droidStory

New Droid software was sent overnight to my Motorola Droid.  I do not know all the features that have been added, but the phone answer screen has changed.  (Note the arrows pointing up and down rather than left to right on the answer buttons.  You still swipe horizontally, however.)

I discovered the change because I found my Droid turned off with the battery deleted, even though it was connected to power.  I had to reboot.  Then, a call came in with the new screen.

Build number:  ESD56

Kernel:  2.6.29

As I use my Motorola Droid more and more, I am very impressed with the quantity and breadth of applications that are available for it.  It is now to the point where I almost always leave my iPod Touch at home.  Yet, there are a few applications that I sorely miss:

• Amazon Kindle or B&N Reader — Yes, I know that there are several book readers available for Android.  But, none of them are as easy to use as an Amazon Kindle for the iPod Touch.  A simple click purchases and downloads what I want.  Where is my seamless eBook reader?  (The B&N Reader is an Android device.  Maybe the software team is working on a version for us?)
• Urbanspoon — Yes, I know that Places accesses the reviews from Urbanspoon.  And, yes, I know there is a mobile web optimized version of Urbanspoon.  But, Urbanspoon is simply more fun to use and makes finding a restaurant easier.  I also love the idea UpScope augmented reality.
• Roboform — A great password keeper that seems to be on every mobile platform except Android.  Let’s hope.
• XM Radio — Yes, I know that there are some great Internet Radio applications and I enjoy Pandora, too.  But, Sirius/XM is better.  I like having real people program my channels and expose me to new music.
• MLB Live — Boston Red Sox rule!  And, MLB reports would be fantastic.  I know that there was a beta during the World Series.  Hopefully this means that MLB for Android is coming in 2010.

Which five iPhone applications do you miss on the Droid?

It took more than a little effort, but I finally got the Motorola Droid to work with Lotus Traveler in order to access my corporate Lotus Notes/Domino email.  It required the use of an application named Touchdown and the careful adjustment of settings.

First, some background.  IBM Lotus released Lotus Traveler for mobile email use.  The product now supports Microsoft ActiveSync and, as announced, works with Windows Mobile devices, the Apple iPhone and a Nokia Symbian device.  That leaves many Android users out in the cold — especially those who migrated to the Verizon Wireless Motorola Droid.  (Ed Brill wrote in his blog that Android support for Traveler is coming.)

The Droid has a built-in free email application that works with ActiveSync.  So, with hope, I attempted to set things up.

• I learned the hard way that you must not confuse the Domino Domain with a Windows Domain and set-up your user name in the following manner for Domino to see you:

First_Name  Last_Name/Domino Domain

• Use your Notes password
• Leave the (Windows) domain field blank
• Use your traveler URL for the server URL.

Everything logs in and authenticates just fine.  But, the Droid built-in mail insists that it knows better and adds a backslash character in front of your name to signify no domain.  It shows up as:

\First_Name  Last_Name/Domino Domain

Clearly, this does not work.  I tried to create an alias this way.  But, no luck.

Now, on to 3rd party applications.

My second choice was RoadSync from DataViz, the folks that make DesktopToGo.  I already use DesktopToGo, so I have some trust for them.  The application also looks well integrated with the Droid.  It also states in the documentation that it supports HTML mail, attachments and appointments.  All of these are important.

Unfortunately, I kept getting a 404 error.  The documentation for RoadSync does have some limited suggestions, which did not work.  DataViz phone support is also available only from 9AM to 3PM.  So, I missed the window to call.

Courtesy of AppNoodle

Finally, I moved to Touchdown from NitroDesk.  I must give credit to Goutham Sukumar, the founder of NitroDesk.  He provided significant personal support.  We had several false starts and setting adjustments.  But, he worked with us every day — several times a day — to get things right.  Now, the product appears to be working well.

Touchdown does quickly sync and show the messages, appointments, tasks and contacts.  So, it is useful.   However, it does not work with HTML messages nor with appointments.  These are severe limitations that create concern every time I use the application.  It is much better than nothing.

