Droid owners have been waiting and waiting for 2.1 to materialize, but fortunately a firmware update has leaked for both handsets. Motorola and Verizon have both promised OTA updates, but it’s anyone’s guess as to when they’ll be out—so this may just be the fastest way to get the latest Android flavor on your pocket-friend. [XDA-Developers via Droid Life via Android and Me]
Popularity: 5% [?]
Alright, Droid owners, decent multitouch performance isn’t the only thing you’ve got to brag about. As you likely know by now, 2.1’s in the works for you — and from the latest video we’re seeing of an official test build running in the wild, we’re cautiously optimistic that it’s going to be a fantastic little update. As we’d reported some time back, the Nexus One’s revamped app launcher is missing, but multitouch appears to work like butter in both the browser and revamped Gallery app and the new news and weather widgets have made the cut as well. Most notable, though, might simply be the fact that everything flies — home screen switches, opening of the app drawer, zooming, it’s all mega-fast. Granted, anyone with an Android device knows that the speed of the device depends on the number of apps you’ve got running, the moon phase, and the direction of the wind, but it’s an encouraging sign nonetheless. Now if only Moto would stop fumbling the launch, we’d be good to go; in the meantime, though, check some video of the update after the break.
Continue reading Android 2.1 looking fast, furious on Motorola Droid
Android 2.1 looking fast, furious on Motorola Droid originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
PhoneArena | 
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Popularity: 5% [?]
Thought all multitouch-capable displays were created equal? Think again — Android and Me has posted a rather fascinating (if not somewhat depressing) video showing a demo multitouch app created by a game developer who’d grown suspicious after running into all sorts of trouble getting the feature to work the way he wanted on the Nexus One. First up, the Droid handles the demo with aplomb — two thumbs are recognized smoothly and consistently. Next, though, the Nexus One gets confused after a while and starts registering presses at the wrong corners of the on-screen box formed by the placement of the thumbs. There’s always hope that this could be fixed with a firmware bump, but that hope looks to be in jeopardy from language posted by a Google engineer in the official Android dev forums: “…this is how the touch screen hardware on the Nexus One works (which is essentially the same screen as on the G1 and myTouch). The Droid has a sensor from a different manufacturer, with different behavior. Other phones will likewise have different sensors.” In other words, Google seems to think that HTC’s just using a lower-quality sensor than Motorola is. That’s good news for Droid owners, we suppose — but with game development on Android still something of a non-starter, hardware issues like this keep fragmenting the user base and preventing big-name developers from jumping in and betting on the platform. Follow the break for video proof of the wackiness.
Continue reading Nexus One’s multitouch confused more easily than Droid’s?
Nexus One’s multitouch confused more easily than Droid’s? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Android Central | Android and Me | Email this | Comments
Popularity: 5% [?]
If you work for Motorola, cover your ears and say “Blur Blur Blur Blur” at the top of your lungs over and over again for the duration of this post, because what we’re about to present is an unholy marriage the likes of which neither Sanjay Jha nor Peter Chou ever intended. It’s not the first time we’ve heard of a version of Sense finding its way onto Motorola hardware, but developers over on AllDroid have posted a bunch of video and stills claiming to have ported an HTC Desire’s (née Bravo’s) Sense-enabled firmware to Moto’s beast — and what’s more, there’s footage of it running Flash. Bear in mind that the speed at which Flash is running here looks downright painful — and we fully expect official Flash support on the Droid later this year anyhow — but anyone conflicted between the Droid’s muscular lines and HTC’s lovely skin might want to keep an eye on this project. It’s still very early in development, but the most important part of the port has already been finished: it shows the proper Droid logo on startup. Follow the break for video.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Continue reading HTC Desire’s Sense UI ported to Droid; HTC, Motorola cringe
HTC Desire’s Sense UI ported to Droid; HTC, Motorola cringe originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | AllDroid | Email this | Comments
Popularity: 2% [?]
