HTC Droid Eris
Average Ratings
Great phone
My first smart phone. LOVE IT. Granted I don't have much to compare it to but I'm tech savvy enough to know what's good and what isn't.
I chose this over a Motorola Droid because: A) I'm not a Moto fan. and B) The Moto is too big and the keyboard is worthless anyway. Other than that, they have mostly all the same features.
I'm not going to bother listing Pro's cause there are too many to list. Let's just say the Android OS is just great and will only get better (bring on 2.0!). So, I'll just list the couple of Con's that I have:
- No camera flash. Not a huge deal because the camera takes solid pics as is. If I want to take better pictures, I have standalone camera's for that.
- No Android OS 2.0. Supposedly, this may be rectified on 12/11/2009 via an update but we'll see. I understand the issue to be a delay in porting HTC's Sense UI to 2.0. The Moto Droid has it already but, not being an HTC product, Sense wasn't an issue. 2.0 will allow turn by turn navigation via Google Maps so I can't wait.
I keep finding new apps and new functions every day in the week I've had this phone. It's just an incredible piece of equipment while not looking like "nerdware" like the Moto Droid.
Great Phone
I originally had a Blackberry Storm, which was a nice phone, had alot of issue's so when I went to upgrade I bought the Storm 2. At first the Storm 2 was a great improvement over the storm 2, but after a month I noticed that the phone felt cheap, the front panel seemed to be losing. Long story short I traded it in for the HTC Eris. At first I wasn't used to the OS, but quickly got used to it. This is a great phone, it is as close to an Iphone as one can get. The free applications, the built in wi-fi, and customization is awsome. There are few points that are worth mentioning. First when surfing the internet, you can adjust the size of the page with the pinch of your fingers like the Iphone, second is when I had the blackberry I enjoyed the ability to use the music on the sd card for ringtones which the Eris cannot do out of the box, however there is a free ringtone maker that allows you to create a ringtone- you pick the start and stop point, which is really nice. The sound is great and the Google maps are great too. CONS: IF YOU ARE USING WINDOWS 7 64 BIT THE HTC DESKTOP MANAGER WILL NOT WORK. ALSO YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO PLACEC CALLS USING BLUETOOTH, both of these items are being worked on by HTC. Those are really the only cons I can think of. The battery life is better then any smartphone I have had but stil only last one day.
DROID ERIS
phone works great only issue i have with it is that it doesn't have a flash for the camera but i don't really need it everything else is wonderful
What fun! (and it makes phone calls, too)
The only downside I can find to this phone is battery life, but I don't need to charge it more often than nightly.
As a telephone, it's as good as any I have had since my bag phone 15 years ago. For me, though, that's incidental.
Voice-control Google searches work virtually every time. Among the thousands and thousands of free apps, My Tracks lets me use it as a GPS when I hike in the desert or drive on the roads. Another free app scans bar codes and shows me the prices locally and on the web. Another free app (Google Sky) displays the stars and planets with their names where you point it.
In short, the free downloadable apps make this device a new kind of personal computer.
Out here in the desert in Quartzsite, AZ, miles from any paved road, network speed is around 1.0 Mbps down and 700 kbps up.
If it weren't for the required $29.99/mo data plan, I would trade our other phone in for another Eris, but we are becoming Verizon-poor.
Close but no cigar.
I want to like this phone but it has too many flaws to overcome.
Pros:
Android OS
Small compact size
Sense GUI
Bright Screen
Ease of setup
Good Camera
Cons: with explanation.
Lag, lag & more lag. This hinders the multimedia use of the phone
Terrible touch screen: way to sensitive even after calibration
No physical keypad
Terrible battery life: even when I disable many of the apps and WiFi/GPS. I barely get 8hrs.
Mediocre reception compared to my old Env2.
Im probably going to return this phone for something else.
HTC DROID - The other Heavy Hitter!
I have been using this device for about a week now and have to say, I actually like it a bit better than the moto droid.
It is smaller, more compact and with the Google platform, all A+.
The PROS:
Brilliant Screen
Touch interface is absolutely awesome, tremendous response.
Google Apps, a must have
Verizon Network, also a must have
Fantastic design. Its like Google and VZW polled 3 million users to see what is the best interface and user friendly design.
Camera - Camcorder
Active Sync
Cons:
1 con which could not lower my score, the battery life. But I have come to terms that if you are a heavy user, all devices will come up a bit short.
Overall, if you are advanced in mobile technology, or new to it.. Get this device, you will not be sorry!
A good phone that's only going to get better.
I picked up this phone yesterday and have been playing with it a bit. When I purchased it the VZ rep told me it was the same as the droid but without the keyboard. Well it's not....not yet anyways. Verizon is pushing the droid which carries a heavy price tag by about $100. It seems VZ has strategically launched the eris with android 1.5 and not 2.0. So if you want the free gps then you have to buy the droid for now.
Pros
Feels solid
Rubberized coating is easy to hold onto
Decent battery life (user changeable battery too)
Great sound quality
Cons
Not on android 2.0 yet (jan 2010?)
