Motorola Droid 2 Review: Rebooting the Droid
by Brian Klug on September 19, 2010 7:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Droid
- Motorola Droid 2
- Android
- Mobile
Conclusions
The Droid 2 is obviously incremental—look no further than the name. But even nailing incremental product refreshes can be hard, and Motorola has largely done it with the Droid 2's excellent hardware. The masculine industrial design of the first still shines through on the Droid 2, and the hardware itself retains what was great about the form factor without changing everything needlessly.
For the most part, virtually every major complaint about the first device has been addressed, and for that Motorola deserves credit. The D-Pad is gone, the keyboard is completely revamped for the better, troublesome buttons refined, awkward chin tucked away, and the platform's SoC has been updated. The device hardware itself is thoroughly modern with the exception of the camera stack's inability to record 720P video.
Though the Droid 2's hardware is unequivocally excellent, the software still needs tweaking. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that 3G tethering needs some major attention, and performance in some areas just isn't where it should be. Hopefully all of this can and will be addressed with a timely OTA update. There's also the matter of Motorola's BLUR skin, which there isn't any way to turn off short of rooting and loading a different ROM.
If you're an existing Motorola Droid owner, the Droid 2 will feel like almost completely familiar territory. Quite honestly, unless you're absolutely dissatisfied with the speed of that device, the Droid 2 will feel exactly the same. The differences lie in the keyboard, and whether you'll have the 'Wow' moment I did will depend entirely on which original Droid keyboard you ended up with.
If the original Droid was a slightly insecure adolescent that made up for being the newcomer with brash masculine boasting, the Droid 2 would conversely be a much more confident polished 30-something. It's still hip, but there's nothing earth-shattering about the whole package this time around—it's just a safe update. If you've got the original Droid, the Droid 2 just isn't quite enough of a huge leap forward to warrant an upgrade unless you really need the speed. Faster performance will come late 2010 and early 2011 in the form of ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore based devices running at even faster clock speeds. That said, if you're in the market for an Android phone on Verizon with a keyboard, look no further than the Droid 2.
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WasabiVengeance - Sunday, September 19, 2010 - link
The dpad on the original droid was a HUGE selling point for me. I got one of the later model ones with convex keys, and I've been very happy with the keyboard. My one and only complaint was that the dpad didn't have diagonals. This looks to me like they took arguably the BEST smartphone keyboard on the market, and made it significantly worse.vol7ron - Sunday, September 19, 2010 - link
But now you have arrow keys and a full QWERTY keyboard (save function and numeric keys).I actually like the new design better, perhaps you can get a dpad casing to play those games that require it.
deputc26 - Sunday, September 19, 2010 - link
Where' the battery life analysis and real-world web-page loading times? Where's the competitive comparison and commentary?Brian Klug - Sunday, September 19, 2010 - link
I completely spaced on the battery life section - I had it written and all ready, but completely forgot to insert it in the document. It's there now though! ;)-Brian
Marko_Polo - Sunday, September 19, 2010 - link
Prior to obtaining the Droid2, I was using a standard Samsung flip phone. I have been watching the Smartphone market for years mostly as a disinterested party. When I started dating a more tech savvy woman, I realized that I needed greater connectivity to my friends and family.I have had zero problems with learning how to operate and maximize the Droid 2. I chose the Droid 2 over the Droid X because I wanted a physical keyboard and a smaller size phone. Since I get a substantial Verizon discount through work, I knew I was sticking with a Verizon Smartphone (plus all my peeps are using Verizon). I also have a ZuneHD and really liked the similarity in the interfaces between the devices.
Certainly, the Droid 2 can replace many other types of devices. I have a B&N nook and I have installed the nook app on my Droid and have found it enjoyable enough to use. I also think the Droid 2 could replace my PMP in the car. However, I don't think the Droid 2 makes a great PMP overall because it is very heavy to use while exercising or doing yard work. I'm also not convinced it can handle the sweat and other moisture it would come in contact with while being active.
Finally, I have had little problem with battery life. At work, the poor thing struggles to get a 3G signal and I believe that causes the battery to drain a little quicker. I have the car dock and the multimedia dock at home, so I rarely see the battery get below 40% between charges.
For my first Smartphone, I think the Droid 2 has been great so far. Additionally, I've found the service at the Verizon store to be much better than my previous carrier - that matters to me, especially at the higher end of the Smartphone market.
Ratman6161 - Sunday, September 19, 2010 - link
I already have the later model Droid with improved keyboard and I kind of like the D-Pad though I don't use it that much. I've got Android 2.2 - rooted - and clocked at 1 GHz with SetCPU. So it sounds to me like I already have the equivalent of a D2 without the MotoBlur crap.Think I'll keep what I have for the foreseeable future!
sprockkets - Sunday, September 19, 2010 - link
"This feature is basically broken on the Droid 2. There’s just no other way to state it. If you’re getting the Droid 2 for the built in 3G hotspot feature, reconsider until Verizon and Motorola address it with an OTA update. Or use one of a number solutions from the market, or root. Either way, this was disappointing for me."Do you mean 3rd party solutions from the software market or different phones from the market? And how does rooting the phone fix the issue? Is it because you put on different firmware?
neutralizer - Sunday, September 19, 2010 - link
3rd party solutions from the market will allow you to tether. In addition, you can get free wifi tether if you're rooted. It's just an app that requires root.Brian Klug - Sunday, September 19, 2010 - link
Third party solutions I have a feeling will work fine, but the built-in default 3G hotspot functionality is completely broken. Sadly I can't root these review units quite yet, but I'm comfortable that those will work.-Brian
deputc26 - Sunday, September 19, 2010 - link
Much better, thanks!