Droid Pro Rated 3.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News' Review of Reviews
Reviewers of the Droid Pro by Motorola all liked the QWERTY keyboard, enhanced security, and mobile hotspot capabilities. The reviewers did not agree on the quality of the HVGA (320 x480) touchscreen. In order to make room for the keyboard, the screen was made smaller than other Android smartphones. For messaging the screen should be fine, but one reviewer noted that during web surfing, the webpage fonts caused "squinting."
The Droid Pro by Motorola, which looks a
lot like a BlackBerry, is optimized for business with security
features, push corporate email unified calendars, QuickOffice Mobile
Suite and a QWERTY keyboard. For the most part, reviewers found the keyboard easy to use, and most of the business features worked well. However, IT managers should beware that configuring the Droid Pro for some Microsoft Exchange services could be a problem. One reviewer couldn't configure the Droid Pro to work with his corporate Microsoft Exchange server.
Droid Pro by Motorola has a 1GHz processor, 4GB of memory
(2GB internal and 2GB removable), 5-megapixel camera with LED flash,
Wi-Fi, 3.1-inch touchscreen, DLNA connectivity, mobile hotspot
capabilities, and world roaming. Ratings of photo
quality ranged from fuzzy to decent. Reviewers disliked the small amount of memory on board
that can be expanded up to 32GB with a new microSD card.
Although you can play music and video, the media player is not state-of-the-art and doesn't show album art.
So
is the Droid Pro by Motorola the right smartphone for you? The keyboard warrants a test
drive and can be used with one hand. The Droid 2 (read review), which has a landscape
keyboard, requires more work to type and doesn't have global world
roaming. For enterprise, however, BlackBerry smartphones, such as the BlackBerry
Bold 9650, have greater security, data compression and encryption. Reviewers noted that the Droid 2 is cheaper, has a bigger screen and a
keyboard. If you need to pack a lot of Android world power, the Droid 2
Global may be a better choice.
The DROID
PRO costs $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate, with a new
two-year contract, from Verizon. When you order online, you can get an
Instant Phone Rebate Only Available with Online Purchases.
Online retailers have already started discounting the Droid Pro. In their Pre-Black Friday Sale, Amazon Wireless Beta has a penny deal, until 11/22, for new customers who buy Droid Pro from Amazon with a new contract. Wirefly is selling the Droid Pro for slightly more than Amazon for new customers but with free activation until 11/29.
Amazon also has a penny deal for the Droid 2. Read DROID 2 review. Buy Droid 2 from Amazon. Wirefly is offering free Verizon Wireless activation until 11/ 29, with a lower-priced Droid 2 for new and renewing customers with a contract.
Summaries of Reviews Reviewed
Bonnie Cha at CNET rated the Droid Pro 3.5 out 5, and users rated it 3.5 out of 5. She liked that it is compact, the touchscreen with QWERTY keyboard combo, enhanced security, Android 2.2 and hotspot capability. She didn't liek the HVGA (320 x480) screen and the small amount of internal memory. She called the Droid Pro the most business-friendly Android smartphone with world roaming. For business, she prefers BlackBerry for messaging, battery life and enterprise support. She thought the screen was on the smaller side. The BlackBerry-like keyboard with ridged buttons was pleasant to use. Enhanced security including remote wipe, preloaded VPN client and encryption is coming in 2011. Microsoft Exchange and unified calendar worked well. It comes with 2GB of internal storage with a 2GB microSD, which can be expanded to 32GB. The camera took decent photos. Call quality was mixed and speaker quality was decent.
Sascha Segan at PCMag rated the Droid Pro 3.5 out of 5. He liked the nice design, terrific little keyboard and security features. He didn't like that the Microsoft Exchange may not work with all servers, some bugs and out-of-date media players. The Droid Pro is just not as enterprise-friendly as BlackBerry. It is well-designed for one-handed use, and the screen looks sharp. Phone voice quality is decent but sometimes distorted and scratchy. Hotspot mode did not work well and had to be restarted several times. The unified contact manager, which is similar to MotoBLUR, collects contacts from various sources. Although the music app played unprotected music, it didn't show album art. Video support is limited. Photos were fuzzy. He thinks a better choice for Android lovers is the Droid 2 Global and the better choice for enterprise is the BlackBerry Bold 9650.
Stewart Wolpin at Laptop rated the Droid Pro 3 out of 5 for it comfortable QWERTY keyboard, QuickOffice Mobile Suite, mobile hotspot, Microsoft Exchange support, and remote-wipe. He didn't like the small screen, low storage installed and short battery life. The screen is about half the size of other Android smartphones - in order to share space with the keyboard. Small website print was hard to read. He thought that the keyboard on the Droid 2 was easier to use but liked the keyboard better than the BlackBerry Torch keyboard. The mobile hotspot app made it easy to use with a Wi-Fi iPad, but it drained battery life. Speed tests showed that the Droid Pro processor was not as fast as the Droid 2 for webpage loading. Photo quality was smudgy. Call quality was just O.K. He suggests that it is a niche smartphone for those who want Android on a slab with a keyboard.