Droid X Proves a Hit: Sold Out

Verizon and Motorola had a successful launch with the Android phone Droid X. It's sold out online with many retail stores also reporting little to no stock left after Thursday's debut.

The Motorola Droid X launched Thursday and is already sold out, exceeding Verizon's demand expectations. The carrier had said that there would be no Droid X shortage, but the initial online stock of the hot Android smartphone is now exhausted, with the next shipping date pushed back to July 23. Many Verizon Wireless retail stores and Best Buys around the U.S. are reporting low or no stock.


The Droid X is this summer's flagship Google Android phone, selling for $200, after a $100 online discount on Verizon's site. It has a roomy 4.3-inch display, an 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, and runs on a 1GHz processor with Android 2.1 on board.


If you still want to get a Droid X, it appears some Verizon stores across the country still have limited numbers of the device, but you won't be able to get the instant $100 discount. Instead, you will have to get the $100 mail-in rebate.


Anti-Hack and Brick Warnings
Reports surfaced on Thursday warning enterprising Droid X users that the phone could be rendered useless if rooted, due to an encrypted bootloader installed on the device. Basically, if you try to hack the device and install Android 2.2 by yourself (Motorola says it will roll out the update later this summer), then you might end up with a bricked phone.


The Droid X has a chip inside also known as eFuse, which verifies if you are using the correct software shipped with the devices, or approved by the manufacturer. If the check fails, the phone is rendered useless.


However, Boy Genius Report said that the problem might not be as dire as initially reported, as more experienced hackers will be able to work around the protection mechanism. All-in-all though, by using this technology, Motorola doesn't want you to tinker with the phone's software, at least not very easily.


Did iPhone Problems Help Droid X?
Apple's flash iPhone 4 has been plagued with a flurry of negative reports regarding the "death grip" -- a phenomenon happening when you hold the phone in a certain way.


For the last few weeks, this issue has been topping the headlines, giving the Droid X an opportunity to shine. Motorola took advantage of the iPhone 4 troubles, and even published an ad in the New York Times mocking Apple's device.


It is yet to be seen how many devices Motorola and Verizon sold in the first few days, so all bets are on whether the Droid X will manage to sell more than the iPhone 4's 1.7 million magic number.


Source: PC World