28
May
wm_DSC_0286

[Review] Motorola DROID X2: Even Raw Horsepower Can't Save This Phone From Mediocrity

Posted by in Droid X2, Motorola, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Verizon Wireless
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Update: June 4, 2011 - I've taken an awful lot of flak for this review (and that's fine). I stand by the review because I can't honestly recommend this phone in good conscience. With that in mind, I realize that not everyone may share my opinions, and that's why I suggest potential purchasers go and take a look at it to see if they will notice the screen issues as much as I do.

Further, a lot of you seem to think I was using or inspecting the phone in a critical way; this was not the case. I noticed the screen and performance issues immediately and continuously under normal use conditions.

28
May
andy

[Weekend Poll] What Manufacturer Will Your Next Device Be From?

Posted by in Devices By Manufacturer, Polls
Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week’s, see I/O 2011 Aftermath & Recap: What Has You Most Excited?

In light of this week's bootloader lockdown bonanza, it makes sense to ask something related. We know that as an Android-centric blog, our readers are likely to be a bit more hack-'n-mod oriented, so we're interested to see: who will manufacture your next device?

The "why" isn't crucial, though you're certainly encouraged to share your reasoning via the comments. Really, we're just interested in seeing how much HTC's new open policy has helped it, and how much Motorola's locked-down style is hurting it.

28
May
hi-256-0-074f021434b6aa55e2c07124dd0ace17a2ccd719

BeyondPod, One Of The Best Podcast Managers For Android, On Sale For $1.99 Now Through Monday (Normally $6.99)

Posted by in Applications, Deals, News

When it comes to podcasting applications on Android, there are certain ones that stand above the rest. Among those, BeyondPod Podcast Manager may be the top dog, and for this weekend only, you can score this awesome app for just $1.99 as opposed to the usual $6.99.

Note from Artem: I've been a fan of BeyondPod for over a year now and use it for managing, syncing, and listening to my podcasts exclusively. Listen? What Listen?

BeyondPod is packed full of features (so many, I just had to use bullet points. I do love bullet points):

  • Full Google Reader integration and sync
  • both audio and video supported, or just use it as an RSS reader
  • Complete podcast control: how many to download, when to download, and how many to store.

27
May
trollface

Lodsys Patent Trolling Starting To Target Android App Devs - OK, Now It's Personal

Posted by in Android OS, Apps/Games, Editorials, News

You've all probably heard bits and pieces of news about a company called Lodsys in the last couple of weeks, (they've been "patent trolling" iOS app developers) even if you don't really keep up on all things fruit-related. If you're not familiar with the story, let me give you a quick rundown.

Lodsys is what we affectionately refer to as a "patent troll" - a company that buys up promising and often vague or [overly] broad patents in a hope of using them to threaten to sue the pants off people that they know might be infringing on them. Let me say that again - they find a patent, find out how many people might be infringing it, and then decide to buy it.

27
May
4g-speed1

[Deal Alert] LetsTalk.com Memorial Day Sale

Posted by in AT&T, Deals, News, Sprint, T-Mobile, Tips & Tutorials, Verizon Wireless
Last Updated: May 30th, 2011

Update Memorial Day: Well, Amazon prices didn't drop today. Our Amazon rep hasn't gotten back to us to confirm, but @AmazonWireless has tweeted that the "all 4G phones free" sale wasn't real, so I'm writing off the Amazon part of this sale as a hoax. :(

LetsTalk.com

Deals - we got 'em. While Amazon is having their own Memorial Day Android handset sale over at Amazon Wireless, LetsTalk.com wasn't about to be outdone. Here's the most relevant (not all-inclusive) deals, including the 20% off coupon code for Verizon phones (the code is: 7c7f3319) (prices that beat Amazon's are italicized, and we've provided Amazon's prices for comparison).

