Droid vs iPhone Comparison

Motorola Droid is out and as we said earlier in our review, this phone really looks to be an iPhone killer, if there are any at this moment. There are many who might argue that Apple’s iPhone can’t be killed but that doesn’t mean mobile phone manufacturers are going to stop trying to kill it. And if anyone can do it, we can bet that it will some giants like Google and Motorola. Let’s take a closer look at these phones and decide how they stack up against each other.

1. Design and Build

Motorola Droid : The phone comes with a huge 3.7 inch touchscreen and a full QWERTY keyboard but still it is thin at 13.7mm and the face measures at 115.8 X 60 mm. The weight of 169 grams is, however, on the higher side.
iPhone 3GS : The face of the iphone is the same as Droid at 115.5 X 62mm but is thinner at 12.3mm and is lighter at 135g.
Conclusion : The iPhone is thinner and lighter which makes it a winner in this section.

2. Touchscreen Display

Motorola Droid : The display is a whopping 3.7 inch one and has an awesome resolution of 854 X 480 pixels which is perhaps the highest for any mobile phone I know. The touchscreen is capacitive and has very good response.
iPhone 3GS : It has a good 3.5 inch display showing 480 X 320 pixels which is good but can’t match up with the huge crisp display of Motorola Droid. The capacitive touchscreen is one of the most responsive one available in the market.
Conclusion : The capacitive touchscreen is very responsive in both the phones but Motorola Droid’s bigger display wins the race this time.

3. OS and Interface

Motorola Droid : It runs on the Google Android 2.0 eclairs version which is now a very stable OS and many features like built in search facilities that will give you search results not only from the web but also from within your phone.
iPhone 3GS : It runs on the iPhone OS 3.0 which is a very stable OS and features like multitouch with intuitive interface design makes this system one of the best Operating Systems in the world.
Conclusion : Though Google Android has potential to be the best OS for mobile devices, considering the current scenario, iPhone OS is the winner in this section.

4. App Availability

Motorola Droid : Android is a very good platform for App development and there are about 10,000 apps available for Android platform.
iPhone 3GS : The iPhone is famous for its apps and there are many people who buy iPhone because it gives them the access to the Apple App Store. Currently there are about 100,000 apps made for iPhone which is about 10x higher than the Android OS.
Conclusion : iPhone is a clear winner in this section with its wide range of App availability. Keeping in mind about the flooding of Android Apps nowadays, I think that iPhone OS Apps will be greater in number at least for the next one and half year.

5. Internet Browsing

Motorola Droid : It comes with a decent browser equipped with Flash and HTML 5 support. The webpages look nice and decent and is also fast enough at rendering the pages.
iPhone 3GS : The Safari browser is one of the best browser for a mobile device. But we are still to see Flash support in their Browser.
Conclusion : Though iPhone has one of the best browsers, I will rate Droid’s browser to be better for Flash Support. Also, they said that Android browser will support Flash 10 from 2010.

6. Processor Speed

Motorola Droid : It uses a Texas OMAP 3430 ARM Cortex A8 Processor clocking at 550 MHz. The processor gives the phone enough speed boost to handle the most heavy applications with ease despite its high res screen.
iPhone 3GS : It also uses the same ARM Cortex A8 Processor but it runs at a slightly higher frequency of 600 MHz and any application on the device feels like breeze.
Conclusion : Both the devices have a similar powered and we can’t decide between them.

7. Memory

Motorola Droid : It comes with a removable storage of 16GB Micro SD Card which is expandable up to 32 GB.
iPhone 3GS : It has a fixed storage of either 16GB or 32 GB. There are no expansion slot which makes it at a disadvantage with the other phones in the market.
Conclusion : The absence of a card slot means the iPhone is a loser in the memory department.

8. Connectivity

Motorola Droid : It has a CDMA connection from Verizon Wireless supporting CDMA 1x dual band with EVDO rev technology for high data throughput. There are other common connectivity options like WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1.
iPhone 3GS : It has a GSM connection from AT & T with 3G connectivity for high data speeds. There is also other connectivity options for WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1.
Conclusion : No clear winner here. Both devices are equally powerful when it comes to connectivity options.

9. Camera

Motorola Droid : It has a 5MP Autofocus camera with DVD quality video recording at 720 X 480 pixels resolution in 24 frames per second. There is also a Dual LED Flash to help you take pictures in low light.
iPhone 3GS : It has a 3 MP Autofocus Camera with VGA quality video at 640 X 480 pixels resolution at 30 fps. There are no flash to go with.
Conclusion : The Motorola Droid definitely has a better camera to boot with.

10. Overall

Motorola Droid : It is definitely the best Android device ever made. Its high res screen, better camera and QWERTY keyboard helps it to reach the top.
iPhone 3GS : It is average when it comes to the technical specs department but its huge app store and awesome UI and OS makes this device a champion.
Conclusion : If we consider only the specs, the Motorola Droid is a winner but when it comes to usability and apps iPhone is still in the lead.