Verizon misinformation?

[zeuswsu]

I went into a Verizon store planning on buying a new phone. I narrowed down my choices to two phones. The Palm Pre and the Droid. I am coming from a touch pro 2 Windows Mobiles device that I have spent so many wasted hours trying to customize to my liking without being truly satisfied...I'm sick of wasting so much time messing with a phone trying to get it perfect if you know what I mean.

I told myself that the Palm Pre was the phone for me since i wouldn't spend so much of my time trying to customize it since there are only so many things you can do to it.. Yes i had heard of the cheap build quality and that the advertising campaign is focused towards woman, but I ignored all that and told myself that it would be the phone for me but that I would try the Droid out frist just to make sure the Pre was THE ONE...

So I take my girlfriend with me, and the first thing she says when I she saw I was looking at the Palm Pre was "Isn't that a girls phone?"...well that kinda pissed me off but I ignored her and searched out for a Verizon representative. He also echoed the same thoughts calling the Pre a girls phone..Bastard.

By now I was questioning my man hood and looking at the droid as an alternative. I had previously thought about waiting for the nexus one, but damn it I wanted a new phone now so I thought I would check out the droid since so many of my friends seem to really like it. The Verizon dude told me the droid was a bad phone because so many people had come in complaining about the device its self dropping calls. He said if you make a lot of phone calls it's a horrible device. This made me realize he probably isn't on commission since he obviously wasn't trying to sell me a phone...

My Question to all you guys is do you ever have issues with your droid when making phone calls? Does it drop calls randomly? I really love the device (besides the keyboard) and trust you guys more then the representative. My other question is have any of you come from a touch Pro 2 or other Window Mobile device and noticed a huge difference in ease of phone use? If you have read all the way to this point I just want to say sorry for the SUPER LONG post, I know I hate reading long posts myself....I blame my good friend Jim Beam Thanks!

 

[devarshi]

Nope, not a bit of truth there. Never had a dropped call and call quality is just fine.

 

[chuckz28]

Rule #1 has always been; never listen to the Verizon reps because the majority have no idea what they are talking about. Now that we have that out of the way, I never have dropped a call either. The call clarity has also been superb. I have had the droid since launch day and it has been absolutely fantastic and even better now that I have explored around with rooting and installing custom rom's, overclocking the processor, all kinds of goodies. You get a 30day window so try it out and see if it is for you.

Don't let anyone tell you that a phone is for girls. Everyone has different tastes so the pre may be more for you. From what I have seen though, I have two friends that HAD pre's on sprint and both have already moved to the Hero after having replaced 3-4 pre's each. Web-Os has a great future but the build quality of the pre really is junk. Doesn't mean that you will have to deal with it though.

Even though I thought the Droid was ugly I put up with it and I am glad I did because the things I have done and the potential it still has is amazing. Now the look has grown on me (but I still never use the keyboard) and I like it. Throw in a car mount to use your GPS and it blows my wives TomTom out of the water.

 

[j7469]

No call quality issues what so ever. The droid is a million times better than the storm 1. I bet since the Palm Pre is new there is a higher commission on it but then again you didn't mention him trying to steer you towards that though.

Like I said no problems what so ever.

 

[zeuswsu]

No call quality issues what so ever. The droid is a million times better than the storm 1. I bet since the Palm Pre is new there is a higher commission on it but then again you didn't mention him trying to steer you towards that though.

Like I said no problems what so ever.

Well if that was the case, then then he definitely didn't get the memo. I was playing with the Pre for a good 10 minutes telling him how I liked that it was a phone that didn't require much customizing etc. After all that, he decided to tell me he was pretty sure the phone was for girls only..talk about a buzz kill. Kinda glad he did that though, since honestly I think I'll be happier with a Nexus one when it comes to Verizon. I like the droid, just don't like the keyboard so I might as well wait for a android phone that doesn't have the keyboard.

 

[scodoublet]

No problems with dropped calls on my Droid.

