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Ordered a new droid.

Daneg

Newbie
Oct 21, 2010
41
0
So after having my Blackberry 8530. I wasn't happy with it too much. It was great for battery life, and texting and email. However I want apps, and what I call "actual" internet. The 8530 has "slimmed down" Internet, that didn't always load the pages I went to, and didn't let me enter text in to some websites. I loved it when I got it. I played with my friends Droid Eris over the summer, and I fell in love. Played with the incredible when it came out, fell in love with it. Droid X came out, went and played with it, and loved it instantly. The phone is bigger then the incredible which I hope I can get used to, but the display is amazing!

I ordered it last night from verizon, I should have it monday.

The only thing I am slightly worried about...is battery life. When I get this phone I plan on updating to Froyo unless it's already on. Then uninstalling applications/junk I wont use. Bluetooth, I don't have a blue tooth headset, so it wont get turned on. I plan on getting one later on though so it will only be on when i need the Bluetooth headset.

GPS is getting turned off. I wouldn't use it. My BB had one, and I didn't use it. I don't need maps, if I am out I have a GPS.

Wifi- also off UNLESS I need it.

My BB currenty right now, it can go 8hrs with moderate/ somewhat heavy internet usage and calls and text before it goes into the yellow. With low usage (some web, facebook, few calls, good amount of texts) It lasts all day up to half a battery. I charge it everynight anyways even if its a bar short of full.

I've read that people are like "I have to charge it every night before bed" So? That doesn't bother me, I always have charged all my phones before bed, this will be no different.

If the battery life is kind of sucky, I plan on getting that extended battery verizon has in their store...Anyone use this before?

Also one last thing, Verizon is really pushing a task killer, I don't believe this is needed, correct? And I have my BB car charger, it has the same port that the droid X has I believe. The charger is rated for 650, I think. Would that be ok to use? If not I know I found an Moto OEM charger for it...I think it's rated higher for the X, and it's 6$ on amazon, I'd get it when I get my bluetooth, so I can get both with free shipping haha.

Sorry for the long first post, hopefully the Android world is nice!
 
Welcome to Android Forums, Daneg.

It's good to see a user thinking things through enough to have questions right away about the device.. you'll get responses from X owners covering a range of issues, I'm sure.

Battery life is so variable that it's almost impossible to put a definite "good" or "bad" on it from device to device, from user to user. I've found that disabling animations and live wallpapers is about the only measure I need to dramatically increase the life of the battery over the course of a day's use.

Ymmv (on all issues you've asked about). ;)
 
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Welcome to Android Forums, Daneg.

It's good to see a user thinking things through enough to have questions right away about the device.. you'll get responses from X owners covering a range of issues, I'm sure.

Battery life is so variable that it's almost impossible to put a definite "good" or "bad" on it from device to device, from user to user. I've found that disabling animations and live wallpapers is about the only measure I need to dramatically increase the life of the battery over the course of a day's use.

Ymmv (on all issues you've asked about). ;)

Thanks for the reply! Yeah animated wallpapers I'll disable cause I have a few different wallpapers already picked out that should be amazing on the phone.

Animations. This is something I took notice to while in the store, which animations does the option to turn them off disable? all of them? I didn't play around with that option too much.
 
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It's my preference to have instant transitions from menu to menu, from screen to screen, etc, so I disable animations altogether.

Also, along the lines of resource conservation, I admit to also not using autosync or background updates in any apps, preferring to go in and check or update each one manually when I need to. This saves battery life overall as well as avoiding an oft repeated issue of sudden battery drain which can be attributed to "sync loops" which can happen from time to time (Facebook being the biggest culprit).

You're smart to leave GPS off until needed, as well.
 
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My battery life is very good on my D-x, even with the stock battery. I also ordered the Moto extended battery and it pushes me thru the day even further. Its not double the life or anything like that, but its very good.

