Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is a great "smartphone" choice, especially at the contract price.
Pros:
Nice screen with lots of customization options for the interface. The custom HTC Sense UI that it uses is an improvement over the standard Android interface, with lots of cool widgets.
The sound quality is good. Some others have complained of issues with background hiss, but I haven't experienced this. Voice quality has been good in general in various locations, even with only a bar of service. Audio quality for music is OK with decent headphones, not amazing. In general, this seems to work very well as a phone which is something other smartphones seem to sometimes not be great at. Can't tell how much of that is the phone versus the Verizon network, though. I've used this out in the middle of nowhere in a basement and still been able to make/ receive calls and get 3G service.
Uses a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, so no goofy adapters are required.
There are lots of useful apps available through the Android market.
It has 2 physical buttons (whereas some other phones don't have any) which I like.
It's fairly easy to use (although see note below about documentation or lack thereof). This is fun to use!
The phone is lightweight and thin with smooth edges. It's much easier to put in your pocket or hold while talking than the Motorola Droid, which is one of the reasons I bought this. This feels more like a phone. I also like the feel of the soft-touch rubberized case.
Could be a Pro or a Con, depending on your outlook:
When on voice calls, you can hear a little of your voice in the part you have up to your ear. I like this feature a lot, as it somewhat replicates what happens with land line phones and I find it encourages you to not talk as loudly as some people normally do on cell phones. That's a very good thing. However, it may take some getting used to.
I find the battery usage is pretty good for a smartphone, but you may feel differently depending on what you are comparing to. It does better if you turn off services you are not using at the moment, such as turning off WiFi, Bluetooth, or GPS when not in use, and turning off the automatic Gmail sync (I just hit Refresh to sync when I want to rather than leaving the auto sync on). If you leave absolutely everything on, you might not get much battery life. For my typical usage (phone calls, misc web browsing, syncing with Gmail multiple times throughout the day, listening to internet radio occasionally, and watching a video or two throughout the day) it does fine. You will probably have to recharge every evening, but I have no problems having it make it through an 18 hour day and sometimes there has still been charge left after 24 hours when I forgot to charge it. The initial battery life problems that some others have complained about elsewhere were taken care of by a firmware update that happened automatically the first time I powered up the phone to set it up.
Some might not like the lack of a physical keyboard. I thought I would be one of those people, but I find the on screen keyboard to work really well after a little getting used to it. And I really like the thinner profile you can have without the keyboard. I would also thing that the reliability might be better without having the slider mechanism of a physical keyboard. I did try some other phones with physical keyboards and found many of them to be pretty awful, and this soft keyboard is certainly no worse than those. This is the custom HTC soft keyboard which I understand is much improved over the standard soft keyboard that comes with other Android phones, and is supposedly one of the best. There is a calibration feature that you can use to improve how it works for you. I recommend waiting to do the calibration after you've used the keyboard for a little bit, or if you calibrate initially then re-calibrate after you've gotten more experience with it.
This has a sensor to turn off the screen when you put the phone up to your head, to help prevent accidentally dialing or activating features when you are talking. While this is very handy, it can be annoying if you are calling in to an automated phone system where you have to enter in a lot of numbers and work your way through the menus because when you initially pull the phone from your ear the screen will be blank. I find it works best in these situations to quickly "flip" the phone away from your ear and move your hand so the phone is laying flat in your hand. That seems to make the screen turn on again the quickest. You can turn this feature off if you want, though.Cons:
Doesn't come with a manual or any other instructions or documentation. Although this phone is relatively easy to use, to get the most benefit from the extremely customizable interface you may want to download the available PDF manual, though. It does walk you through the basic setup the first time, however, so you can get up and running without a manual.
No bluetooth voice dialing, as mentioned by another reviewer. This is a limitation of the Android operating system, not of this phone, and will hopefully be fixed in a future software update. This isn't really an issue for me but might be a concern for others.
Although this comes with Google Navigation, the free turn-by-turn Google directions is not yet available for this phone because of the version of Android that it uses. However, Verizon has indicated that the OS will be updated in the first quarter of 2010 and the free turn-by turn Google directions should be able to work then. In the meantime, there are other apps (both free and paid) that will get you turn-by-turn directions now if you need it.
In general, the phone isn't perfect but it is very, very good. It's an excellent choice for someone who wants the smartphone features but also likes to use their phone as an actual phone.
Click Here to see more reviews about: HTC Droid Eris Phone (Verizon Wireless, Phone Only, No Service)
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