Motorola Droid Vs. BlackBerry Storm 2

[@markmains4607]

Watching this in 2022! I had both phones and loved both of them… but the droid was incredible. Amazing how far we have come!!!

[@TechRefreshed]

Another nice review Jon! Can you ask LP to do more reviews and comparisons. They are awesome.

[@CliveStaplesL]

I'm sure many have already said this, but you can change how many icons appear on the home screen of the Storm 2 if you go to the options menu. You may select one row (4), two rows (8) or three rows (12). You may even select "Today" which gives you a full screen readout for messages, phone calls, and calendar.

[@zsmorr92]

For those of you saying the droid doesn't have multitouch, yes it does.. it just doesn't have pinch and zoom, those two things are not synonymous. The onscreen keyboard for example, supports multitouch.

[@geekanoids]

I want this Droid so much. Still waiting to hear if this is coming to the UK. Please Motorola, release this in the UK so I can review and KEEP it as my main phone.

[@tahnolikessharing]

Jon, you're wrong when you say you can't choose how many icons show up on the short home screen. If you're on the short home screen, press the Blackberry button twice, or if you're on the full menu already, press it once. Then select Options, you'll see an option that says Layout, select it and you can choose how many rows of icons you'd like to display. You have the choice of one, two, or three rows, as well as a "today" option. Which will show your messages, calender, etc.

[@roccosvan]

I didn't have time to go through all 400+ comments but the storm 2 is NOT limited to 8 icons on the home screen in portrait mode. You can choose, 1, 2, or 3 rows of 4 icons for a total of 4, 8 or 12 icons.

[@barenkd316]

This is a pretty cool video, but one thing to keep in mind is that the virtual qwerty on the Droid does work in landscape too, and it's a lot more spacious that way than in portrait.

[@ARusso1192]

What an era

[@22krunk]

OMG!!!! I'm so glad I saw this video! The comparison could have not been done any better. I been trying to decide on whether I wanted the DROID or the STORM 2, and I couldn' t decide. But now I have decided on the DROID! I'm so gonna go get it today!

[@fullback118]

Yes, it is supposed to have multi touch enabled in the default browser, and photo gallery. From what I understand it is already available with the newest version of Google Maps. Multi touch is currently available using the Dolphin web browser with the Droid.

[@SaraPurserisawesome]

I don't know if anyone has said it or not but you can actually change how many icons you put on the home screen on the front page of the BlackBerry. You can have 1, 2 or 3 rows of 4.

[@jjguitar]

Correction: You're not stuck at 8 icons on the Storm's home screen. You can have 4, 8, or 12.

[@tayl0rd553]

Don't know if it's been stated already, but he is INCORRECT that you can't adjust the number of icons viewable on the Storm2. You can adjust it from one giant icon up to 16 (four rows of four icons.)

[@SquireofFire]

actually the droid does have full multitouch including pinch gestures but that is not the droid which will be on the verizone network. the european droid (gsm version called milestone for no apparent reason) will have pinch gestures as well.

[@irishgandalf757]

one thing that you have seemed to not to have noticed (correct me if i'm wrong, it's just my impression) is that the droid has a landscape touchscreen keyboard as well as the portrait touchscreen and the slide out physical keyboard.

[@plasterofparisify]

Hey Jon I always liked your reviews both of these phones are great. I have to ask what apps were running in the background on the storm 2? I think a fair comparison is to show that only the core apps were loaded on each to have the fairest comparison. the Storm like the Storm 2 has a problem with not fully closing apps after being loaded. to fully close apps and increase speed hold down the blackberry button and close each app. Its a pretty natural thing for us crackberry users to do.

[@appleberry2945]

I don't care if the storm 2 is that slow i'm still getting it and its quite stylish too

[@rml695]

If you read this, John, I have a request. Demo the read aloud menus please (I'm curious as to how deep the levels go).

[@Mark0jian]

you can also choose a "today" menu, which shows appointments and such on the home screen.

[@VAR1UM]

dear god. another video without ridiculous comparisons to apple products... Jon4lakers, your gaining my respect back! Cant wait till friday. I pre ordered my Droid through Best buy... Im antsy like a little kid before christmas.

[@steph12085]

You can change the icons from 8 to 4 or even to 12. All you have to do is click the blackberry button twice and an options menu will show up. When you click on the options you can change how many icons you have on the home screen. The other way is to highlight an icon or click the blackberry button and the options will come up.

