Droid, Early Impressions

I got my Droid yesterday and was able to activate it month-to-month through Verizon over the phone. I've had it for less than 24 hours, but here are some early impressions:

--This thing is fast. I don't know a whole lot about processors, but the speed must be less dependent on the actual number and more on other factors, because I don't think the listed speed of the Droid is significantly higher than the G1, but there is a pretty huge difference in performance. I click an icon to open an app and it opens almost instantly. I didn't realize how slow screen transitions were on the G1...now I do.

--The network is strong. I'm getting 4 solid bars of 3G goodness at home. With TMobile I normally got 2 bars at home, and that's what I was getting yesterday, even with the upgrade to 3G.

--The hardware keyboard...I like it. The one thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't have room to give numbers their own dedicated keys, so they're ALTs on the upper row of letters. This is a bit annoying if you're entering in numeric or alphanumeric info, but I can live with it.

--I kind of miss my trackball, and to use the D-pad on the Droid you have to slid open the keyboard, so for basic menu navigation you need to use the touchscreen. Luckily the screen feels even more accurate and responsive than my G1. I still kind of miss my trackball.

--Android 2.0 is very nice. There are already a few little touches that make the experience better. The screen auto-orients to landscape or portrait depending on how you are holding the phone...this is nice. When you're on a phone call, if you take the phone away from your ear (e.g. to enter in a number) the screen becomes active. My G1 didn't do this...you had to press the menu button and then pull up the dialpad to enter a number...annoying.

So far in terms of usability, speed, and functionality this thing is 3 steps up from the G1. Looks like it was a worthwhile upgrade, but I'm glad I'm month-to-month, because it wouldn't surprise me if in 6-9 months there's a shiny new phone I'd be interested in switching to. But so far I'm extremely happy with the Droid.