Motorola Droid 2 - First Glance

We live in an age where technological advances come almost on a daily basis. Today's computers are on par with those that we found only at the highest levels of academia and government research just a few years ago. I can watch TV, make phone calls, and find just about any type of information on the internet. That flexibility has now made it to mobile phones and it is truly amazing.

I have resisted the swap to a smartphone for quite some time now. The urge has been there, but the meshing of urge, affordability and need had avoided me until recently. The time had come for me to purchase my first smartphone. I was looking for a nice blend of business and personal use, not too much iphone or too much blackberry. I settled on the Droid 2 and here is a brief review of what I've learned so far.

Size:

The size of the Droid 2 is similar to an iphone, although it is a little thicker due to the slide-out keyboard (more on that later). It fits nicely into your hand or pocket and can be handled fairly easily with one hand.

Operation:

This thing is fast. I have an ipod touch and it doesn't come close to response. With all of that speed I do find myself jumping from app to app and at times locking the phone up. My favorite function is the toolbar at the top that notifies you of e-mails, text messages, time, etc. This bar can be pulled down where you can view a synopsis of your notifications including a small preview of your e-mails.

Extras:

The Droid 2 could've done without the slide-out keyboard. With swype available on the touchscreen, who needs to slide out a keyboard. I was a die-hard slide-out fan until swype made my fingers stop fat-fingering the wrong letters.

The apps are comparable to the iphone apps, most of the big titles are available with more coming. There have only been a few instances where I have been unable to find the app that I needed/wanted.

I haven't been able to sync up my droid with my outlook server at work, so I can't review that. I have my IT department on it right now though so it shouldn't be too long.

All in all, if you aren't a die hard iphone fan, or all encompassed with e-mail, the try the Droid. It has been a great phone and I look forward to at least a couple of more years with it.