HTC Droid Eris
Average Ratings
"Good alternative to iphone but not there yet!"
Pros: -Android, HTC sense
-Clear calls
-Flashy
Cons: -Processor Lag, battery life
-Unmounts SD Card by itself often
-No flash
-No navigation (except android 2.1 version)
I was excited at first but after a month was disappointed.
The good:
It has 7 customizble screens with HTC sense and I consider better interface than motorola's android phones. Calls are clear never had a problem with clarity of calls. It is a nice looking phone had a lot f my friends and family compliment about the phone.
The bad:
Phone has processor lag. It slows down some times while using applications. But worst is between applications and the phone function. I had trouble several times with the phone when I was in an application and received a call. The phone just freezes and does not do a thing. The SD Card continuously unmounts itself and the only way to fix it is taking the cover off and reinstalling the card. The pictures and video are great on lit instances but is completely useless in dark situations (really bad for a higher end phone). The phone lacks navigation, only has google maps. However i met a person running android 2.1 on the eris and is a different story.
Bottom line:
Most people looking at Android phones really want an iphone but do not want AT&T service. If apple sold iphones to every carrier android probably would be dead or not as strong as it is. Problem with android phones is they are computers but with slow processors, small memory, and small screens. We want to do what we do with a powerful dual core computer with our phone. Most Android phones are running at 500-600 Mhz with a few running at 1 GHz. Once they get more powerful processors I am sure will do the trick.
In the next few years they will be better and I will get one or an iphone when apple starts selling to other carriers.
Droid wins over Windows Mobile! IPhone watch out!
I bought this phone after noticing that I was entitled for a $100 credit towards an upgrade. I have been with Verizon for the past 5 years.
I chose this phone over the Omnia II in which I was waiting for. But the price point sold me. I own two other Samsungs phones the Omnia 6.5 ROM and the SCH i760 and thought it was time for a change.
Pros:
Sense UI is incredible for those who stick with Verizon.
Marketplace has a ton of free apps that are useful.
When version 2.01 is released this phone will give the competition something to think about.
Keyboard is great in both formats.
Reception is great in the Portland metro area.
No issues with Exchange email and certificates.
Cons:
Voice recognition is a little rough, but is a nice feature to use when driving.
Battery life. That's because I can't keep from using the darn thing.
UNDERATED!!!!! SOLID ALTERNATIVE TO THE DROID
OMG i love my Eris so freakin much i just got it yesterday in the mail and i can already say its a good phone with wonderful features
Pros:
Touch screen
price
Android OS
5.0 MEGA PIXEL CAMERA w/VIDEO CAPTURE
wonderful quality of pictures
beautiful videos
Upload Videos directly to youtube
Solid feel
Intuitive touch screen
app store
pre-installed 8 GB memory card
google maps
GPS
seach google by speaking to your phone
pinch and zoom (iphone zoom feature)
loud music player
Loud ringtones
Tack ball
Cool pre loaded ringtones
speed
and much more
Cons:
Sumtimes sluggish (minor setback)
poor battery life (due to running apps all at one time)
other than that its an awesome phone and its easy to use and i love the trackball on it. its easy to txt on and im a heavy texter
Loving my Eris - The review to read
I change phones about the same rate I change my clothes. I love my Eris, especially with the 1.16 firmware. Here's why ...
PROS:
The PERFECT size, feels great in the hand
Very customizable
On THE best network, not AT&T (worst 3 months of my life!)
HTC Sense UI is awesome
The new firmware is snappier and really makes the battery life quite tolerable
The phone is just so gosh-darn sexy'
Excellent virtual keyboard
Android 2.0 is coming
CONS:
Battery life is better but in a perfect world would last 2 days
If you have not tried the Eris with the new firmware, you owe it to yourself to do it before passing judgment. The phone seems snappier to me, including when the screen rotates. The battery life (or metering) is definitely better.
I had the Motorola Droid but switched within a week. While its hardware was great, it just did not "feel" as good as the Eris.
The Eris is THE dark horse. Shame that Verizon all but ignored this phone.
Get one and I bet you will love it!
Very Much Under-rated! Excellent Phone
I had the Iphone for a year. Naturally loved it, but just had to get back to Verizon, the best wireless network. This phone is just a bit smaller than the Iphone, but performance is great, and a great alternative.
PROs
- Fast interface, very responsive
- Great Apps
- Verizon, verizon, verizon
- Nice size to be pocket-able (the Moto Droid is too bulky and heavy in my opinion especially if you like to carry the phone in your pocket)
- Sync of Gmail, contacts and calendar
- Widgets (not available on Iphone)
- Able to customize screens way more so than Iphone
- Brilliant Screen
- Lock & Unlock of screen convenient (keep this in mind if you are considering the Moto Droid, unlock is tiny button on top, very frustrating)
- Physical send and end buttons
CONs
- Only 1 - Battery life could be better.
TIP - If constant sync of gmail is not top priority, use mail client instead and have device check for email every 4,2, or 1 hours, turn of Gmail sync. Battery life significantly improved. Gmail sync uses a lot of battery power.
