Verizon Droid Turbo: A Travel Blogger’s Review

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Let’s talk phones and travel. As a traveling blogger, I rely on my phone for a lot. I take pictures to show everyone what we are seeing on my phone. I post status updates & interact on facebook, twitter, instagram & google+ on my phone. I use GPS maps to direct us to where we need to be on my phone. I peruse the internet to find restaurant & activity recommendations on my phone. I take notes about where we are & what we are seeing, and sometimes even blog from my phone.

Needless to say, I could not do my job without a reliable phone. When it comes to finding a phone that works well for my job, what are my needs?

• Ability to take excellent quality photos and edit them on the phone
• Ability to take excellent video
• Easy to use apps for all my social media needs
• A battery that lasts at least 8 hours, with an easy & quick way to recharge
• A great deal of storage
• Reliable cell phone service

So how does the Verizon Droid Turbo by Motorola hold up to these Travel Blogger’s needs?

Recently I was asked to review a Droid Turbo for a week and I took it with me on a quick trip to Oklahoma for a family trip to the ranch. Here’s what I thought of it:

Verizon Droid Turbo’s Photos/Video

I don’t carry my camera with me at all times, so I really like to rely on my phone to take photos – good photos – for me. I have heard from so many that the Android phones take excellent photos, so I purposely used the Droid Turbo all 3 days on our trip. Y’all, it takes excellent photos.

The specs highlight a 21 megapixel photo in normal lighting conditions. I was impressed at how crystal-clear my photos all were. The phone was easy to take photos with – a simple tap anywhere on the screen takes the photos – but it was a bit cumbersome to zoom in and get the camera to focus immediately. I’m sure that comes with practice. All in all, I was very impressed with the great quality of photos that needed very little editing.

I found it very easy to upload my photos to my social media applications. My daughter and I discovered another cool feature – the Droid Zap allows you to share photos and videos from one android phone to another.

Verizon Droid Turbo’s Social Media Apps Functionality

The Droid Turbo was easy to turn on and set up. Within 15 minutes, I had all my social media apps that I use daily downloaded and logged into. I was impressed at how quickly the apps open on the Droid Turbo – I tend to be a bit impatient when it comes to using my phone (who doesn’t want immediate response?), so I loved how intuitive & quick the Droid Turbo was. I’m sure it has something to do with the impressive processor speed, but quite frankly, that stuff goes over my head. Do the apps open up and work when I need them to? Yes!

Verizon Droid Turbo’s Battery

Because I am on my phone a lot, I know how to conserve my battery as best I can (darken the background screen, turn off other apps running in the background, etc.). I purposely didn’t do any of this “conserving of the battery” while using the Droid Turbo. I took photos, edited them and uploaded them thoughout the 3 days we were at the ranch. Starting with a fully charged battery, I was able to use the Droid Turbo for 3 full days before running the battery completely out. Now truth be told, we were not in an area with full 4G coverage the entire time, but I was still very impressed with how long the battery lasts.

One of the features the Droid Turbo advertises is it’s long battery-life – a full 48 hours on one charge. I wanted to fully test this out as I had my doubts, so once we retuned home, I took a day from a full charge and streamed music on the phone, worked on all my social media apps all day, made phone calls on it, and searched online. By 5 pm, the Droid Turbo was sitting at 45% battery life. This rocks. I didn’t have to plug it in for a charge AT ALL. I’m sold.

Verizon Droid Turbo – Turbo Charging

How quickly does the Verizon Droid Turbo charge? The phone comes with a Turbo charger that charges the it in 15 minutes (an additional 8 hours). As a travel blogger, I need my phone to last me day, as it isn’t always convenient to find a place to charge my phone. Yet, knowing I can get an additional 8 hours in 15 minutes, makes me pretty confident that I can get through a full day (probably more) out traveling.

Other Things I Liked about the Verizon Droid Turbo

• The Droid Turbo has a fantastic display panel that is extremely responsive to touch. The menus were easy to page through and find exactly what you need.
• The Droid Turbo comes in a 32GB and 64GB size, give plenty of room for storage for this traveling momma.
• The network coverage with my test version on the Verizon network worked great while on our trip and when we got back home to Austin.
• The Droid Turbo is water-repellant, a nice feature to have with kids around (or when you get caught outdoors in a rainstorm).

So basically, the Verizon Droid Turbo has everything (and more) that a traveler could need. All-in-all, I was really impressed with the phone.  I like the size of it, fits easily into a pocket and can help me do my job easier.  A great phone for not-only a travel blogger, but anyone!

{ Disclosure: I was provided with the Verizon Droid Turbo for only a few weeks to review.  I was not paid for this article.  All opinions are my own. }