The most important Android phone
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- Опубликовано: 23 окт 2018
- We're ten years into the Android era and Google’s OS has over two billion users worldwide. But, how did it get so big? In part two of Processor’s Android history series, Dieter Bohn looks at the Motorola Droid and how Verizon’s massive ad campaign contributed to Android’s early success.
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What’s your pick for the most important Android phone?
The galaxy S6
The Samsung Galaxy Note
Nexus Devices
Here in India, it was all Samsung Galaxy that turned the tables around
Moto x play. 😂
The Droid maybe significant in the US... But the phone that brought Android mainstream worldwide was the Samsung Galaxy S2
And the S3 that followed made it next level
Kinda true. I'm non US and droid/milestone was my first android. People like was Gobsmack and mindblown that I had gps turn by turn maps. Open web browser chrome etc.
I think the HTC Desire was the first real Android success in the UK
LG Cookie in the Uk
That is so true.. sadly the S3 design the next year was not quite elegant.. caused by Apple sued to Samsung for copying the iPhone design..
Owned both the Blackberry Storm and the OG Droid. The storm was a mess, but I still have one laying around somewhere. The OG Droid I still know exactly where it is in my house, it’s a part of history. I still boot it up every once in awhile to watch those sweet battery killing live wallpapers.
SAAAAAME
Yup! Never giving mine away. Have my Droid Bionic still as well.
It had live wallpapers all this time? I know where I keep mine two, I need to see that ASAP!
KOTYAR0 oh yeah they did. Killed the battery sooo fast.
SAME!
Honestly the droid does campaign, along with that Edward Norton short film, was very well crafted and got me and many others hooked.
Don't forget the fact that Android was completely free and open source which in turn helped spread android to smaller startups and manufacturers and make chaper phones with good features
No that did nothing for it. What start ups are you talking about that were a success?
@@TheRealUnconnected it mde success for the OS itself
I totally wanted the first Droid but wasn't able to upgrade because of my contract. Ended up getting the Droid R2-D2 the following year and then Droid 4, 2 years later. I waited forever for the Droid 5 that never was. Still miss my slide our keyboard. Would totally still buy a new version of it!
My first android was Samsung galaxy. The one with the first AMOLED ever... But my main reason for buying that phone was navigation and Gtalk on phone.
@@tldr365 I bought it in the year 2009... And I'm pretty sure there wasn't any other android phone with AMOLED display.
Samsung moment, one of the first Android phones (was only on sprint) that I had was an amoled, before Galaxy was a thing
@@MichaelJans I had no idea... That phone never landed in India.
@@HIMANSHUBHATIA90 the original Galaxy debut in June 2010. The original Nexus One debuted in January 2010 with a AMOLED display.
@@yaotly1 I'm talking about the Samsung galaxy(i7500). Not the first galaxy S.
The Palm Pre Plus was an amazing phone. WebOS was killer.
Ben Schinkel web os was so innovative for the time. It’s crazy how all the modern os’ have adopted the gesture interface.
It makes me sad when you see everyone saying Android is copying iOS gestures. They're flat out stolen from webOS. Same with the card interface and synergy. webOS would be my go to phone OS if it had good hardware and a good appstore. :-/
web os is so much better than android, its interface is way prettier and more innovative.
I remember my Palm Pre Plus, one of the best phones ever!
Wow...the Droid... Brings back memories, great phone
Rip Palm
Palms back. :)
I got the droid because of the iDon’t/DroidDoes campaign. I was really into building computers, and I liked the idea of a phone that I could control.
Great video Dieter . Always helpful, always funny.
Can I use it with tweezers though? I spoke to my mate Steve and he said it works :s
I was this close to buying the Nokia N9 ... But stopped due to lack of support and apps...
I got the galaxy s2 instead
Good choice.. the N9 was basically dead even before it was released. People had already lost most of their hope in the OS.
Such a shame about the N9 and Meego. It honestly looked like one of the cleanest and most streamlined mobile OSes
Nokia N9 was a really nice phone. IMO Meego Harmattan is still one of the best looking mobile OS.
