Droid vs. iPhone: A 10-round bout

[Update: See the author's response to commenters in his follow-up post: "Droid vs. iPhone: Them's fightin' words'" —Ed.]

The Motorola Droid, available today from Verizon for $200 after rebates, is the latest in series of phones, including the Blackberry Storm, T-Mobile G1, and Palm Pre, to be floated as a potential threat to Apple’s iPhone, the undefeated champion of the smart-phone world. Other media who’ve weighed in on the showdown include Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo, and Engadget.

I liked what I saw when I put a press sample of the Droid through its paces. (See the Droid review here.) Now, as our testers complete their extensive tests on the Droid, here’s my 10-round preliminary take on how the new Verizon smart phone fares against the iPhone 3G S, which remains—at least for now—the highest-rated smart phone in our Ratings (available to subscribers).

Ding ding:

Round 1. Touch screen. Advantage: iPhone. Both phones have highly responsive touch screens. But the iPhone's is multitouch for all functions, allowing you to zoom in and out of photos and Web pages by pinching or spreading your fingers. The Droid has such multitouch functionality only when running certain applications, according to Engadget.

Round 2. Interface. Advantage: Droid. A tough call, since both phones have a terrific icon-based interface that makes finding and launching their many features a snap. However the Droid, which employs the latest 2.0 version of Google’s Android operating system, allows a higher degree of personalization via widgets and other tools, and you put all of your e-mails from different accounts (except Gmail) under one view.

Round 3. Display. Tossup. The Droid’s 3.7-in. display is the largest we’ve seen on any phone, and appears to be very sharp and bright, with higher pixel density (240 dpi) than the iPhone (163 dpi). But the iPhone’s display is the best of any phone we’ve tested to date.

Round 4. Keyboard. Advantage: Droid. Both phones have responsive virtual keyboards, though the iPhone’s seems noticeably better. But the Droid adds a real QWERTY keyboard, one that’s responsive, well-spaced, and backlit for dark environments.

Round 5. Searches. Advantage: iPhone. Both phone's search features are very similar. Just start typing a term, and they scour you contacts, music, and documents for that term. But iPhone digs deeper, searching your calendars and e-mails as well.

Round 6. Speed. Tossup. I found the Droid and the iPhone 3GS to be equally, and impressively, fast when switching apps and when downloading Web pages—provided there’s a strong 3G or Wi-Fi signal, of course. They also respond quickly if you need to abort a mistake, such as launching the wrong application.

Round 7. Choice of apps. Advantage: iPhone. Not even close. Apple's App store currently stocks 100,000 apps, while the latecoming Android Marketplace has a mere 10,000.

Round 8. Phone network. Advantage: Droid. Sorry iPhone, no contest. Verizon has consistently trumped other carriers, including AT&T, in our surveys.

Round 9. Camera. Advantage: iPhone. Droid's 5-megapixel camera is well-equipped, and makes it easy to share your pics via Facebook, e-mail, SMS, Picasa, or Bluetooth data. But iPhone's 3.2-megapixel camera is more fun, with its tap-to-focus and macro (closeup) features, and its on-phone video editing.

Round 10. Auto Navigation. Advantage: iPhone. The Droid’s the first phone to offer the “free” beta version of Google Maps Navigation, but early feedback from our Cars colleagues suggests it’s an underwhelming performer.

The final count in rounds? Five to the iPhone 3G S, three to the Droid, two rounds a tossup. The bottom line? Neither phone scored a knockout, but the Droid may indeed be the most promising contender yet to Apple’s smart phone.

The bout will have to be decided on points—as in the Overall Score our ringside judges test engineers will tally for the Droid in our labs. We’ll compare that score to the stellar one for the iPhone 3G S, and render a decision soon. —Mike Gikas

Comments

[Darrell69]

I am a semi-unhappy AT&T customer. I live in Central Ca. and from time to time have experienced dropped calls. I am due for an upgrade and have been considering an Iphone. With all the reports of increasing network problems however,i am also considering switching to Verizon and the Droid. After reading all of your comments ,what i think i'm going to do is continue to use my trustworthy Blackberry Curve until the day Apple goes to Verizon.

