Motorola sure has come a long way since the very first successful phone they put out on the market, the ever-famous Razr. After the downfall of the Razr, Motorola decided to point their boat in a different direction and start working on developing smartphones. Since then, Motorola introduced their very first major Android smartphone offering, the Droid (not the first Android device, however, as that title belongs to the AT&T CLIQ). The Droid was much more popular than Verizon or Motorola could have imagined and it really paved the way for the rest of the Droid series. It also launched the beginning of a bond between Motorola, Verizon, and Google. Pairing Verizon’s network, Google’s Android software, and Motorola’s hardware, what started with the original Droid comes the latest Android operating smartphone from Motorola and Verizon — the Droid X.

Hardware

The packaging of the Droid X is very similar to that of the original Droid and it is hard to believe that they were able to fit such a massive phone into such a small box. The Droid comes with the traditional micro USB cord, Power Block, and some getting started guides which seem like just enough information to, you know, get you started with the phone. Also worth noting is the fact that a 16GB micro SD card is pre-installed in the phone. Combine that with the 8GBs of internal storage and you have a whopping 24GBs of storage on your phone for your pictures, videos, and other media items.

In terms of buttons, the Droid X has four hardware buttons at the bottom of the phone as opposed to the touchable buttons found on many other Android offerings such as the Sprint EVO 4G and the Google Nexus One (both manufactured, of course, by Motorola’s rival, HTC). We personally prefer the actual buttons on the phone as opposed to the touch-type keys that provide haptic (vibration) feedback when you tap the “keys”. As is what seems to be the normal case with Android, the Droid X’s button arrangement differs from other Android phones. For example, on the Droid X the button arrangement is: Menu, Home, Back, and Search. On the original Droid the arrangement is Back, Menu, Home, and Search. This appears to be a very minor setback however; it took me a very short time if any to adjust to the new button set-up coming from the original Droid. It is the opinion of this reviewer that Google needs to decide which setup will be the standard for all Android phones and stick with it. But that’s the beauty of Android. There’s no ONE standard. This diversity is what allows it to effectively compete with the uniform iPhone. The upcoming Windows Phone 7 is taking a similar approach, however there is still a set of minimum standards that all manufacturers must adhere to.

The Droid X has the standard dedicated camera key, a 3.5mm headphone jack as well as a USB charging port. Another nifty feature is the mini HDMI-OUT port that I didn’t get a chance to use, however, it will make playback of 720p HD video look great on any HMDI compatible TV. We will be testing this feature soon and will post about it over the weekend.

In addition to all these features, the Droid X has three separate microphones on the device for recording audio during voice calls as well as video. One microphone is located up next to the 3.5mm headphone jack on the top of the phone — which also functions for noise-cancellation. The second is located in the normal location for a microphone on a cell phone, just under the home key on the front. The third microphone is located next to the speaker on the back of the phone. While recording video, you can select different scenes that enable you to choose the microphone that will produce the best sound for whatever you might be recording.

With all of of these microphones, call quality is clear, crisp and there is no white noise or cracking on either end. Always nice to know that it can still make phone calls.

And then there is the touch screen. Boasting a resolution of 854 x 480, the WVGA 4.3 inch screen makes typing, watching video and everything else you could possibly do with a touch screen more enjoyable. Having a bigger screen makes scrolling through menus easier and also makes taking pictures a real breeze. As opposed to the EVO 4G, the display seems to play a lot nicer with the battery. While its performance in this regard wasn’t as strong as the iPhone 4’s, it’s a significant improvement among the current field of Android devices.

While not a direct comparison, the Droid X’s screen, as compared to the retina display of the iPhone 4, does not have the same crispness as the iPhone 4. However, the iPhone 4’s screen is only 3.5 inches, so the comparison is apples to oranges (no pun intended). With the iPhone 4 having the crisper screen, it would be victorious in this category but the decision is really up to your needs; bigger screen, or a higher resolution display (Much the same question between iPhone 4 and EVO 4G).

Operating System

Although both Verizon and Motorola are not keen on saying that the Droid X runs Moto Blur, it does. The Droid X runs a version of an updated version of Moto Blur called Ninja Blur, which works easily on top of Android 2.1 — call it Blur 2.1 if you wish. Blur is greatly improved from the system that we saw on other Blur devices such as the AT&T Backflip or the CLIQ. This updated version integrates much easier with the Android OS and feels more like a skin and less like an OS that was forced on Android. The skin still includes support for social networking, and makes it easy to set up multiple twitter and email accounts for sync with the phone.

Although it certainly is personal preference as to which skin you like best on top of Android, the upgraded Blur does a nice job of working easily with Android and pulling all your information from various social networking sites in an unobtrusive, less obvious way than previous Blur phones running Android 1.5.

The Droid X runs Android 2.1 out of the box but according to Verizon, will be getting Android 2.2 and Flash support “later this year.”

Also included in the software for the phone is support to turn the Droid X into a 3G mobile WiFi hotspot whenever and wherever you need 3G. This feature will cost you an extra $20 for 2GBs of data, and $0.05 per extra MB of data, but the data accessed on the phone is still unlimited. You only dip into your 2GB limit when you are tethering your device to your laptop or other any other WiFi enabled device. The app is very simple to use and setup, and you can easily change the security settings of the WiFi hotspot, and change the password. The WiFi hotspot supports WPA2 encryption on the device so that you don’t experience a person attempting to use your 2GB of data. In my testing of the WiFi hotspot, I discovered that the internet experience on the laptop was very usable, and that the connection was very fast.

