Motorola Droid Early Reviews and Video Roundup

By Dan Hope Oct 28th, 2009

The Motorola Droid has been causing no small amount of excitement lately. Ever since the specs started to leak, Android enthusiasts have been following the device which will debut the Android 2.0 OS. But there are more reasons to love the device. Early reports say the entire phone is amazing, and some even say it could rival the iPhone for functionality.

In order to give you an idea of the general consensus on the Droid, we’ve rounded up all the early reviews so you can compare impressions. And if you’d rather just watch the Droid in action, we’ve also compiled some of the best videos out there.

The Motorola Droid will be launching on the Verizon network on November 6. It will be $199 with a two-year contract and a $100 mail-in rebate (just a note, Verizon, those are terribly annoying). Apparently, the Droid will be more than one phone; it will be a line of Android phones coming from Verizon, the next one being the Droid Eris.

Engadget: “That big screen is killer. Bright, crisp, and tons of room for your icons and widgets…. Speed is noticeably improved -- particularly when moving from app to app. We did notice that some of the home screen scrolling looked laggy…. Android 2.0 is definitely cleaned up -- but it's most definitely still Android.”

Boy Genius Report: “When the Motorola Droid is released in the coming couple weeks, it will be the most advanced Android device on the market as far as specifications go…. We love the build quality of this phone. It’s mostly metal, and while it’s heavy, it gives you a reassuring quality feel that you just don’t find much nowadays as handsets get thinner, lighter, smaller, and cheaper…. It’s the largest capacitive screen we’ve ever seen and it’s positively amazing. It’s crisp, sharp, vibrant, bright, and really, really responsive…. Sure, there’s a little hype sprinkled in because this is the first Android 2.0 device I’ve had the pleasure of using, but once you move past the initial “wow” factor, the Droid really delivers.”

Gizmodo: “Not to mix droid metaphors here, but I feel like it's the phone Darth Vader would use. And after a couple of minutes using it, I'm still excited about it…. It's not a light phone—it's mostly metal and glass, which is why it has that little chin on the bottom (for the RF antennas)…. You can really feel the screen's extra resolution—it's nicer than the Moment's AMOLED screen…. Facebook powers are built-in, and contacts integration isn't all or nothing like the Pre—you can assign by groups and stuff.”

Mobibu.com: “Motorola Droid sets a new standard for the smart phone. The power of Web search takes on a whole new meaning, going deep into your phone and all of your applications. Motorola Droid takes the search that Google is known for to the entire phone.”

That’s some pretty glowing praise. The overall feel of the early reviews seems to be quite optimistic. The greatest concerns seem to be with the design of the device, though they seem focused on aesthetics not build quality. Early impressions of the phone interface and Android 2.0 are universally positive. It should be interesting if all the great features of the Droid can translate into big sales for Verizon, which has desperately needed a popular smartphone to draw consumers attention ever since the Storm turned out to be a dud.

Check out the Droid in action with these videos:

Head to Verizon to see their instructional video on the Droid. It’s a bit dry, but it gets the job done.

From BGR, showing the phone and its dock.