Review: Motorola Droid 4

Motorola has, since November 2009, had special place in the Android world with their highly popular, physical keyboard toting Droid series. While the latest iterations dropped the hallowed “pure” Google experience and instead adopted Motorola’s questionably useful MOTOBLUR skin, the Droid 4 is the latest phone to make us question writing off the physical QWERTY just yet. But a great keyboard alone isn’t reason enough to drop the required cash. Let’s see if the Droid 4, like it’s predecessors, is worthy of they hype.

Specs

  • Display: 4″ qHD (540 x 960) w/ PenTile Matrix technology
  • Processor: Dual-core 1.2 GHz TI OMAP4430
  • Memory/Storage: 1 GB/16 GB
  • Battery: 1,750 mAh
  • Camera + Video: 8mp/1.3mp (rear/front) + 1080p video recording
  • Cellular: 1xRTT/CDMA/LTE

Hardware

The Droid 4 continues on Motorola’s successful formula of cramming a wide, slide-out QWERTY keyboard beneath a rather large sized slab of glass. Whereas the original Droid topped out at 3.7″, Motorola has brought the Droid line-up to a more respectable 4″ with 540 x 960 qHD resolution. Unfortunately, the screen technology used is the dreaded PenTile type (more on that in a few).

On the top of the phone you have a centered power button and standard 3.5mm headphone port with the volume up/down buttons handling everything on the device’s right side. The bottom is void of any intrusions save for a small microphone opening. Finally, the left side of the Droid 4 features a microUSB charging/syncing port and mini-HDMI.

The back of the phone is made out of a rubberized (but not too much so) finish that is grippy yet slick enough to not suck up every last ounce of lint in your pocket. At the very top of the D4′s rear you’ll find the 8-megapixel camera and single-LED flash. Overall, we feel that Motorola made the Droid 4 a nice size and weight while also putting just the right radius on edges to make it exponentially more comfortable to hold than the RAZR. Though, we’d note that a good deal of the Droid 4′s added heft comes from the keyboard, and not like the RAZR MAXX’s super-sized battery.

Keyboard

The keyboard is arguably the most important aspect of the Droid series as it’s pretty much the sole reason to buy a phone like this. That said, we’re pleased to report that Motorola’s focus on physical input still remains top notch. The keyboard is spacious with just the right amount of spacing. The keys themselves also feature just the right amount of travel, with the end result being a hearty *click* feeling. BlackBerry users may cling to their smaller portrait keyboards (and don’t get us wrong, they’re still great), but we find the wider landscape keyboard such as the Droid 4′s much nicer to use. While it could certainly be attributed to more space, we’d have to say the added number/symbol row above the standard letter keys helps a ton.

The only thing that worries us about the keyboard is the slider. It’s firm. Don’t get us wrong. But it’s not spring activated and relies on friction and friction alone. In our testing with other manufacturers’ phones (and even Motorola’s own hardware) has shown that such a design often leads to loose keyboard problems down the road, say ~16-20 months out. Even still, sliding the keyboard in and out is easy enough with an equally robust sounding *click* once the keyboard has locked in place.

Dislpay

While we can forgive Motorola for the keyboard’s minor faults, we cannot forgive them for the atrocity that is the PenTile display. For starters, the PenTile display simply appears darker and less vivid than other manufacturers LCD and OLED displays. On top of that, the way in which PenTile technology works means text and images are not as sharp as the qHD 9540 x 960) resolution would lead one to believe. More disappointing, however, is that noticeable artifacting and distortion can be seen on text and images when dragging them around on screen. We understand margins and having to make a buck, but Motorola simply cut too many corners with the Droid 4′s display. That is of course assuming they realize how terrible PenTile looks. (If they think it honestly looks good, the team responsible for giving the Droid 4 and it’s screen a stamp of approval should be fired.)

Quite simply, if you’re in the search for an Android device with a beautiful display, look elsewhere (any of Samsung’s OLED equipped phones as well as devices with HTC’s LCD and S-LCD screens). The Droid 4′s display is terrible.

Software

Sorry guys and gals, more bad news. The Droid 4 is packed with all kinds of extra bloatware (VZW provided too), meaning the first ~10-20 minutes you’re going to need to spend time removing the unnecessary junk. While a lot of the bloatware is legitimately not needed, there are a few VZW provided tools that do admittingly feature some utility.

Outside of apps there is MOTOBLUR. It’s ugly. It’s there. There’s nothing you can do about it. Combined with the PenTile display, it makes the Droid 4 pretty lackluster in day-to-day usage. But if you look past the failed UI, you still have your typical Android OS as capable and “open” as ever. Speeds in menus, opening/closing apps, and whatever else your typical day consists of is indeed fast.

