New Android OS-based smart phones (or more accurately, “super phones”) are seemingly released every few weeks.  The “latest and greatest” on the extensive Verizon Wireless network is the Motorola Droid X.  This may be the largest cell phone on earth, yet it is very slim and feels great to hold.  It seems a bit lighter than the original Moto Droid.  The added size, providing a larger screen, seems to have no downside in my first few days of using the Droid X (other than the need to purchase a new case).

Motorola Droid X (Verizon Wireless only)

What I especially like about the larger screen is the larger on-screen keyboard.  Unlike the original Motorola Droid I used for the last 8 months, the Droid X has no slide-out physical keyboard.  That is just as well.  Although last November I purchased the Moto Droid over the HTC Droid Eris primarily because the Moto Droid has a slide-out hardware keyboard, I found the hardware keyboard to be less than optimally designed.  After the first few weeks, I used the onscreen keyboard almost exclusively.  On the Moto Droid, the onscreen keyboard in portrait mode (holding the phone upright the way most of us do) was just a bit small for my adult male fingers.  Turning the phone to landscape mode brought up a much more usable on-screen keyboard, so that is how I usually typed.

The extra screen space (4.3 inches total) on the Droid X is put to good use my making the portrait orientation onscreen keyboard large enough for easy adult use.  The hardware keyboard from the original Moto Droid is not missed at all.  Also well-implemented is the faster microprocessor in the Droid X.  Everything from moving through the menu to web browsing to composing emails is much faster on the X than on the original Moto Droid.  The X is the fastest Android 2.1 phone currently on the market.  That speed will likely improve even more late this summer when the X is upgraded to the newest version of Android (2.2 or “froyo”, which is reported to have significant speed improvements over version 2.1).

The Droid X has three microphones designed to work together for noise reduction when making calls.  The primary mic is in the traditional position at the bottom front of the phone.  There are secondary mics on the top edge and on the bottom of the rear of the phone (essentially behind the primary mic).  I’ve had no complaints about my voice quality from those I’ve called, but it is too soon for me to conclude that this system is a huge enhancement.

The user interface differs slightly from the “pure” Android OS of the original Moto Droid.  It appears that Motorola has overlaid part of its Motoblur interface on the stock Android OS.  I actually like the changes, but I’ve read at least one review online that disagrees with the decision to use Motoblur.

My primary email account for my appellate practice is a Gmail account with a custom domain name.  As you might expect with an OS designed by Google, the Droid X integrates perfectly with my Gmail email, giving what is essentially Exchange-like functionality for email, contacts, and calendar.  Not that the Droid X doesn’t also handle true “push” Exchange email well.  I set up my Affinity Consulting hosted Exchange email account on the Droid X in just a few minutes and it also works flawlessly.  The test message I sent from my Affinity account using Outlook Web Access on my PC was pushed within seconds to the Droid X.

Essential accessories for the Droid X include the mobile and home docks.  The mobile dock is much improved over the dock for the original Moto Droid.  The power connector is built into the dock itself rather than require a separate manual connection to the phone.  Just slide the X into the dock, close the top lever to lock it into place, and the phone switches to automobile mode and receives power from your car’s power outlet.  This is another area where the larger screen is a huge improvement.  Navigation on the X using Google’s excellent maps/GPS service (free) is better than with the Moto Droid because the screen is easier to read.  Phones like the Droid X (when used with a mobile dock) will soon render stand-along GPS units obsolete.

If you want to use the X as a music player, the on-screen control buttons for the music app are much larger and easier to access.  The only downside of the new dock is that the audio patch cable from the X to your car stereo’s auxiliary input must be manually connected.  It is not built into the dock (although a patch cable is included with the mobile dock, saving a trip to Radio Shack to buy one).  I used the X in its mobile dock last weekend on a trip from my home in Bradenton to visit my daughter in Orlando at the University of Central Florida.  The navigation, music, and calling functions were much improved over the original Moto Droid and its mobile dock.  The Droid X is a competent iPod Touch replacement, offering all the features of an iPod without being tied to the iTunes store.

The home dock is much like the home dock for the original Moto Droid, only larger.  One enhancement is the addition of an HDMI out port on the dock.  The X is capable of capturing and playing back HD (720p) video.  It has an onboard HDMI port as well.  So you connect the X to a large screen HDTV and watch 720p video downloaded or shot using the X’s camcorder function.  I have not tried this function yet, but according to one report the new iPhone handles this task a bit better with 30 fps frame rate vs. the X’s 24 fps frame rate, although the X had better audio and more accurate color.  Depending on your requirements, a separate mini-HD camcorder may no longer be a vacation or kid-activity essential.

The home dock also allows you to get rid of your alarm clock.  The X (and all Android phones) have an complete multiple alarm clock application that is customizable.  Drop the X into its home dock and it switches to alarm clock mode (also showing weather, etc.).  It has a bright setting for daylight and a dim setting for night.  My original Moto Droid replaced my alarm clock last November.  The X will continue that function.  My wife now has the Moto Droid hand-me-down and uses it with its home dock as her alarm clock.

Ever since Apple and AT&T partnered to introduce the iPhone, there has been feverish speculation as to when the iPhone would be available on Verizon’s superior wireless network.  Although the exclusive agreement between Apple and AT&T expires next year, the NY Times speculates that the iPhone may never reach Verizon, and that with its stable of impressive Android phones, Verizon may not care that it doesn’t have the iPhone. I think the NY Times is right.  Phones like the Droid X seem to be directly competitive with the iPhone, besting it in many areas while lagging  just behind in a few others.  Years ago we talked about “convergence.”  That meant a single portable hand-held device that did everything.  The Droid X (like the iPhone, but with an even larger screen) falls into that category.  It is a cell phone, email machine, portable Internet tablet, digital music player, digital HD camcorder and video viewer, GPS navigator, mobile Wi-Fi hot spot (a feature the iPhone lacks), and more.

Overall, my first impressions of the Droid X as a tool for a mobile lawyer are very positive.  I will report back from time to time as I become better acquainted with the X, including using its tethering and mobile Wi-Fi hot spot features.