Motorola DROID quick pros/cons

So we got a review unit of the Motorola DROID here at dealnews! (Our first impressions are here.) I've spent a good amount of time with the phone now and I gotta say, it's pretty damn cool. Android 2.0 is fast, Web browsing is actually enjoyable, the screen is awesome — I can go on. So here's a quick pros & cons list I've come up with so far:

Pros:
* Huge, bright screen makes it easy to touch/tap on icons/virtual buttons
* Virtual keyboard is very responsive and keeps up w/ the speed of your typing
* Verizon's 3G network has excellent coverage here in NYC/NJ area (Web pages like CNN and dealnews load in abt 5 secs)
* Google Maps Navigation Beta looks awesome (haven't used in a car yet, but I've played around w/ it)
* Verizon didn't bog down their phone w/ Verizon bloatware
* Verizon kept the Wi-Fi
* Battery life seems pretty good under heavy Web use
* It's difficult to hit the power button (this is a good thing since that's the first step in unlocking your phone)
* Web browsing is enjoyable — i.e. no errors loading pages


Cons:
* The QWERTY keyboard is meh (small chiclet keys all scrunched up next to each other)
* Motorola gave the DROID an HTC-like "chin" which forces you to extend your right thumb when typing on the QWERTY keyboard. It's a flat chin (unlike the G1's), but still a stupid chin
* The four navigation keys at the bottom of the phone are awkwardly placed — sometimes when I'm just holding the phone (like if I'm watching a YouTube clip) the palm of my hand accidentally hits a button (this is a very nit-picking con, not a deal breaker)

Droid Day

It's official. The Motorola Droid for Verizon Wireless is debuting in stores next Friday Nov. 6th for $199, according to the Wall Street Journal. I'm almost 80% sure I'm going to upgrade to this phone. Especially after learning that Verizon's other Droid phone, the HTC Eris, will be running Android 1.5 (why???).

So what's the Moto Droid gonna offer? How about a 3.7" 480x854 screen, Android 2.0 (first phone with 2.0), EVDO Rev. A, GPS, Wi-Fi (wow, Verizon, you didn't cripple Wi-Fi!), Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR, a 600MHz Cortex A8 processor, 5MP camera with dual LED flash and autofocus, DVD quality (720x480) video capture, and a nice 16GB microSD card. Another interesting feature is that it'll come preloaded with Google Maps Navigation application which'll provide free turn-by-turn navigation using Google Street View. (Shove it, Navigon!)

On the flip side, Boy Genius Report (which is usually spot on with leaks) is reporting that the BlackBerry Curve2 is coming to Verizon in November. And here's where my other 20% comes in. The current BlackBerry Curve has an awesome QWERTY keyboard that I've used and like. The Droid's slide out keyboard, well, it worries me. We'll see what happens come next Friday.

Watch Update Part III

So remember that watch that I broke and later replaced? Well, I replaced it again. The last watch that I got was called the Seapearl. Awesome watch. But after a week of wearing it I noticed the bracelet was flimsy. It would unclasp on its own. And because it was a heavy watch, I was afraid it would come undone and fall off my hand without me even noticing.

So I took it back to the Tourneau store on 34th street Saturday morning. According to policy, they don't take back watches that 1)have been worn and 2)have been sold on sale. My watch fit into both categories so I was afraid they'd reject me.

But lo and behold — they were very accommodating. I told them the problem and they quickly offered me an exchange. I exchanged it for the Victorinox Swiss Army watch in the picture above. Same price, warranty, etc. The difference is, this watch has an additional secure clasp so it won't come undone so easily.

Here's the scary part. I wore the Seapearl watch for a week straight before bringing it back. It was in excellent condition, but I managed to make one minor scratch on the bracelet. Most ppl won't notice it, but watch geeks probably would (I guess I'm a watch geek, 'cause I noticed it.) It concerned me a little that they took the watch back and will probably sell it as new again. Maybe with a steeper discount...I hope?

Overall, here's what I learned:

1)Tourneau has a silent policy regarding trade-ins and exchanges. However, if you're good at haggling, you can haggle the price of your trade-in and the price you're willing to pay for a new watch.
2)Look at every detail of the watch you're buying. Bracelet, clasp, etc. Look for any signs it's been worn or look for scratches.
3)If you're in the NYC area, the store on 34th street has excellent customer support. They helped me pick a new watch, took care of my trade-in, and then allowed me to make an exchange. The store near Central Park inside Columbus Mall — not as friendly.

Disney's "movie cloud" looking to replace DVDs

I'm really torn about Disney's new Keychest technology. In a nutshell, the technology lets you buy your Disney media once and stream it from any device as many times as you want, whether it's from your smartphone, iPod, laptop, etc. You don't own the media, but rather the "privilege" to stream it.

With so many movie-playing devices, the concept sounds very cool. So for example, I can buy Beauty & the Beast and then stream it from my cable box at home, from my smartphone when I'm on the go, from my laptop if I'm in another country, from my cousin's computer if I'm babysitting in PA, etc.

