Any one interested in the Droid 3?

[double0droid]

from what I have been told we will be able to keep our data. This is for new customers this is exactly what Att did.

 

[Lsx346]

im hoping it comes out this thursday or next so i can sign back up and get it before the tiered plans start.

 

[f150fan]

So far it looks as though we should be able to keep our current plans. Now if we could get an official announcement, release date, official spec sheet.....

I know, I'm asking for too much at once.

 

[f150fan]

Droid Life posted an article about a case and holster for the Droid 3. It appears that the info is slowly starting to pick up lately. Hopefully this means the release is around the corner.

 

[yogi1574]

was waiting forever for the HTC Merge that never happened so im looking forward to seeing this phone and if the keyboard is any good ill prob jump on it.

 

[f150fan]

was waiting forever for the HTC Merge that never happened so im looking forward to seeing this phone and if the keyboard is any good ill prob jump on it.

If you haven't seen pictures of the new keyboard it looks to be much, much better than the OG Droid and the Droid 2. This phone looks like it will be extremely solid and a top performer. I still have a tough choice ahead though, Droid 3 or Bionic.

 

[Raptor007]

That is a fair question, which is really the better choice. 4G is great but so far the battery life sux on all of the LTE phones. We will get 4" qHD screen, Dual Core physical keyboard, but you do have to wonder what the memory configuration is going to be like and IF the Bionic will actually be worth the wait. Somehow I feel Motorola is going to disappoint everyone and still be too late for the real party.

Although if they are looking for the Photon 4G to compete with the Bionic 4G does that mean they will launch around the same time?

 

[rickhamilton620]

If you haven't seen pictures of the new keyboard it looks to be much, much better than the OG Droid and the Droid 2. This phone looks like it will be extremely solid and a top performer. I still have a tough choice ahead though, Droid 3 or Bionic.

While it is better..it's not by much. The keys still seem small and crammed together (although not as bad as the D1 and D2. I too was waiting for Merge but decided that, although I could find one through a non corporate store, I might as well not bother this late in the game.

Add that with the other downsides of owning a current day Motorola Android phone (encrypted bootloader, pentile display, MAP/Blur) and it's desirability drops further. I know Motorola says they'll change the former...but who knows if VZW would be keen on it...

 

[f150fan]

While it is better..it's not by much. The keys still seem small and crammed together (although not as bad as the D1 and D2. I too was waiting for Merge but decided that, although I could find one through a non corporate store, I might as well not bother this late in the game.

Add that with the other downsides of owning a current day Motorola Android phone (encrypted bootloader, pentile display, MAP/Blur) and it's desirability drops further. I know Motorola says they'll change the former...but who knows if VZW would be keen on it...

Well with the bootloader issue the Atrix has been cracked and the Gingerbread update will also give the user the option to unlock the bootloader. I think that Motorola is starting to see what is really important to everyone, including all the devs out there modding and romming for various devices.

Gingerblur is really not that bad. With every update it has gotten better, with the most improvement from Gingerblur. I am not saying it is the best, but not the worst either. The keys may be a little small but they could also be much easier to use than the past incarnations. I hardly ever used the physical keyboard on my OG Droid but I am still open to the possibility of using one if it is adequate.

The pentile display on the Atrix, which should be the same one on the Droid 3, is actually not that bad, in my opinion anyway. My brother owns an Atrix and I have spent some time with it. It appears to be rather crisp and very easy to read in direct sunlight, which is a plus in my book.

Not everyone will like this device, and they may not like the Bionic either. But I know that some will enjoy these devices and they will sell. How well? Who knows for sure. I do agree that Motorola needs to step up their game more, just like they did with the OG Droid and Droid X. Even with the Droid X having a locked bootloader it has a very strong modding community and is an excellent device, happens to be my current phone.

