What are your feelings between this and the Incredible? I really like the big screen on the X, but I'm on my 3rd handset already.

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mburstiner December 12, 2010

What are your feelings between this and the Incredible? I really like the big screen on the X, but I'm on my 3rd handset already.

First one had a bogus screen, second one had a bogus headphone jack, and all three routinely rebooted and ruin half of my photos/videos. Seriously considering swapping it out for an Incredible. I don't think I trust Motorola anymore to make decent hardware.

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vannoj 1 year ago

I've got an Incredible and couldn't be happier with it. Rooting it is super easy with unrEVOked. It's just a quick download on your computer and then one click while your phone is connected via USB and you're done. Not as easy as z4root for the DX but by no means is it difficult.

There are quite a few great ROMs out for the Inc since it's seven months old. I switch between cyanogen and miui, but there are a ton of other options--some with sense and some that are AOSP.

Hardware-wise my Inc has been totally solid. I'm sure there are those who have had issues but HTC really knows how to make phones.

If you can get used to the smaller screen I see no reason to go for the DX over the Inc, but I'm biased I suppose. ;)

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kpgalligan 1 year ago

Hi Mark. I know mark. I now have both, along with several other Android phones. I think you get used to the smaller screen. The INc is a more solid phone. I kind of enjoy using it when doing dev over most of the other phones. However, ANY custom UI crap from ANY manufacturer, for the most part, sucks. HTC Sense is debatable.

Nexus One is the most "stable" of the phones, but its not on Verizon. G2 has a big screen and keyboard, and is my personal phone, but also is t-mobile.

I will be getting N2 on Thursday. I'll let you know. Samsung has so far been pretty terrible. Hopefully that turns around.

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frankspin 1 year ago

I personally wasn't impressed when I played around with the DX. I felt like the screen was a little but of overkill when you consider the resolution on it. I wasn't feeling the customized UI that Motorola did, just felt really unpolished. The physical buttons on the bottom were just cheap feeling and seemed like they would fall off.

That being said I was more impressed with the incredible, it seemed like a much better built phone.

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mburstiner 2010-12-12 16:28:00

Very helpful, thank you! I'm also pretty sure the Incredible is more easily rooted, too.

M!

frankspin 2010-12-12 17:43:13

I was actually looking at that the other over at XDA and it looks incredibly (no pun) painless

I should have noted I own an Eris, so I hope I'm not being biased towards the DX. After running an phone with Sense or Stock Vanilla, it's hard to enjoy anything else.

Trong 2010-12-12 19:29:17

No, the Incredible, much like the EVO, ismuch harder to root than the Droid X. Although you don't get a full nand unlock on the DX, all you have to do is run z4 Root and you'll be rooted in a second. You have the ability to flash ROM's, but no kernel flashes.

The Incredible's ability to root depends on which screen you have and any smaller hardware/software revisions that HTC might've put it through. However, once you do get it rooted, the phone is all yours to mess with.

frankspin 2010-12-12 19:31:33

Thanks for chiming in with this. I didn't realize the screens mad a difference, when I read the thread on XDA it looked like all you needed to do was run unRevoked.

mburstiner 2010-12-12 23:29:18

Thanks so much! Any suggestions for a good ROM? I know cyanogen isn't available, for the DX (is it for the Incredible?). Thanks again!

M!

Trong 2010-12-13 14:05:43

I'm not really big into Incredible development so I can't help you there :/

But on the DX, my favorite is RubiX Focused. Looks like stock Android and runs blazing fast. Other good options are Fission and ApeX.

frankspin 2010-12-13 14:12:11

I can't really recommend any as I have an Eris and the developers are not the same across the board. I was looking there today and was surprised at how few Sense-less ROMS there were compared to the Eris.

Shamrock13 2010-12-13 14:35:32

I recommend Apex. It's the fastest ROM out there IMO. It's the best Stock Android version there is.

jurrasix 2010-12-28 01:12:09

@frankspin: I want to second this. Last time I checked it was a 1-click effort. Both root and S-OFF NAND unlock are available.

UnRevoked or UnRevoked Forever should do the trick.

Trong 2010-12-28 01:20:10

twitter.com/unrevoked/status/18228240141258752
twitter.com/unrevoked/status/13339965719056384

Yeah... not so much

EDIT: I'm not saying that his decision was poor. It's great that you can swap out the kernel, unlike the DX, but I'm just dumping anything I know about rooting the Dinc.

jurrasix 2010-12-28 01:23:03

Sweet. I was looking around for that, but got distracted. Though I will say those guys move quickly. I keep forgetting they switched displays on the phone.

jurrasix 2010-12-28 01:34:31

Just to clarify those tweets...the bottom one is in respect to the EVO which is not the phone in question. As far as the Incredible, it's saying you'll have to load a supported Recovery. I can look for an available recovery, but I assume there is one since it's being bundled in the new release and not developed by UnRevoked. Still not that difficult, even if it's just an extra step or so.

forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=845451 (Recovery in quesiton)

Instructions for CM: forum.cyanogenmod.com/topic/12799-help-with-gettin...

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LANjackal 2010-12-13 09:10:31

Droid X FTW. I've had 2 Droid 1s.

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itchyeyes 2010-12-13 12:12:56

Interesting. I'm also on my 3rd Motorola handset in the last year (in my case an original Droid). The first one had problems with the headphone jack (wonder if it's the same issue you had). The second one had the bottom left corner of the touch screen stop working. That officially makes the Droid the least reliable gadget I own now, behind even my 360. Don't think I'll be buying another Motorola product any time soon.

