The third installment of a trilogy is typically the most satisfying. The Empire Falls, Frodo destroys the ring, Cinderella goes back in time. (Okay, that's a stretch.) Our protagonist in this tale is the Droid 3, which bears an uncanny resemblance to its dad and granddad-- but Verizon's added a few new components and made some minor design tweaks in attempt to improve the overall experience.
Are these adjustments enough to save the series? The original Droid launched with much fanfare, a device that steered Motorola back onto the path of success from its post-RAZR Hades. It had a refreshing gold-laden design that oozed elegance, top-of-the-line specs for its time, and was the pioneer that helped usher Google's mobile OS into a new era. Each new iteration has received less attention than the one before, however, and the Droid 3 experienced such a quiet launch that we blinked and almost missed it. No matter, though -- as long as the phone can speak for itself, it doesn't need the confetti to accompany it. But is the third time another charm for the Droid? Or will it be buried by other heavyweights like the Droid Bionic or Samsung Galaxy S II Function? Join us after the break to find out.
As mentioned earlier, the Droid 3 is a spitting image of its predecessors: the same large, boxy body, the lower lip extending out from the rest of the phone, as well as that full QWERTY keyboard. But upon closer inspection we found more than a few cosmetic differences. Dimensionally, the latest rendition may be the thinnest of the bunch at just a hair under 13mm (compared to 14mm and 13.7mm for the first two Droids, respectively), but it's also the largest. While the first two Droid generations had mid-sized 3.7-inch (480 x 854) LCD displays, this one steps up to a gorgeous 4-inch qHD screen. The bezels on the Droid 3 are thicker and larger on all sides, which unfortunately adds unnecessary heft.
Consequently, the device is also the heaviest of the series, weighing in at 6.49 ounces (184g) compared to 5.96 ounces and 6.0 ounces. As the Droids have always been a rather gravity-loving group, an extra half ounce amounts to a relatively minor add-on. Being as relatively heavy as it is, you may be tempted to think this is a rock-solid phone with no durability concerns at all -- and you'd be right. Motorola fashioned its latest device out of polished metal on the sides and rubberized plastic on the back to make for a more comfortable, firm grip. The screen's also covered with Gorilla Glass for scratch protection. All told, that added depth makes the Droid 3 easier to grasp, though the larger size regrettably makes it annoying to hold onto for long periods of time.
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