Motorola DROID Pro first impressions

By on Nov 15, 2010 at 12:15 PM
mobile November 15, 2010

Verizon Wireless shot us over a Motorola DROID Pro handset this weekend and after spending some time with it, here are our first impressions of the little bugger. For starters, the device looks better in person than it does in the press / online photos. It is a little awkward at first, being a vertically-oriented display as opposed to a horizontally-positioned screen on a traditional BlackBerry, but after you pick up the phone and start using it, you realize this is the only way the phone could work. As far as the screen goes, it’s probably our biggest disappointment — the resolution. We realize it’s not a huge screen but 480×320 pixels in a world of 960×640 and 800×480 isn’t doing the DROID Pro any favors. The display is also not terribly vivid or crisp, and it reduces the powerful impact the DROID Pro has. Besides the display, though, the Motorola DROID Pro continues to impress us. Not because it’s the greatest Android handset released, but because of the purpose it serves. We joked with someone that this is the RIM Antichrist on Verizon, and it is. It’s a direct assault on RIM, and as BlackBerry-loving individuals, we actually love this phone. The keyboard is almost identical to BlackBerry Bold keyboards, right down to the placement of each key (besides the ALT and Shift keys, which are swapped) and keys’ shape. The keyboard is pretty easy to type on, though the keys are a little bit firmer than we would have liked. Hopefully that changes a tad with continued use.

We love the weight of the device and the entire experience of using a candy bar Android phone with a QWERTY keyboard. We even like how there is a programmable application key (in BlackBerry terms a right convenience key) on the right side. Something we can’t move past, though? The ear speaker. Talking on the phone with the DROID Pro is probably the worst of any handset we can remember. The ear speaker crackles, is distorted, and it sounds like there is some weird noise cancellation going on. Sometimes, audio doesn’t even come through. We have to believe this is an issue with our specific unit — we can’t imagine they are all like this, though we did confirm with someone else in possession of a DROID Pro that they have noticed some weird ear speakers issues as well. We’ll let you know in our review how it turns out as Verizon is swapping our unit with a different handset. Check out the photos in our gallery below, including some shots with a BlackBerry Bold 9780 — it’s on!

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  • Yakuzahi

    Play with it in Verizon store and it was so slow and bad not responsive at all

  • Chet Stovepiper

    really wish android phones would have dynamic LEDs like the blackberry. it was great to see what kind of message you got by the color of the LED

    • Infinity306

      The Capability is there, I am able to choose the color led my android shows for different incoming email accounts, using K9 Mail.. on a Droid 1..

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000163993649 Kierra Jones

      Huh? I thought most android phones do have this ability….I do this with my X all the time

    • Anonymous

      they have apps for that. at least for texting, so then you know its not an email

  • http://twitter.com/Jamies_Tech Jamie’s Tech

    Theres a time and place for everything. If this is trying to win over iPhone users, it has a realistic chance at succeeding to a limited extent. seeing as a significant portion of BlackBerry users are corporate users, theres a very slim chance that this phone will take a bite out of that market. Business people need a phone that does what they need it do do, efficiently. Many are creatures of habit. They dont care about fancy Android features, they don’t care about apps, heck, many dont even care about having a touchscreen. They want to be able to send E-mails and make phone calls. To be blunt, it seems like this phone isn’t as good of an email tool as the Bold 9700, and as seen above with the speaker issues, it can’t make calls either. Sure it will find its place alongside Evos, other Droids, Nexuss, Galaxy Ss, and the Storm, but it in response to the 9700 won’t be able to hold its ground at what 9700 users want their phones to do. As much as I love Android, its whats holding this phone back.

    • Ron H in Schdy

      I must disagree with you here. With the more advanced enterprise features on this device coupled with the physical keyboard, I think it’s going to be a winner in that market. I currently have an Incredible and LOVE it, but as I use it for work, I’m constantly cursing at the keyboard–and I’ve tried them all: Swiftkey, Swype, others. I tried the Pro in the store 4 times and found it instantly comfortable. And I’m coming from a blackberry Tour background.

  • prezz

    I got to play with the Droid Pro today. The screen, in my opinion, was one of the saving features of this visually unappealing phone. I felt that the screen was very responsive and fluid while navigating through home screens and apps. As for the resolution, I felt that it looked pretty good for a 3.1 inch screen. As a blackberry user, I loved the physical qwerty keyboard! I’m quite impressed and tempted to pick up this device. I didn’t get a chance to make a phone call from the phone, so I think I will wait till I hear more about this calling situation.

  • D23

    I had this phone for about 4-5 days but its going back…… I love the form factor but speaker issues are major. It reminds me of using an iPhone on at&t. Got two different phones with dust underneath the screen which didnt bother me as much as the speaker issues on both… I really wanted to keep this but I am going back to droid x….

  • Bobby

    DOA…ugly is the only comment I have

  • Former Owner

    I had mine for three days, then it went back. I too experienced the call quality issues – hard to hear caller with the cutting in/out and muffled sound. I really wanted to like this one, but it does not make the grade. I’m back to the Droid X and wondering why I ever left, as the DX is a truly fantastic device!

  • http://twitter.com/palfrei Peter Palfrei

    Native Android apps are terrible at handling office tasks, Google is terrible at handling office tasks. Until Google has solved this, they won’t be able to persuade the corporate user.

    • Anonymous

      Oh OK.

  • http://www.facebook.com/TxdoHawk Mike Dehls

    I was not as impressed with the keyboard. Everything is too scrunched together and the individual keys are a little too small. I would’ve preferred a taller, wider device with a bigger keyboard (or some space between the keys like the curves) and a bigger screen.

  • Martin

    “The keyboard is almost identical to BlackBerry Bold keyboards, right down to the placement of each key (besides the ALT and Shift keys, which are swapped) and keys’ shape.”

    thats because its a qwerty keyboard…once you press alt, its layout is COMPLETELY different from a blackberry

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