Droid X2 First Impressions/Reviews

[tdavis823]

So far so good with the X2.

Pros-
Very responsive. Multi-tasking a breeze; the dual-core is noticable.
Great battery life.
Beautiful Display
Nice form factor

Cons:
Crap camera, honestly. Crap with a click.
Obvious issues with rebooting and weird audio noises.
Locked Bootloader and slow on ROM dev

 

[z71kris]

*delete

 

[johnnyshinta]

i liked the X and thought i would love the X2. Figured a great phone with better hardware would be better right?

This phone isn't bad. But it really isn't a significant upgrade. Not until the OS catches up with the hardware. At this point only 3rd party apps can take advantage of the dual core processor. The actual android OS cannot and supposedly will not till Ice Cream Sandwich. So it will be at least a year most likely more till the OS is supercharged like I was expecting.

All in all its basically the X with an updated version of blur. Minus the camera button...don't get that but whatever.

 

[fargles]

very pleased with my X2! love the screen, very bright and a breeze to see outside. loved the form factor of the X so the X2 obviously is good since it didnt really change lol. cant really compare the speed boost of the dual core but will be playing with my moms charge and sisters iphone to see if mine is really faster. HATE MOTOBLUR!! it adds unnecessary lag when scrolling through the homescreens... has been decreased since deleating some picture widget that syncs with facebook and all other accounts like that. the keyboard is great absolutely love it, coming from a physical, he transition is very easy, and the autocorrect works 99% flawlessly.

all in all very pleased with my X2, glad i bought it

 

[hkklife]

Got a DX2 last week to upgrade from my DX with a failing digitizer and it's definitey a mixed bag:

DX2 Pros:
-Pentile screen kinda sucks but I can live with it just because it's qHD. The extra pixels are definitely appreciated.
-Screen is definitely easier to use in direct sunlight than the DX
-Touchscreem seems more responsive and accurate (when it's not lagging, of course)
-PHENOMENAL for gaming compared to every other smartphone I've ever used. I am worried about buying too many THD games and not able to utilize them on my next device (SGSII or Droid Bionic, for example)
-Formfactor is still fine with me. Great build quality, feels even tighter than my DX
-Being able to use my existing DX accessories is a huge plus for me
-Screen is SO much brighter than my DX. I also like the extra anti-glare coating they have applied to it.
-Battery life seems a tiny little bit better than my DX when on standby but it goes down faster when using it extensively. Hopefully GB will improve this.
-Earpiece & speakerphone volume is considerably louder than DX but still gets a bit distored when volume is at the max

DX2 Cons:
-No Gingerbread anywhere in sight. I have a feeling the DX2 is not going to see GB for a LOONG time if ever.
-The GingerBlur-ified Froyo on the DX2 seems even laggier than the DX's Froyo and is definitey laggier than the DX's GB. Tons of little bugs and glitches are present as well. Somethimes this phone is unbelievable fast and other times it lags like a first-gen Android device. Unacceptable performance considering the power of Tegra2!
-Camera is DEFINITELY worse than the DX in every aspect other than the speed of the continuous focus mode. Color reproduction is FAR worse, flash is weaker, and low-light performance is even worse than the DX. Video recording, when it doesn't lock up or crash, is a bit smoother in very bright lighting but otherwise seems more succeptible to compression errors, artifacting etc.
-RF performance seems a tad worse than my DX. I end up in 1x mode when at home/work in situations where I'd still have had a good 3G signal on my DX. As a result, the DX2 also tends to run a bit hotter than the DX.
-DX2 seemingly takes longer to charge via USB or AC than the DX did. The battery status also doesn't update while it is charging.

My verdict? If this thing was running stock Gingerbread it'd be superb. It it had stock GB and a non-Pentile screen it would be THE 3G Android device to have. As it stands right now, it's a decent device and is one or two major firmware updates from being a good device. Its hardware shortcomings will NOT allow it to be an excellent device, however.

I just cannot help but think that the DX2 is going to be the odd man out in Moto's 2011 lineup and not see much (if any) attention from Moto, VZW or the user community.