pa rel=”lytebox” href=”http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/02/screencap_2010-02-25_at_12.50.35_pm.jpg”img src=”http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/02/500x_screencap_2010-02-25_at_12.50.35_pm.jpg” class=”left image500″ width=”500″ //aSuper-spec’d premium phones like the Droid and Nexus One are only part of Google’s long term plan for Android. What we have here is a glimpse of Android’s emother/em future: Free. Android handsets are the new flip-phones! Sort of!/ppToday’s Motorola Devour launch at Best Buy Mobile brought some extra goodies, including an awkwardly priced Droid, which seems to render its new stablemate a href=”http://gizmodo.com/5479482/motorola-devour-review-what-have-you-done-to-my-droid”kind of unbuyable/a, and this little surprise: A a class=”autolink” title=”Click here to read more posts tagged #droideris” href=”http://gizmodo.com/tag/droideris/”Droid Eris/a, which is Verizon’s version of the Sprint Hero, priced for a href=”http://wireless.bestbuy.com/eCommerce/SpecialOffer.aspx?cid=34308_8892a98651d84e5bbf4028e224b395b2″free on contract/a. Not a single dollar! (Except for the 60 of them you’ll have to pay out for two years, but who’s counting emthat/em money, right? Right.)/p
pPoint is, budget Android phones are a a href=”http://gizmodo.com/5475748/the-12-best-new-phones-you-cant-buy/gallery/?utm_source=feedburnerutm_medium=feedutm_campaign=Feed:+gizmodo/full+%28Gizmodo%29″verifiable emthing/em/a right now, and even if they’re sometimes loaded with out of date version of Google’s OS or terrible custom interfaces, they are categorically better than virtually any feature phone. And as data plans become more ubiquitous and (dear god please) cheaper, always-connected, internet savvy smartphones will graduate from the massive trend to the status quo.* And Android, without any licensing fees for carriers or handset manufacturers, will play a huge part in this./p
pem*Welcome, everyone, to the least glamorous kind of futurism!/em/pbr clear=”both” style=”clear: both;”/
br clear=”both” style=”clear: both;”/
a href=”http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=b0565ee2b2f3d1614b2a8a9c5dd5e3ddp=1″img alt=”" style=”border: 0;” border=”0″ src=”http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=b0565ee2b2f3d1614b2a8a9c5dd5e3ddp=1″//a
img alt=”" height=”0″ width=”0″ border=”0″ style=”display:none” src=”http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226″/div class=”feedflare”
a href=”http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=mtJbzyGTZsE:LhX_4bGWGUw:H0mrP-F8Qgo”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=H0mrP-F8Qgo” border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=mtJbzyGTZsE:LhX_4bGWGUw:yIl2AUoC8zA”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=yIl2AUoC8zA” border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=mtJbzyGTZsE:LhX_4bGWGUw:D7DqB2pKExk”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=mtJbzyGTZsE:LhX_4bGWGUw:D7DqB2pKExk” border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=mtJbzyGTZsE:LhX_4bGWGUw:V_sGLiPBpWU”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=mtJbzyGTZsE:LhX_4bGWGUw:V_sGLiPBpWU” border=”0″/img/a
/divimg src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/mtJbzyGTZsE” height=”1″ width=”1″/
Popularity: 6% [?]
