Home Forums Droid X Open Thread

After consultation with Bert, I am opening a Droid X specific thread.

For those who are wondering, Engadget reports that "The X" will get Froyo (ver2.2) in Early September.

Indy,

I have a question. Do I have to actually HAVE the Droid X to run Froyo on it? I heard there is a hack for that.

No, you could run Froyo on several other Android phones that have Froyo released on them, or get the Droid2 next week that will come with Froyo installed.

Apparently someone has already 'rooted' their X, pause for *chuckle*, if that is what you want to do.

Indy, these jokes are getting by you, lol. I was referring to the ongoing dilemma of my not being able to acquire one.

You are absolutely correct, I am a recovering engineer, and early/late at night I miss several nuances.

Yea!!! My air card contract is officially over! Now I shall begin my Droid shopping

Awesome! If you go to your nearest Verizon store(s)and they don't have them, you may want to consider ordering online at Verizonwireless. They promise shipping, as of today, by 8/25.

In 3 days the new Droid2 comes out - it has a full keyboard like the original Droid, so you may want to consider that along with the Incredible and the X.

Here is a screen shot - looks a lot like the X, but with a slide out keyboard. (Which will make it a bit more beefier). http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/17/droid-2-breaks-cover-once-again/

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I was just about to order the Incredible, then buy the Droid X, when I got the email today. The sales person has actually hidden it for me. Wow. I get it tomorrow.

Sorry, Indy, no more jokes.

What?!? No more humorz for da enginerz? Perhaps just as well.

I suspect that you will have a wonderful time configuring your new X. Almost three weeks later, and I am still finding things to change/install/tweak/etc. But, I like doing that.

Just realized it reminds me of the first time I got a Swiss Army knife, or later when I got my first Leatherman.

Got it back on track. Hijack over. Moved and renamed to BSOD.

Here is the latest on the Droid 2. Out Thursday, here are the quick specs.

"3.7-inch multitouch display, 5 megapixel camera, DLNA streaming, 8GB of onboard memory and a 8GB microSD card" (http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/10/motorola-droid-2-and-r2-d2-edition-finally-official-android/)

It sounds like I will be very happy to have my X. Bigger screen, more memory, probably lighter.

If you aren't sure about touch keyboards, ask a rep to enable Swype (http://www.engadget.com/tag/Swype/). It allows you to input works by just dragging your finger through the letters in a word. Very different, but very fast once you get the hang of it.

Got my X today. Wow! It will probably take about a month just to understand it. But, it was just unbelievable watching Verizon's staff demo the thing. Can you drive it?

Indy. Grab a flight out here. I'm buying. I need a tutorial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33Mt2z-GoJk

This is someone using Swype to set a Guinness World Record. The text message took ~ 35 seconds. Of course, unlike most Guiness Book of World Records set such as playing tennis four 4 1/2 straight days, or making 92 free throws in a row, this is unique in that there are thousands of texters out there who will break the record daily. But, as of today, the record stands -- I guess until they send their claim to Guinness.

MLB (My Lovely Bride) points out that the leaves are turning soon .... perhaps we should plan ahead, get cheaper tickets, and have you host an New England AC MeetUp at the same time!

I can do stupid X tricks and App demos!

Glad to hear you are enjoying the new X; I really need to carve some time out to do a series on all the cool Droid tricks I've been collecting.

Okay, since this is the Droid thread here are the best (IMHO) droid Incredible, and I assume X, free apps.

"Google Sky Map"- if you remember the old round cardboard “sky maps” you will love this app. Really cool to identify each star, constellation, planet etc. Just point the droid up in the air (or at the ground if you want to see what’s above the Chinese or nadir at that moment).

“Easy Tether” makes the droid a modem for any computer. No “extra charges” from carriers etc.

“Rabbit”- measures distance and/or speed from point A to B which you input as you walk, bike, ski etc.

“Pandora”- yeah, it’s free for your desktop too etc but really neat for grabbing and playing music you’re likely to love.

“Bubble”- serves as a level. I just used this reinstalling a bike rack rather than running down to basement to get my real level.

Then there’s ” Whoopee Cushion”- Dunno why but suspect this may appeal mainly to pediatricians ;-)

Forgot another neat one

"Shopper" which searches for a specific product, prices and where located on net or near you by using barcode for the product or "voice" saying the name of the product. Scanner uses the droid camera function and truly scans item then identifies it and displays data as to where to find it near your location and on internet with prices etc. Theoretically helpful yes but just to scan it's amazing.

So, I'm confused. You scan it so you can find it, but you already have it so you can scan it.

Or do you mean, you have a box of cereal, and you want to get another, but you aren't sure where.

Something tells me I am missing something, and I will look like a complete idiot here.

Was with a friend @ Best Buy - he was looking at a specific item. I picked it up, scanned it, then told him what the price was @ Amazon, NewEgg, and a couple of other places. It took about 15 seconds.

Then, he can either buy it at Best Buy, go down the street, or order it from Amazon. But he has the shopping info within a minute.

e.g. Last week playing tennis used the droid Incredible camera and app to scan the bar code on a can of Wilson tennis balls. Up pops where they can be found locally and also on the internet with prices. Cheapest was Walmart @ $1.98 per can. Bingo!

Of course the product must have an "on line presence". Use the droid app to scan a bag of Cheetohs for example and it will ID what you're holding but won't list stores, prices etc as Krogers doesn't exactly advertise specific products on the net. Also if you're holding some electronic object in your hand but it's not stamped with a bar code you can take a picture of it, it's then identified as to what it is, and up pops a list of where to buy, prices etc. Almost as amazing as AC eh?

