Droid + Zumo

[RedHot]

I'm realllly thinking of getting the Droid from Verizon, but someone said they didn't think the blutooth bonded to the Zumo.

 

Anyone have any experience with this?

[Allen Rowand]

Not until you asked…

 

I just paired mine to my 550. It was a little fiddly but it seems to have worked. Phone book transferred, was able to get the Zumo to call my house through the Droid. I don't have everything hooked up (no audio to the Zumo), so I couldn't test audio or such. But it looks good at the most basic level.

 

Allen

[CT_Rider]

{HIJACK]

Do you love it?

[/HIJACK]

[RedHot]

Yeah - do you like it?? I'm soooo wishy washy on these things - I keep bouncing back and forth between the Droid and the Eris. Not so much for the keyboard option but for the OS system. 2.0 vs. 1.5 and supposedly (although I can't find proof) the wifi is supposed to be faster on the Droid. BUT, the most important was that it paired to the Zumo.

[Allen Rowand]

To start with, I moved over from an iPhone 3G. I've had reception issues, and have been frustrated by Apple's stupidity over what applications they'll allow and the fact that the iPhone is a closed system. I would jailbreak the phone so that I could get it to function the way that I want, then have to redo all my customization every time they would update the phone's firmware. That said:

 

The reception on the Droid is what you'd expect from Verizon- great. The iPhone got no signal in my office or at my mother in law's. I get full 3G reception at my office now, and at least have some signal at the MIL's. Since I work on my bike in her garage, this is important to me.

 

It's easy to use, and I've had no problems finding applications for what I need to do. I've traditionally hated Verizon because the cripple their phones; for example, they'll block the ability to transfer ringtones to the phone so that you have to buy them from them instead. They haven't done that with the Droid.

 

Functionality is good. Yesterday I tried the navigation for the first time, and it was ok; the only problem is that once or twice a turn notification came too late. This wouldn't have been a problem if I had it in the car dock and could see the screen, but I was listening to the voice prompts through the car's stereo while I listened to music. It's not going to replace my Zumo, but it's pretty handy.

 

Battery life is pretty good. The more you futz with it, the quicker the battery goes. If you turn off the GPS chip, wifi and syncing when you don't need them you can get a couple days on a charge.

 

One thing to be aware of is that you need a Google account to set up the phone. I use a Mac, and shared my address book and calendars with my Gmail account to see if it could be done the day before I looked at the phone. When I bought it, I was standing in the store and put in my Gmail info. The phone automatically downloaded my info, and I walked out with the phone ready to go.

 

I don't have any Android experience before this so I can't comment on 1.x vs 2.0. 2.0 is very nice, and I've actually gotten to like having the keyboard. Keep in mind that I use my phone 75% as a pocket-able computer, 25% as a phone.

 

I just confirmed that the Zumo pairing works. With my phone handsfree paired to the Zumo, and the Zumo paired to the phone I was able to make and receive calls. The only glitch was that I couldn't get the phone to hang up properly after I'd made a call, but I think I've heard this mentioned before. I don't use this feature of the Zumo currently but may be getting a Nolan N103/n-com rig in the spring, so I might look into it more down the road.

 

I hope this helps, and feel free to ask any other questions you have. Overall, I'm very happy.

 

Allen

[krussell]

After enduring about a month of my ATT iPhone 3G when I first got it. I left Verizon at that time to get the iPhone which I could only get on AT&T. Around the same time I had tried the T-Mobile G1, the very first Android phone as well. I would have kept the G1, but the T-Mobile coverage stunk. I went with the iPhone, and have used it about 8 months, the 3G.

 

Shortly after I got it I realized that I would make a huge compromise in coverage via AT&T in order to keep the iPhone. But I really liked some of the features so that is what I endured. Continual missed calls, huge areas with no coverage, dropped calls, etc. etc. I wrote Verizon a letter. I told them that if they came out with an Android based phone on their network that was unrestricted from a network perspective that I would by it the very first day it was available. I told them my second choice would be an iPhone.

 

It was my pleasure to honor my commitment by purchasing a Droid on the Friday it came out. It's exceeded my expectations in almost every area.