As I said, I do hope that Motorola starts raising the bar for their next set of Android devices like they have in the past. Their build quality is top notch and they have amazing radios that get great reception. I am still waiting to pass judgment until I can hold both the Droid 3 and the Droid Bionic and make my decision based on what suits me. Who knows, maybe one will suit you too. Sorry if I rambled a little bit. You have some good points. I cannot wait to see what each device will do.

 

[Raptor007]

I stopped into the Verizon store to look at the DX2 pentile display to get a better idea what the Bionic would be like 4.3" vs 4.5". I found the screen sharp, clear and easy to read. If I take a magnifying glass out sure I bet the pix-elation would appear but who views a display that way.

Can I output to HDMA, yes, its a bigger, brighter and sharper screen, dualcore processor, 16GB internal. Yes I would like to see more than 512MB of RAM but right now my Droid Charge has 512MB of RAM and oh 1.12GB of app storage. My Droid Charge runs just fine, I work, reply to email, games etc. 4G is coming for my market but I had time to use 4G last week and honestly for web surfing and getting email I didn't notice a big difference. IF I was streaming video sure I would but battery life just doesn't support that anymore.

When it hits I will check the D3 out I wanted something in the 4" screen with good overall specs, but if the Bionic actually comes out and has rockin specs I will go that route, maybe.

 

[f150fan]

I stopped into the Verizon store to look at the DX2 pentile display to get a better idea what the Bionic would be like 4.3" vs 4.5". I found the screen sharp, clear and easy to read. If I take a magnifying glass out sure I bet the pix-elation would appear but who views a display that way.

Can I output to HDMA, yes, its a bigger, brighter and sharper screen, dualcore processor, 16GB internal. Yes I would like to see more than 512MB of RAM but right now my Droid Charge has 512MB of RAM and oh 1.12GB of app storage. My Droid Charge runs just fine, I work, reply to email, games etc. 4G is coming for my market but I had time to use 4G last week and honestly for web surfing and getting email I didn't notice a big difference. IF I was streaming video sure I would but battery life just doesn't support that anymore.

When it hits I will check the D3 out I wanted something in the 4" screen with good overall specs, but if the Bionic actually comes out and has rockin specs I will go that route, maybe.

I am pretty much in the same boat as you. I had the OG Droid (great device), and I am currently on a Droid X that I have had since launch almost a year ago. I tried out the Thunderbolt but with the many flaws of Sense 2.0 (at least on the Thunderbolt) and the horrible battery life I went back to my DX. I too am hoping for more RAM than what is currently floating around but with the faster RAM that it is said to be packing it should help some. I too am also thinking about the Bionic. I may wait for the SGSII but I am not sure that I want to go with a Samsung device, even if it is probably the best out right now. I have been with Motorola since the StarTac and through a lot of years with Nextel. I will be checking out the Bionic as well as the Droid 3. Decisions, decisions.

 

[Raptor007]

I had the ThunderBolt for about 5 or 6 weeks and sold it, I really like HTC hardware but battery life, OS build issues, I could have worked with until GB hit this summer. What I cannot tolerate is BT not working with my 2010 car. My Droid Charge can pair, my wife's crappy LG flip can pair, but the ThunderBolt AND the LG Revolution both FAILED.

I will say the Revo was a nice device, BUT two things caused its return within 24 hours. First dead pixels out of the box, something I haven' had since PPC2003 days, way back in time. The second was a sense it just wouldn't have developer support. I can say the Charge community has some great developer support, ROM's, themes, hacks.

I just hope the Droid3 gets some dev love so I can get rid of BLUR.

 

[f150fan]

Have you tried the new version of Blur? It is still not the best skin out there but it is much better than it was before. There are many bugs on the DX2 from what I've been reading but the Gingerbread update that came to the DX is pretty good, much less bugs. It is much more functional and gives some nicer customization options. I'm not saying that Moto doesn't need to keep making it better, they most certainly do. I would love to see them release a Vanilla device with Droid 3/Droid Bionic specs on Verizon. I would jump on that in an instant.

