I’ve finally broken my pesky iPhone addition – but it wasn’t easy. Multiple so-called “iPhone killer” devices have come and gone (and I have nothing against my iPhone necessarily) but it wasn’t until last week that I found a worthy challenger.
My attraction to the newest Verizon-powered Android phone, the Motorola Droid X, are the well documented features; it’s processor speed, the larger screen, various Google app integrations, flash support and the calling network (I’ve really missed my superior Verizon coverage since moving to AT+T two years ago).
As amazing as the iPhone is – my frustrations with AT&T call quality and connectivity left me no choice. Admittedly, I’ve also grown bored with it, so last week I decided to take the Droid X out for a 30 day “test drive” – and after just one week I’ve gone ahead and ported my number away from AT&T and become a happy member of the growing Android family (which is adding 160,000 activations per-day). I’ve since learned that there are really very few (if any) sacrifices made in my switch (but I do miss my Citibank app, as well as my iTunes and email threads). As a matter of fact, certain features like widgets, Google’s voice recognition, GPS navigation and multi-tasking are actually a great up-side. It’s definitely taken some getting used to, and the battery life is very poor, but overall I’m very happy. Yes, the iPhone is “elegant”, but my new Droid X just “works” better in many ways.
As this blog’s dedicated to the business of “local search”, here are some comments and observations from that perspective)…
Voice recognition software makes search on this device extremely easy; either via Google maps, my contacts, or the Internet. I can also dictate text or email message this way – and it’s surprisingly accurate. The software allows you to simply push the home button, tap on the “voice search” icon and speak; on my iPhone, I was forced to use an app that required cutting and pasting the text after I spoke (so I rarely used it) . This is a significant advantage and I’m shocked that Apple has not come up with a comparable solution yet.
One adjustment I’m still making involves the fact that everything works so differently, and I mean everything. Also, there are multiple ways to accomplish every task. Generally speaking, it’s much faster (not really a fair comparison as I was on the iPhone 3G).
Google maps, which has always been one of my most used mobile apps, has some different features; after a quick spoken request, your presented with business results that offer large icons for dialing, getting street-view, or spoken GPS navigation.
The navigation itself is awesome, I’ve used in conjunction with my Tom Tom on several trips last week and it’s just as accurate. An added bonus – it speaks the name of the streets for my turns. It also has something called “layers”, which adds a number of other features to your journey including gas stations, restaurants, traffic, etc. Pretty cool.
Yelp is another application I use frequently. As with Maps, the voice recognition software makes this app easier and faster to use.
IYP’s also operates a bit differently - most Publishers offer widgets with voice-search. Yellowbook.com is one of the top app’s on Android, and offers extra features not available on the iPhone-like augmented reality, maps integration and an app called Adafixx. Adafixx brings an interesting angle to finding a local business by implementing caller i.d. and offering related business suggestions when busy numbers are reached. The advertiser videos on the Droid X screen are fantastic.
Google Googles if another application found exclusively on Android. Although I haven’t used it much yet, enables you to identify local stores or businesses simply by pointing your phone’s camera at the location. From there, you can tap on the picture to learn more about the business, contact them, or save it to your contacts. The impressive part is once you inside that business you can use the application to identify products, comparison shop or identify various product details.
The iPhone initiated the local search shift to mobile - but I think Android will finish the job.
Click here to read a more complete review.
Posted by Rich H 
