I hate the Droid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tonyor]

Just got my Droid, and, while it may be a wonderful gadget, it is a horrible PDA/phone. For someone who works out of his home, my cell phone is my livelihood since I am on the road a lot. My Samsung was due for a replacement, so I decided to go for the Droid.

1) Safety: This phone is dangerous. I drive a stick shift and fairly hot car. No excuse for talking while driving, but I make my living that way so Bluetooth handsfree is the only way to go. Not having voice activation through the headset is downright **bleep**. Developers are you listening??????????? What were you thinking? First, I have to fumble to unlock the phone. That is two steps: turning on the phone and then unlocking it. Then I have to fumble for the voice actuation, at times more than once. Each step requires me to take my eyes off the road.

2) No Windows integration. I have had lots of PDA's over the years, from Palms to  Windows Mobile. Blackberry was never an option. I always felt that performance was primitive, and that the only advantage was push mail, which probably not one in a 100 users really needed. We all may hate Microsoft, and our hatred for it may be justified from terrible operating systems to ridiculous prices; but it is the de facto standard in the business world. I have NEVER had a PDA that does not offer a seamless integration into Outlook and Office. Now I am forced to use G Mail to integrate into Outlook. I am asked to put all of my contacts on a public website, save files in another format, etc. I am used to taking notes during meetings with clients. My CRM integrates seamlessly into Office and my PDA. If I am waiting for a flight and talking to a client, I can pull up of my client  information on my PDA. Not so with the droid!!!!! Not unless I am willing to pay extra for it.

Having said all that, the screen is brilliant, the speed phenomenal. The navigation works well. I had a Bluetooth satellite sensor with the software for my PDA's which I only used with rent a cars. I got tired of having to schlep around the extra car chargers and continuously paying  for updates to the maps. The Google system is the best I have seen for a PDA.

I would even be willing to pay for extra integration software, if it exists,  but the lack of Bluetooth voice actuation is a catastrophic and dangerous shortcoming.

Tony

[SFroomkin]

So, simply, the phone is not for you.  For me, it's a great PDA & phone.  It does what I need.  But different people have different needs.  If it doesn't suit your needs, return it and get a different phone that does.  I'm not intending to bash your post ... your qualms are legit for sure.  They don't bother me, as I don't need BlueTooth and I use Google for everything, so the Droid is perfect for me.

I'm not super familiar with all the phones out there ... anyone have a suggestion on what phone may suit this person best?

[JasonJoel]

Fair criticisms. So, for you, I would STRONGLY suggest you return the phone and get a different one that will work for you!!

You can work around the Outlook integration (and I think there are some apps to integrate directly, maybe Touchdown?). But the full bluetooth dialing support just simply is not coming any time soon. Next update is likely Android v2.1, and that doesn't have it. So that means it won't be coming any time really soon.

My advice continues to be, if you 'NEED' full bluetooth dialong then don't get a Droid. But if you keep it, don't come on here and gripe about it over and over (Google has NEVER said if/when they are going to add that feature).

Jason

[tonyor]

I have had this phone one day, so I have not had the time to explore all the features or lack of them. As I said, this is the first PDA device that I have ever had that does not integrate with Outlook through the cable on my PC. This feature has been available on PDA's going back to the Palm, Blackberry, Pocket PC's, etc.-at least the ones that synced with a PC, so I am not asking for something unusual. This technology has been around for more than a decade.

As far as the Bluetooth feature is concerned, it is downright cumbersome and dangerous when driving. I know of two people who have purchased much cheaper phones but with voice activation, and they both work as true handsfree. My other 2 PDA phones worked the same way.

If it upsets you that I am bashing your choice, too bad. This phone has some amazing features, which I said. It also has some critical failings which are difficult to understand in light of the technology available, commonality of usage,  and the ease of implementation. These failings are not to be found on competitive products from old to new. This is an open forum where people are allowed to express their opinions. The hope is that the developers will read the postings here.

I am returning the droid and will ask Verizon to reactivate my old phone. The old phone still worked fine and will enable me to wait a few months to see if Motorola makes changes to the operating system. There may also be other droids coming out on the market that suit my needs better.

In this market, new technology gets old quickly.

As far, as my griping over and over. The previous post was my first, and this will be my last. This one was written only to answer your rather [edit] reply.

T

{please keep your posts courteous}

[JasonJoel]

No offense taken on my part! I like the phone, but am not in love with it. I think it has a couple of pretty big flaws, depending on your needs/use. 

