Motorola Droid is great and I anticipate it getting better.

Chris Brogan picked up a Motorola Droid phone this past Friday, as did I. He wrote a nice review over on his blog, and I added some thoughts as well. Here's my comment below, and I encourage you to visit his blog to see his thoughts.

Chris, I got a Droid on Friday and have been impressed. I was not previously an At&t iPhone guy (due to the poor service), and ran with a Samsung Windows Mobile phone prior that connected extremely well with our Exchange Server at work. I really enjoyed that phone and have been waiting 2 years for a decent Verizon upgrade offering. Yea, Droid.

So far I'm happy with the Droid for all the reasons you described, and have had a few challenges as well.
- Turning off applications does seem to be a chore. While some have a menu option to do so, others just keep running. I'll have to find that app you were referring to that helps shut apps down.
- The touch screen is sensitive, and I'm getting used to it. One example of an issue I had with the screen is when using the keyboard to write an email. I guess this is both an issue with the email layout design and the sensitivity of the screen. I kept bumping the "Discard" button on the screen while trying to type the message.
- With synchronizing to the Exchange Server is was very easy to do and updates to server immediately with changes, but the email app that is on the phone does not organize my email folders the way I have them on my PC (they come in alphabetical instead). Need an Outlook or Microsoft app to take care of this. Calendar worked fine when synchronizing, but would like to sync notes and tasks possibly. Might need to just find an app for those.
- It seems I'm only able to attach photos to email messages, and I'm having trouble accessing other attachments on messages like pdfs, etc. I may be missing something, but it's not working for me.
- The battery can quickly drain while using, but seemed to last the entire day. I know my wife's iPhone can go a couple days without a charge, but I'll guess that my frequent use has led to a faster battery drain.
- I haven't messed around with importing music just yet, but hope I'll be able to bring in my iTunes library. The Amazon.com MP3 feature seems like it should work fine if I want to set up an account there. I do like to keep all my music in one place on iTunes and would prefer an iTunes app that syncs with the phone. Pandora does work extremely well and Verizon's network really helps support this app.

All together, I really look forward to using this phone more and to see how the app selection grows. I plan to use the camera for mobile video and image uploads using PixelPipe as well. Already tested some of that and works great. One thing you didn't mention is the Voice Recognition Google search. I think that tool works very well and is a great feature. TwitDroid seems to be a nice Twitter client as well. Look forward to hearing more of your thoughts as you use it. Enjoy your day!

Mark

Walkin' the Line

After defining the difference between Social Media Marketing & Using Social Media for Marketing and reading some recent blogs, in my mind we're finally starting to get somewhere with the whole marketing with social media idea. My friend Duncan at Firebelly Marketing shared his frustrations recently in his blog. He asks for some results based blog posts, and enough with the theory already with social media. It's time we all start trying to use social media for marketing and share results (good or bad). So, today a fellow Apartment Marketing enthusiast, Mike Brewer, wrote about a concept Ford is trying that markets their Fiesta using social media. Read what Mike has to say here: Tryvertising. Thanks Mike for sharing this story and of course your application to apartment marketing.

Now this Ford contest spurred a little debate on Twitter in my little apartment marketing world, and the argument was basically one for "how" Social Media should be used for "marketing." Arguments were made that Social Media should be used in its honest and true form for unbiased feedback and conversation, and feedback from consumers should not be "bought." Others felt that as long as the feedback was honest (even with a freebie) it's a good marketing play.

There are countless examples of companies using social media to market their products. Whether they are buying someone's opinion or not, brands are looking for exposure. How many people are sending Guy Kawasaki or Chris Brogan their products to blog about them? It's happening all the time. Guy is test driving a brand new Audi right now!!! Is this right, is it wrong? I think it's all open to interpretation.

As we move forward and experiment using social media for marketing we will walk the line in the eyes of the consumer. While some might view the Ford and Audi strategies as "against the rules," others will appreciate the projects and want to hear the stories. It's just like any other marketing or advertising, your efforts are not going to appeal to everyone. As long as it fits with your brand and the image you are trying to achieve I say go for it.

Thanks and enjoy your day!

Mj

photo courtesy of harry.1967 on flickr.com