Motorola Droid X: Thoroughly Reviewed
by Brian Klug on July 20, 2010 4:27 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Motorola Droid X
- OMAP
- Mobile
Micro HDMI Out
So what about that micro HDMI port on the device? The X joins a small number of smartphones packing an HDMI port of the micro variety. I’m going to start by just noting that it’s very difficult to find one of these cables except at a carrier store. Ironically, I got Anand’s HTC EVO 4G the same day I was planning on doing media center testing with the X and proceeded to spend the next few hours searching for a cable - neither the X nor the EVO bundle even an adapter. I ended up having luck at a Sprint store - point is that these cables aren’t very popular yet.
So how does HDMI out work? Its functionality is very basic right now and is limited largely to playing back a slideshow of photos from the gallery application, or video playback. I found that although the pictures slideshow worked fine, the transitions were slightly low framerate, the photos never filled up my display entirely (not even aspect ratio correct stretched, just centered and small), and generally it left me wondering why anyone wouldn’t just use DLNA to view them over something else. Maybe throw in some Ken Burns effect eyecandy, Motorola?
Playing back a video captured on the X - the phone turns into a control interface
Videos captured on the phone itself played like I expected them to and sounded excellent as well.
Motorola will have a media dock available which promises a few more things, specifically audio playback, but without rooting and modding the device HDMI out is a bit limited. You can’t make the entire Android interface appear on your TV, for example.
There’s an HDMI settings menu in the settings menu. Inside, you can set the video output format to a maximum of 720P. I left it on automatic. There’s no other configuration here - nothing for whether you want HDMI to be the device’s sound out method, video out method, or anything else. It’s just this.
While the EVO supports YouTube over HDMI, the X does not. Videos that you can browse to and open with a file browser play over HDMI whenever the cable is connected. I had the most success with MP4 videos using the H.264 codec at 1500 kbps. I tried every type of audio profile but couldn’t get surround working on the X - for whatever reason I could only get stereo.
The music player also for whatever reason doesn’t play over HDMI when the cable is connected. However, with a bit of trickery I could get pandora or whatever audio I wanted playing over the HDMI out. Just fire up the music, then fire up gallery. Boom, all your audio will go over HDMI. It’s handy I guess if you’ve got an A/V receiver but don’t have a headphone 1/8” audio cable laying around.
When you’re doing anything that has HDMI output enabled (the photo gallery or video playback), the device turns into a basic control interface like I showed before. There are some monstrous buttons and one at the top left to exit out of HDMI playback.
Remember HTC’s excuse that the reason for the 30 FPS framerate cap was HDMI video playback? I was curious and used the Droid2Dtest application others have used on the EVO which showed the 30 FPS cap on the X.
The X is capped to 60 FPS, unlike the EVO’s 30, as shown in the overlaid screenshots above which I've annotated. Yep.
Perhaps the discrepancy is that HTC needed the 30 FPS cap for YouTube playback (which the X lacks). Either way, it’s clear that the reason HTC was capping the EVO is a bit more complicated than just for HDMI out. It’s also possible that the SoC difference is the case - remember that the Snapdragon SoC has the Adreno 200 GPU whereas the OMAP 3630 in the X has PowerVR SGX 530. It’s entirely possible HTC’s cap was there for hardware limitation reasons.
Motorola's Gallery
I mentioned the gallery while talking about HDMI out - it isn’t the Android gallery experienced on stock devices. Motorola has clearly rolled something of its own, and though it isn’t as flashy, it does get the job done.
I also noticed that it seemed a bit faster at loading previews than the stock android gallery, though at times I was still left staring at a ton of blank thumbnails.
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PCR - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
I really enjoyed this review and wanted to let you know what a great job you guys did. It is very through and informative. Keep up the great work :)Pedro80 - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Guys..come on..- visually.. the EVO looks way better
- HW - the Samsung Galaxy S performs better
- HW - the Samsung Galaxy S features a much better display
- and (most importantly IMHO) a device that bricks (shits?) itself when you attempt to install a different version of the (the same! open!) operating system
..isn't worthy this kind of acknowledgement..
Already, devs in the Android community are asking Motorola to leave the OHA (Open Handset Alliance).
[Droid X Brick a Brac]
http://www.wirelessandmobilenews.com/2010/07/droid...
[Motorola responds to Droid X bootloader controversy]
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/16/motorola-respon...
