Screen Shootout: Droid vs. iPhone
by Jason O'Grady | November 8, 2009 9:08pm PST | Image 9 of 9
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Screen Shootout: Droid vs. iPhone - Acid Test
The Acid 3 browser test running on the Droid (top) and on the iPhone (bottom). Droid's HTML5 Webkit browser scores a 93, while Mobile Safari on the iPhone aces the test with a perfect 100 - despite it running the older HTML4.1 Webkit.?
Just In
In looking at each of these pics, the white on the Droid seems very yellow. Is this eactually the case or is it a product of the photo?
The white background on my Droid background is pretty white. The Droid can be set to adjust its brightness based on the ambient light: I wonder if it was just deadening the white in response to the camera/camera flash.
In every one of those images, I prefer the iPhone display for its higher contrast and whiter whites. Just more proof that resolution isn't everything, I guess. I also noticed that the HTML renderer distorted the aspect ratio of some images displayed on the Droid. Overall, it looks like they used a crappy screen to save a few bucks so they could add the other hardware features of the Droid.
I too would be very bothered by the yellowness of the screen if these pics are acurate.
The screen is neither yellow, dim, or blurry. The only time it is dim is when you turn the back-light off. There is a widget to do this and manage all of your power features from your desktop. Whoever took the pictures either had inferior camera equipment, poor picture taking skills, a broken phone, or was intentionally skewing the results. My only complaint is the battery life, and I'm ordering the extended battery to deal with this. To be fair though, when my battery drained quickly, I was using Google Maps navigate as my GPS without a car charger for about 1.5 hours, and I was showing off the speak to search and other cool features to some clients. Normal use probably won't drain it quite so quickly. Also, I picked up a car charger for when I use the GPS function.
I remember my little Droid booklet mentioning that there was an option you had to choose to view YouTube videos in high-def. Did you have that setting turned on in the YouTube comparison shot?
It's obvious here that the Droid pictured in this comparison test of YouTube playback is NOT set to view in high quality mode. When playing back video on YouTube, if you click on the menu button, a pop up window appears and you can click on "More" and then "Watch in high quality" versus the default of normal quality. I did a side by side comparison of the Droid with both an iPhone 3G and an iPhone 3GS and the Droid kicked butt. This was when both phones were on their respective 3G networks. When the iPhones were put on wifi, then the quality of the videos were closer.
It looks like the text/images are smaller on the Droid. I personally
like the clarity of iphones. Ultimately if comes down to user
interface and hardware which Apple excels in. Google might be
the new Microsoft, but they have a lot of work cut out for them. I
think their target should be Blackberry and Windows Mobile rather
than Apple. Apple design is hard to compete with, especially on a
competitively priced product.
like the clarity of iphones. Ultimately if comes down to user
interface and hardware which Apple excels in. Google might be
the new Microsoft, but they have a lot of work cut out for them. I
think their target should be Blackberry and Windows Mobile rather
than Apple. Apple design is hard to compete with, especially on a
competitively priced product.
It's a higher resolution screen, therefore you
can display smaller text (and thus more
of
the screen) but you don't have to. You are not
losing clarity however, in fact the opposite is
true. For example if you were to zoom the
screen
(or change the settings) so that the text were
the
same size as that of the iPhone, then you'd
notice
that the text on the Droid is clearer and
smoother
than the iPhone text.
can display smaller text (and thus more
of
the screen) but you don't have to. You are not
losing clarity however, in fact the opposite is
true. For example if you were to zoom the
screen
(or change the settings) so that the text were
the
same size as that of the iPhone, then you'd
notice
that the text on the Droid is clearer and
smoother
than the iPhone text.
Maybe it's just me but the screen on the Droid looks terrible! Its all washed out and yellow.
Is it just me?!?
The article rants about how much better the Droid screen is but from these pictures, it doesn't look that way to me.
Is it just me?!?
The article rants about how much better the Droid screen is but from these pictures, it doesn't look that way to me.
at displaying information. From my perspective, they are
approximately equally inadequate when compared to a
desktop.
approximately equally inadequate when compared to a
desktop.
Yes, they are inadequate when compared to a desktop, but I can't carry my desktop around on my belt.
"at displaying information. From my perspective, they are approximately equally inadequate when compared to a desktop. "
Perhaps you missed the point of this article. It has ZERO to do with a desktop experience which is obviously going to be totally different from a mobile device.
Try to stick with the program.
Perhaps you missed the point of this article. It has ZERO to do with a desktop experience which is obviously going to be totally different from a mobile device.
Try to stick with the program.
Ofcourse they both suck at displaying data as good as a full computer but thing is full computer really sucks at fitting into my pocket.
Is that a computer in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? 
OMG I think I just had a little stroke reading that post. You gotta warn people first "Warning: the following post may create an artificial singularity with the sheer mass of it's obviousness!" or similar.
Then put your beloved desktop in your pocket and take it with you.
Resolution and color don't look that great when compared
to the iPhone. The screen is longer but skinnier than
iPhone which does not benefit video with a fixed aspect
ratio. As you will notice the video ends up smaller than the
iPhone's. The Droid whites are really on the warm side as
well.
I wonder why they went with such a weird elongated form
factor which really doesn't optimize viewing space. In
landscape position you will get bigger horizontal viewing
of webpages, but less of the page. In portrait its webpage
view is much smaller than the iPhone's?
to the iPhone. The screen is longer but skinnier than
iPhone which does not benefit video with a fixed aspect
ratio. As you will notice the video ends up smaller than the
iPhone's. The Droid whites are really on the warm side as
well.
