Hello Once again Folks, were back with yet another review from the PPCGeeks Repository. This time we’re looking at the Droid2, a recently released device by Verizon Wireless. We took a good amount of time looking it over, and have a few things to say about it!
The Droid2 is the sequel phone, and essentially a direct descendant of the little phone that started the big Android war, The Motorola DROID. It shows this in shape, design, and function.
Unlike previous releases by Verizon, the DROID2 also is being promoted through a special ‘R2D2’ release, but we’ll talk about that later, let’s first go over specs.
For starters, the DROID2 is the VERY FIRST Verizon DROID phone to come pre-installed with Android 2.2, or Froyo. All previous phones came with 2.0 or 2.1 and had to be updated after release, this is not the case for the DROID2, this is of course a major upgrade over the previous versions. The TI OMAP processor also got beefed up big time, sporting a 1 GHZ processor over the older 512 MHZ DROID released last year. This, along with a newly designed keyboard, an extra 7 gigs of internal storage, and a newly designed battery cover (That wont fall off in the pocket) are but a few of the reasons of why this is a well received upgrade to the DROID. However, there are a few gripes we have with it!
For starters, we’ve come to release, after a year and a half of Android testing, that Android is just not a great keyboard OS! The idea of needing to switch constantly between portrait and landscape to use the keyboard is not fun. Not only that, but even with the 3.7″ screen (which we wished was a tad bigger,) the keyboard is not a necessity. It’s a well received part of the phone though, and if you like keyboards and prefer them, go grab a DROID2! We however think the bigger screen, along with the keyboard, would have been a better sale.
Another gripe is overall performance. Though the phone is a replacer for the DROID, it feels sluggish in usage, and the 3.7″ screen is not exactly great on real estate, especially hard on the eyes when reading content from web pages, get your glasses out!
Lastly, though the phone is shorter in length than the DROID X, the width takes it in place, and weight as well, leading to a phone that has pros and cons like the DROID X, it really comes down to if you want that keyboard. Regardless, the Droid2 is a good phone, and proudly bears the DROID name.
And to promote that name, Verizon has initiated the DROID2, R2d2 phone, read more about its Star Wars design, and special R2D2 apps here!
NOTE: Verizon Wireless has kindly notiifed us that those interested in another one of the popular DROID smartphones – the Incredible, which we reviewed earlier this year, is now available from stores again, as it was previously on backorder. Click here to learn more!