Mobile FRC

Review by Knowledge Forest for Motorola DROID X Android Phone (Verizon Wireless)
Rating:
I’ve own many of the Verizon Wireless (VZW) smart phones including the Treo, Moto Q, XV6700, Saga, Omnia, Touch Pro, Blackberry Curve, Storm1, Tour, etc. I also owned the first Droid (D1) and thought at the time it was the best VZW phone I’ve ever owned. Well, Droid X (DX) has changed all of that. The DX is now my favorite phone of all time. But is it actually “better” than the D1?!?!?!? Check out my review.

PROS

- The DX’s X-tra large screen is beautiful. The touch interface is very responsive. I feels like a powerful computer in your pocket.

- DX is big but I don’t think it’s too big. I could actually “do” a 5 inch phone if VZW ever sold one. I use the DX one handed but I have big hands. YMMV, however.

- The screen size also makes typing on the screen easier. I usually hate virtual keyboards but I like this one.

- Web browsing on the big screen is a great experience. I can see myself not using my iPad as much now (I would take it along to the barber, doctor’s office, etc.). When the DX gets Flash support, the iPad might be going to eBay.

- HD Video recording capability is super great.

- I actually like the new version of Moto Blur. The re-sizable widgets are cool. Plus you can remove anything you don’t want to use. I guess this wasn’t the case with the original Moto Blur. They just need to add a “close” button (or swipe to close) to the widgets so I don’t have to reach down for the back button.

- Battery life seems pretty good, much better than the Incredible.

- FM Radio is actually pretty good.

- DLNA support will allow you to browse media stored on your computers, wirelessly.

- The DX is V Cast compatible.

- The DX has all of the standard Android functionality including the best, free voice activated GPS known to man. Need directions to “123 Main Street”? Simply press the search button and say, “Navigate to 123 Main Street”. Want to know where the closest Pizza place is? Say, “Map of Pizza”. Google voice navigation is unbelievably good.

- The DX includes full Microsoft Exchange support. I’m not sure if it includes remote wipe or other security features that were missing from the initial D1 release.

CONS

- I usually prefer physical buttons but the ones on the DX aren’t that great. They feel cheap. Plus they are all the same height so you can’t easily press the button you want without looking at the device. This takes away one of the biggest advantages of having buttons.

- Like many smart phones these days, DX doesn’t have Send or End buttons. I don’t understand why companies make PHONES that don’t include buttons for starting and ending a PHONE call!

- Unlike D1, the DX power button is in the middle-top of the phone. This probably helps out the lefties (the D1 power button is on the top-right). However, I don’t like the extra reach for the power button. I’m already reaching over a much larger device.

- Motorola has locked/encrypted the boot loader on the DX. Thus, it will be harder or impossible for third party developers to create custom roms for the DX. I think this is a mistake. Custom roms is one of the biggest reasons why the D1 was so popular. The d1 put Android on the map.

- “Free” wifi tether is not available at this time but hopefully soon.

- The syncing software that comes with DX is nothing to write home about. Syncing music, photos, and video to Android phones still remain a hassle. Google needs to develop something like iTunes ASAP. I read that they are working on a music service though…

- I find it hard to put the DX in its desktop doc.

- Haven’t tried the camera much yet…

VS BLACKBERRY

I read that the growth of Android is more likely to hurt Blackberry (BB) than iPhone and I believe it. I tried many phones and always went back to the BB for it’s reliable and efficient email experience. The keyboard, trackball, shortcuts, sleep case and more kept me very productive. Unfortunately, some of the BB advantages like push email, MS Exchange integration, unlimited messaging, etc. are now available on other platforms. Add to that, the BB doesn’t have many of the nice features or apps offered on other platforms.

If 90% of what you do is send email and text messages, the BB is for you. Other than that, I can’t really recommend a 5.0 BB device anymore. Hopefully BB OS 6 and the new web kit browser will change that.

VS INCREDIBLE

The INC has a nice screen but it’s hard to see in day light. The INC also has incredibly bad battery life lol, possibly due to questionable signal strength. I have to laugh when I read about people disabling stuff on their INCs just to get the battery to last a day.

