Motorola Droid X2 (Verizon Wireless)

Pros: See pros in summary

Cons: See cons in summary

Summary: If you are torn between wanting a new phone that is 4G compatible and one that is a 3G only phone, don't jump at the latest and greatest (4G)...yet. I am of the opinion that 4G will one day be a great data highway, but for now it is not available in enough areas to impress me to want to look at 4G phones. Many 4G phone owners have complained about how the search for available 4G networks has become a great drain on battery life. This is Motorola's first dual-processor phone, and I can tell you it is responsive enough to put a smile on your face.

I've owned and used a lot of Motorola phones and have found them all to be credible performers, but none have been as impressive as the new Droid X2. I recently upgraded from the original Droid with the slide-out keyboard and am a former BlackBerry user. The Droid was a solid and reliable phone, but can't even come close to the performance of the X2. When it came time for me to upgrade to a new phone I considered the Samsung Charge, the HTC Incredible 2 and the Droid X2. All three are great phones, but for me, the overall performance and features of the X2 were enough to make me select it as the winner. I don't need a phone with dual-facing cameras (like the Incredible 2) and I am not concerned with 4G connectivity that the Charge offers.

Physically, it's a large phone, but not what I consider bulky. It's actually thinner and lighter than my old Droid. What you get with a phone of this size is a lot of screen area and on this phone the display is sharper and brighter than anything I had seen previously. I went to a party last night and kept it in the front pocket of a pair of dress pants and it didn't feel uncomfortable or distracting. Without a protective cover it is a surprisingly light phone with a low profile.

As a media professional, the last couple of years has forced me to rely on my smartphones as a multimedia tool, mainly for the ability to take pictures and video. My old Droid made beautiful pictures in bright sun and moderate daylight, but was horrible at night and with flash. At last night's party I asked someone to use my X2 to snap a group picture of me with my high school pals in dim lighting. From about 12 feet away, the flash produced enough light to make an acceptable picture and no blur. The new software allows you to select your focus zones and the 8MP camera will give you the ability to make larger prints, or to zoom in with better picture quality. It's not the number of pixels that make a good picture, but the imaging chip and I have to say this chip is an improvement over previous models. By the way, I share content with a newspaper and they were very pleased with the quality my old Droid gave them at 3MP. They will be totally impressed with what the X2 will give them at 8MP.

When I first got the phone, it took some getting used to. Icons were slightly different and kind of small. I continually got odd messages that the Verizon software was not responding and needed to be force closed. This glitch went away the very next day with a complete over-the-air (OTA) firmware update, version 1.3.232. This might mean virtually nothing to most people, but it did solve a number of minor glitches and it also gave the icons a makeover that made them easier to read.

Another really great improvement for me was the on-screen keyboard. Huge improvement. With the Droid, I was constantly making typographical errors because I kept hitting keys I didn't want. My fingers are an average size (I wear a size 11 ring), but it was the keyboard on the old Droid; the keys were cramped. With the X2 you get a much roomier keyboard and better haptic (vibration) feedback with keystrokes. Another significant improvement is correcting typos. When you are typing in windows, you will see a little blue circle around where your cursor is. Pressing down on that area opens up a magnified window off to the side that will allow you to move the cursor to a more precise position. This was a problematic issue with the smaller Droid, where I always had trouble getting the cursor to where I really wanted it.

Two other areas people seem to be concerned about are call quality and battery life. I have been able to hear pretty well without having to strain as I have in past phones. My daughter told me she thought she could hear my voice clearly on her Samsung Haven. As far as battery life goes, it's like any other smartphone; you have to manage it. I do not keep all of the communication services running. Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS remain off until I need them. With regular use I've been able to use the phone all day without having to charge it. The charging port is the same as my old Droid, so I now have an extra wall charger for traveling.

I was, at first, disappointed that the X2 came with an 8GB microSD card, compared to the 16GB card that came with the original Droid, but then I remembered that there are 8GB of internal storage and whatever you place in to the memory slot in the battery compartment. I placed my 16GB card from my Droid in to the new X2 for a whopping 24GB of total memory.

So here is a comprehensive assessment of the new Droid X2:

PROS:
* Thin and lightweight
* Much improved display
* Seamless integration with Google's cloud network
* Fast and responsive-performs well doing most tasks
* Improved "Gingerbread" Android operating system (OS)
* Larger, more responsive keyboard with improved text editing features
* The incorporation of Swype text input, as opposed to traditional "tapping"
* Better management of social media services
* Excellent picture quality, acceptable flash pictures
* Ability to choose focus zones allows for more creative composition
* Ability to create metadata within photo app, including face tagging
* FM radio app (must use cabled headphones)
* 8GB of internal memory; external memory slot can take up to 32GB microSD storage
* Shoots 720p HD video
* Micro HDMI port allows for connection to HD TV sets
* Can be used as a true 3G wireless hotspot
* Connects to Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n networks for faster wireless connections
* Comes with Skype Mobile
* Standard installation includes many useful apps
* Extended battery available

CONS:
* Larger size may prove to be bulky for *some* people
* Add a protective cover (recommended) and it will become slightly more bulky
* Phone can get warm near the battery compartment under normal use
* Does not come with micro HDMI cable or adaptor
* Standard installation also includes a couple game demos and other software others may not want
* Battery life may be a concern when full services are utilized, especially GPS and WiFi
* Large ringtone selection still yields annoying sounds

*** NOTE If you will buy the Droid X2 I suggest you have to check for best deal before you decide at: Flixya.com/blog/3911467/Motorola-DROID-X2

This phone receives five stars based on all of its great features, impressive performance, and the fact that it stacks up favorably with the iPhone 4. At this time I am not concerned about 4G connectivity.