Motorola 'Droid X' to Challenge iPhone 4's Retina Display? [Updated]

[greenfields]

So basically it's a low res display capable of outputting 720p over HDMI. Not that exciting.

The iPhone 4 can play 720p as well, and it will do it with more information on the screen since it is higher resolution than the Droid X's display.

Who wants to hook up a cable to a TV anyway? Media players should be able to read the 720p video wirelessly over WiFi from the cell phone to the HDTV.

 

[uberamd]

Whats hilarious is Android supports video chatting but only via wifi, and on top of that only between phones of the same make. Thats stupid. Oh wait, thats not Android.

FaceTime is an open standard and will be supported in applications like Skype, XBox Live, etc.

 

[mags631]

How can a phone be great when it drops tons of calls? It's a quandary.

So the Droid isn't great then...? Or are you being defensive?

 

[Cameront9]

I hate this marketing campaign. Reminds me too much of "Sega does what Nintendon't"

Of course, Nintendo won, so....

 

[JackAxe]

I have an AMOLED on my phone, so I don't care if your phone is a higher rez than mine, if it's just a LCD......which looks like blue-ish washed out **** in comparison and sucks way more power.

 

[d$$$]

Waited years for Verizon to get iPhone, will switch to AT&T

You Verizon people kill me, the majority of you want an Iphone so bad, you see the Droid as the closest thing to it. When and if Verizon gets the iphone how many of you will still be talking about the droid? The Droid is waaaacckk!!! Its ugly and the interface is not as smooth as the Iphone.

Iphone-Jordan
Droid-Kobe (good but not the Goat)

I actually waited for years for Verizon to get the iPhone. Now I'm over it, my contract is up and I'll get a new iPhone this summer from AT&T

Buying a Droid/Google-based phone is entirely out of the question for me. I've had the WORST customer service issues with Google (ever tried getting a human being for tech support? When Google keeps charging you for a subscription you cant cancel because clicking the unsubscribe button brings up an error message?)

So any commercial product that has Google tech in it is just a no-no. A company that's unreachable for customers and completely veiled in useless decision-tree automated tech support can't expect to commercialize products and services.

Verizon has been great, but because the only viable alternative they offer runs on Google OS, I'll make the switch.

 

[WilliamLondon]

Notably, the teaser claims that the device will feature a 4.3-inch display with a "720P Screen". The claim would appear to suggest that the Droid X's display might carry a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels.

I'll bet the battery life on that thing is fan-effing-tastic!

Can't wait to see what the iPhone 4G battery life is.

 

[The Final Cut]

High dpi displays aren't some magical technology. I still remember 1920 x 1200 on a 15.4" Latitude. Next up, Sony.

ahhh this is a cell phone not a laptop?

 

[spazzcat]

FaceTime is an open standard and will be supported in applications like Skype, XBox Live, etc.

I think a lot of people missed that point in the keynote. People should be able to video chat to the iPhone from their compuers, if 3rd parties start supporting Apples standard.

 

[jacobj]

People that find choice too hard to deal with are sheep. Apple has created a great niche market appealing to sheep. And if you're inspired by a company that routinely censors the user's experience, then you're right and we are very different.

Get off your high horse you arrogant, supercilious *@£*. If you have an intellect capable of showing independence in every facet of your life, then you are wasted here and I should have heard of you for you are the greatest mind in history. However, if you are an intelligent contributor to society, then you know which fights to pick and which ones to leave; you know who to trust and who not to; you know where you add strength to the whole where others are lacking and you know who to trust to covers in areas in which you are lacking.

If you are a self-assured fool that believes that they are independent in every facet of their life, then I hate to be the one to inform you: but you're the most herd like of all the sheep in that you are not even aware that you are under the control of others. Add what you can and accept what you can't change (not that which is difficult to change, but that which you CANNOT change).

PS How about you read this forum in the raw x86 instruction set? It would take you longer to comment and make everyone happier.

 

[FoxyKaye]

If the camera records in 720p then you'll be able to play your videos on your TV, in same way as regular HD video cameras can. Sounds like an OK idea - playback content in the same format you've recorded it in?

That's as near as I can figure. But a shaky-cam phone recording with whatever optics they're able to cram into a phone body won't be nearly as nice as using a real 720p video camera. I suppose it's a way to bring HD video to the proletariat.

That said, the EVO and this new Droid X seem too wide for me. The Nexus is pretty much the same size as an iPhone, which is plenty large enough for what I'm doing with it now (phone, email, music, streaming data, etc.). I suppose if I ever started doing VNC sessions from my phone, I'd appreciate the larger screen.

 

[Eidorian]

ahhh this is a cell phone not a laptop?

The last thing I remember is VGA or maybe QVGA on a 1" display being something epic.

 

[435713]

Hey look its Android phone 3,455,242.

Droid is alright, if I liked the OS better I probably would get that version.

EDIT: I saw that 1984 banner from the google gaga IO conference, is that created by them? If so it seems they say the Iphone would cause some kind of Fallout with a hippy sitting there with his head down. Like ... yeah okay! One man controls it too they said, I thought a lot of people worked on the iPhone I guess Steve is mad busy doing it all himself.

Might be off, correct me if wrong I just saw that banner today.

 

[gnasher729]

Yeah, nice job Motorola Droid. But then isn't everything bigger and clunkier on that device already? I'm sure Steve Jobs is crying right now. He just pre-sold 600k units in one day. He makes more on iPhone 4 in one day that Motorola mobile division loses each year.