[Clinton Cimring]

iPhone with 93K+ apps would have to be the better pic. Droid also seems more targeted towards teens. I can run several different types of stock trading platforms on the iPhone.
http://www.searchenginepartner.com/

[Corey]

I'm with Verizon and would love to have an iPhone. I would switch to AT&T in a heartbeat but in the Midwest, they simply have poor signal and dropped calls all the time. You literally can go from full bars to no bars and back to full bars on a 50 ft walk. I was with AT&T, I made the switch in past for rollover minutes and it was the longest 2 years of my life. I don't know why they can't get it fixed in Midwest. When I was with AT&T, I went to Florida on vaca and had great service, but not in Chicago or Northern Indiana.

[Jeff]

I don't know about some of the points, its like they didnt even use the phones. I am trying to decide between the Droid and iPhone and actually looked at both side by side today. Im not sure how display is a tie, the droid's display looked amazing compared to the iphone's- Im talking HD vs SD type good. Also did no one even use the google navigation? I also thought the droid keyboard was a waste of space and I would give the iphone the win for having an on screen keyboard that beat out the droids physical one. Searches- its google, and its voice activated. The other points I don't mention I would agree with.

[Mel]

I have read the review and all of the comments and I am more confused now than I was before I read any of this. I have had no issues with AT&T, probably because I live in CA. The only thing here that made any sense is that the iPhone is here to stay and the androids will come and go without any staying power. Everyone that I know that has an iPhone loves it. The people that I know who have had androids (not the new Droid) have had nothing but problems. So for me, the iPhone wins.

[karl roebling]

The reviewer compares optional iPhone gps navigation apps to the free navigation app included with the Droid. Was the reviewer unaware of the several optional gps navigation apps available for all Android phones, including the Droid? CoPilot makes a good one (http://www.alk.com/copilot/android/), as does TeleNav (http://www.telenav.com/campaign/telenav-gps-navigator/t-mobile-g-1-phone).
And I wonder about the difference in the value of the iPhone's reported 100,000 apps versus the Android-running Droid's 10,000 apps. Clearly, since the reviewer did not notice the optional navigation apps available for the Droid, he did not familiarize himself with the thousands of available apps. Wouldn't a better metric for comparison of the platforms be the quality of the programs instead of the number of them?
Finally, I've had both an iPhone and a Droid and was very impressed by them but I found the cost of service to be too high on the iPhone's AT&T network and I missed the keyboard. And, like commenter Janie, I, too, had quality problems on my Droid that caused me to return it. Twice. So I'm back to my trusty G1 and T-Mobile with new respect and admiration. My G1 is a reliable workhorse of a phone with 90% of the capabilities of either an iPhone or a Droid plus it has T-Mobile's incomparable combination of price, coverage and incredible customer service.

[Janie]

I am on my SECOND droid in two weeks....very very poor mic quality. My personally recorded voice mail announcement was substandard. people I called complained of the lack of clarity in what they were hearing. Version exchanged my DROID in the thought that it was the phone, however, I have the same problem. Technical support and communication with the verision staff was outstanding. I am switching to the phone that started the vision.

[Jack]

Stuart,

You're spot on... I was streaming Pandora the other day while surfing the net. Heck, I was streaming Pandora while Google Maps was navigating me back home from Arlington. Even checked a couple of emails along the way.

Sure, you can do *SOME* of these things with a jailbroken iPhone... but heck, Apple sometimes even claims that jailbreaking your phone is *illegal!* I don't believe that it is.. but I do find it funny.

Google, just last night, released a bunch of the Android 2.0 source code for anyone who wants it.

I'm no fanboy either way, btw... I have a Mac Pro upstairs and absolutely love the thing. Mac all the way for me... except when I have no alternative.

