The Motorola Droid has been a fairly contentious piece of equipment to date. Whether you love it or hate it, there’s no doubt that it’s done a lot to bring the Android operating system to the forefront of the world of smart phones. There were other Android-based phones in 2009, but none made as big a splash, in part, due to the lack of publicity. But now there’s another Android phone pushing it’s way to the front of the fray. The Google-branded Nexus One. Like the Droid Eris, it’s manufactured by HTC, so I know it’s going to have strong industrial & UX design. I love the design and functionality of my wife’s HTC Droid Eris. But I chose the Motorola Droid, and, despite a number of flaws, I’m not going to return it. But before I explain why, let me tell you why I considered kicking it to the curb.

1. It’s bulky. The slide-out keyboard speaks to the design-by-committee quality of the phone. Somewhere is an executive who insisted that a physical keyboard would give the Droid an edge over the iPhone. In theory, that’s true, but the Droid’s physical keyboard is very hard to use. I feel like it was created by an exasperated engineer who was ordered to fit it into too small a space, so it’s flat and much more difficult to use than the on-screen soft keyboard. So I don’t use it. The only aspect that is beneficial to me is the cursor control, which brings me to my next point.
2. Navigating text while you’re typing is a huge pain. I have an iPod Touch, and Apple’s solution is okay; while it’s tedious, it works. Droid has almost no solution. You can either keep tapping at the screen until the cursor blessedly jumps where you want it to, or you can slide open the keyboard and use the rectangle to the right of the keys to move the cursor where you want it. Somebody tell me why it’s so difficult to put cursor controls in the soft keyboards. You can type just about any character needed by switching between keyboard layouts. Where are the cursor keys — am I the only one who misses them horribly? Apple, Google, help me understand. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. And what about a forward delete key? Okay, rant over.
3. The permanent soft keys below the screen are way too sensitive. I am constantly accidentally hitting the search button, particularly while using the camera. Why is the search button even active while the camera is being used? Who decides they’re going to do a search while they’re taking photos? And going from the camera, to the search, and then back again takes forever. So the shot is missed.
4. The battery door falls off. This is probably the Achilles heel of the Droid. Such a costly device should not have a battery door that falls off. Not only is it inconvenient, it makes the Droid seem cheap.
5. Android doesn’t have multi-touch out of the box. Apple is the Microsoft of smart phones, with huge market share and tons of patents, and Google is a bit afraid of them for that reason. But the Droid has the capability for multi-touch. I have two apps that use it, and I look forward to more.

Though there are other flaws, these are the reasons I considered returning the Motorola Droid in favor of the upcoming Google Nexus One. It’s technically similar to the Droid, with much superior design. Edit: This isn’t actually right. The Google Nexus One uses the Snapdragon 1GHz processor, whereas the Droid uses the Arm A8 — the same as the iPhone 3GS — at 550MHz. But I’m sticking with the Droid. Here’s why.

1. It’s a great device. The screen is superb, the processor is strong, there are a lot of awesome apps for it, and it’s a really good phone.
2. I don’t know exactly when the Nexus One will become available for Verizon subscribers. It’s supposed to be available in Spring, but that could be June. So I could be without a smart phone for almost 6 months. Blech.
3. I don’t know how much the Nexus One will cost. With my 2-year plan, I got my Droid for $150 with rebates, etc. But I could end up paying $300+ for the Nexus One. There’s no way to know at this point.
4. The case I ordered yesterday will obviate the battery door issue.
5. I believe that a lot of the Droid’s issues can and will be resolved with software. The accidental searches can be fixed if certain apps would disable the search button. Android 2.1 will be available for the Droid sometime this year. I still hold out hope for the missing text-navigation feature. The Droid has been rooted, so there are and will be custom software releases.
6. By the time the Nexus One is available for Verizon subscribers, it will be old news. There will be something better on the way, I have no doubt. I could hold out indefinitely for the perfect smart phone, but it’s not worth it to me.
7. Most importantly, I like the Droid. No, it’s not sleek and magical like the iPhone was when it first appeared. Droid is rough around the edges (figuratively speaking) and it feels like technology rather than magic. But it’s still pretty cool, and I’m glad it’s mine.

