Long-Term Review: Droid Charge

So I've almost owned my Samsung Droid Charge for a year (it's actually been 10 months and some days). So far I think it's the best phone I've ever owned (since 2000). It might sound strange, since I've owned two 3G iPhones and one 3GS and everyone goes gaga for iPhones.

For starters, the Droid can do everything the iPhone used to, except the  call quality is excellent and calls are very rarely dropped. This may also have to do with two important facts: it's a 4G phone, and it's on Verizon instead of AT&T (like my iPhones used to be).

Also important, I've used a sturdy case for my cell phones since day one, and this Droid has suffered no major mechanical issues due to the occasional accidental drop. My last iPhone experienced such interference with the sound lever, the on-off switch, and other software issues that I had to stop using it. Now, the significant-other unit has had to use it because his cell was totaled during an accident. Poor him. He's resorted to buying another phone on eBay.

The Droid has good sound quality when reproducing music either from streams (Pandora, TuneIn, Amazon MP3) or from memory (mp3s, etc.).

The availability of applications, one of my original concerns when switching, ahs provided me countless hours of entertainment. The major apps (Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Shazam, etc.) are all available and work great.

My only concern is that sometimes, when there are several updates due to some applications, the phone starts prematurely closing out of an application or two, or just seems to have a hard time with the touch screen. Not all app updates are indicated on the top bar. Whenever I feel the slightest interference coming on, I check the Google Play store update screen for my apps, and indeed, will find a few are either uploading updates or need to be clicked on to start those up. It's a subtle enough change in performance that leads me to question: isn't there a better way? 


All around I am enjoying my initial investment, and have been able to reduce my call time enough that I moved down two voice plans to savings of around $100 from my original plan back in August. Pending the occasional co-worker sent text message, since I don't have a texting message (non-plan texts are .20-.30 per text).


My only concern is that there don't seem to be plans for upgrading the OS to Ice Cream Sandwich for this phone, as of yet. The last update I am able to find on the interwebs is from March 2012, when all the online sources mentioned this phone as ominously left out of the upgrades list.


Well, time will have to tell whether it gets the upgrade or not, meanwhile, it's working fast and well, and it's the right phone for me.


NOTE/DISCLAIMER: I am not a technology fashionista or fad-o-phile who needs the latest gadget to show off to people. I usually wait for the first adopters to "beta" test the crap out of stuff that's just released, and I'll buy the follow up--which has been patched/mended/corrected/revamped--if and only it matches a practical need I need to fill in my life. But I love keeping up with the news of the latest and greatest to be a better-informed consumer that can help friends, coworkers, and family when the conversation about particular techie tools come up.

Troubleshooting: Pandora on Droid Charge

I wanted to use Pandora today, since it's TGIF and I need some uplifting of spirits after a hard week.

Well, there was just no getting my Pandora to work. As I clicked on of my radio stations from the home page list, I would get 1) a black screen with the navigational buttons on the button and no sound, then upon clicking different radio stations 2) the screen would go black for a split second and then switch back to the main page listing all the stations.

I looked online and found an Android App FAQ page on Pandora.com where they suggest you uninstall Pandora, turn off your phone, remove and reinstall the battery, reboot, then reinstall Pandora.

It worked.

Apps Make Android

I just happened on a Tweet that was quite interesting, an app (Tasker Android app) that makes Android smarter depending on the location and orientation of the phone.

Android Smartphones

I've been looking for a smartphone to purchase in Italy while I am there the next week, which will then become my father's for his innumerable periodic business trips there.

I kinda got sick of visiting family for weeks on end and not being connected. I particularly suffer when there's great photos I want to share on Flickr and Twitter. Gotta have my priorities, ya know?

As a consequence, I'm surfing TIM and Vodafone websites, and learning as much as possible about Android (AT&T's info page) and Windows Phone 7.

So what's the brouhaha? Well mostly I've learned that Windows Phone 7 and Apple are looking at controlling use and vendors so the quality stays up. On the other hand, Android, allows for tons of user customization and applications to help you really have a phone that does exactly what you want it to do and in your preferred user interface.

I'm happy with my iPhone 3GS. Oddly enough, I haven't experienced the service outages or brown outs as others have. My phone works just fine for me and my needs. I'm mostly am (and was) drawn to the iPhone because it was an industry disruptor when it first came out, and because the interface is so clean and simple. Only a wide array of optional apps to help you tweak away.

I'd love to play with an Android, but all that customization would probably end up driving my dad crazy once I turn the phone over to him. The Windows Phone 7 sounds really tempting, but of course, the BSOD lurks like a bad joke in the back of my mind whenever I think about it. We will see what happens over the holidays phone wise in the market.

Meanwhile, wish me luck on my search for a smartphone for my trip...and for dad!

Finally! A Contender: Windows Phone 7

I'm not sure if I'm more antagonized by there being only two players in the field right now*cough*monopoly*cough*, or the chest-drumming nonsense I hear from people on either camp. But it's about time for there to be a third contender in the iPhone versus Droid war.

Microsoft Phone 7 is expected to arrive in November, and this past week has been ripe with media reports about all sorts of aspects of this new operating system and the rigorous requirements MS has put its manufacturers under (unlike Google, but in line with Apple).

Case in point is a great article by Wired, titled Why Windows Phone 7 Will Make Android Look Chaotic.

Here's what caught my attention early on in the article: "Each device must feature three standard hardware buttons...and before they can ship with Windows Phone 7, they have to pass a series of tests directed by Microsoft. (As I mentioned in a feature story about Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has created new lab facilities containing robots and automated programs to test each handset to ensure that features work properly and consistently across multiple devices.)" Looks like they're committing time and resources, good start!

And there's never harm in making the decision to buy a particular product over another a no-brainer for an overwhelmed or non-techie customer: "Most importantly, a consistent user experience will help customers understand what they’re getting when they’re shopping for a Windows phone. The OS is going to be the same with identical features on every handset, so as a consumer, your decision-making will boil down to the hardware’s look, weight and size. Compare that to the experience of buying an Android phone, which could be running a different version depending on the handset you buy: Donut, Eclair, Froyo, blueberry pie, Neapolitan or whatever Google chooses to call it eventually."

And the clincher in the article leaves us hungry for more, but makes a valid point: "...the Phone 7 user interface is refreshingly different compared to the siloed-app experience of iOS. But Apple is so far ahead in terms of cultivating a rich mobile ecosystem that I don’t think Steve Jobs needs to be sweating just yet." And I have no idea what they mean by a "rich mobile ecosystem"...is it the apps and iTunes...that sort of add-ons that build the phone up?

I will keep my eye out for additional tidbits on the Windows Phone 7, because I'm very, very glad there's a breath of fresh air in a stale, rut of a tug of war that's been going on between iPhone and Android for a couple of years now.

Android Handsets

CNet did a great job of outlining the history of Android headsets. There's 34 headsets on the list (!).