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2:18 pm

September 20, 2010

After two weeks with my Droid X I have to say that the learning curve on this phone, no I should say computer, is high. The ways to customize your phone is endless and because of that it takes a bit of time to learn the ins and outs. In the long run, I'm sure this flexibility will be wonderful. My iPhone was simple to learn compared to the Droid. I do love the Droid's big screen and the fact that it is on the Verizon 3G network.
I have been on many Droid web forums and learned a lot about customizing my phone. I also purchased the book Droid X for Dummies and that has helped. It goes over the basics. The best source of help has been the free Verizon workshops. They are held at Verizon stores and you can see the schedule in your area at http://www.verizonwireless.com…..orkshop. I've been to two workshops at different stores and learned a lot.
I have had the most trouble using the Google programs . . . contacts, calendar and GMail. I've been using Outlook for all my contacts and calendar events. I bought CompanionLink and DejaOffice to sync all with the Droid. It was such a mess with duplicates and mixed up contacts that I gave it up and synced all with Google Calendar and GMail contacts after I had restored my Outlook data bases. This didn't go too well as my contacts again got mixed up and I lost a lot of calendar events and had many double birthdays, etc. I'm working on cleaning that all up and I'm sure this will work out as I move forward. I couldn't sync my Outlook notes, but I'm now using Evernote for that. Evernote is an excellent note app and it allows you to sync your notes with your computer.
I had no trouble getting my Comcast email on the Droid, but I've had some trouble getting my gmail on the Droid. I read were it is better to use the IMAP format rather than POP when syncing gmail with a phone. But that has created a lot of problems. I'm still working this out.
At the last Verizon workshop we learned to use the Google Maps app and that is wonderful. Also the fact that you can speak into the Droid to give input is great. I have found may good apps. One of my favorites is World Newspapers . . . it gives you access to almost any newspaper or magazine in the world. I like the idea when we are traveling to be able to read my hometown papers and the papers from the area we are visiting.
When my husband and I got these phones we also eliminated our home land line. The telephone function of the Droid is excellent. Big buttons and a good speaker phone. I transferred our home phone number to my cell phone so we haven't missed any calls.
Just my early views on the Droid. I know in a few weeks I'll be used to it and less frustrated and very happy.
Barbara
Barbara,
I agree that there is a lot to learn about the Droid. Jim is doing better than I am – he is exploring lots of apps that I am not. I really love how well it is integrated with Gmail and Google Calendar. And I use the Facebook app every day.
We searched for Droid classes in our area (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) and see *none*. We're thinking that maybe we should start them! Is anyone in South Florida and interested to get together for learning about the Droid?
My contacts also got quite messed up because when I first got the phone, the Verizon rep imported all my contacts from my old phone. Those got added to all my contacts from gmail. So, I have a lot of duplicate entries … John Doe is in my contact list twice, once with his phone number – that came from my old phone – and again with his email address – that came from my gmail. Since it's all integrated in gmail now, it's a relatively simple matter to clean it up using Gmail on the computer. I just haven't taken the time yet.
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