Hands on with the Motorola Droid X

Instead of doing a full-on review stepping through each feature or characteristic of the Motorola Droid X, I’d rather focus on the emotional experience. And the Droid X is one of very few phones in recent memory that has sufficiently challenged the iPhone as my primary mobile device.

Unlike most handsets that pass through, I chose to use the Droid X nearly exclusively for the week I had it on loan it from Kevin Tofel (jkOnTheRun) last month. It shattered my notion that anything larger than a 3.5″ or 3.7″ phone is just too big — it’s 4.3″ LCD-toting body fit fine in my pocket, while feeling more comfortable and safer in the hand than the similarly endowed EVO. There’s no question the iPhone 4 has the clearest mobile display, but there’s something to be said for the extra screen real estate found on the Droid X, which I could see replacing my Kindle. The revamped “Motoblur” is mostly an innocuous Android skin job. It adds a few UI enhancements and widgets without bogging down the interface or taxing the Droid X’s speedy processor. As opposed to the more in-your-face Samsung TouchWiz, which seems to generate a distinct love or hate reaction.

In my region, Verizon provides the best coverage. Plus, through one of Verizon’s employer discount programs, I’m able to pick up a VZW phone with only a 1-year commitment. And, unlike my iPhone paperweight, there’s actually a smattering of Verizon reception in the office. So what’s holding me back from making a change? As much as I loved the Droid X, it’s got two flaws which I have a hard time overlooking.

First, for an 8-megapixel camera I was disappointed in picture quality. For me to invest hundreds of dollars in a new phone hardware (plus paying off AT&T via an early termination fee), it’s not enough that a handset be about the same as my current 3GS. It needs to exceed it in some areas by a decent margin. Android still provides a less polished experience than iOS. However, what you give up in that area you make up in control and flexibility. So let’s call that a wash. But I do expect a significantly better camera from any migration –something that would allow me to leave my dedicated digital camera at home. And Motorola’s doesn’t cut it.

Another concern is the large amount of pre-loaded and constantly running crapware that seriously eats into Droid X battery life and requires more attention via Advanced Task Killer than I care to give it. Presumably there are or will be ways to disable these processes permanently and/or remove the programs, but how about just leaving them off altogether? It’s starting to feel like Windows versus OS X all over again.

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18 thoughts on “Hands on with the Motorola Droid X”

  1. 1. Re: Crapware – Not fair to blame the OS for the evil that the carrier commits.

    2. Picture quality – Yeah, I have heard other say the camera pic suck. But there is a band-aid solution:

    Photoshop for Android

    http://mobile.photoshop.com/android/

    You have done what I ask, spent an entire week with Android. So, after having done so, you’ve decide not to switch, and go back to the iPhone. Fair enough.

  2. Todd, I’ve also spent decent time with the Galaxy S recently. As I mention above, price plays into the equation. It’s going to cost me about $400 to make a move. So I need some pretty compelling reasons to do so. Crappy AT&T coverage is one of them, but I need a little more. The 1Ghz+ Android phones should start hitting soon, maybe there will be one in that crop I jump for. Also, I’m looking forward to seeing what Gingerbread may bring. But for anyone on Verizon ready to upgrade, the Incredible and Droid X are clearly their best phones, Android or otherwise, and both are excellent choices.

  3. “As I mention above, price plays into the equation. It’s going to cost me about $400 to make a move. So I need some pretty compelling reasons to do so. Crappy AT&T coverage is one of them”

    Well, let’s make it more of an oranges to oranges comparison.

    Let’s for a moment stipulate that the CW that the iPhone is coming to VZW this winter is true. (I have my doubts, but let’s pretend for a moment.)

    And let’s pretend you don’t have an existing contract.

    So in an oranges to oranges comparison, would you prefer a Droid X or an iPhone 4?

    If you’d prefer the iPhone, how about if Apple was charging a $250 premium over Motorola?

    Now, that would really take us to Windows vs OS X all over again, no?

  4. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what January brings… and if I wait that long to make a change. HTC has an event 9/15 (could be new Android devices, could be Windows Phone 7) and then there’s the rumored/leaked T-Mobile myTouch HD which could be something like a ‘Nexus Two’. Although, Sprint offers the best coverage and rates for how and where I use my phone. Hm.

  5. “Although, Sprint offers the best coverage and rates for how and where I use my phone.”

    Yeah. That’s the thing, isn’t it? Most sane people pick their mobile phone by picking a carrier before they pick a phone. And in the absence of any government CableCARD-esque mandate in the mobile space, you thus generally don’t get to pick the phone you want.

    I’d prefer to have an iPhone, but I’d rather have my carrier of choice than my phone of choice, so I don’t have an iPhone.

    John Siracusa had an excellent piece a couple of weeks back outlining his rationale for why he thinks there will be a VZW iPhone for these exact reasons, although, as noted, I have my doubts.

