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Droid X2 Review

I picked up my DX2 at lunch and so far I am loving it. My D1 had been feeling slow, the DX2 is lightning fast by comparison! I can not believe how fast it feels. No physical keyboard will take a while to get used to but overall a massive upgrade.

The amount of extra apps installed is a bit annoying but with the phone having plenty of storage its not a big deal for me.
 
It's like I've stated before - possibly in another forum... Sense in the Dinc2 and Bolt is extremely smooth and well optimized, but there's just something about the X2 - maybe it's b/c of the X, and hopefully it lives up to the X - but it's just got this "rugged reliability" aura about it... and please shoot me now for describing an electronic device with "aura". :p
 
Nvidia is getting behind the curve on LTE compatibility.
I think Moto chose OMAP4 for LTE phone like Bionic. Exynos/LTE is sure to come from Samsung. Probably HTC is also working on dual core snapdragon/LTE.
 
jinwons said:
Nvidia is getting behind the curve on LTE compatibility.
I think Moto chose OMAP4 for LTE phone like Bionic. Exynos/LTE is sure to come from Samsung. Probably HTC is also working on dual core snapdragon/LTE.
Click to expand...


Late in the year could have some solid LTE devices, but not much practical use with tiered LTE. No pint in streaming video or downloading huge files- you will tap out and have to refre$h your cap for the month.

All VZW had to do was throttle heavy users, rather than punish the rest of us, so it is obvious the real reason is to suck more money from people.
 
rushmore said:
Late in the year could have some solid LTE devices, but not much practical use with tiered LTE. No pint in streaming video or downloading huge files- you will tap out and have to refre$h your cap for the month.

All VZW had to do was throttle heavy users, rather than punish the rest of us, so it is obvious the real reason is to suck more money from people.
Click to expand...

if you sign your contract before the tiered data plans you will be grandfathered in UNTIL you have to renew your contract in 2 years. So you will get 2 years unlimited LTE. Most likely the same will apply for 3G. it will be just data plans which do not distinct between 4G and 3G...
 
Haxcid said:
if you sign your contract before the tiered data plans you will be grandfathered in UNTIL you have to renew your contract in 2 years. So you will get 2 years unlimited LTE. Most likely the same will apply for 3G. it will be just data plans which do not distinct between 4G and 3G...
Click to expand...


That is not the way the competition does it, ATT when you switch from a 3G phone on unlimited to 4G you can renew your unlimited as well.
 
A stands now, I would have 4g for a year, based on two years now. Not a factor as a result, if only two years.
 
addictedtocars said:
That is not the way the competition does it, ATT when you switch from a 3G phone on unlimited to 4G you can renew your unlimited as well.
Click to expand...
True, but methinks VZW has greed in mind when formulating these new tiered plans. And, they have so many customers that they think they can get away with it. Time will tell.
 
jdk2 said:
True, but methinks VZW has greed in mind when formulating these new tiered plans. And, they have so many customers that they think they can get away with it. Time will tell.
Click to expand...

True they might and I think eventually eveyone will be forced in, I do like TMobile's new plans, still unlimited data, but you pay for how much is high speed and then you are throttled.
 
addictedtocars said:
True they might and I think eventually eveyone will be forced in, I do like TMobile's new plans, still unlimited data, but you pay for how much is high speed and then you are throttled.
Click to expand...

And coverage is weak for all but mainly metro areas. I was with them for seven years.

Nope, I think LTE unlimited does not compensate for lower battery life and a single core and about $80 more cost with 2 year. I know the DX2 rocks, but will give the Rev a chance to contradict my view.
 
The PCWorld DX2 review says the DX2's video capture is terrible. Is this true? I was happy to see in CNET's review that there may be 1080p capture in the future given the Tegra 2's ability to do so. From CNET's review:

As for video, though Nvidia's Tegra 2 processor brings support for full HD 1080p video recording and playback via HDMI, the Droid X2 is only capable of the latter. With the built-in HDMI Mirror Mode, you can view photos and movies in 1080p on your HDTV (note: an HDMI cable is not included with the phone), but for now, the camera can only record 720p HD video. We asked Verizon if 1080p HD video recording would be added in the future as with the Motorola Atrix 4G, but the carrier had not gotten back to us at the time of this writing.
Click to expand...
 
Cameras and especially video cameras are not things I would use much at all on a phone, save for quick pic texts or impulse pics. Video would be handy if I saw sasquatch....

I need real analog zoom on cameras. Digital xoom simply enlarges the same image position and should be banned by the Geneva Convention.
 
My initial impressions in a few hours (DX to DX2):
The X2 body color is different so the X big battery door does not match, but all fits
Love the screen but the extra pixels could/should and probably will be better utilized
Have had to do 2 battery pulls getting my apps installed and I'm 2/3 through
AppBrain as usual won't do a single click install of all my apps
Activation was sketchy until I moved locations
There are some notification quirks
Phone did not boot the new phone wizard on startup
Power / Home are apparently not reset anymore
Camera button gone so reset select button must be something else?
Looks like the DX screen protectors fit the X2
I can't see the issues with the screen others see?
Speaker seems nice and loud but will distort easier
More as I find it...

I had to do a hard reset for various reasons. At that point I finally see the setup wizard. This makes me feel like I got sent a refirb or a used phone :-(

After the hard reset the AppBrain / Market interaction was better but still unpredictable.

My alarm clock app plays random songs from an artist. On the DX this worked well. On the DX2 the songs skip randomly.