VS IPHONE

I think the DX is one of the best alternatives to the iPhone, if not the best. However, the advantage the iPhone has over the DX is really about the OS advantage. iOS offers better apps, better developer support, better integration with the desktop, and better overall user experience. The fact that Google leaves android owners to fend for themselves to sync data from the desktop is an epic fail. Sure, I can troll web forums, try several Market downloads, and get something to partially work. iPhone users don’t have to do that. Within 10 minutes of getting their new phone home, iPhone owners can sync music, video, apps, photos, files, video podcasts, video rentals, files, etc. to their phone.

Also, custom roms are nice (DX doesn’t even have this yet) but I don’t think most consumers care about that. Flash might be a big differentiator but for all we know, Apple may soon allow flash to run on iPhone 4.

Until Google offers better desktop integration, the iPhone will maintain a significant advantage over Android phones.

VS DROID 1

This is a tough one… For me, it really comes down to how much you value the bigger screen over custom roms and/or having a keyboard. Some people may be interested in the DX’s HD video recording as well. I can’t say which is better because it comes down to what features are most important to you. I have to lean toward the DX being “better” at this point. The bigger screen and faster processor makes it better than the stock D1. If you hack the D1, all bets are off. However, if the DX gets custom roms, overclocking, etc., I think it will become the clear winner, at least until Droid 2 comes out.

BOTTOM LINE

I think the Droid X is best stock VZW phone available. Its big screen makes it really a computer in your pocket. The HD video recording capability is great. DLNA support is great. I didn’t even know an FM radio was included- nice! Battery life so far has been really good, especially considering its big screen. The DX offers just about anything you need in a phone sans the front facing camera. This one device may replace a standalone mp3 player, gps, camera, camcorder, netbook, and possibly, an iPad. The Droid X simply does it all.

Is it the best Android phone on any carrier? I haven’t used the EVO so I can’t say which I would like more. VZW’s voice network and customer service are better than Sprint’s so the EVO loses in that respect. The Incredible was crippled with poor battery life so that’s a no-contest. The only real, current competition is a hacked Droid 1, if you care about hacking your phone. I personally don’t care about custom roms. For these reasons, I think the DX is the best Android phone to date. However, the current champ may lose its belt to one of the many great phones that are coming out soon. But at the end of the day, the real winner is the Consumer. There will be many great devices to pick from and that’s always a good thing.

TIPS

- Hitting the home button twice brings up the voice dial app.

- For free USB or blue-tooth tethering to your laptop/netbook, try PDANet.

- You can tether to your iPad! You have to jailbreak the iPad and install the blue-tooth dial-up networking. Search one of the iPad forums for details.

Review by tram for Motorola DROID X Android Phone (Verizon Wireless)
Rating:
It is a great phone, iPhone4 apps are having a edge above the droid x apps. But for me

good consistent signal strength is more important. Reception is cool. Definitely morotola

has been in the Antenna business for over 50 years, simple proof is I can hold the phone the way I want it.

Very fast browsing, and cool email checking.

Review by E. Agarwal for Motorola DROID X Android Phone (Verizon Wireless)
Rating:
I’m a big believer in people using technology in ways that are customized to their needs. I don’t think it’s smart to just follow the herd and buy the latest device if what it’s good at isn’t what you need the most. While the latest crop of smartphones try to be do everything perfectly, they don’t. They still have strengths and weaknesses, and here’s where I want to outline each. I’ll compare these phones because 1. I’ve used both extensively 2. Most people are probably debating between these.

Round 1: Battery life (X wins, because it can be replaced)

I think battery life is a considerably underrated aspect of most phone reviews. When I owned the iPhone 3G, my battery would die every die by about 3pm. I used all the tricks under the sun, including keeping my brightness low, turning off wifi/bluetooth, etc. I got so frustrated that I went to the Palm Pre, which had a replaceable battery.

Simalarly, I like the Droid X for this Round because it’s battery can be replaced. The biggest draw for any phones battery is the screen, and you would think the huge screen on this would destory the battery life. It does hurt it, no doubt. But on the iPhone, when your battery dies, you’re stuck until you get to charge. On my Droid X, I just pop in a freshly charged one ($12 with shipping on eBay. Make sure you don’t buy it from Verizon for some ungodly markup).

However, if you are the type of person who is not a heavy user, then don’t worry about this category. The iPhone 4′s battery life is better than the 3GS, and if you just do light browsing, a few phone calls, and a bit of email, it should get you through the day no problem. For heavy users, X is the way to go.

