Posts tagged Droid
This Week In Android 8/8-8/14
Aug 15th
This week’s big Android news mostly revolved around the launch of the Motorola Droid 2 on Verizon, but that’s certainly not all that is going on in the world of Android. Google also announced their new voice commands feature for phones with Android 2.2 as well as officially launching the service Chrome to Phone. There’s a whole lot more to read up on after the break.
Motorola’s Sanjay Jha Says MOTOBLUR Will Not Stick Around
Verizon finally announces a release date for the Motorola Droid 2
Video: Sneak Peak of TweetDeck for Android
Telus updates Milestone, but isn’t 2.2 yet
So many decisions, so little time
Google pumps out updates to Gesture Search and Voice Search for Android
Motorola Droid 2 R2-D2 Edition Launching September 30th!
Nokia maintains handset market share lead, HTC cracks top ten
Motorola’s Sanjay Jha Says MOTOBLUR Will Not Stick Around
Aug 9th
Good news comes from Motorola Co-CEO Sanjay Jha today, who claims that Motorola’s social-focused Android skin MOTOBLUR, will begin to be phased out of the company’s future handsets. While Motorola had the right idea with MOTOBLUR, the implementation is off and the skin mostly results in a slower and more jumbled Android experience.
Dr. Sanjay Jha was quoted saying the following:
With MOTOBLUR, we have found that being able to convey the value proposition around MOTOBLUR is not an easy thing to do in a 30-second ad spot. We have decided that we will focus on the value proposition of products and not MOTOBLUR as a brand name in its own right. MOTOBLUR continues to be important and I think you will see increased functionality in MOTOBLUR. This notion of push-Internet is going to be very important to us, but as a brand name, which we make matter in front of consumers as a brand name, I don’t think that’s going to be our focus going forward, but we see the experiences that we deliver is being relevant and differentiating us.
With Motorola’s recent move away from MOTOBLUR by implementing the skin found on the Droid X and the upcoming Droid 2, it seemed evident that MOTOBLUR’s life was running short. Now, if only we can get Motorola to drop the whole skinning thing and just give us some stock Froyo to work with. Baby steps people, baby steps.
[Android and Me via Engadget]
Froyo Hitting More Devices. Onto the next one!
Aug 3rd
Froyo has officially hit the EVO 4G on Sprint (earlier than expected, no less!) and word has just reached us that the original Droid has started receiving the OTA update as well. Now all that’s left is the Droid X and the triumvirate of killer Android smartphones will have the latest and greatest of both hardware and software. It is also expected that when the Droid 2 ships on August 12th, it will come with Android 2.2 pre-loaded onto the device.
The update to Froyo seems less fraught with drama than the Eclair update to the Droid, and proves that when the carriers work with the manufacturer and the provider efficiently, things actually get done. I think the multiple-times delayed rollout of the Android 2.1 update for the Droid taught Motorola and Verizon a big lesson.
According to Android Central, the steps are pretty simple:
- Grab the update file
- Place it on the root of your SD card
- Power down, then restart while holding the X key to get to the bootloader
- When you see the exclamation mark, hold the volume up button and press the camera button
- Choose apply sdcard:update.zip
- Ignore the cache error
- Reboot
Easy peezy.
(via Android Central)
Android is the best. Or, at least, it’s the most popular. Up 886% year over year.
Aug 2nd
Android is a phenomenon. We know this, I’ve talked about it before, but the proof is in the numbers. And Android is up over 886% since last Q2. It now owns 34% of the US smarthphone market, which isn’t a dent, since RIM only has 32%. And Apple at a staggering 21.7%. How terrible!
But seriously, the reason for its explosive growth is likely the November 2009 release of the Motorola Droid on Verizon, followed by several high-profile devices on Verizon and Sprint. On Verizon, the Droid Incredible, Droid X and the Samsung Fascinate, and on Sprint the EVO 4G, the Epic 4G are all top tier phones. Their specs speak for themselves. On T-Mobile, their only major player has been the MyTouch 3G Slide, which has done very well, and they now have their own Galaxy S variant, the Vibrant. AT&T isn’t floundering, either, after launching their somewhat-crippled Galaxy S version, the Captivate, last month.
