Android comes to Verizon

Ok, so I am due to upgrade with Verizon as of last month, and you have all talked about everything about the phone - except the phone itself. What I want is a phone that I can actually hear the other person talking to me on. Half the time I am talking with someone on every cell phone I've had, I usually just give the married-guy-watching-the-ball-game-being-interrupted-by-his-wife response of "uh huh" or "yep" because none of them go loud enough.

So, how loud can I get the voice to go on the Droid without going with speakerphone?
 
this oughtta help Ed:

hearing%20aid%20in%20ear.jpg
 
EdFred said:
Ok, so I am due to upgrade with Verizon as of last month, and you have all talked about everything about the phone - except the phone itself. What I want is a phone that I can actually hear the other person talking to me on. Half the time I am talking with someone on every cell phone I've had, I usually just give the married-guy-watching-the-ball-game-being-interrupted-by-his-wife response of "uh huh" or "yep" because none of them go loud enough.

So, how loud can I get the voice to go on the Droid without going with speakerphone?
Click to expand...

Ed, see post #21 in this thread.
 
Thanks Kev, skipped over that paragraph of that post. Thing is...it's probably overkill for me.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Chris, you're stating dissatisfaction with your BlackBerry? We may have to kick you out... ;)

Looks cool, although I still prefer having the physical keyboard that the BlackBerry does.
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It has a physical keyboard, only it slides away. Its neat.
 
EdFred said:
Thanks Kev, skipped over that paragraph of that post. Thing is...it's probably overkill for me.
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Glad to help. That is one of my concerns with my current Verizon LG so the statement caught my attention.
 
SkyHog said:
Only with extra software. Android does it natively without even thinking about it.
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Wait a minute Nick....just a few posts up you were talking about "rooting" the phone, others talked about apps to make the phone multi-touch, etc.

That is what kills me about all this talk on ALL of these phones. Sure downloading an app is easy enough...but why is it that people HAVE to "root"/"break" a phone and play techno-geek to get it to do the things they want it to do?

A simple download onto the BB for Google integration is not that big of deal and you know it.
 
SkyHog said:
It has a physical keyboard, only it slides away. Its neat.
Click to expand...

Hmm, interesting. Well, I'm locked into my BlackBerry for the next 2 years, so I'll stick with it.
 
tdager said:
Wait a minute Nick....just a few posts up you were talking about "rooting" the phone, others talked about apps to make the phone multi-touch, etc.

That is what kills me about all this talk on ALL of these phones. Sure downloading an app is easy enough...but why is it that people HAVE to "root"/"break" a phone and play techno-geek to get it to do the things they want it to do?

A simple download onto the BB for Google integration is not that big of deal and you know it.
Click to expand...

Well, primarily it is because even without rooting your Android phone, you're getting insane functionality without hassle, which the Blackberry cannot offer. Don't get me wrong, I loved my Blackberry, but Android has everything you could want built into it.

Contacts are synched automatically.
Email is synched automatically.
Calendar is synched automatically.

The only thing missing from Android out of the box is Exchange functionality, and even that is doable with an app that you install.

Blackberries must manually sync contacts.
Unless you are on a BES, calendar entries must be synched manually.
Unless you are on a BES, email must be synched manually.

Blackberry does, however, have Exchange functionality right out of the box, if you have access to OWA.

But, when it comes to apps available for the device, Android beats Blackberry hands down (both free and paid apps), and only slightly falls behind iPhone (and that is changing quickly). Android's (mostly) open source infrastructure makes app development easy and free for most developers, which will only better the experience for all users.

Rooting is awesome, if you're up to it, because it opens even more functionality of the phone. But even without rooting, you've still got the most powerful, useful phone on the market right now in any of the 6 Android Devices I know about (G1, MyTouch 3g, Samsung something, Motorola Click, and Motorola Droid, and HTC Hero).

I give Android another year before it overtakes Windows Mobile. Maybe another year before it overtakes iPhone. Will it overtake Blackberry? Probably not, but hell, even the ever-awesome iPhone failed to do that.
 
I do not know about taking over Windows Mobile...we will see.

BES integration is THE killer point for Blackberry, period. That and its security. I will wait and see if Android is any more secure than the insecure iPhone.

In the end, for me and most I work with, the BB is a business tool to get business done. Some do carry two phones.....but we will not allow anything other than BB's to connect to our corporate environment and do not see that changing anytime soon. We sure as heck will not allow any rooted/jail broke phones to connect!
 