pimg src=”http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/02/500x_adrude.jpg” class=”left image500″ width=”500″ /73% of Android users are men, compared to the rest of smartphone platforms, which skew only slightly manward. But really, we a href=”http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why_are_so_many_android_owners_male.php”should have expected this/a. (And not in a sexist way!)/ppThe statistic comes from AdMob’s a href=”http://metrics.admob.com/2010/02/january-2010-mobile-metrics-report/”January Mobile Metrics report/a, which is littered with fascinating little nuggets. Like, did you have any idea 65% of iPod Touch users are younger than 17? (For the iPhone, that’s 13%, and for webOS, just 2%.) Or that free app downloads across all platforms outnumber paid downloads by nearly 10 to 1? Or that Android users are the stingiest, with only 21% of users purchasing apps on a monthly basis, as compared to the iPhone’s 50%? Well now you do! So let’s get back to the lady business./p
pThe first impulse for a lot of people will be to make a dig against Android for being too nerdy to appeal to womenmdash;an implicit dig against women for not being nerdy or technical enough to appreciate Android, or something. Though there’s something to be said for Android’s geek-centric rep, that’s not the main issue here./p
pThe Droid, as far as Android phones go, is a href=”http://gizmodo.com/5465326/nexus-one-sales-continue-to-lag-just-80000-in-first-month”hugely popular/amdash;it’s far and away the platform’s breakaway hit, and represents a large proportion of its mobile web traffic. As such, it could skew any survey like this to the point that Android users stats are emalmost/em fully inline with Droid user stats. And the Doird was marketed a href=”http://gizmodo.com/5418653/droid-commercial-paints-iphone-as-digitally-clueless-beauty-pageant-queen”like this/a: !– videoId: w83UQkiuNZQ –script type=”text/javascript”
newVideoPlayer( {“type”:”video”,”player”:”http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/w83UQkiuNZQhl=enfs=1fmt=22″,”customParams”:[],”width”:500,”height”:412,”ratio”:0.824,”flashData”:”",”embedName”:null,”objectId”:null,”noEmbed”:false,”source”:”youtube”} );
/scriptimg src=”http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/02/340x_w83uqkiunzq.jpg” class=”left image340″ width=”340″ style=”display: none;”/!– /videoId: w83UQkiuNZQ –The iPhone is a toy, and this is lame. Also: The iPhone is a emchick/em, and this is lame./p
pIt’s been obvious for a while that the DROID DUDE HELL YEAH emDROID/em marketing strategy worked. Now we just know who it worked on. [a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why_are_so_many_android_owners_male.php"ReadWriteWeb/a]/pbr clear=”both” style=”clear: both;”/
br clear=”both” style=”clear: both;”/
a href=”http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=1647589f86dfbab69a439300d1321ab3p=1″img alt=”" style=”border: 0;” border=”0″ src=”http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=1647589f86dfbab69a439300d1321ab3p=1″//a
img alt=”" height=”0″ width=”0″ border=”0″ style=”display:none” src=”http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226″/div class=”feedflare”
a href=”http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=PduWMgHJ7Vk:MroGhnWYMrw:H0mrP-F8Qgo”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=H0mrP-F8Qgo” border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=PduWMgHJ7Vk:MroGhnWYMrw:yIl2AUoC8zA”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=yIl2AUoC8zA” border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=PduWMgHJ7Vk:MroGhnWYMrw:D7DqB2pKExk”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=PduWMgHJ7Vk:MroGhnWYMrw:D7DqB2pKExk” border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=PduWMgHJ7Vk:MroGhnWYMrw:V_sGLiPBpWU”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=PduWMgHJ7Vk:MroGhnWYMrw:V_sGLiPBpWU” border=”0″/img/a
/divimg src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/PduWMgHJ7Vk” height=”1″ width=”1″/
Popularity: 4% [?]
Controlling your TV from your phone isn’t a new concept, but Verizon just made it a bit sexier. Verizon FiOS owners this week can nab a new FiOS Mobile Remote app for their Motorola Droid or HTC Imagio. The application emulates regular remote buttons, but also tosses in an icon-based favorites view of channels, in addition to an ability to sling photos from the phone to the big screen. The phone hooks into your FiOS box over your local WiFi, and requires you to download a widget for the set top box as well to get everything synced up. We’re not exactly sure why this is limited to the Droid and Imagio right now — we’re sure the Droid Eris could handle the workload, for instance — but Verizon does say that it’s working on making additional handsets compatible in the future. Check out a video demo of the functionality after the break.
Continue reading Verizon launches FiOS Mobile Remote app for Droid and Imagio
Verizon launches FiOS Mobile Remote app for Droid and Imagio originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Verizon | Email this | Comments
Popularity: 9% [?]
We’re not entirely sure what’s going on here, but that’s a shot of a Droid Eris running Android 2.1, and we’re told the update came over the air — a story seemingly corroborated by a couple other people around the web. Unfortunately, it seems like things aren’t quite fully baked yet: the update doesn’t include Sense UI, and it apparently wipes all your data and doesn’t allow you to log back into your Google Account. Verizon tells us that the Eris update to a “newer” Android is still in testing and hasn’t yet been officially released, so we’re taking all this to mean that there’s been a slip-up along the line — especially since this obviously isn’t final software. In the meantime, we’d say Droid Eris users should probably back up their sets just to be safe.