Oh... major bummer, a bunch of stuff seemed to have disappeared from my SD card when moved from DX to DX2.
 
rushmore said:
Cameras and especially video cameras are not things I would use much at all on a phone, save for quick pic texts or impulse pics. Video would be handy if I saw sasquatch....

I need real analog zoom on cameras. Digital xoom simply enlarges the same image position and should be banned by the Geneva Convention.
Click to expand...

Eh, I just appreciate the ability (while paying extra for the data plan and device anyway) to have an all in one device that can competently catch happy moments while on the go and help me share them with friends and family. But the pros definitely outweigh the cons, and my DX2 will get to me on Wednesday. :)
 
Summary of good things with DX2, IMO:

Display is very good

Dual core chipset for Flash, emulators and newer games (N64 and PSX are smooth with FAR more games, compared to the 8655 and Hummingbird)

Great radios

Sturdy Build

Speaker function is good

Easier one hand operation, compared to the other 4.3" devices

Tons of add-on products due to DX1

Great touch response

The version of Blur is actually snappy and good as a UI

Easy to root for Titanium, Busybox, Root Explorer, Wifi Tether, etc

By most reports, solid battery life

Two wake options with power and home

Hardware buttons so no more accidentally pressing capacitive buttons by accident (especially for console emulators Vpad control)

Mirror mode via hdmi

$200 or less with two year and $449 without contract

Pretty good list of positives.

Added:

Heel, the camera did not seem bad at all to me, so you may be pleasantly surprised, or at least not as bad as you expect. Can not speak for the video camera, since did not try it.
 
I think that the new recovery mode uses the Home button to select menu options.

Also, some have theorized that screen protectors make the screen issues (ghosting etc) worse.

Can you elaborate further on the "speaker distort easier" comment? How is the X2's earpiece speaker volume in comparison to the X?

Does video capture seem any smoother on the X2? Moto's spec sheet lists it as having a maximum 30fps video recording capability versus the X's 24fps. How do still pictures look? Is the camera a LOT faster to start up and to respond between shots? I would love to see 1080p recording unlocked in a future update but I am not holding out hope for that!

Thanks!


mntbighker said:
My initial impressions in a few hours (DX to DX2):
The X2 body color is different so the X big battery door does not match, but all fits
Love the screen but the extra pixels could/should and probably will be better utilized
Have had to do 2 battery pulls getting my apps installed and I'm 2/3 through
AppBrain as usual won't do a single click install of all my apps
Activation was sketchy until I moved locations
There are some notification quirks
Phone did not boot the new phone wizard on startup
Power / Home are apparently not reset anymore
Camera button gone so reset select button must be something else?
Looks like the DX screen protectors fit the X2
I can't see the issues with the screen others see?
Speaker seems nice and loud but will distort easier
More as I find it...
Click to expand...
 
I noticed something on the video capture... when I had the camera set to save to the sd card, video capture (720p) was extremely choppy and pointless. But when I left it set to internal storage, it worked quite well. Makes sense I guess... maybe the sd card couldn't be written to fast enough?
 
jntdroid said:
I noticed something on the video capture... when I had the camera set to save to the sd card, video capture (720p) was extremely choppy and pointless. But when I left it set to internal storage, it worked quite well. Makes sense I guess... maybe the sd card couldn't be written to fast enough?
Click to expand...

Could be. I know memory card speeds are generally designated by "Class." The minimum recommended for 720p video seems to be Class 4. I went with a Class 8 or so when I bought a card for a family member just to be sure there wouldn't be any choppiness. Would be interesting to know if there's a speed designation on the DX2's factory card. Don't get mine in until tomorrow.
 
Heelpir8 said:
Could be. I know memory card speeds are generally designated by "Class." The minimum recommended for 720p video seems to be Class 4. I went with a Class 8 or so when I bought a card for a family member just to be sure there wouldn't be any choppiness. Would be interesting to know if there's a speed designation on the DX2's factory card. Don't get mine in until tomorrow.
Click to expand...

I thought I remembered seeing a 2 with a circle around it, but I'll check again in a bit when it's done charging...
 
Heelpir8 said:
Could be. I know memory card speeds are generally designated by "Class." The minimum recommended for 720p video seems to be Class 4. I went with a Class 8 or so when I bought a card for a family member just to be sure there wouldn't be any choppiness. Would be interesting to know if there's a speed designation on the DX2's factory card. Don't get mine in until tomorrow.
Click to expand...

i think it ships with a class 4 8gb card. i don't remember, i swapped mine for a 16gb.
 
hkklife said:
I think that the new recovery mode uses the Home button to select menu options.

Also, some have theorized that screen protectors make the screen issues (ghosting etc) worse.

Can you elaborate further on the "speaker distort easier" comment? How is the X2's earpiece speaker volume in comparison to the X?

Does video capture seem any smoother on the X2? Moto's spec sheet lists it as having a maximum 30fps video recording capability versus the X's 24fps. How do still pictures look? Is the camera a LOT faster to start up and to respond between shots? I would love to see 1080p recording unlocked in a future update but I am not holding out hope for that!

Thanks!
Click to expand...
How do you get into recovery mode?

I bet the screen prot make screen issues worse. But I love the feel of the Steinheil anti-glare to tolerate that.

The speaker will distort at a lower volume than my DX but the DX2 gets louder. It's a subjective observation.

Have not tried vid cap yet.
 
I think the Droid X2 is a great device. The screen was the main selling point for me and it turns out to have a great display. I am very satisfied with this phone.
Has anyone experimented with headphones and had the ability to adjust the volume with the rocker while the phone is locked and display off?
 
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