EDIT: We have root with the Droid X. This topic is not really valid anymore. Thanks for the replies though!
I am stuck trying to decide whether to keep the Droid X or The Droid Incredible. Quick backstory, I had the Droid Incredible for about a month till it had an issue where it needed to go back for warranty replacement. During that month I fell in love with the phone, with the only complaint being the lack of 720p video recording. Verizon told me that they would not be able to replace the Droid Incredible for a few weeks and offered me a Droid X instead. While it had not been released, all the system specs posted seemed to make it a superior phone so I took the offer and they shipped the Droid X the day it was released. The next day the phone arrived and I have been using it ever since. Yesterday however a new Droid Incredible arrived out of the blue; apparently Verizon screwed up and sent it thinking I still needed a replacement. I now have the option of picking between the two phones.
On paper this is an easy choice. On top of matching the Droid Incredible specs, The Droid X has a larger screen, HDMI out, and has a better build quality. The 720p video [and wi-fi hot spot] update for the Droid Incredible make those features no longer part of the equation as both phones now have those features. Why is this decision so hard? Because the Droid X has some seriously nagging issues that while I want to love the phone, I just can’t help but feeling like I am about to pick the wrong device to send back. I don’t get that same warm fuzzy feeling that I did when I used the Droid Incredible.
This post became too long, so I will bullet my concerns for people who don’t want to read below:
Droid X lack of Internal memory access for storage.
Droid X crippled HDMI
Droid X awful looking and limited functionality motoblur [vs htc sense]
Droid X poor system optimization [leading to lag]
Larger screen but lack of larger resolution makes it look worse.
First, the Droid X does not allow users to access the 8gb [6.4gb free] of internal memory. I like being able to back pictures and video up to both the phone and TransFlash [Micro SD, whatever]. I also like keeping wallpapers, ringers, and application data stored on the phones internal memory so that I can keep the TransFlash free for music and video. With the Droid Incredible I can do this, with the Droid X I cannot because Motorola decided to lock down the phone. I could care less that the incredible only has 750mb internal memory saved for apps as even with close to 35 apps installed I am not breaking the 200mb threshold. As far as I am concerned keeping the full 8gb of internal memory just for apps is an obscene waste of the internal memory.
Second, HDMI is worthless on the Droid X because Verizon/Motorola are stupid incompetent fools that bow to the will of some piss-poor bankrupt video rental company with a archaic business model. After a lengthily discussion with a Verizon tech support team lead (supervisor) I was informed that the decision to cripple HDMI on the Droid X was solely at the request of the soon defunct Blockbuster. I am furious at this decision as it not only gimps the phone but proves that not only Verizon, but I too now have to grab my ankles for this BS company. IMO if Blockbuster wanted to lock out the HDMI support for their app, then they should have done so in that app, not the other way around. Why should other developers have to go out of their way to add HDMI support to their apps? It should be that a phone with an HDMI port has native support and any developer that does not want this has to code their app accordingly. Also, I am told by developers that HDMI support is locked down and no development tools are being released by Motorola. The developer who makes RockPlayer (DIVX/MKV video support) has replied to an email stating HDMI support in Rock Player is impossible at this time due to how the phone is locked down and the lack of development documentation and support for the HDMI port by Motorola.
Basically I can’t display power point, word docs, etc on a projector or flat screen because those donkey holies at Blockbuster are ignorant enough to think someone would really want to try and VCR tape the POS low res output of their streaming videos. Have these SOB’s heard of torrents or DVD rippers? Do they know that if I were to hypothetically rip movies I would be dumb not to use RedBox which is only a $1, that way I would not only get a full DVD quality movie but a digital copy of the same quality that I can cut down to whatever resolution I wanted? Why would anyone want to copy their awful worse than 480i streaming content which costs $4 a movie? It’s this outdated thinking that has caused their company to go bankrupt. Ironically they don’t have any problems worrying about people ripping movies off their streaming PC service why the problem with cell phone streaming? Enjoy your bankruptcy; the world will be a better place without blockbuster.
Motorola blur is awful. It reminds me of Windows 95. Are the people at Motorola blind? HTC sense is visually much more appealing. Sense widgets are more advanced in every way accept resizing. In sense I can pinch to zoom and see all my home screens at once. In sense, the weather widget overlays even on an active desktop background which allows for cool weather effects like rain and fog even with live wallpapers. Blur has piss poor resource optimization. If you look at applications running in the background using a task killer [I use the paid version of SystemPanel] there are far more active resources running in Blur then HTC sense. This seems odd being that blur is far less technically evolved then sense. It’s this lack of resource and UI optimization that seems to be causing the lag I am seeing with my Droid X. I never once got lag scrolling, etc with my Droid Incredible. Also the added bloatware like skype and Amazon mp3 seem to keep restarting no matter how many times I kill the tasks. These added “viruses” on the Droid X take up vital system resources and should not keep restarting; they certainly do not restart on the Droid Incredible until the phone is restarted. Also, the Droid X seems to start and cache nearly every application on the phone for no good reason. The Droid Incredible never did this and I was running the same applications. HTC sense has built in flash lite which worked fairly well; blur does not. The list goes on but to sum it up, blur sucks, it’s seriously outdated and has nothing on HTC sense.
