Fact Checking, Public Relations, and the Droid X Versus the iPhone

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(image courtesy Newsrealblog)

At Gear Diary, we receive a fair bit of unsolicited email pitching ideas. The originators of this email sent us such a boneheaded set of statements that I don’t feel it would be fair or right to post their names. However, I will post the five points they attempted to helpfully share, and why they are wrong…and let this be a lesson to any other public relations types out there-fact checking is your friend!

The “helpful” email was trying to convince us why a Droid X was a worse choice than an iPhone:

Five Reasons Not to Buy the Droid X

1. Not enough apps: If you are an application-lover, the Droid X does offer over 12,000 apps, however, that does not even remotely compare to the + 100,000 apps available on the iPhone.

2. Heavy to carry: The Droid X is 25 percent heavier than the iPhone and is bulky to carry around.

3. Harder to navigate: Although the Droid’s screen is large at 3.7-inches, it lacks many features, such as two-finger zooming, which makes it more complicated to navigate.

4. Difficult to text: Typing on your cell on the go can be complicated, and the combination of the Droid X’s lack of auto-correction and flat and crowded keyboard, makes texting almost challenging.

5. More expensive than the iPhone: With all the above flaws mentioned of the Droid X, it would make sense for it to be cheaper than the iPhone, however this is not the case. The Droid is valued at $200 (only after a mail-in rebate), with a clause that forces you to pay a $70 monthly service plan for a minimum of two years, and to make matters worse text messaging is not included.

Sigh. Ok, let’s go through this one by one.

1) Not enough apps. Let’s see…the Android Marketplace is on track to pass 100,000 apps this month, and officially the count is above 65,000 as of the last Google report. The App Store may have more, but it’s not like you’re scrounging for comparable apps in Android. So point one is a FAIL.

2) Heavy to carry…ok. Sure, I’ll give them that. But it’s not going to break your wrist to hold it. And from the reviews I’ve seen the extra size is not awkward. You might have a problem if you wear nothing but skinny hipster jeans, but then if you wear skinny hipster jeans you already own an iPhone 4 anyhow.

3) Harder to navigate…what? Um…first of all, Android 2.1 and above has multitouch. Two, it’s a 4.3inch screen, not a 3.7 inch…learn to fact check! And if you have a problem navigating a 4.3-inch screen, you might want to abandon the idea of using a touchscreen smartphone altogether. So not only is this not correct from an operating system standpoint, the facts aren’t even correct!

4) Difficult to text…again, WHAT? Android has autocorrect, plus if you hate the stock keyboard there are a plethora of alternate input options. Also, again, 4.3-inch screen…how is it cramped, especially in comparison to the iPhone?

5) Wow…this last point is just pure fallacy. Dollar for dollar it’s almost the same cost on AT&T and Verizon.

So please, for the sanity of bloggers everywhere, DO NOT send out erroneous emails with poorly researched and flimsy claims, then offer to set us up with an “expert” who will regale us with more brilliance like the points above. We’re good, thanks. However, please feel free to email ME if you’d like some factually correct information for your next email blast!

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About the Author

Zek
Zek has been a gadget fiend for a long time, going back to their first PDA (a Palm M100). They quickly went from researching what PDA to buy to following tech news closely and keeping up with the latest and greatest stuff. They love writing about ebooks because they combine their two favorite activities; reading anything and everything, and talking about fun new tech toys. What could be better?

3 Comments on "Fact Checking, Public Relations, and the Droid X Versus the iPhone"

  1. Are you sure you don’t want to name names?

  2. I just sampled a coworker’s shiny new Droid X, and I concur with your responses, Carly. I have not played around with an iPhone 4, but compared to my Windows Mobile phone, the Droid X appears to be a fine piece of engineering (I know, I know, for many of you that’s not saying much). It is larger than the iPhone, but it didn’t feel awkward holding the unit and the OS & screen were quite responsive. As I’m on ATT I’m going to try to get a Captivate this weekend, which will mark my formal departure from my formerly WinMo-centric experience. I still have a few WinMo phones, but the Android OS has me intrigued.

  3. Fact Checking, Public Relations, and the Droid X Versus the iPhone http://bit.ly/da9eCg

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