Verizon confirms Droid X screen issues, but says they're not widespread
By Sean Hollister 
posted July 20th 2010 9:17PM
posted July 20th 2010 9:17PM
We just got word back from Verizon regarding those flickering Droid X screens, and sure enough, the ghastly images are not a side effect of your assimilation into the Droid collective. Verizon and Motorola have owned up to a genuine problem with a small number of Droid X displays, approximately one-tenth of one percent. If your screen starts acting up you'd best contact the authorities immediately. And by authorities, we mean tech support, not the FBI -- the omnipresent glowing red eyeball is completely normal. It told us so. Here's Verizon's full statement on the matter:"Verizon Wireless and Motorola are aware of a very small number of DROID X units that have experienced a flickering or banding display. Motorola has resolved the issue and is continuing to ship the phones. Any consumer who experiences a flickering or banding display should contact a Motorola customer support center or Verizon Wireless."
This is a minor issue-- a hardware defect that affects a very small amount of phones. They identified it quickly and are solving it quickly-- that is the right way to handle the problem. Every manufacturer has problems-- it's how you solve them that matters. Having said that, I think the iPhone antenna issue is different. Despite similarly affecting a very small number of users, it is not a hardware defect but a design decision, though one shared by most phones to varying degrees (as evidenced by numerous videos and instructions manuals). This design decision was a trade-off, making reception worse for .5% of users while making it better for 99.5% of users. That seems like an acceptable trade-off, and calling it a "flaw" that exists for all users but does not "manifest" itself to all users is a distinction without a difference. I don't think Apple was as forthcoming as they should have been initially, but to be fair it seems the antenna issue was more complex than an obvious hardware defect like the Droid faces, and warrants a well thought out response. I feel like the issue has been satisfactorily addressed by Apple, though I would bet the design will be modified in future versions. Neither of these issues alone would dissuade me from purchasing an iPhone or a Droid.
They would have done this but for the fact Steve Jobs has already patented both denial and corporate suicide and would sue for damages.
Hasn't Motorola learned it's lesson? You don't admit to an issue. Here's the proper response:
1) Tell people they're looking at the screen wrong, and suggest they look at it differently.
2) Spend a couple of weeks denying there's any issue beyond users not looking at it the right way.
3) Hold a press conference in which you show that all other cellphones have the same issue as your phone has, even though your phone has no issue. Blame the media, who're jealous of your amazing success and general coolness, for blowing the issue out of proportion. Claim that several thousand users have contacted you claiming this is the best cellphone they've ever owned.
4) Offer all users a band-aid for the issue, which doesn't exist anyway, even though all cell phones suffer from it due to the immutable laws of physics. (Make sure to classify those who claim to have the problem as whiners)
5) Maintain well deserved superiority.
I've gotten deep into these AMAZING phone Samsung VIBRANT by TMOBILE is releasing and there is no doubt they far outrank every single phone out there in so many ways!
#1 - Screen; 100,000:1 compared to iPhone4's 800:1 Real World contrast ratio. But it's the response time that kicks every phone on the planet to the curb being 0.01ms. Which is as close to instantaneous as you can get. Especially compared to iPhone4's snail response time of 25ms. Why is this so important? Because these phones are NOT eReaders!
If you want a over rated ereader, then iP4 is your best choice. If what you want is a Multimedia Phone then Samsung's Super AMOLED is your BEST CHOICE. Play games or watch action movies? Super AMOLED!
http://cfile27.uf.tistory.com/original/140B801A4C183C762FE807
(note: the original page this graph is from destroys the myth of higher pixel density. It explains that in the fall when 2.2 Android is available for Galaxy Series phones SVG vectored fonts (resolution free 300dpi) and higher dpi icons will shed a new light on the subject. Also it relates to the sweet spot view distance for the screen size)
#2 - Samsung makes 50% of the cost of all parts in iPhone4. In so doing, they've strived to put better parts into their own phones while Apple went CHEAP. Hummingbird blows Apple A4 away merely by having the full Arm Neon Multimedia Engine and OS support programed into Android. But not fully deployed until Android 2.2. On top of that you have the first time the SGX540 GPU has been put in a device. It can display 3x what the iP4 or any other phone out can at 90million Triangles/p/sec and with that Super AMOLED screen, when 2.2 comes out it'll get all phones to the curb.
#3 - Samsung has the newest and best radios out. Compared to any other device. First phone to have WiFi Direct b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 (10x speed of iP4's BT2.1), DLNA Media Server and w/ Android 2.2 full OS support for all these. 3G/4G Baseband Radio w/ Full VOIP (Voice/Video) supported radio. Meaning when Google/GIPS HD Video Conferencing is released for Galaxy, they will have Facetime's Engine running on hardware capable of using it over 3G/4G (btw Facetime is running GIPS Engine). Galaxy has TV-Video Out via it's headphone jack. Cameras both have Smile and Face detection. 5mp camera has outstanding low light capability and again when 2.2 comes out dramatic changes will come into use with it's ambient light sensing abilities and auto backside lighting effects. Adobe is expanding the features of it's Photoshop Mobile for Android. Of course there is more on the way in features that are hidden at this time, but you've made a great choice if you own one of these Galaxy Series Phones!!!
