My birthday came a little early this year as I received the Droid X for review. I only get to keep it for a week, but I may be getting my own soon. This is essentially Verizon’s answer to the EVO. It has similar specs but doesn’t have the front-facing camera.
As we have done in the past, I will do a multi-part review of the phone over the next week, but I wanted to give my first impressions in this post.
Wow. This is a big phone. Just like the EVO, though, it doesn’t seem too big to me. I pulled out my old Clie TH-55 which is a little wider and thicker than this phone, but the phone is a tad taller. The size of the screen is breath-taking (assuming you are a gadget geek who likes those kind of things).
It does not have a physical keyboard like the original Droid, but does have physical buttons along the bottom for Menu, Home, Back and Search.
What’s in the Box?
The phone comes with a number of manuals, the phone, a USB cable and an AC adapter. It arrives with the back off and the battery in its own bag. It is very easy to install the battery in the phone.
Slim
The phone is very slim, with a bump at the top to accommodate the camera:
The red button is the camera shutter button. I am a big fan of a camera button, it just makes the camera application easier to launch and more convenient to use. The pair of buttons to the right are the volume controls.
HDMI
Just like the EVO, this phone comes with an HDMI out. It is a micro-HDMI connector which are pretty rare right now. I am hoping to get a cable to test it out. There is also a micro-USB port.
Power and Headphones
I’m encouraged that most manufacturers have figured out that we want a standard headphone jack on our phones now. It is located at the top with the power button:
I am not a fan of the location of the power button. I find it inconvenient. However, that may be because it is not in the location I am used to.
8 MP and Dual LED Flash
The camera is 8 MP, with a dual LED flash. I’ll await judging it until a later post. I would rather have fewer pixels to get more low-light sensitivity, but again, I will wait to test the camera.
I did a quick, basic unboxing of the phone. I will get better. Unedited, a little over 8 minutes.
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Nice phone… look at the size of the screen!! Liking that! 🙂
Looking forward to the next review Bryan!
ABSOLUTELY LUV MY DROID RIGHT NOW! Definitely not a fan of not having a physical keyboard 🙁 Thats why I picked DROID over iPhone. Perhaps I can get over it though. Screen looks amazing..& 8 mpixels? My digital camera has 10! Awesome. Looking forward to playing with it…more reviews Bryan!
The HTC incredible is being pushed out till august on Verizon website. Think they are trying to make room for Droid X in hope that people cancel “Incredible” orders.
Im due for an upgrade on the 18th of july. I was considering an HTC Incredible. The next morning i realized the x was coming out. And the incredible is on serious backorder. Ive been looking at every video and reading every review of both phones and its an easy choice for me. Im going X. To me both phones are great being a used lg dare user. Its time to really get in the game with a nice droid.
I know you can create wifi hotspot but can you tether your laptop with usb.
Nice phone, wondering if it might be too wide for a woman’s hand though. Screen size is terrific. Looking forward to reading more of your comments on this phone. Thanks.
I am a current moto droid user, just got it in april and love it! Kinda bummed I can’t get the x looks amazing!
I have pre-ordered the Droid incredible, but now going to cancel it and try to reserve the Droid X. I’ve heard many good reviews about the Droid X, and seemed like the best phone out. (starting on 7/15) I do look forward to getting this.
–Mark
Upgraded to a Droid from a Palm Centro at the end of June. After a week with the Droid, I found myself always using the onscreen keyboard and getting annoyed with the slider. Luckily, I have 30 days to exchange the phone. Im going with the Droid X on the 15th and I cant wait!
I’ve been sitting in the fence about what my first smartphone would be, just couldn’t bring myself to do the iPhone 4 but I’ve been curious about the Droid X. Looking forward to the rest of your review!
This phone looks amazing, can’t wait to try out Swype. I am curious to see how big it really feels in your hand however. I thought the Incredible was a great phone, so the Droid X should be even better I hope.
I love my Droid X. It’s my first smart phone. I am soooo glad I waited. I’m not exactly an Apple hater, but Steve Jobs and his ranting and whining are pathetic. I just could not see myself in the Apple/Jobs herd. This is a great phone. I don’t miss the physical key board at all. Hold Droid X horizontally and use your thumbs like any BlackBerry user does. Love it love it love it!
I don’t know about this phone but Mahoney is pretty interesting.
Her web site pretty much gets right to the point.
🙂
@ dennis stillions… you can use any internet capable phone as a modem with verizon wireless but, as always with verizon, theres a price. i think its $30 for 2 extra gigs a month.