Physical Aspects
The Motorola DROID is a large and heavy device, make no mistake. It weighs 170.6g (6.0oz) and measures up at 116mm x 60mm x 15mm (4.6in x 2.4in x .6in) in size. Even for a larger person, that is a pretty big and hefty device to use easily with one hand. On the flip side, however, we have the fact that the phone is very ruggedly put together. It feels solid and durable. The 3.7-inch display dominates the front, and its capacitive touchscreen(INFO) surface extends to the controls that sit beneath it, which are entirely touch sensitive. The touch sensitive keys work well, but I unintentionally activated the back key innumerable times while opening the device up to get at the keyboard.
When the keyboard's unsprung slider mechanism is utilized, the 854 x 480 pixel display adjusts to a landscape orientation. The keyboard offers 4 rows of fairly stiff keys with a good layout, but not the best feel. I have gotten used to it, more so than I had initially expected, but I still love neither the keyboard nor the narrow d-pad controller that sits to its right. Considering that the DROID's purposeless chin is on the right side when in landscape mode, it seems to me that it would have made far more ergonomic sense if Motorola had put the d-pad to the left of the keyboard, to keep the user's right thumb from having to reach so far.
Another ergonomic issue for me is the location of the power/standby key on the top edge of the phone, and the fact that activating the device requires a finger swipe on the touchscreen. Yes, it looks cool, but no, it doesn't allow you to get to the homescreen quickly. Most Android devices have hardware controls and allow the phone to be activated by pressing the menu key twice. With touch sensitive keys, that's simply not an option, thus the hoops the user must jump through to use the DROID.
Next to the power switch is a nice uncovered 3.5mm headphone jack. The uncovered micro-USB port is on the left edge, while the volume rocker and gold colored camera shutter are on the right. The chin sits at the bottom of the phone, where the microphone is found. The rear of the DROID is covered in a soft-touch paint that offers a nice grip, and the gold grille at the bottom offers a nice contrast. The 5 megapixel camera and its dual-LED flash sit at the other end. A panel on the back of the DROID slides off with minimal effort to expose the battery and the microSDHC(INFO) memory card slot.
Overall I like the style of the design, as well as the build, but some of the controls prove to be inadequate due in part, at least, to the phone's sheer size. They might not have looked as nice, but hardware controls beneath the display would have done wonders for one-handed usability of the DROID, and putting the d-pad to the left of the keyboard would have made it better suited for smaller hands. But it's a good looking phone, and the touchscreen display that features to prominently on the phone is beautiful.
When the keyboard's unsprung slider mechanism is utilized, the 854 x 480 pixel display adjusts to a landscape orientation. The keyboard offers 4 rows of fairly stiff keys with a good layout, but not the best feel. I have gotten used to it, more so than I had initially expected, but I still love neither the keyboard nor the narrow d-pad controller that sits to its right. Considering that the DROID's purposeless chin is on the right side when in landscape mode, it seems to me that it would have made far more ergonomic sense if Motorola had put the d-pad to the left of the keyboard, to keep the user's right thumb from having to reach so far.
Another ergonomic issue for me is the location of the power/standby key on the top edge of the phone, and the fact that activating the device requires a finger swipe on the touchscreen. Yes, it looks cool, but no, it doesn't allow you to get to the homescreen quickly. Most Android devices have hardware controls and allow the phone to be activated by pressing the menu key twice. With touch sensitive keys, that's simply not an option, thus the hoops the user must jump through to use the DROID.
Next to the power switch is a nice uncovered 3.5mm headphone jack. The uncovered micro-USB port is on the left edge, while the volume rocker and gold colored camera shutter are on the right. The chin sits at the bottom of the phone, where the microphone is found. The rear of the DROID is covered in a soft-touch paint that offers a nice grip, and the gold grille at the bottom offers a nice contrast. The 5 megapixel camera and its dual-LED flash sit at the other end. A panel on the back of the DROID slides off with minimal effort to expose the battery and the microSDHC(INFO) memory card slot.
Overall I like the style of the design, as well as the build, but some of the controls prove to be inadequate due in part, at least, to the phone's sheer size. They might not have looked as nice, but hardware controls beneath the display would have done wonders for one-handed usability of the DROID, and putting the d-pad to the left of the keyboard would have made it better suited for smaller hands. But it's a good looking phone, and the touchscreen display that features to prominently on the phone is beautiful.
Technical Specifications:
OS : Android 2.0 (Eclair)
Camera: Image Stabilization, Real Time Color Effects, Scene Modes, Location Tagging
Mega pixel: 5 MP
Digital Zoom: 4x
Flash: Dual LED
Focus: Automatic
Music Player: Available
Compatible Formats: AAC, H.263, H.264, MP3, MPEG-4, WAV, WMA, eAAC+, OGG, AMR WB, AMR NB, AAC+, MIDI
Video Capture Rate:
DVD quality (720x480 resolution) up to 24 fps capture; up to 30 fps playback
Battery: Up to 385 min of continuous usage
Text Messaging (SMS): Available
Instant Messaging (IM)3: Google Talk™
Image File Formats Supported: BMP, PNG, GIF, JPEG
Voice Mail: Standard Voice mail, Verizon Visual Voice Mail™ (capable)
Connection: Micro USB
Data Transmission Rate: USB 2.0 High Speed
Web Browser: Webkit HTML5 with geo location and multiple windows, Flash 10 ready
Headset Jack: 3.5 mm
QWERTY Keyboard and Social Networking Apps are key features.
16 GB MicroSD pre installed; Supports up to 32 GB microSD expandable.
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