JoeFerguson Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/09/11/09/...Price?art_pos=7 I have a question about tethering. Are there any phones/wireless providers that allow tethering for cheap/free? When I first got my verizon LG flip phone a few years ago I looked up ways to hack it and found out that many people were using their phones to tether and verizon didn't know about it. Then when verizon figured it out they started charging extra for tethering. Can you currently use your iPhone to tether to a laptop and connect to the internet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 I picked up the Droid yesterday after having my Verizon LG flip phone for 3 years. I am extremely satisfied with it thus far and, being a Mac guy, I have noticed the Android operating system to be very easy to navigate and have utilized various message boards to help me acclimate to the different/helpful capabilities this phone offers. I really wanted the iPhone, but couldn't justify switching to ATT&T. I was also considering the HTC Touch Pro 2 after my girlfriend got it last month, but I found that the browser was difficult to navigate. It suited her needs nicely because of the conferencing capabilities plus the fact that it is a Windows phone with the Windows operating system. I'm still new to the smart phone game, so I'm still getting used to some of its capabilities as well as some of its short comings. Here's what I've discovered thus far about the phone, good and bad: Pros thus far about the Droid: It was easy to mount my phone to my MacBook (one of the major concerns I had) computer to put music on it and other media files using a drag-and-drop method. The music player is great and I can organize playlists. The shortcuts on it are fantastic. On the home screen, if you just press down on an empty space for a couple of seconds, you can set up a one-touch shortcut (ie preload your favorite webpage, your favorite contact, commonly used widgets/apps). The Google Voice Search option is awesome. Just say what it is that you're looking for or who you want to call from your contact list and it will either open up your search results on a web page or direct you to the person who you want to call. Really helpful hands free feature. The Google Maps turn-by-turn navigation is phenomenal. There is a reason why the Tom Tom, Garmin, and Magellan stocks took a plunge when Google announced it was going to provide FREE GPS with this phone and thus far, it hasn't disappointed. Just Voice Search what it is you're looking for (either an address or establishment) and using Google Maps, it will navigate to it for you. The Droid does come with a car mount witch makes it easy to use in the vehicle. The fact that Google has put its thumbprint on the phone is quite remarkable because if you have a Google online profile, you can easily sync up your phone number to it and manage tasks (calendar, status, current location, etc). If you have a Google Voice account, you can utilize it to send and receive text messages so they aren't taking up messages according to your phone plan because the Google Voice messaging counts towards your data plan. The camera on the phone takes quality photos and DVD quality video. However, there are some issues with it. Cons so far about the Droid: The camera, although its 5 mega pixels which is the largest on the market, does a lot of lagging, meaning, when you want to take a picture, it won't take one immediately. It takes one just a few moments afterwards, which can be tedious and cumbersome. You can only store 256 mega bytes worth of Apps on your phone. Even though it comes with 16 giga byte storage SD card, you can't utilize that for Apps. The Apps go on the phone's internal storage. I'm not a huge App guy and only install ones that I know I will use the most (NY Times, TasKiller, Weather, Pandora, Last.FM, Cooking Recipes, etc) along with a few others, and I still have 227 MB worth of storage available, which is more than plenty. The Facebook App is very basic in comparison to other the iPhone and the Blackberry Storm, but it is not a deal breaker. Nice breakdown of the phone. I have the G1 not the Droid but same basic software I think. For recipes I'm just using Google Docs(short cut on home screen) and I can access recipes and ingredients quickly. Comes in really handy if your out picking up stuff to make a meal. Are you using some sort of app for that kind of thing? I know its a minor thing but just curious if there is a better way to do that sort of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scraps Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Droid available for $149 1-800-Mobiles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WellDressed Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Typing this on my Droid. It's been great so far. This is my first Smartphone...coming from a Moto Razr, so this is dramatically different for me. I think one of the biggest suprises so far is how much I like the hardware keyboard. Well, off to play in the app market. I'll update later. Same here, I just tossed out the pre-pay razr and adopted this piece. I like it, but it's kind of thick; the speaker is