Over the past few months you may have noticed I’ve been talking a lot about a new Blackberry phone I have been reviewing. As you could probably tell I haven’t been the happiest with the phone. Don’t get me wrong there are some features I like, but it’s not the best phone for a blogger.
Half way through our program with Verizon, we get a mystery device. It showed up yesterday! I had been given a few clues before hand so I had a decent idea of what was inside.
Inside that large FedEx box was a Tyvek bundle, and hiding inside was a new Droid Ultra! This is a new phone on block – actually not in some stores yet. That’s pretty cool right? Well, it should be, I hope.
The Droid Ultra is obviously on android software, which means all of the apps I do use daily are available. I loaded them last night and started to play with them some. I’m able to get everything I use to blog on the go on this phone. So already we’re doing better than the Blackberry on this point. However, my Droid Razr M does this, as well as any other Android phone out there. You get full access to one of the largest app markets out there.
When I powered on new Ultra, the screen instantly lit up. The screen is bright and clear and almost completely edge to edge. This is one bonus I already see to the Ultra – a larger screen to see and read everything on.
My first night I spent playing with the Ultra’s apps. Switching between it and my M to see which was faster and worked better. I didn’t do too much more than load and play with apps for a while.
There didn’t seem to be a problem with the phone until I tried to make a phone call between meetings today. I received an odd error and my phone didn’t do the one thing that all phones should do – make a phone call! Once I was able to get home and get a hold of someone who could help I was walked through how to fix it. The SIM car was removed, the phone rebooted and it started to work again. While this was a relatively easy fix, having to do it right out of the box was not a good sign for me.
The Droid Ultra is super thin. But compared to my Razr M it is wider and taller. So I’m not sure if it actually is going to save any space in my purse while I’m on the go. Plus, once we add a case on the Ultra I’m not sure it will really be a size saving feature or not.All that being said, the Ultra also has some pretty neat features. Like most Droids it comes with Gorilla Glass so it wont break as easily. It does have a 10 Megapixel camera, which is better than the Blackberry and my M, but smaller than the point and shoot that lives in my purse. However it does have a rapid fire option so you take seamless photos, and you wont miss that special moment. That is pretty cool.
I now have a problem, only a blogger would have – I have three phones. Unfortunately, phones aren’t like shoes and handbags – you don’t need one for every outfit. While each phone has it’s own good qualities, carrying three phones already has become cumbersome. Not only do they take up a lot of space, but three phones ringing, learning more new numbers and hearing three phones chime when alert already has become a problem. The Blackberry stays home most days so my boyfriend can call me if he needs to, but probably wont leave the side table. And having two phones that do essentially do the same thing probably wont last too long in my purse.
While I understand the need or want for Verizon to make up for the Blackberry falling short. I, however, can’t help but feel we were given another phone that will lead me to disappointment. Since it’s essentially just an upgrade to the one I have now, I fear this will be the holiday special or the cheap upgrade option in the next couple months. I’m hoping the phone will not disappoint me but so far it has a lot more to prove to me.
[…] an avid Android user – normally I stick with Motorola phones, and I’ve been using the Droid Ultra that I reviewed last fall. But I’ve easily eliminated any Blackberry or Apple products from […]