Terrible choice, the N9 is still the best phone on the market
@@SamzaNemesis hold on there timeline traveller!
My first Android was the Nexus one. I choose Android because I knew only a software company would be able to compete compare to phone company.
Got HTC Magic as a prize, the dull-looking google market store, non-official social network that took months to update even once is annoying but eventually, Galaxy S got me back in the game, to think that everyone used to comment that 4" screen as HUGE at that point of time. Time flies uh...
I changed my blackberry for my first android just so I could play angry birds 🤣
I remember walking into a Verizon store and we bought our OG Droid phones. Incredible phone. Still waiting for a Droid 5!
Bought my first android phone this year (Samsung S9+) after having an iPhone 3GS, 4S, 5S and 6S.
I just felt that I needed a change and was not forking out a small fortune for a phone! Love android and won't be going back to iOS.
@3165dwayne Another person who believes in such myth. Unless he uses the phone as a vibrator for his girlfriend he should be fine.
I got my Note 8 because everyone was saying Android was far superior than iOS, and wanted to try something different. It does somethings better than the iPhone but honestly it is not as good as people were making it out to be. It didn't exceed my expectations. My next phone will be an iPhone.
@3165dwayne noooooooo, don't tell me this now! Where were you when I bought the damn thing? 🤣🤣
@@mohammadmeu 🤣🤣🤣
I love this Android history episodes, Thanks Dieter! =D
I love the Android history. Keep it up verge!
Those commercials were great IMO
Marketing 101. Memorable, simple, to the point. And pretty different from iPhone marketing, as was Droid itself.
Honestly it would be awesome to see sth like this return.
Smartphones nowadays seem to lose features for the sake of shininess so a function over form phone would be refreshing.
Various no. They were not.
Didn't know a part 2 was coming. Well done video.
Great video! Actually, the ad campaigns with the "DROOOOIIIIIID" sound/cool commercials made me want the Motorola Droid phone, plus it had a premium feel and sturdy design. I also REALLY LOVED the DROID notification sound when texts came in; nothing sounded cooler! I was a Verizon customer at the time and since the iPhone was only on one carrier then, I decided on the Motorola Droid. It will forever be one of my favorite cell phones of all time.
I remember when I bought the first droid! I loved it! I will never forget it...
I love the OG Droid! Still got mine today!
AHHH the memories, the first iPhones, the DROID phones, the dying blackberries, the palm pre, the other android phones releasing, this. was a really exciting time in my preteen years
My first screen phone was the OG Droid in 09, then I switch to the thin Droid in 11 then the Droid turbo in 14. I am still using the the Droid Turbo now which still works extremely well.
The Evo 4g was my first Android phone. I got it from a friend. At the time I absolutely loved it. My uncle worked for Verizon back in 2009 and got a lease Moto Droid. I was absolutely blown away at what it could do.
I remember all of these commercials. I know people to this day that still call ANY Android phone a "Droid". It's crazy how well this all worked tbh.
history lessons are always good, thanks :)
My favorite Android phone of all time was the HTC Droid Incredible. I bought one as a collectors item and it still works. Loved the red/black design. I also have the Motorola Droid 2 Global.
My dad had the original Droid then upgraded to the Droid Razr MAXX and that's still his daily phone to this day.
The Droid was the Milestone in the UK. Had it for a while but swapped someone for an HTC HD2 so I could run every OS known to man.
This is awesome! Part 3, please!!
Here in India, it was all Samsung Galaxy that turned the tables around
@Tommy Scott it's not cheap phones but those which are value for money. But yeah, most of them are cheaper
Loved my Droid. I still have it sitting on a shelf. Definitely miss using it occasionally!
My first Android phone was actually a Windows Mobile phone. I got the AT&T Tilt back when I was in college. There was a fairly active community for the phone on the XDA forums and following the instructions there I started dual booting between Windows Mobile and Android to check it out. After I graduated the Tilt broke and I switched to T-Mobile to pick up the MyTouch 3G.