TMetzinger said:
Interesting, but what sort of person roots his phone and then DOESN'T change the root password after installing something like SSH?

Answer: an idiot who DESERVES Ric Astley on his phone.
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Correction: an iDiot.
 
I do not know about taking over Windows Mobile...we will see.
Click to expand...
Smartphones have gotten a lot smarter in the past few years, but WM is as dumb as it always was. Microsoft, characteristically, has missed this boat, and will either have to ignore this segment, or try to "Zune" it with another "late to the party" arrival.

As for "market share", that's a complicated issue, because it depends on how you break down the numbers by segment. Vendors may still ship WM on "low-end of high-end" phones in decent numbers. But the "high end" is being redefined in a way that leaves them out. For that matter, I'd argue that Blackberry resides at a spot slightly below "high end", as well.
-harry
 
tdager said:
I do not know about taking over Windows Mobile...we will see.

BES integration is THE killer point for Blackberry, period. That and its security. I will wait and see if Android is any more secure than the insecure iPhone.

In the end, for me and most I work with, the BB is a business tool to get business done. Some do carry two phones.....but we will not allow anything other than BB's to connect to our corporate environment and do not see that changing anytime soon. We sure as heck will not allow any rooted/jail broke phones to connect!
Click to expand...

Yep...the whole idea of jailbreaking a phone is not something most corporate IT security people want around...I've yet to hear of anyone breaking a BB yet.
 
JeffDG said:
Yep...the whole idea of jailbreaking a phone is not something most corporate IT security people want around...I've yet to hear of anyone breaking a BB yet.
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I installed developmental software on my BB8320. Its really, really easy to do.
 
Just bought the droid online today...should have it in my hands sometime tomorrow. Until then, I'm sorting through my contacts on gmail and getting ready for another kick @$$ smartphone. :)
 
SkyHog said:
I installed developmental software on my BB8320. Its really, really easy to do.
Click to expand...

Do it on our network and you will be locked out.

I am not trying to sound dramatic man, but some of you seem to not understand high level corporate security. We are a security company...so security is paramount to us.

We can, and will, remote wipe any BB that falls out of line with our standards, we have no other choice.

Phones for many of you are toys and fun gadgets, for us, for me, my BB is a business tool, period.

Now...if I COULD get a fun phone...I would want one like my Dell Axim....great PDA and if it have phone capability...wow!
 
I'm still on the fence - I use Outlook (without exchange) to manage my three different email accounts (from three different mail providers), my calendar, and my contacts. If I read the Droid stuff correctly I can use the phone as an IMAP or POP client to get my email from the servers and send out email too. But actual syncing of contacts and calendars is a different process. I expect I can use bluetooth and SyncCell to sync up the contacts periodically.

Maybe the way to handle it is to set up a Google Calendar and Contacts account and sync outlook with them, assuming there's a tool for that.

Opinions sought...
 
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I've only had it for a few hours, but I love it! It puts my blackberry to shame. Just trying to get used to typing on it...that will take a few days.
 
OK so I'm ready to order the Droid. Verizon has this thing called
Verizon Wireless Network Extenderwhich is hardwired into the Internet and evidently provides Verizon cell service to up to 3 simultaneous calls.

Anybody have any experience with this. I do get crappy reception in the house.

Also there is WiFi in the house, can Droid use that instead?

Joe
 
Areeda said:
Verizon has this thing called
Verizon Wireless Network Extender which is hardwired into the Internet and evidently provides Verizon cell service to up to 3 simultaneous calls.

Anybody have any experience with this. I do get crappy reception in the house.

Also there is WiFi in the house, can Droid use that instead?
Click to expand...


Re the Verizon Network Extender, I got one for my son to use at college since he was unable to get a decent signal inside the concrete block apartment. It works great and he gets full bars throughout the apartment. It does mean the call goes out VOIP to the Verizon network, so occasionally, but rarely, the quality is less than a normal (for Verizon) cell call. If you can overcome the notion of paying Verizon to take traffic off their network, it is a solution that works.

Re the WiFi question on the Droid, absolutely (for data). Use the WiFi whenever it is available to keep within the 5 Gb limit of your 'unlimited' data plan. Just be aware that the WiFi radio uses battery, so you might want to turn it off when you leave the house. You can put the control on the main screen, but there is a nice little free app called "WiFi On/Off" that puts a little 'light switch' on the main screen so it on click on or off. I've already gotten into the habit of flipping the switch when I am going to be out for an extended period.

