Why is there not more chatter on the D2?

[Brett]

guys get on topic before i send the dogs out after you all haha

the Droid 2 is lacking that following that the original Droid and all the new Android devices (evo, x, galaxy s) is because its more of an upgrade to the droid. as it was stated, it is not a game changer. think of it as an option to choose from with other high end smart phones out there as other options. they are all pretty high end and up to date but what are you looking for feature-wise? big screen? get and evo or x. qwerty keyboard? get a droid 2 or epic 4g. easily pocket able? epic 4g, captivate, droid 2 etc... you guys get the point.

seeing as how the other phones are more of a first of their kind on the carrier they are on and the droid 2 is more of an upgraded droid, it doesn't need as much advertising in order to sell. if somebody goes to verizon and asks for a droid, a rep will inform them that the droid is out of stock but they have a droid 2. the customer will most likely be like... sweet!! and go get it. the droid line is the pinnacle of android. it made android as big as they are now. not all of it but it contributed a lot.

im not upgrading my droid for a droid 2, no way. is it nice? hell yeah, but im waiting for something that i feel will last a year and not be forgotten like the samsung moment. my droid has been able to keep up with the big boys since i bought it in november. thats what i want my new device to be like as well

 

[dbdynsty25]

the Droid 2 is lacking that following that the original Droid and all the new Android devices (evo, x, galaxy s) is because its more of an upgrade to the droid. as it was stated, it is not a game changer.

That is 100% true. However...in my mind, it is a game changer because I went through all of the other phones after I had my OG Droid for 6 months (Devour, Incredible, X) and guess what...I'm so happy to be back with the OG form factor. It just feels right. Kinda like an old pair of shoes. They fit so well and you forget how comfortable they are until you use them again. The nice spec bump and the revised keyboard make it even better. So it's a game changer in my mind.

 

[PGHammer]

I actually got some hands-on with a D2 at a corporate VZW store (Fashion Center @ Pentagon City, VA). While it's the same size as the original Droid, it does have that slider keyboard that the original lacks (in fact, the only other Android phone in all of VZW's rather large Android lineup that has one is, surprisingly, VZW's cheapest, the LG Ally). The real keyboard prevents that rather nasty Typo Finger problem I have with the virtual keyboard (on both models; it's not unique to the D2). The lack of a front-facing camera is no lack (as, except for *possibly* using a camera for video IMs, why would a front-facing camera be an issue?) as the odds of my using the camera for that purpose are slim to nil (more likely, I'd use the camera for still-snaps, in which case the camera where it is makes better sense). In most, if not all, cases, I'd be using data via wi-fi (rather than VZW's network) or doing straight file-swaps via USB, so I shouldn't need more than the floor data plan the phone itself would require (that requirement, by the way, applies to all Android-based VZW phones, including the aforementioned Ally). Therefore, for my needs, it would be between the Ally and D2, with the D2 winning due to the better slider keyboard.

 

[PGHammer]

No Typo Finger with the Virtual Keyboard?

guys get on topic before i send the dogs out after you all haha

the Droid 2 is lacking that following that the original Droid and all the new Android devices (evo, x, galaxy s) is because its more of an upgrade to the droid. as it was stated, it is not a game changer. think of it as an option to choose from with other high end smart phones out there as other options. they are all pretty high end and up to date but what are you looking for feature-wise? big screen? get and evo or x. qwerty keyboard? get a droid 2 or epic 4g. easily pocket able? epic 4g, captivate, droid 2 etc... you guys get the point.

seeing as how the other phones are more of a first of their kind on the carrier they are on and the droid 2 is more of an upgraded droid, it doesn't need as much advertising in order to sell. if somebody goes to verizon and asks for a droid, a rep will inform them that the droid is out of stock but they have a droid 2. the customer will most likely be like... sweet!! and go get it. the droid line is the pinnacle of android. it made android as big as they are now. not all of it but it contributed a lot.

im not upgrading my droid for a droid 2, no way. is it nice? hell yeah, but im waiting for something that i feel will last a year and not be forgotten like the samsung moment. my droid has been able to keep up with the big boys since i bought it in november. thats what i want my new device to be like as well