I am sure Motorola is working hard to change that

 

[milo]

Let's talk about this for a second, shall we. For one, the Droid X is a lower resolution screen (800 x 480), as many, many, many people have already said.

People have said both, at this point nobody knows for sure. The official droid website says flat out it's a 720p display, although it's still possible that is wrong. And yes, they absolutely could change it from the early demo models (who ever called those a "final production model"?), don't forget that they are just announcing it next week, it may not ship for months.

...but of course we all know this isn't really high-def...

Well, the standard says it is. Of course the guys who created the "standard" made it pretty loose, so your beef is probably with them.

Plus can the battery even last a whole movie with output like that? I mean if you're near a TV, you'd be better just to plug in the HTPC that's near it, or a laptop, or a desktop... there's just so many better options.

Like everyone has one of those other options available?

Whats hilarious is Android supports video chatting but only via wifi, and on top of that only between phones of the same make. Thats stupid. Oh wait, thats not Android.

iPhone 4 video chat is an open standard, so computers and other phones can support it as well. Are there android phones that support video chat over 3G?

sorry, i know hdmi supports 720p but hdmi is the only standard for a tv that can support 1080p with audio, so for the droid to have hdmi i am guessing it will be used mostly for bluray, but since true bluray is 1080p it holds a lot of memory, about 20gb, i dont see what else the hdmi out would be used for, except photos and videos taken on the phone but the camera on the droid cant take 1080p video so hdmi output seems pointless unless being used as a movie hub

I'm still confused. Can't it be used for playing back 720 movie files and 720 files recorded with the phone's camera? And don't most (all?) 1080 teevees play back 720 via hdmi just fine?

 

[spazzcat]

Why not? iPods have had video out for ages so it seems reasonable to expect HDMI out next.



Some phones support USB On-The-Go which allows you to attach a USB drive on which you've got your media stored.

And I don't think I have ever heard of someone outputting video from an iPod....

 

[spazzcat]

How can a phone be great when it drops tons of calls? It's a quandary.

I had at most three dropped calls on my iPhone.

 

[Skika]

Big beautiful screen, but the real difference is in Androids superior OS, and the fact that Apple can't censor your experience.

 

[drho2004]

the Droids are coming on strong like gang busters! They are slowly chopping at the iphone's marketshare....it always amazes me how all the iphone/apple fanboys dont think its a threat at all..YES the OS is slow and laggy..YES the hardware is kinda fugly (subjective) but its only a matter of time before they catch apple. I played with the G1 on their launch for Tmobile...it was like blah...but then this weekend i played with a EVO and man what a difference..not quite smooth like iOS but its deff workable. I will continue to use the iPhone as long as they can be jailbroken..only then it can be free like the droid os..and in a nice package...but Apple should be worried..

 

[Coukos34]

You guys do realize that when they say 720P. They mean that it has 720 vertical pixels. Not 1280 x 720....

Its prob 720x 480, or around there. Everyone can move along now.....

 

[supmango]

People that find choice too hard to deal with are sheep. Apple has created a great niche market appealing to sheep. And if you're inspired by a company that routinely censors the user's experience, then you're right and we are very different.

I see your line of thinking more aptly applied to Microsoft. The people I have talked to use their technology for one of 4 main reasons (these are things people have actually said to me, except for number 4)-

1. They perceive it as cheaper than other technologies (arguably correct in some instances).
2. That is what they use at work (and how that affects their home usage still confuses me)
3. They don't like change, and changing to a different technology sounds scary
4. They are technologically illiterate enough to think they have no other alternative.

These sound a bit more like sheep statements to me.

 

[tempusfugit]

There is a point where a larger screen becomes a burden. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I use my iPhone primarily as a) a phone, b) as an iPod, and c) to check email. I don't need a larger screen if it means having to carry around a larger phone. If it starts to get too big to carry in my pocket comfortably, I may as well get a small, cheap flip-phone and an iPad.

Good point. In that case, IMO you'd might as well get an iPad 3g and when multitasking comes out this fall you could answer VOIP calls at any time. No need for the flip!

 

[RidleyGriff]

You guys do realize that when they say 720P. They mean that it has 720 vertical pixels. Not 1280 x 720....

Its prob 720x 480, or around there. Everyone can move along now.....

The funniest part is going to be watching the Fandroids backpedalling to justify Verizon's blatantly misleading marketing tactics.

 

[JAT]

sorry, i know hdmi supports 720p but hdmi is the only standard for a tv that can support 1080p with audio, so for the droid to have hdmi i am guessing it will be used mostly for bluray, but since true bluray is 1080p it holds a lot of memory, about 20gb, i dont see what else the hdmi out would be used for, except photos and videos taken on the phone but the camera on the droid cant take 1080p video so hdmi output seems pointless unless being used as a movie hub

With the Droid's BD drive?? It is theoretically to simplify connections to current TV tech, one cable for both video and audio. Frankly, I don't see the point on a phone, I'd rather use an SD card. But that is why someone might want it vs some other connector.

 

[WilliamLondon]

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Yet another display for developers to support. How many does this make? How many handsets? How many versions of the OS out there? Today I read the latest is only on 50% of the handsets out there, and the article was praising the latest figures, like wow, 50% of handsets are running the latest OS version.