Each carrier has done well bringing Android to its customers, but none better than Verizon. The Droid 2 will be launching this month as well on Froyo. Android’s growth won’t be slowing down any time soon, but with great power comes great responsibility. Android 2.2 is being pushed to most recently-released devices such as the EVO 4G, Droid X, Droid, Vibrant and more. While it brings the platform closer to competing directly with the iPhone 4, it does not yet have the polish that iOS displays in all facets of the operating system. Apps crash or freeze, the keyboard often doesn’t register input, and it generally fails to perform flawlessly.
iOS4 has not been without its own problems, but since it is built on the solid framework of iOS 3.1.3, it appears more reliable in daily use.
As long as it continues to be AT&T exclusive, however, the iPhone will never reach the incredible sales heights of Android. Bring it to Verizon, however, and we are playing a different ball game.
This Week In Android 7/18-7/24
Jul 25th
It’s been a rough week for Android with the largest (and saddest) story being that the famous Google Nexus One is no longer available for sale from Google. GuruDaniel wrote a heart-wrenching salute to the handset, explaining how the Nexus One helped push Android hardware into the next generation, and how it is the ultimate slate for developers and hackers to build on. Other than that, we have a few Android handsets hitting the Canadian carriers Bell and Telus as well as an extra blurry shot of a Droid slider device hopefully headed to Verizon. Check in after the break to see what Android news you may have missed this week.
Google’s Nexus One Discontinued. Wherefore Art Thou, Open Android?
Bell To Get HTC Wildfire? Say It Ain’t So!
If A Droid and Palm Pre Had An Affair…This Would Be The Result
Android 2.1 clears half of all Android devices, Froyo creeps up
This Week in Android 4/11-4/17
Jul 17th
It was kind of a slow week for the Android community with the iPhone signal issues and press conference stealing most of the spotlight. Still, we had two highly-anticipated device launches this week-the Motorola Droid X and the Samsung Vibrant. The Droid X and the Samsung Vibrant launched Thursday the 15th for Verizon and T-Mobile respectively, each priced at a dollar short of two benjamins with a two-year agreement. With the launch of the Droid X there was a lot of hubbub surrounding Motorola’s inclusion of an eFuse chip which could potentially halt hackers’ attempts to unlock the bootloader. It still isn’t confirmed that the eFuse will actually brick the phone if it’s meddled with. Even Motorola’s highly-hackable original Droid had the same eFuse chip onboard though it wasn’t implemented to stop modification of the software.
We also got word that the Motorola Droid is nearing its end of life. If the Droid X proves to be too much for Android modders then the Droid may be the last truly open Motorola handset we see. Time will only tell if rooting the Droid X will be a reality, but I have a feeling nothing will stop the Android community from opening up this phone. Check out this week’s Android news after the break.
Will the Droid be Motorola’s last hackable phone?
Motorola Droid, Droid Devour, and BlackBerry Tour End of Life Imminent
Will the Droid be Motorola’s last hackable phone?
Jul 16th
Uh-oh.
Here comes the cavalry. According to a leaked doc from the Droid-Life forums, the first and perhaps only moddable Motorola Verizon handset is going bye-bye. If that is true, and as a result the phone is discontinued to make way for the Droid 2, it is likely that the Droid will become somewhat of a collector’s item amongst Verizon users looking to mod their devices.
Though, in reality, if you haven’t picked up a Droid yet, you probably never will. Since the Droid X was released yesterday, and is much more appropriately named, I feel like most people won’t miss the device too much.
There is a possibility, however, that Google would have asked Motorola not to lock down the bootloader on the Droid 2 as well. But since the direction Motorola is going seems to be once of draconian eFuse domination, I doubt that’s going to actually happen. But what of the legacy of the Droid? It’s important to know that Motorola has vigilantly prevented users from hacking their phones, encrypting the bootloader and threatening to brick the phone if the user tries to mess with it. While the eFuse technology is not confirmed to actually brick the phone, the momentum has already left Motorola getting defensive. They’ve already claimed that if you want to buy a hackable phone, get it from another manufacturer.
