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iPhone feels the heat from Droid X factor

2010-07-02 11:27:15

While the world continues to line up for the latest iPhone reception problems and all Verizon's just-announced jumbo-screen Motorola Droid X has racked up a bevy of admiring reviews.

David Pogue at the New York Times calls the Droid X (slated to arrive July 15 for $199, with a two-year Verizon Wireless contract and after a mail-in rebate) a "big, beautiful contender" with an "almost-Imax screen" (4.3 inches diagonally, to be exact, or almost a inch bigger than the iPhone's 3.5-inch display). The phone performs like a "speed rocket," Pogue gushes, and benefits from Google's "open and customizable" (and soon Flash-supporting) Android OS, although he also complains about a few nagging quirks (the security warnings before you download Android apps, the wonky screen rotation, the Wi-Fi-less Skype).

The Droid X battery "gets you through a full day easily," Pogue continues, and there's also Verizon's "expensive but not-call-dropping network," as well as the handset's ability to act as a mobile hotspot for other Wi-Fi devices. That said, the Droid X isn't for everyone, Pogue warns, saying that the "absolutely huge" shell makes you feel "as if you're talking into a frozen waffle" when you're making a call, and that although Android is a great OS for "technically proficient high-end users," it's "more complicated and less polished" than Apple's iOS.

CNET's Bonnie Cha calls the Droid X a "beast, but in a good way," citing the "brilliant" display, the "responsive" performance (although "not quite as lightning-fast as the Droid Incredible"), and 7.5 hours of talk time. Snapshots from the X's 8-megapixel camera yielded "mixed" results "nice" pictures interspersed with "blurry shots" despite the auto-focus feature although recorded 720p video clips "looked great." Cha also praises the phone's "great"-sounding call quality on Verizon's "mostly reliable" network, and wraps up the four-star (out of five) review by calling the Droid X a "formidable competitor" in the summer smartphone wars.

Then there's Ed Baig at USA Today, who just last week called the iPhone "the one to beat." Baig's sticking to his guns about the iPhone, but he calls the "highly customizable" Droid X an "impressive, feature-packed" handset that has "good" call quality ("I never had a dropped call"), a "mammoth" display and a healthy collection of apps in the Android Marketplace. Baig dings the X for its lack of a front-facing camera for video chat but says its photo quality is "decent" and the Android-powered Web browser is "excellent." Overall, Baig calls the X a "terrific smartphone" that "will give the iPhone 4 a run for its money."

Finally, we've got PC Magazine's Sascha Segan, who dubs the Droid X a "Hummer humdinger" that's "excellent" if "a little excessive" "big iron" that's nevertheless "relatively thin and light," with a screen is "beautiful to look at." Segan deems call quality and reception "spectacular" (though not "perfect") thanks to the phone's trio of microphones and "huge" antennas.

The Droid X's speedy 1GHz OMAP processor also garners high marks from Segan, although he wonders if Motorola's custom social networking-friendly Motoblur interface (which, apparently, you can't disable) isn't a "drag on performance." And though Segan praises the X's camera quality ("one of the best I've seen on a phone") and HD video capture, he slams the handset's HD video-out support which is only compatible with the photo and video galleries, and not YouTube or the included Blockbuster movie app as "a tease and a cheat." In the end, though, Segan grants the X the Editors' Choice award among Verizon smartphones: 4.5 (out of five) stars.

Overall, some strong reviews for yet another summertime superphone and let's not forget the quartet of upcoming new Android handsets from Samsung, all with 4-inch Super AMOLED displays and 1GHz processors, as well as the wildly popular HTC Evo 4G that went on sale earlier this month (which, given all the smartphone news we've seen in June, feels like a lifetime ago). Looks like the iPhone 4 has some serious competition on its hands.

So, smartphone shoppers, which of this summer's superphones will you pick: the iPhone 4, the Droid X, the Evo 4G or a Samsung Galaxy phone? Or is there another smartphone contender on your list?

Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.