Get a Droid or wait?

[AsianBob]

I'm sitting at my annual upgrade for Verizon. So far, there's only the Droid and Eris on their plate. Me being me, I want to jump onto the Android ship ASAP.

There are plenty of good Android phones being rumored to show up on Verizon some time soon. Should I jump and get the Droid or wait to see how the rumors develop?

I'd hate to get a Droid with is lower hardware specs and then have Google release the Nexus One on Verizon shortly afterwards. There's just too many good Android phones with rumored "Spring 2010" release dates for Verizon.

 

[PJnc284]

The Droid is a fully capable phone and should be able to keep up with anything released in the near future. Only ETA on the Nexus One is "Spring '10". Who knows when it's coming but I don't see it being worth the wait. Plus I'm sure there will be something else on the horizon that will outdo the N1. It's a never-ending process.

 

[clackout]

Yeah it is one of those things where there will be something in 6 months that make you wish you waited but then when you get that one six months later there will be some thing else that makes you wish you waited.

Just get the Droid and you will be very happy.
What do you have now?

 

[AsianBob]

The Droid is a fully capable phone and should be able to keep up with anything released in the near future. Only ETA on the Nexus One is "Spring '10". Who knows when it's coming but I don't see it being worth the wait. Plus I'm sure there will be something else on the horizon that will outdo the N1. It's a never-ending process.

These things are always a never-ending process... I was also hoping for the HTC Bravo, since there was an end of January for Verizon rumor and I liked how it looked. But it seems like it won't show up at all. Seems like the only confirmed new Android phone is the Motorola Devour. Everything else is just rumors...

My only concern is that a lot of the new Android phones are sporting 1 GHz processors and I don't want to be stuck with a phone that starts to lag because of the processor when running newer apps. Maybe I'm just being too paranoid...

Yeah it is one of those things where there will be something in 6 months that make you wish you waited but then when you get that one six months later there will be some thing else that makes you wish you waited.

Just get the Droid and you will be very happy.
What do you have now?

I'm currently carrying around a BlackBerry Storm 9530. It was good at the time I got it (and still is) at the time when Android still didn't look like it was going anywhere. But then out comes the Droid and the Android development explosion and I was stuck until now because of my contract.

 

[Dapke36]

If you are worried about the chip speed difference, I wouldn't. Yes, the 1 GHz snapdragon is fast, but the Qualcomm chip in the Droid is no slouch either. If you do have a need for speed, you can always root and turn up the clock on the chip. There are a couple users at Android Central that are running 1 GHz off their Qualcomm, and the phone's as reliable as ever. I think Texas Instruments underrated their MHz spec when putting out the phone.

So don't worry about the speed. The only real difference to me is that the Nexus One has more RAM (ROM? I forget), so it can have a couple more apps on it. The Droid screen is much nicer, however, and can be seen in direct sunlight. I hear that is impossible for the N1's AMOLED screen.

 

[bconley007]

why wait. go with the droid. mine has been great so far.

 

[Dapke36]

Also, on that, if you are worried about running out of app space, I currently have 63 apps on my Droid, 5 widgets, and Beautiful Widgets clock running, and still have memory free. The lower memory issue on the Droid isn't really an issue at all.

I am also expecting Google to come out with SD card support before the year is out, so you can install apps on the SD card. There is no proof of that, just seems to me like a logical evolution.

 

[ericatomars06]

The Droid is a fully capable phone and should be able to keep up with anything released in the near future. Only ETA on the Nexus One is "Spring '10". Who knows when it's coming but I don't see it being worth the wait. Plus I'm sure there will be something else on the horizon that will outdo the N1. It's a never-ending process.

It is a never ending process... So many people are just willing to throw away all their hard earned money on a cellphone then in 6 months they hate it and wish they would have waited because something faster, smarter came along. In the end its the buyers choice... You have to remember your posting on Droid Forums.. Of course everyone is going to tell you to get it, but post the same question on the N1 forum and you will get the favor in that. In the end it's your choice of what you want, and what you want to get from your phone.

 

[drunken0monkey#IM]

I'm sitting at my annual upgrade for Verizon. So far, there's only the Droid and Eris on their plate. Me being me, I want to jump onto the Android ship ASAP.

There are plenty of good Android phones being rumored to show up on Verizon some time soon. Should I jump and get the Droid or wait to see how the rumors develop?

I'd hate to get a Droid with is lower hardware specs and then have Google release the Nexus One on Verizon shortly afterwards. There's just too many good Android phones with rumored "Spring 2010" release dates for Verizon.

I'm in a similar situation (trying to decide between Moto and N1). The main concern I have is that with the Droid (or any other Moto phone) you'll always have to rely on Motorola to customize, build and release updates for your device. With the N1 you'll get your updates directly from Google. I understand that you can install other custom updates but my point is that for OFFICIAL and SUPPORTED updates you'll rely on Motorola.

To me this is a mostly negative aspect of the Droid. Speculation is that the N1 (and other Google direct phones) will likely be a step or two ahead of the Droid in terms of updates. There is already some evidence that this may be the case going forward (see the N1 2.1 update vs. the speculated Droid 2.1 update). This is not to say that the Droid will be left behind but there's always going to be another party involved in the process (Motorola) which will likely cause delays and most importantly, it will present the possibility of the device simply not getting some features/altering others depending on what Motorola decides. Keep in mind that this can also be a good thing since Motorola can also ADD good things to their version of Android.

I'm starting to lean towards going with a Google phone (N1 or other) as opposed to a third party company device with their version of Android OS. I value the open platform enough to make this important.

Just my two cents.