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mburstiner 2010-12-17 15:08:16

So, I spoke with Verizon last night and I have a Droid Incredible on the way. Looking forward to a more traditionally sized screen and more reliable hardware. I'm worried about AMOLED vs. SLCD. The opinions seem to skew pretty heavily in both directions & on varying topics (screen clarity, battery life, rootability, etc...). I'm most concerned with rootability. As much as Sense is (mostly) an improvement over stock 2.2, I'd much rather run Cyanogen 6.1 and be able to get Gingerbread when I'm ready, not when HTC(or Motorola) is.

Will be sure to update with my opinions after having spent time with it. So far, here's what I'll miss and what I won't from the Droid X:

Will Miss:
• '720p' recording
Sure, the resolution is there, but it's not true 720p. That said, it looked great (considering the source) blown up on our HDTV. Which brings me to...
• HDMI output
Seems silly in theory, and in practice if you're trying to watch a movie, it is. You don't want to use your phone as a controller, even in a hotel room (Travelled LA>SF>London>Vegas with it). But where it was incredibly useful was when friends are over and you want to share a video you took. Though I guess the solution here is to put them on my computer and stream them to the xbox or otherwise. Not a big deal.
• Big screen
I like the amount of breathing room it allows for, and watching YouTube on it is a pleasure
• Text Selection
Double tapping a word brings up anchors for selection immediately. Incredible doesn't. Not sure if Cyanogen 6.1 does.Either way, see trackpad below.

Won't miss:
• Hardware buttons
At first, liked that the home button served as a wake button, but clicking down feels like too much pressure and I hate the noise it makes.
• Bulging battery cover
All 3 devices I had had quite a bit of give to the battery cover. Made it feel cheap.
• Big Screen
Sometimes it was too big. Especially in bed. I was constantly shifting the phone up and down in my hand to reach the notification bar. This is due to the aspect ratio. 16:9 sounds nice on paper, but in practice makes for a clumsy feel. In contrast, my girlfriend's EVO, while wider, feels more comfortable due to (I believe) a 16:10 ratio.
• The hardware issues
This is why it started. I don't trust Motorola anymore. The original Droid was the only exception to their terrible hardware track record. Screen, headphone jack, general slowness.
• Bloatware
Yes, I could have rooted this, and yes, the Inc. will have some, and yes, I plan on running Cyanogen anyway, but my goodness. Verizon/Moto forced so much garbage to run in the background, that it made rudimentary things like unlocking the phone sluggish.

Conversely,

Looking forward to:
• Trackpad
Especially since one of the few boons to NinjaBlur (or whatever the heck is on the DX) was the iPhone style hold-and-drag+magnifying glass. Will be nice to have to text selection.
• Pretty much the opposite of everything I said I wouldn't miss
Smaller form factor, soft buttons, Cyanogen, etc...

Not looking forward to:
• Battery Life
If it's as bad as everyone says, I'll need to get the expanded battery which I'm ok with as long as it doesn't make it too much of a fatty.

I think that's about it. That was just a brain dump. Hopefully this will help anyone else trying to decide between the two!

M!

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Trong 2010-12-17 15:16:04

Just wanted to toss in my 2 cents about the screen. I prefer SLCD to AMOLED. The colors aren't over-saturated and I don't have to worry about bright backgrounds killing battery life!

In mention of battery life: store.androidcentral.com/seidio-innocell-1750mah-e...

That battery doesn't require a new backing or anything; it's fits right in with no problems! Standard battery 1350 mAh vs 1750 mAh

mburstiner 2010-12-17 15:20:50

I have a feeling I'll be happy with an SLCD, but I'm not sure what they'll send. They're sending it out of warranty stock, so I think it's SLCD.

I'm a little worried about the root process with SLCD though, but it seems it's as simple as following these: jonsuh.com/2010/11/root-your-droid-incredible-how-...

If so, then great.

Do you have experience with that batter? I don't have experience with aftermarket accessories, but I do see Seidio a lot.

Huge thanks to all that have taken the time to contribute. This is why I <3 GDGT.

M!

vannoj 2010-12-18 19:17:06

I have an AMOLED Incredible but I had an SLCD one for a week that I had to return because of activation issues. If I could I would pick SLCD. There seems to be a lot of strong opinions in both directions on which screen is better, but I like the SLCD more. The AMOLED tends to oversaturate colors and sharp edges and lines look sort of jagged because of the two subpixels per pixel on the AMOLED screen. The SLCD was much sharper for me and I think it's a little better in the sunlight compared to the AMOLED. When I got my AMOLED DInc after having the SLCD for a week I actually thought the screen was malfunctioning. The AMOLED looks like it has more texture between pixels and it's not as smooth as the SLCD.
Don't be bummed if you do get an AMOLED one though, now that I'm used to it I don't have any issues with it.

As for battery life I can attest to it being pretty awful. When on the stock battery I average about a 10% per hour battery drain while running CM 6.1. I went ahead and bought Seidio's 3500mAh extended battery and it's fabulous. It definitely adds a significant amount of bulk, but the ability to use my phone uncompromised for the entire day is absolutely worth the thickness.

If you have other questions, keep 'em coming.

jurrasix 2010-12-28 01:18:07

Good choice. You'll love the phone. It's been solid for me. No case, no screen protector and it has held up since it's release. I've dropped it, flung it (all accidental) and the thing is going strong.

You asked about ROMs a couple posts back. Cyanogen is available, Skyraider, Redemptive, IncDoes, are all good ROMs. Currently I'm running Myn's Warm TwoPointTwo and it is awesome. Skyraider Athena is a new build he's working on that looks pretty promising. And of course there is Gingerbread which is getting really close to a good full port.

Be sure to read around on XDA, there's a lot of good stuff, helpful info, and good people that know what they are doing.

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What are your feelings between this and the Incredible? I really like the big screen on the X, but I'm on my 3rd handset already.

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