Motorola DROID X Review

Introduction:

The Android army continues to grow with the introduction of the Motorola DROID X (MB810) by Verizon Wireless. When the original Motorola DROID A855 came out last year, we were impressed by the device’s features and build quality, as it was unique and clearly was the phone to beat. Since then, we’ve seen Verizon release other Android phones, such as the Motorola DEVOUR A555, LG Ally VS740, and the HTC Droid Incredible ADR6300, with each one targeted to a slightly different audience. Since its release three months ago, the HTC Droid Incredible has been the premier smartphone on Verizon, sporting a 3.7” WVGA AMOLD display, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 8GB internal storage and an 8MP autofocus camera. Unfortunately, Samsung hasn’t been able to keep up with demand for its AMOLED display, which has caused a shortage, thus delaying the shipping of orders for the HTC Droid Incredible by several weeks. Because of this, many people are looking for an alternative. The timing could not have been better for Motorola. Enter the DROID X. Not only does it have a large 4.3” TFT WVGA display, 1GHz OMAP 3630 processor, 8MP autofocus camera, and 8GB of internal memory, but it’s also the first Verizon smartphone to record 720p videos and come with a HDMI output for connecting to an HDTV.

Included in the retail package is the Motorola DROID X MB810 smartphone with a 16GB Class 4 microSDHC memory card preinstalled, 1540mAh battery, wall charger with detachable microUSB cable, and user guides.

Design:

Since the Motorola DROID X comes endowed with a 4.3” display, the phone can’t help looking big, measuring 5.02”H x 2.57”W, but Motorola has taken steps to make it as thin as possible, just 0.39” thick, except for the hump at the top that houses the camera, which is about 0.60” thick. Some may not like this, but the alternative would have been to make the entire phone thicker, so we’d rather have the rest of the phone thin. The overall construction of the Motorola DROID X MB810 feels solid, as it is built from metal and covered with a soft-touch coating, similarly to the original Motorola DROID A855, though it is coming in at 0.5 oz less weight (5.47oz total). The DROID X balances well in the hand, neither top heavy nor bottom heavy, but when placed in your pants pocket, you’ll know it’s there, mostly due to its size.



You can compare the Motorola DROID X MB810 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The large 4.3” TFT display with 480x854 resolution and 16M color support is what truly makes the Motorola DROID X stand out. When placed next to the HTC Droid Incredible and the original Motorola DROID, you can clearly see the difference in the screen size. Since the display on the DROID X is TFT, you don’t get as good black levels as with AMOLED, but images still look amazing and text is clear and sharp.


Instead of using capacitive buttons, the Motorola DROID X has four physical buttons located under the display for the Menu, Home, Back, and Search. We liked that they are physical and require an actual press to get a response, as the front capacitive buttons on the HTC Droid Incredible and Motorola DROID can easily be touched by mistake while holding the phone. On the left side of the DROID X is the microUSB port and micro HDMI (type D) video connector, while on the top is the power/lock button and 3.5mm headset jack, and on the right are the volume rocker and shiny red camera key. The back houses the external speaker, 8MP camera with flash, and the battery compartment, which has to be opened to access the microSDHC memory card slot. We should also point out that the Motorola DROID X comes with 3 microphones: one under the display that is used for picking up your voice when talking on the phone, one on the top that is used for noise cancellation while on calls, and one on the back for directional sound when recording videos.