 

[fargles]

update. Have had the phone now for a couple weeks, starting to really frustrate me! The keyboard has some massive lag in it a lot of the time. Takes seconds after pressing the power button to come on(from stand by).receiving multiple text from people (averaging 5-6 now). Downloads from android market work sometimes then don't others. A live wallpaper makes my phone extremely slow scrolling through homescreens and now just recently the notifications have been working sometimes and not doing anything others, and the force closes on just about every app at some time are driving me insane. I am starting to really get frustrated and am very close to rooting my phone to get rid of all the BS even though I have little idea what I am doing...

*My phone just shut off while charging via USB and when it just decided to reboot it had a different wallpaper then when it shut off. and it just happened again! WTF

something else that is also very frustrating is that there are two other smartphone's in the house a Droid Charge and an iphone. Right now the Charge is rebooting itself every couple minutes and getting stuck in a reboot then frozen reboot freeze, making it about unusable, the iphone hasn't failed yet, has done everything it was supposed to with out a hiccup. I want to love everything about android but with simple things like this that can't be fixed just frustrates the crap out of me.

 

[fargles]

and now that it has shut off again it wont turn back on yet has the stupid green notification light continually on when before it shut off said it was dead and had only been charging for a matter of minutes.

 

[kelleybp]

Just got my Droid X2 coming from a Droid Incredible. I've had the phone for 3 days now. In a nutshell, it's a huge disappointment. The hardware is pretty good -- I like the overall build quality, screen size, and screen brightness. I'm not crazy about the camera and the color reproduction on the screen, but those are by no means dealbreakers. Also not crazy about a locked bootloader, but I could live with that if the stock software were good.

But therein lies the problem. The software on this phone is pathetically slow and laggy. In most respects it feels slower than my DInc running CyanogenMod 7. Just so I'm clear, I'm not using any task managers or launchers. I did try ADW to see if it helped, and I feel like it did to an extent, but ultimately took it off to save battery. I'm also using only one clock widget.

In short, the DX2 is going back, and I might be done with Android forever once the new iPhone comes out. I'm not happy about this, because I love Android, but it is incredibly frustrating and disappointing to have a brand new phone that feels like a step backward from the DInc. I blame this almost entirely on the Motoblur UI. With stock Gingerbread, the phone probably cooks, but I'm not willing to wait for that. I expected much more from my first Motorola phone, and now have major doubts about the Bionic considering it will probably have a locked bootloader, same washed out pentile screen and Motoblur. What a shame.

 

[johncihak]

Got DX2 after DX was crippled by GB upgrade.

DX2 is no faster than DX and its display is worse. The pentile display is pixelated and diagonal lines are jagged at normal viewing distance. Close up it looks even worse.

Terrible display!

 

[BigGuyNH]

My Review:

Slow, Slow, Slow,

Powers itself on and off at least twice a day, have done 5 hard resets,

did I say slow.

Time from dialing a call to call being placed: timed: 27 seconds.

Did I say 5 hard resets.

As far as I am concerned it is a big piece of fertilizer.


or is it just me...

 

[kelleybp]

My Review:

Slow, Slow, Slow,

or is it just me...

Nope, definitely not. I think you summed it up pretty well.

 

[TheANARCHY]

So here is my assessment/review of the Droid X2. I'm going to use the format set out by author of this thread for ease of reading. My previous phone was a Samsung Fascinate & if anyone isn't aware of the recent history of that phone, or it's long troubled history overall, jump over there & be thankful you've not had those problems with ANY Motorola device that I'm aware of.