Can it scan a vaccine?

Do vaccines have barcodes?

Interesting concept for an app that could read various things around a practice that looks them up drop a database or web-service. Hmmmmm.

If we could just barcode our patients, think of the possibilities.

Or barcode the ICD-9 and CPT.

Do vaccines have bar codes? Is the government going to give us $44,000?

ActHib Hib vaccine (bar code)

http://www.box.net/shared/3kc1cim90c

Some have been downloading this barcode. Once you do, you probably notice it was a useless thing, lol. It is mainly to give physical proof to Indy that vaccines do indeed have barcodes and maybe he can make an app to take advantage of them.

I figured Indy's being a scientist, he would need tangible proof and not just my word, lol.

Droid X,

OK, the good. I finally got RDP to work. The fix: Actually entering the correct IP address.

The bad: I added an app (handcent) to make messaging professional. The default texting is terrible. I removed the app due to a bug which would cause a Force Close.

I guess I don't understand where the Droid's niche is going to be. Is it going to be a cool phone with tons of features and power but still behave somewhat like a Blackberry so the business person can use it.

The messaging/texting program is something that looks like it was made for a 14 year old. Do I really need "speech bubbles" (you can Google it) for text? It makes it almost unusable. I am surprised there are no options to change it.

Indy, do you think this will change with Froyo? I hope so. And, is a Force Close the equivalent of Windows freezing?

IP addy - ouch! Well, it's always something, at least you found it.

As far as Froyo, I hear great things about it, and there is version of it out there for the X, but I'm content to wait ~2 weeks until the OTA update.

As far as day-to-day apps, here are a couple that I would recommend:

<>Quick Settings - really handy
<>TasKiller - make problems go away - an all out, or interactively kill off bad apps.
<>gReader - a great way to catch up on your favorite sites with one tool and no adds.
<>Evernote - great place to keep unstructured notes.
<>CraigsList app - to watch for items that you are interested in

I think that this new wave of Droid phones (and the tablets to follow in the next 6-12 months) are real game changers for people who use technology as a tool.

Part of the quandary is that the apps that really leverage the tech aren't here yet. As an example, we have been contacted by a couple of lab companies who are interested in branded apps, and we are looking into how that would work.

I have heard multiple times that it is the best sounding phone that people have heard me on; just part of the total package.

Froyo is available OTA (Over The Air) for download.

You will eventually get a toolbar alert, or you can check manually (how I got it) via going to settings, 'about phone' at the bottom of the menu, and check for updates.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/22/motorola-droid-x-now-getting-ota-android-2-2-update/

Took a click to start the download, and one more to start the install - total of about 10 minutes until the X was back up and running.

Would take the time to download/install the flash player and the new GMail client.

Seems faster, but will actually take time to test it later and report back. A just about painless upgrade.

OK, I finally got my Droid and I love it! I also love the suggestions from other users about the apps. One I really like is Radar Live. it puts a radar loop up as your screen saver. Being a farmer, I love having this weather info at my fingertips. I also love the Bubble app and use it to level my travel trailer. Any other great suggestions? The worst feature I have found so far is the poor battery life.

Wow. My battery lasts over 24 hours. What time do you have it to go to sleep? There are many tips in the manual and on the phone of how to give it better battery life, but the difference, let's say, between two minutes and five minutes on the auto-sleep is huge. That takes up most of your battery time.

30 seconds

Leslie

My Droid Incredible had the same problem then I downloaded
the (free) Advanced Task Killer. Though there's some argument
on line about whether apps run in the background after they're
exited, the Task Killer addition seemed to restore my Droid's
battery life. As Bert mentions, other settings can be tweaked
and there's an app called Screebl lite that helps too.

Just tap the Task Killer every time you're finished using
the phone...easy enough.

Also, and I will probably use the wrong terms, but what size battery do you have? I mean they come in 1350 or 1500 something.

2.2 gives a better battery manager and, at any given time, the battery manager in settings should tell you what is taking up what power? But, this changes frequently.

If 24 hours is the norm then I guess mine is ok. Sometimes though if I use it a lot like while away from home and office I may need to charge during the day.
I do have Task Killer running. Version 2.2.20 I cannot find anywhere that tells me what size battery it is. I love it though.

My Incredible gets only about 6-8 hours from a battery charge. I have had to carry an extra charged battery to get through some days.

Lois

Boyo Boyo, stay away from Froyo (2.2) Too buggy for me. Not sure if I can go back or not.

How so, Bert? Maybe I am having issues and don't know it.

Well, if it works for you, that's great. Maybe it's the apps I have. But, for one thing, it added another lock. For another everytime, I use it after a while, it opens this program for teaching you how to dictate. Very annoying. Battery life is worse.

I think I am going back to factory defaults, which means I have to remember my apps. Not really sure what happens to paid for apps. Maybe I can just back those up. Have no idea right now.

Indy,
Jon posted yesterday that an AC app for the iphone is soon to be released ... afterhours documentation of phone calls etc.

will there be an equivalent for android based devices?

Is most of the excitement specific to motorola/verizon's phones or is Sprint's HTC EVO 4G a worthy alternative?

I live and work in an area with very good 4G coverage and Sprint - not Verizon offers a 4G network.

I really like the "Droid X" but downloading at 4-5 Mbps on th HTC was impressive - most of my email contain web content.