Motorola Droid: hands-free GPS features in first Google Android 2.0 phone

The first cellphone based on version 2.0 of Google’s Android operating system, the Motorola Droid, has been released in the US, to rave reviews.

A signature feature of Android 2.0 is a new version of Google Maps with voice-enabled turn-by-turn directions - something that would be apprecated here come Sunday, when the new cellphone law kicks in.

Motorola builds on this feature by supplying an optional car mount kit, which allows the Droid to sit on your dashboard like a conventional GPS unit.

The Droid is exclusive to Verizon Wireless, the US carrier part-owned by Vodafone.

Motorola has previously told NBR it’s committed to releasing Android-based phones in New Zealand, but Vodafone had no immediate word on local release. (The Droid released in the US is CDMA, rather than the W-CDMA used by Vodafone and Telecom for their 3G networks here, but a W-CDMA version is expected.)

Although LG, Sony-Ericisson and others have Android models on the way, the sole Google phone on the local market remains the HTC Magic, sold through Vodafone (read NBR's review here).

Combining a roomy 3.7-inch touchscreen with a slide-down Qwerty keyboard, the Droid is one big phone (see full tech specs here).

And it has big expectations on its shoulders.

Certainly, Motorola needs another hit.

The company that originally invented the cellphone got its lunch eaten by Nokia and others - only to stage a comeback mid-decade with the Razr. But the flip quickly turned to a flop as one-piece and touchscreen phones took over.

A string of losses followed amid revolving CEOs, and rumours that Motorola (which still makes money on RTs and other gear) would flick off its cellphone division altogether.

And in global cellphone sales figures just released for July to September, the situation looked chipper for fast-growing Korean companies Samsung and LG, but Motorola fell off a cliff:

CELLPHONE SALES (MILLIONS)

In addition to those listed in the table, Apple sold 7.4 million iPhones during the quarter, and RIM 8.3 million BlackBerries. (Source: Reuters.)

Motorola: smartphones will fuel profit rise
Yesterday, after the market closed, Motorola announced it had squeaked to a $US12 million (one cent a share) quarterly profit, albeit on revenue that plunged 27% year-on-year to $US5.45 billion.

The company’s cellphone division lost $US253 million, versus a year-ago loss of $US840 million.

Co-c hief executive Sanjay Jha said the current quarter was shaping up better, and forecast earnings of 7 to 9 cents a share, versus an analyst consensus of 6 cents.

Mr Jha said although Motorola was selling far fewer phones that a year ago, its focus on selling more smartphones, and fewer money-losing low-end models, was paying off.

A string of Google Android-based handsets, of which the Droid is the first, are central to Motorola’s new strategy.

But today, with the first Droid reviews on the table, and the upbeat forecast in the market, Motorola investors appeared unconvinced with the company’s shares (NAS: MOT) were down 1.5% in late trading on the Nasdaq.

THE FIRST DROID REVIEWS

PC World (90 out of 100)
Pros: Snappy web browsing, strong sutie of web features, amazing 3.7-inch display
Cons: Shallow keyboard can make it hard to type, some camera images come out grainy.

CNet (4 out of 5)
The good: The Motorola Droid boasts a gorgeous display and the benefits of Android 2.0, including a faster Web browser, Google Maps Navigation app, and better messaging and contact management. It also offers excellent call quality and improved speed over previous Android devices.

The bad: The qwerty keyboard feels flat and the dialpad control is restricted to the home screen. Music and video capabilities still trail behind the competition.

"We'll refrain from using the dreaded "iPhone killer" expression, but comparisons between the two devices are obvious, and we see the Droid as a real competitor to Apple's device."

Gizmodo (no rating)
"Not to mix droid metaphors here, but I feel like it's the phone Darth Vader would use ... I'm still excited about it.

"Universal search - thank god. It's amazing to me that the phone OS from the search company fell behind Palm and Apple on this. It's here now, and it can search your contacts, browser history and bookmarks, contacts, apps, your music and YouTube. (Why you have to separately search SMS and email, I don't know.)"

Engadget (no rating)
- That big screen is killer. Bright, crisp, and tons of room for your icons and widgets.

- Speed is noticeably improved -- particularly when moving from app to app. We did notice that some of the home screen scrolling looked laggy.

- Android 2.0 is definitely cleaned up -- but it's most definitely still Android

- The browser seems significantly improved -- pages now load up in a fully zoomed-out mode, and the load times and scrolling are way snappier.

- The keyboard takes some getting used to, and it suffers from a similar hand-position issue as the G1, but it's fairly usable. We think it'll be second nature once we spend some time with it.

- Facebook is integrated into accounts, which means some of that BLUR functionality is here (though now it's part of Android 2.0 natively). The good news is that when you add a Facebook account you can choose to pull all Facebook info and contacts, or just info related to your existing contacts - a real clutter buster.