The Motorola Droid 2 packs a nice arsenal of upgrades, including Android 2.2. Check out our full review here.
Motorola Droid 2 Overview
It may not be easy to discern the new Motorola Droid 2 from its first-generation sibling, the original Droid, but be assured that the latest Android device for Verizon Wireless has enough firepower lurking behind the scenes than one would surmise. First off, there's more horsepower under the hood regarding processing and RAM. But the Motorola Droid 2 bursts out of the starting gates running Android 2.2 Froyo, meaning all aspects of interface performance have been improved. Along with the integration of Android's latest interface, the Droid 2 boasts an improved battery life, which we tested, and improved internal storage memory. While we weren't crazy about the Droid 2's camera, this phone offered enough upgrades to take our original Droid experience to the next level.
Motorola Droid 2 Design
From the outside, the Motorola Droid 2 remains aesthetically identical to its originator, featuring a façade that is dominated by a 3.7-inch FWVGA capacitive touch-screen LCD with an 854 x 480 screen resolution. FWVGA refers to Full Wide VGA, which is the same display we got on the original Droid, offering a true 16:9 picture aspect ratio. We found the Droid 2's screen to be one of the better options out there, but falls short when stacked up against the Samsung Epic 4G's super bright AMOLED screen. Instead, it reminded us more of the iPhone 4's Retina display, exhibiting a lower contrast ratio and more seamless pixel configurations.
Let's slide out the full QWERTY keyboard. Aha! Now we're beginning to see the divergence between the Droid 2 and its older sibling. Gone is the directional pad located on the right side. Rather than carry it over, Motorola decided it would be wise to stretch the keyboard out so it filled the entirety of the panel. The original Droid was scrutinized for having a small keyboard, so the Droid 2 took care of that problem. We think typing is much easier and accuracy is surprisingly spot on, however, we still prefer the Samsung Epic 4G's keyboard. The only thing that needs a little WD-40 is the slide-out action. Rather than snap out like the Samsung Epic 4G, the Droid 2's keyboard awkwardly pulls out and has a tendency to stick.
In terms of portability, the Motorola Droid 2 is a compact phone, smaller than the Samsung Epic 4G. On the downside, it's heavier, and we could definitely feel the bulk in our pocket. The good thing about this is that the Droid 2 excels in the quality department, thanks to its solid build. This is a phone that just feels tough, with its metal frame in front and rubberized smooth plastic panels in the back. We get a USB terminal on the left side of the phone, dedicated Camera Shutter button, Volume rocker, Power/Lock button, and 3.5mm headphone jack. Under the back panel, the Droid 2 offers a Micro SD card slot with a maximum capacity of 32GB, so that's a total of 40GB including the 8GB of built-in storage.
Motorola Droid 2 Android 2.2 Froyo Experience
After having been steeped in Android 2.1 for so long, Froyo was a refreshing change. Aesthetically, not much has changed with Android 2.2, but it's the behind-the-scenes action that really made our navigation experience better. The first thing we noticed was that the Motorola Droid 2 was faster. Faster when it came to launching applications, faster in the Internet Browser, and faster typing with the keyboard.
This was to be expected though, since the Android 2.2 claims up to a 3x speed improvement using the V8 engine for Android regarding JavaScript-heavy web pages. Furthermore, native applications got a 2x-5x performance speedup, courtesy of the new Dalvik JIT compiler. Lastly, Android 2.2 claimed faster app switching and smoother performance on memory-constrained devices. All of this can be confirmed, as we experienced a quicker navigational experience without any lag.
There's no doubt that the Motorola Droid 2's faster 1GHz TI processor and 512MB of RAM contributed to the speed increase, but the Droid 2 beat out the Samsung Galaxy S phones we reviewed this year, which were at times susceptible to lag and freezing. In addition to the 8GB NAND internal flash memory, speed was a nice byproduct, and Android 2.2 allowed us to store out applications on the external 8GB MicroSD card included with the phone.