Aesthetics - The build quality is excellent. Weighing in at about 5.5 oz with a nice soft touch metal feel gives confidence this phone won't break if you touch it. A very different feel than the cheap glossy plastic used on the Fascinate

Screen - This will take some getting used to. I dearly loved the Super Amoled screen on my Fascinate. This pen tile screen is nowhere near as sharp or colorful. The dots aren't really bothering me however & it is clear & visible in direct sunlight. That I do like

Hardware - It's dual core & I can certainly tell the difference between this & the Fascinate. There is no lag in my phone that I can tell although others have complained

Phone - including bluetooth & speakerphone usage - Never had any issues with Verizon's network, til the bad software update on my Fascinate . Happy to report the X2 is fine. The noise canceling mics truly impress & my Jawbone Icon works great including A2DP

Overall User Interface (including Motoblur) - I'm not a particular fan of custom skins. Touchwiz on the Fascinate was just terrible to look at. I can live with Motoblur so far :-\

Widgets - I'm really liking the re-sizable widgets on the X2. A very nice touch from Moto

Signal quality (Compared to other devices) - My data connection is way stronger on here than the Fascinate ever was . I barely managed a consistant 1 bar on the fascinate. No such problem here as it's a steady 4 bars

GPS - The GPS on the Fascinate was horrific. This one is just fine & locks on in a snap

Social Networking - I've not had time to play around much with them so it's probably a take it or leave it feature :-\

Email/Calendar - The calender widget is very good. Email is email so probably a wash. the unified inbox is a nice touch however :-\

Battery Life - Haven't had time to really get a feel for it. It does have a nice battery management tool built in so +1

Performance - Great so far. No lag to speak of & apps open/close instantly

Media (music, movies, DLNA) - I've only used the music player so far & it's plenty loud

Keyboard's - I'm a fan of Swype so I'm happy it's included here

Camera (both still & video) - I'm a little disappointed with the camera. Pics are washed out even under good lighting. Could be operator error so YMMV

How the Droid X2 compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable) - Most of the above covers a good comparison between this & the Fascinate. Of which there really isn't any. I've always had solid, well designed phones from Moto & this appears no different

Disappointments (if any) - The boot loader is locked so there will be little custom Roms made for this :'(. Coming from the Fascinate whose very existence depended on custom Roms (Verizon/Samsung neglected the poor phone as is very well known ) I'll have to learn to live with less. But I'll trade all of that for a phone that works like a phone should for it's primary purpose... That being to make & receive calls.

Overall I'm quite happy with this phone & look forwarding to seeing how the community embraces it. It is still fairly new so it takes time for customization to happen. If all else fails I get to keep my original upgrade in May so who knows what Androids could be on shelves by then .

 

[MunkinDrunky]

Im going to give an initial review on my DX2 since I have only had my hands on it for the las 7hrs. I am coming from the elegant and somewhat challenged world of the Fascinate. I am also only playing with a non-activated x2 that is a refurb.

Speed: Haven't noticed the touted lag, in fact the dx2 came loaded with 2.2 and seems to run faster than my rooted debloated fascinate. I can't say if this is due to is not yet being activated, but scrolling through screen, loading and running apps and browsing are all as quick or quicker than my fascinate. Im going to mention this for fun but quadrant scores for my Fascinate were generally between 900-1200 ( was only ever higher back on 2.1 before May this year) while the dx2 was getting 2600-2900. I know this means little cause all the fps on the fassy were atleast 40 or higher (dx2 about 35) and the 3d renderings just seemed to pop on the Fass, but that has a lot to do with the amoled screen.

Screen: Now I have to say, in my opinion, the quality of the qHD display is very acceptable. I have to compare the fassy and dx2 screens side by side only to decide either the amoled screen was too colorful or the qHD screen was slightly duller than the fascinate. The pixels on the qHD display can sometimes be jagged but only with small details, like the back and fins on my dolphin web browser icon. But I think this appearent poor screen quality occurs with certain shapes, or more likely certain graphics such as a particular icon. I say this because I've read text of different styles on web pages and they all couldn't be sharper and more accurate, even as tiny fonts.

Camera: Setting both cameras to max resolution, they both do great with flash and sufficient light. The real test was in low light, with no flash, and at first the fascinate out performed with better colored and sharper pics for those conditions. However, setting the exposure to 1 (not 2 as that made things worse) on the DX2 the pics were of nearly equal quality in color and clarity. This is reassuring since the fassy always had great quality pics for the 5mp camera.

Bluetooth: Happy to learn it has HID support, something that the fascinate did not and would not be expected to have. I am typing this out with a very portable bluetooth keyboard (zippy bt-500) on the DX2 now!