[Thanks, Vido]
Some Droid Eris owners getting Android 2.1 update? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Android Forums, Droid Life | Email this | Comments
Popularity: 12% [?]
Next month, nine Verizon smartphones with accompanying 3G plans will be able to make unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls, as well as call out to regular phones internationally at a reduced rate. UPDATE
UPDATE: However, it appears the service is pretty gimped as you can’t call Skype out to regular lines domestically in order to save minutes. Even on AT&T (of all carriers), the fring iPhone app allows Skype-out calling (even though the Skype app still technically does not). When Verizon allows domestic Skype-out, we’ll celebrate in full.
VERIZON WIRELESS AND SKYPE JOIN FORCES TO CREATE A GLOBAL MOBILE CALLING COMMUNITY
New Skype Mobile Product for Verizon Wireless Smartphones Brings More Value to U.S. Mobile ConsumersBARCELONA, Spain; BASKING RIDGE, N.J., United States; and LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg – At the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Verizon Wireless and Skype today announced a strategic relationship that will bring Skype to Verizon Wireless smartphones in March. The new Skype mobile™ product enhances Verizon Wireless’ smartphones for users who have data plans by offering a new way to call around the globe, while also giving hundreds of millions of Skype users around the world the opportunity to communicate with friends, family and business colleagues in the United States using Verizon Wireless.
The two companies have created an exclusive, easy-to-use Skype mobile offering for 3G smartphones. Verizon Wireless 3G smartphone users with data plans can use Skype mobile to:
· make and receive unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls to any Skype user around the globe on America’s most reliable wireless network;
· call international phone numbers at competitive Skype Out calling rates;
· send and receive instant messages to other Skype users; and
· remain always connected with the ability to see friends’ online presence.
Initially, Skype mobile will be available on millions of best-selling Verizon Wireless 3G smartphones with data plans, including the BlackBerry® Storm™ 9530, Storm2™ 9550, Curve™ 8330, Curve™ 8530, 8830 World Edition and Tour™ 9630 smartphones, as well as DROID by Motorola, DROID ERIS™ by HTC and Motorola DEVOUR™.
John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless, said, “Skype mobile on Verizon Wireless changes the game. For Verizon Wireless’ more than 90 million customers, Skype mobile adds great value because we’re effectively giving customers with smartphones and data plans the option to extend their unlimited calling community to hundreds of millions of Skype users around the globe. And you’re not limited to using a single type of phone; we’ll have nine smartphones ready right at launch in March.”
Josh Silverman, chief executive officer of Skype, noted, “People want to take their Skype conversations with them wherever they go, whether it’s on a PC, TV or increasingly mobile phones. Verizon Wireless will give U.S. consumers the best Skype experience on mobile phones and will truly change the way people call their friends and family internationally.”
Customers interested in learning more about Skype mobile for Verizon Wireless smartphones can visit www.verizonwireless.com/skypemobile. Additional information about the service will be available next month.
Visit www.verizonwireless.com for more information about Verizon Wireless or follow the company at http://twitter.com/verizonwireless. Learn more and download Skype at www.skype.com or follow the company at http://twitter.com/skypemobile.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Two days earlier than expected, Motorola’s Milestone has become available to the public via Telus Mobility. For Canadians, that means that you can wrap your palms around one of the sexiest Android devices out for as low as $199.99 on a 3-year contract, while it’ll set you back $499.99 with a 2-year deal, $549.99 with a 1-year agreement or $599.99 outright. Americans — you should pay close attention that to last figure. A half dozen Benjamins (not including losses in currency conversion and the trip to go get one) will land you what’s essentially a 3G-enabled Droid for AT&T’s network. You know you need an excuse to go see the Yanks take the ice against the Canucks on Sunday, so you might as well snap up your dream phone before heading back from Vancouver.
*AT&T support hinges on one’s ability to procure a Milestone from Canada, get it back across the border, unlock it and slide an activated AT&T 3G SIM card into it. Godspeed.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Motorola Milestone now available on Telus, AT&T* originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Telus | Email this | Comments
Popularity: 6% [?]
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