Other highlights brought to you by Android 2.2 included voice dialing over Bluetooth, which helped a lot under the helmet with our BlueAnt F4 motorcycle setup. Froyo gave us WiFi hotspots for up to 8 devices, laptop tethering, and improved Exchange integration regarding security, remote wipe, support for Exchange calendars, auto-discovery, and global address lists look-up. The support for Flash 10.1 meant that we could view YouTube videos and other Flash content right in the browser, as demonstrated in our review video.
At the end of the day, let's also not forget that the Droid 2 is still a good ‘ole Droid. It has multiple home screens with full application icon customization, Google Voice Search, live wallpapers, super sensitive touch-screen technology with haptic feedback, and an improved gallery, courtesy of Android 2.2 that allowed us to scroll though image thumbnails from side to side.
Motorola Droid 2 Voice Quality/Battery Life
The Motorola Droid 2 gave us a voice quality performance that was on par with its peers, though there were a few times when the phone introduced static. While the Samsung Captivate and Vibrant joined the ranks with the iPhone 4, cranking out a highly impressive voice quality performance devoid of background sound, the Motorola Droid 2 managed to pick up certain background sounds and introduce occasional static. The Droid 2 still gave us a great performance, but fell short of its aforementioned competitors.
Now as for battery life, that's one department where the Droid 2 managed to shine. We tested the Samsung Epic 4G and Motorola Droid 2 side-by-side on EV-DO networks, then left them overnight. The next day, the Droid 2 had just over half of its battery life left, while the Epic 4G was toast. Motorola claims around 9 hours of talk time with the Droid 2, and we can vouch for that.
Motorola Droid 2 Still Image Quality
The Motorola Droid 2's digital imaging performance did not make the highlight reel, as the 5-megapixel camera churned out a mediocre performance. On the plus side, the Droid 2 offered a dual LED flash/video light, but the built-in camera's imaging guts just couldn't hack it. We shot side-by-side with the Samsung Epic 4G, and there was a significant quality gap between the two phones. The Epic 4G came out on top, exhibiting an imaging performance tantamount to its two other Galaxy S siblings we tested this year, the Samsung Captivate and Samsung Vibrant.
The Motorola Droid 2's camera had a tendency to pump noise to a significant extent in nearly every image. In addition, the camera had White Balance ADD, shifting frantically through different color temperatures before it found the right one. Low light was out of the question without the flash, and Macro mode would not allow us to shoot with the flash disabled.
One little caveat is to watch how the Droid 2 performs in Camera and Gallery modes. The phone froze once while we were recording a video and we had to take the battery out to restart it. Of course, our video never saved. Also, the Gallery can freeze, forcing us to revisit the Home screen in order to launch the application again. We hope this is just a characteristic of our review unit, and not a full-blown Droid 2 issue.
The Motorola Droid 2's White Balance ADD really kicked in when we shot in Video mode, as even the slightest pan made the color temperature jump from warm to cool. You can see it in our video samples. Also, low light was not strong without the video light. The Droid 2 is capable of 720 x 480 30fps shooting, compared to the original Droid's 24fps, so motion was slightly improved. But for the most part, the Motorola Droid 2 could not keep up with the Samsung Epic 4G, and fell way behind when compared to the iPhone 4's fearsome 720p video performance.
Motorola Droid 2 Final Answer
If you want a Droid, but don't know which one to get, the Motorola Droid 2 is probably the safest bet. It offers enough improvements from the original, including Android 2.2, a faster 1GHz TI processor, more RAM, larger, revamped QWERTY slider, and very impressive battery life. If you're a Multimedia junkie, then then Motorola Droid X is probably the answer. But if you are happy with your first generation Droid now, then wait for the Android 2.2 upgrade and you'll be even happier. First-time buyers who want a fast phone that covers most of the bases, including a slide-out keyboard will definitely be interested in the Droid 2. If you're not bound by a contract, then the Samsung Epic 4G is worth looking into as well.
Besides, the Droid 2 is the only phone to offer a limited edition R2-D2 version, so you can't really get any cooler than that.
Price and Availability
The Motorola Droid 2 is now available from Verizon Wireless for $300 with a new two-year contract. A $100 mail-in rebate will be given when signing up for a qualifying plan.
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