Motorola, Google, and Verizon have again come together to create the Droid X, as they did the original Droid. Because of this, you might think that the Droid X is simply the next version of the Droid. However, even a quick look at the Droid X will confirm that it is actually a very different phone. We decided to take an in-depth look to see just what the Droid X had to offer.
As shown in Figure 1, the Droid X comes in a small grey box with a picture of the phone and the Verizon/Google/Motorola labeling. This is already a step away from the HELLOMOTO labeling that was on the Droid box. More on that later.
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Figure 1: The Droid X box
Inside the box is the Droid X, a USB cable with mini-USB end, and a plug that allows the USB cable to be used for charging the Droid from a wall outlet. A close up of that adapter is shown in Figure 3. Also included is a dual-sided fold-out Getting Started Guide and consumer information sheet. Several of the documentation pieces also came in Spanish. The Droid X also comes with a 16 GB micro-SD card. With our review unit, both the battery and the SD card came preinstalled.
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Figure 2: What’s in the box
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Figure 3: The adapter plug
The Droid X itself is shown in Figure 4. Weighing in at 5.47 ounces (155 grams), it is slightly lighter than the 6 ounce Droid. The Droid X is also much larger in area, while being over 10% less in volume because it is so much thinner. The Droid is 4.56 by 2.36 by 0.54 inches (115.8 x 60 x 13.7 mm) while the Droid X is 5.02 x 2.58 x 0.39 inches (127.5 x 65.5 x 9.9 mm). It might not seem like much difference, but it makes a huge difference in terms of the amount of phone you hold in your hand as well as the amount you can see on the screen.
The first thing that you will probably notice about the Droid X is the 4.3-inch WVGA (480 x 854) display. This is one of the largest currently on the market. The screen itself is crisp and clear, but is no match to the amount of detail displayed by the iPhone 4’s retinal display or the OLED screens on several other phones. That said, however, unless you put the phones side-by-side, you will be happy with the clarity of the screen on the Droid X. You will be especially happy when you flip the phone sideways to watch a video which looks great on this big screen.
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Figure 4: The Droid X
In Figure 4, you can also see the first screen that you see when you turn on the Droid X. You will notice that you must slide your finger to the side to open the phone just as you do on the iPhone. We really liked being able to drag it in a downward motion as you could on the HTC’s Droid Incredible. Thankfully, however, the screen lock can be turned off entirely. This is the beginning of the real beauty of the Droid X. It is highly customizable.
