The screen is where you and the Droid 2 do most of your communicating with each other. Compare the Droid 2’s screen to that of almost any other phone, and you’ll immediately notice how roomy it is—3.7 inches, measured diagonally (technically, that’s 480 x 854 pixels). When you turn it sideways, it switches to a widescreen TV and movie format.
But there’s a lot going on behind that pretty display.
Since you’re going to be touching the display with your fingers, it’s going to get dirty and streaky. Simply wipe it clean with a soft, lint-free cloth or tissue. The screen is scratch-resistant, but if you’re worried about scratches, get a case or screen protector. See Appendix B for ideas.
Underneath its flat black screen, the Droid 2 has four sensors that perform a lot of its magic:
Proximity sensor. Have you ever noticed that when you’re talking on your Droid 2, the screen often goes blank? That’s thanks to the proximity sensor. It senses when your face is close to it during a phone call and automatically turns off and blanks the touch screen as you keep talking. It does this to the screen to save power, and so you don’t accidentally touch the screen while talking and perform some unwanted task.
Ambient light sensor. This senses the light level, and adjusts your screen’s brightness, as a way to save battery power. So in bright light, it makes the screen brighter so that it can be more easily seen, and in dim light, it makes the screen dimmer, because bright light is not needed.
3-axis accelerometer. As its name implies, this measures acceleration and motion. The Droid 2 uses the accelerometer to sense the orientation of the screen and turn it to either landscape or portrait mode. But clever app makers use it for other things as well, such as automatic collision notification, which detects when you’re in an accident and then automatically makes a call for assistance for you. There’s even an app that works with the Droid 2’s magnetometer and detects potholes as you drive, and creates a log about their locations which you can then email to your local department of public works. (It’s called Pothole Agent. Search the Droid 2’s Marketplace app for it.)
Magnetometer. This measures the strength and direction of the Earth’s magnetic field. It’s used for compass apps and can also work with the accelerometer, as it does in Pothole Agent.