Droid (Sholes) - 9/17 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

HTC DROID Incredible 2 Spec Sheet Leaks Out, Confirms Global Radio

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in HTC, Incredible 2 (Vivow), News, Verizon Wireless

There's little that we didn't already know about HTC's upcoming DROID Incredible 2, but if there was any lingering doubt on your mind, you'll be happy to hear that Droid Life has acquired the official spec sheet for the device:

Indeed, the Incredible 2 will feature a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 4-inch SLCD display, SRS WOW HD surround sound, a 16GB microSD card, an 8MP camera, and Android 2.2 out of the box. But you probably already knew that.

What you might not have realized is that the phone will sport a global radio, meaning that, just as with the DROID Pro and DROID 2 Global, you'll be able to connect to a GSM network (likely Vodafone's) while abroad.

Apr

[Leak] Droid X 2 Pictures, Benchmark, And Video

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Droid X2, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless

Well, well, well... look what our friends over at Techno Buffalo have come across - the Droid X2! One of their loyal tipsters has sent in some really great pictures of the DX2, including side-by-side shots with the original Droid X. And as if that weren't enough, they even grabbed a quick video of this upcoming monster performing a Quadrant benchmark. I know you're probably frothing at the mouth to see that, so it's first in line:

Did you see that score? Yeah, that was huge. Of course, I would expect nothing less, considering some of the rumored specs:

1.2GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor
768MB RAM
4.3 inch qHD screen (960x540)
8MP Camera
Android 2.2.2

According to Techno Buffalo, it has yet to be decided whether it will ship with Gingerbread.

Apr

Samsung DROID Charge Shows Up On Walmart Site, Still Unannounced

Posted by David Ruddock in Charge (i510), Samsung

Verizon's doing about as well keeping the Charge under wraps as Sprint did with the EVO Shift 4G - and now, the Samsung DROID has shown up on Walmart's online wireless store, albeit only in the form of a stock photo:

For a phone that's still unannounced (technically), and reportedly being released tomorrow, Verizon doesn't seem too concerned with generating fanfare for its second LTE device.

After the release date flip-flopping on the Thunderbolt, it wouldn't surprise in the least if the Charge was facing a [sort of expected] minor delay.

Droid-life

Apr

HTC Incredible 2 Press Shots Surface, Evince DROID Branding

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in HTC, Incredible 2 (Vivow), News, Rumors, Verizon Wireless

Like all good things Verizon, the HTC Incredible 2 didn't remain hidden from the public's eye for long; following the release of a leaked RUU and a Big Red roadmap confirming the device's impending launch, PocketNow got its paws on the following triad of press shots:

From the looks of it, the Incredible 2 will be virtually identical to HTC's popular Incredible S, with the exception of a Verizon logo and the inclusion of a CDMA radio. In fact, Android Central reports that it'll sport the same 8MP camera, Android 2.2.1 firmware, and HTC Sense keyboard.

Also noteworthy is that, as shown by the eerie red robot eye, the Incredible 2 will most likely belong to Verizon's DROID family.

Apr

Motorola Milestone X, LG Axis, HTC Merge, and Samsung Gem All Hit Alltel Wireless

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Alltel, Axis, Droid X (Shadow), Merge, News, Samsung

It looks like it's Android season in Alltel country, because four new handsets have just dropped on the regional provider's network. As of right now, Alltel customers can choose between the Motorola Milestone X - most of us know this one as the Droid X, the LG Axis - a low-end phone with a full slide-out QWERTY, the Samsung Gem - a tiny Froyo starter phone, and the HTC Merge - a mid-range Froyo device with a slide-out QWERTY.

This many phones coming out so close together can be a little bit confusing, so allow me to break each one down for you.

Apr

Motorola Droid X2 Benchmarks Confirm Tegra 2 Processor And qHD Display

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Droid X2, News, Rumors, Verizon Wireless

The rumors surrounding the Droid X2's hardware have been kind of sporadic, but it looks like we are starting to get a more definite look at what will be packed under the hood of this device. Some benchmarks that have appeared over at Nenamark are basically confirming the presence of a Tegra 2 dual-core processor and a qHD display, the latter via the device's reported resolution of 960x540.