Man, glad I missed those ads by Droid. I did see ads at the time but they were usually extremely brief and only focused on being a robot with nothing about the iPhone
I got my Droid by accident really. My Blackberry Storm screen stopped clicking so I got a Droid as a replacement. I was instantly in love with how easy it was to "hack" it, I still remember downloading Cyanogenmod to get Android 2.2 on it before it was officially released for the Droid. I still miss the keyboard on it, with custom firmware you could even set up key macros to open up certain apps. Holding it now it feels like a brick compared to my Galaxy S9+ but the OG Droid will always have a special place in my heart...and my "old tech" drawer lol.
I switched from a iPhone 4s to an HTC one M9, mainly because of comparability issues with iTunes and windows as well as with the customization limitations of iOS.
Hey Dieter. I really like the smartwatch you are wearing. Could you please tell me which one it is?
Funny how different things are in the UK - over here the Droid was called the 'Milestone', had a limited network release and almost no one bought it. The big Android phone in the UK was the HTC Hero, and the HD2 also saw a lot of success over here too.
Good video Dieter! You correctly captured the mood of the time. I bought my first Android phone, the Motorola Droid in 2010 after Windows Mobile 6.5 had become incredibly stale on my HTC Touch Pro 2. The Touch Pro 2 had great hardware and solid ergonomics, but was woefully under powered. HTC's Sense skin, if I remember right, was originally developed as a modern looking skin/alternative for Windows Mobile's now dated platform. The phone crashed often because of the heavy skin and was noticeably better when I turned Sense off and ran stock WinMo. Eventually, I grew tired of the lack of new functionality and decided to get a Motorola Droid and I've never looked back. Android was in it's infancy then but worked well and has obviously gotten a lot better. I still have that OG Motorola Droid btw and it still works. I fire it up once or twice a year and out it through it's paces for a few hours.
Fantastic video! Would you be able to tackle how Samsung became the dominent player in Android? Because if my memory serves I don’t think it was always clear that they would be the front runner.
They were not the forerunner until the Galaxy...I think S6 or S7edge.. That curve display took everyone by surprise.
Keegan Goerz nope. HTC was the dominate player in android but until the Galaxy S2. HTC was #1 smartphone maker in the US.
Plz make more series like this
For me it was the fact that you could do Torrent on your phone. Made me buy the HTC Desire with that optical trackbutton of sorts.
When my Symbian, Nokia N95-4 8GB, 5MP Carl Zeiss Lens camera, and it had a GPS, (when the iPhone 1 didn't). One Halloween month flew up in the air and broke into pieces. I was way ahead of the selfie game and video recording with that phone. That is when I ended up moving to Android. I convinced my dad buy me a Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S, while in California (yikes, the sales taxes happen to be higher in that state alone). It was the thinnest Android phone on the market at that time. I absolutely loved it.
The Motorola Milestone (International version of the Droid) was the first smartphone I owned. Looking back the strongest memories I have of this phone were how sturdy it was; it really felt like a super solid device in a way that almost no phone does today. It's the reason I don't buy the argument that phones with slide out keyboards and or removable batteries are necessarily flimsier. My Droid survived a fall from about 6 feet onto concrete and kept ticking with hardly a scratch on it... those were the days.
My first Android phone was the HTC Evo. I got it because this was the first Android device that was getting mostly positive reviews and the timing of my device refresh lined up almost perfectly with the launch of the phone on Sprint. I was on a highly discounted plan through work, so I was getting yearly phone refreshes at that point.
I bought my first Android phone in June 2010, a Samsung Galaxy S i9000, I knew it's going to be a successful OS with infinite possibilities -- and I wasn't wrong. 😊
My first android and very first smartphone was the Galaxy Y. It was a hand-me-down from my dad and it was also his first android phone. Owning the phone peaked my curiousity and love for smartphones and made me want to become a mobile developer.
I got the OG Droid mainly because of two things: Google Navigation and Verizon's 3G network coverage. I remember it was a HUGE deal when Google launched turn-by-turn navigation on Android with the Droid being the first phone to have it. The navigation and UI was much better and streamlined than anything Garmin and TomTom had, and the fact that it was free with the phone with free continuous updates made it clear that dedicated GPS units were dead. Stocks for Garmin and TOMTOM drastically fell right after Google's announcement. And with Verizons 3G network being vastly larger than other carriers made the OG Droid with new Google Navigation on Verizon a perfect match.
