberry) that had similar sized keys, but they were spaced further apart. I thought they'd give me a better chance of hitting the keys. Like Phil, I do OK with the on-screen keyboard, albeit a bit slow.

[Ned]

I just had an AHA moment.  If I use the on screen keyboard in landscape mode the buttons are much larger and easier to use.  I've been using the screen almost exclusively in portrait mode.  Duh!

[Tom]

LOL Ned, that's definitely a HFWPOH. I thought one or more of the messages in this topic already mentioned the larger keyboard in landscape. There are also apps in the Market with alternative and larger keyboards.

Now if only the slideout keyboard would enlarge.

[Ned]

With the larger on screen keyboard, I find little use for the slideout keyboard.

[Bob Buchanan]

With the larger on screen keyboard, I find little use for the slideout keyboard.

Hmmmm. Then why buy a Smart Phone with a slide out keyboard?  From what I read so far in this thread, most prefer the screen version. My experience as a thumb typist is that the real keyboard is far easier to use - plus the screen is not smudged.

BTW, another alternative is to use a fold up bluetooth keyboard. I have considered getting one for those situations where I am away from my computers - but must respond to an email (or whatever), and have the need for more extensive typing.

Most come with a little docking station to place the Smartphone while typing.

[Tom]

why buy a Smart Phone with a slide out keyboard?

That's what I asked myself in the store when comparing the Moto Droid and the HTC Droid Aris. Saved myself $100 and avoided hanging a brick on my belt by coming to that conclusion before buying.

I wondered if there was a folding keyboard available. Haven't used one since my earlier Palm days.

[Jeff]

That's what I asked myself in the store when comparing the Moto Droid and the HTC Droid Aris. Saved myself $100 and avoided hanging a brick on my belt by coming to that conclusion before buying.

I wondered if there was a folding keyboard available. Haven't used one since my earlier Palm days.

Remember Grafitti.

[Ned]

Bob, the other advantages of the Droid are more important to me than the slideout keyboard, but it comes with the phone   I may get used to it and use it, I just haven't given it a good trial.

[Tom]

One thing I haven't yet found on the Android on-screen keyboard is a delete key. Must be there somewhere    The small joystick works fine for right & left cursor movement.

Anyone know how to turn off the phone and leave the device working as an iPod Touch with WiFi  

[Tom]

Remember Grafitti.

On the fold-out keyboard? 

[Ned]

Delete key is lower right, above the Go (or Next) key, right next to the m key.

[Tom]

That's the backspace key on this device.

[Ned]

Backspace deletes the previous character.  On my keyboard it's labeled 'Del', but does the same function as backspace.

[Tom]

As I said, that's the backspace on this device. I wonder if the default on-screen keyboard layout changed with Android 2.0, released this month. The Moto Droid uses 2.0, and I'm awaiting the 2.0 update from HTC. Meanwhile, I'll go look at some of those alternate keyboard apps.

[Ned]

Regardless of the key name, it does the same thing.  Delete the previous character and move the cursor one space to the left.  Isn't that what it does on your keyboard or is it non-destructive?

[carson]

"I know nothinnnng" remember Hogans Heroes? (My namesake)

   Tom, does the Droid/Druid whatever, allow you to high-light a word or line? If so, the Delete key may work. I'll go back into my hole now... 

carson

[Bob Buchanan]

As I said, that's the backspace on this device. I wonder if the default on-screen keyboard layout changed with Android 2.0, released this month.

Yep -- that's one of the keys I found frustrating when I first began using a smartphone. The Del key deletes forward, and the backspace backwards. And each has it's place when text editing. If you are at the beginning of a sentence or paragraph and want to delete -- you must move the insertion cursor to the end of the text. I can understand that on a fixed keyboard, but on the screen keyboards there should be one of each. My other pet peeve in the fixed keyboard was that there is only one Shift key! An older fellow could break a thumb working with that . . .  

BTW -- I hope you can Cut and Paste on the Droid/s? And have all the neat Word edit keys such a single, double, and triple clicks to highlight words, sentences, paragraphs, and docs -- and sync whatever files with your PC?

[Ned]

Carson, a double click with the fingertip will select a word in a text box.  Delete works as expected.

Bob, my keyboards have only a delete key and it works as a backspace key.  There is no key labeled Backspace, just Del.  The slideout keyboard has 2 shift keys and they work as expected.  Cut/Copy is done by highlighting the text and press and hold on the text box.  Once text is cut or copied it can be pasted.

[Tom]

The Delete key on our desktop and laptop keyboards and my wireless keyboards work as Bob described. The keyboards also have a key labeled Backspace. Maybe Toshiba saved a penny by leaving that delete function out