Is The Droid X Phone A Worthy Competitor For Apple's iPhone?

PC World is reporting that during the initial launch of the Verizon and Motorola Droid X smart phone, it has sold online and many of the retailers are reporting a shortage. Thursday's launch of the Droid X phone has Motorola and Verizon emboldened because of the phone’s brisk sales. Verizon had promised that there would be no shortage, but the carrier underestimated how many Droids would be sold. Many of the Best Buys and Verizon retailers are reporting shortages and the next shipments of Droids are not expected until July 23^rd. These are some of the specs of the Droid X: The Droid X is sold for $200, after a $100 online discount on Verizon's site. Update: You can get the Droid X free at let's talk. It is 4.3-inch display, an 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, and it runs on a 1GHz processor with Android 2.1 on board.

Anyone who still wants to purchase a Droid X, Verizon stores across the country still have limited numbers of the device, but you won't be able to get the instant $100 discount - you will have to do so by getting the $100 mail-in rebate.  Like all new products, there are reports of warnings to Droid X users that the phone could be rendered useless if rooted, due to an encrypted boot-loader installed on the Droid X. Basically, if you try to hack the device and install Android 2.2 by yourself, then you might end up with a bricked phone.

It is believed that Apple’s well publicized recent troubles with its iPhone were positive factors in the Droid's better than expected sales. Motorola even took the opportunity to place an ad in the New York Times making fun at Apple’s iPhone:

"And most importantly, it comes with a double antenna design. The kind that allows you to hold the phone any way you like and use it just about anywhere to make calls."

[caption id="attachment_4768" align="alignright" width="195" caption="Droid X Ad"][/caption]

The numbers are not available as to how many Droids were sold during its debut, but Apple sold 1.4 of its newest iPhone during its launch. No one expects Motorola to top Apple’s sales, but for a newcomer, the Droid X's debut was quite impressive – let's see how it performs during its next shipments.