I worked for best buy mobile in this era. From what I remember, the Samsung Galaxy S and SII line up (remember how they made different versions for the different cariers!) really drove Android at that time. People wanting a smartphone but not wanting to spend the $200 to get an iPhone saw the often free ot $1 on contract price for one of these Samsung variants and I "sold" tons of them as a result. The tech heads were definitely excited about the Nexus S and the HTC Thunderbolt introduced us to 4G LTE - which I rocked for quite some time, despite being a very troubled device, because I had the need for speed - but the masses loved the Samsung experience and the low price.
When I first so the screen on the Samsung S, I was hooked. I was going to buy the iPhone but I went for the S2 and never looked back since. Thanks
Samsung Galaxy Gio in 2011. I was one of the early adopters of Android in my country.
I had Verizon, and got a Droid because I researched and found it was customizable as hell. Change your keyboard, make your own ringtones, notifications, etc, throw them into a directory and bam, your phone is literally unique. I loved having access to its innards (and if I'm honest, I enjoyed using a phone that trusted me enough to give me the ability to break it). I had forgotten the "DROID" noise, but that was fun.
I learned about Android sometime after the release of the first iPhone and before the release of the G1. I was so excited about Android that I installed the emulator on my computer and played around with it a bunch. By the time I was able to afford a smartphone the G1 wasn't available anymore so I got a Motorola Cliq. It wasn't the best phone, but I really liked the slide out keyboard and back in those days I was really into social media. I have a Pixel 2 XL now, but I still miss the keyboard, the SD card slot, and the removable battery. I still have the cliq in a drawer somewhere and I boot it up every once in a while for a nostalgia kick.
This was actually my first smartphone, due to my scepticism of touchscreen keyboards at the time. It was a pretty good introduction into Android, I later upgraded to the Nexus 4, followed by the Galaxy S7 and now Galaxy S9.
got my first andriod when my Palm pre 2 finally died I still miss it.
Converted from Blackberry to Android in 2010; my first Android phone was the HTC Aria. I liked that it was smaller than an iPhone or Blackberry but had better Web browsing and enough apps to get through my day. It ended up being my last sub-5 inch phone, as my next one ended up being the original Galaxy Note (followed by the Galaxy S4, LG G3, Galaxy S7 Edge, and current Galaxy S9+).
Oh loved the droid it was crazy to have all that in a phone. Whom out there rooted it and downloaded various OS. I finally got sick of the crashing from my 3rd party OS so I switch to iphone for stability.
its ability to customize the home screen with widgets and app icons, install custom launchers and download anything as we do on the computer.
The Palm Pre would have been a great competitor to the iPhone. Loved the fact that it used web technologies to render stuff. It was my first contract phone and everyone was impressed.
Im confused on the sub to view count, did youtube automatically turn off notifications for your channel or something?
Droid Incredible 2.
It was a good phone. I had Verizon, didn't know anything about smartphones at the time, and the rep in the store recommended it. The fact that I had small device to web browse, watch RUclips, and etc on was mind blowing.
Had a Blackberry Curve. Contract was up and a coworker had an Android tablet. Went into a Best Buy mobile and got the coolest looking phone that was free with an upgrade - which to me was the HTC Incredible 2. This was before I was a phone nerd. Stuck with Android for awhile before going to Windows Phone, back to Android and iOS and finally settling on iOS.
Fun fact: in Germany it was sold as „the Motorola Milestone“. 😜
Where's part 1?
HTC one v camera was very good at that time . It supported beats audio then.
Htc Evo 4g lte had the best camera back then against the iPhone 5 I love that phone with the kick stand
A friend showed me his Motorola Droid...and the rest is history 😉
Droid campaign and the phone features (notice how we were using the term "phone" back then?) and looks. Still have mine.
