Motorola DROID, Apple iPhone 3GS and Palm Pre: side by side
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Smartphones can do so many things that can aid you on a daily basis, one of them being email ready right out of the box. All of three have the ability to setup just about any kind of email service right on the phone; including support for Microsoft Exchange. At the core, all work relatively the same in being able to compose and send out messages. Apple has been perfecting its email application with each new update – it can even search for keywords in your folders to narrow down specific messages. On top of that, you can use certain finger gestures to easily delete multiple emails. The Palm Pre takes a similar approach to what’s offered on the iPhone 3GS – everything is intact including the search function to browse emails. The one advantage it does have is just the flexibility to open multiple cards to read or even reply to an email – it takes the hassle of having to close one thing out just to look at another. The Motorola DROID steers off the path with two separate applications to access your emails. Hands down the DROID implements Gmail to the fullest thanks to its superb replication of the desktop experience. Your emails in Gmail are viewed in a threaded format which makes it really simple to view messages you’ve replied to and read. In addition, there’s a whole separate application to view your other emails – we still scratch our heads as to why this is so. You can choose to combine your inboxes to one which is broken down by a color coding system. Now on the downside is the fact that the DROID requires to constantly pull emails from the server to view them on the phone. Unlike the Pre and iPhone 3GS where messages are downloaded and stored locally on the handset, the DROID has to download them on the go as you move through your long list of messages. Even though it’s a champ when it comes to Gmail, the Pre and iPhone 3GS have a much more versatile email applications.
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E-mail on the Apple iPhone 3GS | ||
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E-mail on the Motorola DROID | ||
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E-mail on the Palm Pre | |
The iPhone 3GS may not sport a physical keyboard, but that doesn’t stop it from being able to dish out messages in a heartbeat. When it comes to on-screen keyboards, the iPhone 3GS is still the leader in that category. Not only does it have the most responsive and usable on-screen keyboards, but its predictive text is also the smartest – it’ll literally know what you’re trying to say even with all the mispresses you might do. When the S stands for speed, you can recognize that the iPhone 3GS flies when you’re trying to type a long message.
It may seem a bit unorthodox to see a touchscreen phone missing an on-screen keyboard option, but the Palm Pre’s compact form factor will reveal a decent tactile physical QWERTY that shares some commonalities with its older siblings. Buttons are a bit smaller and just slightly raised from the surface, but don’t let its looks fool you because it works well for the most part. However, you’ll still rely on using the tip of your fingernails to really make out each button press. We’ve seen a hacked Palm Pre sporting an on-screen keyboard before, but we hope that Palm will release one down the road as WebOS matures.
When it comes to messaging, we feel that the best balanced out of the three is the Motorola DROID. Combining both a physical and virtual QWERTY keyboards, the DROID takes some key points from the other two handsets in its implementation. The QWERTY is a lot roomier than the cramped confines on the Pre, but its decent tactile feel makes typing a breeze too. It’s really tough to gauge which physical keyboard is better just for the fact that one is in portrait and other in landscape. Whichever one you decide to go with, you’ll eventually get adjusted to the feel and layout after a period of time. The DROID’s on-screen keyboard is one of the better ones offered for the Android platform, but still not up to the level in terms of responsiveness that the iPhone 3GS exudes.
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Apple iPhone 3GS | Motorola DROID |
Landscape QWERTY | |
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Portrait QWERTY keyboards of the Apple iPhone 3GS (L) | |
Web Browser:
Data usage has exploded since the original iPhone arrived on the scene with its smooth looking WebKit based web browser. Throw in a fast processor to easily make scrolling a smooth experience and support for multi-touch; you get the market leader in mobile web browsing that still manages to impress just about anyone with the iPhone 3GS.
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YouTube video | ||
Surfing the web with the Apple iPhone 3GS | ||
The Pre follows a similar path with its web browser - although it doesn’t quite have the pep in speed to rival what the iPhone 3GS offers. You can visually compare the intuitiveness of scrolling long pages at every direction and see that the Pre has a somewhat choppier experience. Still it doesn’t deter us from the overall experience and easily name it as the best device on Sprint’s network for web browsing. Of course switching between multiple pages is better visually on the Pre thanks to its multi-tasking prowess and the fact you can rearrange them in any order you want.
