OG Droid user(s) and Vanilla Android question

[brolan]

hi Guys,

i have been lurking for about a month since my OG Droid starting acting up w/ two upgrades (my phone & my wife's) at the end of the month on Verizon.

i've been following all the rumors about the various high-end phones for a while (Galaxy S II, HTC Vigor, Nexus Prime and even iPhone5). i have been quite happy with the Android OS over iOS (have an iPod Touch) in it's form on the OG Droid - mainly the Keyboard app options (Swiftkey) and Google services integration (GVoice, GTalk, GReader, GFinance, etc...) my wife is mostly sold on Android as well (OG Droid as well).

along this month of reading the forums and watching video reviews of current phones, i have been wondering what phone(s) would fit us for how we are accustomed to android with our current phones. for example when i see all the bling and fanciness of HTC phones, i wonder about brass tax functional efficiency. i really could care less if a phone has "surface" wow. i am more into what is going to improve my day to day functionality (or at least not hinder it). contrast the HTC to with the Nexus line and it seems like the other end of the spectrum. not having seen a Nexus phone, i am not sure what a "pure" Google Android experience is.

my OG Droid is painfully slow at this time and i desperately want to upgrade, but alas, not into something that emphasizes form over function.

this brings me to an actual question. i read a comment last night for the first time referencing the OG Droid as a "near-vanilla" or almost a Nexus phone. there was an inference made that it was pretty much a stock android OS with only modest Motorola embellishment.

this clued me into thinking that perhaps a Google Nexus phone may be my best choice, although i was really rooting for the Galaxy S II would make it to Verizon in the near term. if only for that amazing contrasty screen (would help my squinty eyes).

can anyone comment on this new bit of background (on the OG Droid being "vanilla") and whether the Nexus might be a better choice to hold out for? if not, then i may have to "settle" for the HTC Vigor.

my gut is saying yes to holding out, but my emotions are saying replace this phone asap!

thanks in advance!!!

-lance

p.s. so sorry for the long drawn out post. hopefully other OG Droid users may find this info valuable as well.

 

[zkSharks]

I had an OG Droid for a year or so before I got my Thunderbolt. It really is similar to a Nexus phone, at least in regards to the experience. Compared to most of today's Android-powered phones, it had almost no additions to Android itself. The only real add-ons that made an appearance were apps pre-installed by Moto/Verizon (mainly Verizon, as always).

I was hesitant to make the jump to a device running a skinned version of Android, or more specifically, HTC's Sense UI. Long story short, while I very much enjoy vanilla Android, I've really become a fan of Sense.

Because of my great experience with Sense so far, I'm torn right down the middle between two upcoming phones -- the Nexus Prime, and the HTC Vigor (official names pending for each, of course).

I'm of the opinion that Sense definitely will not 'interfere' with your ability to perform daily routines, but it will take a little getting used to. It did for me, but then I really started to get accustomed to it.

I am, however, against Blur. Blur does nothing for me (read: for me) in terms of aesthetics or important functionality. Compared to Sense, Blur has always seemed sluggish when I've used phones running it.

Just my $0.02.

 

[ejaymd11]

I was really anti-blur myself but with the new gingerbread update that came with the Droid 2g it is actually a lot bearable. I was all for trying out sense but I've since changed my mind. The skins do spice up the Android experience a little but and adds cool features but they take forever to get updates, and nothing runs as smooth as vanilla android. I also read that one of the things to expect with ICS is that Android is trying to make the UI so awesome that you will no longer need those skins like blur, and sense. I'm hoping the Nexus does come to VZW.

 

[equake]

I am definitely in the same boat with the OG getting long in the tooth. The appeal of the Prime is the stock ICS but I am not a fan of the oversized screens even if it is HD 720P. But if the form factor is close to the 4.3 sccreen I would be comfortable given the rumored specs of the Prime especially if it contains the next gen Snapdragon Krait CPU.

 

[STC09]

Another OG Droid user here who's waiting (im)patiently on the Prime. I've played around with the SGS1 and X enough that I wouldn't consider Touchwhiz or Blur. Too bad Google doesn't require the OEMs to install a vanilla option.

Sense doesn't seem too bad but the Nexus experience is my strong preference.

 

[Johnly]

Blur is actually really good. So is sense. Google integration remains. Anything is far better at making your daily life better than a OG DROID lol.

 

[STC09]

i read a comment last night for the first time referencing the OG Droid as a "near-vanilla" or almost a Nexus phone. there was an inference made that it was pretty much a stock android OS with only modest Motorola embellishment.

