Droid Eris

Everybody is all up in arms about the Motorola Droid, touting it as the new iPhone killer. I stopped by the local Verizon store today to check it out and see how it stacks compared to my iphone 3G. I'm not going to review it, as every tech site out there has done that already ad nasuem. I will say though, that if I weren't already in a contract with AT&T, I'd probably be very tempted to buy this phone. Verizon is simply a better network and even their customer service is superior to AT&Ts. I used to have a Treo 700P on Verizon's network, and this is where I had my first taste of Verizon'a 3G, also known as EVDO. Although at the time, it was newer technology, I was impressed. It even worked well when I tethered my phone to my laptop, giving me almost wifi speeds.

AT&T speeds just don't seem to match up. The Droid is a great alternative if you want to stay on Verizon, but it too has some shortcomings, namely the bulky, box like design, lack of true multi-touch and a keyboard that seems redundant, mainly because it's keys are flush requiring you to have to look as you type anyway, and there's a little fingerpad, which is pointless if it's touchscreen anyway.

I decided my iPhone was much sleeker and aesthetically pleasing and started to walk out the store, when I caught sight of the Droid Eris. Another Droid phone? Yes, this one made by HTC, in fact it looks like a repackaged HTC hero. I liked the slimmer, smaller form factor, the rubberized casing, and the blackberry like trackball. It too has a touchscreen, and also has haptic feedback. The Eris has a decent 5 Megapixel camera and shoots both pics and video. That's not bad at all. Unlike Motorola's Droid, it runs Android 1.5 (compared to 2.0) and seems a bit slower because of it. It's still pretty zippy and the EVDO is quick. The added bonus, it has multi-touch, where you can zoom in and out with a pinch, just like on the iPhone. The Android store is growing quickly, with only the Apple App store with more applications. The Eris is $99 for a 2 year commitment. Check out my pics below! If you're on Verizon, and don't want to switch carriers, either Droid phone is a great option!