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Thunderbolt vs Droid X

E

Eurosteve

Android Enthusiast
I was looking at a comparison chart between the specs of all of the new LTE phones and the Thunderbolt and Droid X are on the chart (from AndroidCentral):

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc...QWTF2RE9IZUxvN3c&hl=en&authkey=CJGY9ucN#gid=0

Looks like among the hardware spec differences between the Thunderbolt and the X are the fact that the Thunderbolt works on the LTE network and:

Thunderbolt: Qualcomm MSM8655 1 ghz (Snapdragon)
Droid X: TI OMAP 3630 1 ghz

Thunderbolt: 480 x 800 (WVGA)
Droid X: 480 x 854 (FWVGA)

Thunderbolt: Adreno 205 graphics chip
Droid X: PowerVR XGS 530

Thunderbolt: Super LCD
Droid X: LCD

Can anyone tell me how the Thunderbolt specs compare in each of these comparisons? Is the Thunderbolt spec better? (for eg, is the Qualcomm chip better than the TI chip? Is the Adreno chip better than the PowerVR chip?)

Trying to decide whether to wait or not since the specs look so close.

Thanks
 
I remember seeing a Qualcomm benchmark test and the Thunderbolt was almost twice as fast as the Droid X.
 
BCM said:
Here is the link to the article...

HTC Thunderbolt benchmarked, probably sports Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8655 at 1GHz - Phone Arena
Click to expand...

Here's what the article says about the Qualcomm chip:

The 1GHz Snapdragon chipset is probably Qualcomm's MSM8655, as the company just issued a press release that is what Verizon will be using in its LTE devices, in tandem with Qualcomm's MDM9600 LTE modem. We know this chipset support top speed of 1.2GHz, and the quick benchmark ran on the HTC Thunderbolt seems to confirm the handset is no slouch. 1926 score on the Quadrant benchmark test is impressive for out-of-the-box handset, and the highest we've seen in a stock device.​

Anyone know the quadrant score on the Droid X?
 
Eurosteve said:
Here's what the article says about the Qualcomm chip:

The 1GHz Snapdragon chipset is probably Qualcomm's MSM8655, as the company just issued a press release that is what Verizon will be using in its LTE devices, in tandem with Qualcomm's MDM9600 LTE modem. We know this chipset support top speed of 1.2GHz, and the quick benchmark ran on the HTC Thunderbolt seems to confirm the handset is no slouch. 1926 score on the Quadrant benchmark test is impressive for out-of-the-box handset, and the highest we've seen in a stock device.​

Anyone know the quadrant score on the Droid X?
Click to expand...

I average around 1650-1700 on ApeX and overclocked to 1.2. It looks like the normal average for a droid X on 2.2 is 1250 (according to the graph)
I would be perfectly happy with 1926 straight out of the box!
 
The strange thing about benchmarks, is that they don't usually mean anything as far as actually using the phone.

The DX kills the Incredible spec wise but the DX lags when switching screens and the Inc is as smooth as butter.

It is better to actually use each one in the store, then get the one you like the best.

-Mike
 
mcapozzi said:
The strange thing about benchmarks, is that they don't usually mean anything as far as actually using the phone.

The DX kills the Incredible spec wise but the DX lags when switching screens and the Inc is as smooth as butter.

It is better to actually use each one in the store, then get the one you like the best.

-Mike
Click to expand...

Benchmarks, Shenchmarks...I agree with you 100%.

A great user experience (no input lag, smooth scrolling, fast app switching, etc) is the actual goal. Too many people get caught up on specs and ignore this fact.

Sure specs play a part in helping to acheive a better user experience, but as benchmarks have proved, they are not the whole story.

Its also part of the reason why I'm looking forward to the thunderbolt and not the bionic. Motorola has a nasty habit of making better hardware perform poorly.
 
mcapozzi said:
The strange thing about benchmarks, is that they don't usually mean anything as far as actually using the phone.

The DX kills the Incredible spec wise but the DX lags when switching screens and the Inc is as smooth as butter.

It is better to actually use each one in the store, then get the one you like the best.

-Mike
Click to expand...