If you want to use the WiFi for phone calls, you'd need to install Skype or another VOIP app and use that to make the calls.
 
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tdager said:
I do not know about taking over Windows Mobile...we will see.

BES integration is THE killer point for Blackberry, period. That and its security. I will wait and see if Android is any more secure than the insecure iPhone.

In the end, for me and most I work with, the BB is a business tool to get business done. Some do carry two phones.....but we will not allow anything other than BB's to connect to our corporate environment and do not see that changing anytime soon. We sure as heck will not allow any rooted/jail broke phones to connect!
Click to expand...

So...

We just re-deployed 1500 BlackBerry's as a part of a large Google Apps migration. To say I hate the BES is a complete understatement.

An Android is currently more secure than a BlackBerry (assuming you are NOT using device level encryption, then they are the same). Android's cache very little data on the device and react quite quickly to a password change on the backend. However, they lack remote policy management and the ability to remote wipe -- something I hope is forthcoming. For that reason alone (no remote wipe), we are holding off on Android.

An iPhone is the least secure of the bunch, in terms of data cached onboard. Even if I reset your password, lots of data is still held on the device -- nescessitating a remote wipe. We can remote wipe with Mobile Me, but not currently with Google Apps -- again, a feature I hope to be forthcoming. Until that time, we'll stick with the BlackBerry.

In terms of productivity for an end user -- people in my "advanced technology" pilot report an average of 46 minutes/day of productivity gain from an iPhone or Android; Android's have a slightly larger benefit (53 minutes) to the iPhone's 38. (Those numbers are based on averages across each user pool). Apps, nicer email, ability to author and read attachments in high-fidelity, and a web browser that handles many of our web apps are all strong plusses over the BlackBerry. Minuses are battery life, battery life, and battery life.

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
There are apps for rooted Android Devices that allow remote wiping. The problem is that I believe a user must be super user to wipe a device.

I bet that changes very quickly.
 
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The "float over" says "It may be a fundamentally empty experience, but holy crap the Droids's 265 ppi screen is amazing"
 
Ha. I was just about to post that.
 
The fun is just starting.....
People are starting to "play" with Android. See this article, a few people are dragging out "old" Treos and putting Android on them.

http://groups.google.com/group/android-internals/browse_thread/thread/b72ae50fbc6a34db

The first part of this is like watching paint dry, but it shows Android booting on a Treo 650.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/palm-treo-650-boots-into-android-lives-a-fulfilling-life-video/

Time to go rummaging through the kitchen junk drawer for the old Treos and see if it can work.
 
Well the phone's on order, I downloaded eclipse and the android sdk.

I'm not sure what I want. If I like it all, I may never get off the computer.
 
This is being typed on my new Droid. So far I like it. I'll give a more complete report in a few days, after the initial euphoria wears off (and I've written the Bahamas trip report!)
 
gprellwitz said:
This is being typed on my new Droid. So far I like it. I'll give a more complete report in a few days, after the initial euphoria wears off (and I've written the Bahamas trip report!)
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Go out and get one of these:

http://www.zagg.com/invisibleshield/motorola-droid-cases-screen-protectors-covers-skins-shields.php

We put them as the screen protector on all of our deployed devices -- really helps extend screen life, especially if you are rough on devices!

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
Anyone that has the Motorola Droid:

Is the keyboard offset from the screen, or is it directly below it?
 
SkyHog said:
Anyone that has the Motorola Droid:

Is the keyboard offset from the screen, or is it directly below it?
Click to expand...

I presume you're referring to the physical keyboard. It's about 2 keys to the left of center.
 
SkyHog said:
GARGH. OK. Thanks, Grant. Does it feel awkward to type on?
Click to expand...

A little, but I'm just getting started with it. The onscreen keyboard is good, though. The physical keyboard just gives you more screen real estate.
 
gprellwitz said:
A little, but I'm just getting started with it. The onscreen keyboard is good, though. The physical keyboard just gives you more screen real estate.
Click to expand...

I hope Droid v2 does away with the physical keyboard. That would save a lot of space and weight. Just playing with Rachel's phone, the physical keyboard is pretty difficult to use - and this is coming from a BB user!
 
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