Motorola Droid X - How to Buy it Cheap or Get it Free?

Motorola Droid X Overview

Not interested in waiting until the 23rd for Verizon's big announcement? Don't worry, we've got you covered right now! The Motorola Droid X has probably been one of the worst kept smartphone secrets in recent memory, but after spending two hours with the phone we sort of see why. In short, it's pretty awesome. Call it a superphone or a mega-smartphone, but the 4.3-inch handset is absolutely Verizon / Motorola's answer to the HTC EVO 4G, and makes the Droid Incredible look like a bench warmer. What do we mean? We'll let you see for yourself just after the break in a breakdown of exactly what this phone is all about -- and in a video or three of it in action. Oh, and on your way down, make sure to feast your eyes on the gallery, too.

So here are our main takeaways:

Hardware: From afar, the Droid X looks like the EVO 4G, but up close the differences are obvious. Its slightly longer and wider, and it has four physical buttons along the bottom of the screen rather than touch-sensitive ones like those on the EVO. In hand, the phone feels really solid and we were surprised at how light it felt, though we could really do without the hump on the back. And yes, the large thing fits in a jean pocket, but not without slightly bulging.

Screen: Apparently the Droid X has a 4.3-inch, FWVGA 854 x 480-resolution screen, though we couldn't confirm that on the device itself. Regardless, it was super crisp and the capacitive screen was mighty responsive to taps and multitouch gestures. Our one concern is the mirrored trim around the screen -- it makes the whole face of the phone extra glossy.

Motorola Blur / Android: We confirmed that the Droid X was running Android 2.1 with some new sort of Motoblur (perhaps Ninjablur) skin. We didn't get to configure Blur with our social networks and contacts, but it didn't seem as "in your face" as the original. There's also a new navigation bar along the bottom that lets you easily jump to different Android panes. We can't really make a call on how we feel about this new Moto skin, but it does feel like a major improvement and it absolutely didn't slow down performance. We should also mention that preloaded on the phone was a Blockbuster application and a DLNA type app. Those two pieces combined with the fact that there will be a separate HDMI dock available has us thinking multimedia is the focus here.

Performance: Snappy! That's exactly what the Droid X is. The entire phone and transitions were super fast and responsive, keyboards popped up with virtually no lag and it tracks finger swiping more accurately than most Android phones we've seen -- it undoubtedly has its 1GHz ARMv7 processor (presumably an OMAP3630) to thank for that. If the specs on the model we saw are correct, the phone will come with 8GB of storage space. Obviously, we didn't have enough time to test battery life, but there was some sort of special battery management software on the phone.

Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile have truly become the leading destination this summer for all your mobile smartphone needs - from HTC EVO 4G from Sprint to the iPhone 4 on AT&T to the upcoming DROID X on Verizon. Enthusiasts of the Android platform can be the first to reserve a copy of the new Verizon DROID X by Motorola today at Best Buy. The pre-sale begins June 25 and the smartphone will land in stores on July 15.

"With the buzz we've seen around the Android platform, Best Buy is confident that consumers will be thrilled about the Verizon DROID X by Motorola pre-sale," said Scott Anderson, senior director of merchandising at Best Buy Mobile. "It has been a great summer for smartphones with the HTC EVO and iPhone 4 launches, and the addition of the DROID X adds another strong option for our customers to consider."

The Verizon DROID X by Motorola features Google's Android 2.1 operating system, 4.3-inch screen and 720P HD video recording and playback. Android 2.2 will arrive to customers on the DROID X later this summer. The DROID X is available at Best Buy for $199.99 with 2-year activation, with no mail-in rebate hassle.

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Motorola Driod X Spec.

Processor: 1GHz Texas Instruments OMAP3630 processor (45-nanometer)
Memory: 512MB
Graphics chip: Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX530
Mobile Wi-Fi hot spot: TI Mobile Wireless LAN: WiLink 6.0
Band/Modes: CDMA 800/1900, EV-DO Rev. A
Storage: 8GB onboard, 16GB microSD preinstalled, total memory expandable up to 40 GB
Operating system: Android 2.1
Display: 4.3-inch WVGA (854 x 480), WVGA display houses 400,000 pixels
Camera: 8.0 megapixel, Auto Focus, Dual LED Flash
Browser: Webkit HTML5-based browser; Adobe Flash 10.1 after update, pinch-to-zoom
Video: 720p HD Capture, HD Playback via HDMI or DLNA, H.263, H.264, MPEG4, WMA v10
Playback: 30 frames per second encode and decode
Talk and standby time (specified): Talk time 480 minutes, standby time 220 hours
Connectivity: Bluetooth Version 2.1+EDR, USB 2.0 HS, OTA, HDMI, DLNA
Location services: aGPS (assisted), sGPS (stand-alone), Google Maps
Battery: 1540 mAh
Dimensions:: 65.50 (x) 127.50(y) 9.90(z) mm, 2.6 (x) x 5.0 (y) x 0.4 (z) inches