Diehard Blackberry Fan
Pros: Display, easily customizable, beautiful screen, features features, features
Cons: Battery life, keyboard takes getting use to
I am a die-hard Blackberry fan but this phone blows anything Blackberry makes for Verizon away. This phone is so customizable. I downloaded an SMS inbox app that mimics the iPhone. My fiancé, who owns an iPhone, finds herself so intrigued by my Eris. Itâs smaller than an iPhone so it fits perfectly in your shirt or pants pocket. The display is gorgeous. The camera works well in lighted situations. I have downloaded about 10 free apps from the Market store. I have downloaded a couple games, Bank of America app, a piano keyboard app, and a task manager (to list a few). And those of you who want this phone, open a Gmail email account. This phone will download all of your contacts from your gmail account to the phone. This will also ensure you will never loose your contacts. This feature can be turned off, of course. I have also synchronized my other email accounts as well (for those of you who donât have a gmail account). And the one thing I like most about this phone is the hard phone keys. This makes calling (since this is a phone) extremely easy. The Moto Droid doesn't have dedicated phone keys but the Eris does. It also has a trackball like my old Blackberry, which is very nice. The HTC Sense UI, which sits on top of the Android OS, is absolutely smooth as butter. Everything works well. When you buy this phone, make sure you play the Teeter game, which demonstrates the smoothness of this phone. The only thing about this phone I don't like is the battery life but I can live with it. You can make this phone completely "you".
Leaps and Bounds above BB 8830
Great phone, this is my first experiance with the android platform, after coming from both WinMo 5 and BB 4.5 this OS is far better. The screen is very responsive, sometimes to its detriment. The reception is really good even in small town Iowa. The widgets are great and the apps are getting better everyday. I really was debating between the BB storm 2, the moto Droid, or the Eris, and I am not disappointed at all.
PROS:
Screen size, the typing from the full qwerty keyboard, light weight but durable construction, 5.0 mp camera, the apps (Most of them are free), sync with Outlook
CONS:
no flash on the camera, battery life can be on the low side with all the social networking sites signed in, no BB messenger type app (yet), location of volume keys on the Left side
Good but could've been Great
I'm a BB fan so a lot of my comparisons is with BB Storm2. I tried Moto Droid but I think Droid Eris is a better Android phone once HTC upgrades the OS to 2.0. So here's my take: (scale of 5 - Superior)
> Form Factor(size): 5 (Stm2: 4)
> Weight: 5 (Stm2: 3)
> Battery Life: 2 (Stm2: 4)
> Display: 3 (Stm2: 4) MotDd: best
> UI: 5 Best (best I've seen)
> Customization: 5 (Stm2: 3)
> E-mail: 3 (Stm2: 5 best)
> Phone: 3 (Stm2: 4)
Storm has a better phone book integration & dialing is easier (interestingly Eris dial pad unlike its regular softkey lacks haptic feedback).
> Phone Reception: 4 (Stm2: 3) Tampa, FL
> Internet Browsing: 5 (Stm2: 3)
> Applications/Games: 5 (Stm2: 3)
Not only there are more applications for Android, there are less expensive & take less memory & integrated better with the phone than it is with Storm2.
Multimedia Features
> Speakers: 5 loud (Stm2: 4)
> Microphone: 4 (Same with Storm2)
> Camera: 3 (Stm2:4) No Flash
> Movie Experience: 4 (Stm2: 3)
Eris has widescreen format vs. Full Frame for Storm2. Installed application in Eris is not as good as what you can find in Marketplace.
Summery:
If e-mail is of highest priority, stick with BB but if you want small phone that fits in your pocket & want a better multimedia & web experience be sure to try this phone. The form factor, weight, versatility, user experience is the best I've seen in a phone but just a warning - the battery life is dreadful so keep a charger or extra battery handy. To save battery life, disable WiFi & auto sync or at least have it sync every one or two hours and also decrease the screen brightness. Also be sure to install the free Advance Task Killer since the phone keeps all applications open & this saves you plenty of time.
The best extra Free Android Apps:
> Weather Channel
> Advanced Task Killer
> Battery Widget
> USA Today
> Shazam
> Wifi Analyzer
> TV.com
> ebuddy
> Astro (File Manager)
> Google Sky Map
> Movies
> Save MMS
> Pandora
Great device on an exc. network
After a week, I've found the Eris to be a very well designed and usable 'smart phone'. The VZW network has been excellent and a call to customer service (due to my goof of resetting the phone) was great.
Pro: Speed. size, weight, 'feel', screen, HTC front-end software.
Con: Android 'market' offerings seem primitive, with many serving to collect user data.
Awesome phone!!!!
I was the second person in line this morning at 7am to recieve my droid:eris. I debated while waiting for the store to open about getting the Moto:droid instead. however the sense ui was the deciding factor and i can say after using it all day that im not disappointed. for the last year ive used an unlocked iphone 3g and the htc ion.(which is the unlocked developers version of the magic)so i can honestly compare this phone to both and i have to say that while the iphone is still my favorite phone of all time the inability to customize the menus and homescreens was becoming a bit boring. and i do really enjoy the android operating system but the bare bones 1.5 just felt unfinished to me. so after using the sense ui on the eris i can say it is FINISHED. this ui is everything ive been waiting for its got the apps i enjoy and functionality i enjoy wrapped in the most amazingly customizable interface ive seen. it simply does everything i want a phone to do and then some. and i havent got to the great camera and web browser that rivals safari. the phone is very lightweight and thin. it feels great in the hand and pocket. i have played with my friends hero from sprint so i knew what to expect from sense. but i didnt like the package that spring had the hero in. this package is much better. its nice matte black finish feels secure in the hand and is resistant to fingerprints. so i guess what im saying is get this phone because it rocks!!!
