went from D1 -> X2. Still torn...

[Raidy]

So I took the plunge and upgraded from my trusty D1 to the X2, hoping for a nice boost in performance, and to finally get around the ridiculous internal memory limitations.

While I do dig the X2 quite a bit, I really find myself missing the physical keyboard from the D1. I kept going back and forth about waiting for the D3, but I was tired of "waiting forever for the next great thing", which of course is the bane of all technology. But the hardware KB was always so reliable.

Another few thing that immediately annoy me are what seems to be a lack of options compared to the D1 (likely Blur related?). Cap on the amount of txt msgs retained, requirement to first swipe the unlock button and then have to enter a code if using screenlock (wtf!?), etc. Frustrating.

At least I was able to restore my ADW settings fairly easily, but now the X2 is using /sdcard-ext instead of /sdcard for the mounted SD, so some things are wonky. (FYI I retained my 16GB SD card from the D1 rather than use the smaller 8GB from the X2, cuz again what's up with the downgrade?)

Trying to give the X2 a fair shake before I really make the choice, and since by all accounts the D3 comes with Blur as well, those annoyances will remain.

Anyway, I have until Friday to decide if I want to keep it or return it and wait for the D3... oy... it's gonna be tough.

 

[lyndamarlena]

well i did the same today and ordered the Droid X2 coming from a D1 original...you were speaking about the sd card ext, is that going to cause a problem? I am glad I can use my sd card from my D1 though...what are some of the good things you like about it?

 

[tgyberg]

You should be able to disable those things that annoy you. For the unlock deal, I use an app that gets rid of it.

 

[Redflea]

My wife has a new DX2, I have a D2 (and D1 before that) and I really like her DX2.

Screen is just flat out gorgeous, size is a bit to get used to, nice speed, and expect when Gingerbread hits this it will really move, and I'm addicted to Swype so missing the keyboard isn't an issue for me...

I'm not up until July for my next upgrade, so I'll have more choices then, but if I was buying now the DX2 would be at or near the top of my list.

 

[eebvending]

well i did the same today and ordered the Droid X2 coming from a D1 original...you were speaking about the sd card ext, is that going to cause a problem?

I'm on here today to find a work-around for that. Just got my DX2 today, coming from D1 (seems to be a lot of ppl doing that in the last few days).

I put my 16gb card in the DX2 and now most of the files are in the sdcard-ext folder. Which isn't affecting pics or music, but apps that I have on the card are not being recognized. Tried simply moving the apk's to the "normal" sdcard folder but it couldn't execute the move.

It would save a great deal of time if the apps would work, plus there a couple games I was hoping to save settings and progress for. Otherwise the apps can be redownloaded from the Market.

Does anyone know a work-around?

P.S. Out of the gate, apps download from the Market WAY faster, as I would expect them to do. It's nice to see expectations of the device going in to it actually live up to the hype.

 

[HEMLOCK]

The way i look at it is if i were to wait for the D3 or Bionic, thats longer i have to wait when im due for another upgrade. The way things are going, theres always a new "better" device releasing every other week. Coming from a D1, the DX2 will work just perfect for me. After having it almost a week, I have zero complaints about it. Sure 4G, a FFC, and more RAM would be nice....but not necessary at this point in time IMO.

 

[Redflea]

well i did the same today and ordered the Droid X2 coming from a D1 original...you were speaking about the sd card ext, is that going to cause a problem?

I'm on here today to find a work-around for that. Just got my DX2 today, coming from D1 (seems to be a lot of ppl doing that in the last few days).

I put my 16gb card in the DX2 and now most of the files are in the sdcard-ext folder. Which isn't affecting pics or music, but apps that I have on the card are not being recognized. Tried simply moving the apk's to the "normal" sdcard folder but it couldn't execute the move.

It would save a great deal of time if the apps would work, plus there a couple games I was hoping to save settings and progress for. Otherwise the apps can be redownloaded from the Market.

Does anyone know a work-around?

P.S. Out of the gate, apps download from the Market WAY faster, as I would expect them to do. It's nice to see expectations of the device going in to it actually live up to the hype.

Install the apps to your new DX2, then copy your settings, etc., from your SD card locations to the new locations that have been set up in the internal storage....no reason that should not work (but back up the existing stuff first, of course, in case you have to revert).

 

[Raidy]

in regards to the /sdcard vs /sdcard-ext, the issues are 2-fold, but overall minor (the first of which only affects people like myself and others who are trying to migrate data from an older phone to the new one).

a) if you used an app like Astro, SMSbackup, or anything that 'backed up' to a hard path on the SD card, you cannot simply restore directly because the path is different. So you must copy the physical files from /sdcard-ext to /sdcard, after which it should work - I was able to do that using file explorer apps such as Astro, browsing to the /sdcard-ext folder, edit-copy, then back to the /sdcard, and edit->paste.

b) the /sdcard is actually mapped to internal storage as best i can tell, so various apps that use that as the default (and unchangeable) path, you are using up internal storage. I believe this new method is what the tablets use too? at least based on my research.

back to the X2 itself, I'll have to look into some of these apps that bypass the annoyances I'm seeing. I figured most of it is just "out of box" issues that once I customize around, I can live with. I really do enjoy the nicer screen size, tho I wonder if the 4" on the D3 might be the sweetspot for a phone, as the X/X2 sometimes seem almost too large.

