Droid "X" Is for "Excellent"

Motorola hits another homerun with the Droid X. I'm not certain what the "X" represents, but I'm going to state so it must stand for "Excellent" because it is. Allow me to tell you why I came compared to that conclusion.

Basic Specs

First thing that will grab you is the humungous 4.3 inch touchscreen, and its brilliant WVGA edge to edge display that supports as much as 16 colors. Remember the old three and four color screens we used to get so worked up about?

Its sleek, shiny black case measures 5.02" x 2.57" x.39 ".It features a slight hump on the back presumably to allow for the camera and flash-more about that later. It weighs in at 5.47 ounces. So, it's not going to create your pants collapse if you add it in your pocket.

The Droid4X runs on the Android 2.1 with the Motorola platform. Version 2.2 (Google Froyo) should be around soon. It includes a 1.0 Ghz processor with lots of hunk and 8 GB of internal memory. With a micro SD slot, you may get as much as 32 more Gigs of memory. It comes with a 16 GB card installed.

A 540 mAHLi-ion battery is rated to offer as much as 480 minutes usage time and 220 hours standby time. But, in practice, I found that the battery can be exhausted rather rapidly, especially if you are multitasking with additional services such as GPS, Wi-FI or Bluetooth. Keep your charger handy or even a spare battery.

Let's have a walk around the machine checking for buttons, inputs and outputs. On top, we've a 3.5 mm jack for earphones, a microphone (one of three), and an electric button. On the right side are two volume control buttons and a switch to invoke the camera. There is nothing on underneath until you count underneath of the screen in the front where there's another microphone plus Menu, Home Screen, Return, and Search physical hardware buttons. On the left side, toward underneath is really a micro USB port for a charging/sync cable. Below that is a HDMI cable port for audio/video output so you can transfer content from the Droid for viewing on your TV. Nice. You can even output to a projector. On the trunk is an 8 MPX camera lens and a twin LED flash. On underneath of the trunk is still another microphone.

Camera and Video

The camera would be to covet using its 8.0 MPX lens 1/1000 second mechanical shutter, auto focus, touch to target, face recognition and panoramic modes features. The Droid X will share photos, video, and music with other DLNA compatible devices. (However, I didn't have much luck with this specific feature.) The 720 p ND video allows slow motion capture, fast action, and quick uploads to YouTube. It features directional audio capture with is three microphones that enhance sound while tuning out background noise. With HDMI output, you can enjoy your recorded videos in your HD TV. Unfortunately, a cable is not included. But there is still no way to take screen shots, which is really a pity.

Entertainment: Music-Movies-TV-Radio-Games

If you enjoy playing music on your own phone, the Droid should please you having its standard 3.5 mm jack for headphones, Bluetooth, Android Music Player, ability to create playlists, access to the Amazon Music Store of MP3 downloads, and FM Radio. There's also a Verizon VCast store readily available for the purchase of music.

I came across the sound quality to be acceptable with earplugs, external stereo speakers, and with Bluetooth headphones.

If you're searching for video entertainment, the Droid X can deliver. It comes with a Interface app for Blockbuster video that lets you stream videos. Of course, you should rent them. Unfortunately, there's no app for, nor could I even access Hulu on the browser to watch TV and movies. Fortunately, there's an app for Orb, which lets you tune into your pc remotely to get into files, watch videos, and live or recorded TV. Also, I am very happy to report that SlingBox now comes with an app for the Droid. It costs $29.95, and you'll want a Slingbox installed on your own TV, but it's well worth the investment. Welcome aboard Sling Media. There are a few other apps for viewing more limited TV channels as well which can be worth exploring. I only wish there were a software for Netflix streaming videos. Maybe I'll have to create one myself.

Droid X posseses an FM tuner that needs you to plug in ear buds that act being an antenna. There are numerous nice radio and music apps available as well. My personal favorite is Pandora, that will be free. In the event that you suggest a beat or a composer, it will generate a playlist of similar items in the exact same genre and stream them to you. Nice.

If you are a gamer, there is various games in the Market for you yourself to download. The majority are free. The large screen, fast processor, memory and great graphics combine for a nice gaming experience. I haven't used it yet because I don't have an HDMI cable, but I suspect it are often possible to play games from the X in your HDTV or on a projection screen