Hardware wise, the Droid X is built better then the Droid Incredible with one acceptation; the hardware buttons on the Droid X are cheap feeling. I have no idea why they would build such a solidly made device and put crap buttons on the front. On at least my [and the Verizon store demo] Droid X, they do not “click” well, are not lined up 100% with each other, and at least two are a mm off in height from each other. Also, while the Droid X has a larger screen the resolution is not far off from the Droid Incredible, making its smaller screen seem clearer then the larger one on the Droid X. Having both devices handy it’s very obvious the Droid Incredible screen is not only clearer but more vibrant. This is also the case with the pictures the Incredible takes. While the Droid X has this amazing two stop photo button, hardware shutter, and photos with colors that are more “true” to real life, the clarity of the photos are far worse than the Droid Incredible. IMO I like a more vibrant color photo, even if its not exactly true to real life.
In conclusion, I want to love the Droid X but just can’t right now. On paper it looks so much better than it is in person. If HTC made the device things would be different. I doubt we would see the HDMI locked down, we would have a better UI, better resource optimization, better widgets, etc. The lack of a decent screen resolution on the Droid X is disappointing, especially with such an amazing large screen. The cameras ability of take a sharp clear photo is shocking due to how much more advanced the camera seems over the one in the Droid Incredible.
The only way this device is going to be anywhere near what it could be is if it gets rooted. Ironically, I have no reason to root the Droid Incredible and if I keep that device will not do so, even though it’s possible to do right now. That is truly a sad thing right there; HTC did not bother putting the effort in locking the device down like Motorola, yet they did not need to because accept for some hardware specs their device is superior in every way. Its funny Motorola would make the claim they were worried about protecting their intellectual property when in reality there is nothing intelligent about it; its second rate to HTC a company that did not feel the need to overly lock down anything. That’s the biggest irony of all.
So do I keep this inferior device hoping that root will one day come to solve the crippled HDMI and CFW solve the POS motoblur; or do I keep a device with a smaller screen and no HDMI but has a much better user experience? I have this sick feeling in my stomach that I am going to bet on the Droid X and find out she was the wrong horse. Motorola burnt me back in the days of the V710 and I have not used a Motorola phone since; vowing I would never again touch one of their phones. I just don’t know.
I am stuck trying to decide whether to keep the Droid X or The Droid Incredible. Quick backstory, I had the Droid Incredible for about a month till it had an issue where it needed to go back for warranty replacement. During that month I fell in love with the phone, with the only complaint being the lack of 720p video recording. Verizon told me that they would not be able to replace the Droid Incredible for a few weeks and offered me a Droid X instead. While it had not been released, all the system specs posted seemed to make it a superior phone so I took the offer and they shipped the Droid X the day it was released. The next day the phone arrived and I have been using it ever since. Yesterday however a new Droid Incredible arrived out of the blue; apparently Verizon screwed up and sent it thinking I still needed a replacement. I now have the option of picking between the two phones.
On paper this is an easy choice. On top of matching the Droid Incredible specs, The Droid X has a larger screen, HDMI out, and has a better build quality. The 720p video [and wi-fi hot spot] update for the Droid Incredible make those features no longer part of the equation as both phones now have those features. Why is this decision so hard? Because the Droid X has some seriously nagging issues that while I want to love the phone, I just can’t help but feeling like I am about to pick the wrong device to send back. I don’t get that same warm fuzzy feeling that I did when I used the Droid Incredible.
This post became too long, so I will bullet my concerns for people who don’t want to read below:
Droid X lack of Internal memory access for storage.
Droid X crippled HDMI
Droid X awful looking and limited functionality motoblur [vs htc sense]
Droid X poor system optimization [leading to lag]
Larger screen but lack of larger resolution makes it look worse.
First, the Droid X does not allow users to access the 8gb [6.4gb free] of internal memory. I like being able to back pictures and video up to both the phone and TransFlash [Micro SD, whatever]. I also like keeping wallpapers, ringers, and application data stored on the phones internal memory so that I can keep the TransFlash free for music and video. With the Droid Incredible I can do this, with the Droid X I cannot because Motorola decided to lock down the phone. I could care less that the incredible only has 750mb internal memory saved for apps as even with close to 35 apps installed I am not breaking the 200mb threshold. As far as I am concerned keeping the full 8gb of internal memory just for apps is an obscene waste of the internal memory.
