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Aug

HTC EVO 4G Car Dock Finally Hits Sprint Stores - Priced at $59.99, Charger Not Included

Posted by David Ruddock in EVO 4G (Supersonic), News

Over 2 months after the HTC EVO 4G became available to Sprint customers nationwide, HTC has finally made available its official EVO 4G "car upgrade kit." What does it include? When you open the box, you'll find the actual phone "dock" which uses the EVO's micro-USB port to provide power to the phone, as well as the windshield-mountable platform/base. You'll probably also find a lengthy warranty and instruction document of some sort (sorry if we spoiled the surprise).

Take note, no car charger or USB cable is included with this "kit" - they must be purchased separately. There are some additional issues to weigh before you purchase the car dock as well:

The phone's rear camera is blocked by the dock (dock blocked, if you will)
The USB connector is not capable of data transfer (will not work with your car's UBS stereo)
The SD card is inaccessible while the phone is docked (no SD apps, pictures, or music)
The "Car Home" app currently only displays in portrait mode

Given these issues, this may be the most disappointing "Car Upgrade Kit" ever released.

Aug

Motorola Droid 2 Rooted

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, Droid 2, News, Verizon Wireless

Looks like a dev over at XDA-Devs (where else?) has managed to root the Motorola Droid 2. As this is the device's first root and it was just released, it's not surprising that the method is still dependant on manually typing a number of commands. The process requires adb and Motorola drivers to be installed, and involves pushing and executing the root file with ADB. While it doesn't look overly complex, it's probably not something suitable for more novice rooters.

Setup:
- Install adb (here) and Motorola drivers (here)
- Download attached archive
- Extract to a directory, I used c:\Droid2Root
- Make sure you have USB degugging enabled
- Change connection to PC Mode

Process:
- Open command prompt
- cd c:/wherever-your-sdk-tools-folder-is
- adb devices (to verify the connection)
- cd c:/Droid2Root
- adb push rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin /data/local/tmp/rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin
- adb shell
- cd data/local/tmp
- chmod 0755 rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin
- ./rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin

- let the process run until it returns you to c:/Droid2Root
- cd c:/wherever-your-sdk-tools-folder-is
- adb devices (to verify the connection)
- adb shell (you should now have a # prompt)
- exit

- cd c:/Droid2Root
- adb push Superuser.apk /system/app/Superuser.apk
- adb push su /system/bin/su
- adb push busybox /system/bin/busybox
- adb shell
- chmod 4755 /system/bin/su
- chmod 4755 /system/bin/busybox
- exit

I'm sure there are certain steps that could be streamlined or eliminated, so please feel free to make a suggestion and I'll edit the post.

Aug

Deal Alert: Move Over, Vibrant - AT&T Samsung Captivate Now Also A Penny On Amazon.com For New Customers

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in AT&T, Captivate, News, Samsung

Remember the $0.01 Samsung Vibrant deal Amazon put up last week in response to T-Mobile's $99.99 sale? After running for a few days, the promotion ran out (the Vibrant is now $69.99), only to be replaced by another one, this time for AT&T customers.

That's right, the Samsung Captivate now costs a cool 1 penny for new accounts and comes with a free activation and 2-day shipping. This is the best deal on this phone to date, and it will probably last only a few days, judging by how long it took the Vibrant deal to vaporize.

Hit up the AT&T Samsung Captivate AmazonWireless page to feed Amazon that penny and pick one of these bad boys up.

Aug

Motorola Droid 2 Review: A Bit Of Makeup But Not A Complete Makeover

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Droid (Sholes), Droid 2, Droid X (Shadow), Froyo 2.2, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: October 22nd, 2011

General Overview

The original Droid was a revolutionary phone, not just because it saved Motorola from certain bankruptcy but also because it revealed the wonders of Android to the masses.

For the first time, an Android device was being marketed in a way that appealed to an average American. Not only that - the Droid was Google’s officially anointed Jesus phone, up until the Nexus One came along, meaning it was the first to get Android 2.0, the first to get Google Navigation, etc.