  6. When I originally jumped to AT&T (Jan, 2007), I had coverage where I needed it and I wanted a GSM carrier because I knew I’d frequently be flipping or adding hardware. The 3GS has kept me around this last year… but it’s been a mixed bag.

    The iPhone 4 does seem to offer much better reception (when not being held improperly – ha). In my office building it significantly outperforms both the 3GS and Galaxy S. Although, still no coverage at my desk which is where I’d like it.

    So, for now, I do nothing.

  7. speaking of HAND holding. Any idea what the SAR is on this puppy? the previous droid was the worst phone in the country with a 1.54 SAR just .06 less than the 1.6 the FCC allows.

  8. I appreciate your review. I do have to say that you should do a little digging into how (background) processes work on the android platform. If you are using advanced task killer, most likely you are the one killing the battery, not the programs.

  9. Don, you’re confusing what I choose to carry as my primary phone with what you believe is my exposure to Android. I’m something of a gadget connoisseur and phone collector. I’ve spent quality time with a number of Android devices since the G1 launched and count an Android 2.1 handset amongst my 3 current phones. Of all the Android phones I’ve sampled, this Droid X pays the biggest penalty from auto-launching pre-loaded crapware background processes.

  10. You’re not impressed with the DroidX camera? wow.

    I have an iPhone 3G that has crapware – Stocks, Weather, Messages (SMS), Notes, and iTunes which I never use, and cannot remove. Yes, they don’t eat away at the battery, but we shouldn’t have to create a “crapware” folder to hide these useless, required apps.

    Isn’t it interesting that the leaked Verizon “roadmap” doesn’t include the rollout of an iPhone?

  11. Dave, what are your thoughts on the Droid2 (w/o the ridiculous R2-D2 design)? I looks like a pretty sweet upgrade from the original Droid, which I love.

    I am concerned with the custom skin that Moto put on it however and all the crapware as you mentioned. I really liked the stock Android on the original Droid.

    BTW, Froyo is a really big improvement over Eclair.

  12. Again, it comes down to camera for me. I’m bummed the Droid 2 stuck with a 5megapixel camera. Then again, as I write here, I’m not overly impressed with the X’s 8mpx as an upgrade either. But it’s odd… PCMag quite liked the Droid X camera. If my test shots weren’t of family, I’d post them. Very soft and grainy. Maybe it’s me.

    Back to the Droid 2, the physical keyboard is an obvious improvement although I’m mostly over physical keyboards and I like the small tweaks to the physical design. Hopefully the battery cover stays on better this time. ;)

    Motoblur mostly stays out of the way other than the few background widgets – but it’s not all Moto. Verizon has some others like Skype and a city caller ID thing running.

  13. I think most cell phone cameras suck not (just) because of the megapixel count, but also because of the tiny sensors, the crappy optics, the anemic flashes, the slow response time, the crappy automatic settings etc etc. Not as simple as 8Mp vs. 5Mp. The iPhone 4’s camera is NOT as good as that on a $100 pocketable camera, but it is MUCH better than the one of the 3GS. Better light sensitivity, much faster, really quite a significant improvement.

    Still, you took actual pictures and looked at them. That’s all anyone can ask for.

  14. wow… conversation about iOS/Android that is fairly civil and measured. I knew I come to this site for a reason! I hope verizon gets the iPhone for two primary reasons:
    1. Offload some of the iPhone traffic from ATT
    2. Create a competitor for iPhone service (this may not prove to be of any advantage, however. Likely would be better if it was available on a service provider more willing to woo customers such as TMobile, Sprint, or MVNO).

    I agree with the out-of-box experience. Not much time needed to pick up an iphone and use it, android may provide for more customization, but using it is just less logical to me. I appreciate the competition in pushing innovation/features, but already see the platform investment starting to take its toll. Outside of the ethical/philosopical, this is the biggest value to me of HTML5 apps, greater device portability.

  15. What we really need is iPhone 4 on Sprint with 4G :) Not going to happen, but maybe Apple will go all-in and release CDMA variant on Verizon AND Sprint as there the hardware is pretty much the same (as opposed to AT&T & T-Mo which use different 3G frequencies).

    Anyhow, at the moment trying to decide between Epic 4G and EVO 4G here :)

  16. Alright after reading all this i still have no idea what phone to go for. For me its between the Iphone 4 and the droid x. I am currently with verizon but my plan is coming up in the up in coming month. I would like to know if it is worth swithing to AT&t for the i-phone or to keep with verizon and go for the droidx. i would like clear cut comparison between them and if u can suggest to me for my situation which one i should go for. I’m not much of a cell phone craved person but after playing with my girlfriend i-phone 4 i really like it but noticed some glitches to it. and after playing with my friends droidx i didnt notice any. but i didnt get to see if the droidx has apps like the iphone. so if u would be kind enough to let me know what u think i should do it would be much apprieciated if u could just help my desitiona little bit. thanks

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