I like Motorola’s phones. I think they make good hardware and they don’t try to screw up the user experience too much. There is something to be said for a company that learns from its mistakes. But this bootloader issue doesn’t seem to be a mistake. It’s a calculated business decision, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. I am disappointed in the company, though not really surprised.
Let’s hope Google coerces Motorola to keep the bootloader hackable on the Droid 2. I don’t think it will happen, but it’s been a hot summer and magic may still strike.
Motorola Droid, Droid Devour, and BlackBerry Tour End of Life Imminent
Jul 16th
There was no surprise that RIM’s BlackBerry Tour was hitting its end of life soon seeing how it’s been replaced by the BlackBerry Bold 9650 (see our review here) which is now out for both Sprint and Verizon. Through an image posted by DroidForums.net we see that the much-loved Motorola Droid and the less favorable Droid Devour are also getting the boot soon. Obviously Verizon is making some room in their lineup for the Droid X and the original Droid’s successor, the Droid 2.
It’s a sad thing to hear. The Motorola Droid is without a doubt, the device that truly put Android into the hands of mainstream consumers. Sure people had G1s and MyTouch 3Gs, but until the Droid hit the scene most people (especially CDMA users) had no idea what Android was. We salute you Motorola Droid. Thank you for raising the bar and putting Android into tons of consumers’ hands.
You can still buy the Motorola Droid of course, in fact you can still get one free with every one you buy on contract. However, this won’t last forever as the production of Droids has likely stopped or is currently grinding to a halt.
[Via DroidForums.net]
Holy Android - Modding Kills Droid X’s!
Jul 15th
What a disturbing piece of news. Apparently, one of the crowning achievements in Android ownership is being brutally disabled in the new Droid X. It’s called “eFuse.” If a verification fails, it sends a command to corrupt the freaking boot process - permanently bricking the phone. To fix it? Why, it requires a hardware repair by Motorola. So this means, no special ROMS — heck, maybe sideloaded apps will trigger this thing.
To the average user, this presents no problem. To the geek that wants to trump iPhone people, stay away. Thankfully, the nature of Android means you’ve got options. While it’s too early to be worried, I’d at least be wary of this becoming a trend. While there will likely be an “open” option from x manufacturer, it may not be the best phone on the market if this continues. Assuming this permeates and affects all Android devices - would they still be worth using? Looks like Droid Doesn’t.
via MobileCrunch
Exclusive: iPhone 4′s Antenna to be Flipped?
Jul 14th
Now before I go into too many details, this report came to me this morning, from an AT&T employee who gave me zero evidence to support this other than his/her claim. This makes me incredibly wary of it’s factual basis. Here’s what I was told: the antenna bands on the iPhone will basically be rotated, clockwise, 180°. This would put the “bottom antenna” on the top of the phone. Now the bridge between the two bands would be on the top right corner of the handset…, similar to where the vibrate switch is but on the other side. Since no one grips their phone on the top half, this would “recitfy” the supposed issue and bring it more in line with other devices that have the same problem. It’s been mentioned that many phones lose signal when the top of the phone is gripped.
We’d see it “within 30 days” and all iPhone 4′s can be replaced with the rotated version, if taken back to the store. This somewhat contradicts earlier reports that the antenna band composition would be changed because of a recall. Still, it makes sense. Signal loss when a phone is touched is real, for every handset. The thing that gets me is that it doesn’t seem to be completely comprehensive. Some people appear to have no trouble at all and that the real fault is AT&T’s network.
Take this report lightly, I’m not totally convinced this person is right, based on how wonky it sounds. It is worth sharing, however, and I’d be delighted if it ended up to be true. I hope everyone gets some resolution on this matter quickly. It’s now become so trite - I can’t stand reading about it anymore.
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