Motorola DROID X review

Justin Cauchon August 16, 2010 0

The Motorola DROID X has landed on Verizon and brings some impressive specifications packed into one big device. With a 4.3-inch touchscreen WVGA diplay, the DROID X is a pretty big phone with a massive screen. But nowadays, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Packed inside is a 1GHz processor, 8GB of internal memory, and Android 2.1 operating system. We have been testing this phone for a few weeks non-stop and have some impressions to share with you. Hit the jump for the full review.

Hardware

The DROID X is a large phone, there is no other way to say it. However, 2010 is all about making a smartphone with a big display and a fast system. Therefore, we aren’t complaining about its 5.02″ x 2.57″ size. The screen takes up the majority of the size and we sure do love a big screen with a nice display. We’ve been carrying around both a iPhone 4 and the DROID X and haven’t really found the DROID X to be that big in our pocket mainly because it is very slim. However, if you are into rocking skinny jeans, you may still notice a bulge.

The phone itself has a nice look to it. The front is pretty much taken over by the 4.3-inch display and a few buttons (menu, home, back, and search). The front also has a area to place your ear during a phone call, a microphone, and a LED alert light. On the back of the phone is the 8MP camera with a flash, the speaker, and another microphone. The left side of the phone has a volume toggle and a camera hot key. The right side of the phone has the microUSB slot and a HDMI slot. There is a hump on the top of the back side of the DROID X that is the home to the camera. The hump helped us hold the phone and did not really bother us when using the phone.

The build quality of the phone is good. When holding the phone, it is obvious that the phone is of high quality. The finish on the back of the phone adds a nice feel and makes it easier to hold. All in all, the build quality of the phone is very solid.

Software

Motorola has ditched its MOTOBLUR user interface seen on the BACKFLIP and DEVOUR. Instead there is a nice looking user interface to compliment the Android operating system. The new interface is much cleaner and looks a bit better than its predecessor. Motorola’s interface on the DROID X adds some nice looking icons like the menu icon, contacts icon, and phone icon. When switching between the seven different home screens, the bottom touch screen icons will turn into a series of dots that allows for easy access to different home screens. While it only takes a second or two for these dots to change back to the default options, we found it annoying at times.

Motorola added a bunch of nice widgets that can be placed on the home screens. Some of these widgets are really useful like the airplane mode toggle, social networking, and weather. There are tons of other widgets that can be added to your different home screens.

We aren’t going to get too in depth about the Android operating system since we have reviewed tons of Android phones before. The DROID X runs Android 2.1 and is scheduled to get the upgrade to 2.2 later this summer. Android 2.2 will add some great features like Flash support and exchange support. The 1GHz processor packed inside the DROID X allows for fast switching between Android applications and lets everything load almost instantaneous.

The DROID X is the first Android phone on Verizon to have a 3G Mobile Hotspot application built-in. Costing an additional $20 a month, users can turn their Verizon data plan into a mobile hotspot and connect other devices up to it. We love how simple it is to use 3G Mobile Hotspot, you simple tap a box and it turns the service on. Please note that using 3G Mobile Hotspot will cause your battery to drain much faster than usual, so only use it when needed.

The DROID X has an on-screen keyboard since there is no room for a physical keyboard. We get the chance to use a lot of on-screen keyboards while we test out phones to review. After using the DROID X keyboard for a few weeks, we just can not get used to using it in when holding the phone vertically. When typing out text messages, we found ourselves hitting the wrong key often. When trying to add a space in between words we often found ourselves hitting the period key. When you turn the phone to the side you will find the keyboard is much easier to use. Typing is a breeze this way, but can sometimes be a nuisance when trying to input information.

Camera

A big part of the DROID X is the 8 megapixel camera and HD video recording. The camera itself takes decent pictures for a smartphone and the integration of a flash helps in low light situations. In the camera application there are numerous options and effects that can be used to enhance your photo. Tapping Scenes in the camera application will automatically format your picture for different situations like Portrait, Landscape, Sport, etc. Check out a sample picture we took with the phone:

The HD Video camera supports 720p. The DROID X has a HDMI-out port that will allow easy watching of your home made videos. Check out our sample video:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9wpepY2Js8

Battery Life

The DROID X has a 1500 mAh battery, which is bigger than the 1400 mAh battery included with the original Motorola DROID. We were able to get through the day with moderate use. However, using 3G Mobile Hotspot will drastically change the battery life when it is being used.

Conclusion:

The DROID X is the most powerful Android smartphone available on Verizon. The huge screen and impressive specifications make the phone a pleasure to use. Motorola has added its own UI to the phone making it look better than the default Android operating system interface. The UI will also add some widgets that will add to the usability of the phone. We think that the DROID X is a great phone for those who want a big display and don’t mind its size.

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