[@LrdElderon]

I think something that should be said in these reviews is that while by default there is no multi touch zoom for the browser on the droid, the device IS multi touch capable. I don't know why it wasn't put in to begin with (license issue?) but apps can take advantage of it and perhaps an updated browser can add that functionality.

[@snookieflash]

Why should you be reviewing when you dont know anything about the blackberry. You can change the home screen buttons to any number you want

[@SmokeeBrown]

This information is incorrect. On the SureType Keyboard, you pressed the wrong key. On the main menu, you can extend the amount of icons on the desktop. You just didn't know how to do it, which in all fairness, you did mention at the beginning that you do not regularly use either of these devices. I am merely identifying a few inaccuracies.

[@iRockIshVids]

Haha I like how he was reviewing the droid's browser, and the storm was still loadin =D Nice review

[@dexART_75]

No, at 12:57 he is wrong. If you go to the themes options, you can change the number of apps on the front screen. You can have 1, 2, or 3 rows!!

[@KnockSwag]

LOL "MegaPickles" Oh man, Jon you're the best

[@phurpa2009]

Thanks much for this excellent comparison! Just what I was looking for.

[@513zach]

there is one thing i caught and that was on the storm 2, you can in fact change how many icons are on the short menu. all you have to do is go to the main menu and click the blackberry button again then click layout then which set of rows you perfer :)

[@Zshazz]

Well, from using it, I can tell you that there is no shakiness of the slide. It's a much more solid phone than my old blackberry was. The slide is a very nice solid smooth movement with an extremely delightful click-into-place sound :)

[@veajustin]

you didnt even review the landscape horizontal virtual keyboard on the droid, did you even know about it?

[@krissrock]

yo jon...messed up. You can customize the amount of icons that show up on the home screen..you are not stuck with 8

[@sqriv]

he's probably working on those videos?

[@StormTrackTN]

Yes, you can change the amount of icons on the home screen. I have mine set to 3 rows.

[@specialK312]

people are talking about how the Droids browser is faster than Storm2's but all you have to do is switch of javascript and download a new browser like Opera mini or something and the Storm 2 's browser speed is going to be just as fast as Droids if not faster

[@CCKsoldier]

There's an app called "Fresh Face" that you can use to get a Sense-like skin on a standard Android phone. Good luck finding something ported, but if you do let me know.

[@MichaelMarks]

@SterbendesFeuer This is because the Droid has been updated to Android 2.1 since March 30th. This enabled pinch-to-zoom.

[@janderson2494]

Why is everyone saying that it's a biased comparison? It can't be biased if one phone is clearly better than the other. He prefers the Droid better because its obviously the better of the two

[@spirg]

THX. JON, question- how does the droid fare regarding e-mail ? no one talks about it much. im switching from blackberry to droid. thx, joe...

[@jamiesmith18]

thank you for this review...these were 2 of the phones i am considering to get and it was very helpful to see this

[@ThEuNdYiNg1]

i like how the motorola droid plays youtube videos straight from the browser

[@johnu2008]

Stop at 12:43 fix that. you can control how many icons you want on the home screen of the black berry storm. you have an option of 3 rows, 2 rows, or 1 row of icons. even what icons u want on ur home screen.

[@PhilipStinger]

When comparing the typing in portrait, perhaps you should press the right keys when typing "This is a test"; you pressed [TY] [GH] [UI] [DF] [Space] [UI] [AS] [Space] [AS] [Space] [TY] [AS] [TY] [AS]. With those keypresses, you should end up with "Thud is a tats" AND you CAN change the number of icons on the homescreen from the 8 default. Options include 4, 8, 16, and a 'Today' layout. (Limited, yes, but not as limited as you state). Learn your products before reviewing them.

[@crawfordjason]

A fatal flaw with this comparison, anybody that knows Blackberrys knows nobody uses the default BB browser, almost everybody uses Opera or Bolt. And both of them load way faster than the BB browser.

[@feztheforeigner]

On the virtual keyboard test you forgot to mention just how awesome the landscape keyboard on the Droid is (using the acceloremeter you can have a giant virtual keyboard). You can turn on that "nice haptic feedback" in the virtual keyboard under the settings. Droid definitely wins!!!

[@rockerbot5000]

dude stop it with these cell phone battles. bring back ps3 vs xbox360. thats why i subbed

[@zsmorr92]

How would that be a more fair comparison? This is dealing with the default browsers... plus opera mini also works on the Droid..

[@DumbDoraTheExplorer]

Hi! You are not "stuck with 8" icons on the front- i have limited my homescreen to just 4.