 

- Verizon network -> YES, I can actually use the phone in my house

 

- Browser -> Works great, very fast on 3G or Wifi. Zooming is a bit less functional than the pinch etc. of the iPhone

 

- Sync -> google calendar, contacts, gmail work perfectly as you might expect. The sync is dramatically faster than me.com.

 

- IMAP Mail - Excellent, again, very, very fast.

 

- Maps - Sweet - traffic, latitude integration, TURN BY TURN driving directions - all fantastic - If I didn't need GPS functionality outside of the cell coverage area there would be no need to have another GPS device.

 

- The GPS is much better than the iPhone 3G in terms of accuracy

 

- No need to pay Apple $100+ /yr for me.com to get push content

 

- Camera, 5MP with FLASH and video abilities, easily push your picture to email, picasa and others, facebook

 

- Screen is gorgeous. Youtube etc. work really, really well.

 

- I don't use the keyboard, I'd prefer not to have one but don't want to wait for a Android 2.0 phone that doesn't have it

 

- Apps can run in the background

 

- Developers can release apps without pleasing Apple, or paying Apple for development tools. And they can build those apps on machines running Linux, Windows, and even Mac OS

 

- It uses an industry standard micro usb connector, so you can get 12V chargers and the like very easily.

 

What's not so great?

 

- you need to charge it every night. For me, I could get by with charging the iPhone every few nights, but I suspect this has a lot to do with the fact that I can actually use the Droid in many more places and I use it a lot more

 

- some folks don't like the keyboard - I use the onscreen one anyway

 

- It's got a bit more heft than the iPhone and the design isn't as 'sexy.'

 

- I'm not an iTunes user so I don't care about my phone working with iTunes. That might be an issue for some. The droid uses the same pile of mp3s I have for my Zumo, PC, etc.

 

 

I just quickly paired it with my Zumo 660 and made a test call by dialing via the Zumo. It worked fine, but I don't have audio setup to do a complete test.

 

 

[krussell]

The phone sets up fine without a google account. The retail reps will want you do it, but you don't have to and it will work just fine.

[RedHot]

This is very helpful - Thanks!!! I've been driving my friends nuts on Facebook.

 

Here's my last question - Why Droid vs Eris? Mainly the OS?

[RichEdwards]

Alan and Kevin...thanks for the Droid reviews. I've been a Verizon customer for years and have been very satisfied with their nationwide coverage. But I own an I-Pod Touch and have been waiting patiently for Verizon to offer the I-Phone. Now I may consider passing on that waiting game and going over to a Droid from my nearly two-year-old Motorola Q9c. I too would be happy to have a touch-screen keypad only and hope they offer that soon (which may yield a thinner phone.)

[krussell]

The Droid has the physical keyboard, and the touch screen keyboard. I find the touch screen version to be very good, I never open my physical keyboard.

 

I suspect we will see a Android 2.0 phone on Verizon with no keyboard soon. The potential is incredible considering what they did with the keyboarded version.

[RedHot]

They keep saying that they are going to upgrade the Eris to 2.0 but they don't say when. The Droid is a little bigger than the Eris so I do like that. I don't really care whether it has the physical keyboard or not. I may just wait a bit and see what they do with the Eris. They'll probably upgrade it to the 2.0 and then raise the price!

[Capt'n]

Thanks everyone for the great report on the new Droid because I looked at this phone last week-end at our local Costco store. I was wondered if anyone knows of a better price than $199?

My Verizon contract is up for renewal next month and I am glad to hear that a Droid will work in my Nolan N103 helmet.

[Fightingpiper]

http://www.wirefly.com/eCommerce/SpecialOffer.aspx?cid=21427_0cc5b8ff5941472ca825b57390404260

[RedHot]

you can also get that deal if you are a Verizon customer and on their new every 2 yr plan. I'll get the Droid for $199 plus Verizon gives me another $50 bonus so I'll pay $149.99 for the phone.

 

PLUS - if you buy it at Best Buy, you can skip the mail in rebate part. BB gives you the rebate right there on the spot. I usually buy all my Verizon stuff at Best Buy.