So for all of you Verizon subscribers who are holding out for the Nexus One, good for you. I’m sure it’s an awesome phone and it will be worth the wait. But while you’re waiting, I’m going to be enjoying my Motorola Droid.

Update: I’ve installed a custom ROM that allows adjusting the processor speed up to 1.2GHz, as well as providing a multi-touch gallery and a few other cool features. I’ve had it installed for about a month, and it’s at least as stable as it was with the stock software. I generally run it at 1GHz. I’m loving my Droid now more than ever. Check out http://www.droidmod.org.

Last weekend, while watching The Half-Blood Prince, I felt that old tug from my childhood toward magic. It occurred to me that it is a sad existence without magic. Everything has been discovered and can be explained by some unmagical, rational process. Everything is commonplace. Nothing is really special or truly different. But life is still exciting to me, as if magic still exists somewhere in the world. When I asked myself why — what is magic for the adult me — the answer came readily.

My mind went back to a fun and challenging discussion I had with my brothers-in-law last week in the wee hours of the morning. The ideas were flying. And I realized that ideas are magic. They don’t exist in the tangible world, yet they change the world: people are changed; societies are changed; the face of the planet is changed; problems are solved; healing occurs; fortunes are built; obsessions are manufactured and consumed… Ideas are born in the mind and grow through interaction. They are transferred from person to person to the world at large. And, because they are not physically embodied, they are like nothing else.

I can intentionally, sanely pursue magic as an adult by creating and exchanging ideas. This requires interaction, so I am going to seek out more and more interaction. 15 years ago when I took the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, the result came back as INFP. I was a strong introvert. Throughout my young life I felt I was drastically different from everyone else — I struggled to find connections and mistrusted all but a few that I found. Pardoxically enough, 12 years ago I got into the field of marketing, which entails making connections, understanding people and creating ideas that resonate with them. Now I test as an ENFP in Myers-Briggs. I love people. I’m energized by interactions. I seek and find connections.

Marketing is made of ideas, so marketing is a form of magic. So I’m a professional wizard. You’re a wizard too — to be human is to have ideas. What magic will you make today?

I go through phases with movies. For a while I’ll be into cerebral stuff — independent films, long, atmospheric pieces, epic dramas. Then I’ll be into horror films — people getting into ridiculous situations and doing stupid things while experiencing really horrible things. Then comedy — people getting into ridiculous situations and doing stupid things while experiencing really horrible things (wait, what?). Then action, sci-fi, etc.

Each genre of film has its own sort of standard structure. I’ve been noticing  some really repetitive structures in comedies. They recall the classic Greek comedy structure of well-woe-well. And it’s becoming tedious to the point that I don’t want want to watch comedies anymore.

• We join the protagonist in situ, just going through their comfortable, idiosyncratic life.
• The protagonist encounters something that breaks them out of their comfort zone.
• He or she resists, then gives in.
• Loves the new situation, does really well.
• But the old, comfortable life, or some personality trait from that life, catches up and causes problems.
• It looks like things are going to end badly for our protagonist.
• Through a ridiculous series of events, happenstance or uncharacteristic resolve, the protagonist overcomes.
• Happy ending.

I’m really tired of this. It makes movies so predictable that it’s like 80-110 minutes of deja vu. Last night I watched Ghost Town with Merry. It was nice, there was humor. But I was able to predict the exact course of events at each turning point. Please, can we have some new structures in comedies? Maybe lately comedies just haven’t been disguising the underlying structure very well. Not enough effort has been put into development.

Or maybe it’s time to go back to the cerebral films. A little randomness might be nice.