I agree that benchmarks generally mean nothing
FWIW the DX lags on homescreens due to blur and only blur. install launcher pro or ADW and there is absolutely NO lag what-so-ever
I cant stand the lag in the blur launcher. Overclocking fixed it a tad but not enough... Launcher Pro on it UNDERclocked is still 1000000% smoother then the stock blur launcher.
so i chock that up to being blurs fault.... and I think a lot of people will agree that sense>blur... granted, to each their own... but I would think more people would prefer sense over blur... and this is coming from someone who has blur on their phone (kinda... running ApeX so its minimal)
 
I'm running zeam on my unrooted droid1. Still have big-time lag problems. Are you saying that unless I root, there are lag problems on the X? Or is Launcher pro for stock phones?
 
Eurosteve said:
I'm running zeam on my unrooted droid1. Still have big-time lag problems. Are you saying that unless I root, there are lag problems on the X? Or is Launcher pro for stock phones?
Click to expand...

launcher pro can go on any (I believe) android phone. it is a home replacement and does not require you to root. It kinda runs on top of your home launcher
 
Yes, LauncherPro and Zeam run on top of Blur. If you root the phone, you can get rid of Blur altogether.

A D1 can be rooted and overclocked to a 1Ghz, that will get rid of the lag (mine was awesome until I broke it (damn coffee)).
 
Actually LP and ADW will have much more chance of lagging than Zeam. I've used all three, and Zeam is definitely snappier. It's also much lighter, which is likely why it's faster.
 
jaydenrobins08 said:
Why would you even think about getting the Droid X when you could get the Motorola Droid Bionic. It is better than both the Thunderbolt and X.
Click to expand...

In your opinion it's better. It has the dual-core processor, the nice fat 1930mAh Li-Po battery, and the high res screen which are great features, but the user experience and rootability carry alot of weight with people. Many would never use Blur or deal with the rooting issues that Motorola seems intent on continuing. Bionic will be awesome I'm sure, but it's not the end all be all.

My 2 cents.
 
jaydenrobins08 said:
Why would you even think about getting the Droid X when you could get the Motorola Droid Bionic. It is better than both the Thunderbolt and X.
Click to expand...

I'm a bit impatient for a new phone and Thunderbolt looks to be the first LTE phone out of the gate. Looks like Thunderbolt will appear by March. When will we see the Bionic?
 
Waiting for the thunderbolt. My wife has an incredible and it is much smoother than the x in my opinion. I am hoping the thunderbolt is along the lines of the Dinc only better.
Or....I may just pick up the iphone for fun.
 
I carried an EVO for 6 months and then switched to Verizon and got an X based ONLY on screen size and HDMI... man was I an idiot. I can't freakin stand my X. Its nowhere close to as smooth as my EVO, not as fast (except browser for obvious reasons), and the camera seems a little fuzzy IMO. I don't like how the phone operates, how squared off it is, the lack of kick stand... I just can't stand the phone. If the Thunderbolt is as close to the EVO as it seems it will be, this will be a no brainer for me. The EVO was by far the best phone I have ever used, and I've been selling phones for 5 years. This will most likely be my last Motorola, I literally want to throw it at a wall most days, and I have heard nothing but complaints from friends of mine that have Motorola androids as well. My wife was smart enough to get the Incredible, and I end up stealing it from her to play on after work most nights. I love sense, I love how the phones operate, and I love HTC! I learned my lesson!
 
jwill182 said:
I carried an EVO for 6 months and then switched to Verizon and got an X based ONLY on screen size and HDMI... man was I an idiot. I can't freakin stand my X. Its nowhere close to as smooth as my EVO, not as fast (except browser for obvious reasons), and the camera seems a little fuzzy IMO. I don't like how the phone operates, how squared off it is, the lack of kick stand... I just can't stand the phone. If the Thunderbolt is as close to the EVO as it seems it will be, this will be a no brainer for me. The EVO was by far the best phone I have ever used, and I've been selling phones for 5 years. This will most likely be my last Motorola, I literally want to throw it at a wall most days, and I have heard nothing but complaints from friends of mine that have Motorola androids as well. My wife was smart enough to get the Incredible, and I end up stealing it from her to play on after work most nights. I love sense, I love how the phones operate, and I love HTC! I learned my lesson!
Click to expand...

I feel your pain, between past motorolas and crapberries it's enought to kill you!!!!

