Motorola Droid 4 Review
Packing a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and that which was (at the time) the latest version of Android, the original Motorola Droid stood for everything the iPhone wasn’t. But Motorola%u2019s fascination with QWERTY Android phones has slackened with every new model. The Phone 4 ($200 which has a two-year contract on Verizon price by February 13, 2012) will be the latest keyboard-toting phone from the Droid series. Unfortunately, this model lacks the excitement that this original Droid sparked: A blurry screen plus a poor camera overshadow the phone’s excellent keyboard and zippy processor.
Remember fondly the lip? Long live the lip because it’s sadly been erased. That signature design quirk, which stuck out as proof the keypad tucked below, has been replaced by an uninterrupted face, and the ones odd corners Moto ushered together with the Droid RAZR. Like it or hate it, that fresh (albeit jarring) build is sweeping the manufacturer’s device portfolio, so it’s best you create peace by using it now. And thus, using the launch of the Droid 4, it’s clear the company’s making a clean break from your traditions of history. This product lacks any of the cutting-edge specs and “thin is in” appeal utilized to lure consumers in droves. Seemingly made with the enterprise user in your mind, the product is able to be both shockingly large and surprisingly comfortable to carry. Need some convincing? At 127 x 67.3 x 12.7mm (5. x 2.65 x .5 inches), the unit’s about 1 – 2mm thicker than its predecessor, in addition to being taller and wider. It’s also managed to pack on some additional heft, weighing nearly .5 ounces heavier as compared to the Droid 3.
Interestingly enough, this can be the largest one inch the DROID family thus far, but thankfully it retains its streamlined .5%u201D profile, that’s great considering itPer centu2019s packing a physical keyboard. Finally, its accompanying weighty (6.31 oz/179 gr) feel provides us with feeling of durability with its overall construction. Improvements and tweaks aside though, its design is hardly the one whichPer-centu2019s gonna be remembered or laureled throughout time, and in all honesty, we were narrowing in on some thing refreshing to leap out at us.
Accidental presses aren%u2019t a problem using the Motorola DROID 4%u2019s capacitive Android buttons, mainly because they%u2019re positioned far away from the bottom edge. Over the display towards the upper right corner, its front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera actually has the ability to shoot 720p videos.
Inside youPer-centu2019ve got your regular suite of Motorola, Google, and Verizon apps, no real surprises in the mix, and all of it comes down full of Webtop. Motorola devices released inside recent times have all had their proprietary desktop-like software installed aboard, this working through your HDMI-connected display while using device itself in the role of a middleman. Should youPercentu2019ve got some of the suggested docks you can turn your DROID 4 in to a standalone computer along with your HDTV as the monitor as well as a USB-connected mouse and keyboard as your controllers. Alternatively you can use the DROID 4 being a trackpad to control your cursor about the display. Search for a demonstration of how all of this works in our report on the Motorola Lapdock 100.
We%u2019re undeniably taken by surprise to see Motorola managing to somehow improve upon the fantastic keyboard of the DROID 3 from last year. Getting down right to it, we have to admit that we%u2019re smitten by its functionality, ease of use, and spacious nature to make it probably the best QWERTY-based smartphone on the market. Retaining the same layout as before, with its dedicated row for numbers and navigational keys, it%u2019s tweaked ever so slightly by its domed buttons and exceptional LED backlighting %u2013 in fact, we%u2019re mesmerized by its glow in the dark! Furthermore, we%u2019re treated to the same solid feeling tactile response as before, thus, all culminating together to offer the best messaging experience on any device out there right now.
As it stands, the Droid 4 marries two concentrated markets: consumers clamoring for physical keyboards and the enterprise set. It may seem like only yesterday that IT departments across the globe depended solely upon RIM’s server encryption and hardware for mobile enterprise solutions and portrait QWERTYs were all the rage. But the business times, they have undoubtedly changed, upending the tidy tea table established by BlackBerry for the newly pasteurized innards of Apple’s iPhone and Google’s vast array of Android handsets. Sparked by this “bring your own device” revolution, companies likes Motorola have adapted their strategies, repurposing existing product lines for more pragmatic, niche demos. Which is precisely how the formerly hallowed Droid brand came to this unassuming stage in its natural product evolution. Whether or not your own personal mobile savvy has outgrown it remains to be seen.