Newbie Asks: So What Do Ya All Think?

[pattikate]

I'm about to upgrade to my first smartphone, having been stuck with this awful feature phone for two years. After reading reviews, watching videos and getting to demo this phone at Verizon, I've my heart set on the Droid X.

I'd like to ask all you owners of the X how you feel about your phone? Can you list some pros and cons for my consideration? I'm hoping the pros far outweigh the cons??? ANything crucial I need to know before taking the X plunge?

Thanks in advance for your advice and input!

 

[xliderider]

The X is a great device. No real cons for me.

I've had two Blackberry smartphones, the original Droid, the Samsung Fascinate, and now the X. It is the best device yet.

 

[bart2546]

I have got to agree. I really cannot think of any cons. Out of the Droid based phones out there right now, I think this is the power house with all the features to go with it. If I HAD to list a con, I would say the lack of a physical keyboard would be the best I can think of.

That being said, I use swype and I have no issues at all. AMAZING improvement of a touch screen keyboard over something like the LG Dare. So if you can get used to a non-physical keyboard (which is not hard, just give it a week or two) I think this is the best device you can pick up.

 

[pattikate]

Thanks so much, that's good to know! Other than the keyboard issue (which is not a biggie to me actually), would you say the phone is user friendly, and not super complicated for beginners like myself?

 

[Dustin.]

Had a Droid2 to for 2 months, couldn't live without it, and I loved the Droid line so much, I bought an X not to long ago.

Can't live without my Droid, absolute best in the phone industry at this point in time. No cons, all pros, and the list of pros gets bigger and bigger each day.

 

[xliderider]

Thanks so much, that's good to know! Other than the keyboard issue (which is not a biggie to me actually), would you say the phone is user friendly, and not super complicated for beginners like myself?

Depends, what phone are you coming from? Touchscreen?

There is a definite learning curve to smartphones in general, even more so with full touchscreen devices. Have you played with a demo yet? If not, then I suggest you do.

 

[bart2546]

There is a small learning curve but for example I came from a Blackberry Tour. While still a smart phone, totally different user interface than a Droid. There's tons of help on forums and videos on youtube and even on Verizon's website. Don't worry at all, you will catch on in just a few days at most.

Regards,
Brandon
Sent from my Verizon Droid X

 

[Beka27]

I love my X. I love the big screen size. I was weary of the touchscreen because I had only ever played with my husband's crappy Dare touchscreen. I was used to my feature phone with it's qwerty keyboard, but I'm glad I didn't settle for the Droid 2. No issues at all with my phone, battery life isn't the greatest, it JUST BARELY goes a full day, but that's mostly because I can't put the thing down. If you choose to root, you also open up a whole world of customization, but that's another story for another day. Even stock, you can do a lot with home launchers and various apps to make it the way you want it.

I never even had internet on my previous phone at all, so it really hit me the other day when I was waiting (impatiently) to get my final grade for one of my classes by email. I was totally excited to be able to get that email ASAP, rather than waiting til i got home. I just love having my mini computer with me!

 

[pattikate]

Yes, I have played around with the demo at the Verizon store. I didn't seem to find any difficulty or awkwardness at all, even though my current phone is a simple, basic flip phone (not a touch screen).

By the way, just one more question if I can throw this out to you guys.

Having never used a smart phone before I'm curious about the connection speed while surfing the web. Assuming you open the browser and connect with the 3G network (and NOT WiFi at all) is the speed decent enough?

 

[xliderider]

Yes, 3G browsing of the net is decent on the X.

I am using it now to post these replies.

 

[BodyBagz]

I`ve had my X a few months now...no way I would take a different phone that Verizon has right now...hands down the X is the Phone for me!

Now, the only cons I can come up with, are going to be for other people...such as:

1) The Droid X is a large phone...it has a 4.3" screen...and that means it is a handful.

2) There is no physical keyboard...some people have never used a full touch screen phone, so it does take awhile to get used to it.

3) That big sexy 4.3" screen...even though it has a tough "gorilla glass" screen, it still can be damaged if it is being jostled around in a purse or a backpack.

 

[epsilonbass]

Hey, thought I'd chime in, I've had my Dx for probably a little over a month now, and it is pretty awesome. I was on the fence in Nov about getting one, as all those rumors were coming in about bigger and better phones, which now haven't really come to the surface and so I'm glad I pulled the trigger on the X.

While the 3g is definitely not instantaneous for web browsing, it's definitely better than no internet at all. Internet pages take no more than 10 -15 seconds at most, and while I could see it being cool with 4g doing it faster, to me it wouldn't be worth paying $10-$20 more that the $30 I'm paying for internet now.

Some other points of interest:
-Some of the options for features are more hidden than I'd like them to be, or organized in strange ways.
-The whole volume system is kinda wonky for me. If I'm about to play a game or use an app I know that's going to make noise, I'd like to turn down the volume before I open the app, but if no app is open it only separately turns down the ringer volume leaving the media volume loud. (There's external apps to control that, but it could be designed better.)
-I sometimes have issues with gps or wifi keeping the phone from sleeping despite the screen being off. (There's threads about this bug out there that offer solutions)
-Battery life lasts through the day, less with "OMG I just got the phone and need to play with it all the time" use. Though I usually give my phone a mid day boost just so I'm not left out late at night with a dead phone.
-Some of the stock phone stuff isn't as impressive as I'd like to see it, but you can easily just go and find a new version if you don't like it. I've replaced the calendar, weather, launcher, browser, sms messaging, clock, and camera with free/inexpensive apps already. And the more you want to travel down the rabbit hole, the farther the phone will let you go.
-I have run across bugs, weird things happening etc., but nothing that a hard reboot doesn't fix.

All that being said, I really do enjoy the phone, especially with all the customization I can do to it (even without doing any of this rom or theme stuff people talk about).

 

[pattikate]

Thanks everyone. You've all been so helpful. I've another question regarding the sleep mode that maybe some of you could shed some light on?

Does putting the phone to sleep conserve battery life while not in use (like if it's in my pocket or purse)? If the phone is 'sleeping' will I still be able to hear incoming calls?

 

[xliderider]

Does putting the phone to sleep conserve battery life while not in use (like if it's in my pocket or purse)? If the phone is 'sleeping' will I still be able to hear incoming calls?

Yes, and yes. You can save even more battery if you have rooted your device and underclock the CPU while in standby mode. But that's getting ahead of basic "first time smartphone owner" stuff.

 

[pattikate]

Thanks.