And I also came from the land-o-blackberry so I know what you mean about battery life, as I could go 2.5 days on my old curve without a recharge. But the phones are so incredibly different. With my Blackberry, I could only surf prolly 40% of the pages I tried since the browser was so poor. Thats not true with the Droid-x.
 
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I have found that the battery on this phone is just fine, I consider myself a social user (I know that can sound bad, but I am talking about the phone). I would have around 100 to 150 texts a day. I have three Gmail accounts that are on sync (push not pull). I have tweetdeck pulling updates on two twitter accounts and a facebook account every 9 minutes and weather updating every 30 minutes. I surf the web for between and hour and two a day, play a couple games and have a few phone calls. Also at lunch I go for a walk with bluetooth music playing and GPS tracking on. After 15 hours I am usually around 40% to 50% of the battery left. The biggest drain is from the display, followed by the tracking app I use at lunch. I leave GPS always on and have found it does not drain the battery unless there is an app that is using it, and the app is active on your screen, even in maps if you go back home the GPS stops until you open the map. The only exception is navigation.

There are things you can do, if you want, to make the battery better, but the 2.2 OTA really did a good job of making a good battery life very good for a smart phone.
 
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GPS, i believe, is one of the biggest misconceptions about the DX. When I first got mine, I was all about making sure I turned it off when not using it, etc. After awhile, I gave it a try to leave it on and I dont notice a single difference. I like to use the GPS for weather, google and other different apps so its just more convenient to leave it on. I would try for yourself to see if GPS affects battery life before you just assume it will.

If you got about 10 hours out of your Blackberry and were content with that, you should be happy with this phones battery life. I have taken a few steps to conserve but I am a very heavy user. I probably get around 8-10 hours on average a day before I have to charge. Being a college student, this is perfect. I have enough battery to get through the day of classes, charge a little after that, then I have enough to survive the night life. One thing I have noticed is that the DX charges from 0% to 100% very very quickly.

As for other issues, no, a task killer is not needed. If you root, I would recommend Autokiller Memory Optimizer. It is not a task killer as much as utilizing the DX's ability to close programs not being used. It saves on battery life but wont hurt anything. Again, you need to be rooted to use it but if you plan on deleting bloat as soon as you get the phone, you will have to be. Oh and yes, blackberry car chargers work on the DX, that is what I use and it works fine.
 
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I use the extended battery. It adds almost NOTHING to the size of the phone and nets you about a 30% increase in battery life so it was a no-brainer for me.

If I use it very heavily, I'll plug it in at night around 20-30%. On days where I'm busy and don't get to use it much, I'll go home and it'll still be up around 80%.

I think the DX gets very good battery life. It's certainly better than the iPhone 3GS it replaced, which, from all accounts, had decent battery life (and that was my experience as well).

Also, GPS does not drain the battery unless the little GPS icon is flashing in the status bar, which will never happen unless you have a GPS application open.
 
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I have found that the battery on this phone is just fine, I consider myself a social user (I know that can sound bad, but I am talking about the phone). I would have around 100 to 150 texts a day. I have three Gmail accounts that are on sync (push not pull). I have tweetdeck pulling updates on two twitter accounts and a facebook account every 9 minutes and weather updating every 30 minutes. I surf the web for between and hour and two a day, play a couple games and have a few phone calls. Also at lunch I go for a walk with bluetooth music playing and GPS tracking on. After 15 hours I am usually around 40% to 50% of the battery left. The biggest drain is from the display, followed by the tracking app I use at lunch. I leave GPS always on and have found it does not drain the battery unless there is an app that is using it, and the app is active on your screen, even in maps if you go back home the GPS stops until you open the map. The only exception is navigation.

There are things you can do, if you want, to make the battery better, but the 2.2 OTA really did a good job of making a good battery life very good for a smart phone.

Before I forget to ask, How do you set gmail up to push and not pull emails?

GPS, i believe, is one of the biggest misconceptions about the DX. When I first got mine, I was all about making sure I turned it off when not using it, etc. After awhile, I gave it a try to leave it on and I dont notice a single difference. I like to use the GPS for weather, google and other different apps so its just more convenient to leave it on. I would try for yourself to see if GPS affects battery life before you just assume it will.