27
May
image

Google Finally Updates Web Android Market With Screenshot Navigation And Rotation Capabilities

Posted by in Apps/Games, News
Last Updated: May 29th, 2011

Ever since the Android web Market was launched, one of my main gripes with its UI (let's not talk about content discovery here) was screenshot navigation. There were 2 basic problems - you could not click Next or Previous as those buttons did not exist, and the only way to close a screenshot close-up was by finding and clicking a tiny X button.

Most modern "lightbox"-style galleries already solved the aforementioned problems by adding easy navigation buttons and allowing you to click anywhere on the screen to dismiss the close-up. Today, Google quietly did just that, and then some.

Here are the 5 new features I just spotted that weren't there this morning:

  • the Next and Previous buttons finally allow easy navigation
  • clicking on the close-up of a screenshot is equivalent to pressing Next
  • left and right keyboard arrow keys are equivalent to Previous and Next (hooray!)
  • the X button is gone - you can now close any image close-up by clicking anywhere on the screen
  • in-line rotation buttons which let you turn those occasional sideways images the right way

Here, have a look:

image

Visit your favorite app in the Market and check it out for yourself.

27
May
paypal-android1

Google Responds To PayPal Trade Secret Lawsuit - What Does It All Really Mean? An Explanation

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials, News

Disclaimer: I'm not an attorney. This is not legal advice.

The PayPal and Google lawsuit is just another one of Google's seemingly endless big-name legal tangles over the last couple of years. Why is Google litigation such a frequent topic?

At least in part, it's because Google has one of the most aggressive stances towards litigation of any member of the tech industry. Google's reputation for taking its battles to court has become almost notorious (well, except for the "Buzz" incident) - regardless of cost or, sometimes, likelihood of victory. Google's approach is one of the modern corporation - during the 1990's and 80's, when civil litigation was actually more prevalent, in-house counsels for major corporations often preferred to settle potentially high-dollar suits rather than risk wasting piles of cash on defending them, only to lose in the end.

27
May
wm_IMG_0006

[Coming Unstuck] Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Special Edition Tablets Experiencing Screen Defects?

Posted by in Galaxy Tab 10.1, News

Remember the special edition Galaxy Tab 10.1 that was given to all Google I/O attendees this year? It looks like the celebrations of owning a limited edition device have come to a screeching halt, as some owners are experiencing a very specific hardware issue with the device - the front glass is starting to become detached. Earlier today Android Community posted about one particular incident, with hopes that it was a fluke - but in all actuality, it was just the tip of the iceberg. Ever since then, more and more reports have been surfacing  from users with the same issue.

27
May
Evil verizon

[Updated: Yes There Will Be] Verizon: There Won't Be Any Unlocked Devices On Our Network

Posted by in Development, HTC, News, Verizon Wireless

Update: Verizon has reneged on their previous tweet - unlocked HTC devices will be able to be activated on Verizon's network. Huzzah.

 fix

HTC may have switched to the good side, but that doesn't mean the Legion of Doom is finished. Far from it, in fact, as Verizon has taken the wrong a stance on the issue of locked bootloaders.

2011-05-27 12h52_26

Admittedly, this may be a huge misunderstanding; perhaps the Verizon rep hasn't heard the big news about HTC yet, or the carrier simply hasn't had time to properly respond.

But if it is accurate... well, HTC and Verizon have a highly successful partnership with each other - so where does this leave things?

27
May
Droid-X-Gingerbread-rooted-300x203

[Updated: Update Should Start Tonight, But Maybe Not For Everyone] Verizon: Motorola Droid X Gingerbread Update Starts Friday

Posted by in Droid X (Shadow), Gingerbread 2.3, News, Verizon Wireless

UPDATE: According to Droid Life, the update should start tonight, but it may just be a "soak test", for users that signed up via Motorola's support forums. That's not entirely confirmed at this point, so if you happen to get the update, drop us a line.

A couple of notes from Motorola about the update:

  • The update will be pushed late tonight. If you go to bed, it should be waiting for you in the morning. West Coast members and night owls may be up to see it.
  • It’s a good idea to keep your phone charged if possible and plugged in overnight.

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