The interface does not look like the rest of the Droid.  Note the Windows style icons and page formatting.  The new mail icon in the status bar is also very large — which creates problems for other icons looking for a place to live.

Frankly, I will consider a switch when one of the other solutions works properly.  In the meantime, I am jumping up and down with glee over Touchdown support.

I am thrilled to report that the Motorola Droid phone now works with IBM Lotus Domino via ActiveSync and Traveler, with a little help from Touchdown from NitroDesk.

It is hard to describe just how good the screen on the Motorola Droid really is. And, while I have taken several photos, either my equipment or my ability does not enable me to demonstrate it on a PC screen. But, in a nutshell, the thing that I like best about the Droid is the screen. It is bright and crisp. The text is easy to read even with fancy fonts. I never grow tired of reading on it.

No discussion would be good without some specs. So, lets get them out of the way …

Now, let me draw your attention to the last line — pixel density. The numbers show that the Droid is 47% sharper than the iPhone. I used to think that the iPhone had a fantastic screen and I gleefully showed images/videos on it. So, do not get me wrong. The iPhone was impressive.

So, would these higher numbers matter to me? After using my Motorola Droid for a full week, I decided to look at my iPod Touch again and to go to a Verizon store and look at the Storm 2. Frankly, the other screens actually look a little fuzzy. I cannot believe it. The edges of the icons are not as crisp.

Ultra zoom-in on the font from a book reading application on the Droid. Note how sharp it is, even using a video camera on macro zoom.

How can I compare it for somebody who does not have both units in front of them. Well, think about the thrill of seeing a high definition TV picture after watching standard definition. Well, it is NOT that big of a difference. As I said, the Droid is 47% sharper than the iPhone and HDTV is easily 100% sharper than SD. But, it is a difference that you can see.

The image on the left shows a super zoom in on a small part of the Motorola Droid screen. This is from a book reading application. Notice that even at this super enlargement of the image just how sharp and crisp the letters are. Even the curves of the letters do not show pixelation (that blockiness that is often visible on enlargements). By the way, the curves at the bottom are due to the zoom lens that was used. The actual image is perfectly straight.

What does this mean to me, other than saying “ooh …. that looks pretty” or the ability to have more things on the screen. (And, yes, you can see more of a web page on a screen.) It means less eye strain. My eyes can get tired looking at a monitor all day. I do not get as tired looking at the screen on the Motorola Droid.

I was going to write a post about how short the battery life was on the Droid. Within the first few days, my battery drained entirely. I was losing 10% charge per hour and the re-charge took a long time. It would have been enough to cause me to return the Droid and to wait for the HTC devices.

But, I decided to try several different things. One person advised turning on and off 3G. That made only a small difference. But, I did find two things that really mattered:

- The Gmail application takes less battery than the built-in email application. I spent one day pointing the built-in IMAP email application to the same accounts set to fetch at 30 minute intervals. I spent one day using Gmail for two accounts. Guess what? Under the built-in email, nearly 30% of the battery was used on the email application. The Gmail application used 2%. That is not a typo. I believe that the Gmail application is some form of Push mail delivery system as there is no fetch information. But — wow.

- The screen is the other big user. Turning off the automatic brightness and setting the screen to be dimmer has a major impact. I cannot quantify it, but that seems to be a big user. The reason I cannot quantify it is because I did other things. It is important to manually turn off the screen when putting it away. It does not seem to always go blank unless you force it to. FEATURE REQUEST: Please use the proximity detector to turn off the screen when it is put in a holster or case. The BlackBerry does the same thing with magnets. The Droid uses the proximity detector to turn off the screen when it is next to your ear for a phone call.

However — the biggest difference. I decided I needed a second battery because I was not confident about the battery life. I charged up the second battery and it went from empty to a full charge in an hour! Then, the new battery lasted all day with the settings I mentioned above. It dropped 10% charge about every two hours to 2.5 hours. That means that it could run an entire day on this new standard battery. Yes!

