The Droid Experience
November 6th, 2009 by sandeeGuest blog by: Edward Sugimoto
Just waking up in the morning gotta thank God
I don't know but today seems kinda odd
No barking from the dog, no smog
And momma cooked the breakfast with no hog
Ok, so it wasn't quite like how Ice Cube rapped it, but "today was like one of those fly dreams" and definitely "A Good Day". 
Why you axe? Welp, this morning, the much anticipated Motorola Droid was released to the public through Verizon Wireless, and, like every other nerd out there, I found myself standing in line, waiting to get mine.
Billed as the iPhone killer (watch iDont commercial here), this smartphone attacks and addresses all of the iPhone's shortcomings. Being a non-AT&T Wireless sub and a Google and open source fiend, I literally NEEDED it. It's running the newest Android 2.0 OS (the first phone with it) and has neat features like seamless Gmail and Facebook integration as well as free navigation via Google maps. I literally just got it, so I didn't have much time to play with it yet, but here are a few quick tips/things I learned in this short time. Perhaps it'll help some of y'all out.
Ed's Tips/Notes:
* Not sure how crowded the other stores are, but the Pearl Highlands one I went to was not too bad. They opened at 7AM, and when I got there at about 6:30, there were only 4 people ahead of me. The woman at the front of the line said she got there at 5:15 with the next guy coming at 6:15. Before the doors opened, there were just about 15-20 of us (including couples). From what I heard, Verizon had 200 in stock, so if you get down there now, you should be ok.
The line outside Verizon Wireless at about 6:45AM
* The phone itself is $199 ($299 with a $100 mail-in rebate). With the Snap-On Gel Cover ($16.99), expect to pay over $300 out the door.
* With this phone, you must upgrade to a $29.99 data plan (if you didn't already have it). I was coming from an enV Touch with a $15 VZW Mobile Web plan/package, so it was about double. It made me think about it for a split second, but for the extra goodies and the Wi-Fi action, I think it's worth it.
* If you're used to slim (narrow) phones, this one's pretty wide. Compared to my Touch, it's a beast. Gonna be interesting to see how it fits/feels in my pocket.
The Motorola Droid next to the LG enV Touch
* To keep the phone as slim (flat) as possible, the QWERTY keypad was built pretty flat. If you have big hands (like me), it may take some getting used to.
Closeup of the Droid's QWERTY keyboard. Like how I focused on E-D?
* The Snap-On Gel Cover may also feel like it's getting in the way sometimes, so using it would be up to personal preference.
The Motorola Droid with slider open
* The camera's a bit tricky to get used to (accessing, saving, sharing, etc.), but once you get the hang of it, the 5 megapixel camera takes pretty good shots. Here's a pic my friend/co-worker Maribel using the Droid in artificial light.
(resized) 5 Megapixel photo with from the Droid. Click here for the full version.
* Even though you have VZW backup enabled, you must still manually import your contacts into your Droid (via Gmail). You actually download the CSV file from verizonwireless.com/backupassistant, and then import it into your contact list in Gmail. If you have tons of contacts in your Gmail account and tons of numbers in your addressbook (from your old phone), it could get a little messy. I still have yet to check what it did to my dupes (it said it merged them). Yikes!
Check out the step by step shots (for downloading and uploading your contacts) below.
The Verizon Wireless Backup Assistant login page
Your list of contacts in Backup Assistant
Import Contacts screen in Gmail Contacts page
Importing CSV into Gmail Contacts
Big ups to Tara Reyna from the Pearl Highlands Verizon Wireless store. She's really helpful and smart, so go see her a-ight? For more information on the Droid, go to DroidDoes.com or visit Motorola's consumer page here.
All in all, it was mos def, A Good Day... 
Any questions or comments? Post 'em below...
Tags: $199, $29.99 data plan, Android 2.0, AT&T Wireless, CSV file, droid does, Edward Sugimoto, env touch, Facebook, Gmail, Google, google maps navigation, ice cube, idont, iPhone, it was a good day, manually import your contacts, motorola droid, open source, Pearl Highlands, QWERTY keypad, Snap-On Gel Cover, verizon wireless, VZW backup assistant, world wide ed
November 6th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Nice. I'm surprised at how few people there were at its release, especially given how crappy Verizon phones are.
Have you ever used an iPhone? I mean, so you can give a personal review of if it's an iPhone Killer? I haven't read too much about it, but what applications were installed with it? I presume you have access to the same Android marketplace?
November 6th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Honolulu Advertiser, Ryan Kanno and Sandra Oshiro, Edward Sugimoto. Edward Sugimoto said: new blog on my #DROID experience this AM: http://bit.ly/1hyDuZ [...]
November 6th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Well done WWE!!! That picture you took is very clear; das amazing!
Dis kine stuff is way too fancy for me. You young'uns can have all da fun.
November 6th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
sweet!!! very tempting to get one for myself. Thanks E!!!
November 7th, 2009 at 4:36 am
Awesome! Thanks for the info on importing the contacts. I couldn't find instructions on how to do it any where else. It has taken me a full day to to figure this phone out and get used to it, but I think it is going to be pretty cool.
November 7th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Just got the phone at highlands as well and it is pretty sweet. Its the anti-iphone actually. It's more of a true "smartphone" (as in actual productivity) whereas the iphone is more of a feature/multimedia phone. Its about time Verizon got a good phone.
There's this great article on Google Android on the major blog tech blog, Gizmodo that explains how it will eventually be the dominant player in phones. It surprised me bc Gizmodo has big time Apple bias. I been showing it to me iphone buddies. haha. Check it out.
http://gizmodo.com/5397215/giz-explains-android-and-how-it-will-take-over-the-world
November 7th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Played with the iPhone, but not enough to give a good comparison review. Then again, I didn't play enough with this Droid yet too. Haha! Apps wise, I couldn't tell what the Verizon reps installed for me and what was already there, but I think there were default ones like the browser (of course), a Facebook app, Amazon MP3, etc. I thought I overheard them talking about loading the battery monitor app and the app killer, but I'm not sure. And yeah, there's access to the Marketplace. So far, so fun Ryan!
Hehe, I go let you play with um one day Maks... Fun stuffs!
You're welcome. Let us know if you do!
Ooh, that's cool. Thanks surfkayakin! Glad it came in handy! There's supposed to be a class at Highlands this Sunday if you'd like to learn even more!
I hear ya HughJ! Pretty exciting stuff. Mahalos for the link too. Good stuff!
November 8th, 2009 at 10:34 am
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