I came from a Sprint Palm Pre and before that a Touch Pro. I pretty much felt the same way about my Touch Pro as you said you did about the TP2. I liked it but the constant Rom changing and customizing to try and make the phone what I wanted always left me feeling a bit unsatisfied...

I also absolutely loved the Palm Pre. Web OS is awesome and has a ton of potential. The Touchstone charging system is awesome! I never had any of the hardware issues that seemed to be so wide spread but I also really baby my phones. The only reason I ditched the Pre for the Droid was because the Sprint Network sucked in my place of work... I couldn't use my phone hardly at all unless I was roaming which just killed the battery and usefulness of the phone.

I didn't realize how laggy the Pre was though until I got the Droid. The Droid is a freaking speed demon compared to the other two phones I mentioned. The Droid's interface really feels much more responsive than the Pre and TP. I feel like I have a lot more control over the droid than I did with the Pre. After going through two WinMo phones before the Pre I couldn't believe that the Pre didn't have something as simple as a file manager!!!! Granted to get one on the Droid you have to download one from the market but the good ones are free and they literally take seconds to download and install...

The apps alone make the Droid worth it to me. Plus having 3G coverage at work is a nice bonus too!

EDIT** I also didn't like the Droid Keyboard at first but I'm used to it now after using it for a month or so. It's not too bad. I still mess up typing here and there but no more than I do using only the touchscreen.

 

[zeuswsu]

Thanks for the info scodoublet. Nice to hear from someone coming form the Pre. I love webos from the limited time I've had with it, but agree the hardware is pretty lacking...Also thanks for the input on the keyboard.

 

[scodoublet]

No problemo! Glad to be of some help

 

[the one and only M]

I've never had a dropped call on the droid.

 

[raremage]

We've got both phones. The signal strength on the Droid is always better than the Pre Plus. From what I have read, the Droid has two antenna which apparently helps with this.

And no dropped calls I can remember on the Droid, but it has happened on the Pre.

 

[sethjk]

Rule #1 has always been; never listen to the Verizon reps because the majority have no idea what they are talking about.

I'm not 100% sure on that one, but I do believe that you should be doing a lot of the research ahead of time.

Now that we have that out of the way, I never have dropped a call either. The call clarity has also been superb. I have had the droid since launch day and it has been absolutely fantastic and even better now that I have explored around with rooting and installing custom rom's, overclocking the processor, all kinds of goodies. You get a 30day window so try it out and see if it is for you.

Also agree here. I've dropped like one call and I was simply in a bad coverage area. This is not counting all the calls with Iphone friends, but then it is their fault.

Don't let anyone tell you that a phone is for girls. Everyone has different tastes so the pre may be more for you.

Well said. Unless the phone has been bedazzled (and hell, that could be your thing) there's no such thing as a "girl's phone." Yes, the pre is smaller and more curved and definitely a little sexier and the Droid appears rugged and strong, but that doesn't make one a guys v. girls phone. It's merely design preference. THat would be like suggesting the Iphone is a girls phone because of it's sex appeal

Personally, I preferred the Eris before I got my droid. I just couldn't stand the terrible battery life and how slow the phone was. I love the droid now. Though, I have never ever used the physical keyboard.

 

[Cory Streater]

The Verizon dude told me the droid was a bad phone because so many people had come in complaining about the device its self dropping calls. He said if you make a lot of phone calls it's a horrible device.

My Question to all you guys is do you ever have issues with your droid when making phone calls? Does it drop calls randomly?

Contrary, the Droid has been the best smartphone I've owned in terms of reception, and call quality. What phone did the Verizon rep have on his hip?

My other question is have any of you come from a touch Pro 2 or other Window Mobile device and noticed a huge difference in ease of phone use?

I had a Touch Pro 2 prior to this. I have to say, I preferred the TP2's phone INTERFACE over the Droid's. I liked the predictive dialer, and the ease in which I could return to the phone screen at any time during a call - I find the Droid to have a ridiculous # of steps to get back to the phone screen if you leave it during a call. The other thing I will always miss is the TP2's keyboard. Man that thing was beautiful. That said, the Droid is by far a more superior and enjoyable device in every other way.