I visited a VZW store today, and they had D2s and original Droids in stock (and I compared the two heads-up and hands-on); for me the game-changer in the D2's favor was that physical keyboard. The virtual keyboard (with all Android phones; it isn't unique to any particular phone) is not suitable for me; it caused endless and frustrating Typo Finger Syndrome (primarily because I've never been a big phone-messager/TXTing maniac); however, I can navigate the slider keyboard (of the D2 and Ally, the only other VZW Android phone with one) with far fewer (in fact, zero) typos. The $50 discount on a new original Droid vs. the D2 may not be worth the additional errors/typo-correction time I would spend with an original Droid; consequently, migration from Droid to D2 (unlesss you will be using the slider keyboard more often) will be a lot easier; however, if you find the VK usable, you may be in no real rush to migrate to a D2 (since, other than the camera, there is little physical difference apparent between hte phones other than their price tags). However, as a *starter* Android phone (and especially if you are new to texting and messaging from a phone), that slider keyboard is a definite advantage in the D2's favor (and one the original Droid lacks).

 

[dbdynsty25]

I visited a VZW store today, and they had D2s and original Droids in stock (and I compared the two heads-up and hands-on); for me the game-changer in the D2's favor was that physical keyboard. The virtual keyboard (with all Android phones; it isn't unique to any particular phone) is not suitable for me; it caused endless and frustrating Typo Finger Syndrome (primarily because I've never been a big phone-messager/TXTing maniac); however, I can navigate the slider keyboard (of the D2 and Ally, the only other VZW Android phone with one) with far fewer (in fact, zero) typos. The $50 discount on a new original Droid vs. the D2 may not be worth the additional errors/typo-correction time I would spend with an original Droid; consequently, migration from Droid to D2 (unlesss you will be using the slider keyboard more often) will be a lot easier; however, if you find the VK usable, you may be in no real rush to migrate to a D2 (since, other than the camera, there is little physical difference apparent between hte phones other than their price tags). However, as a *starter* Android phone (and especially if you are new to texting and messaging from a phone), that slider keyboard is a definite advantage in the D2's favor (and one the original Droid lacks).

Why do you keep saying the original Droid lacks a slider keyboard?

 

[leathernuts#WP]

Why do you keep saying the original Droid lacks a slider keyboard?

Yeah I was wondering the same thing???? Droid has one too. Also, im not buying the whole no typo thing. I had the droid along with various blackberrys, treos, etc. Typos still happen on physical kb's as well. It all boils down to preference.

 

[PGHammer]

I DID state that it was personal preference!

Yeah I was wondering the same thing???? Droid has one too. Also, im not buying the whole no typo thing. I had the droid along with various blackberrys, treos, etc. Typos still happen on physical kb's as well. It all boils down to preference.

I agree about it being personal preference, and I prefer a physical keyboard (as opposed to a virtual one).

Further, I also stated that I'm *not* a big TXT/messaging person on phones. (That in particular does not help in terms of comfort with virtual-keyboard navigation skill.)

When I stated that I had a particular issue, I meant exactly that - I was the person with the issue. Other people may not have that problem. I'm not a reviewer (trying to sway the masses); I'm simply a would-be customer stating my own impressions, The issue that a lot of folks have with the camera NOT being front-facing is one I don't have, for example (and I also pointed out why). I also asked Brent (who posted that he has fewer issues with the virtual keyboard than the slider (the opposing experience to mine)) whether this was due to greater experience with same.

 

[PGHammer]

QWERTY v. non-QWERTY

Yeah I was wondering the same thing???? Droid has one too. Also, im not buying the whole no typo thing. I had the droid along with various blackberrys, treos, etc. Typos still happen on physical kb's as well. It all boils down to preference.

The difference in physical keyboards (original vs. D2) is QWERTY vs. non-QWERTY (I'm no fan of the traditional RIM keyboard because of it's non-QWERTY design; the same applies to most phone keyboards, both physical and virtual). It also doesn't help when the Android virtual keyboard (in landscape mode) is a QWERTY design without tactile feedback (in this case, it's that lack of tactile feedback that gives me problems). The feedback-lack is a preference issue (I type better when tactile feedback is present; physical keyboards without tactile feedback are just as problematical). I'm not saying that Google is wrong for implementing it that way (as it's not unique to Google); just that it give me in particular issues.

Lastly, if you are used to computers (and desktops mostly) the QWERTY design is a major comfort factor. RIM/Treo (in fact, most messaging and smartphones) have non-QWERTY physical keyboards; it's sliders (and not even all of those) that have started a Return to QWERTY. It took the Storm (and Storm2) to even get me interested in RIM (and that was entirely because of the keyboard design); the D2 merely confirms that my preferences in keyboard design (physical QWERTY with tactile feedback) haven't changed.