I wonder why they went with such a weird elongated form
factor which really doesn't optimize viewing space. In
landscape position you will get bigger horizontal viewing
of webpages, but less of the page. In portrait its webpage
view is much smaller than the iPhone's?
Just guessing. On my Storm, it's annoying to lose so much top/bottom on movies.
Screen resolution and display aside. The Droid's colors all seem yellowish. Perhaps they should have spent a little more time on the color reproduction and less on trying to make it thinner.
I'm wondering if they have the Droid somehow set up with screen brightness turned down. Otherwise, if this is as bright as the droid gets, I'll pass.
The Droid has a setting that adjusts the brighteness automatically based on ambient light that is measured by a sensor (believe it's near the top right corner). You can turn this off and adjust the brightness manually.
Then you showed the rest of the pics. I would rather keep
my iPhone. I don't think the larger screen is a factor, especially with what you demoed.
Not a good sales pitch, sorry to say.
my iPhone. I don't think the larger screen is a factor, especially with what you demoed.
Not a good sales pitch, sorry to say.
I used to think that a higher resolution was a better thing. What matters is the correct resolution, not a higher one. Sure, more screen real estate can make a real difference. But, in the long run, smaller text and smaller pictures will increase eye strain and make reading these screens actually harder. The iPhone screen has not only been optimized for it's resolution, but it's also quite good for the human eye.
Also, higher resolution screens eat more battery.
Overall, the iPhone screen is about as good as you need to get right now.
Also, higher resolution screens eat more battery.
Overall, the iPhone screen is about as good as you need to get right now.
I especially like the "massive" reference to the Android screen
size. If 3.7" is "massive" what is the iPhone's 3.5"? Massive-
minus? Not-quite-massive? Huge-but-not-massive?
And the other comments are correct, the iPhone screen looks
'way better, even though it ain't massive.
size. If 3.7" is "massive" what is the iPhone's 3.5"? Massive-
minus? Not-quite-massive? Huge-but-not-massive?
And the other comments are correct, the iPhone screen looks
'way better, even though it ain't massive.
Totally agree with you. Massive being 2 millimiters? LMAO!
These droid people are too excited to see clearly. iPhone beats droid clearly.
These droid people are too excited to see clearly. iPhone beats droid clearly.
screen rez on the iphone is better, but i'm sure once the droid is out and about, we'll see better resolution.
screen display is much better on the droid.
it's the iphone killer
screen display is much better on the droid.
it's the iphone killer
Screen resolution is highly tied to hardware and low level software. iPhone beats droid. More does not mean better. You are out of luck if you just bought a droid. Maybe next droid will be better.
The Droid may have a SLIGHTLY larger screen, but the iPhone is CLEARLY a brighter screen and has BETTER contrast, which makes for easier viewing, regardless of the subject matter on the screen. The examples shown also illustrate that the photographs look brighter and sharper on the iPhone than on the Droid.
Overall, though, I'd rather have a Droid than an iPhone; the Droid's tech specs appeal to me and the Verizon network is better than American Tinker Toy (AT&T).
Overall, though, I'd rather have a Droid than an iPhone; the Droid's tech specs appeal to me and the Verizon network is better than American Tinker Toy (AT&T).
I'm no fan of the iPhone, but in the illustrations shown, the iPhone screen is more readable. It is brighter, and the contrast is far better than the Droid's. The Droid screen may be slightly larger, but it's not all that important if you can't read the darned thing! I'd still rather have the Droid based on its technical specs and its Verizon network (I hate American Tinker Toy [AT&T]).
All you people yelling about yellow screen on the Droid really need to read message 2.
It is more usual to turn off the flash when shooting lcd devices, perhaps the photographer has an iphone?
While the screen can hold more real estate, how come it looks less crisp and blurry? Why does it look yellow? Can I zoom in on the Droid so that I can actually see that little tiny print and how difficult is it to zoom? The size of the phone is strange. It looks like a brick.
I've had my DROID for three days. The screen isn't dim or blurry. I can ZOOM in by double-touching the screen. I can touch a single button on the desktop, speak "How do I adjust the back-light on my Motorola DROID," and have a google search popup within seconds. I'm happy, and I don't have to settle for Cingular as my carrier.
If you look close at the Droid's allegedly blurry screen, you'll notice that even the case art is blurry, i.e., the Verizon logo is blurry, the Menu and home logos, etc are blurry. How's that possible when they're not on the allegedly blurry screen? Photoshop? A deliberately poor photo? Hey, I wouldn't care but I've got a Droid and its screen is crystal clear. I would absolutely die to get computer monitors of this clarity and resolution. Maybe, in a few years, eh? Apple Fanboys: Be happy that Steve Jobs led the way but it's time to accept the fact that others have learned and have followed. That's what people do. The iphone stands on its own. You don't have to insult the Droid.
But if you look at the photos again yourself you may notice that both the
iphone and the Droid phones are equally blurry. If you look close
enough will see the reflection of the Droid in the iPhones chrome piping
too so it is clearly not a montage of disparate shots. Furthermore, the op
was almost glowing in his praise for the Droid screen so I doubt he
photoshopped the screens to favor the iPhone.
I'm sure the Droid has a fine screen when you actually use it but your
claims of deliberate misrepresentation are lessened by your own Droid
Fanboyism.
iphone and the Droid phones are equally blurry. If you look close
enough will see the reflection of the Droid in the iPhones chrome piping
too so it is clearly not a montage of disparate shots. Furthermore, the op
was almost glowing in his praise for the Droid screen so I doubt he
photoshopped the screens to favor the iPhone.
I'm sure the Droid has a fine screen when you actually use it but your
claims of deliberate misrepresentation are lessened by your own Droid
Fanboyism.
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