If you got about 10 hours out of your Blackberry and were content with that, you should be happy with this phones battery life. I have taken a few steps to conserve but I am a very heavy user. I probably get around 8-10 hours on average a day before I have to charge. Being a college student, this is perfect. I have enough battery to get through the day of classes, charge a little after that, then I have enough to survive the night life. One thing I have noticed is that the DX charges from 0% to 100% very very quickly.

As for other issues, no, a task killer is not needed. If you root, I would recommend Autokiller Memory Optimizer. It is not a task killer as much as utilizing the DX's ability to close programs not being used. It saves on battery life but wont hurt anything. Again, you need to be rooted to use it but if you plan on deleting bloat as soon as you get the phone, you will have to be. Oh and yes, blackberry car chargers work on the DX, that is what I use and it works fine.

Thanks for the reply! I'll mess with the GPS alittle I think maybe. What weather app needs the GPS? I don't plan to root because I have no idea what I am doing lol. Also thanks for the answer about the black berry charger! I got told yes and no about it.

Also the Droid X should be faster than my BB because the Curve 8530 is a different Rev of network than the X if i remember correctly.

Also one thing I like with my blackberry, and I want to know if i will be able to do it with froyo.

Custom contact alert sounds for CALLS and TEXTS. Is this possible? I hope so!

Also someone said if I bring my own ringtoens which i will, I need to make a folder on the card called
Media:
Ringtones.

How can I edit the card? Connect it to my computer and turn on mass storage? If so how do i do that?
 
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Most of the weather apps just use GPS to grab your initial location, or they'll provide the option to type your city.

Gmail by default will push emails. When you add your Gmail account, you'll get push emails.

Editing the card is easy, you just plug the phone in, a USB connection will appear in your notification shade on the phone, and you can press it to select "Mass Storage." Your SD card will then appear on the PC.

Sorry, I basically spend my whole time with my phone in vibrate-only mode (actually, it's usually an accident when it rings out loud and it usually catches me off guard - I always wonder whose phone is ringing) so I have no idea about custom alert sounds.
 
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I'd say the battery life is about equal to the BB Storm I had. With that said, I would go pretty much until bedtime on the Storm without plugging it in. With the X I usually have to plug in when I get home. But I use the X more. So things are about equal.
Internet is vastly superior with the X. Other things are about the same. Some worse. I must say I like the easy layout of the Storm better( watching for incoming ;) ). Screen sensitivity to touch is much better on the X. And Swype? Instant love!
App download is sooooooooo much easier and faster.
The X is overall a much better phone.
 
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You can change the ringtone for each individual contact for calls, but I dont believe stock comes with a way to change text notifications. As always though, Im sure there is an app for that somewhere...lol

Rooting really isnt all that hard. Honestly, you download 4 files onto your computer, plug your phone in, press one button and you are rooted. Its what you do with the root that can be complicated. Rooting is needed to remove all the extra programs (bloat) from your phone that verizon/motorola put on there.

As said above, editing your card isnt hard at all from the computer. There are like 3 different modes you can be in that will edit your card. As for the ringtone thing, you dont have to put them in a specific files although it is alot more organized that way. Your phone will draw from anywhere on your SD card to find media files to set as ringtones.
 
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You can change the ringtone for each individual contact for calls, but I dont believe stock comes with a way to change text notifications. As always though, Im sure there is an app for that somewhere...lol

Rooting really isnt all that hard. Honestly, you download 4 files onto your computer, plug your phone in, press one button and you are rooted. Its what you do with the root that can be complicated. Rooting is needed to remove all the extra programs (bloat) from your phone that verizon/motorola put on there.

As said above, editing your card isnt hard at all from the computer. There are like 3 different modes you can be in that will edit your card. As for the ringtone thing, you dont have to put them in a specific files although it is alot more organized that way. Your phone will draw from anywhere on your SD card to find media files to set as ringtones.