Till Android 2.2 update for this bad boy, you will not see what else it can do.Then if they will not do the OTA, i'll get the update in the fall. That's what I gathered from a Korean site. That support was coming and that some surprises having to do with high res fonts and icon in an update soon. That would show off the Super AMOLED's Resolution (a swipe at Retina, because it's the 300dpi fonts Apple's using that are making it look sharper for reading along w/ extremely high dpi icons. Compared to Android's low res icons and low dpi non SVG converted to SVG fonts (for vectored Resolution Free fonts).
I've seen other mentions of the radio referred to as FM RDS so that would mean something about it being capable of receiving road construction bulletins, etc.
This is Broadcom page on the part number from the tear down:
http://www.broadcom.com/products/Bluetooth/Bluetooth-RF-Silicon-and-Software-Solutions/BCM20751
Samsung Galaxy Series phones are the first to receive this WiFi Direct capable SoC and some interesting things are coming from other features in it too.
FM Radio w/RDS and FM Recording as well in Wave. So Bada supports more features than Android does as yet. Same chis in both though!
http://www.careace.net/2010/06/08/comparison-of-iphone-4-vs-samsung-wave-and-samsung-galaxy-s/
Note: All Action Graphics, Games, etc in the future are going to look far better on Super AMOLED Galaxy than iPhone or any other LCD or AMOLED Screen. Because of the super fast response time and contrast ratio and the fact NO IPS LCD has a chance in hell of competing with it. iPhone's abysmal 25ms is more like the first desktop LCD screens in speed. Fast action Games & Video will ghost and display irregularly. Especially since the Galaxy has been designed for the future w/ that 3x the display capability of iPhones SGX535 GPU at 90million Triangles/per/sec rendering speeds. Which is the reason it can put up HD 720p graphics over WiFi Direct DLNA or BlueTooth 3.0 DLNA to your HDTV. This is the reason they did not bother putting in an HDMI out port. Also because HDMI restricts graphics w/ HDCP. DLNA doesn't restrict anything being a wireless broadcast in the first place and being both Wifi 2.4ghz and 5.0ghz (unlike iPhone4, etc's 2.4ghz ONLY)!
My plan is to buy either the DirectTV Google Box or the Logitech GoogleTV Box. They are going to be WiFi Direct (I believe dual band as well). Along with Bluetooth 3.0 DLNA capable. This feature can auto Sync and because of it's extremely fast speed (faster than Wifi G or N) and low 6 to 30ft range it will not conflict with any other signals. Bluetooth 3.0 DLNA is the FUTURE!
Theres more exciting STUFF I can say but you need to research it & tweak the phone with coming Froyo & Gingerbread OS.
SAMSUNG IS THE FUTURE NOW IN SMARTPHONES, THEY HAVE THE BEST & LATEST TECHNOLOGY ESPECIALLY - MONEY...
Samsung is junk look where its made !!!! Japan and china still are the best for making eletronics... An samsung should stick to what they
make an ok product thats TV's an nothing else.... not fridges and phones and all other kinds of crap their trying to get into!!!!
Calling Motorola was a sucktastic experience....after calling all the retailers in San Diego I find one then lo and behold I win the bad phone lottery and since no one can help till august I call Moto as suggested above and all they will do is repair it. I even asked their level two support specialist escalation guy if that were acceptable to him, would he accept that answer say if he bought a new non moto product like a tv or something he said no that is not acceptable and he would get his money back. I then ask, in summary you'll repair my phone that you sent out bad or go get something else since none are available and he said yes. what got me to the higher up guy in the fist place was when I asked so you can't make enough of these, he said yes, and some that you sent out are bad, he said yes, which sent me to you, he said yes, and now you're telling me to go back, he said yes.
MOTO = BAD SERVIICE.... all they want to do is push you back to verizon they want this to be the retailers problem not theirs
"the only thing that we can confidently say is that the HP Slate has definitely succeeded the iPad as the tech industry's favorite vaporware tablet."
Now hold on there, how does the iPad qualify as "vaporware"? *Rumored* tablets aren't vaporware. Apple itself wasn't promoting an iPad for the last 10 years, they announced it earlier this year and they delivered it on time, just the way they initially described it, which is what none of these other tablet makers can seem to do.
My screen is gradually going dark from the bottom up. I currently have only 2/3 of a visible screen. This started when the phone was less than one week old.