My review of the Motorola Droid & Droid Eris by HTC...
Motorola Droid:
1. GPS is great, but is an Android 2.0 thing, not Droid thing. I'll get back to this... (it is sweet though!)
2. Open Development is again, an Android thing, not phone specific. I'll get back to this also...
3. The physical keyboard on the Motorola is different and a little different to get used to. A couple things got to me. One, the keys are flat and are shifted to one side because of the goofy "d" pad on the right. It's NOT one hand, or driving friendly at all. Not recommended. Also, the top line buttons (#'s) are very close to the phones shell when the keyboard tray is extended, leaving your fingers to catch the phone when you're trying to type.
4. The virtual keyboard is great. Probably the best I've ever used. This is something that is actually software related, but the difference is there between the Motorola and Eris.
5. The processer and CPU in the Motorola are second to none in speed. Renders web pages in a hurry, and the graphics are clean, crisp and easy on the eyes.
6. The Motorola currently supports Flash "lite", which means it'll support a lot of the different little functions you appreciate on your computer at home. However, it is NOT Flash 10 YET. Flash 10 is coming, and is the streaming media engine that most are waiting for that will allow streaming video on the phones. When Flash 10 comes out, it will bring Blackberries and other devices like the Droids way out front of the iPhone in those areas.
7. Battery Life. Read tonight that there is already an over the air software update coming out on December 11 to address some software issues that are causing some battery drain. It's not too bad right now, but it's clear there is some help needed. The Motorola will chew up a full charge in less than a day with any kind of consistent use.
The Droid Eris by HTC
1. Lesser advertised, but a seriously strong device.
2. Runs on Android 1.5, but will be updated to 2.0 bringing the Google turn by turn navigation to it in the near future.
3. Has, and is able to use the same apps that are currently in the market you find on the Motorola Droid. Same things... Make sure the apps you're looking at are adapted to the 2.0 format..does make a difference.
4. Eris uses HTC's "Sense UI", which is a completely different user interface than the Motorola. Sense is much more pleasing on the eyes and offers every bit the customizing that the Motorola boasts. Same widgets, same functions, everything.
5. Different user profiles on Eris. You can actually set up a homescreen that only pops up with certain widgets when set to "work" mode, or shows a whole different set of widgets when you select "casual" mode. Pretty sweet feature. Great music player, and it also supports Pandora, which is a great free internet radio app.
6. More compact and thinner build is appealing and easy to utilize.
7. HAS the pinch to zoom feature as part of it's Sense UI in the browser.
8. $100 LESS than the Motorola Droid.
I bought the Motorola at first, sold on the faster chipset. After doing some homework, I took it back and purchased the Eris. I haven't looked back. I found that the chipsets in the Eris can perform as an equal due to the fact that the processor and CPU work seperately as opposed to being on piece. The phone is plenty fast and I don't experience lag.
I'm able to get my email pushed to me all day. My facebook updates regularly without prompts and I can read and download almost any attachment sent to me including excel and other microsoft documents.
Best phone I've purchased in years, and I've been through a few.
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