[Scott]

Ever heard of Jailbreak? Cydia destroys the App Store and Marketplace. Enables multitasking, TETHERING for FREE, complete customizing ( I mean complete ), getting App Store apps for FREE, etc. With Jailbreak, iPhone wins hands down. I had all of these things the Droid had minus the camera and slide out keyboard a long time ago. And let's be honest: 3.2 or 5 megapixels on a phone makes no difference. It's a PHONE! They will always be mediocre pictures.

Also, it's one person's review. It's opinion. Stop the crucifixion.

[Jeremy]

I just wanted to add to what some others (and I haven't read many of them) have said, this review is useless. You give wins to one device or the other for such whimsical reasons. For example: The droid has a bigger screan, higher resolution, greater pixel density.. winner, iPhone?!!

Give me a break. It goes the other way too, every other review I've read states the iPhone's keyboard is better than the droid's. Sure, the droid has the physical KB, but it's not that great.

Another one that irks me, 100,000 vs 10,000 apps -- quality over quantity, folks. I'm not saying the iPhone's app store isn't better, because for all I know it is, but who cares how many apps are in there if no one is ever going to use 90% of them?

Sorry for the rant -- I'm loving my droid, but I have no problem with the iPhone either, I just happened to be on Verizon and due an upgrade. Just try to make your reviews more based on fact, and don't contradict yourself so much.

[itsjohnib]

The bottom line. If one travels at all; AT&T's service is the pits in comparison to Verizon's much superior service. The reason to purchase a mobile cell phone is to be able to communicate when one is mobile. Therefore the Iphone is of no use as a mobile cell phone device; unless one plans to stand in place that is.

Further Apple has no choice, but to sign on with Verizon in the very near future, as the Droids are going to keep coming and coming and coming. If Apple waits to long; well you get the picture.

[Anirban]

Well,
Its pointless to even compare Iphone with any other phone.
It was iphone which has set the trend for all followers now.
Everybody will try to copy what iphone has to offer...but no one came with a product like iphone till Apple themselves did....
Apple believes in innovation and not copying previously done stuff!!
Look at all the products from apple till date.
They have always come up with something innovative and refreshing in technology.
I do not want to be a deliberate fan of apple but it is what it is.No guilt feeling to admit right?? :)

[Paul Rivers]

Holy crap.

Someone posted a light-weight blog entry on the phones, people. It's neither a real serious article, nor objectively tested, nor does it claim to be.

Holy cow - chill out.

[PulSamsara]

How can display be a tossup ?
The Droid clearly has a better display.

[Steve]

Surprising that you didn't actually compare the PHONE - call quality, voice transmission, speaker, etc. I also failed to see how the iPhone had an advantage in navigation when they only think you noted was that the beta version of Google Navigation was not very good - how is that an iphone advantage? As far as I know the iphone doesn't come with ANY navigation software pre-installed. I think you could make the searches a tossup since the Droid also has voice search. And since when did a 3.2 megapixel camera beat a 5 megapixel camera because it was more fun? That's like saying my disposable camera is better than my SLR because its more fun - ridiculous.

[Tarun D.]

Mike Gikas is an Apple fanboy - that is the only thing I got out of this article.

The Droid has better screen and better camera. And believe me, the Maps app on Droid is only a software update away from blowing away the iPhone maps application.

The Apple App Store is filled up with a lot of crap rather useful applications - believe me, I've been there and done that. That was one of the reasons I sold my iPhone.

The Droid App Store, well, I haven't tried it but to quote Robert Strohmeyer from PC World, "In reality, it doesn't matter whether you have 10,000 apps to choose from or 100,000. What matters is whether you can find the apps you need." I agree with him completely because most websites or service related websites have mobile enabled web pages that I can access via the browser.

Android 2.0 is a young mobile OS and just like the iPhone Mobile OS, Android will evolve into a very strong suited OS which will be open to everyone without paying over a $1000 just to "rights" to develop an application.

