You can run into the Verizon Store and pick up a Droid Docking Station for your new smartphone. The cost will set you back $20. Or score this same model (free Shipping for Amazon Prime) for $15. The $5 decision is yours to make. Though the description indicates it’s not compatible with Droid 2 there are comments about the item indicating that the dock does indeed work with the Droid 2.

Droid Docking Cradle – $15

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I’ll admit that when I first purchased my Droid I made a side trip to Best Buy to purchase a case. Unfortunately the selection that they had could be counted on one finger of one hand. There was one lonely case for $35 that was from some generic no-name outfit that private labels their cases for Best Buy. The case didn’t last even a day -  it was ill-fitting and, in my opinion,  a complete piece of plastic rubbish.

Enter OtterBox. They’re well known for their protective line of cases that range from super “I could take this phone in a case and pound nails with it” to the more ergonomical Commuter Line. They’ve just started to ship their Commuter Case for the Motorola Droid. I’ve yet to check it out but for $34.95 it’s priced about what most other quality cases are going for — and if the fit and finish match other OtterBox cases this will be a keeper.

OtterBox Case for Droid – Commuter Series – $34.95

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Are you a Droid owner? Need a Droid desktop dock or Droid windshield mount? Head over to Verizon Wireless which has a great sale running on both these items. Both these items are normally priced at $29 however use coupon code DROID35 and save 35% bringing your net cost down to $19.50 each.

Verizon via Slickdeals

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Amazon has the Motorola Droid marked down to $99 after 2 year contract. This Android smartphone has fallen to affordable levels after starting out at $199. If you have to use Verizon Wireless then I think this is your best Android choice (the Eris is fine but slower and uses Android 1.6 a full two levels below the Droid’s 2.01). Be warned that some users (including me) have found the Droid’s call audio quality to be extremely poor and there’s a very lengthy thread about this on Motorola’s own forum.

Droid – $99

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It’s day two of Google Phone vs Verizon Droid at the Schulz household. The FedEx man dropped the Google Nexus One phone to me at about 2pm yesterday. I quickly removed the SIM card from by T-Mobile 9700. Held my breath briefly. Then was relieved to see that I did not have to call T-Mobile to make a switch from a BlackBerry data plan to an Android plan. Inserting the SIM from my T-Mobile 9700 BlackBerry into the Google Nexus One worked. Now onto the more relevant question that everyone’s been asking. Since I already own a Verizon Droid and have been using that since launch (11/6/09) – the question is which phone is better  – the Droid or the Google Nexus One?

To properly judge an online comparison it’s important to realize what devices the reviewer is using and familiar with.

My daily phones are:

• T-Mobile BlackBerry 9700
• Verizon Droid
• Apple iPhone

I love the BlackBerry for the ease of typing on the keyboard but hate pretty much everything else about it. The 9700 is a big step up in providing more memory (very few mid-day out-0f-memory messages and a significantly improved camera) but the dearth of good applications and lousy browser make it my third favorite phone.

The Verizon Droid is the new kid on the block. I use it for one reason – Google. I am a huge Google Mail, Calendar and Contact user. There’s simply no better platform than Android at synchronizing Google apps to the phone. I purchased the Droid mainly for increased speed. All previous Android phones that I’d used lagged terribly and were a sad 10th place finisher to the iPhone experience in terms of speed and overall usability.

I love everything about the Droid except the poor incoming call audio quality.

In my opinion (after having swapped two prior Droids and listened to several demo Droids in Verizon stores) the Droid has a flaw in how it processes audio. The flaw is big enough that I would not recommend Droid to anyone who makes over 300 minutes of calls a month.

Still the king of the hill for me is iPhone.

The primary problem is that it is awful at processing Google Mail. If you get a lot of mail (I process about 300 to 500 messages a day) then you’ll need something more bulletproof than iPhone. Connecting the iPhone to IMAP mail was too laggy.

Using the (beta) Google Sync which promises to duplicate Microsoft Exchange and deliver real time Gmail was great when it worked (which it usually didn’t). The beta service came out of the gate strong and for a while was pushing Google Mail instantly to my iPhone.