superb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopsGuy Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 To balance things out a bit, here's a negative review of the Droid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous Guy Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 To balance things out a bit, here's a negative review of the Droid. ...not too many people who commented on that "review" seem to support it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyT Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 To balance things out a bit, here's a negative review of the Droid. That's a pretty poorly written review and the guy's an idiot, but I'll admit I've had the same problem with the camera lag and I do frequently tap icons and the apps don't launch until the 2nd or 3rd tap. I thought it might because of the screen protector thingy that I put on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Droid available for $149 1-800-Mobiles.com $119.99 at Dell. http://mobility.dell.com/template/simpleau...&AID=404255 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopsGuy Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Despite the negative review I posted earlier (and probably because you guys trashed it ), I got the Droid. I ordered it through the Dell link that Doc provided on Saturday and it arrived on Wednesday. There was a little confusion in that when I ordered I got an email stating that I had to call to clarify some information but the person in Bangalore/Mumbai said that everything was fine as far as they could see. Another email said that I would be assigned a new number, so I did an online chat and that person ("Umesh") said that it looked fine on their end, but it would be escalated to their "Porting Department". Whatever. On Tuesday my AT&T phone went dead, so I figured they did something right. When I got the phone I charged it and then called my old number and the Droid rang. Success! This is my first smart phone, so I think my opinion would probably be overly ebullient. The phone has a nice heft to it. The screen is amazingly clear. The functions are mostly intuitive, but I'm encountering a bit of a learning curve. I've only used the camera to test it and it worked fine for me. While I did notice a bit of latency, it didn't seem that different than other cell-phone cameras I've used. Since there is no SIM card, I ended up entering phone numbers into my gmail contacts and synching. That was pretty easy. I wanted my own custom ringtones and I found a way to do that easily enough. What I didn't expect was that all of "My Music" would be downloaded to the phone. That was a pleasant surprise. The GPS/mapping feature is friggin' awesome. So is the voice search. Just say "Pizza" and pins appear on the map I've added a few free apps: Weather Channel, Swift (Twitter app), & Pandora. I'll probably wait on using Pandora because there was a warning screen about how it will use a ton of bandwidth. The keyboard took a bit of getting used to, but once I learned to use my nails rather than mashing a few keys at the same time (a la Homer Simpson) it works pretty well. Trying to use the screen keyboard in the portrait orientation is a fool's game. So after 36 hours with the Droid, I'd have to say I'm pretty happy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyT Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 The keyboard took a bit of getting used to, but once I learned to use my nails rather than mashing a few keys at the same time (a la Homer Simpson) it works pretty well. Trying to use the screen keyboard in the portrait orientation is a fool's game. I downloaded an app called "Crocodile Keyboard" that uses triangular shaped keys and have been very happy with it. Much improvement in the accuracy of my on screen typing. Still pull out the hardware keyboard for heavy typing though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted December 12, 2009 Author Share Posted December 12, 2009 Despite the negative review I posted earlier (and probably because you guys trashed it ), I got the Droid. I ordered it through the Dell link that Doc provided on Saturday and it arrived on Wednesday. There was a little confusion in that when I ordered I got an email stating that I had to call to clarify some information but the person in Bangalore/Mumbai said that everything was fine as far as they could see. Another email said that I would be assigned a new number, so I did an online chat and that person ("Umesh") said that it looked fine on their end, but it would be escalated to their "Porting Department". Whatever. On Tuesday my AT&T phone went dead, so I figured they did something right. When I got the phone I charged it and then called my old number and the Droid rang. Success! This is my first smart phone, so I think my opinion would probably be overly ebullient. The phone has a nice heft to it. The screen is amazingly clear. The functions are mostly intuitive, but I'm encountering a bit of a learning curve. I've only used the camera to test it and it worked fine for me. While I did notice a bit of latency, it didn't seem that different than other cell-phone cameras I've used. Since there is no SIM card, I ended