Denis Reggie Moments

I know, it’s very personal and everyone has their own idea of mobile phone perfection… or at least a definite wish list. I readily admit that I love the revolution that Steve Jobs and the Apple crew started with the iPhone – and neither of my kids could seemingly ever part with theirs. I do love my own Apple products – the work-of-art MacBook Pro 13.3 inch laptop and a trusty and way cool iPad – but the iPhone is unfortunately not ideal for me for a few reasons, one in particular.

We’ve all heard about the antenna and reception issue of the latest iPhone model, but that’s not really the deal breaker for me. Being no big fan of typing on glass – though it’s a bit better on the iPad given the size of the tablet – I have always looked for a smartphone with a keyboard. My wish list includes the ability for a device to do internet very well including pinch to zoom, plus full access to all websites even those using Flash (Apple says no to Flash). And finally, I am not a fan (understatement) of AT&T wireless service, and that is my deal breaker for the current iPhone offering (I do suspect a Verizon based iPhone will be in our early 2011 future if the many web prognostications have any truth).

I am just unable to get reliable coverage with AT&T in way too many places including my own studio and that frustration spells NO for iPhone even though I do think it a pretty amazing device for the most part.

So what have I been using for a smartphone? Well, because so much of my life seems to revolve around emails and texting, I have been in the Blackberry camp – the Tour being my most recent. The “high” is certainly the email experience, while the “low” is the either the poor, antiquated web browsing experience or that pesky trackball that never seems to cooperate. I wished for Wi-Fi connectivity, but that only followed in later Verizon models.

So here comes the Google driven, keyboard toting Motorola Droid 2. In a word, WOW… as though they read my wish list before building the beast. This smartphone, at least for my current needs, has it all: a truly superb web experience for all websites even those with Flash, plenty of the apps I want (Weather Channel, UrbanSpoon, online banking, New York Times, solitaire, Flixster) plus more coming daily, an excellent keyboard that is quite an improvement over the previous generation Droid, WiFi connectivity, a very fast processor, a ridiculously nice voice command feature, excellent fit and finish, very good battery life (though not as much with GPS activated), and lots of satisfying Google intuitiveness throughout. Well done indeed. Droid phones – there are several – have now collectively outsold iPhone in 2010.

It has a cool interface that presents text conversations in an easy way that visually separates my words from theirs. I also love the home screen’s pull down shade that contains all notifications in one place a finger slide away. You can even set it up to receive social media messages in the same place as incoming email… all very well thought out.

Droid 2 becomes an awesome alarm clock when placed in the accessory Multimedia Station dock.

I love the accessory ‘Multimedia Station” which doubles as a charging cradle that positions the phone horizontally while becoming an alarm clock that shows weather conditions, plus a music or video player, too. Nice.

Are there any negatives? Well for me, not many. Perhaps some will find it a tad hefty, though I actually like its substance and think it’s sized just right. Using a protective snap-on plastic case seems a good idea to prevent scratches and such, but the one Verizon sells also cramps fingers when typing on the top row. It’s really sleeker and overall a better typing experience for big fingers without the case, but I am sure I might rethink that position after a few scratches appear. I did go for a Verizon anti-glare display protector (sold in a 3-pack) and it seems to be doing the job quite well.

My year old Blackberry Tour had just reached the point when I could upgrade to a new phone for a $20 fee (yet another nickel and dime tactic by Verizon… geez) so I did the trade at my nearby V store after waiting 40 minutes in line for a sales rep. I also had to endure the silly rebate tactic and pay $300 now and wait weeks for a Visa gift card for my $100… I really hate that whole process and it greatly diminishes the Verizon experience for me. One nice savings was in the data part of my Verizon monthly service plan needed to link with our Exchange email service. I went from Blackberry’s $44.95  ”corporate email” data charge down to Droid 2′s $29.95 base data plan that works just fine with our same Exchange email service. Sweet.

A few days later, I found that Amazon had gotten into the wireless phone business (still using the very same Verizon service, of course) with unexpectedly low pricing for the Droid 2 making it considerably cheaper than buying in the V store and devoid of that silly $100 rebate by debit card scheme (did I say that I really wish such rebate tactics were outlawed?). Note that Amazon currently has a 7 day delay before shipping a Droid 2 owing to high demand and Verizon’s apparent inability to deliver product to dealers fast enough. I did find a compatible Motorola car charger for less than $6 on Amazon… quite a savings versus the V-branded ones sold in retail stores.

All-in-all, I am very happily in the Droid 2 camp. This is my favorite smartphone ever… and by a long shot.