Takes a second to register rotations
Bluetooth has been restricted ie no file transfer over bt (comes with a sinc cable though)
Over all, this phone has the droid beat even though they've tried to under power it. HTC announced android 2.0 for their Hero phones (sprints eris) and so we should see it soon. Great coverage as would be expected with verizon. At $99 it's hard to beat.
Fantastic Alternative
Pros
-great hardware (feels good in the hand, solid)
-physical SEND & END keys on a touch-only phone as well as a trackball which makes text editing much more accurate
-nice camera quality and speed
-Flash LITE & Multi-touch browsing support right out of the box! (huge advantage!)
-solid signal and volume (I've had no problems and Verizon doesn't even have very strong service near me)
-virtual keyboard works great
-tons of Apps (mostly free)
-Sense UI is very intuitive
-Customization, Customization, Customization
-$100 less than the Droid
-and finally, Android 2.0 upgradeable
Cons
-Occasional lag (very minor complaint)
-weaker specs than the Droid
-no Flash for the camera
-very limited storage for Apps (cannot store them on the removable SD card legitimately)
Considering the step down in price, you don't really lose much functionality and most of what you DO lose can be added when HTC is done integrating the Sense UI with 2.0 Eclair. What you gain is several key features missing from the Droid at launch, namely the Multi-touch which makes browsing a snap and Flash LITE which opens up alot of website commonly defunct on your standard smartphone. The rubberized back of the phone is a very nice finish and I never once felt like I was going to lose my grip on the phone because of it's design. I haven't had the phone long but I haven't noticed any issues with signal strength or quality and the HTML browser runs fast enough for my needs.
Verizon didn't do much to promote this repackaged Hero, but for me this phone solves more problems than it creates (unlike the Droid) so the smaller price tag is very nice. Sure it doesn't have free turn by turn (for now) but if all Android 2.0 phones are going to support it I think this could be the sleeper phone that Verizon forgot about.
Got Verizon Wireless? Want an iPhone? Get the HTC Droid Eris!
I woke up on November 6th and immediately signed onto Verizon Wireless' Web site to purchase the HTC Droid Eris. The night prior, I was still telling myself that I wasn't going to upgrade until I saw what else was on the horizon.
How wrong I was. So much was my excitement for this phone (and the Android platform) that I decided to take the plunge. What it worth it? Without a doubt.
The PRO's:
Plenty of great apps available.
The battery life seems to be pretty good. While I've been able to drain the battery relatively quickly, do bear in mind that it's more so due to the fact that I can't put this thing down. XD
The camera is quick to launch and takes amazing photos.
The earpiece sound quality is nice and rich. Honestly, people's voices just have an extra bit of OOMPH! to them. It sounds great!
The reception on the device is quite solid. (I'm in the Pittsburgh, PA area.) Don't worry about the fluctuating signal strength indicator; that's a known UI display error that'll be resolved.
The touch screen is AMAZING. Very responsive.
Typing on the touch screen is intuitive and quick, and you'll find that Android is intelligent enough to correct errors to the point where you can type in portrait view with your thumbs and not miss a beat.
The CON's:
In calls with a lot of background noise (or music), you may hear a bit of hissing.
Since the HTC Droid Eris ships with Android 1.5, you don't get the sick navigation capabilities that devices shipping with 2.0 will have. HTC *should* be releasing 2.0 for this device within the next few months, however.
Really, this phone's about the closest that you can get to having a computer and a phone combined into a single device. This thing kills the iPhone in a lot of respects. Don't let the fact that it's not an iPhone deter you from giving it a go.
BEST PHONE (EVER) WAY BETTER THE BBS2
THIS phone is 1of the best I mean best I had the storm 2 for 3weeks (worst 3weeks) of my life this phone offers so much 4u and the sense UI is awespme thats y I choose it over the motorola driod. I would recommend this phone for n e 1 who likes high tech phones:)!
PROS;
THE SENSE UI is the beest on this phone that y I got it over the driod.
(1rst pro) camera 5mega pixel with auto focus with 6optical zoom works great.
(2nd pro) battery life is great on (my eris) but sum ppl complain bout it way 2much it last longer then then my bbs2 nd charges raley faster tuen most smart phones i have ever had.
(3rd pro) sense UI is the best I love it a lot gives u 7screens 2 comstimation of wht U want u can put widgets frm perloaded of widegts frm ur apps u donwload.
(4th pro) web browser is full html5 with snap drag9n 528megz processor it has web advertiments move like on ur desktop browser has visual bookmarks like the iphone nd u can creat a new web page if u turn the Enable java script off n setttings browser will b a lot faster j thos browser is bout fast ad the driod. Crystal clear webnd also it has pintch n zoom like i phone has pintch n zoom on photos Google maps ect.
(5th pro) touchscreen is captavie like iphone wrung ur tedting or in a text box the screen will vibrate when u touc it nd has 4 main heat touch bottoms home,menu,back, and google search nd has trackball. Send nd end keys.
CONS
THIS phone ONCE IT GETS LISTEN 2ME if u as a big red rep and u ask them if the Eris is gett8ng 2.0.1 update if they say no there wrong I asked yesterday nd yes eris u will get it in mid February it will have the same software as googles nexos 1 this phone foes has some lag and. U might have.2 turn it off once of twice so hope u enjoyed my review.:)