The 'over and over' comment wasn't directed at you, per se, it was more of a comment that some people buy the phone, don't like it but keep it, and then come back every week or two and gripe that it doesn't do feature XYZ - even though they knew that when they decided to keep it.

I think you are taking the very smart approach and keeping or returning the phone based on what it does NOW, not what it MIGHT do later.

And for the record I agree 100% on the BT voice dialing. The only reaon I can live with it is that my car has bluetooth integrated dialing in the MMI so I can easily dial that way when in the car. If I couldn't, I would have returned the phone, too!

Jason

[kanacoleman]

There are several ways to integrate with outlook:

Google Sync for Outlook (calendars only unless you get the premier version:

Oggsync Pro (sycs contacts and calendars from outlook and contacts):

http://oggsync.com/

Go contact sync:

http://lifehacker.com/5193636/go-contact-sync-keeps-google-and-outlook-contacts-matched

KiGoo contact sync:

http://www.mydigitallife.info/2008/08/12/synchronize-ms-outlook-and-google-calendargmail-with-free-s...

Voice  Dialing- Voice Dial HF (not completely hands free but you can map the camera button):

http://www.dfxmobile.com/voicedialerhf

Hope this helps

[seabright]

The Samsung Omnia 2 is very nice. Sounds as if it might fit your needs. The one thing I'm not sure about is the BT support you want. I'm sure that a web search would answer that question fairly quickly.

Note: DO NOT get the Omnia 1 (original). It's still available and cheap but, well, just don't.

[SFroomkin]

Tony, people came on here to help you out.  We offered suggesstions.  Like several posters including myself said, if the phone doesn't suit your needs, get something else.  Not every piece of technology works for everyone.

[Tkoehler]

Sounds like you have the issues, Tony....everyone hear offer help and opinions to your problem and you came back with an attidude.....if you dont like the phone, turn it back in....my guess is that you didnt do enough research on the phone's Pro's and Con's...and all of your problems with the Droid, have been discussed many times over and over on this forum and many others like it...[edit]

{please keep your posts courteous}

[spanky4350]

Sounds like someone didn't do their research

[fezzik]

Could be wrong since I don't use outlook and don't want Lotus notes to sync with my phone since I don't want my work e-mail, contacts, or calendar to sync with my droid.  they don't pay for my phone and I can't work from home so I could give a rats [edit] what e-mails come in while I am away from here but I think the Motorola software for the phone will sync with outlook.

{word filter avoidance}

[immobile2]

Yes, to each their own, but me, like many others have had a dozen WinMo's , Nokia's, etc. , not to mention evaluated most that have existed, and this Droid w/ it's HTML5 is lightning quick and will light up a website like my Laptop, w/ the exception of flash support, or the lack there of, and size. All within reason.

[angryGTS]

Bluetooth works perfectly fine in my car(Mitsubishi EVO X), every feature works perfectly, voice dialing etc.  Get a better/newer bluetooth if you talk on the phone so much while driving, simple as that. 

[mikeynavy1]

While I kind of understood the original post...his follow-up was bad...and his tone is unprofessional.  Doesn't sound like the type of businessman I'd ever want to deal with...[edit]  If he is getting this spun up over a cell phone, didn't get the "agreement" he was hoping for, and can't take a little constructive criticism[edit]

{no personal comments, please}

[tonyor]

First of all, you are taking a criticism of an inanimate object and turning it into a personal attack against me.Talk about being unprofessional! You know nothing about me.

These are the facts:

1) The salesperson at the store could not download my contacts from my old phone into the droid because she did not have the adadpter, so I could not try it out with the handsfree. The battery on my headset was dead, so we could not pair the droid to it.

2) She assured me that the voice activated dialing would work from a hands free headset. The reviews I did read on the phone did not even mention it.

3) I did not realize how cumbersome the lack of this feature is to someone who conducts his business from his car and rent a cars. I also did not realize how dangerous the lack of this feature is until I tried it in my car.

4) I did return the phone after 3 days. This same salesperson was there and gave me that deer in the headlights look. Her manager was standing next to her and just shook his head. I did not pay a restocking fee. There was someone there who just purchased a droid. When he overheard the conversation, he immediately returned the droid. His car was a stick shift SAAB. He was not told either.

