9 months with the Droid

9 months is a significant time period. All of us have spent that amount of time waiting to be born. Students spend about that much time each year in the course of their studies. I’ve now spent that amount of time with my Verizon Droid phone. A lot has happened in that time period.

The  Droid has gone through 2 system updates, Apple has continued to experience success with its iPhone, although the most recent iteration has given the company and its customers some heartburn. The Android market has matured considerably in two primary ways:

1. Lots more apps
2. Better quality apps, by and large.

The main improvements have been speed and stability, plus a lot more choice. At Verizon alone there are 4-5 Android phones to choose from. The navigation and voice search are the two biggest improvement in the platform. Voice search is increasingly accurate, and navigation has lost several clicks, making it much safer to use while driving. Surprisingly, the quality of the speakerphone and music playback quality through the built-in speaker seem to have improved.

There are a couple of Apps I just can’t speak highly enough of  Wi-Fi Analyzer and Voice Search. Wi-Fi Analyzer allows you to use the Droid to figure out where you are going to get the best reception from your wireless network, whether there’s interference on the channel you are using, and where any dead spots may be. Great for getting the most out of your wireless network, and knowing where a range extender might come in useful. Voice Search is just phenomenal in version 2.2 of the Android operating system. The recognition has improved tremendously, so that voice dialing becomes a real possibility, but it works just as well for browsing the web too, and can be used to enter an address into the navigation system. It’s a life saver while driving, perhaps literally. You can set the navigation or dial a call while keeping your eyes on the road where they belong. You can even pick out your favorite tune to play, if you store your music on your Droid.