Some initial thoughts about the Droid X:

Overall it's thinner than the Droid (and lighter -- 155 grams or 5.47 ounces to 169 grams or 6 ounces -- for the Droid, Motorola says), and without the slider. For me, that’s fine. I prefer the virtual keyboard. (The hardware keyboard on the Droid is offset to accommodate a joystick device on the right, and that makes it harder for me to use.) The X's keyboard is easier to use, even in portrait orientation. Calendar, by the way, also looks much better on the X because it's bigger. Everything is easier to read.

The sound quality of phone calls is very good. Better than my Droid. Speakerphone works very well.

The battery holds its charge a long time when the phone is idle. After six days, without being on the charger once, it had 40 percent of its life remaining. Now, I hadn't used it much, but I still find that encouraging.

That battery life dropped significantly, as you would expect, after playing 45 minutes of a video.

Ah, video.

The screen is amazing.

Phenomenal clarity, and by virtue of its overall size, especially good for widescreen videos. I copied over an .avi file and it played flawlessly.

There is a protrusion on the back at the top of the phone, which means it doesn’t lie flat if you have it on the ledge of a treadmill, for instance. A minor point, and you could adjust for it, but lying flat, the phone is at a slight angle.

Sound, through headphones, is quite good, but I'd like more volume. The thing should go to 11, to match the video quality, and it doesn't. I could hear a fan set on high and the treadmill motor while watching a James Bond movie.

The battery showed 100 percent after two hours on the charger, after the video use.

I'm going to try some more stuff over the weekend. Any suggestions?

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