Like many of you, I am torn between getting one of these 2 new touchscreen smartphones:
1) the Motorola Droid which runs on Google's new Android 2.0 operating system
2) the Blackberry Storm 2 which runs on Research in Motion's new OS 5.0 (although new, I wouldn't say its drastically different than previous Blackberry OS')

I have poured through tons of online reviews and briefly played with store dummy units and hope to provide my readers (you guys) with my insight (limited as it may be). First here are a number of useful online reviews which can help you form your own opinion.
Moto Droid:
Engadget Moto Droid
BoyGenius Moto Droid Review
CNET Droid Review
Droid Video Review

Blackberry Storm2 (9550/9520)
CNET Storm 2 Review
Engadget Storm2 Review
Crackberry Storm 2 Review
Storm 2 Video Review
Droid vs. Storm 2 Video

The bottomline (for those that don't have the patience to read my whole post) is that both are able and capable phones, either of which you are likely to be overly happy with if a touchscreen smartphone is what you are looking for. In addition to the iPhone 3GS, I would say these are probably the premier smartphones currently on the market, both in terms of hardware quality, aesthetics (good looks!), and software (OS).

The Motorola Droid is the only current smartphone to run Android 2.0, Google's opensource OS. The benefits/advantages I found for this phone are:
- Bigger screen with higher resolution than the Storm 2. Reviews I have seen have called this screen the best screen on any smartphone due to its size, brightness, resolution and colors. Personally I think this is the Droid's major selling point.
- Google's Android OS. Although this is a matter of preference, Android 2.0 has been touted as a pretty good OS. Compared to the blackberry OS, the UI is "prettier on the eyes", has widgets, and you have 3 desktop like screens that you can scroll thru and customize.
- Slideout keyboard- The physical keyboard can be a positive or a negative for the Droid. The keyboard has been torn apart by many reviewers, but some people seem to like it. I played with a dummy unit and the keyboard did not seem very good. The keys are very flat, pretty close together, and there is very little downward motion when you press a key. I would think it would be hard to type on, but some reviewers have noted that you get better over time. In any case there is also an onscreen touch keyboard in case you don't like the physical keyboard. I would say the keyboard and the camera are the 2 weakpoints for the Droid.
- Blazing fast web browsing- web browsing on the Droid has been compared to speeds obtained on the iPhone, which currently sports the fastest browser. The Storm 2 isn't terrible when it comes to web browsing, but in all the videos I've watched, the Storm 2 is slower. Even Crackberry addicts admit that the Blackberry's web browser is its major shortcoming (in addition to its older OS). Although you could use Opera Mini or Bolt, it seems like the Droid is the right choice for those who do a lot of web browsing on their phone.

The Blackberry Storm 2 is RIM's second generation touchscreen smartphone, and the Storm 2 seems to fix nearly all of the problems/issues found on the original Storm. Here are some of the benefits of the Storm2
- Sure-press screen. The screen is not only a touch screen, but also presses in to register a key/button press. The original Storm did this as well, but the Storm 2 has reportedly greatly improved on this. Instead of there being one button to push down, the screen is on 4 piezo-electric sensors. Although there is no physical keyboard, many reviewers like the Storm 2's sure-press technology compared to the physical keyboard of the Droid.
- Looks- of course this is subjective but I think the Storm 2 looks better than the Droid. It just looks more professional and polished.
- Email- Although the Droid does push email and has advanced compared to many other devices, Blackberry is still #1 when it comes to email.
- Security- Again, Blackberry is #1 when it comes to securing your info/network using BES.
- OS- although the new OS is nothing revolutionary, 5.0 has updated several features. And although Android is flashier and considered the sexier OS, many people like the simpler UI of blackberry. So like many other things, your opinion on who wins the OS wars will depend on what you value more.


So what phone will I choose? I don't even know yet! I would love to hear your opinion on it. But overall I would say if web browsing, a slick UI, and lots of nifty apps are your priorities, I'd go with the Droid. If your a seasoned Blackberry veteran, or if email and security is your main concern, the Storm 2 is your best bet. But either way I don't think you can really go wrong since both can do nearly the same things, just in different ways.

Asus 1101HA EeePC

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that there were rumors of a 11.6 inch EeePC in the works. More info has just been released, courtesy of Engadget. The advantage of this EeePC over other netbooks is fairly obvious, in that you get a larger screen (with HD resolution, 1366X768) and I would assume a larger keyboard. This netbook will sport the same "Seashell" design as the Asus 1008HA, which will probably allow for a slimmer, lighter machine compared to other comparably sized models. In addition, initial reports indicate the 1101HA will get 11hrs of battery life. Information is still sparse on this machine, so hopefully more information will be released soon.

The seashells- Asus' new 10 inch EeePC lineup

Asus 1008HA Review courtesy of CNET

Asus 1008HA Seashell Review courtesty of Engadget

Asus 1005HA-M and Asus 1005HA-H courtesy of Engadget

Exciting news coming from Asus, includes the release of the new Asus 1008HA "Seashell" netbook (priced at $429.99 at Newegg currently). This is a new line of Asus EeePc's, that will be followed shortly with the release of additional "Seashells" with the Asus 1005HA-M and 1005HA-H. The new product line, in my opinion, is a great step forward for Asus and netbooks in general, as it moves the market towards slimmer, sleeker and better looking netbooks. The toy-like design synonymous with many previous netbooks is gone in this line, as these puppies are extremely pleasing to the eye. These seashells allow for a pretty good mix of price (only ~$20-$40 more than the chunkier Asus 1000he), performance, size, and looks. The internal hardware is similar to most every other netbook on the market, but the size and beauty of this netbook is what sets it apart from the rest of the field.

