The HTC Droid Eris adds more ammunition to the increasingly frightening anti-iPhone cannon. In this case, we get another slick combination of Google guts and HTC skeleton, all running on Verizon’s network.
The Droid Eris is another great smartphone.
For those of you unfamiliar with Google’s Android operating system, first read my review of the Motorola Droid, where I address Android in detail.
Forget for a moment about comparing this phone to anything else. Take it on its own terms. Does it work? Yes. The Eris is a solid smartphone, in everything from physical design, features and performance.
The Eris is no slouch. Here are the basic stats:
- 3.2 inch capacitive touch screen and trackball interface
- 5.0 megapixel auto focus camera
- Expandable memory with pre-installed 8 GB microSD™ card (up to 16 GB supported)
- Supports USB mass storage
- Bluetooth ®, Wi-Fi and 3.5 mm headset connectivity
- Integrated GPS and a digital compass with a sensor that enables the phone to know what direction it is facing
- Smart dialer for simplified dialing by name, number or initials
- Full HTML browser with Flash Lite capabilities
- Seamless compatibility with Google™ services like Google Maps™, Gmail™, Google Search™ and more
The Verizon-provided stats above say nothing about internal memory or CPU speed. It’s important to geeks like me, of course, but for the average user it’s not necessary. Smartphones are coming into their own now, in that the hardware no longer has to struggle with the operating system. Yes, there are speed differences from phone to phone, but in terms of overall performance, we’re moving away from the era of having to wait for the phone when we push a button (I’m looking at you, Windows Mobile!)
HTC Droid Eris versus the Motorola Droid
The Motorola Droid is, as of this writing, running on a newer version of the Android operating system than the Eris. That means the Eris is, oddly, slightly outdated. This is most evident with the Eris not having advanced features like Google Maps Navigation.
The Eris is running Android 1.5. My super-secret source (okay, it’s the Internet) tells me that Verizon will be pushing out a newer version of Android to the Eris (version 2 or 2.1) in early 2010. With that update will come more stability and functionality improvements, including, yes, the awesome Google Maps Navigation (this gives free, voice-enabled, real time, turn-by-turn driving instructions, and may end up pulverizing the standalone GPS market).
If you’re considering the Eris, know that it is not really the latest-and-greatest in terms of OS, but it will be very soon. If you want the latest right NOW, look again at the Motorola Droid.
The Eris certainly doesn’t disappoint in functionality or style. It’s actually much better looking than the Motorola Droid, which looks stodgy compared to the rounded, slim, sleek Eris. The Eris also has a trackball (the Motorola Droid has a 4-way rocker button). I like a trackball a lot.
The Droid Eris is also a little smaller than the Motorola Droid. If you’re going to be doing a lot of multimedia, you may want a bigger screen. If you’re primarily concerned about texting, email, ebooks and limited web browsing, you should be fine with the Eris.
The Eris is a little slower than the Motorola Droid. I’m not sure if this is due to hardware or the older operating system. But there is a noticeable difference. Not big, but it’s there – the Motorola Droid is faster.
One of the reasons the Eris is a smaller phone is because there is no physical keyboard (like what we have on the Motorola Droid). Virtual keyboard only. I personally don’t like virtual keyboards (because I haven’t yet found one I can type as fast as on a physical keyboard. However, the Eris does have a good virtual keyboard interface, including easy access to extended characters, a button for “.com”, and predictive text input.
HTC Droid Eris versus the iPhone
There are three things I look at when comparing any phone with the iPhone: performance, features and network.
Performance: The Eris performs just fine, but is slower than the iPhone. Not by a lot, but it is noticeable. Screen rotation is the biggest example of this effect. I also want to mention that the iPhone’s display is big and beautiful. The Eris looks good, but it’s noticeably smaller.Advantage iPhone.
Features: With the unrestricted Google Market (also known as the Android App Store), the Android phones have a huge advantage. Right now I’m guessing the iPhone App store has the edge in both number and quality of apps, but it’s only a matter of time – a well-designed intellectually-open store (Android) will decimate a heavily-moderated one (iPhone). The Google Market is very new, but is already very impressive. It’s only going to get better. (I talk about the Google Market more extensively in my Motorola Droid article.) Advantage Android.
Network: The iPhone is currently limited to AT&T’s network, which is lower quality and worse coverage than the better Verizon network.Advantage Android.
Conclusion
My advice to Apple: Watch out. Android is here, and it’s a serious competitor. Thanks to seamless Google integration, Android not only does what you do, it does it better. Remember how you’ve been leading the smartphone market for years with no real competition? That’s over.
My advice to Microsoft: Compared to Android, the iPhone OS, and PalmOS, Windows Mobile is horrible in terms of performance and interface. You need a redesign from scratch. You’ve got a lot of money, and designers who specialize in taking existing ideas and improving and repackaging them. Better hurry, because what you don’t have is time.
My advice to Palm: I’ve been a Palm user since 2000 or so. The new PalmOS and the Palm Pre has promise, but still… Good luck, fellas. You’ll need it.
The Eris is another good Google-driven smartphone. It’s a little smaller than what you might want for multimedia, and has no physical keyboard, but those are personal stylistic preferences, not problems.
The HTC Droid Eris from Verizon is a solid offering in the Google Android product line that will, I believe, soon dominate the smartphone market.
The Droid Eris will be available on December 6, 2009 from Verizon Wireless.
The price is $100 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.