Second, HDMI is worthless on the Droid X because Verizon/Motorola are stupid incompetent fools that bow to the will of some piss-poor bankrupt video rental company with a archaic business model. After a lengthily discussion with a Verizon tech support team lead (supervisor) I was informed that the decision to cripple HDMI on the Droid X was solely at the request of the soon defunct Blockbuster. I am furious at this decision as it not only gimps the phone but proves that not only Verizon, but I too now have to grab my ankles for this BS company. IMO if Blockbuster wanted to lock out the HDMI support for their app, then they should have done so in that app, not the other way around. Why should other developers have to go out of their way to add HDMI support to their apps? It should be that a phone with an HDMI port has native support and any developer that does not want this has to code their app accordingly. Also, I am told by developers that HDMI support is locked down and no development tools are being released by Motorola. The developer who makes RockPlayer (DIVX/MKV video support) has replied to an email stating HDMI support in Rock Player is impossible at this time due to how the phone is locked down and the lack of development documentation and support for the HDMI port by Motorola.
Basically I can’t display power point, word docs, etc on a projector or flat screen because those donkey holies at Blockbuster are ignorant enough to think someone would really want to try and VCR tape the POS low res output of their streaming videos. Have these SOB’s heard of torrents or DVD rippers? Do they know that if I were to hypothetically rip movies I would be dumb not to use RedBox which is only a $1, that way I would not only get a full DVD quality movie but a digital copy of the same quality that I can cut down to whatever resolution I wanted? Why would anyone want to copy their awful worse than 480i streaming content which costs $4 a movie? It’s this outdated thinking that has caused their company to go bankrupt. Ironically they don’t have any problems worrying about people ripping movies off their streaming PC service why the problem with cell phone streaming? Enjoy your bankruptcy; the world will be a better place without blockbuster.
Motorola blur is awful. It reminds me of Windows 95. Are the people at Motorola blind? HTC sense is visually much more appealing. Sense widgets are more advanced in every way accept resizing. In sense I can pinch to zoom and see all my home screens at once. In sense, the weather widget overlays even on an active desktop background which allows for cool weather effects like rain and fog even with live wallpapers. Blur has piss poor resource optimization. If you look at applications running in the background using a task killer [I use the paid version of SystemPanel] there are far more active resources running in Blur then HTC sense. This seems odd being that blur is far less technically evolved then sense. It’s this lack of resource and UI optimization that seems to be causing the lag I am seeing with my Droid X. I never once got lag scrolling, etc with my Droid Incredible. Also the added bloatware like skype and Amazon mp3 seem to keep restarting no matter how many times I kill the tasks. These added “viruses” on the Droid X take up vital system resources and should not keep restarting; they certainly do not restart on the Droid Incredible until the phone is restarted. Also, the Droid X seems to start and cache nearly every application on the phone for no good reason. The Droid Incredible never did this and I was running the same applications. HTC sense has built in flash lite which worked fairly well; blur does not. The list goes on but to sum it up, blur sucks, it’s seriously outdated and has nothing on HTC sense.
Hardware wise, the Droid X is built better then the Droid Incredible with one acceptation; the hardware buttons on the Droid X are cheap feeling. I have no idea why they would build such a solidly made device and put crap buttons on the front. On at least my [and the Verizon store demo] Droid X, they do not “click” well, are not lined up 100% with each other, and at least two are a mm off in height from each other. Also, while the Droid X has a larger screen the resolution is not far off from the Droid Incredible, making its smaller screen seem clearer then the larger one on the Droid X. Having both devices handy it’s very obvious the Droid Incredible screen is not only clearer but more vibrant. This is also the case with the pictures the Incredible takes. While the Droid X has this amazing two stop photo button, hardware shutter, and photos with colors that are more “true” to real life, the clarity of the photos are far worse than the Droid Incredible. IMO I like a more vibrant color photo, even if its not exactly true to real life.
In conclusion, I want to love the Droid X but just can’t right now. On paper it looks so much better than it is in person. If HTC made the device things would be different. I doubt we would see the HDMI locked down, we would have a better UI, better resource optimization, better widgets, etc. The lack of a decent screen resolution on the Droid X is disappointing, especially with such an amazing large screen. The cameras ability of take a sharp clear photo is shocking due to how much more advanced the camera seems over the one in the Droid Incredible.
The only way this device is going to be anywhere near what it could be is if it gets rooted. Ironically, I have no reason to root the Droid Incredible and if I keep that device will not do so, even though it’s possible to do right now. That is truly a sad thing right there; HTC did not bother putting the effort in locking the device down like Motorola, yet they did not need to because accept for some hardware specs their device is superior in every way. Its funny Motorola would make the claim they were worried about protecting their intellectual property when in reality there is nothing intelligent about it; its second rate to HTC a company that did not feel the need to overly lock down anything. That’s the biggest irony of all.
So do I keep this inferior device hoping that root will one day come to solve the crippled HDMI and CFW solve the POS motoblur; or do I keep a device with a smaller screen and no HDMI but has a much better user experience? I have this sick feeling in my stomach that I am going to bet on the Droid X and find out she was the wrong horse. Motorola burnt me back in the days of the V710 and I have not used a Motorola phone since; vowing I would never again touch one of their phones. I just don’t know.
