Introduction
Motorola is at it again, releasing a third phone into the Verizon Wireless Android lineup. After releasing the Motorola Droid (review link) and the Motorola Devour (review link), they are at it again with the Droid X. This new handset is the king of Verizon’s Android offering at this time. It has some amazing features including an 8 megapixel camera, high definition video recoding capability, a whopping 4.3″ screen, and a crisp display.
As you can see, the Droid X has a fantastic array of hardware capabilities and considering it’s running Android OS from Google, it has some amazing apps for you to use as well. How does the Droid X stack up against the competition? Lets find out.
Design
The Droid X is an attractive device. It has an all-black finish that hugs the monstrous 4.3″ screen. Motorola obviously paid attention to detail when designing this handset, paying attention to details and focusing on a simple, aesthetically pleasing look. The face of the handset is dominated by the huge screen and is anchored on the bottom with the four conventional Android buttons that you routinely find on Android phones. The Droid X’s measurements are: 2.6″ x 5.0″ x 0/4″ and weighs in at 5.4 ounces.
There isn’t a lot of bulk on this phone. It is a bit big in the hand, because of the screen’s height, but the phone is very thin. A noticeable chin is seen in the side view at the top because of the camera lens, but this device is very pocket-able. Anyone who has held an iPhone will see that the Droid X is only slightly wider than the iPhone, perhaps by a centimeter.
On the right side of the Droid X are only three buttons that control the volume of the handset, along with a dedicated camera key at the bottom. The left side has two jacks, one micro-USB and an HDMI port for watching videos or seeing images captured by the Droid X – a very nice touch. On the top of the device is one button – a power button that powers the device (naturally) and unlocks it as well.
Hardware Capabilities
The Droid X is powered by a powerful 1Ghz processor and has a dedicated graphics chip, which makes watching video smooth as silk. It should be noted that not many phones have dedicated graphics chips.
Using the excellent optics on the backend of the phone, the Droid X can capture very high-quality video. Watching the video on the phone is very enjoyable as well on the vibrant 4.3″ screen. Still images are awesome as well, as the phone can take them at 8 megapixels. One thing I like about the Droid X is that it has a dedicated camera key on the handset. This lets you hop into picture taking mode very quickly.
Motorola equipped the Droid X with 512Mb of RAM, 8GB of onboard memory, and the device comes with a 16GB microSD card, which can be upgraded easily by the customer.
As for battery, the Droid X has a 1500 mAh monster included in the box. I have been able to get about 1.5 days off of a charge, which is really good considering the types of functionality this device which is very draining on any battery.
Another unique feature on the Droid X is it’s noise canceling microphones. The phone has three mics that reduce and eliminate background noise, so that your callers only hear your voice. This is a very nice touch.
Software Features
The Droid X runs version 2.1 of the Android OS. While 2.2 (Froyo) is getting all the press attention these days, 2.1 is a very robust version – and I’m sure the Droid X will be getting Froyo very soon. As for out of the box software packages, Motorola has thrown in a few treats and a few apps I’d delete (if end users were given this possibility).
The Blockbuster app allows you to rent and watch videos on the phone using their service. Amazon’s Kindle app is also included, giving you access to any books you’ve bought through their service. NFS Shift is a racing game and Skype Mobile is a mobile version of the popular Internet phone client. I don’t necessarily like the fact that Motorola included this bloatware on the computer, but even more absurd is the fact that you can’t delete any of it off your phone!
Another included software package that may catch your eye is Mobile Hotspot. This service, from Verizon allows you to turn your Droid X into a wireless hotspot so that you can connect other devices to it and share an Internet connection. Verizon charges an insane $20/month for this service, on top of the overpriced data plan you’ve already for the Droid X.
The Droid X also includes an FM tuner which makes it possible to listen to FM radio via the device.
Social Networking
I expected this phone, because it comes from Motorola, to have Motoblur, the obnoxious social networking app that runs on Moto’s other handsets. Instead, of you want to do some social networking on the phone, there are some great widgets that can be installed for your social pleasure. This is a very nice touch, as I find Motoblur to try to hard to be my ‘social hub’. No thanks – not for me.
Overall User Experience
One word: Wow! First of all, this phone is the one for you if you use Google services. Just type in your Google credentials and your Gmail, calendar, contacts and other Google services are magically populated. Also, because of the impressive array of apps in the Android market, I had my favorite apps including Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, Foursquare and Wapedia loaded up in no time.
The Droid X is such a great media taking device and the camera/video capture are just excellent.
This handset is so high powered that going through menus and switching between even the most intensive apps is fast and furious.
Conclusion
If you are looking to get a Verizon Android device, the Droid X should be at the top of your list. The HTC Incredible (the next best option on Verizon) has similar hardware and is slightly smaller because of it’s 3.7″ screen; but the Droid X is hard to beat.
The phone currently is priced at $199 at your local Verizon store.