by Lance Bell

Created on: December 03, 2009

All the rage in hand held electronics today is small, thin, light and amazing. The cellphone industry is no exception. The top phone for the last two years which has maintained these four specs is Apple's revolutionary iPhone and with its most recent update, the iPhone 3Gs. However, another competitor, released on October 24th of this year, is said to give the iPhone a run for its money. Motorola's DROID, a Smartphone with Verizon service built in and Google's Android firmware working as its powerhouse. Nevertheless, let us not get stuck on the big fancy names; instead, delve into the interiors and examine the exteriors of each device so that you can determine the better.

Interiors:

First, let's start off with the processors and RAM of each:

Motorola DROID: 600MHz CPU, OMAP3430 chip downclocked to 550MHz with 256MB of RAM

iPhone 3Gs: 600MHz CPU, 256MB of RAM

Thus, the only difference is the fact that the DROID's processor is downclocked 50 MHz than the iPhone.

Next, the storage capacity of each comes into play:
Motorola DROID: Starts off with 16gb of internal storage but can be upgradable to 32gb on purchasing

iPhone 3Gs: Initial size is 16gb too, however can be upgraded to 32gb only with a flash drive

The camera is the first major differentiating factor between the two.

Motorola DROID: 5 megapixel camera coupled with an LED flash and capable of producing virtually shake free video at up to 720x480 pixels

iPhone 3Gs: 3 megapixel camera capable of producing up to 640x480 pixels

Battery life of each device differs incredibly too:

Motorola DROID: 7 hours of use with the screen on full brightness, constantly playing MP3s and using it's built in Google navigation for one of those 7 hours

iPhone 3Gs: Talk time up to 12 hours, internet use up to 9 hours, video playback up to 10 hours, audio playback up to 30 hours, and an incredible 300 hours of standby

Exteriors and software:

The exteriors of each are where the biggest differences turn out. The iPhone sports an extremely slim and modern design with a huge 3.5 inch touch screen taking up its entire top. The bottom gently forms a bell curve made of shiny metal and comes up to the top totally encasing the bottom and sides. With only four buttons on the device, its interface is designed entirely for multi-touch to minimize the hassle of fiddling with many keys. The flick-to-scroll, pinch-to-zoom, and shake-to-reload are only a few features that the multi-touch an incredible design. Plus, having over one million downloadable apps for the iPhone makes its usability endless.

The DROID is quite different. Its top made up of a 3.7 inch display. The whole theme of the DROID is sharp with straight edges, thus there is none of the common smooth curves and turns as found in many devices today. The top of the phone slides up to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard and D-pad navigator. It has a built-in Google GPS system that brags hours of hands free navigation. However, the downfall has come from several testers who said that it's scrolling through contacts or switching between applications causes a slight jitter in its performance.

In the end, it all comes down to personal preference and your price range. You might want a sleek and modern looking iPhone 3Gs that ranges in prices from $99-199 USD. While on the other hand, the preference might come down to a more classy looking $599 USD Motorola DROID. Choose wisely, but enjoy whichever you recieve.

Learn more about this author, Lance Bell.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.