Motorola Droid 3 user reviews (Verizon Wireless)

Pros Pros:

- Dual core processor results in little to no load time no matter what you are doing
- Call quality/clarity is slightly improved over previous Droids
- Adobe Flash now works as intended, there are only a handful of sites that challenge this device

Cons Cons:

- Bloatware such as Kindle and Blockbuster is annoying and cannot be removed unless you root
- Inductive battery cover allows for wireless charging pads but does not insulate well against heat, your hand will frequently be hot as the 1500 mAh batte

Summary Finally, the Droid 3 is here! No, it doesn't have 4G. Yes, it has a great physical keyboard. If no 4G LTEis going to be a deal-breaker for you, there's nothing you'll read here that will change your mind. I live 30 miles from Philadelphia, and there is next to no coverage in this area, so it isn't a factor for me.

First, let's discuss the 5 row keyboard. Personally, I will never be able to get used to using a touch screen or Swype to type with, so I tried to find the best phone on the market with a physical QWERTY keyboard. I upgraded from a Droid 1 which I purchased at launch, and I am quite happy i waited. This keyboard is way ahead of both the Droid 1 and the Droid 2, and not just for the 5th row. The keys are larger, have a slight bit of space between them, and have a good "feel" to them. It really does make that much of a difference.

Next, I have to talk about the speed of this phone. Just to see how far I could go with it, I tried multi-tasking around 15 apps, including streaming FM radio, Youtube, a 3D MMO RPG game I downloaded from the Market, and Dolphin Browser with 6 tabs loaded. Everything worked smoothly with absolutely no performance impact that I could notice. The dual core seems to really do the trick. When I downloaded Adobe Flash on the original Droid, it was a joke, not worth the small amount of space it takes up. Now it works brilliantly, and the only thing that really gives the phone difficulty is running a Flash encoded video in full screen. Normal, everyday use is fine. (Granted, I've only had it for 3 days.)

Now I don't do a lot with the camera and a lot of video recording, but what I did record is crystal clear. The 1080p video is gorgeous, and when coupled with the HDMI out cable to a decent HD LED TV, you'll be very pleased with the quality. As for the camera, it is a great quality 8MP camera, with a couple of faults. It is a little annoying that there is no physical camera button, but this might be my personal issue and others won't care. What you will care is about is the Flash. The default setting is "Auto Flash" which is supposed to detect the ambient light present and determine if the camera flash should be used or not. The problem is that the camera seems to want to utilize the flash in brightest day or darkest night, which results in me having to manually turn it on/off. This was a problem in Droid 1 and has carried over to this device.

Now for the downsides. This device runs hot. There is no other way to put it. After extended use, it will get hot in your hand, which gets annoying. I downloaded a freeware battery analysis app from the Android Marketplace, and the device seems to average temperatures of 101F to 105F after about 45 minutes of active use. I even saw it go as high as 116F! The battery cover does not help matters, as it is very slim. Apparently this allows it to recharge on a wireless charging pad if you have one of those devices, but I do not. I would have appreciated a thicker cover which did a better job of insulating heat.

For those that enjoy tinkering with their phones and customizing to their heart's delight, you will be disappointed that it comes shipped with a locked bootloader. Not sure what else to say about that. I have no desire to hack or root my phone, but for those that do, you are out of luck as of the writing of this review.

Other than that, there are some nitpicky issues. Motoblur UI takes a little while to get used to if you've been on Droid 1 for awhile, and it has some minor quirks such as scrolling left to right to view your app list, but nothing too awful. The device does not come with the extended battery, and it isn't even available for purchase yet (that I could find). If you have a Droid 1 or 2 and enjoy the Multimedia docking station, you will need a new one as the location of the mini USB charging port has moved.

The phone comes pre-loaded with some bloatware such as Citrix, Blockbuster and Kindle and some games. Some of these can be removed, some cannot (except if you root the device). Not too big of a deal for me, but as I have 72 apps currently installed, I don't want to be forced to look at icons which I will never use. If you purchase this phone, you will definitely want to download some type of "Startup Manager" type of app, so that unnecessary bloatware services don't eat away your phone's memory when first booted.

Last thing, many phone reviews these days do not talk about call quality, which is the purpose of a phone (no, not Angry Birds!). I am happy to report that the call clarity seems a little bit better than that of the Droid 1, especially while on speakerphone. Also, when answering an incoming call, you do not need to "slide" to answer, you can simply press the answer button on the main interface, which is great. There is a feature called "In-Pocket" detection that claims to "Lock your device automatically when inserted in pocket. This is a great idea which would prevent "butt dialing", but I cannot say for sure that it works or not, or how the device determines if it is located in a jeans pocket or not.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the product presented here. I would have made a few design decisions differently here or there, but there is so much to love. It is everything I hoped the Droid 1 would be, and more. Give it a test drive, but if you don't care about having a physical keyboard and 4G is at the top of your wishlist, there is probably a better product out there for you waiting to be released any day now.

Updated on Jul 14, 2011

Cnet cut off the beginning of my review, I apologize. Here is the full list of pros and cons as it was originally intended to appear:

Pros:

- Dual core processor results in little to no load time no matter what you are doing
- Call quality/clarity is slightly improved over previous Droids
- Adobe Flash now works as intended, there are only a handful of sites that challenge this device
- 1080p video recording is phenomenal and a snap to use
- 8MP camera is crystal clear, and much better than comparable Motorola phones
- Seamless transition/upgrade from a Droid 1, Droid 2 or Droid X
- Initial boot time extremely fast
- Front facing camera very intuitive and is useful for Skype/videoconferencing
- 5 row keyboard feels great and new keyboard has physical space between the keys
- HDMI out could be useful in certain situations

Updated on Jul 14, 2011

Cons:

- Bloatware such as Kindle and Blockbuster is annoying and cannot be removed unless you root
- Inductive battery cover allows for wireless charging pads but does not insulate well against heat, your hand will frequently be hot as the 1500 mAh battery seems to be constantly running at 105F+
- Locked bootloader will frustrate those who want to tinker with the phone
- Does not come with extended battery by default
- Incompatible with original Multimedia Station for Droid 1
- Battery cover difficult to remove/replace
- Stock browser and text messaging apps still unacceptable
- Some legacy apps broken with Android v 2.34
- Motoblur UI is a love it/hate it scenario
- Battery life could be better
- Lack of physical camera button slightly irritating