iPhone v. the new Verizon Droid

[annasmom]

Can anyone offer me a comparison??

I am finally going to take the plunge in the next month or so and upgrade my phone. Right now I have a VERY basic Verizon phone.

I have Verizon right now, so to get an iPhone I will have to pay a cancellation fee, plus the cost of the iPhone.

So, I was thinking about just getting the Droid if they are really similar. However, I really do need a new iPod, so I was also thinking that if I get an iPhone I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone (hate that expression).

What do you think??

[infomama]

There was a recent thread on the Droid
http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=340850&highlight=droid

[Karenn]

I'm phone shopping too. I've read a lot of reviews at http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/

Here's a cheesy (but informative) video review where they directly compare the Droid and the iPhone

http://reviews.cnet.com/2722-6452_7-380.html?tag=centerColumnArea1.2


They (and other reviews I've read) make it sound like the Droid is the phone most similar to an iphone that's on the market right now. I want an iphone too, but just can't deal with AT&T coverage so I'm thinking seriously about getting the Droid.

[hellokitty]

Don't know if you are considering sprint. I got a palm pre and LOVE it! It is also much smaller than the iphone and droid, which I really like, b/c the iphone and droid are big and heavy.

[Karenn]

I love what I've read about the Palm Pre! I'd totally get it were it not for the fact that there's a big blank circle around my neighborhood when I look at Sprint's coverage map!

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

I'm a engineer (in hi-tech) working in a lab, and we've been doing Droid to iPhone comparisons since I got mine a week and a half ago. I think Droid measures up very well. In fact, another guy got one yesterday after playing with mine. :)

We were strongly considering switching to AT&T from Verizon for the iPhone and couldn't be happier that we didn't.

The main thing Droid doesn't have that iPhone doesn't is the pinch and zoom. :) It's just a slightly different software interface (google vs apple) so if you're an apple user, it may seem clunkier. It doesn't to me.

Droid has a much better screen. The GPS and navigation is really great (we sold our Garmin the day after we got Droids for $100, so that was like another phone rebate). I love the voice input. Web surfing is great. I'm a big fan. :)

Then again, I don't have an iPod, I have a Sansa, so I was never in the Apple camp really.

Another co-worker has Palm Pre, so I can get him to come over later and do a comparison. :) He says he has very bad batter life on his Pre, possibly because Sprint signal is not that good around here.

[wellyes]

Keep your phone & get an ipod touch. All the fun of the iphone without dealing with AT&T and its monthly fees.

[wolverine2]

Keep your phone & get an ipod touch. All the fun of the iphone without dealing with AT&T and its monthly fees.

Does the touch do everything the phone does except the phone? Doesn't it work on a different network or something? My brother has a touch and it always seems like it doesn't work in some places, where I know a phone would.

[wellyes]

The touch works on WiFi whereas the iPhone works on the AT&T network, so yes, the iPhone works more places. But it also costs $40/month.

I believe the iPhone also has a camera & the touch does not for some crazy reason.

[codex57]

The touch works on WiFi whereas the iPhone works on the AT&T network, so yes, the iPhone works more places. But it also costs $40/month.

I believe the iPhone also has a camera & the touch does not for some crazy reason.

At $40/mo, the iPhone is just the Touch with a camera and you being $40/mo poorer. You have to step up to $70/mo before the iPhone starts working in places the Touch won't ($30 for the data plan).

DW is dying to get the iPhone. The pinch and zoom is that awesome. I've been able to hold her off by getting her a Touch. Plus, we have Sprint Sero so an incredibly great deal and she watches Cnet every day and her family is in SF so she's worried it'll be a black hole like how all the Cnet editors complain. That comparison video was hilarious. At the end, they used the Droid to call the iPhone to show the differences in networks. No reception in the iPhone. After she saw that, she said, "Maybe we can wait until someone else gets the iPhone." :D

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

The pinch and zoom is that awesome.

You can double tap to zoom on the Droid, or hold down and then use the +/- buttons. It's not the same, but it's not too bad.

I heard the European Droids have pinch & zoom, maybe it's a patent thing here?

You don't have the same scroll though the pictures, with the swipe, I think I miss that more than pinch & zoom. You have to hit the arrow... maybe there's some app picutre manager to use for the swipe ...

[wolverine2]

The touch works on WiFi whereas the iPhone works on the AT&T network, so yes, the iPhone works more places. But it also costs $40/month.

I believe the iPhone also has a camera & the touch does not for some crazy reason.

So if you were driving, for example, you could use your iPhone as a GPS, but not a touch, right?

[BeachBum]

I think the amazing thing about the iphone are the apps available. Before having one, I couldn't even imagine wanting one :) so I am not a techie person. But the "there's an app for that" commercials aren't joking.
I'm guessing here, but I think that other companies probably make a phone that is very comparable to the iphone. So I don't think that is really where the value is...it's the apps that really make the difference.

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

Oh yeah, the apps, I forgot about that.

Lack of apps is what turned us away from Palm Pre. I think they only have a few hundred?