The Thunderbolt was released way too early. It was not a complete product before release. HTC makes great hardware and Sense is very nice but this was pretty half-baked coming from them. It is still not a bad device overall but it was taken out of the oven too early, so to speak. Glad to see the Charge getting a really nice following. I thought about trying one out but I am still hoping Moto can start to reclaim its spot in the Android world. It may not happen this time around but hopefully soon. Who knows, I may end up with something totally different.

A Verizon Nexus, now that would be amazing, wishful thinking but amazing nonetheless.

 

[Raptor007]

I would gladly welcome a Verizon Nexus phone, but sadly we all know Verizon loves the cash generated from bloatware and removal of certain stock Android features. While the Charge has served me well it will be sold off/traded in for either the D3 or Bionic. The more I get into using certain apps the more I want a real keyboard and a higher powered battery that isn't a bulge on the back. One thing Verizon has done with the DX and D2 is an extended battery that wasn't a brick and that sometimes is more important.

I want 4G but I also know the current crop of 4G phones out today are just the trial run. I am optimistic the Bionic will offer something better but I may take a D3, ride it out for a year then get a 4G LTE phone once Quad Core phones are out and ICS is stock.

 

[f150fan]

Everything you just said is pretty much the same way I am looking at it right now. What will be nice is when we can actually get a full and official spec sheet for both devices. I for one would love to see that happen soon. Hopefully some unboxing videos as well as hands on videos could start soon. This would help to really start a much better comparison of the two devices.

 

[Raptor007]

Now that the specs are out, what does everyone think? I am leaning towards it, but I need to see one live first. IF the Bionic comes out by end of July that would be nice but at this point I just can't rely on Moto delivering a better 4G LTE phone than HTC, LG or Samsung. I am thinking 4G LTE next year once the ICS non button driven phones hit. I mean why do I want a phone with buttons when ICS won't require them to be there those phones will be all display with the menu's accessible like Honeycomb.

So Droid 3 is looking more than suitable for the next 6-12 months.

 

[f150fan]

I am still on the fence. I just played with a DX2 and a Charge and I must say that I can see what everyone is saying about the screen differences. If I had to choose between the two I would take the Charge. Not just because of the very vibrant colors but you can tell the difference in overall "sharpness" as well. My DX looked much less jagged on the icons and letters on just on the homescreen. I will say the the display on the DX2 was very bright and the colors seemed to look pretty well too. I did not really notice this on my brother's Atrix which has a smaller display, same as the Droid 3, than the DX2 yet same resolution.

I have yet to make a decision on anything yet but it is still in the running. It will still depend on what the Bionic will be sporting for a screen and such for me. Still could happen. If the Bionic is going to be released a couple of weeks after the Droid 3 a comparison between the two will be much sooner than I expected, for me at least.

 

[Raptor007]

Now that the cases and other accessories are hitting the Verizon stores I have a feeling we just may see the D3 before the 7/7 cut off date to lock in unlimited data. I have checked out the Atrix before and didn't really get into the display as much as I was just checking out the device over all.

I will have to pop into AT&T to see what it looks like this weekend, I will say the 4" vs 4.3" display will make a difference in the appearance and may be enough to make it worth while. However I will have to wait it out to see IF the bionic hits EOM.

 

[experiment 626]

Evolve or Dissolve Evolution of DROID: Original DROID vs. DROID2 vs. DROID2 Global vs. DROID3 - Droid Life: A Droid Community Blog........PS: Droid-Life now has the link for the Droid 3's User Guide on their front page.

 

[rickhamilton620]

I haven't been exactly warm toward droid 3 in the past, but I'm really considering it due to its dual core processor. It just sounds like I should future proof myself and the internals sound like it'll be long lasting in terms of future performance.

If the bootloader becomes unencryptable like the Atrix this would be the perfect upgrade.