For a while I thought Google Sync might even be a BlackBerry Enterprise Server killer (BES is a paid service offered by RIM/BlackBerry to push corporate Exchange Server data – mail, calendar, contacts – in real time). Sadly Google has not been able to keep Google Sync for iPhone running reliably (at least not in the push mail area) and I’ve all but abandoned it on my iPhone in favor of their web interface which works respectably (albeit only when connected to the web).

Pros and Cons of the Droid

My Droid experience has been wonderful save for the lousy choppy/robotic/cheap incoming caller audio (Read user complaints about Droid Audio quality on the Motorola forum).

I’ve not experienced any reboots (and remember I’ve gone through three Droids total). Each Droid worked pretty much as promised right out of the box. The speed is great and I’ve noticed no issues with any of the fit and finish. There’s no lag and I judge the web browser as excellent and on-par with (though perhaps not as fast as)  the iPhone browser.

I’m not a big landscape slide out keyboard user so I can’t really make any comments on the Droid keyboard. I guess it’s ok for anyone who absolutely needs a keyboard however I would have been happier if Motorola and Verizon lost the keyboard on the Droid. I never use it and having a slider keyboard is annoying because no matter how careful you are the thing is going to open up on you in the most inconvenient time.

So what are the Droid Pros and Cons?

Pros Of The Droid

• Fast speed
• Larger screen
• Excellent browser
• Tight integration to Google courtesy of Android OS
• Current 2.01 Android OS
• Turn by Turn Directions (again courtesy of Google Android OS)
• Excellent Verizon coverage
• Decent battery life – though non-scientific I’d pronounce it 20 to 25% better than iPhone

Cons Of The Droid

• Lousy audio quality of incoming callers (pitiful, sad and inexcusable) – listen yourself at a Verizon store
• Slide out keyboard can slide when least wanted
• Form factor makes it nearly impossible to find a decent case
• Screen can be a little too sensitive around the perimeter resulting in extra unintended keypresses

Pros and Cons of The Google Nexus One Phone

The Google Nexus One is the new Android kid on the block. I’ve only spent a day with the phone but during that time I’ve used it enough to make calls (about an hours worth) and to use the other functions to make an early assessment of what Google is calling a Superphone.

The screen is 3.7-inch (diagonal) widescreen WVGA AMOLED touchscreen with 800 x 480 pixels. What’s this all mean by way of comparison? In my experience it means the screen is beautiful inside in lower lighting conditions. Take it outside -  and the beauty tends to wash out.

What I like so far is the camera and audio are much improved over the Droid. I can take a picture quickly and have it processed on the Google Nexus one – quickly. On the Droid there’s a somewhat lengthy delay to take the photo and another delay to process it. This is even after the much (over-hyped) OS 2.01 update that was pushed to the Droid in the middle of December.

There’s absolutely no lag on the Google Nexus One. My Droid doesn’t lag either.

How about audio quality. Absolutely no problems noted. Incoming callers are clear with no clipping or robotic sound (both problems with every Droid I tested and the Droid I have now).

The Google Nexus One has some type of problem with the bottom row of control buttons. Most other reviews have hit upon this. The problem is that you must touch an imprecise area in just the right way or your press isn’t registered. This is my biggest frustration with the phone. The four icon keys simply are too awkward to use. By comparison the keys on the Droid (performing totally identical functions and in nearly the same place) register each and every keypress (albeit sometimes a little too sensitively).

Everything about the Google Nexus One is faster. Opening Gmail is faster. Filing email is faster. Moving between applications is faster. Even faster than the already fast Droid. If what you’re seeking in Android is speed (and you should be) then the Google Nexus One won’t disappoint.

Overall there is no big difference between the Droid and Google Nexus One save for: (A) Form factor – the Droid has an (annoying) keyboard and Nexus One doesn’t and (B) Audio quality – the Google Nexus one blows the marble mouthed Droid out of the water and (C) There’s a slight difference between Android 2.0 and 2.1 (mainly a news/weather widget and active wallpaper backgrounds).