The 1005HA-H and 1005HA-M (not available in the US yet) are just variants of the the already released 1008HA. This is where is gets a bit confusing, with all of these very similar yet different Asus netbooks. The 1005HA-HA will be a "deluxe" version of the 1008HA (with more port options, bigger battery, but more weight), and the 1005HA-M will be a "1008HA light" version (no bluetooth, better battery, bigger).

A few notes to mention with regard to the already released 1008HA: The battery is not removable (boo!) and it uses a mini-VGA port (not a big deal but somewhat annoying). The 1005 models do not have these issues so you may want to wait for them (although they are bigger in size because of this). Overall this is not a dealbreaker, and the new Asus Seashell line is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise cookie-cutter world of netbooks.

Netbooks have come a long way in a very short time. Increases in screen size, keyboard size, and more advanced components make today's netbooks lightyears ahead of the first netbooks released a few years ago. They've come so far, that many people are starting to wonder if a netbook can be their primary machine. There are advantages to this, most notably that they cost substantially less than a full sized notebook. But can a netbook actually replace a mainstream laptop as your primary machine? I've gained some insight into this question (unwillingly) over the holiday weekend and will share with you my opinion.

The scenario: The power-brick of my 15.4" Lenovo laptop got fried, and due to the long holiday weekend, it would be at least until next week before I received my replacement AC adapter. So after draining my battery, what was I supposed to do for my computing needs? Well. I have a 10" Asus EeePC 1002HA netbook, so I would be using this as my primary machine for the long weekend.

The netbook: Asus EeePC 1002HA netbook. 1.6ghz Intel Atom N270, 2gb RAM, 100gb 7200RPM HDD, 10" screen. These specs are very similar to the majority of 10" netbooks on the market today, although I did upgrade my RAM and HDD.

So after using this netbook as my primary machine for the weekend, I have summarized my answer to 2 categories: Computing Power and Overall functionality.

Computing power: 90% of what I do on my computer (and probably most average computer users) consists of email, Microsoft Office, and Internet Browsing. I did this, as well as updating my blog layout (hopefully some of you have noticed the new layout!). Netbooks, are more than adequate for these tasks. To further support this, I generally use my netbook for work (hooked up to an external keyboard, monitor and mouse, the reason for this will be explained later) and it is more than up to the task for most of my basic needs. You will notice an occasional slowdown here and there, especially if something (i.e. heavy flash sites) taxing comes along. But overall, for the majority of average computer users, the power of a netbook is more than enough for their needs, thus potentially allowing you to use a netbook as your primary machine.

In addition, the hard drive (and the hard drive of most netbooks) has more than enough room to store all of your files (music, photos, documents, etc). Most hard-drives are 80-160gb, and since most netbooks come with Windows XP, the operating system doesn't hog up too much space.

Overall functionality: With regard to overall functionality, this is where, in my opinion, netbooks fail with regard to being a primary machine. The two aspects that hurt netbooks are screen and keyboard size. Screen size is less of an issue for me, but the screen real estate is substantially less and I can see how it could be tough for some to deal with if a netbook were to be your primary machine. The bigger issue, is keyboard size. My Asus netbook, although not sporting the biggest netbook keyboard, is above average for a 10" netbook. But still, it is noticeably smaller compared to a full-sized laptop. It affects the speed and accuracy of my typing a little bit, but continued use does improve your results. But more importantly, its just not as comfortable to type for extended periods of time on such a small keyboard. Adding to the keyboard woes, is that the palmrest area is smaller, making it awkward to rest/position my hands while typing. For me, this is the dealbreaker for me as to why a netbook cannot be my primary machine. However if your hands are smaller (I have fairly large hands) this may not be a dealbreaker.

In conclusion, don't take this article as a knock against netbooks. They are extremely useful tech equipment, and I personally love my netbook. As a secondary, portable machine, nothing can beat a netbook especially when price is taken in to account. The question that was posed was if a netbook could be used as your primary laptop. In terms of computing power, in most cases they can be used for this purpose. But for extended use, the keyboard and screen size are too small to warrant a netbook as being my only machine. However, if you're more accommodating to a smaller keyboard/screen, or if you hook up your machine to an external keyboard, mouse and screen, it could be your primary machine. In fact, I use my netbook as my primary work machine (I hook up to external components).

If you're looking into buying a netbook as your primary machine, but portability isn't a huge concern, consider getting a 14-15" mainstream notebook at the Dell or Lenovo Outlet. It is possible that you can get one of these for $400-$500 (don't forget to look for coupon codes!).

If portability and price is a concern, some exciting releases in the netbook world that may change this answer are the new "netbook hybrids". These are 12-13" lap/netbooks, with weak but energy efficient low voltage core2 solo chips, bigger screens and keyboards, yet still thin, light, and energy efficient. Although these will be more money than a typical netbook, they are priced substantially lower (~$800-1000) than most thin and light notebooks (which can cost up to ~$2000).