What abou if I root it? can i change contact alert sounds? is there a guide for rooting? and does it void my warranty? I thought the droid x was to "Lock down" if you mess with it?
 
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So as I am waiting for my droid X to get here monday. I want a display protector. For my blackberry I bought the verizon ones and I will not buy they're kind of my droid x. I want the SGP Stenheil Ultra Crystal screen protector but its sold out on their site, and on amazon. I found it here SGP Steinheil ULTRA CRYSTAL Screen Protector for MOTOROLA Droid X [Verizon]

But not sure i should just wait and buy it from the company directly or amazon.

alot of people say its good. I want something that will be smooth because playing with the droid x in the store i love how just the glass feels.

Also for cases, will ANY case I buy fit the droid x with the extended battery?
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I bought the non glare cover from my Verizon store. The guy that put it on did a perfect job and the non glare finish is great. I have had it on about two months and it has done a great job. You get 3 for 12.99.

Yeah the verizon ones are nice sometimes, the one thats on my BB now is good for the BB. for the the X i want it to be good, so i figure i can go alittle without anything on it until that website gets them in stock.

The verizon ones can also be a pain in the ass. I bought the pack of 3 and didnt work out. I did a better job than the guy at the verizon store.
 
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I'd say my DX is about the same battery wise as my BB Storm was. Although I use my X heavy most of the time so its read in about 3 hours of constant use, the blackberry was just to slow and I'd get frustrated before I could even put a dent in the battery life lol. if I'm busy all day and don't use the X much I get about 14 hours with 20-30% left with light use
 
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I think the folks who've previously posted how the battery life of the X compares to your BB are going to be your best frame of reference.

However, out of many current gen smartphones the X is in most respects at or near the top of the list in terms of battery life:
Motorola Droid X: Thoroughly Reviewed - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

I'm a big fan of anandtech for phone reviews... they do DETAILED reviews of phones. Even if you don't want to read the whole review you can jump to just the parts that are relevant to your needs. Their review is one of the main reasons I picked the X because I was specifically looking for good signal reception and good battery life.
 
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wow congratulations !dude
smile.gif
 
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So I got verizon to put a hold on my phone so they keep it at the local fedex place so I can pick it up monday morning since I wont be around i figured I could stop at get it cause I will drive by the place anyways.

Well it's currently at the local place, and i called fedex and asked if its possible to stop by and pick it up today since they are open. got told no.

I hate not finding the local fedex place number online. if it's there i should be able to go get it.
 
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So I got verizon to put a hold on my phone so they keep it at the local fedex place so I can pick it up monday morning since I wont be around i figured I could stop at get it cause I will drive by the place anyways.

Well it's currently at the local place, and i called fedex and asked if its possible to stop by and pick it up today since they are open. got told no.

I hate not finding the local fedex place number online. if it's there i should be able to go get it.
Yeah they wont let you get it, I tried that in the past!
Too bad though, would save fedex money and you would get your phone today!
Daisy
 
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Yeah they wont let you get it, I tried that in the past!
Too bad though, would save fedex money and you would get your phone today!
Daisy

Yeah it sucks. I called fedex and they connected me to the local fedex place and the guy was nice and said he couldnt go back and find it since its not sorted yet, and he couldnt watch the front of the store and look for it.

Monday morning I'll get it.

Should it come with froyo already? I'll be in the car when I get it, so I'll set it up while i'm riding along somewhere.
 
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GPS is getting turned off. I wouldn't use it. My BB had one, and I didn't use it. I don't need maps, if I am out I have a GPS.
Keep in mind that GPS isn't just for using the phone for maps. GPS is used by all kinds of apps to find things based on your location - weather, gas prices, stores/restaurants, etc.

My battery life was really bad for the first 3 or 4 days, but improved dramatically after that. I followed the instructions for conditioning the battery that were posted way back when it was released - not sure if that had any impact or not, I've read differing opinions in the meantime.

Have fun!
 
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