Yet the thought of not "owning" the physical media weirds me out. But I don't know why. I'm totally fine with streaming Netflix from my Roku. (Aside from Kung Fu Hustle, I can't remember the last DVD I bought). However, on the flip side, I'm not ok with paying a monthly fee to stream my music. I want to own that. Forever.

So a few things strike me about Disney's Keychest. 1)What's the price per movie? If the movie is in "the cloud," I expect it to be cheaper 2)What happens to the media if the consumer/owner dies? Can you pass the rights to your children or someone else? 3)Will there be ads anywhere in the stream? I mean, it sounds like Disney is gonna lose money with this pay-once-view-as-many-times-as-you-want plan.

I dunno. On paper this is what everyone wants. The ability to buy something once and play it from anywhere as many times as you want. So has Disney nailed down the right distribution model? I guess we'll find out more next month when it debuts.

Out with the old...

Apple let loose some new iMacs, Mac minis, and MacBooks today. Pretty decent spec bumps if you were waiting for them. Personally, I've been waiting on an iMac refresh. The new 27" model sounds awesome. I kinda wish it were 30", but 27" will suffice. Compared to the old high-end models, the new high-end iMacs are a great deal. And whereas before $2,199 got you the high-end 24", now $2,199 gets you a super high-end 27" i7 iMac.

However, on the low-end, it feels like you're being cheated a bit. $1,499 used to get you a 24" iMac. Now its gets you a 21.5". Granted, the new 21.5" model has a 1TB drive, faster CPU, and so forth, but still. Why did Apple get rid of the 24" iMac?

Smartphone Shopping

My smartphone is dying a slow death. It's the Motorola Q. I got it when it came out back in 2005. (It boasted Windows Mobile 5, how could I say no!) So last night I noticed my texts were stalling. The screen would freeze and they wouldn't send. It turns out my phone was freezing because I have every text I've ever sent and received since 2007. It's now 2009. I text a lot. So I started to manually delete texts. (If I do a "delete all," my phone crashes.) Like I said, I need a new smartphone. Here's what I'm thinking.

Option One: I wait for Verizon's new (and first) Droid phone. I like Android and I'd love an Android phone, but something tells me this one is gonna suck. Still, I'm curious.

Option 2: BlackBerry Tour. Awesome smartphone, only thing stopping me is that it's chunky. If it were the Curve, I'd be all over it.

Option 3: Walmart and StraightTalk just announced a partnership and they're offering a no-contract, $45 unlimited everything plan. That includes text, minutes, data, the works. That's amazing and VERY tempting, but I don't know anyone who can vouch for StraightTalk, although it's supposed to be reliable since it uses Verizon's network. Here's how my current plan and StraightTalk match up price-wise:

Verizon Family: $150/mo for 700 any-time minutes, 5MB/mo, unlimited text. (Contract)
StraightTalk: $45/mo unlimited everything. (No contract)

It sounds like a no-brainer — even with two StraightTalk plans it's still cheaper, but I'm hesitant on StraightTalk. So I think I'm gonna wait till this Droid business is resolved (I believe it's supposed to debut at the end of the month) and dig deeper into the StraightTalk / Walmart deal. I'm very open to it if I hear good things. Either way, my goal is to have a new phone come November.

UPDATE: So I checked in with StraightTalk. Turns out you have to use a StraightTalk phone to be a part of the plan. And the *3* phones they offer are the suckiest, crappiest, ugliest things you've ever seen. I might as well just make calls from a paper cup. I guess I'll wait for the Droid.

Tourneau Trade-In

So I gave myself an early birthday present over the weekend. I got a new watch. I wasn't planning on it, but it sorta just happened.

I went to the Tourneau store on 34th street in an attempt to get my old, broken watch appraised and find out more about the Tourneau trade-in policy. It just so happened there was an unannounced sale going on and the two watches I liked were both on sale. One was a Tag Heuer watch called the Aquaracer. Waaaay out of my budget, but a nice looking watch. It was on sale for just shy of $900 (it was a recertified watch). The other watch (a Tourneau watch called the Seapearl) was also on sale. Before looking at either of them, I asked the salesperson (who was very nice and helpful) point blank how much they would give me for my old watch. He told me that I would first have to pick a new watch before they could give me an estimate. So I told him I wanted the Tag. (Even though I was sure I wasn't going to buy it.)

He checked with the store manager and came back offering me $275 for my old watch. Mind you, my old watch is dead. A Tag watch for under a thousand is a pretty good sale, but still way outta my budget (even recertified!) So I asked about the other watch I liked, the Tourneau Seapearl (which was new). Suddenly the value of my watch fell. They'd give me $125 for my old watch if I bought the Seapearl. I asked him why it mattered? He was honest about it and told me — the amount you get for your old watch is dependent on how much you pay for a new watch. Sleazy, but at least he was upfront about it.

In the end, I got the Seapearl (the one in the pic) on sale and minus an extra $125 for my old watch. Not bad. I asked him what they'd do with my old watch. He said they'd try to fix it and re-sell it as a recertified watch or gut it and use the parts on another recertified watch. Considering the folks at the Tourneau Store on Columbus Circle told me my watch was "unfixable," I'll be curious to see if my old watch ends up inside the pre-owned watches case.