GPS/WIFI: Both are excellent. The wifi connection is much stronger than my fascinate for the same network and at the same distances away. The gps quality is what really makes me happy. I almost never used gps on the fascinate because is took too long to lock on, if at all. Usually I couldn't ever get a lock even outside with clear sky. Now with the DX2 I get a quick lock while sitting in my house and the direction is accurate too!

Perhaps more to come later....

 

[Mr One 2#AC]

Coming from my bb storm2, Im overwhelmed right now... Nuff said for now will update later!

Edit: just flashed back to froyo and rooted, took a minute but got it. Got rid of all the crap. Phone been running good, except the audio playback. Which sucks but coming from a bb I am loving this phone. One thing, does anyone know a good app for led customizing?

 

[tkong]

So far so good with the X2.

Pros-
Very responsive. Multi-tasking a breeze; the dual-core is noticable.
Great battery life.
Beautiful Display
Nice form factor

Cons:
Crap camera, honestly. Crap with a click.
Obvious issues with rebooting and weird audio noises.
Locked Bootloader and slow on ROM dev

You're having camera issues? The camera on my x2 is spot on. I have no problems taking pics in low lighting conditions or any condition at all.

 

[ecko no yaro]

Nice thread, couldn't wait for my X2 come from flebay

 

[nickmiller71]

I just came to the Droid X2 from the Bionic. The Bionic had some serious issues with signal connectivity, capacitive button light leakage, and display quality. I LOVE the DX2 and definitely don't regret my decision in any way. It is a great phone for sure. I love the display, despite what others may say. The form factor is fantastic IMO and call quality was great so far.

 

[Hondo_Lane]

On November 11th I activated my DX2... today I shipped it back.

I fought that phone from the moment I received. I found the screen to consistently freeze and hang when trying to use it. Useing the phone or entering text of any kind was frustrating. I downloaded the most recent Android update, tried different keyboards, cleared the data of the original keyboard etc. It seemed to be working a bit better yesterday then today nothing but problems again. So its on a FedEx truck right now...

I went back to my trusty Droid (original) and the screens just fly. It's pretty sad that a two year old phone would outperform the DX2 that way. I know that not everyone has had issues like I had, however my research showed that a number of people do have complaints about issues with the touchscreen response.

I'm not sure what I'll do now... I'll probably wait a few days and see what develops with the Nexus. That might be the ticket for me...

 

[meany105]

Had the droid x2 for 2 weeks now, figured I'd add my 2?

It is important to note that I purchased it from ebay so there may be some quirks that a new unit wouldn't have.



Build quality: absolutely awesome. Lots of high quality metal, the rim is a nice smooth metal, while the rest of the phone is a nice soft touch coated metal. Buttons all have a nice click to them. The glass is fairly finger print resistant and seems pretty scratch resistant too! Coming from an ipod touch 2nd gen I have top say that the touch screen is just as responsive and overall the only thing I don't like about it is the weight. But thats the price you pay

Software: absolutely suuuucccckkks!!!!!!! Constantly crashes, freezes, and lags. Most of that I blame on the terrible motoblur overlay. I cannot express how much of an improvement ice cream sandwich will be (got all androids). The ipod touch I had been using ran off of 128mb of ram and a 533mh processor, but it had hardware acceleration, and all the interactions were silky smith, no lag. No crashes too! However it isn't all bad, the dual core chip I'm this means that flash plays back wondefully, games run smooth. Multitasking causes a lot of "hiccups" but I again think that is motoblur, not gingerbread. Oh, forgot to mention that cut and paste sucks to the point of not even working.

Camera: great in well lit areas without lots of movement. There is alot of noise when you get into anything but perfect conditions. The default camera app is good though, enough settings without being overwhelming. Overall the quality is pretty disappointng though.

Overall: a little disappointing. The great hardware (dual core processor, screen, camera) are really held back by motoblur and I will definitely be flashing to eclipse as soon as possible. that said, you can find a good condition droid x2 for pretty cheap on ebay, and for thee right price, this phone is a great
choice.