Come on THUNDERBOLT release ASAP please!!!! :D
 
jwill182 said:
I carried an EVO for 6 months and then switched to Verizon and got an X based ONLY on screen size and HDMI... man was I an idiot. I can't freakin stand my X. Its nowhere close to as smooth as my EVO, not as fast (except browser for obvious reasons), and the camera seems a little fuzzy IMO. I don't like how the phone operates, how squared off it is, the lack of kick stand... I just can't stand the phone. If the Thunderbolt is as close to the EVO as it seems it will be, this will be a no brainer for me. The EVO was by far the best phone I have ever used, and I've been selling phones for 5 years. This will most likely be my last Motorola, I literally want to throw it at a wall most days, and I have heard nothing but complaints from friends of mine that have Motorola androids as well. My wife was smart enough to get the Incredible, and I end up stealing it from her to play on after work most nights. I love sense, I love how the phones operate, and I love HTC! I learned my lesson!
Click to expand...

Wow thats incredible, I have had the exact opposite experience as you with my droid x. In fact in the x forums I have rarely seen such universal praise for a phone.

I would highly advise you to root, install apex 1.3.1, profit. Seriously you will be kicking yourself for not doing it sooner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv4fhgWQQb0

My device is more "smoothe" then any evo, iphone, etc.. that I have played on. Overclocked, undervolted, all bloatware gone, etc.. I would advise launcher pro or go launcher as well.

My camera didnt take great pictures at first in low light but after tweaking aperature and iso it works great. The day light pictures though were great right out of the box.

Not trying to bash you, but I think I speak for many when I say you're experience with the X is FAR from the norm. Also in my experience I have had heard 0 complaints from other friends with motorola's, IMO their built quality is second to none.

I have seen original droid x's all beat to heck still being used.
 
Best way IMO is to test performance with heavy Flash sites and 3D games with the PSX emulator. An example is my Inc and Droid X both choke with heavy Flash video & games and Dead or Alive (PSX).

gTablet plays them all smooth. Though Quadrant scores can sometimes be false positives, the performance fits about 2X the Q scores (1200 range verses 2400 with gTablet). G uses the Tegra 2 with latest Nvidia drivers.
 
There are no rooting issues. Root is easily accomplished.
Mezmryz03 said:
In your opinion it's better. It has the dual-core processor, the nice fat 1930mAh Li-Po battery, and the high res screen which are great features, but the user experience and rootability carry alot of weight with people. Many would never use Blur or deal with the rooting issues that Motorola seems intent on continuing. Bionic will be awesome I'm sure, but it's not the end all be all.

My 2 cents.
Click to expand...
 
jwill182 said:
I carried an EVO for 6 months and then switched to Verizon and got an X based ONLY on screen size and HDMI... man was I an idiot. I can't freakin stand my X. Its nowhere close to as smooth as my EVO, not as fast (except browser for obvious reasons), and the camera seems a little fuzzy IMO. I don't like how the phone operates, how squared off it is, the lack of kick stand... I just can't stand the phone. If the Thunderbolt is as close to the EVO as it seems it will be, this will be a no brainer for me. The EVO was by far the best phone I have ever used, and I've been selling phones for 5 years. This will most likely be my last Motorola, I literally want to throw it at a wall most days, and I have heard nothing but complaints from friends of mine that have Motorola androids as well. My wife was smart enough to get the Incredible, and I end up stealing it from her to play on after work most nights. I love sense, I love how the phones operate, and I love HTC! I learned my lesson!
Click to expand...


Get the Thunderbolt, I feel the same as you! I switched to an x as well from the EVO....BIG mistake. Reason I did it was because we have a deeeeeeeeeep discount with vzw, and the original Froyo update ruined my EVO. So I got a replacement, sold the EVO and cancelled Sprint. At first I liked the X, it wasn't a terrible phone, but I'm just not big on Moto products. Screen was deff washed out, cam pics & video were blurry, IMO the build quality was ehhh as I had dust under my screen within a few days, and to be honest, call quality was just OK, not great as a vzw phone should be.....And to the X lovers, I'm not bashing, I'm stating some personal experience, as far as call quality, the Incredible wasn't to much better..So I'm just stating my experience and calling it like it is.

I think the Thunderbolt is a real good addition to vzw, sense is pretty rock solid (getting a Lil old) but rock solid and very smooth. My only gripe would have been a better screen then the SLCD HTC went with. But it will do for now until some really sick devices arrive in probably the 4th quarter of 2011.
 
Sorry to bump an old thread but now that the thunderbolt is out which phone would you choose? I have a chance to get a thunderbolt for a good price so I want to see peoples opinions now that it is out before I buy it
 
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