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The Motorola Droid really can do just about everything, as the commercials state. I've had the phone for a little under a month, and I have to say that it's been able to handle pretty much any use that I've thrown at it, from GPS navigation to media playback to game playing. It is also a well-designed phone, with only a few minor flaws holding it back from a perfect 10 score.

I'll start by stating my little niggles with the phone, so I can get the icky negatives out of the way. First and foremost, the phone is decidedly weighty. When most of my friends and family ask to see the phone so they can play with it, their first reaction is always "Wow, it's really heavy!" It's not really a big deal, and to me it's actually a positive because it is VERY sturdy and can take a pretty strong bump, but to most people that I've spoken with about it, they see it as a negative, so I'll put it in here.

I also think the physical slide out keyboard is slightly awkward to use. The buttons could stand to have a little more curve to the surface; as they are now, the buttons are very flat, so it's sometimes hard to distinguish the groove between the buttons and can lead to "fat finger" type-os. Also, the top set of keys are really close to the lower edge of the screen, so sometimes my fingers bump the screen when typing and that can get annoying when typeing fast and furiously. The only other qualm I have with the keyboard is that I wish the 4 way d-pad was on the left side instead of the right, as that would be much better for games, since almost every gamepad ever designed has the direction pad on the left.

The only other problem I have with the physical design of the phone is that the battery cover is WAY too loose. I've had mine fall off at least once a week, and the metal that it's made of is so thin that I'm afraid that the clips that slide into the phone will bend when it falls off, rendering the battery cover useless.

In terms of software, I have two issues, the camera and the GPS "locator". I'll start with the camera, which most people have had issue with. When taking still photos, the phone has a VERY long delay between pressing the shutter button and actually taking the picture. I think that is part of the reason why people are having such a hard time taking crisp pictures; by the time the picture is actually taken, it’s very hard to hold the phone that still for such a long time. I have gotten the camera to take good, crisp pictures, but not very regularly and it took a few tries to get it right. Overall, I think it is something that could easily be fixed with a software update, and here’s hoping one comes SOON!

The other issue I had was with the GPS locator. I like to use location-based apps, such as Google Latitude and Locale. They both rely on locating you accurately, especially Locale. However, I find that my phone can be a little wonky when it’s trying to say exactly where I am. Most often when I look at the Google Maps app, it says I’m not exactly where I really am, but a few blocks away. One time, my girlfriend’s phone said she was in Chinatown in Washington DC when she was actually in Times Square in NYC! That one was a one-time oops, but it stands to be mentioned. However, when it comes to things like Locale (which can change your phone’s settings such as ringer volume and ringtone, wallpaper, and screen brightness based on your location and other factors), if it says I’m a few blocks away from where I am, it can cripple the functionality of the app. I wanted to have Locale silence my phone whenever I was at work, and return it to ear-splitting loud when I leave (so I can hear it on the street and in the train station), but I found that I’d be sitting at my desk and the phone would keep changing my location from work to default, because the location kept jumping around on its own. Suffice it to say, I had to remove the location-based setting in Locale and go for a straight time-based setting, which works but isn’t ideal if I take a day off of work and don’t remember to turn the work setting off.

The only issue I have with the Verizon network is that it is not a GSM-based network, so there will be no globe-trotting with your fancy new Droid. The GSM-based providers in the US are AT&T and Sprint, and they both offer an array of smartphones that are global-capable. Verizon wireless also offers a global-capable BlackBerry, but there is only one model available. It would have been nice to see the Droid be a world phone, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.

That’s it for the negative stuff. In hindsight, it might seem like I have a lot of issues with the phone, but in reality I couldn’t love the phone any more than I do. It’s changed my life, and the pros FAR outweigh the cons (pun intended).