What’s most disappointing, however, is that in February 2012 we have a high-end, current Android device launching without Android 4.0 — an update that has been available for over two months now. Even more damming, Motorola’s Android 4.0 update schedule leaked earlier last week and showed that the latest Motorola handsets are still in the “evaluation” stages. While we’re certain that phones of this caliber and spec are going to get ICS no questions asked, the Q3 release time frame given is absolutely ridiculous. There is no reason whatsoever for it to take almost a full year for a company as large and financially sound as Motorola to get the latest Android update on their phones. Hell, by the time 4.0 actually drops for a high number of Motorola devices, we’ll likely be looking at the next up and coming Android release.

If you’re not the type of Android user that follows the rooting scene, get into it. It’s the only way you’re going to keep your phone current (and dare we say improve it) thanks to Motorola’s ball dragging.

While our disdain for BLUR is quite high, we do admit that they have added some nice touches. First and foremost, the camera software is leaps and bounds better than Gingerbread’s default. Everything from exposure to scene modes are included making the Droid 4 (and pretty much any other Motorola phone) a much better option for mobile photo junkies who like to tweak settings on their phone. But the bigger and more important addition are Smart Actions.

Battery Life & Smart Actions

If we were to give the Droid 4′s battery life a simple, single number rating out of a scale of 1-10, we’d say it sits squarely at a 7. It’s better than a lot of LTE handsets we’ve tested, and pretty identical to the LG Spectrum we ***just reviewed*** honestly. Unplugging the phone at 9pm one night and letting it sit all night collecting a couple of push email/twitter accounts saw us sitting in the 70% range come 7am the next morning. For comparisons sake, the hallowed Galaxy Nexus (LTE version) routinely exhibited battery depletion toping 50% or more.

Actually using the Droid 4 of course saw battery life drop more rapidly, though not quite as bad as we expected when on VZW’s LTE network.

Battery life by itself can’t really be helped as the speedy dual-core processor and LTE radio suck down energy like there’s no tomorrow. But Motorola’s Smart Actions can help. Think of them as the BlackBerry Profiles of Android phones — upgraded. We’ve had several encounters with Smart Actions now and can quite honestly say it’s one of the few things Motorola has done right on Android.

The concept for Smart Actions is simple: everything is built around triggers and actions. For example, you can set Smart Actions to automatically turn down screen brightness and favor battery life over performance (CPU wise) when the battery level drop below a certain level. Another could be telling your phone to automatically give you an audible cue when you enter a designated area tied to your GPS radio. There are literally thousands of different combinations that you can create. Motorola’s Smart Actions is bar none the best tool/utility for Android by any Android manufacturer.

Camera & Video

While we’re quick to praise Motorola for making the Droid 4′s camera software an actual joy to use, we’re not so impressed with the overal tangible results. Pictures were generally pretty flat color wise, though the camera did seem to do a pretty decent job in low light situations, particularly when the light is in front of you.

We have certainly seen worse. But then again, we’ve seen better too. In short: colors are more or less on the dull side of things, with pictures tending to get washed out by even minor amounts of added light to the scene in which you’re shooting.

Video, meanwhile, faired a bit better. The few demo videos we recorded were more or less easily discernable as “HD”, though as with the pictures, exhibited some minor issues regarding washed out colors.

Conclusion

The Droid 4 continues on with one of the last remaining hold-outs to all-touchscreen technology. But it’s not a bad thing. Motorola has held the QWERTY keyboard throne since the original Droid debuted, with no other carrier offering quite the same combination of sinister looks as well as a well designed (and useful) keyboard. While HTC has come very close on a number of occasions, we’d still give Motorola the nod here.

But just how much longer Motorola can milk the QWERTY crowd is unknown. The keyboard on the back of the Droid 4 takes up a ton of space that could be better spent on a bigger battery (like it’s cousin, the RAZR MAXX). While keyboards are still a very important and necessary feature for a shrinking niche, we’d argue a usable battery, especially with LTE radios (and quad-core CPUs on the horizon) is far more important to everyone.

Finally, our last dig with the Droid 4 is Motorola’s continuing use of PenTile technology for most of their smartphone displays. We really see it as a disservice to their customers. Because quite honestly, PenTile sucks. It looks terrible and performs poorly compared to the other options currently on the market.

At $199 for a 2-year contract, you’re going to have to come to a crossroad and choose what is more important to you. On one side of the fence you have an outstanding physical keyboard as well as Motorola’s fantastically implemented Smart Actions. On the flip side you have a terrible display and worsening record for timely Android updates. The poison is yours to choose.

Gadgetsteria’s Rating: 6.5

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