My first Android phone was the HTC EVO Shift. I was with Sprint at the time and I saw ads and reviews for it. Looked better than the Blackberry Curve 8330 I had and still had a physical keyboard
Yaaa that was my first smart phone. I loved it
I do miss having that slide out keyboard
I really like this web series. It’s really interesting to hear about the history of tech, and you always present your ideas in a clear, easy to understand, and convincing manner. Keep up the great work !
I bought the Nexus One because it was 'made by Google' (HTC). I loved that phone. The size was perfect. I even liked the little trackball. The best part was the trackball was also the indication LED. Fantastic, solid phone. I used it for nearly 4 years.
What got me into Android was my neighbor she worked at T-Mobile at the time. She new I was interested in Android... She should me the stack of documents on the upcoming HTC G1. That had me hooked. As for my 1st Android phone it was the HTC Eris.
Just ask essential
I love these videos. Keep going, Dieter! 👍
The Droid was my first smartphone! I loved that phone! I was disappointed thatit was not called Droid here in Brazil, it was called Milestone, for some obscure reason.
Bought the Droid for my wife on launch day mostly because I had already used up my upgrade on a BB storm, had to convince her and myself it was for her by buying it a pink case. Awesome phone. That commercial was beast!
Friend had a g1. When the droid was coming out he was hyping it up and made me want to get one. I actually got the droid eris first then later upgraded to the droid x. But then the iPhone 4 came out and I got that and been with iPhone ever since.
My first smartphone was a Nokia N95 Symbian. My first Android phone was actually a Windows Mobile 6.5 phone (HTC HD2) which I side-loaded Android on...
Very, very nice video, thanks !
Wooo. First official smart phone was the HTC HD2, which I flashed countless roms on thanks to XDA Developer forums. Man those were good days. At some point I got tired of chasing the perfect rom setup and went to a Nexus 4, then moved to an iPhone 5s. Haven’t looked back since but that HTC HD2 was hands down one of the coolest experiences I had with tech at the time.
My LG GW620 (LG EVE) is what got me hooked on Android. It ran Android 1.5
"Offensive imagery"? Seriously dude?
Ed Towel it’s the definition of offensive
Got my first Android after having been so hyped up about the iPhone for months and when it was launched, all my non-tech/geek friends has one. I just don't like using what other people are using so I went with the HTC Hero. Then the Nexus 1, the Note1 The Nexus 5, Nexus6P and currently using a P10 plus looking to get a Mate20 Pro
I owned the droid 3 as my first smartphone, and i really wish smartphones had stuck to being different
My first Android was the LG Optimus Black, I came from an iPhone 3Gs, the P970 was one of the best cameras at the time, but a horrible battery. With a custom ROM it was very fast but very battery consuming also. Shout out do Brazil 🇧🇷
At the time, I was rocking a Og palm pre on sprint, (still my favorite) but when my 2year plan was up palm was dead. First android phone was htc evo4g (second favorite phone) but fell in love with Android and never looked back.
Is that Richard Hendricks from Silicon Valley at 6:34 ?
Back then, a man named Dieter was a Palm OG and he felt a bit disappointed with the new Palm that just came out
I still have both my Droid and my G1, not sure why I kept them, I guess for nostalgia... However, I do miss having a hardware keyboard, I wish they still made Android phones with slide out hardware keyboards...
I got the G1 after trying out the original iPhone and iPhone 3G and hating pretty much everything about them, and I loved the G1, so much so that I got 3 of them, one for work, and the other 2 as my personal phones (one rooted and the other unmolested)...
My first android was the Motorola Droid Razr, it was one heck of a phone in its time
The original Droid still might be my favorite phone ever.
I bought my first android phone mostly for turn-by-turn navigation. I was working as a delivery driver at the time and my hand-me-down windows phone was giving up the ghost.
Love these series 👍🏽
I used to use windows mobile in the early 2000s, my first android was the nexus one as the Motorola Droid wasn't released in the market where I live, powered with android cupcake v1.5 upgradable to Android 2 eclair, the next year Samsung shipped their first galaxy s1, lovely days 🙂
Droid 2 was my first smartphone. It was great. But it was so glitchy that I switched to the iPhone and haven't looked back