The most obvious positive about the Droid is the Android Market and its bounty of wonderful (and largely free) apps. Now I know some of you are saying “the Apple App Store has over 100,000 apps and the Android Market only has 20,000!” Yes, that’s true, and not having had an iPhone at any point, I can’t do a comparison point/counterpoint review. What I CAN tell you is that the Android Market currently has a plethora of really cool apps that take full advantage of the phone’s capabilities. If you do a Google search for “top Android apps”, you’ll come up with a number of lists of some of the best apps available. I’ve downloaded at least 40 or 50 apps by now, and I’ve only paid for a few that I just couldn’t do without. Most apps perform well, and the Android Market rating system and user reviews go a long way to letting you know which apps to avoid. I haven’t been burned by any apps so far, and even if you buy an app that you hate, you’re given a 24 hour grace period where if you uninstall the app, you’re given a full refund for the purchase.

Gaming on the Droid is somewhat scarce right now, and I know that a lot of people like the little mini-games that are available on the internet such as the Pop-Cap games that are so popular with the kids nowadays. There are knock-off versions of some of those, but for the most part, games aren’t taking off too well on the platform. There are some real winners to be sure (such as Robo Defense), but we’re not at the level of the iPhone yet. There is one shining start in my mind that more than makes up for the lack of gaming options however, and that is the emulators. There are emulators available for NES, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, and SNES, each for around $2.99. They run absolutely FLAWLESSLY on the Droid, even the SNES emulator, and opening up the huge library of games across all 4 systems is a huge benefit to the Android market. Since there is a physical keyboard, playing the games is great and much easier than trying to use a touch-screen virtual gamepad that is offered on phones without physical buttons. Again, the d-pad is on the right instead of the left, but there is even an option on the emulator to flip the screen emulation, so you can play with the d-pad on the left. I definitely think buying those 4 apps is worth it, and it makes up for the gaming void that currently exists in the Market.

The built-in apps on the Droid are also very good. Since this is a Google-powered device, Gmail and Google Calendar are integrated flawlessly into the OS and are almost as powerful as their web counterparts. Google Maps integration with turn-by-turn verbal GPS navigation works very well. It still doesn’t work quite as well as my Garmin nuvi does, but it got me where I was going, which is what counts. Also, if you’re a power Google user, Google Voice integration is top-notch, eliminating the need to use the web interface at all. There are also separate apps for non-Google email and calendar synching, and the Droid is compatible with Microsoft Exchange-based email servers, which is good for you corporate e-mailers out there.

The network Verizon has built allows the Droid to really shine. When playing Pandora, I have yet to have any connectivity problems while listening. I am able to listen to high-quality streaming radio through the very capable external speaker from just about anywhere. When comparing Pandora performance on my Droid to my friend’s Blackberry Curve on the Sprint network, it’s almost not fair. His barely keeps up while my phone goes like a champ. Phone reception is also excellent, butt he audio quality through the phone earpiece is a little mechanical sounding. Headphone quality is perfect though, with rich, deep bass and clear mids and highs.

There are a few accessories that Motorola offers that are both very nice additions to the phone. The first is the car mount. It’s a magnetic mount that suctions to your windshield, and when the phone is mounted it automatically puts the phone in “car mode”, which has larger icons for navigation, voice dialing, and a few other items. The other is a multimedia dock and charging station that sits on your nightstand at home, and when the phone is slid in it has a nice display that offers the current weather and some alarm clock features, which are a nice touch.

There are two after-market accessories that I absolutely recommend for anyone buying the Droid, or any touch screen phone really. Pogo makes something called the Pogo Stylus, which allows you to operate the touch screen with gloves on, which is a godsend for those of us who live in the North where it gets obscenely cold out. It doesn’t work perfectly, but anything that works and doesn’t scratch up the screen is better than losing your fingers to frostbite. Also, Griffin makes an adaptor called the SmartTalk, which lets you use your own headphones while adding on microphone input, so you can answer a phone call without having to take the headphones out. This is great when commuting, because if you’re listening to Pandora and a call comes through, Pandora automatically pauses and you can press the button on the SmartTalk to answer the call, the call plays through the headphones, and when the call is over Pandora picks right back up where it left off. Both retail for under $20, which is a great value.

Overall, I would say the Motorola Droid is an excellent phone for someone looking for iPhone-type functionality out of a phone on the Verizon network. It has some flaws to be sure, but it is still an excellent first entry into the Android market for Verizon. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to try out a great smartphone without having to sacrifice phone reception and data speeds on another network.