If you have read all the way to this point I just want to say sorry for the SUPER LONG post, I know I hate reading long posts myself....I blame my good friend Jim Beam Thanks!

My advice: don't listen to anyone's advice or commentary. Buy it and try it out for yourself. At first you might find it a little frustrating, like I did. Then you will start to see the power of the OS and the beauty of all the cool things it can do and you'll be hooked.


P.S. - Come on now... hacking the TP2 was half the fun!

 

[walhalla]

I also had the Pre, got it on day one. Never heard any comment about it being a "girl" phone. Like others have said, the build quality is not consistent. WebOS is a great operating system, it has a lot of potential. The number of apps available is not anywhere near android or iphone, but it all comes down to what you are needing/wanting.
The touchstone charger is amazing, just set it on the charger. One thing I didn't like about the Pre is the volume never seemed loud enough, especially when listening to music.
The Droid's volume on calls and music is great, imo.
I liked the form factor of the Pre, never got any screen protectors for it, just used the "sleeping bag" that came with it whenever I put it in my pants pocket. The keyboard is okay, just takes getting used to like the Droid and any other phone.
The one factor that moved me away from Sprint was the service. I could never maintain a consistent service at home, even going outside. Sometimes it was just a matter of moving 6 inches for either good or bad reception.
I have never had any issues with dropped calls with my Droid.

 

[entwined82]

I came from the Mogul and Touch Pro before using the Droid. The only area the Droid falls short is in the hardware keyboard. It was weird and kind of awesome getting a phone and feeling like it didn't need an update or for me to install 25 different cabs just to tweak it to how I like it.

With Windows Mobile I spent tons of time tweaking to perfection. With Android, I spend that very same time actually using the phone instead of getting it ready to be used.

 

[Roy Aguilera]

Its not a girl phone.
One guy friend has it but never brings it out when we hang out, hes tired of the guys messing with him. As long as you like it and are comfortable with it, get it.

Oh and like everyone else, no dropped call issues.

 

[MedlongOne]

I had a Touch Pro, then a BB curve, a Tour and now the ULTIMATE phone...the Droid. I had so many problems with those phones. I switched to the Droid because I had HORRIBLE reception issues with the Tour. 3 different devices, countless PRL updates, and then I talked to a Data support supervisor. She told me I should get the Droid and offered to upgrade me for free. I accepted and I have not looked back. I never drop calls and have better reception than all my other phones.
It's definitely a man's phone. Girls cans use it to...

 

[ValleyForge]

I ran into the same thing when I had a Blackberry Pearl - "Pearls are for Girls", I was told. I was, however, able to compensate. I started throwing sharp sticks at small animals, got a tattoo of Pamela Anderson on my back, and bought some of those pills that they advertise in my junk mail box. The pills worked fine, but now I have trouble walking.

Oh yes, and I tossed the GIrly Pearly and bought a Droid. Now Green Berets rush out of the way when I walk down the street (with some difficulty). They say "Wow. There's a REAL man".

And my calls don't drop, either.

 

[Chaos5]

Oh yes, and I tossed the GIrly Pearly and bought a Droid. Now Green Berets rush out of the way when I walk down the street (with some difficulty). They say "Wow. There's a REAL man".

I get asked which way to the gym when mine is out.

But yes get what ever phone you feel most comfortable with because its you who is using it not the rep., the gf, or anyone else just you.

Also I work for an indirect Verizon and as I was on the phone for dealer care the ad for the Pre says a smartphone just for mom, it multi-tasks etc. kind of lol'ed a bit.

 

[zeuswsu]

@Cory - The verizon rep had a blackberry of some sort.

Glad to know the droid has never dropped calls, not sure where that guy was getting his info from. And it's true pearls are for girls...I mean they have a tampon with the same name for christ sake =)

 

[PortareAF]

Listen sissy you don't need a girl phone, get the robot before it kills you. Seriously, if you don't get it and it sees you leave the store with a Pre it might kill you.

No drop calls on the Droid