 

[clackout]

That is a good point I did not think about. Dont know how much it will come into play. But I did not think about

 

[Zorro1]

There's something to be said for Moto vetting the release tho', so that you minimize troubles when you get it. You'll know it works. So if you're the impatient type...go with the N1. If you want a keyboard and/or more assurance of reliability, stick with the Droid. Fantastic phone.

 

[multineedia]

FWIW, I was in a similar place -- using an old Treo 700p and waiting for the Palm Pre to come to Verizon. Got tired of waiting and got a Droid. After using it for three weeks, it's not perfect, but it's so much better than what I had before. I never had an iPhone but I have an iPod Touch, and the multitasking on the Droid makes it possible for me to do things that actually make my life easier. Sounds dopey, but it's true. There are some downsides, like occasional crashes, not a lot of great games, and (weirdly) no easy solution to sync with Google Docs (there are apps that sort of sync but it's a little clunky). I was going to wait for another Android device but the Droid is miles ahead of what I had before that I don't think I'll be jonesing for something else anytime soon.
My 2 cents.

 

[PJnc284]

yeah, he definitely won't be disappointed going from the Storm to any android device. I made the switch a month ago from the Storm to the Droid and wonder how I tolerated the storm for a year. The Droid shows the true potential of an all in one wireless device that puts the Storm to shame.

 

[multineedia]

as for Droid vs Nexus One, I wanted a physical keyboard. The Droid's KB isn't great but I've gotten used to it.

 

[drunken0monkey#IM]

There's something to be said for Moto vetting the release tho', so that you minimize troubles when you get it. You'll know it works. So if you're the impatient type...go with the N1. If you want a keyboard and/or more assurance of reliability, stick with the Droid. Fantastic phone.

Like I said, there are positives that can come out of having Moto customize the Google code. My main point was that because you're relying on Moto for updates you have no guarantee that what Android does your phone will do.

I'm not sure why you think Moto code (build on Google code) will automatically be better and more reliable. I'd say there's no evidence to support that claim. Moto is not doing further testing or debugging; they're changing the code to better suit their (and their provider's) needs and to work better with their hardware. Sure, they can catch some bugs but are probably more likely to introduce new ones as well. In my opinion reliability depends only on the quality of work done by Google and Motorola. If I had to bet, I'd put my money behind the big G. That's obviously just opinion so if you happen to think that Motorola has better development and quality control you're entitled to that opinion.

 

[drunken0monkey#IM]

On a side note, all you Droid users should count yourselves lucky you're not stuck with the European/South American/Asian/Australian/Canadian version known as the Milestone. At least with the Droid you can flip the bird to Moto if you wish and put together your own custom ROMs incorporating best features of different devices. With the Milestone (for the moment at least) you're REALLY stuck with whatever Moto chooses to release.

 

[AsianBob]

yeah, he definitely won't be disappointed going from the Storm to any android device. I made the switch a month ago from the Storm to the Droid and wonder how I tolerated the storm for a year. The Droid shows the true potential of an all in one wireless device that puts the Storm to shame.

I'm definitely sure that I'll enjoy any Android device. Like I said, Android didn't seem like it was going anywhere around November 2008, and the Storm was the best touchscreen device Verizon had at the time (.65 release bugs aside). I actually had a blast going through the wait for the new update and all the leaked OSs. The Storm's served me well during the last year with only a few minor annoyances.

Android is exactly the OS that I'm looking for. A phone that has a "desktop", if you will for whatever icons you want and live widgets. While the BB OS has progressed a lot in the year I've used my Storm, it hasn't gotten anywhere near what Android 2.1 is like now.

I think I'll wait until after Motorola releases 2.1 for the Droid and see how well it works before jumping on the Adroid ship. If my choices are the Droid, Eris, or Devour, we all know which one to pick.

 

[BoNg420]

I'd wait there looks to be a nice HTC device coming soon.

The droid's physical keyboard is its only downfall!

 

[Mr. Z]

you should get the droid eris...this way you know you will NEVER get an update, and you won't have to worry about it. (joking)

Listen...droid is a great phone...and it is stock android so it will be updated really quick, WAY faster than other motorolla phones. It is also a flagship device with 100 million dollars advertising. it will not be left out in the cold.

So if you want a new phone, play with the droid. play with the Nexus one. you need to decide if there really is much of a difference, and if there is, is is worth waiting half a year for? you have to decide.

Just remember that your wait will only be rewarded with yet another phone that will beat the DROID and nexus one, so you might as well get one now and enjoy one while its the best out. there is no major difference between either phone currently, they are both the top of the market.

So in the end, you may find the nexus one to be better than the droid. PLay with both and decide, the longer you wait the less time you will have with the best of the best...so its completely up to you whether you decide the google phone is worth that wait.

personally i roll with the droid, and would still buy it today. But i would not at all be surprised to see someone go the other way. Hope this helped.

 

[ips]

If you are worried about the chip speed difference, I wouldn't. Yes, the 1 GHz snapdragon is fast, but the Qualcomm chip in the Droid is no slouch either. If you do have a need for speed, you can always root and turn up the clock on the chip. There are a couple users at Android Central that are running 1 GHz off their Qualcomm, and the phone's as reliable as ever. I think Texas Instruments underrated their MHz spec when putting out the phone.

So don't worry about the speed. The only real difference to me is that the Nexus One has more RAM (ROM? I forget), so it can have a couple more apps on it. The Droid screen is much nicer, however, and can be seen in direct sunlight. I hear that is impossible for the N1's AMOLED screen.

Yea definatley dont worry about speed, Im running my phone at 1ghz with no issue what so ever and I can set profiles for speed so that when its charging/sleeping it will run slower...the battery actually lasts longer now too. The n1 is a nice phone but its really very similar to the droid and there is nothing currently on the horizon that would make it worth the wait imo.