[scades]

Umm---

Wouldn't one of the first questions about cell phones be "How good is voice reception and transmission"? I know that actually using a cell as a phone is passe, but some of us still use them that way.

[Khoa]

For an institution that prides itself on objectivity, this is a terrible article. For at least the screen and GPS, it points out some flaws in the Droid, but doesn't say why the iPhone is better, yet awards it the win. And I'm not sure if your testers would award a regular camera points for "fun." I know it's a blog, so rash judgments are the norm, but that's why we have Engadget and Gizmodo.

[Tristan Greenfield]

I agree wholeheartedly with this review.

I have had the opportunity to explore this in depth. My personal experience with the droid is.... well, it wasn't good. As every other recent smartphone touted as the "iphone killer" it too has fallen short. It disappoints. The only people that like it, like it for the sole purpose of being a "rebel" against Apple. I used to be one of those fanboys that refused to buy a certain product because I was jealous of the manufacturer's superiority in production to whatever it is I was using at the time. Then I grew up and became an adult. So now I won't go and purchase a product because I hate the competition for no good reason at all.

The iPhone is superior in every way to the droid. It will always be superior.

Those of you angry with the review should quit being so biased and angry over nothing. Buy an iphone. Then you will be happy.

Thanks Consumer Reports for an accurate, perfect review!

[Stuart Reynolds]

Hey! Have you actually tried it?

"The Droid’s the first phone to offer the “free” beta version of Google Maps Navigation, but early feedback from our Cars colleagues suggests it’s an underwhelming performer."

Come on! Coming from Consumer Reports this is pretty half assed. Please keep you religious views to yourself until you can speak with authority on a topic.

I've used the iPhone navigation extensively and I can say that the DROID is far superior. The display allows far more detail and it gives turn by turn directions loud and clear through a far superior speaker. It also supports Google Latitude, which, if you'd also tried this, you'd know that it turns it into a truely useful navigation system -- the best I've seen anywhere, hands down.

And multitasking! I can stream music while on a roadtrip with GPS. Just imagine...
Please try the products before you review them.

[Brenda]

I keep hearing the AT&T network denigrated. I rarely have dropped calls, maybe 1 in a 100. Also, I helped a relative move from Georgia to Utah, driving all the way. The three drivers, I was one of them, had 3 different cell providers. Mine is AT&T, which I've had since it was BellSouth Mobility, and I consistently had the best coverage. More than half the time, the other drivers were using my cell phone to call the other relatives.

[Fredphoesh]

Hi Mike
Interesting review, but for me, one of the things reviewers often miss WRT a disadvantage of the iPhone, is what for me is THE REASON I will never buy one.

MUSIC!
With the iPhone, you have to use quicktime, itunes, a proprietory cable. You cannot drag and drop folders of music to and from your phone.

I detest all of that (and I own two mac computers of my own). I like being able to plug in to a generic USB, on ANY computer anywhere, and just add or remove or copy music to and from the device as much as I want, no interference from a freak controlling Apple.

This would make iPhone (or an iPod for that matter) completely unacceptable to me.

Mark UK.

[shufflemoomin]

This was the most half-assed comparison ever. How about mentioning open-source and the fact that better apps are likely over time, the fact you're not tied to proprietary software like iTunes and you're not under Apples control?

[Kris]

Maybe you should test the google nav before you give nav advantage to the iphone... sure pay $100 dollars more and have nav on the iphone but Google nav is free and works very well and is still in beta. I sure hope me this is not a sign of your research as I have trusted you on cars for years. The Iphone does not even do nav out of the box.... I have had both by the way.

[Jim]

Wow, what a bunch of whiners. Isn't it obvious from the light hearted tone of this review that it is not meant to be taken as hard scientific data? Why don't you people that are so upset just step back and listen to how ridiculous you sound for slamming CR and acting like they have committed a criminal act. If this really upsets you , then get a life.