So, I conclude that my Droid shipped with a defective battery. I will be swapping it soon. I suggest that all Droid owners look at their batteries and see if they should be replaced.

Another hint. The charger for the BlackBerry Storm appears to work perfectly with the Droid. (I make no promises — that is up to Motorola and Verizon.) So, I have purchased several of them with the BlackBerry logo on them from Amazon at about $5 each with shipping. It is a lot cheaper that way.

One of the big topics in various news stories is that the Motorola Droid now had turn-by-turn directions from Google for free.  (It is called Google Navigation Beta.)  I admit that this feature shows that Garmin and Tom-Tom will have a challenge in the long run.  But, it is not time to get rid of your Garmin or Tom-Tom.  Not yet.  And, with recent price drops, it may be time to buy one.

I first received my Droid on Friday morning at the Verizon Wireless store in Leominster, MA.  I was excited to try my new windshield mount, which immediately placed the Droid into navigation mode.  My plan was to give it simple directions to check out the system.  I had it take me to Interstate 495, which is 15 minutes away via route 2.   It was a pretty simple shot.  However, this is the route that Google Navigation selected:

Why did Google Navigation take me around Fort Devens?

Google maps came up, took me to route 2, told me to get off of route 2, go around a non-existent Fort, and then get back onto the same highway?  Huh?  I stayed on Route 2 anyway.  There was no traffic, no construction, no delay and no reason to get off of the highway.

This was not the only time that Google Navigation picked a strange route.  I am guessing that there is some kind of bug in the software.

Of course, in defense, I would have reached my destination this way.  So, Google Navigation is clearly better than no navigation device at all.  But, the “Beta” in the description is well deserved.

There are a few other topics that are worth noting:

• Google Navigation traffic is the best traffic that I have seen so far.  It is up-to-date, covers small roads, and has fine levels of detail.  I would get this device just for the traffic reports.  Unfortunately, when you view the traffic reports, the screen is static.  So, you cannot view traffic and see visual directions at the same time.  By the way, I am happy with the traffic reports because they are much more current than the ones on Tom-Tom or Garmin.  I often joke that Tom-Tom and Garmin tell you the traffic from one hour ago.
• Google Navigation does not have 3-D view, which makes it much easier to see where to turn and when to turn.  This is not a fatal flaw.
• Google Navigation has an annoying voice for the TTS.
• Google Street View is sexy.  It shows a picture of the intersection as you approach it and the destination as you approach it.  This is much better than saying “your destination is on the right.”  You see your destination.
• Location search is very smart.  I was able to speak the instruction “Thai restaurant in Wakefield, Massachusetts” and it provided a list from which I could pick the right one.  I did not need to know the spelling or hope it was in my list of POI — as I would with a Tom-Tom or Garmin.  Really sexy.

Now — my biggest complaint and the reason why I will keep my Tom-Tom — when a phone call comes in, the call takes over the device and I no longer see where to turn.  I have received calls in tricky traffic situations before.  When a call comes into the Tom-Tom or the Garmin via Bluetooth, I receive a quick visual notification and the screen goes back to directions.

In conclusion, Google Navigation has some growing up to do.  It will get there.  And, some of the features like Street View and the flexible voice search are amazing.  When the other features of Google Navigation are updated, it will be hard for the Tom-Tom and Garmin devices to keep up.  But, keep your Tom-Tom and Garmin for now.

UPDATE: I was driving last night when a phone call came in. This gave me another chance to look at the Google Nav app with a phone call. As soon as the call came in, I received a message “Data Connection Lost.” This happened at the first ring … so even if I had not answered the phone, the data connection was lost. From that moment on, the maps stopped updating. However, the top bar still displayed directions based on the GPS. I assume that the directions are downloaded all at once, but only the current map is sent.

It was quite disconcerting to have directions on the top that did not match the map. Also, the directions are not enough as a very broad “turn right” could have meant a turn onto a different street than the one I chose. It would seem to me that Google could have downloaded more map information and kept the navigation going — at least for as long as I stayed on the original route.