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It's a situation too many Android users are intimately familiar with. You get a shiny new phone, and you love it. Then the days turn to weeks, the weeks to months, and suddenly a new version of your phone is released. Oh sure, at first you think it will be fine. The new phone is faster and thinner, but you like your smartphone. Then the updates dry up like a puddle in the unforgiving desert sun, and your phone slides slowly into complete obsolescence. Well, unless you have a Droid X, which Verizon just decided to update after not touching it for a year and a half.
Droid X OTA Update (Build 4.5.621) Rolling Out Now, Brings Bug Fixes A-Plenty
Droid X OTA Update (Build 4.5.621) Rolling Out Now
Droid X users, Motorola and Verizon haven't forgotten about you; not completely, at least. You may not be getting Ice Cream Sandwich (officially, anyway), but Big Red is pushing one hell of a bug-fix update (we spotted it last week) to your device right now.
Owners of Motorola's Droid X should be expecting an OTA update "soon," which will bring the device's build up to version 4.5.621.MB810. Despite the fact that Verizon's announcement page says "Droid X2" in the title, the update will in fact bring its bevy of enhancements to the original Droid X. Among these are improvements to the OTA process itself, browser security (a la Google's 2.3.6 security patch), and various stability and bug fixes. Verizon's announcement document lists the full set of enhancements, for those interested:
This week has definitely been the week of the Droid X - after about a year of being on the market, the magic of the "2nd init" hack allowed for the first ever unofficial build of CyanogenMod 7 on this popular U.S. device. Only days after the momentous announcement, the Droid X CyanogenMod, led by the great cvpcs, is now part of the official CM source tree and served nightly from the CM mirror network.
Gingerbread-using DROID X owners, your handsets are excluded from the elite ranks of Netflix-compatible devices no more; a recent update to the official Netflix application added support for your 2.3-running phones. Unfortunately, the DROID X is the only Gingerbread handset (with the exception of the Nexus phones) currently compatible with the movie rental service - my EVO 4G, which received its official 2.3 update a few weeks ago, still can't access the app. Additionally, those DROID X users still running Froyo are left out of the fun. Bummer.
Even though it's only been two days since cvpcs first unveiled CyanogenMod 7 running on the Droid X, it seems that he has already worked out enough of the kinks to release the first beta/RC version to the masses. The flashing process is a bit more complex compared to other phone/ROM combos, but well worth the added trouble if you ask me. Everything you're seeing here today would have been impossible without the "2nd init" hack, which cvpcs explains in detail here.
Ladies and gentlemen, it appears that cvpcs has achieved the impossible: he's thrown together (but not yet publicized) a build of CyanogenMod 7 that works on the Motorola DROID X!
Horrific battery life on Android phones is nothing new, and neither is the mind-blowing shattering frailty of said handsets. We've seen - and reviewed - solutions to both of these issues, but for those who want a convenient, all-in-one product, nothing beats XPAL's "PowerSkins."
UPDATE: According to Droid Life, the update should start tonight, but it may just be a "soak test", for users that signed up via Motorola's support forums. That's not entirely confirmed at this point, so if you happen to get the update, drop us a line.
Official word just came out of VZW's camp that the Droid X2 will indeed be hitting the streets on the previously rumored launch date of May 26. The arrival of the X2 puts the total number of new VZW phones to hit on that same day at three (what's up with phones dropping in threes these days?) alongside the LG Revolution and Sony Xperia PLAY, so anyone looking to pick up a new handset will have somewhat of a choice to make.
We've already seen videos and benchmarks of the not-so-well-kept-secret that is the Droid X2, and now we get to see some press shot goodness, along with a little bit of a name change. It turns out that it won't be called the DROID X2, but instead... DROID X². I told you the change was little. So, without further ado, here are the press shots:
Well, well, well... look what our friends over at Techno Buffalo have come across - the Droid X2! One of their loyal tipsters has sent in some really great pictures of the DX2, including side-by-side shots with the original Droid X. And as if that weren't enough, they even grabbed a quick video of this upcoming monster performing a Quadrant benchmark. I know you're probably frothing at the mouth to see that, so it's first in line:
The rumors surrounding the Droid X2's hardware have been kind of sporadic, but it looks like we are starting to get a more definite look at what will be packed under the hood of this device. Some benchmarks that have appeared over at Nenamark are basically confirming the presence of a Tegra 2 dual-core processor and a qHD display, the latter via the device's reported resolution of 960x540.
In an internal memo leaked from SCK (the Radio Shack subsidiary that sets up wireless kiosks at Sam's Club) it appears that the Droid X2 is on its way very soon, and it may not be much of an upgrade over the original. The note to employees says that kiosks can expect to see the Droid X2 (which showed up at the FCC recently) "this week."
Apparently the FCC has had a new Motorola phone submitted to it that sounds like it could possibly be the Droid X2. The phone carries the model ID IHDT56MJ1, which is all we have to work with since Motorola apparently requested that the device's name remain anonymous for 180 days (roughly six months for those who had trouble in math). If the conclusion of the period of anonymity coincides with the phone's launch, that would put it at August or September, which sounds reasonable to us for a Droid X2 launch.
With the cheapest one costing $149.99, Verizon's Droids aren't exactly stocking stuffers, but at least the price comes with double the value now. That's right - the infamous BOGO (buy one, get one free) deal has now been extended to the carrier's flagship Android devices... all except the Droid Pro, that is. Additionally, the original Droid 2 is excluded from the ad despite being part of the deal, most likely because its global brethren already appears in the ad. However, why the Droid Pro is being left out of the fun is anyone's guess.
Wow... that's the only word I have to describe what Amazon Wireless pulled this morning. Amazon and Wirefly oftentimes offer killer deals compared to the carriers (like yesterday's $50 Droid Pro Wirefly deal), but this one is just ridiculous. All of the Droid phones, including the newly released Droid Pro, are exactly 1 penny over at Amazon Wireless for new Verizon customers:
Motorola has acknowledged the complaints of a number of DROID X owners who have upgraded to Android 2.2 and are experiencing "issues" related to the update. Some of the issues are minor, but a couple (failure to boot, kernel panic) are definitely not. Motorola is saying the bugs have been squashed, but the fixes will be incorporated into a yet-to-be-announced "future software release." Here's what a Moto employee on the DROID X support forum had to say:
