Motorola Droid X first (official) hands-on and unboxing! Update: video!
Yeah, we kind of already saw this phone, but if you don't tell Motorola and Verizon, we won't. We just got our hands on an official, final Droid X at the NY launch event, and it tastes just as sweet. Here are a few notes:
- It's built of basically the same material as the Droid, but there's something almost kind of "taut" about the phone, where when you thwack it with a finger it resounds like a drum. The phone vibration seems to work on this same principle, giving it much less of the typical buzz (in the funky, cheap sense) you expect.
- There are three mics, and in video mode you can select between "scenes" based on which mic you want to use: outward facing for regular shoots, inward facing for narration. The third mic is up top for noise cancellation during calls.
- Yeah, there's not kickstand, but the EVO 4G really does seem chunky up against the Droid X, and the camera bulge on the latter is not annoying at all.
- PHYSICAL BUTTONS.
- You get your choice between Swype and Motorola's multitouch keyboard, which is really pretty great. We were typing at speed within a few seconds of using it.
- You can tell that the processor is fast, but the UI still has a jerky quality to it -- it's not totally fluid. We'd say that's more of an Android thing, though.
- The new version of Motoblur is much, much more attractive than before -- the widgets are sleeker, smaller, and less in your face. You can also resize them, and they rearrange themselves somewhat intelligently.






































i think choosing wether you want this phone or the iphone comes down to apps. yea the specs are better on the droid x but imo apple's app store is the best one right now. i love android's ideas like being open but it hasnt worked out for them eg. the sh!ttiest apps you could possibly get. right now it's apple in 1-2 years when more developers start making the android market their #1 concern then android may be what your looking for but now now
When can I pre order?
when can we pre-order this beauty?!! Dying to get rid of my Omnia....yes the first one...
Learn to use swype, watch the tuts on the website.
Goddammit. I love T-Mobile, but Verizon has caught my eye in recent months.
swype has a built-in tutorial, Nilay. You should try it! Then you would know that you don't have to press the space button after every word and how to do double words correctly.
I really hope make the UI a bit faster... It looks better than the old motoblur but it's pretty sluggish... seems considerably slower than stock, sense and touchwiz 3.0... This phone won't last long in the spotlight, it's really not bringing anything new to the table...
will this work out?
Does anyone know how Verizon handles pre-orders? Cus as of right now, they can't be pre-ordered yet. I have to cancel my Incredible order (which is supposed to ship by Friday) and see if I can get one of these.
However, I feel like if they sellout quickly and I don't get one, then I might as well wait for the next big android phone to come out, since no one is hesitating to make a billion different android phones.
does it have a front camera? for Video calling?
After seeing this I almost regret pre-ordering my iPhone 4.
Love my Droid OG Edition, but let's keep it real. Any and every mobile that lacks a forward facing camera, from this time forward, is broken, period. This sadly applies to Droid X.
Any mobile device that does not do video telephony -- Skype, Tokbox, etc -- is broken.
There, I said it.
Looks cheap and plasticky
@Mori
No plastic, full METAL
Still stuck on AT&T yet to provide A POWERFUL ANDROID DEVICE. I'll wait till my contract ends and get the X. X IS MUCH MUCH BETTER THAN THE IPHONE 4. SIGH CURSE ME FOR STAYING WITH AT&T TILL MY CONTRACT ENDS!
Looks very sexy, but since I'm living in Chicago and having access to 4G, as well as a 25% discount on Sprint, I think I'll pass up on the Droid X and get the EVO. You can't beat unlimited everything for 59.99! The battery life may be sub-par, but you can buy upgraded batteries at 1700 mAh that I believe have no size increase, as well as other higher mAh batteries that do have a slight size increase. And Sprint TV is pretty sick, too. Also the choppiness of the EVO video recording has something to due with the an older codec, which I believe sprint did to cut costs to avoid licensing and having to pay an extra fee per phone. Hopefully in upgraded versions of Android this will not be a problem, or the end user can purchase the codec for around $20.
@jawman
Oh, and still waiting for an iPhone 4 vs EVO 4G vs Droid X, FIGHT article!!
Do do double letters on Swype, you have to do a little loop on the letter.
Well, it looks like an alright phone. I thought maybe I made a mistake buying the Droid Incredible, but the video has abated my fears. I'm much more comfortable with HTC Sense and the slimmer formfactor. And even though the Incredible is kind of plasticy at the back, it seems like better build quality than the Droid X. I'm sure the X still has its fit, and it no doubt comes down to taste, but my taste prefers the Incredible. phew.
that droid x is spectacular. big plus for motorola. plus when this thing gets the froyo update ios4 will seem so yesterday
8.0 mp camera??!! wow!
giggity
Too bad they're only moving upgrades up for people who's contracts end this year. Mine new every two is in March and I want a Droid X at launch. It's only three more months past December 31. Booo!
Looks cool but no front facing camera and that weird and seemingly unnecessary hump on the back kills it for me.
Guys you know the Android dictionary will automatically 'learn' names if they're in your contacts list right?
Sheesh!! I'm having phone envy. TMO is kinda lagging w/ choices for a good high-end android phone, and I'm seriously considering the switch. One feature I do love about my G1 (yes, I still have that old thing which I love) - is ability to browse the internet while on a phone call. It helps when coming to plan activities while out and about.
Can Verizon phones do that?
I never thought I'd say this, but this new version of Motoblur actually looks really good; I like the fact that there isn't too much ornamentation on it - just simple, coloured gradients. The fact that they're resizable would also be pretty useful, as it means I could have a large one for my email or texts, with smaller ones for less important things - for me, that would be an RSS feed or Twitter.
I actually prefer the look of this over HTC's latest version of Sense, which, although somewhat useful, has been a little 'too' shiny/unnecessary for my liking.
On a completely un-Droid-related note - does anyone know what DSLR they use to film the hands-on video? I love the aesthetic...
Read the review, haven't had a chance to read all the articles so I may be repeating a question here.
CAN Blur be turned off on the phone or not?
Just read a review over at PCmag.com and they said in the cons section that it can't be turned off.
@RideRed
...haven't had a chance to read all the reply posts.
EDIT button Engadget, please.
Talked to a Verizon Rep today and they said they don't when we will be able to preorder. But, as god as my witness I will be preordering one!!!!!
Closest thing to an iphone rival. I dont need no front facing camera. It is a beast plain and simple! Big ups Verizon and Moto.
@PhilipSzrama
I talked to a Verizon Rep and they saidthere will be no pre-order on the Droid X and that it will be first come first served on July 15... Early lineup anyone? Ha
Man, I wish I could get this one... Im still waiting for T-Mobile's big moment. Only thing Im seeing now is Samsung Vibrant aka Galaxy S. Looks like a really nice phone too! Anyone know about the Acer Stream? Looks pretty decent too. But my real hope is that the iPhone 4 comes out this year on T-Mobile. I'm pretty sure it will happen. Makes sense to me. Anyone else hoping for this? They just better fix those damn problems on it.
Hey Paul, fyi for Swype; you don't need to press space between words like you were doing. When you let go after entering or choosing a word, it will do the space for you. So that will speed things up some more for you. :D Try out the Swype tutorial from the apps menu. There is a lot more to Swype than people think. Lots of cool features and tricks you can do to speed things up even further.
Hey Nilay, you don't have to go to settings to change the keyboards. Just long press on the text field and "change input."
Wait, I'm using Cyanogenmod, so maybe you can't do that on vanilla... Those of you stock, try it.
Also, to swype "Miller" Nilay forgot to double swipe the "L." All he has to do is draw 2 quick circles or a back and forth squiggle, you don't just go over it like it's one letter.
Are there any engadget editors using ROM's or the more eclectic Android software??