My Cellphone My Terms

Motorola Droid Review

I’ve seen the commercials on TV and heard about the launch of the Droid, Motorola’s comeback smartphone which has its eyes targeted at the iPhone – the new standard bearer in this space. While this device was launched in the US on Verizon’s network with much hype, it is still unclear when it will be launched in Canada. Rumour has it that it is likely to be an exclusive TELUS device and while we would like to see this device for Christmas in Canada Q1 next year is more likely.

So what’s cool about this device! 

Well here are the Wow features:

• It comes with the new Google Android 2.0 operating system
• It is the thinnest slide phone in the market at 0.5 inches; comes with a 3.7 inch screen and slide out keyboard, nice browser experience
• Unlike the iPhone you can run multiple apps at the same time
• You can do Google search by Voice commands
• Social networking support with Facebook integration
• Support Exchange integration
• A multimedia station (optional) with alarm clock, music player and a digital picture frame feature
• Supports Google’s apps including Google Maps with easy to use turn by turn features and Gmail

This device also comes with a host of other features including predictive text, Wifi, GPS and image stabilization for its 5 megapixel (MP) camera.

But what about the not so cool issues:

• Well the lack of multi-touch screen options limits your ability to manoeuvre on the touch screen
• And the keyboard while cool, isn’t as easy to use as the blackberry keyboard and can be a bit cumbersome

All in all a good device. I won’t call it the iPhone killer but it’s a good rebound for Motorola and a good start and partnership with Google’s Andriod 2.0. Motorola sold over 100K devices on its opening weekend in early November.  At the $200 price point there is opportunity for growth as price drops in the upcoming months. Let’s see how sales continue into the holiday season.

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