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YouTube video | |||
Surfing the web with the Palm Pre | |||
The Motorola DROID is easily, of course, the best Android phone to date for web browsing. Omitting multi-touch support may be glaring at first, but its lightning quick page loads and seamless scrolling makes for a decent experience. With some impressive hardware powering the handset, the DROID is capable of also opening multiple windows without a hitch in performance.
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YouTube video | ||
Surfing the web with the Motorola DROID | ||
So far there is no true Adobe Flash support for all three handsets, but both the iPhone 3GS and Motorola DROID displays YouTube embedded links to watch videos. The iPhone 3GS does the best to resize a web page for the most optimal viewing on a touchscreen. In addition, it loads up pages super fast which is closely rivaled to the Motorola DROID. These devices are the cream of the crop on their perspective carriers, so they perfectly emulate the desktop experience on a mobile level.
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65 Comments
1. Phullofphil posted on 20 Oct 2010, 01:55 0 0
why do any comparisons at all the last two i looked at did not come to a complete conclusion. I can compare a 1985 mustang and a 2006 tacoma and tell you what i think is better. It does not matter what or when they came compare how it is today its easy.
2. MarcMaiden posted on 25 Nov 2009, 11:42 0 0
cool comparison Phone Arena... I think its better to stay neutral because these phones are so similar that picking a phone would be just like playing favorites
3. jcoberg10 posted on 25 Nov 2009, 12:12 0 0
overall not a bad review. They tried to stick to the facts. Only getting lost in the Iphone 2-3 times. However, at the end They awarded the Iphone the Multimedia phone. Which i would very much disagree with. Itunes is the worst Music program, a open system with the ability to play any music file type is far superior. Plus, during the review the droid got more praise for its video player and options(this is still considered multimedia right?). Also, the droid received credit for having the best speaker, which i feel is very much in the multimedia area. When comparing the cameras, phoneareana failed to mention that the Droid has a nice LED flash. Now, I have not had a problem being able to find the app i'm looking for in the android market. 50,000 or 100,000 it doesn't much matter at that point, everything after that is a duplicate anyway, and all the new intuitive apps will more than likely be releasing on android because of apples strict filters on their app store. Now I have reviewed the review. And I think the droid has surpassed the Iphone in nearly every way. The only thing left is opinion, which for the most part can not be changed. but facts are facts, and they seam to stack up in the droids favor.
7. Iphoneluv posted on 25 Nov 2009, 14:08 0 0
Are you kidding...... The droid is no where near a better phone than the Iphone...c'mon, you dont even believe that yourself.
9. tonyc_42 posted on 25 Nov 2009, 15:23 0 0
you so it's not a better PHONE??? how can you say it's not a better phone when it doesn't have the dropped calls or service issues. iphone may be a better multimedia device (for now...) but the clear winner as a phone is the droid.
22. E.N. posted on 26 Nov 2009, 01:00 0 0
It looked like the iphone won to me. The droid is great but you guys are getting ahead of yourselves. How many iphone killers are there going to be! Part of me is just hoping that a phone comes out of nowhere and beats the iphone so we can get this over with. I mean some of you guys even called the Storm an iphone killer. Come on. Verizon is probably already preparing for their next Android device. And based on the pictures taken, I'd say the iphone's picture quality look the best. Just look at the color of the pictures, even in low light. And if a developer had to choose between developing for Android or Apple, they would go for Apple because there are so many iPod touches and iPhones that are out there and growing everyday around the world. And one thing that they like is the uniformity. If you develop for one, most likely it will work for every single one out there. You can't say that for Android. Some graphic intense games on the Droid (if there are any) probably won't work for the Eris and the G1. Take Gameloft for an example. Although they receive 13% of their profits from Android, it probably costs them more to pay their laborers to convert each of their games to work with each Android device. (That has to be the reason why they are not making any more apps for Android because I don't see why Gameloft would drop that 13% of profit) And I hear that Android won't only make smartphones because they want all phone users to be able to customize. That's tears up the uniformity even more. And everyone keeps on saying that the Android app store will grow and grow very soon. But sadly, that's the same exact thing the Pre owners were saying. And I guess I can stop talking about how bad the iPhone's battery life is because it looks like it is much better than the Pre's and Droid's. And they didn't emphasize how bad the keyboard sucked. On the Droid website it boasted about having the thinnest keyboard in the world, but it stinks really. It probably would have even helped them out if they made it a little bit more thicker. And after two years the iphone still has the best online keyboard and easy to use interface? Really? Still? And everyone keeps complaining that its outdated. If these phones can't beat an outdated phone, then that makes everything even more sad. And its a good thing that the Droid users have removeable battery because I'm reading that removing the battery often to fix problems is not uncommon. And is backgrounds really featured on the Android Market? More than a year later and backgrounds is featured on their market? That app is so done now. I wouldn't call it useless, but its bordering that area.
