Droid X – One Solid Phone

As of  8/22/10  200,000 Android based devices are getting activated daily.     Each carrier, and developers have their own version of android devices, all of them with their own Pros and Cons.     Today, I will be covering Verizon’s Droid X.    Droid X is a powerful smart phone, that not only gives you the ability to manage your daily business it also allows  you creative freedom and flexibility to make the phone work for you both professionally and personally.

The basic specs  of the phone are

• 4.3 inch screen
• HD Camcorder
• 8 mp camera
• 480 min. of usage time/220hrs of standby time (I am actually seeing about  12 hrs of use per day)
• Phone size 65.5 x 127.5 x 9.9 mm

further phone details

Negatives of the Phone

• As most phones go,   battery life is not as advertised.    I am not seeing advertised battery life, not even close!  This is mostly due to the fact that this is a  multitasking phone, which is why the battery level is what it is not as advertised
• The phone is viewable only on 2 sides (unlike the iPhone which and be viewable in all 4 sides.)  This may get fixed with the next update to Froyo (Android 2.2)
• With Facebook,  you have more contacts than you want(most likely)and most likely will make complicated to manage your contacts
• Its big a phone,  now I actually like the size but I can definitely see for many people that this will be a downfall.

Pros of the Phone

• Now I know, I  had just said Facebook integration is a negative, it is also a huge benefits.  Like updating status straight from your phone,   uploading pictures and video straight to your account.
• I am a big fan of Google, and the integration to this phone is amazing.  Your calendar, SMS, Pictures can all be shared through google products.   Also just discovered  that you can tie your Google voice into your phone.
• The screen size and resolution is amazing.   It makes sharing experiences through the phone easy and enjoyable.
• I like the Swype application.   This application comes standard on the droid x and is a new way of using the digital keyboard for text entry and my experience is it has sped up my entry time immensely.
• It has 3 microphone,  this is useful for Video capture not only can you hear what you are trying to record you can easily be heard from behind the phone.

Recommendations

• Find a task killer, the application will help you save your battery life.  I like Advanced Task Killer.
• Turn the settings on your phone so that it will turn the display off after 1 minute of no use.
• Even though it changes the profile of the phone slightly, spend the extra couple dollars and purchase the extended battery
• Buy a case and a screen protector.   These are for protecting your phone, specifically your screen.
• Download apps strategically, it is extremely tempting to add a bunch of programs, this in the end will cause problems.
• Play with the phone get use to how it works, it will take a while for you to get the most out of it.
• Don’t download the android Facebook app.  Facebook is already on the phone this app will conflict.
• Buy a Bluetooth headset.  Most states require it anyways!

I am a definite fan of the Droid X and definitely recommending to any out there that is looking for more mobility with their business.   Each day I use the phone,  it keeps showing me that I this phone is a good solution for my real estate business.

I did talk briefly about a couple of android applications here, just to make the phone use easier.  Soon I will cover useful real estate apps for Real Estate.

Please comment with any application recommendations and any Droid X comments, cant wait to hear other views.