JBMCW2010

So I some how busted my Blackberry on Thursday. I was using it in the morning to text and call folks but around 3pm I got a phone call and couldn't answer it, thought it was odd but was busying putting together a patio set so I put the phone on the table inside and went back to the stupid little wrenches and tight quarters in the furniture.

After I had finished I went to call the person back on my phone, my mom. So I pick it up and I press the buttons to unlock it and no luck. It won't respond. I pop the battery out and give it a few moments then put it back in. It turns itself on, odd, and the screen lights up and then I see it finish booting. It stays lit only a few moments, I have it set to turn off the display after no use but I was pushing all sorts of buttons. Well I take it to the Verizon Wireless Store hoping to get it fixed and on my merry way. Alas it was deemed non-repairable and I was out of the 1 year warranty that comes with the phone when purchased by two months, BUYER BEWARE!

So I'm stuck in the VZW store without a phone and in a mall I hate because it is full of high end stores. I try 2 pay phone banks before the 3rd one which worked. I call home to get the family plan's permission to change phones on the line, let my mom know she needs to give them permission for me to do the phone swap and tell her I'm screwed into buying a new phone.

I then go back, and not too keen on another Blackberry because of one year needing a new phone. So I go and look at the droids which I've been interested in for some time. I went with the Motorola Droid as it has the full keyboard that comes out and I dislike the touch screen keyboards.

I've now had the phone for 4 days and I am going to write a brief review of it as I do not feel half a week is sufficient time to get a good feel for a product.

User friendliness: 3.5/5

It is a really simple phone, it has an easy to grasp navigation. Settings are easy to access, the home button is very helpful and it is easy to lock. I do think that some of the settings though are not there, I would like to setup a way to change some of the buttons on it like I could with my blackberry but can not. It also does not connect with the OWA server at school like my Blackberry did seemlessly. The touchscreen and light touch buttons are too sensitive. I've accidentally hit the search or call buttons when I am simply holding the phone so I've made some unneeded phone calls and changed the screen unintentionally.

Personalization: 4.5/5

Like I said above I hadn't been able to change the buttons on the sides as I could with my Blackberry. Otherwise it is great. The Apps store has not failed me yet. Hell I found an app for flashlight, we've all done it before, use our phones to illuminate something I do it frequently so I thought I'd try. I also have a lot of free games and other simple apps. The background is fun, there are widgets similar to windows that I can throw up on any of my three desktops. (my left desktop has FML, Facebook and my google calendar. middle has email, messaging, contacts, calling, browser, maps and a battery percentage widget. my right desktop has a power bar for instantly updating my phone settings [turning off the WiFi, GPS, Auto Sync for Gmail and Facebook and other aps and contrast and other things that typically drain the battery more] and the right side also has shortcuts to directly dial my most frequent numbers I call.

Applications: 4/5

So far I've found most everything I want. I have been VERY impressed with the google maps functionality on the Android system. The ones on the Blackberry were not nearly as accurate in positioning this one can get within 2 meters and I do not pay for the advanced VZNavigator. The maps have a navigation system and give turn by turn directions. The phone has games as I said, AIM which uses the internet connection vs your text messaging like old phones used to do. The biggest thing I wanted to find but have not found is a google docs application. On the Blackberry I could view and edit documents on this one I can not find any of that sort. I can view them but not edit.

Durability: 3.5/5

So far no nicks or scuffs. I've got a screen protector on so it is safe and doesn't interfere with the screen use. I am not confident in the touch screen durability yet. Hence my hesitation to give it everything. But I'll be getting a nice protective case and putting it on the belt loop soon.

Battery Life: 1.5/5

The battery life blows balls! I'll unplug it at 8am when I leave for work and when I get home at 5:45pm it is at 20% or 30% remaining and that was with low use and the majority of the features turned off (GPS, WiFi, Auto Sync and Bluetooth) My Blackberry by comparison would last 3 or more days with one charge and moderate phone use and light internet use.

Any questions please let me know in a comment I'll try and answer them and I'll also see if I get enough to add to this post so it is one big read w/o needing to search the comments and remember to rate me!