5) This is a safety and legal issue. There is an ever increasing list of states  that require the use of handsfree cell phones. These include such sparsely populated and unimportant states such as California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Illinois, and Washington. Handheld electronic devices are banned in Canada while driving. Handsfree is not banned in Canada. The Motorola droid is not a true handsfree. You must pick up the phone and go through 3 separate steps to activate the feature. It is hansfree in receiving calls. Illinois, the state of Morotola's corporate headquarters, joined the ban on Jan. 1 of this year.

6) This is the first PDA that I have had in the last dozen years that does not sync automatically with Outllook via cable or bluetooth.I was willing to pay for an app to overcome that problem, but not in addition to not having a true hands free.

It is still inconceibeable that such a powerful device could still lack the handsfree feature, especially in light of the current trend in driving laws.

My intent was not to post any more on this forum but to check in once in while to see if an update would be available, but not when people are attacking me without knowing the facts.

Tony

[#16]

I posted a solution to the handsfree issue, but the moderators won't let me bump it up.  It's on the second or third page.  You just have to press the camera button once, then it's hands free from there.

[angryGTS]

Here's a fact for you completely hands free(without touching DROID) DOES work.  http://s885.photobucket.com/albums/ac53/angryGTS/?action=view&current=DSCF1206.flv

I have made no mods whatsoever to the phone and am not using any other bluetooth software from the app store or anything, I say "call" or "dial" and it works flawlessly, I suggest maybe getting new bluetooth hardware that supports bluetooth 2.1.  Unless MOTO plans on releasing a backwards compatible Bluetooth software for 2.0 for the old headsets.

[tonyor]

Wrong! The droid does not work with a headset

The handsfree voice activated dialing works with NO Bluetooth headset, Bluetooth 2.1 or otherwise. This includes any of Motorola's own headsets. Check the Motorola website.Both of my headsets are 2.1, and one is an eight week old Motorola.

For some odd reason,  it does seem to work with SOME car Bluetooth systems, but NOT ALL. I am not about to trade in an '08 car with only 20,000 miles on it just to get my phone to work in handsfree mode. Besides, it does not help me when I have a rent a car, which seems to be the majority of the time for me now. Some rent a cars do have this feature, but I have to pair the car's Bluetooth with the phone to find out. Again, check the Motorola website. In addition, the in car systems tend to be noisy.

As far as the camera button getting reassigned to activate the phone, this is a kludge. One has to disable the camera function in order to get the hands free function to work,  and it technically is not a handsfree since you have to touch the phone.

Look guys, no matter how you cut it, this is not a true handsfree phone. In light of the current trend in driving laws and overall safety considerations, this is a serious and egregious oversight in the design of the phone. My girlfriend got rear ended at a stop light yesterday by a woman who was talking on the phone without a headset. A while back, I was standing at an intersection in Schaumberg, IL and saw a Suburban run a red light and plow into 5 cars. The woman driver was clearly holding her phone in her hand and either texting or talking. There is no excuse for stupidity of this magnitude. We all have seen enough incidents of this type.

Apparently, there is no easy fix to this problem. There are over 1500 complaints on the Motorola droid forum. only second to the lack of Arabic. The 2.1 operating system update does not address this problem.

If it does get fixed, I will go out and get a droid.

Tony

[#19]

I think the camera button is an excellent $4.00 solution.  True, it's not totally handsfree, but it's essentially as easy to press the camera button as it is to press a button on your bluetooth headset.  For incoming calls, you just press your headset button to answer.  Also, the camera button is reactivated as soon as you open the camera application.  So, I think this is a non-issue unless you're just looking for something to complain about. 

[ksxox10]

---

jimfitzgerald wrote:

I think the camera button is an excellent $4.00 solution.  True, it's not totally handsfree, but it's essentially as easy to press the camera button as it is to press a button on your bluetooth headset.  For incoming calls, you just press your headset button to answer.  Also, the camera button is reactivated as soon as you open the camera application.  So, I think this is a non-issue unless you're just looking for something to complain about. 

---

The $4.00 solution is pretty good. However, I would agree with Tony that it is a major oversight on this phone. Don't get me wrong, I like my phone and am very impressed with all the cool things that it can do. I don't rely heavily on bluetooth so this isn't personally an issue for me. I do find it odd though that a phone as technologically advanced as the Droid does not have totally handsfree capabilities. I completely understand why Tony is frustrated. I don't think he is "just looking for something to complain about."

[#21]

I doubt that it's an "oversight."  There must be some serious technical issues that aren't easy to resolve.