Time: Motorola Droid Top Gadget of Year
Google, Motorola and Verizon are all feeling pretty good about the Droid today. Time has rated the Droid as the top gadget of the year, The editors of Time gave big props to the Droid’s physical (although not great) keyboard, and loved the nice display on the phone.
I’m not sure I agree with them that the Droid is the top gadget of the year, even though I like the phone. My vote for top gizmo goes far and away to the Novatel MiFi.
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MiFi probably should get it, as it is new, kind of game changing and a delightful surprise. Droid? Nice phone, but nice and updgraded in an incremental way.
I’d have a hard time voting a device that can’t walk and talk at the same time as top gadget of the year.
I got my nook today but so far I’m still liking my Kindle DX better. They definitely rushed the nook to beat Christmas and it shows and shows and shows some more. If pressed to vote today I’d go for my 3GS. I know but the addition of the compass, auto-focus camera and accessibility zoom have made it a whole new wonder computer and phone for me: JotNot, Yelp and TrueHDR leverage it nicely for me.
One thing to consider is the MiFi versus most newish smartphones. The MiFi creates a wifi hotspot over 3G. It does it brilliantly but it uses the same 3G network that is available to your phone, and requires a data plan, and that is all it does. Given that I am willing to bet that almost everyone with a MiFi also has a cell phone, if you get a smartphone, with a data plan, you can tether and get the same functionality, likely at a lower cost, and need to carry one fewer gadgets. I don’t see anything that the MiFi can do that the tether app on my HTC Magic can’t do.
I looked into getting a 3G USB stick modem and data plan and decided the added functionality of the smartphone was the way to go. The fact that the data plan was actually cheaper/Gb on the smartphone since the carrier is betting you are actually not going to use all the data, was just the icing on the cake.
I am absolutely sold on always connected web access, and being able to use my netbook everywhere, without having to worry about finding an open wifi network. However, I am not sure that buying a one trick pony with an expensive data plan is the best way to get this functionality.
Given all that I would say that the MiFi is not gadget of the year. Brilliant packaging of the tethering concept, but tethering has been around as long as you could get any sort of data over a wireless network.
The only win is for non technical folks who want a plug and play solution.
Good point. My HD2 also does this without the need to carry a second device.
Nah, the Apple Tablet is the gadget of the year, for certain.
I wouldn’t worry about this too much. Time is a pretty worthless publication and I can’t think of too many people who care what they have to say on any topic. What’s astonishing is that this is getting as much publicity as it is.
If phone companies would allow us to tether our phones and surf on the internet through them we wouldn’t have a device like the MiFi.
er um, they do. At least if you have a data plan. To be absolutely correct, some plans forbid tethering, but unless they are doing deep packet inspection, they are going to have a hard time figuring out where you are consuming the data. OTOH, I have a 6Gb data plan that specifically allows tethering.
The nice thing about the new smartphones is that they can do just about anything you can do with a computer. other than flash and that is getting resolved early next year.
I don’t even bother with the “mobile” sites when I am browsing on my phone.
Back in the days of WAP, it was pretty obvious if you were on the phone or using it as a modem. Now I have a full feed and can either consume the data directly on the phone, or on the netbook tethered to the phone.
Carriers are going to have to get resigned to becoming bit pipes or figure out a new way to add value. Makes ATT’s noises about “bad Iphone users” breaking their network even more absurd. ATT sold the unlimited data plan (which really means 5 Gb) and then whines when some users actually use it.
It is mainly marketing smoke and mirrors and the carriers desperately trying to create revenue streams. In their perfect world you should have a smart phone (with a data plan), a MiFi for wifi hotspot, and perhaps a USB 3G stick for your laptop. They would be even more thrilled if you get a internal 3G modem in each netbook or laptop you have.
My vote goes to the MiFi as well. Love the Droid though.
I have MiFi for one month now. The current 5GB limit is a drawback as for streaming video (Hulu …) once a week. The next plan is 10GB for $199. Hope Verizon offers a no limit data paln at no more than $99.
I agree with you. My vote would have been for the MiFi too. The Droid is a great smartphone but having WiFi Internet access available everywhere I go has had much more impact on my day-to-day life than any phone I’ve ever owned.
This is Better than the VZ card and I use this on My Boat for Others to use their Laptops on ,to send and do all besides Blackberry . Range is about 20 Miles or so Offshore , More than that I need to use Satt Phone which is Far more costly than Mifi by Verizon