One minor software glitch that I experienced was a lag when scrolling across the phone to unlock the phone. There appears to be a minor delay before you are greeted by the actual home screen when compared to unlocking on stock Android 2.1 (Droid). Personally, I just found this to be annoying — but not something to stop me from enjoying the phone. If you are a power user, you may find this little glitch to be more annoying than the casual user. I visited my local Verizon store to see what the official word was and he confirmed it to be a software glitch. I also checked this against a Droid X that the manager had, and that Droid X featured the same type of delay. I’m sure that this problem will be addressed in a software update down the road.

Browser

The browser of the Droid X is super speedy, and beats out every Android phone on Verizon’s network, including the Droid Incredible. Pages load in an instant, and the speed increase is much more noticeable compared to the Motorola Droid. Once again, the screen makes viewing web pages a lot easier that on other Android phones with a smaller screen.

Earlier this year, the Froyo browser was claimed by Google to be the fastest, most useful, and overall best mobile browser. We do not disagree. The browser does not include Flash out of the box but is promised for the second half of the summer. Be excited.

Camera

While you wouldn’t base you decision to buy a phone solely on the camera/video camera of the phone, the Droid X certainly has a very capable camera for everyday use. Droid X has an 8MP camera with dual LED flash and autofocus. On the video side, the phone features a camera capable of 720p HD video capture at 30 FPS (frames per second). Also worth noting, is that fact that the phone can use the dual LED flash while video recording for capturing scenes in low-light areas situations.

To my untrained eyes the Droid X images look great, clear, and crisp. They are very useable, and probably look great in print. The flash on the camera is very powerful and helps to create a much better photo when in low-light situations and provide fill in when you have a bright background. (see Starbucks cup photo) Most of the time with photos, the more megapixels don’t always equal a better photo, but the extra megapixels help the Droid X create an all around looking photo.

In addition to the camera producing great still images, the video camera also captures some pretty clean looking video. The HD video looks great, and doesn’t disappoint. Obviously, the video capture isn’t as good as a dedicated video camera but for a phone, the video capture is top notch. I didn’t get the chance to test out the HDMI video playback, but imagine that with an HD TV, the video looks great.

Unlike the iPhone 4 or the EVO 4G, the Droid X does not have a forward facing camera. While we wouldn’t say in any way that a forward facing camera is necessary for a capable smartphone, as it is such a new introduction to the mainstream market, we will definitely hand it to the iPhone and EVO in regards to videocalling.

Check out the video below for a taste of 720p HD video:

Droid X Sample Photos:

Battery Life and Performance

The Droid X features an TI OMAP 1GHz processor under the hood, which does a nice job of keeping the phone very snappy and responsive. The Droid X is one of the very first phones to feature the TI 1GHz processor.  Boot time on the phone seems to have dropped by a good 10 seconds compared to the original Droid, and applications load a lot faster as well. One of the key factors in browser speed and application speed in the processor.

One of the main complaints on the EVO 4G was the very poor battery life that they phone was endowed with. Although I never had the chance to review the EVO for a day, I can tell you that the Droid X battery does a really good job at making it throughout the day. One day I used navigation, voice calls, and lots of heavy Twitter watching, and the end result was a battery left with 40%. The batter is definitely able to keep up with the phone.

Conclusion/Bottom Line

The Droid X is by no means a shabby phone. In great big world of Android, it’s definitely at or near the top (either that or the EVO 4G). With its incredible hardware, powerful processor, useful and intuitive user interface, and a stellar camera, the Droid X packs a punch. It is at the top of the Android hill. But here’s the thing: no Android stays there.

No matter how good the Droid X is (and it’s excellent), Android has a way of leapfrogging flagship products with every major launch. Case in point: Let’s review the history of Android of the last 9 months:

• Late 2009: Original Motorola Droid introduced. First major breakthrough in the Android world, and to date one of the most successful. 550 mHz processor.
• January 2010: Google launches the HTC Nexus One, calling it a “Superphone” and the best phone on the market. 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, noise cancellation mics.
• Spring 2010: HTC EVO 4G unveiled, introducing the first national phone on a 4G network, and the first Android Device with dual cameras, enabling video chatting between two people.
• Also, at the same time, the HTC Droid Incredible launched with a 1 GHz Snapdragon and HTC Sense. The Droid Incredible signaled the end of the Droid as the flagship phone for Big Red.
• Summer 2010: The Motorola Droid X announced, which you have been reading about, as well as Samsung’s amazing Galaxy Smartphone line across every carrier, with stunning AMOLED screens and Samsung’s own TouchWiz skin. The Samsung Captivate proves to be the first credible forray by AT&T into the world of Android.

See a pattern? The Droid X probably won’t last long on the top of the Android food chain. Chances are, the Droid 2, or some other phone will claim the Android crown… just to have it usurped by the next Android offering. But don’t let that sway you from seriously considering this amazing device. If you are a user who is planning on getting his/her first smartphone, this is the phone for you. If you are a serious tech enthusiast who follows every new phone announcement live streamed, chances are, this will be a powerful phone for you, which you will definitely enjoy.

Although the Motorola Blur skin is not as innovative as the HTC Sense skin (yet), it is certainly a step in the right direction. The thing is, Blur seems to evolve. The CLIQ and the Droid X have virtually nothing in common. Chances are, Blur will continue to evolve and become a credible, useful skin. If Motorola succeeds in making their skin as good as Sense or even stock Android (FroYo specifically), this would among the best phones ever made, and a phone to last quite awhile.