Motorola Droid X: Thoroughly Reviewed
by Brian Klug on July 20, 2010 4:27 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Motorola Droid X
- OMAP
- Mobile
As I mentioned before, the X's obvious close comparison is the HTC EVO 4G. As noted, the X is a few millimeters taller than even the EVO. Not by much, but still notable.
The next interesting comparison is the original Motorola Droid, at least until the Droid 2 comes later this summer. My friend gracioiusly left me his original Droid for the purposes of this review and physical comparison - ironically he's since replaced it with an HTC Incredible, and after playing with my X, will replace it as soon as he can get an X.
From top to bottom in this following photo is the iPhone 4, HTC EVO, X, Droid, and Nexus One.
Splayed out on a surface, from left to right; X, HTC EVO, Droid, Nexus One, iPhone 4. We'll talk more about the displays later. My Droid 1 unfortunately lacked a battery which is why the display is off, but later on I'll show a comparison.
Packaging
We’ve talked about packaging briefly with other smartphones, so we might as well talk about the X’s. It’s there and it’s square. Honestly, the X’s box is a bit spartan, but since Verizon is intent on selling lots of these things, it needs a good pallet density. The X rests inside with little space at top and bottom to spare.
Inside are just the necessities. You get a micro-USB cable which is a short 3 feet or so, and the USB charger. There’s 5 booklets of stuff about phones probably giving you cancer, and a getting started guide in two languages you won’t ever read. None of this paperwork is actually the manual (for that, you have to go online and grab the linked PDF).
I wish the X’s bundled USB cable was longer. I don’t know what other people do, but I usually put my phone on my nightstand. Maybe it’s just me, but 3 feet isn’t enough to let the phone be plugged in, or in my hands in bed. I almost always end up buying a huge USB extender cable (I’m looking at you, Apple). The Nexus One thankfully came with a generously long cable. Maybe I’m being too picky.
As I noted, the unbranded, class 4 16 GB MicroSD card comes preinstalled in the X. There’s no case, box, or packaging for it, but 16 GB is pretty generous for a MicroSD card.
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jeffjcom - Wednesday, July 21, 2010 - link
Monoprice cables are Mini not Micro.MrPete123 - Wednesday, July 21, 2010 - link
A little bit off topic but....I haven't seen any mention of Android 2.2 and battery life. Do we know if executing code significantly faster allows the CPU to sleep more often, saving power? Or perhaps there's other power saving alterations in 2.2?bplewis24 - Wednesday, July 21, 2010 - link
I'm interested in this as well. Maybe update the Nexus One review with this info?Brandon
stlc8tr - Wednesday, July 21, 2010 - link
"It’s interesting that Motorola is sticking to FWVGA - this is admittedly exactly 16:9 aspect ratio"Well, I guess it depends on how digits of precision you're using. 854x480 is actually 16:8.992974. :-)
soydios - Wednesday, July 21, 2010 - link
Whichever author wrote that, you are not being too picky about the short 3-foot length of the included USB cable. 6 feet or bust. I'd say that the majority of us like to have the phone on the nightstand or desk while it's charging, not on the floor next to the power socket.Piano Man - Wednesday, July 21, 2010 - link
Now this is what I call a smartphone review. I'm glad that these smartphones are getting full review treatment like they were computer systems. Since I got my Moto Droid at work 7 months ago, I think about 25-30 more have followed suit. I really thing these phones are gonna become our primary all-in-one electronic system sooner than we think. Glad they're getting the review they deserve. Please keep it up for the future biggie's (Samsung Galaxy, and the new OMAP processors).jleach1 - Thursday, July 22, 2010 - link
"droid x lastest longest on a single charge"not sure if this was an accent -=D
dumpsterj - Thursday, July 22, 2010 - link
man i want this phone lol. I was gonna wait to see how windows phone 7 works out cuz i love zune . However it seems verizon is pissing all over microsoft lately with the kin and i wonder if vz will even get the damn phones.VashHT - Thursday, July 22, 2010 - link
Anyone else notice there evo benchmarks a lot better in this article than in the official evo review? It seems like the updates might have actually helped it out, it went from being slower to the incredible to faster in this review (in browsing tests I mean), you guys should update your evo review with the patches,i think they fixed the few little flaws the evo had when it first came out.One43637 - Thursday, July 22, 2010 - link
Great to hear Brian. I just picked up a Vibrant after owning a G1 for the duration. Phone is great, and I was pleasantly surprised how unobtrusive TouchWiz 3.0 is. Phone does not feel cheap at all, just because it has a plastic back.Can't wait to read your review and Froyo!