Round 2: Screen (iPhone wins)

Much has been said about the iPhone’s new “Retina Display”, and here’s why: it really is incredible. I can’t believe that just 4 years ago a color screen was considered impressive, and now it’s come to this.

Back to my theme: it depends on what you use your screen for. If you watch a lot of movies on your phone or look at high quality pictures, there’s no doubt that you should go for the iPhone. If, however, you use your phone more for email, web browsing, music, and phone calls, a top notch screen is less important.

The resolution of the iPhone screen is better, but if that’s not a factor, then ignore this category too.

Round 3: The Operating System (Droid X wins)

This is perhaps the only category where it matters for everyone, regardless of how you use your phone.

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time researching and testing both operating systems and trying to analyze them for different types of users, and I believe Android OS (even before 2.2) is superior to iOS4.

Here’s why: Android is more open, and that just makes it more useable.

Round 4: App store (Believe it or not, Droid X wins)

People love comparing numbers, as if volume has anything to do with quality. Yeah, the iPhone App Store has more apps. By a few multiples. But how many calculator apps are there? How many apps that tell you the weather? How many apps that can do note taking or calendar work? If there’s 36 apps that do calendars, do I really need a 37th?

I completely ignore the numbers aspect, because I think it’s an illogical and useless argument to have.

Rather, I think it’s more important to judge the utility of the App store, and on that front, Android market wins. Why? Since Android is completely open, you can just do more stuff with it.

On my Droid, I have an app that allows me to download any mp3 for free, right away. I have an app that allows me to tether my phone to my laptop for free, through either Bluetooth or USB, using my unlimited data plan. I have a Google Voice app, that gives me free text messaging, and free calling. I have a Divx app, that allows me to watch movies in AVI format (good luck, iPhone owners.)

None of these apps are available on the Apple App store.

Just to be fair, let’s talk about my recurring theme. If you are the type of person who wants to play some simple games and needs a good notetaking application, then either store will be just fine for you. If, however, you are an advanced user and are looking for some more advanced features, the open Android market is the way to go.

Round 5: Typing (Droid X wins, not because of native keyboard, but because of Swype)

For those of you who haven’t heard of Swype, it’s a new text entry method developed by the same guy who came up with T9. You slide your finger across the screen, pausing and changing directions at the letter you want, and it guesses the word for you. It it undoubtedly the most effective data entry method I’ve ever used.

Android is more open and allows you to install Swype as your default keyboard.

This one doesn’t matter for different people. Whether you only enter 160 characters at a time or re-write War and Peace, easy text entry is important.

[...]

Round 6: Media (a tie.)

Here, it really really depends what you’re looking for.

If you have already downloaded most of your movies/TV content through iTunes, then go with Apple. It’s still a phenomenal iPod, and as I mentioned previously, the screen is second to none. Movies look bright and crisp, the controls are smart and helpful, and it’s a good looking media player.

If, however, you download most of your movies/TV shows in AVI format, then stick with the X. As I mentioned, there are apps that play AVI format (it’s a HUGE pain in the butt to convert everything from AVI to mp4).

Music is music. Either player will work fine. Apple’s is probably a bit easier to use since most of us are used to it, but the X’s isn’t bad.

Round 7: Aesthetics

Let’s face it: the iPhone 4 is an incredibly good looking device. Sleek lines, nicely outline buttons, metal, glass, incredible display, they really thought this one out, and they hit it out of the park.

The Droid X isn’t that. I would say though that it is the best looking Android phone out there. Yes, the screen is big and personally I like it. But it’s very, very thin. Very thin. And that makes a huge difference when putting it in your pocket. For women who carry it in your purse, I guess it’s not that big of a difference.

If aesthetics are a primary concern of yours, go with the iPhone. I can’t argue with that. If you are looking exclusively for utility, go for the Droid X. I can say this with confidence because I bought the original Droid, which is one of the ugliest phones I’ve ever owned, but it worked SO well I just didn’t care.

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Summary: It all depends on what you use your phone for. If you are looking for a better version of a Blackberry OS, in the sense that you do a lot of work on your phone all day long, you type a lot, like the openness of the OS, send tons of email, and rely on your phone as your life, then go for the Droid X.

If you use your phone mostly for texting and phone calls and to listen to music, play the occasional game and do light browsing, go with the iPhone.

I’m an iPhone to Anroid convert, and couldn’t be happier. You’ll have to make that choice for yourself.