26. smartphonelover posted on 26 Nov 2009, 02:12 0 0
The Iphone doesn't have the high specs that the droid and the droid is also on Verizon It's like comparing an off the line Ford Mustang to an off the line Dodge Challenger. The challenger is gonna win cause of specs are just better and plus with the Iphone on AT@T network it's like the mustang will lose spark at random times lol, stupid metaphors Iphoneluv just except it, the Iphone is beaten this time by the droid. Plus if Verizon gets the Palm Pre next year like rumored then Verizon will have two Iphone challengers, and with the htc dragon/passion that means Verizon will have at least 3 Iphone challengers. Meaning Verizon will definitely draw a lot of attention from AT&T and the Iphone
30. Quemical posted on 26 Nov 2009, 05:30 0 0
Well said smartphonelover. The Droid is the clear winner, without question. So iphoners, when's your next Droid killer coming out? DROID FTW
31. E.N. posted on 26 Nov 2009, 12:02 0 0
Since when has anyone cared about the high specs of the iPhone? That's not why so many people like it. But I'm pretty confused why the iPhone renders web pages faster while the Droid falls behind the Pre, even with the highest specs. And why does the Picture quality not look as good as the iPhone or even the pre? Go specs!
32. vzwman posted on 26 Nov 2009, 12:29 0 0
all you iphone lovers got it all wrong the droid is not an iphone killer but it is an iphone competitor
33. vzwman posted on 26 Nov 2009, 12:37 0 0
E.N. im sorry to say that your full of crap you obviously dont know squat about the performance any of the three smartphones mentioned in this article
36. vzwman posted on 26 Nov 2009, 14:16 0 0
i own 2 droids my brother has an iphone 3gs and a friend of mine owns a pre from sprint oh and not to mention my droid eris NIB havent opened it yet
38. E.N. posted on 26 Nov 2009, 15:51 0 0
Okay? What does that prove. You know a lot of people with phones. I'm happy for you. That doesn't mean you know more. You probably still think that the web browsing on the Droid is better than the iPhone. And why would you have two droids and an Eris?
40. Quemical posted on 26 Nov 2009, 19:26 0 0
"But I'm pretty confused why the iPhone renders web pages faster while the Droid falls behind the Pre, even with the highest specs. And why does the Picture quality not look as good as the iPhone or even the pre? Go specs!" Are you KIDDING ME? As far as rendering, CDMA 3G and THE FASTEST PROCCESSOR AVAILABLE + webkit = PWNGE, have fun surfing on GSM! PICTURE QUALITY????? Do you know anything about the DROID???? How about 720p Bluray video on my Droid, I just compared to my brothers Iphone and its not even close!!! Its sad really how much you are in denial. You could make an argument for speed but picture? Thats just being woefully ignorant.
41. E.N. posted on 26 Nov 2009, 23:10 0 0
Go back and read the review. Look at the video of the web browsers and tell me which is better of the three phones. Look at what phonearena wrote inregards to speed and data rendering. Look at the pictures phonearena took and then come back and we'll see what else you can scream about. It's not like I made this up what I said out of nowhere. And again you're throwing out specs that I dont really care about. All I know is that the pictures taken by phonearena on the iPhone 3GS looks better than the Droids. (We all know that the Droid's video quality is superior. I was talking about the photo camera.) Everything I jsut said came out of this review. So if you're going to get mad, get mad at the information and video posted. The Droid has two processors and that's the best it could do with web browsing? Please point out what else I said that was incorrect.
