HTC Droid Eris: Excellent Value For An Android Phone

The Motorola Droid received a ton of fanfare during the lead-up to its release.  Largely overlooked during all the hoopla is Verizon's second Android phone, the HTC Droid Eris, which hit US stores on the same day.

Unlike the Droid, which runs the newest Android 2.0, the Eris still comes with the older 1.5.  HTC has promised it will work with 2.0, though, provided they're able to fix current compatibility issues with the Sense UI.

In more ways than one, the Droid Eris is a close cousin of the HTC Hero, with a similar design and a near mirror image of the user experience.  The chassis features rounded corners, a soft-touch finish and slim lines, making it no less attractive than most HTC devices.  A 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen with 320 x 480 resolution dominates the front face, showing rich and vibrant images.  The touch interface is very responsive.

As a phone, the Droid Eris manages great-sounding calls, although it could have used a little more volume (it's tough to hear in noisy areas).  Speakerphone function is decent but a better mic would have been in order.  The handset's HSDPA speed is good, making for rather impressive broadband speeds; launching the browser (and some of the bigger apps) gives away some sluggishness, though.  Battery life is rated at 3.5 hours of talk time, which almost makes certain you'll be charging this on a semi-daily basis.

The feature set mirrors those of many Android phones.  It bundles all the basics, from the full set of Google apps, stereo Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi and a full range of messaging options (including corporate email and robust attachment support).  Sense UI works the same here as with the Hero, toting the same excellent navigation, gorgeous interface and easy-to-use keyboard.

Unlike the Droid, the Eris' browser has Flash Lite support.  The multi-touch support also improves the experience immensely.  Streaming videos remain mediocre, however.  Other features include a 5.0 megapixel camera (with a wide range of editing options but largely disappointing quality of stills), decent music support and, of course, extensibility via the Android Market (though you still can't install apps to the SD card).

At a $99 selling price (with a two year contract), the HTC Droid Eris is a tremendous value.  In fact, I'd go so far as to recommend this over the more hyped-up Motorola Droid, based on the better interface, slimmer profile and sturdier overall build.  If HTC can give a timeline when Sense UI will support Android 2.0, there'd be no question that this is the phone to pick up.

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