This new information suggests the device is most likely a finished product and that release is upon us, making a launch sometime in May seem even more plausible.

Source: Nenemark via Droid Life

Mar

PSA: Verizon's Warranty Exchange Policy Is About To Get A Lot More Strict Starting Tomorrow

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Tips & Tutorials, Verizon Wireless

It appears Verizon has altered the terms of its "Certified Like New Program" ("CLNP") (pray they don't alter them further) to be a lot more demanding regarding the condition of exchanged devices.

Namely, if you send in your destroyed DROID, don't expect to get a shiny new replacement without a serious penalty - all phones sent in on warranty exchange must now meet the following requirements:

CLNR Cosmetics Standards

CLNR Cosmetic Standard Summary:

No blemishes are permitted on front surfaces such as the touch screen, keyboard

No more than two flaws, which must be less than 5mm in length, are permitted on other surfaces

No flaws or defects on lens

No dust, dirt, or fibers under lens

Ports must be free of foreign material and corrosion, be in operating condition, and have the plugs in place if applicable

This means even if your Android device suffers from a warrantied defect and fails, you may be out of luck trying to get it exchanged if you haven't kept it in tip-top condition.

Mar

CyanogenMod 7 RC4 Has Arrived For All Supported CM Devices - Bug Fixes Abound

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Aria (Liberty), Desire (Bravo/BravoC), Desire HD (Ace), Development, Droid (Sholes), EVO 4G (Supersonic), EVO Shift 4G (Speedy), HTC, Legend, Motorola, myTouch Slide (Espresso), Nexus One (Passion), Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung, Wildfire (Buzz)

CyanogenMod 7 has earned its reputation as the most reliable Gingerbread ROM, even though it hasn't yet entered stable mode. And tonight, the fun goes on - ~~RC4~~ RC3.14159265358979323846264338327, as the CM team so lovingly refers to it, has just been launched for all supported CM devices.

While RC4 doesn't contain any ground-breaking new features, it does bring a number of bug fixes - for example, hardware acceleration has been added to the Nook Color, and EGL has seen a big fix. It isn't perfect yet - kmobs notes that there may be some "lingering GPS issues on the EVO and the N1 call audio bug hasn't been fully fixed" - but it's still worth the update.

Mar

Breaking: Download Leaked DROID X Gingerbread (Android 2.3.3) Update

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, Droid X (Shadow), Gingerbread 2.3, Motorola, News, Tips & Tutorials

TeamBlackHat has publicly released a leaked official Gingerbread (Android 2.3.3) software update build for the Motorola DROID X. To install the update, you must have the DROID X Bootstrapper by Koush. Instructions and download links below:

Installing Firmware
1. Download this file from the TBH app or one of the mirrors below
2. Use Bootstrap to get your phone into recovery.
3. Create a backup (This is not compatible with new firmware)
4. Install the Firmware using recovery

In Recovery:

1. select install zip from sdcard
2. choose zip from sdcard
3. navigate to teamblackhat folder
4. select the file you downloaded

5.

Mar

[Update: It Was A Hoax] Motorola Encryption Keys Used In Droid/Milestone, Possibly Droid X, 2, Charm, And Other Sholes Devices Are Cracked

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in CHARM, Development, Droid (Sholes), Droid 2, Droid 2 Global, Droid X (Shadow), Milestone, Motorola, News

Last Updated: March 22nd, 2011

What an absolutely insane week it has been for unlocking encrypted and signed hardware!

Update: How disappointing - nenolod turned out to be a fraud, and the whole thing was a hoax. It seemed too good to be true, and it was.

First, the Thunderbolt, which turned out to be HTC's most closed off device ever, was cracked wide open by team AndIRC within days after release, including our own Justin Case (jcase), Jamezelle, scotty2, and others.

This morning, however, we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel for devices that have been uncracked for many months - namely, Motorola Milestone and possibly Droid X, Droid 2, Charm, and other devices from the Sholes family (this, apparently, does not include the Atrix 4G).