The Android Marketplace has about 10,000 apps right now. Definitely less than the 100,000 iPhone has, but still respectable.

So far, I've been able to find the same or equivalent for most apps, I need to go look for Bubble Wrap and Paper Toss to complete my phone's usefulness. ;)

I know, I'm like a commercial or something.

Update: lots of options for Bubble Wrap, but no Paper Toss, so if that's a dealbreaker, go for iPhone! :D

[lablover]

You can double tap to zoom on the Droid, or hold down and then use the +/- buttons. It's not the same, but it's not too bad.

I thought I would miss the pinch and zoom (we have an iPod touch) but I actually like using the web browser on the droid better. Maybe because the screen is slightly bigger? I find it easier to read websites like this one (that aren't converted for the mobile device) on the droid.

[sunshine873]

Oh yeah, the apps, I forgot about that.

Lack of apps is what turned us away from Palm Pre. I think they only have a few hundred?

The Android Marketplace has about 10,000 apps right now. Definitely less than the 100,000 iPhone has, but still respectable.

So far, I've been able to find the same or equivalent for most apps, I need to go look for Bubble Wrap and Paper Toss to complete my phone's usefulness. ;)

I know, I'm like a commercial or something.

Update: lots of options for Bubble Wrap, but no Paper Toss, so if that's a dealbreaker, go for iPhone! :D

OK, I'll bite. What are Bubble Wrap and Paper Toss?

[hellokitty]

Oh yeah, the apps, I forgot about that.

Lack of apps is what turned us away from Palm Pre. I think they only have a few hundred?

I'm not that big on apps. I notice that it seems entertaining for a few days and then you forget about it. However, if you are worried about the palm pre's lack of apps, verizon is supposed to have access to the palm pre in January. I think that due to that move there will be a big boom in palm pre apps, b/c most ppl were not interested in switching over to sprint, even though they were interested in the palm pre.

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

OK, I'll bite. What are Bubble Wrap and Paper Toss?

Bubble wrap, you just pop bubble wrap bubbles and paper toss, you toss paper towards a wastebasket, I think...

I don't have an iPhone, but the principal engineer in our lab has told me these are the best apps. :ROTFLMAO:

(For killing time.)

[pastrygirl]

So if you were driving, for example, you could use your iPhone as a GPS, but not a touch, right?Correct. But it sounds like you'd have to pay $70/month to get that feature. It'd be cheaper to buy a GPS!

I love my iPod Touch, and sometimes wish it was an iPhone... but I don't want to pay that much for a data plan.

[Toba]

I have a Touch and a BB Storm .... so I get to carry around two bulky things. I absolutely love my Touch, but I am an Apple geek. I will NOT purchase an iPhone though (even though it is KILLING me) until it becomes available on Verizon. I hate AT&T *that* much. I use my Touch WAY more than my BB, but I'm a big music lover and listen to music a lot daily. Having the Touch and knowing how similar it is to an iPhone, I can tell that the iPhone would be ideal for me (especially having a MacBook Pro, which hates my BB) but I just keep telling myself to be patient for Apple to get over the contract with AT&T. (please, Apple!! LOL) I have not had a chance to see the Droid though ...

[wellyes]

Article today about Droid apps: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/17/android.wired/index.html#cnnSTCText

Unlike the iPhone/iPod Touch apps, Droid apps have to be made to accommodate 3 different operating systems and a variety of devices and be compatible with the software for different phones. It's just a LOT more complex to program and that creates problems, as well as apps that work on some phones but not others. And it's only going to get more complicated as time goes on.

Basically it's Mac vs PC all over again. Macs work beautifully and elegantly whereas PCs are more hodgepodge but also more democratic. I own a PC at home because I don't want to shell out for a Mac. But the iPod touch is so reasonably priced vs other mp3 players or droid phones that I couldn't resist.

[Karenn]

Article today about Droid apps: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/17/android.wired/index.html#cnnSTCText

Basically it's Mac vs PC all over again.

So interesting. Here's a newsweek article that in many ways says the same thing:It's Mac vs. PC all over again. But, this newsweek article seems to think that Android may come out ahead of Apple. It will be interesting to see how things unfold.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/222141

[Toba]

I didn't read the articles, but does anyone know if the Droid will be iTunes capable? That would be a HUGE selling point for me.

[tny915]

I didn't read the articles, but does anyone know if the Droid will be iTunes capable? That would be a HUGE selling point for me.

No, you can't use iTunes. You have to treat the Droid like a hard drive and drag and drop the music files onto it.

[annasmom]

Thanks for all of the responses.

I am definitely leaning iPhone, and this article's mention of bored children is the clincher:

http://www.wirelessweek.com/Reviews/2009/11/Review--Droid-vs--the-iPhone-3GS/


My kids are always fascinated by my friends' iTouch/iPhone's during our endless waiting room time, and that aspect pretty much decides it for me. Sad, but true.

[Toba]

^^^ My son has more apps on my Touch than I do ... by far. He LOVES it.