Here’s my pros and cons for the Google Nexus One:

Pros of The Google Nexus One

• Night and day difference of audio quality – callers are clear and crisp
• King of the speedy Android phones – there’s presently none faster
• Light, slim, brilliant display (in lower light)
• Fast camera (same 5 mp resolution as Droid – just faster to open and faster to shoot)
• Great photo image quality

Cons of The Google Nexus One

• Who fixes it when it breaks – enjoy that phone call overseas with resulting 45 minute diagnosis. Since the phone is presently sold direct from Google and there’s limited experience with broken units it remains to be seen how much of a hassle repairs will be. I’m guessing it will be a hassle.
• Only T-Mobile supports the 3G speeds of the Google Nexus One – and T-Mobile doesn’t have good coverage everywhere.
• Screen washes out in bright light
• Bottom row of icon keys is tough to use unless pressed exactly in the right place (Droid has no such problem)
• Largely nothing different with this phone other than speed – and the potential inconvenience of repairs as well as the cost to buy and unlocked phone would would make me recommend this only to the geeky early adopters.

Conclusion

Should you buy a Google Nexus One instead of a Droid?

If audio quality matters to you – absolutely (but only if you’re comfortable living with T-Mobile service until other carriers like Verizon who is due to provide service in Spring 2010 pick the phone up).

For most people I think you have to consider the repair and service aspects of the phone. Are you comfortable dealing with a repair facility over the phone? Do you prefer to walk into your local cellular store and have them look at an ill-performing phone? If the answer to the latter is yes then stick with Droid until there’s more experience about how the Google Nexus One will be service.

If speed and integration with Google are top on your list of needs (and, again, you can live with T-Mobile service) then I wholeheartedly recommend Google Nexus One. In my testing (admittedly only a day so far) it’s been fast, stable and a step up from most other smartphones – thus the label Superphone.

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If you own a Verizon Droid you may have been unlucky enough to notice that the battery door has a way of working itself loose and falling off. This doesn’t happen to everyone but on some Droids the fit and finish doesn’t appear to be tight enough to prevent the door from running away from home. Now Verizon is offering to ship free Droid battery doors via overnight (also free). Simply log into your Verizon account and order a door – or you could just use a screwdriver and fix the problem in 30 seconds as demonstrated here.

Droid Battery Door Free at Verizonwireless

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On December 10, 2009 Verizon sent a patch to their Droid phones that, amongst other things, was slated to improve audio quality of incoming calls. According to a lengthy forum posting on the Motorola Droid Forum the patch hasn’t helped all those who’ve complained about poor audio quality. While many  Droid owners say that they have no problems with audio on the smartphone there’s a fairly vocal number of Droid owners who complain about muffled sounding speech on either end of the line and occasional echoes. It’s tough to tell what may be at fault here whether it’s the Verizon tower(s) in some locations, the phone hardware or even third party application interfering with the Droid.

I’m using my third Droid (the prior two were replaced due to poor audio quality) and the third one exhibits the same problem. The sound of incoming callers is a cross between slightly muffled speech and a blown audio speaker. The sounds not terrible all of the time but during many parts of conversations I find myself straining to understand the other person.

Motorola Droid Forum

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ-Kua5Lunk&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]One big complaint that some Motorola Droid users have had about their device is that the back battery cover gets loose and can fall off unexpectedly. I’ve yet to see this issue but stumbled across this video on Lifehacker that seems to offer a viable solution – or at least one more appealing than slapping a big Verizon Droid bandage on the case. If your Droid has a loose battery cover that keeps unexpectedly falling off – check the video above and try the screwdriver fix.

Lifehacker

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Once again the Motorola sponsored Droid forum proves to be a treasure trove of powerful tips. For example, did you know that the Droid has a power control widget that can be used to quickly turn on or off the wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPS, Sync and display brightness? Did you know that contact phone numbers can have custom descriptions? There are literally dozens of hard to find tips in this one message thread. The moderator has smartly banned any comments from the thread so every single message is a useful tip or bit of information about the Motorola Droid.

Did You Know… (Motorola Droid Forum)

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Several users have noticed that the weather widget that appears when the Droid is placed into the Dock is not functioning. Previously the widget allowed for you to view a forecast icon (sun, clouds, etc) as well a current temperature for your location. The widget used the GPS to determine where you were located. Now the widget does not appear to be updating locations (either automatically or manually) causing the weather icon that’s displayed when the Droid is docked to be blank as in the photo above. This appears to be an issue with Accuweather who is the provider of the underlying weather data and is reported to be an issue on both the original 2.0 Android models as well as those Droid’s who’ve received the 2.0.1 update. UPDATE: My Droid Weather Widget started back up suddenly and without warning about 1:30pm

Droid Weather Widget Broken

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