up entering phone numbers into my gmail contacts and synching. That was pretty easy. I wanted my own custom ringtones and I found a way to do that easily enough. What I didn't expect was that all of "My Music" would be downloaded to the phone. That was a pleasant surprise. The GPS/mapping feature is friggin' awesome. So is the voice search. Just say "Pizza" and pins appear on the map I've added a few free apps: Weather Channel, Swift (Twitter app), & Pandora. I'll probably wait on using Pandora because there was a warning screen about how it will use a ton of bandwidth. The keyboard took a bit of getting used to, but once I learned to use my nails rather than mashing a few keys at the same time (a la Homer Simpson) it works pretty well. Trying to use the screen keyboard in the portrait orientation is a fool's game. So after 36 hours with the Droid, I'd have to say I'm pretty happy with it. In regards to your concern about Pandora, Verizon requires you buy a data plan, so don't worry about the bandwidth. Its one of the best apps out there. My other favorites: Tunewiki - Plays all your music on your phone, but also shows the lyrics! DockRunner - Allows you to see the dock mode of the phone without the $30 dock Calvin and Hobbes - Gives you a new C&H comic every day Open Home - Allows you to completely customize your phone. ChompSMS - Much better text messaging than what the phone comes with JetFlicks - This one is $12, but read the reviews. It is UNREAL. Like Cable on Demand on your phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 I was so bummed that Apple chose AT&T as a partner. Still am. Don't know what will happen first, Apple hooking up with Verizon or my caving in to get a Droid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFerguson Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 My GF and I both got one yesterday. I was already a verizon customer so I renewed my contract and got the phone at a verizon store for $150 after mail-in rebate of $100. Anyway, it is my first smart phone, and so far I think it is a really cool device. That's all I really have to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 My GF and I both got one yesterday. I was already a verizon customer so I renewed my contract and got the phone at a verizon store for $150 after mail-in rebate of $100. Anyway, it is my first smart phone, and so far I think it is a really cool device. That's all I really have to say. My wife and I both got iphones yesterday. It is also my first smart phone and I have to agree, they are really cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan_in_raleigh Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 My wife and I both got iphones yesterday. It is also my first smart phone and I have to agree, they are really cool. hope u can combine into a single data plan 60$ a month for data on both is a non starter for me along with the voice plan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFanNC Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 hope u can combine into a single data plan 60$ a month for data on both is a non starter for me along with the voice plan I'm with you. I'd like to get a droid myself and the wife has been begging for a smart phone as an upgrade from our 3 year old LG flip phones, but I simply can't justify an extra $60 a month just so that she can update her facebook status from wherever or for me to be connected to the internet 24/7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFerguson Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I am starting to have some call quality issues with my droid. People are complaining that my voice sounds muffled. I adjusted the settings according to these instructions, hopefully it will resolve the issue: https://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/1...=0&tstart=0 Stoj, any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted December 20, 2009 Author Share Posted December 20, 2009 I am starting to have some call quality issues with my droid. People are complaining that my voice sounds muffled. I adjusted the settings according to these instructions, hopefully it will resolve the issue: https://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/1...=0&tstart=0 Stoj, any thoughts? This was a common complaint. The newest firmware update was supposed to fix it. Did you get the over the air update? (Takes about 10 minutes to download, restarts your phone, etc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFerguson Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 This was a common complaint. The newest firmware update was supposed to fix it. Did you get the over the air update? (Takes about 10 minutes to download, restarts your phone, etc) Got the phone on December 13. They made sure to do the update in store before giving it to me. When I go into the phone's settings, it says I have 2.0.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 any further updates on the Droid now that y'all have had it for a couple months? I can get one for 79.99 and am looking to take the plunge......thanks in advance.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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