Big Phone, Big Screen, Big Pleasure
By DAVID POGUE June 30, 2010
You think technology moves too fast now? You think your camera, camcorder and computer become obsolete quickly?
Try buying an app phone. In this business, the state of the art changes as often as Lady Gaga changes outfits.
Suppose, for example, that you want one of the increasingly popular phones that run Google's Android software.
Last November, you might have been tempted by the Motorola Droid, "the best Android phone on the market." A month later, the HTC Hero was "the best Android phone on the market." By January, "the best Android phone yet" was the Nexus One. In April, "the best Android device that you can purchase" was the HTC Incredible. In May, "the best Android phone on the market" was the Sprint Evo.
Either "the best Android phone on the market" is a tech critic's tic, or we're witnessing one seriously crazy game of leapfrog.
The latest buzz is about the Motorola Droid X, which Verizon will offer in mid-July for $200. (That's after a $100 rebate, with a two-year contract for new customers or existing ones whose contracts would expire this year; plans start at $90 a month with unlimited Internet and texting.)
The physical keyboard of the original Droid is gone; you do all your Droid X typing onscreen. The phone is impressively thin - all the way to the camera bulge at the top back. That bump makes it easier to pull the phone from your pocket, but it has a bizarre look.
There are physical Menu, Home, Back and Search buttons below the screen, and a dedicated camera/shutter button on the edge. Great, great idea.
The most notable physical characteristic, though, is the Droid X's size. It's absolutely huge (5 by 2.6 by 0.4 inches). It's easily the biggest app phone on the market. You feel as if you're talking into a frozen waffle.
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