Comments on: Motorola Droid – Verizon (Review)

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:33:45 +0000

Has anyone found a solution to making the fonts on the phone larger. I also tried the Spare Parts and even the people at the store couldn’t figure out how to make it continue to work. This has made me really not enjoy the phone as much as I could. I can’t believe that Motorola & Google missed this. I’m sure I’m not the only one getting older and can’t see small fonts. Anyone with a fix?

By: mark

mark — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:59:23 +0000

Thanks, but i have just 1 more question. The android 2.0.1 or whatever it’s called, do you have to pay for the update and can it be done at home? Also, will 2.1 be available for upgrade anytime soon?

By: Ian Thackston

Ian Thackston — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:24:38 +0000

You both heard correctly:

The Droid does come loaded with a 16 gig MicroSD card.

You can turn its automatic screen orientation feature on and off (http://developer.motorola.com/docstools/library/Handle_Screen_Rotation/).

Android’s Bluetooth Voice Dial cannot be initiated without touching the phone. Enhanced Bluetooth Voice Dial features are apparently planned for a future release (http://source.android.com/release-features).

By: mark

mark — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:07:24 +0000

Actually, after seeing some videos on youtube, i am even more cofused now. Some people would turn it and it would switch, while it would stay portrait for others. does this mean that there is a setting or something?

By: Tinger

Tinger — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:06:57 +0000

True on the card.
Not true to switch, from what I found playing with it in the store.

More importantly, this phone will NOT initiate calls hands-free from a bluetooth headset. Complete deal-killer for me. If this matters to anyone here, please go to this link and STAR issue 1181

http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/list

YOU HAVE TO PHYSICALLY TOUCH THE DEVICE IN ORDER TO MAKE A BLUETOOTH CALL IN SPITE OF ANYTHING VERIZON REPS WILL TELL YOU ABOUT THIS PHONE. IT’S A PROBLEM IN THE OPERATING SYSTEM, SO IS A GOOGLE SOFTWARE GAP.

By: mark

mark — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:01:44 +0000

I am planning to get this smartphone soon. But i MUST know 2 things first. I heard that it comes with a 16 gig SD card. Is this true? Also, do you have to press a button to switch to landscape/turn the phone or does landscape only activate when you slide out the keyboard?

Thanks.

By: Kyle Pokorny

Kyle Pokorny — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:53:52 +0000

Dear Ian Thackston,
I wanted to ask you a few questions about this phone. First of all, I know you say it’s a super phone but can it really put out as much as you say it can. I don’t mind spending alot but I want it to put out all the time. Also, I have an external hard drive that I would like to insert into the device, how would I go about doing that?
Love,
Kyle

By: Sahas Katta

Sahas Katta — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:29:33 +0000

The Nokia N900 has one!
http://skattertech.com/2009/11/in-photos-nokia-n900/

By: Ian Thackston

Ian Thackston — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:10:32 +0000

That’s incorrect. Hands-free Bluetooth devices have worked since Android 1.0 on the G1. I have also used one with this phone.

By: Ian Thackston

Ian Thackston — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:08:26 +0000

It does not have an FM transmitter. No one talks about it because add-on devices are available for cheap and the lack of an embedded transmitter is seldom a deal breaker.

By: mike

mike — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:26:51 +0000

I am really wanting this phone but so far I haven’t seen anyone talk about one of my most wanted feature: FM transmitter…
Does the droid not have this one great technology?

By: HTC Droid Eris – Verizon (Review) |

HTC Droid Eris – Verizon (Review) | — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:17:44 +0000

[...] this month Skatter Tech reviewed the Motorola Droid, now the flagship device for Verizon Wireless. Another phone, the HTC Droid Eris, was also [...]

By: Ro

Ro — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:24:25 +0000

Josh, in your Messaing App, go under Settings > Notification Settings and select Vibrate.

I’ve got to say, Android has got to be one of the best if not THE best smartphone OS I’ve seen. Open Source Development is what makes Android unbeatable.

By: Tinger17

Tinger17 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:28:20 +0000

No hands-free bluetooth on this and other android-based phones at this time. A deal killer for me as I don’t want to mess around with the phone while driving vs. initiating from my bluetooth headset. This is a serious weakness in my opinion. Anyone with a workaround? Please post! I like what I see here otherwise!

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:41:26 +0000

I have had the droid for a day now. And the one thing i still can’t figure out is how to get it to vibrate when i receive a text message. It’s the only thing that bothers me about this phone.

By: dsi r4

dsi r4 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:35:21 +0000

There are many benefits to having an open platform OS and the ability to evolve quicker than anyone else.

By: Ian Thackston

Ian Thackston — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:49:02 +0000

Motorola notes a 32 gig max, though that may increase with a firmware upgrade. I think SanDisk issued a press release saying that the cards will release in the second half of 2009 and a 64 gig version will follow its release in 2010.

By: Ian Thackston

Ian Thackston — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:41:57 +0000

Jeffrey, the only way I was able to do this myself was by using an application called Spare Parts. Here’s a link that might help:
http://www.technipages.com/htc-hero-make-font-bigger-or-smaller.html

The only problem is I can’t get the changes to stick. The font size increases while the program is open, but as soon as I close it the font size goes back to normal.

By: Ian Thackston

Ian Thackston — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:32:06 +0000

Yes, the Droid can do that. I have an annoying number of accounts that I have to check (I wish I had mentioned this). There are a couple of ways to do it.

Option 1: Gmail can be configured to check pop3 email accounts. To clarify, this isn’t email forwarding – this checks your email the same way Thunderbird would. If you don’t already have a Gmail account, you will be prompted to set one up when you get your Droid. More information on setting up extra email accounts here: http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&ctx=mail&answer=21288

Option 2: Use the Email application! Out of the box, the Droid can be configured to get email from any account, including corporate email accounts like Exchange.

I’m sure there are other ways too, but you can’t lose with either of these options. I personally use Gmail to check all my accounts because I like the web interface (and I don’t get to keep the Droid for much longer).

By: Ian Thackston

Ian Thackston — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:24:43 +0000

I’m glad I was able to help John!