Internet

The Devour works on Verizon's high-speed EV-DO Rev. A network and can use a Wi-Fi or 3G connection to connect to the Internet. As with most 3G networks, navigating through Web pages and features is a swift experience on the Devour.

The full HTML browser allows users to see Web pages the way they would see them on a computer screen, and Flash videos can be viewed in full quality. The phone also has an instant link to YouTube.

It's good the Web experience is pleasant on the phone, because anyone that wants to check social networking sites for every little change are going to use it. The updates on the phone's main screen is nice, but really not that useful in the long run because it shows one update at a time. With so many email accounts able to sync to the phone, though, checking the Web for messages won't be as likely a possibility.

The phone and its Internet connection works faster than the Cliq and the Droid Eris, but not as quickly as the Droid. The Devour offers a fast experience, which is important when some of its main screen Web features don't do the full job.

Storage

The Devour starts off with 8GB of built-in memory thanks to a pre-installed microSD card, but the phone can handle up to 32 GB of storage if a person wants to invest in a stronger microSD card. That leaves a lot of room for music, videos and applications, which comes in handy when Devour users have access to V Cast Music and Video and the packed Android Marketplace.

Music can be stored and sorted by playlist, song, album or artist, photos and videos can be stored in varying sizes to accommodate multimedia messaging or just storage, and there's instant connection to a gallery for those photos. The phone also needs a lot of room for storing all those messages from email, text messaging, multimedia messaging and more.

The built-in memory card gives the Devour an edge, but the phone has limited options for people that prefer to store items to the phone and not a card.

Connectivity

MotoBlur is the most obvious example of connectivity on the phone, but there are other examples of connection with the phone. The phone has Active Sync to pull songs onto the phone from a computer's play list and can get more songs and videos from VCAST. The phone connects to a computer through a micro USB chord, which is sold separately from the Devour.

The Devour is also Bluetooth compatible, and supports dual-audio stereo sound and hands-free and headset devices. The phone also integrates messages into one location, updates social networking sites and shows updates from other people on those sites instantly, and has an Android shop with more than 2,000 applications of varying types for sale. The phone also has geo-tagging to show where a photo was taken and has GPS and navigational services.

The Devour does a good job of staying connected to other devices, other people, and a plethora of sites.

Conclusion

The Devour's strongest asset is messaging and Web service. The EV-DO Rev. A processor combined with Wi-Fi or 3G network connection makes for a speedy experience flipping through full HTML Web pages and uploading videos without facing pixilation or excessive buffering.

A variety of email accounts -- for work or for personal use -- as well as text messages and social networking updates appear in one place -- a universal inbox -- or can be viewed separately, thanks to the MotoBlur platform. MotoBlur also makes integrated contacts and calendars possible, and allows a person to see social networking updates and messages in real time on the phone's main menu screen.

But is it too much of a good thing? The universal inbox and integrated contact concept could save or waste time, depending on how much a person wants to wade through and how much they really need to have in a contact entry. The social networking and messaging features on the main menu screen have the opposite issue – the updates come one at a time one person at a time and may leave users wishing they could see a string of updates instead.

The Devour has a design that's hard to love, and even harder to fit in your pocket, which is a shame because moving a few buttons and eliminating the useless raised sides of the keypad could have prevented that issue. The Android Market has lots of applications, but the jury is still out on how good an idea it is to let so many applications get approval for sale, and 2,000 can be a lot to search through, although there's bound to be some gems.

Getting entertainment for free is a bit of a challenge without built-in games, but music can be synced from a computer, although the quality of the players isn't the best. The phone has a lot of storage room, but a poor battery life. Out of the box, it lasted less than 24 hours without needing a charge.

The Devour connects to computers and Bluetooth devices, has a large screen and good audio quality, but it never gets too loud, users can risk "face dialing" while talking on the phone thanks to the screen not locking during a call, and the camera, while it takes good pictures, needs more editing options, especially for the camcorder.

The Devour is a good or bad messaging and social networking phone, depending on who's judging it, but it's definitely quick and offers a quality Web experience. But a different look and more free entertainment offerings, plus an upgrade from the Android 1.6 system would be a plus in any future versions.

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