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"Droid" This and "Droid" That....
- Thread starter Puddin422
- Start date
Now Laptops Direct in the UK calls them 'gaming laptops', presumably because of high graphics and CPU specs. They don't seem to be as big and heavy as I previously imagined, unlike some of the Alienware beasts.
I used have a large and heavy 17inch Acer, Blu-ray drive, Dolby 5.1 surround speakers, high spec graphics and CPU, multicoloured LEDs all over, many ports, crap battery life. This certainly was a 'desktop replacement', I sold it before moving to China, because of travel.
If VZW hadn't slapped the 'Droid' moniker to their series of phones, it would have likely been slapped on all phones with Android on them. People have this need to shorten every name as much as possible.
But...if you really want to get technical: There is no such thing as an Android phone. Android, the company that Google bought, does not manufacture phones. The closest thing to an Android phone is a Nexus, but they are made by other manufacturers to Google's specifications. So, if you want to get technical about a 'droid' phone, you should probably get technical about calling them 'phones running the Android OS', 'Android enabled smartphones', or something of that sort.
But...if you really want to get technical: There is no such thing as an Android phone. Android, the company that Google bought, does not manufacture phones. The closest thing to an Android phone is a Nexus, but they are made by other manufacturers to Google's specifications. So, if you want to get technical about a 'droid' phone, you should probably get technical about calling them 'phones running the Android OS', 'Android enabled smartphones', or something of that sort.
So let's see here; you had the options of:Lady - Hey is that a droid?
Me - No it's an HTC Inspire 4G
Lady - Yea but it's a droid like mine see.
Me - No ma'am it's an HTC Inspire 4G that runs on the android OS.
Lady - Yea like I said it's a droid.
Me - brain explode ... at this point I was trying my best to knock her out of the tournament
A - Making a new Lady Friend...
or
B - Acting like a pedantic nerd about your phone...
... and chose B. Way to break down those social stereotypes!
I do meant this post to be light-hearted and mostly a joke; but it really is amusing to see people who have no problem referring to mobile telephones as just "phones" complaining that android has gotten shortened to just "droid".
Or perhaps we should accept nothing less than, "computerized wireless miniature battery-powered electronic acoustic telegraph cellular transceiver device, running the Android operating system by Google"
Bob Maxey
Android Expert
I call mine a Zio because that is what it is. Those with faux droids, or driod wanna be phones have Google access and therefore, they can quickly learn what a Zio is.
Or perhaps I will call it my iDroid to piss off both camps. Smiley!
Thefoodman52
Android Expert
Damnit, you caught me! lol.
Also, when I hear someone say they have a Droid, and they don't actually pull out a Droid (original), and instead it's an Evo, Epic, even an Optimus S in one case, it just hits me-- '****, they're gonna see mine and say I have a DROID as well. Explanation incoming in 3...'.
Really bugs me because it shows how little people actually know about what they buy BEFORE they buy stuff. Usually, for most people I ask, it was or usually is 'I duno, it looked cool when I saw it.'. Granted, I got an android phone at first just because I was sick of the old Nextel phones. Yea, it was kind of just a random pick that I grabbed a Hero instead of the Pre, but I'm glad I grabbed that one. Now I've got an addiction. :S
When I first got my android phone, I just wanted an upgrade. I remember being less than thrilled with the choices. I bought my Hero because it was the best replacement I could find (I didn't like the palm pre for some reason I can't remember; but I'm glad I chose the hero ).
I had no idea what android was and no idea what I was getting myself into. When people immediately asked me if it was a "Droid," I was confused. By then I'd figured out that I shared an appstore with the Droid, but I knew "Droid" to be a phone. Took me a good couple of weeks to figure out that when people said "Droid" they really meant "Android."
). I had no idea what android was and no idea what I was getting myself into. When people immediately asked me if it was a "Droid," I was confused. By then I'd figured out that I shared an appstore with the Droid, but I knew "Droid" to be a phone. Took me a good couple of weeks to figure out that when people said "Droid" they really meant "Android."
I'll bet your the kind of guy who would stand in front of a Minolta copier and if someone asked you to make them a Xerox of something you'd say you didn't have a Xerox machine
Owning a generic trademark (proprietary eponym) is always beneficial for the trademark holder. While there is brand confusion, it almost always means MORE brand loyalty, not less. Some of the most notable examples are (obviously) Xerox for photocopiers, Kleenex for facial tissues, Band-aid for adhesive bandages, Plexi-Glass for clear polymer sheet goods (which also gets confused with acrylic and polycarbonate materials).
It may bug some people that Droid is being used as a generic term, but don't be so sure that it wasn't a direct intention of Motorola and Verizon to have that happen.
MyNamesTooLong
Android Expert
Wow...so who here hates when coke is the name for a soda not of coke brand? What about when someone calls a generic cotton swab a QTIP???
cds0699
Android Expert
I got a HTC Magic when it was released under Tmobile as the MyTouch 3g. It didnt help that the name "MyTouch" is so synonymous with "iTouch". Those days were brutal.
Then, people would see my phone and ask "Is that the Google phone?" or "Oh cool, thats the google phone." From then on, my phone was the "Google Phone" Did anyone else have to deal with that?
And once the actual Droid branding came out, people would see me unlock my phone by dots and go "Oh you have a droid?" It became very annoying.
Now Im use to it and just say yes. Im in school, and most kids just dont want to here the explanation behind the difference. Some do ask "Oh which Droid is that?" and then I explain and most care to hear. But very few ask that question.
Then, people would see my phone and ask "Is that the Google phone?" or "Oh cool, thats the google phone." From then on, my phone was the "Google Phone" Did anyone else have to deal with that?
And once the actual Droid branding came out, people would see me unlock my phone by dots and go "Oh you have a droid?" It became very annoying.
Now Im use to it and just say yes. Im in school, and most kids just dont want to here the explanation behind the difference. Some do ask "Oh which Droid is that?" and then I explain and most care to hear. But very few ask that question.
Stuntman
Android Expert
How about when people call facial tissue Kleenex?
Where I live, people call soda, "Coke."
BabyBlues
Trouble Just Finds Me!
Me me me !!! Especially if they say Coke and it's Pepsi. I can tell the difference you nincompoop. If I specifically ask if it's really coke don't lie cause I will make u take it back!!!!
Lol. /mini rant
SpiralFire
Newbie
That's very annoying- "desktop replacement"... can't they come up with a cooler, witty way to market?