New Phone – Motorola Droid X – First Impressions no comments
Time to get a new phone, so I opted for the Droid X 
by Motorola. I’ve only had it a couple of days, so I’m still in the getting-to-know-you phase. I’m still working on getting it personalized and learning the features.
I’m not going to give a full-blown review of the Droid X; I just want to note a few features that I’m more or less impressed with so far, especially as they pertain to the subject matter of this blog.
First of all, you probably already know that the Droid X is quite large. The body is approximately 5 x 2.5 x .39 inches. Nevertheless, I find the Droid X quite comfortable to hold. This is helped by the fact that it is thin, except for a bulge above the battery compartment – which actually aids with the grip. I do have to admit to having rather large hands though.
The upside of this large size is, of course, the 4.3 inches of LCD screen goodness. This makes the Droid X one of the best phones I’ve had for reading, amongst other things. Throw into the mix the availability of the many Android reading apps including those from Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and others and you have a great phone for ereading.
I do prefer e-ink for reading, but when I read on my phone it is usually on a casual basis – I’m usually trying to kill a few stray minutes between appointments, etc.
The other killer feature for me is the Droid X’s 
ability to generate a Wi-Fi hotspot to which you can connect up to five devices. This is an optional feature for which you must cough up an additional $20 per month to Verizon and there is a 2GB data cap. The per-monthly charge is actually $10 less than the clumsier USB tethering I was paying for to connect my Storm to my netbook.
I should be able to stay under the 2GB cap – if not it can get expensive as the overage charge is $0.05 per MB. If one is comfortable with the 2GB usage cap, this feature can open up a lot of possibilities. For example, when out and about I can carry my Wi-Fi iPad with me and connect via my phone’s Wi-Fi. The iPad may not have all of the features of my netbook, but it has enough. And it is much faster to get booted up and to work on – when I’m on the road time is my most precious resource. Wi-Fi only ereaders and other devices also become much more attractive if your phone has this feature.
The only complaint I’ve had so far with the Droid X is with getting my email accounts set up. My previous Blackberry was the best cell phone I’ve ever had when it comes to connecting and staying connected to my email accounts. I have four accounts – two Gmail, a Yahoo and a Hotmail account. The Gmail accounts sync with no friction as one would expect. My X could not connect with either my Yahoo or Hotmail accounts however.
For Yahoo I have installed their mobile email app. I have not had good luck with Yahoo’s mobile email apps in the past, so we shall see. For the Hotmail I set up Google’s Mail Fetcher, which will import my MSN email into Gmail. This seems to be working well and was easy to set up. I may end up doing the same for the Yahoo account as well.
The Droid X seems to do a really good job at power management. Even with the large screen and with some use of the Wi-Fi hotspot feature I’ve been getting about a day and a half between charges.
Yes, I could have gotten the new iPhone. But not as long as it is chained to AT&T.
I’ve noted before my distaste for all things AT&T. Listing all of the problems I’ve had with that company would require several long and tedious posts. Suffice it to say that over the last several years I’ve canceled around $350 a month in AT&T services, both personal and business. For the most part these were services that I was happy with before they got themselves blessed with the AT&T logo. In every case, after that less than holy event, the quality of service went down while the cost went up.
Having for the most part eliminated AT&T from my life almost feels like I’m breathing fresher and cleaner air. If you are familiar with Kim Harrison’s Rachael Morgan series, then you will know what I’m talking about when I say that it feels as though I’ve eliminated some of the black smut from my aura.
I’m going to go out on a limb here (OK, this is safer then it looks folks; this is a really big limb and there is no way this sucker is going to break) and say that Apple does indeed have a lot to fear from Android. And not just because of the AT&T thing.
This is my first Android phone. The iPad was my first iDevice, and yes, I do get the appeal of the Apple Way. But I’m sorry Stevie J – I guess the dark side is pulling me – I like less structure and control and a bit more chaos and anarchy and the ability to do things my own way in my own life. I like a bit of sandbox in my game rather than just being funneled down a preprogrammed linear path. That’s why I’ve never been an Apple fanboi, even though they make some cool products and I’ve always admired the way in which Apple has driven the aesthetics of the technology that we use. And then there’s that AT&T thing.
The Droid X is a keeper for me.
£149.00
£109