[@emr1028]

considering all the money you have to pay for data plans (the same on both) is the $50 difference that much of a big deal?

[@Site4Animation]

My web pages NEVER take that long to load on my Storm. I don't know why you're having such problems with it (to the guy that made the video). But, for most things on my Storm when it comes to surfing the web, I use Opera Mini. It's wickidly fast. Flippin' insane.

[@three30seven]

honestly is it really that hard to type on the physical keyboard on the droid? i heard its difficult but it doesnt look too bad..

[@frenchydoll6]

Don't forget that there is also a SOFT KEYBOARD on the DROID in LANDSCAPE MODE. And in another video it shows that it works very well.

[@wowgabewow]

I will admit that the open source aspect of the Droid is a huge downfall for the Blackberry Storm2 as well as the Blackberry OS in general. Customization these days is key to success as a phone.

[@spann37]

How do you know both browsers weren't set to the default settings? I think if you leave them at the defaults and see how they work WITHOUT tweaking its a pretty accurate test. And just about ALL of these phone remember words now, that's not exclusive to the BB. And the home screen on the Android phone is not restricted by a grid here, or a row there. You place whatever program you want, anywhere you want on up to 3 screens. Sounds a lot like sour grapes here to me dude.

[@buruzn09]

I think the droid has a landscape soft keyboard, so I would have liked to see that as part of the comparison. Cool vid though.

[@Slipknotfanatic89]

Not necessarily, they could also be texts. Regardless, wouldn't it have been a little more fair to the phone to delete them or at least read them prior to conducting memory intensive activities...

[@geekanoids]

Thanks for that info.

[@RobynHode8]

Yes, but you're still stuck with the Storm 2.

[@Ropinlizard]

um...you CAN change how many buttons are on the home screen of the Storm. You can use Themes to create custom layouts. And it will do allot of things. But in spite of your blatant bias throughout the video, I admit, Droid devices are better.

[@mcbainlover]

I think that something was weird with his BB connection. My Storm 1 loaded techno buffalo much faster. Also, in terms of customization on the BB you can download entire themes that make it look like anything you want from windows to the iphone. Also you can change the number of icons on the home screen from 0,4, or 8. I feel like you don't really know very much about the blackberry and it shows in your review.

[@Amcacs5654]

He may like it, but he said in another video he has been using the Iphone for 2 years I think.

[@schizowallflower]

I currently have the Storm 9530 and am not disappointed. Sure, the Droid blows it out of the water, but I enjoy the phone. I don't notice many of the problems other people say are very noticeable, but that's because I don't look for them, I just use the phone. I'd say the Storm 2 is a great phone, but when you put it up against a Droid, what do you think is going to happen? I say this was a great comparison, but if I upgrade anytime soon I'll probably stick with RIM. I like them.

[@Q9R42]

Why does the storm even have a browser? Wait.. The storm loads slower, and more often, and has less apps then the android? Yet, you say that it's about personal preference. Hum.. Maybe you just mean with what apps it has. Hope to see you cover the types of apps and such in a later review then (: For the record, you should probably tone down on the "Personal preference" thing. Most of us wants to see what you think, since you're an expert at it and all.

[@WellThisHad2BeMyName]

In comparison to the iPhone's touchscreen, how sensitive is the touchscreen on the Droid?

[@MRindependentTHINK]

you can change how many icons appear at the home screen YOU ARE NOT STUCK AT 8. JUST PRESS BLACKBERRY KEY 2TIMES AND GO TO OPTIONS

[@KQucsai]

I just got my S2 and I can tell you it does not load Techno Buffalo faster than the droid but it is much closer than than in this video review. I am thinking there is something wrong with that S2 in the video. I can say that there are other choices for browsers if you find you dont like the original BB browser.

[@budman62]

you can add another row of icons on the homescreen of the BBS2. I have the Storm 9530 and I have 12 icons on my homescreen...you are not restricted to 8 you also clearly typed "this is a test" wrong on the Storm 2 but I appreciate the review

[@funkdified1]

He's the only person I know that calls a magnifying glass an "hour glass". *smacks forehead*

[@R0CKNR0LLA]

i want the droid but i heard the battery life is terrible, is that true? i'm decideing between these 2 phones

[@JamaicanMeCrazy]

how is typing on it. I have the storm as well but i dont use it any more. Beleive it or not my primary phone is the inferior gemini cuz i like the wifi and the physical keys. Can you type pretty fast with it?

