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
Cellular and WiFi Performance
There’s been a bit of discussion about whether the Droid 2 has signal and antenna issues a la iPhone 4. I was excited to get testing, and ran the Droid 2 through our now-regular tests to measure attenuation from holding the phone in different positions.
| Signal Attenuation Comparison in dB—Lower is Better | |||||||
| Cupping Tightly | Holding Naturally | On an Open Palm | |||||
| Droid 2 | 11.5 | 5.1 | 4.5 | ||||
| BlackBerry Torch | 15.9 | 7.1 | 3.7 | ||||
| Dell Streak | 14.0 | 8.7 | 4.0 | ||||
| Droid X | 15.0 | 5.1 | 4.5 | ||||
| iPhone 4 | 24.6 | 19.8 | 9.2 | ||||
| iPhone 3GS | 14.3 | 1.9 | 0.2 | ||||
| HTC Nexus One | 17.7 | 10.7 | 6.7 | ||||
The Droid 2 has just lower than average worst case signal attenuation when cupped deliberately near the antenna in the bottom of the device. Remember, less attenuation is better here. The Droid 2 therefore doesn’t have any problems that stem from the antenna itself, what then of the entire stack?
Remember that on CDMA cellular systems like Sprint and Verizon, voice and data are separate. Voice always operates over 1xRTT (which can also carry data, but at a slower rate with a maximum of 153 kilobits/s) and requires its own slice of spectrum. For faster “3G” data on a CDMA system, EV-DO is used, which likewise also requires its own slice of spectrum. This combination of two technologies from the same family makes most modern CDMA-based cellular systems hybrid in nature, and almost all CDMA handsets can only tune one (1xRTT or EV-DO) at a time. This generally isn’t a problem—most of the time, your CDMA handset polls a 1xRTT paging channel to check for an incoming call, notification, or SMS periodically. How often that happens is defined by the Slot Cycle Index (SCI) which can be anywhere from 1.28 seconds to much higher. Sometimes you can set this parameter yourself in engineering menus (the number corresponds to x^2 seconds), but you can’t exceed a number defined by the cellular system.
There’s a trade-off of course. Longer indexes will earn you a measurable battery life savings, but you’ll get less time to respond to an incoming call—the call will ring until your phone polls and picks it up. Shorter indexes will notify you of calls much more quickly, but drain battery faster.
Android does a good job hiding this all away from the user. In fact, there’s no way to change the SCI on the Droid 2—whether you have access to an engineering menu where you can tweak those things is entirely up to the manufacturer. The Droid Eris, HTC EVO, and Galaxy S phones, for example, have a suite of engineering menus.
I rarely see the 1x symbol pop up even when texts are coming in (despite the fact that it actually is on 1x to receive SMS), and most applications gracefully wait and resume. However, it sometimes still does happen that things don’t work perfectly, and you’ll transact data during this period and get stuck on 1x for a while. That’s actually pretty normal, and I see it all the time on a variety of CDMA devices. On the whole, this data handover has gotten much faster, but there’s still a period where the phone will wait before starting a data call on EVDO after initiating one on 1x. Generally the longest this takes is 3 seconds. But after you’re on 1x, if you keep transferring data, you won’t hop back to EVDO—on every CDMA device I’ve ever used, that only happens when data is idle.
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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!