Motorola "Droid does" gets rave reviews

One of the features that critics love is the GPS system that speaks to you, and can be mounted on your dashboard. This is a big feature missing from the iPhone, as more states pass more stringent regulations on the use of cell phones while driving.

The Motorola Android phone is being distributed exclusively by Verizon. Word is, this is one big phone, boasting a roomy 3.7 inch touchscreen with a slide down Qwerty keyboard.

Applications that are included are
• ENTERTAINMENT, YouTube™, Amazon MP3 Store™
• LIFESTYLE, Google Search™ by Voice
• MAPS AND GPS, Google Maps™ Navigation (BETA)
• SOCIAL NETWORKING, Facebook™

The phone includes CUSTOM NAVIGATION, 3 customizable home screens

Following are the first DROID reviews released to date:

PC World (90 out of 100)
Pros: Snappy web browsing, strong suite of web features, amazing 3.7-inch display
Cons: Shallow keyboard can make it hard to type, some camera images come out grainy.

CNet (4 out of 5)
The good: The Motorola Droid boasts a gorgeous display and the benefits of Android 2.0, including a faster Web browser, Google Maps Navigation app, and better messaging and contact management. It also offers excellent call quality and improved speed over previous Android devices.
The bad: The qwerty keyboard feels flat and the dialpad control is restricted to the home screen. Music and video capabilities still trail behind the competition.
"We'll refrain from using the dreaded "iPhone killer" expression, but comparisons between the two devices are obvious, and we see the Droid as a real competitor to Apple's device."

Gizmodo (no rating)
"Not to mix droid metaphors here, but I feel like it's the phone Darth Vader would use ... I'm still excited about it.

"Universal search - thank god. It's amazing to me that the phone OS from the search company fell behind Palm and Apple on this. It's here now, and it can search your contacts, browser history and bookmarks, contacts, apps, your music and YouTube. (Why you have to separately search SMS and email, I don't know.)"

Engadget (no rating)
- That big screen is killer. Bright, crisp, and tons of room for your icons and widgets.
- Speed is noticeably improved -- particularly when moving from app to app. We did notice that some of the home screen scrolling looked laggy.
- Android 2.0 is definitely cleaned up -- but it's most definitely still Android
- The browser seems significantly improved -- pages now load up in a fully zoomed-out mode, and the load times and scrolling are way snappier.
- The keyboard takes some getting used to, and it suffers from a similar hand-position issue as the G1, but it's fairly usable. We think it'll be second nature once we spend some time with it.
- Facebook is integrated into accounts, which means some of that BLUR functionality is here (though now it's part of Android 2.0 natively). The good news is that when you add a Facebook account you can choose to pull all Facebook info and contacts, or just info related to your existing contacts - a real clutter buster.

Other reviewers commented that while the iPhone is pretty intuitive to use, the Motorola DROID will take some re-training to learn how to navigate all the features. But, once you get used to this phone, most reviewers agree that you will like it. Motorola and Verizon are betting and hoping that you will.

For more information on the Droid phone:
Motorola's "Droid Does" Android Phone: Wall Street Loves It

Resources: Motorola Droid Critics Verdicts
Verizon Droid - First Impressions