 

Still haven't bought the new phone yet though. Geez, I'm so fickle!

[RedHot]

Okay - I bought the Droid!! I like it so far, but it's soooo different than the Crackberry. I hope I like it after I learn more about it.

 

I bought it at Best Buy - they give you the instant rebate so no waiting 4 to 6 weeks watching the mail. Plus they meet Verizons offer so I got it for $150. Not bad, I don't think.

 

Now we need a RTD (ride to Droid) so we can compare notes and figure this thing out!!

 

Thanks for everyone's advice and tips. You guys ROCK!!

[krussell]

Nice! Enjoy it.

 

I just picked up the charging dock/stand. It's makes a great alarm clock when it's in it. Check it out, it's a nice $30 add on.

 

I'm really liking mine. The turn by turn directions are great, much better than my Nuvi 660 or the factory nav in my car. If only Verizon had coverage everywhere, I'd toss the GPS in a second.

[RedHot]

where did you find the charging stand? On Verizon online or in a store?

[CT_Rider]

It's my understanding navigation in the iPhone works independently of AT$T because it has a separate GPS chip. Is this not so with the Droid?

[James Clark]

It's my understanding navigation in the iPhone works independently of AT$T because it has a separate GPS chip. Is this not so with the Droid?

 

Unless the app stores maps on your phone, you'll need cell or wifi access to do any routing.

[krussell]

where did you find the charging stand? On Verizon online or in a store?

 

I bought mine online.

[krussell]

It's my understanding navigation in the iPhone works independently of AT$T because it has a separate GPS chip. Is this not so with the Droid?

 

Unless the app stores maps on your phone, you'll need cell or wifi access to do any routing.

 

You need cell coverage.

 

As far as how the iPhone works, I don't know. I heard it was a $30 app and $10/mo for service. With the Droid on Verizon the app is included, and there is no monthly charge.

 

I was messing with it last night, had the Droid in the car mount navigating toward home. I get to my house, it says "you have arrived", and then it throws up a photo of my house from google street view. Very nice.

 

[ghaverkamp]

As far as how the iPhone works, I don't know. I heard it was a $30 app and $10/mo for service. With the Droid on Verizon the app is included, and there is no monthly charge.

 

The built in Google Maps app requires no additional charges for directions. (It doesn't automatically navigate you, you have to tell it as you complete each instruction. If you want live navigation, you have to buy -- but not pay an extra monthly fee -- software.)

 

And on earlier points:

iPhone developers don't have to buy software from Apple.

 

The iPhone also has Google's voice search, through the free Google app.

[krussell]

And on earlier points:

iPhone developers don't have to buy software from Apple.

 

So the developer program is free, or are you saying that you don't need to participate in the developer program to develop iPhone apps?

 

http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/

 

Seems to imply a $99 fee. And my recollection is that it is annual.

[ghaverkamp]

And on earlier points:

iPhone developers don't have to buy software from Apple.

 

So the developer program is free, or are you saying that you don't need to participate in the developer program to develop iPhone apps?

 

http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/

 

Seems to imply a $99 fee. And my recollection is that it is annual.

 

You don't need to pay anything for iPhone development tools. You have to pay to distribute apps.

[krussell]

And on earlier points:

iPhone developers don't have to buy software from Apple.

 

So the developer program is free, or are you saying that you don't need to participate in the developer program to develop iPhone apps?

 

http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/

 

Seems to imply a $99 fee. And my recollection is that it is annual.

 

You don't need to pay anything for iPhone development tools. You have to pay to distribute apps.

 

I'm missing something then, as I paid $99 to get access to the tools and documentation. And if you are not a Mac user you need to buy one, as it's the only supported development platform. Luckily I had one. :-)

[ghaverkamp]

I'm missing something then, as I paid $99 to get access to the tools and documentation.

 

You are indeed missing something.

 

The SDK is free. I've never paid to become an iPhone developer, and yet, I have a copy of Xcode and the iPhone SDK installed on two different computers right this very minute, downloaded directly from Apple.