With dual proc and more RAM, I was expecting a slightly bigger leap of perf/peppiness from my D1, but it is certainly very noticeable. Of course, I havent loaded up all my library of frequently used apps yet, either.

 

[tgyberg]

in regards to the /sdcard vs /sdcard-ext, the issues are 2-fold, but overall minor (the first of which only affects people like myself and others who are trying to migrate data from an older phone to the new one).

a) if you used an app like Astro, SMSbackup, or anything that 'backed up' to a hard path on the SD card, you cannot simply restore directly because the path is different. So you must copy the physical files from /sdcard-ext to /sdcard, after which it should work - I was able to do that using file explorer apps such as Astro, browsing to the /sdcard-ext folder, edit-copy, then back to the /sdcard, and edit->paste.

b) the /sdcard is actually mapped to internal storage as best i can tell, so various apps that use that as the default (and unchangeable) path, you are using up internal storage. I believe this new method is what the tablets use too? at least based on my research.

back to the X2 itself, I'll have to look into some of these apps that bypass the annoyances I'm seeing. I figured most of it is just "out of box" issues that once I customize around, I can live with. I really do enjoy the nicer screen size, tho I wonder if the 4" on the D3 might be the sweetspot for a phone, as the X/X2 sometimes seem almost too large.

With dual proc and more RAM, I was expecting a slightly bigger leap of perf/peppiness from my D1, but it is certainly very noticeable. Of course, I havent loaded up all my library of frequently used apps yet, either.

Do you plan to root the phone? If you freeze a bunch of the bloat crap that they put on the phone it really helps with the snap. I froze everything that I dont/wont use including a bunch of the stock blur social stuff. So much of that just runs in the background and eats up speed!

 

[Raidy]

Do you plan to root the phone? If you freeze a bunch of the bloat crap that they put on the phone it really helps with the snap. I froze everything that I dont/wont use including a bunch of the stock blur social stuff. So much of that just runs in the background and eats up speed!

I'm certainly not opposed to rooting if that will get around some of the garbage, because yea, I'm definitely not a fan of the unused bloatware that comes pre-installed on these things. That said, I would not root it until I decide for sure on keeping it, so there's a bit of a catch-22 on that one - I wont really know for sure if I want to keep it until its all golden. But... just knowing I CAN get around those issues may be enough.

Really, the biggest and true driving reason I would return it and wait for a D3 is the lack of the HW KB. The rest can be dealt with or gotten used to if need be, it just weighs in a bit in the decision, so if solid workarounds are out there, then it could affect the sway a bit.

I guess bottom line is I have to decide myself if that feature is important enough or not. I thought at first I wouldnt miss it too much as I had tried to train myself on the VKB for a while on the D1, but the HW KB is always reliable in a pinch, and when touch-typing gets frustrating, I really miss it.

 

[Raidy]

Decided to wait for the D3, but...

So after a week+ of debating, I've decided to wait for the Droid 3 rather than keep the X2. I really tried to like swype and/or the virtual keyboard (prefer swiftkey over the default for sure), but the lack of a solid go-to, reliable HW KB was just too lacking for me. Plus, the X2 form-factor is almost too big, I think the 4" will be the sweet spot for me - nice bump from the 3.7" D1, but not quite as large as the 4.3" X2.

In a bizarre twist of fate however, my telecom director said it would be less hassle if I just kept the X2 until the D3 came out, rather than bother returning it and going back to the D1. So I guess on the bright side, I have the X2 to play with till then (but dang, I miss my KB!). Dual edged sword on that one, I suppose.

Also I made an interesting discovery, I had assumed the X2 had 1GB RAM based on rumored specs, but it turns out to only have 512MB (notice that Motorola does not list the RAM spec on their site anywhere...). Confirmed by running various diag tools like Z-DeviceTest and such.

So my other concern over memory of the D3 vs X2 is moot, since both have 512MB (supposedly for D3, who knows). Here's to hoping the D3 isnt more than a month out... just never know these days.

 

[SPG900NY]

I put my 16gb card in the DX2 and now most of the files are in the sdcard-ext folder. Which isn't affecting pics or music, but apps that I have on the card are not being recognized. Tried simply moving the apk's to the "normal" sdcard folder but it couldn't execute the move.

I actually moved everything off my 16GB card using my D1 to my computer, then put the card in my DX2 and formatted it. Then I installed the apps I wanted in the DX2 and then moved the data over from my computer.

No problems so far. Just have this damned leftover 8GB card I have to find some use for now.

 

[Zetsumei]

Well if you can get the d3 w/o shelling out too much money if any, and your director doesn't care then **** have fun w/ the dx2. Who knows maybe you'll get used to it and learn to love it.