Motorola has released a new smart phone which seems to be their take on Apple’s iPhone since the TV commercial released in the US directly attacks the Apple’s iPhone which has been unveiled by Verizon Wireless. I am referring to the Motorola Droid, which has been released a few days after its official announcement. Its main selling point is its gorgeous display, which offers a lot of features. Thanks to the Android 2.0 which makes the smart phone snappier than ever. However, it is not an iPhone killer, as it really not on par with the iPhone. Many are complaing about its accessibility options and also its calendar which is not fully integrated. There is also no dual-mode (GSM/CDMA) capability. The Motorola Droid is now available for only $199 over at Verizon, which is quite a good deal for me since it is on par with T-Mobile's Android smart phone, even though it is more expensive than the smart phones released by Sprint.

Carriers: Motorola	Retail Price: $549.99
Manufactured by: Motorola	Contact Price: $199.99

Pros: The Motorola Droid comes with a gorgeous display and runs Android 2.0. Browsing the Web with this smart phone is awesome and it also features Google Maps Navigation app, and a much easier messaging and contact management.

Cons: The Motorola Droid’s QWERTY keyboard seems to be flat and its dialpad control is restricted to just its home screen. Music and video features is just mediocre and there’s still no dual-mode functionality. It also does not have support for Bluetooth voice dialing.

If you are thinking of buying the new Motorola Droid then you are lucky for stumbling upon our site for I will give you my unbiased review of the device for you to know more about its features, design, build and performance. Officially announced on October 28, the Motorola Droid is finally available for only $199 over at Verizon Wireless. Is this the smart phone that you are looking for? Read on and decide for yourself. First, we’ll discuss its design and display. My first impression about the Motorola Droid is that it lacks design appeal. It looks boxy to me and it’s a good thing that the smart phone has a lot to offer feature wise. It comes with lots of surprises, and the one thing that is pretty obvious is its gorgeous WVGA display. It is standard 3.7 inches display, which has color support for up to 16 million hues and is capable of rendering up to 440x854 pixels of resolution. It looks brilliant offering sharp graphics and vivid display. It runs Android 2.0 which has lots of user interface updates and I will tell you more about this in the latter portion of my review. The Motorola Droid is quite bigger compared to other touch screen devices with dimensions of 4.56 inches by 2.36 inches by 0.54 inch (height, width, thickness), and comes with a top-notch display. It is a bit heavy weighing 5.96 ounce compared with other smart phones, but still is pocket friendly. The Motorola Droid is easy to hold on to and it feels premium unlike other devices which feels very plasticky. Its slider mechanism is a bit quirky though and the sliding motion is a bit stiff. Compared to the Apple’s iPhone, the Motorola Droid is larger and it offers a capacitive touchscreen display which is highly responsive and quick. It also has multitouch capability with limited haptic feedback. It also comes with accelerometer built in which automatically adjusts the display's orientation whenever you rotate the unit in your hands. Like other Android devices, it has 4 home screens that can be customized with widgets. The main pane has the Google search bar while its main menu can be accessed by the pull tab which can be found underneath its display. You can also move the icons around and add shortcuts whenever you want to. Just below the display you will see the four touch controls such as the Back, Home, Search, and Menu buttons. However, the Motorola Droid does not feature physical Talk control. Meaning, to access the calling functions, you have to call it through a widget which can be found on the display. The keyboard is still not on par with the RIM’s keyboard as I am not particularly impressed with it. The Keyboard keys are squashed next to each other, making it difficult to text or compose a message. Honestly, I prefer the keyboard employed on the T-Mobile G1, because the keys are not well layed out and the letters on the keys are large. Yes, the keyboard has new additions like the Shift keys and the two Alt keys which sit in pairs the side of the keyboard as well as the space bar, and the menu and search keys, but the overall experience is not as good as when using the keyboard of the BlackBerrys. At least it has the Android virtual keyboard that has been redesigned by Google for more-accurate typing. I didn’t notice any change at all but I will explore a bit more. Unlike other smart phones, the Motorola Droid has a 3.5-millimeter headset jack which allows you to use any standard headset. The Motorola Droid has also volume rocker and a camera shutter on the left panel of the device.It also has a Micro USB port that you can use for charging and can also be used with the multimedia dock. On the back you will find the Droid’s camera lens, flash, and stereo speakers. Unfortunately, the microSD slot is hidden and you have to remove the battery to access it. Since it is an Android device, you can take advantage of the free apps on the Android Market. It also offers the same features. Just so you know, the Motorola Droid is the first ever device to run Android 2.0 and it now comes with lots of new features and user interface enhancements. In this review, I will concentrate more on the new features but if you want to learn more about the Android’s key features, check my other Android devices reviews. The Motorola Droid does not make use of the MotoBlur software which is being used by the Motorola Cliq. But it comes preloaded with widgets and shortcuts like the YouTube, calendar, and "Power Control" – here you can enable/disable your wireless connections, adjust screen’s brightness, and so forth which really comes in handy. It also comes with a slightly redesigned onscreen dialer, a new lock screen, and a new or should I say enhanced personal information management tools such as e-mail, calendar, and contacts. Fortunately the Droid now features native Microsoft Exchange synchronization for your e-mail, calendar, and contacts. There’s also Gmail and POP3 and IMAP accounts support . The Motorola Droid also merges your contact information from your Exchange, Gmail, and Facebook accounts and enjoins them on a single contact card. Another addition is the Quick Contact feature which offers you lots of ways to get in touch with your contact person. The Web browser has been improved also as it now supports HTML5. It supports multitap that allows you to double-tap on the screen to zoom in and out of the websites or pages. The browser is faster too compared to previous models that don’t have support for html5 browser. The Motorola Droid is powered by a cortex A8 processor and rides Verizon's EV-DO Rev. I have tested its internet speed, and I was able to load the CellPhoneTrek site in just 10 seconds. However, the browser doesn’t support Flash Lite though it has plug-in for Adobe's Flash 10 player support but is still not available. Other salient features include universal search, Google Maps Navigation , Multimedia capabilities,multimedia dock, a 5-megapixel camera that can take pictures in three resolutions, and access to Android Market. Other essentials include vibrate mode, text and MMS, calculator, alarm clock, Wi-Fi, USB mass storage, and various Google apps and services. I tested the dual-band Motorola Droid in our area using Verizon’s network and the call quality was excellent. I didn’t experience any problems or delays and there’s no background noise. No dropped calls as well and I was able to use my China made Bluetooth headset.. I don’t like the fact that the device does not have dual-mode capability and GSM networks abroad. Making it not a perfect choice for travellers. Battery life is ok as it beats it rated 6.4 hours talk time as it allows me to take and receive calls for over 7 hours. Overall, the phone is great for basic and business users, but not for those who are always on the go since it does not support GSM and dual mode. However it is a great Android device with lots of new features that you might want to take advantage of.