I think of it as essentially a Nexus 0.5 with some VZW bloatware. If there's any Motobloat, I'm not aware of it, with the possible exception of the Amazon app.

 

[STC09]

Blur is actually really good.

It received a scathing evaluation on a recent Engadget review of the D3, IIRC.

 

[Johnly]

I recommend a personal evaluation. There is a split in IIRC and blog sites. I personally love my integrated mail box and my app tray that is compartmentalized. Having three profiles is a real life enhancement as well. Label me a blur fan.

 

[nemov]

hi Guys,

i have been lurking for about a month since my OG Droid starting acting up w/ two upgrades (my phone & my wife's) at the end of the month on Verizon.

i've been following all the rumors about the various high-end phones for a while (Galaxy S II, HTC Vigor, Nexus Prime and even iPhone5). i have been quite happy with the Android OS over iOS (have an iPod Touch) in it's form on the OG Droid - mainly the Keyboard app options (Swiftkey) and Google services integration (GVoice, GTalk, GReader, GFinance, etc...) my wife is mostly sold on Android as well (OG Droid as well).

along this month of reading the forums and watching video reviews of current phones, i have been wondering what phone(s) would fit us for how we are accustomed to android with our current phones. for example when i see all the bling and fanciness of HTC phones, i wonder about brass tax functional efficiency. i really could care less if a phone has "surface" wow. i am more into what is going to improve my day to day functionality (or at least not hinder it). contrast the HTC to with the Nexus line and it seems like the other end of the spectrum. not having seen a Nexus phone, i am not sure what a "pure" Google Android experience is.

my OG Droid is painfully slow at this time and i desperately want to upgrade, but alas, not into something that emphasizes form over function.

this brings me to an actual question. i read a comment last night for the first time referencing the OG Droid as a "near-vanilla" or almost a Nexus phone. there was an inference made that it was pretty much a stock android OS with only modest Motorola embellishment.

this clued me into thinking that perhaps a Google Nexus phone may be my best choice, although i was really rooting for the Galaxy S II would make it to Verizon in the near term. if only for that amazing contrasty screen (would help my squinty eyes).

can anyone comment on this new bit of background (on the OG Droid being "vanilla") and whether the Nexus might be a better choice to hold out for? if not, then i may have to "settle" for the HTC Vigor.

my gut is saying yes to holding out, but my emotions are saying replace this phone asap!

thanks in advance!!!

-lance

p.s. so sorry for the long drawn out post. hopefully other OG Droid users may find this info valuable as well.

I'm holding out... bit of advice. Do a factory reset on your OG Droid. I did it last week because the phone was becoming dreadfully slow. The reset helped immensely. The phone is noticeably quicker. That makes waiting a little bit easier.

 

[Johnly]

Yes a factory reset will clean the phone and speed it up. It won't be "2011" fast, but that can help with it stalling.

 

[STC09]

http://m.bgr.com/2011/07/27/motorola-droid-3-review/ for a review on Blur. Scroll down to the Software section.

Apparently it's a performance drag.

 

[Johnly]

I prefer experience. Quadrants and theory are all good, but the DROID 3 is fast. That is just the way it is. It needs an update for some bugs.

 

[Johnly]

The nexus three will be smoking! Good luck.

 

[STC09]

User experience vs industry opinion: it's all good to have when making a decision.

 

[Johnly]

Industry opinion, Lolz, you kill me have fun.

 

[STC09]

Industry opinion, Lolz, you kill me have fun.

It's an industry opinion - one I haven't seen refuted publicly - and one I'd assign more weight than some random internet poster, especially when similar posters themselves seem to be generally negative about the product.

No offense intended.

 

[Johnly]

It's an industry opinion - one I haven't seen refuted publicly - and one I'd assign more weight than some random internet poster, especially when similar posters themselves seem to be generally negative about the product.

No offense intended.

No problem, carry on just makes me laugh a little when a blog brcomes industry standard. Lol! I kid, I passed on the DROID 3, but not because it is slow.

 

[Johnly]

I want back on topic. What I like about a vanilla android device is an unlocked bootloader. When manufacturers skin them and then carriers bloat them, it does suck the fun out of it; however, in a world of only google phones, the open source nature would be none existing

 

[STC09]

No problem, carry on just makes me laugh a little when a blog brcomes industry standard. Lol!

Tech News & Reviews sites are the industry I had in mind. I thought it was clear I didn't mean OEMs.

I want back on topic. What I like about a vanilla android device is an unlocked bootloader. When manufacturers skin them and then carriers bloat them, it does suck the fun out of it...

Agreement at last and back on track!