[Why Motorola should be asked to leave the Open Handset Alliance]
http://www.absolutelyandroid.com/why-motorola-shou...
leexgx - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
at the moment it just prevents you from using your own cooked firmwares (puts the device into recovery mode so it can be re-flashed with factory image)must admit my sisters samsung galaxy s does look nice (compared to the HTC desire or Sony X10 xperan {big one} ) And it comes with an 1500Mha bat so should last more then an day use (the G1 i had was horrid on bat life had to turn it into an brick and fit an 2200Mha bat to it)
Very disappointed with the screen on the HTC desire (one its smaller then my HTC HD1 my bad lol,) the screen is Not made of Strate line of pixels like normal screens are so an Striate line or Single dot text is wiggly
v12v12 - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
Thank you man... FINALLY some voice of true dissent! While the rest of the zombies on here clap and rave; the REAL issues come out in your post. Course as most zombies behave, they either flat out ignore it (Jobs/Apple/big-corp mantra). It seems like people in today's society are more and more becoming fanboyed about anything "new." Their supposed reasoning and logic (lack thereof) skills are deteriorating generation after generation._The more "entertainment" devices these nefarious companies produce, the more you all open up their mouths and ask for another spoonful. Not ONE mention of how these devices are actively spying and reporting your Internet usage, phone calls/txts/tweets/facebook blah blah. Everyone just happily uses them with out even asking... HRMM this device pretty much is my personal log/journal (txts, calls, tweets, surfing etc.) and the phone corps CAN and DO turn over ALL of your info to the NSA/CIA "secret" rooms (AT&T anyone?)
SURPRISE! http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2007/06/spy...
Merry Xmas! http://news.cnet.com/AT38T-sued-over-NSA-spy-progr...
Gotta LOVE them spIphones: http://www.squidoo.com/iphonespy
Iphone owns drones! http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/080210-your-...
SpyPhone: http://www.spyphoneguy.com/
*** Do you actually THINK that the NSA/CIA/Govt doesn’t have their OWN in-house versions of this type of spyware that CAN be remotely installed on your phone w/o your consent???*** You’re a complete FOOL if you don’t think they don’t ALREADY have this type of stuff and are using it to track the MAFIA
http://www.zdnet.com/news/fbi-taps-cell-phone-mic-...
http://www.technewsdaily.com/hacked-smartphones-co...
Yet you all happily browse away, not knowing for SURE that "someone" or some group isn't recording your EVERY form of personal/private communication with these uber "smart" devices. Yep, no CCleaner or data-encryption/wipe when BIG-BROTHER is siphoning the data off at the SOURCE. HAHA I love it... everyone is so caught up being "entertained," and 1-up'ing everyone else with their newer toys; all the while someone else IS watching and tracking your most PRIVATE (so you thought) behaviors.... Course no mention from Anand (nothing personal boss) or any of the other review/tech sites about it either. Lol... Jokes on YOU all... Soon some of you will be BUSTED/RATTED out by your PHONE in the near future. All those supposed "private" txts and crap will come out in full public view, when they have your ass in court for some talk about picking up a "sack, dub, nuggets, green, trees" and anything else considered "illegal" at the time or arbitrarily deemed an "act of terrorism," which NOW puts you under the guise of the PATRIOT-ACT, which essentially STRIPS you of nearly all your rights afforded to you by the Bill-of-Rights and that has-been document call the CONSTITUTION of the UNITED STATES.
Yep, this IS going to be yours/mine and everyone else's future if people don't start inquiring about the SECURITY of these devices, aside from whining about being about to NOT crack the eFuse etc.
You've been warned; now back to being "entertained," (aka, distracted/deceived).
puffpio - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
I'm curious (and I hope you and others are too!) about how an overclocked Droid fares against a Droid X?Many rooted/custom ROM Droid people have no problem taking their phones up to 1Ghz
1Ghz OMAP 3630 vs 1GHz OMAP 3430 would be an awesome comparo
Goty - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Good to know. I ran most of the same benchmarks on my own and it seems that the Captivate is actually slower in the Sunspider test than any of the newer TI or Qualcomm SoCs, but faster in everything else. Very curious.Anyhow, looking forward to the review(s)!
metafor - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Sunspider is kinda wonky. It can vary depending on what version of the browser you're using. In either case, unless you know you have the exact same software, it's usually not a good way to test processor speed.cgalyon - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
This was the best review I've seen of the Droid X thus far, by a large margin! Very thorough and pleasantly objective. Keep up the great work!FozzyofAus - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Great to hear.The Galaxy S has been on sale in here in Australia for a while and I'd love to see how it compares to the HTC EVO and Droid X.
Regards,
Michael.
FozzyofAus - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Background reading on performance from another site:http://androidandme.com/2010/07/news/droid-x-vs-ga...
No doubt your review will be even better when it's ready.
Regards,
Michael.