[@virocide]

I loaded up TechnoBuffalo on my Black Berry Tour along with your video and mine took about 10-15 secs with signal at 1 to 2 bars, that's way faster then the storm you show even when it's on wifi. Is there an issue with your phone or the storm 2 in general or something that would cause such a difference because they are both running the same OS/Browser

[@REman07]

Try it with Opera 2 or Bolt. The default browser doesnt work well on the BB. The Storm has a new OS out which is great. Very fast and has a lot of great features.

[@RobSwindol]

I have a feeling that the Storm 2 needs to have its cache cleard. I tried loading the techno buffalo site in sinc with the video and mine opened almost as quickly as the droid using verizon's internet. I don't have a wifi signal at my home to test that.

[@SensesFailx13xx]

i've heard from a few different sources that the iphone is coming to verizon this june.

[@CoryF989]

Jon, you got the bad Droid. The good one has keys that are slightly raised on the QWERTY keyboard and its much easier

[@mitube4u]

OK One he missed on Droid is that you can also use the soft keys in landscape mode too. which makes the keyboad a lot bigger and easier to use than in portrait. I don't know how in the hell he missed that one...

[@zc456]

I don't know what's worse, Blackberry vs Android or the iOS vs Android fanboy-wars. Aside from the Storm, Blackberrys are a totally different kinds of phones compared to the ones running iOS or Android.

[@TriGuy30]

@cashxx thats because Apple's store has had just a wee bit more time to expand, but the Android Market is growing exponentially. 9000+ new apps last month. How is the OS incomplete? Seems pretty damn complete to me.

[@callmemarc]

So how much has the Storm 2 improved with software updates?

[@Swazi4]

I had a Storm 2, and after a few months, wanted to throw it through the wall. I currently have a droid and love it.

[@KingKaelMusic]

when you were typing with the blackberry on the sure type keyboard you didnt even press half the buttons you were trying to and mine is not nearly as slow on the browser as yours.

[@VinsonX]

Did anyone notice that he hit the wrong keys on the Storm and expected it to come out right? I mean, auto-correct can only do so much if you're typing gibberish.

[@edgarm.7143]

for testing the browser speed you need to be on the same wi-fi connection, not on the 3G

[@Surfinstro]

Thanks John! Very helpful video! I just ordered 2 Droids

[@jimmyspickle]

i love all your videos but you are mistaken. on the storm or storm2 you don't just have to have 8 icons on the home screen, your able to use 4, 8, or 12.

[@X54NDM4NX]

what is the price of the Motorola Droid? And the BB2 is awesome but I am not a big fan of blackberries

[@spazshane]

yeah that doesnt make any sense but droid should automatically when because it has both soft portrait, landscape (not tested) and hard qwerty, it should be a win win.

[@Firetemp]

Will the Sense UI work on this phone? I'll be looking for a skin like the Sense or Touchflo for my Droid. Any recommendations?

[@Hynut4]

people who are on about the storm 2 beating the droid are wrong, it much slower by at least 10 seconds! and when using Opera Mini it keeps up but is still slower and the scrolling is still laggy! + Opera Mini isnt the default browser and so using that against the droids default would be an unfair test, droid win hands down on the browser section!

[@Zshazz]

+1. The landscape virtual keyboard on the Droid is probably my favorite to use most of the time...

[@fishaman1980]

You are wrong on the eight icons. You can change the amount in the themes menu.

[@SpydaKid]

sorry to correct you, but you can change the amount of icons on the screen, i've done, i have 4 now

[@FryBRDN]

There is an app that you can download on the Droid to get multi touch.. Sorry I forgot what it is called but I saw it in another vid

[@AnatomyofPaparazzi]

i don't understand when you test the keyboards out... how you just hit where the area of the letter is? i mean you kinda have to pay attention, you can't just put your finger anywhere on it and expect it to hit the letter you want.

[@Keylen216]

i hate to say it but you are wrong about customizing your home screen you not stuck a eight all you have to do is go to options an choose how many icons you want on there.

[@bsebll4lfe3]

i recently got the droid in january and i have to say its ridiculous. havent had any problems with it yet.. and you get used to the keyboard and i can type as fast as i did on my voyager with the droid. not to mention the countless updates for it and also can be hacked to have multitouch for the browser and also have 5 or 7 home screens.. best phone ive had so far

[@tinseltownchick]

do u have the blackberry storm2?? can i ask u some questions about it??

[@RandomForestGump]

Yeah, but you are not as rush as when it comes to receive an email right away. I mean, you browse most of the time for entertaiment purposes I believe.

[@Thatguy7531]

whats better the droid or the blackberry tour