That sets a pretty high bar for the Droid 2, and if you read our review roundup, you already know that most other bloggers thought that, while it is certainly a worthy successor to the most popular Android phone ever, it doesn’t raise the bar or set a new standard for Droids going forward.

Aug

[Updated] Hands-On Review Of Sprint's Samsung Epic 4G

Posted by Ian Douglas in Epic 4G, News, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Samsung, Sprint, Videos

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

When offered to preview Sprint’s Samsung Galaxy S offering, the SPH-D700, also known as the Epic 4G, I immediately jumped on the opportunity. While my first personal-use Android device was the Nexus One, I’ve handled my share of Android smartphones, and my history of smartphone use has included several Samsung phones over the years. This being the first Galaxy S device I’ve personally handled, I’m glad to say that Samsung does not disappoint, and I can highly recommend the device to users who need a physical keyboard and can sign up for a contract with Sprint.

Update #1: added a 720P video sample.

Aug

Dell Aero Now Available For $100 On Contract, Runs On Cupcakes

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Aero, AT&T, Cupcake 1.5, Dell, News

Last Updated: September 22nd, 2010

At this point, we'd consider it a joke to release a device with Android 1.5, but apparently, Dell thinks differently.

The 3.67-ounce Dell Aero goes on sale today (on Dell.com, at least; AT&T still lists it as "coming soon") for $99.99 on a new two-year contract with AT&T, and packs:

2GB of onboard storage
triband 3.6Mbps HSDPA and quadband EDGE
5 megapixel camera
3.5-inch 640x360 display

Oh, and the best part? It runs the latest and greatest in the world of Android operating systems: Android 1.5 Cupcake. Yes, seriously. Full press release after the break.

Source: Dell via Engadget

Dell Creates Freedom, Style and Performance to Explore Life's Biggest Moments on New 3.5-Inch Android Smartphone

Date: 8/24/2010

Round Rock, Texas

NEWS:

Dell's first U.S.

Aug

Motorola Droid 2 Gets Its First Update

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Android OS, Droid 2, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless

No product is perfect - especially when it launches. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that software updates are often pushed out shortly after release so as to eliminate bugs, incompatibilities, and increase speed.

It appears that's exactly what Verizon's doing today, for software version.2.2.20.A955.Verizon.en.US/BP: BP_C_01.09.05P for the Droid 2 is now rolling out, OTA style. It isn't a major revision, but it does include a number of enhancements, including:

Streamlined setup of Visual Voice Mail
Improved contact syncing with Corporate Exchange
More accurate contact pictures in the recent call log
Scrolling text and picture messages

As always, the comments section below is the place to let us know how the update works out for you.

Aug

[Updated With Teaser Site] Samsung Releases Official Galaxy Tab Video On YouTube

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Galaxy Tab, News

Samsung just uploaded an official promo video for the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and it's pretty slick - it's very similar in nature to the Droid commercials, but less sci-fi. It doesn't release any new details, but it does confirm a few minor ones. For example, it will be shipping with Android 2.2 (Froyo) on board and it's set to be revealed at the IFA on September 2. Rather interestingly, it will support video chat - so presumably there is indeed a front-facing camera on board.

The video shows a slew of quick screenshots of the device in action (again, much like the Droid commercials), and also gives a pretty solid 360° view.

Aug

Samsung Galaxy Tab Prototype Spotted Again, With Some Hands-On Details

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Galaxy Tab, News

A prototype of Samsung's Galaxy tablet (creatively named the "Galaxy Tab") has been spotted again, this time in the hands of a Chinese citizen. Unfortunately, Google Translate is pretty awful on this one:

Broke the identity of a mystery, e-mail name is (づ¯ 3 ¯)づ, good sense ... pregnant, and he also presents us with a gift: The Galaxy Tab landing our home, so ifanr a Samsung flat in the first Chinese Web site, thanks his readers!

Those pregnant men, they always seem to land all the good gadgets. Our mystery leaker confirms some previously-rumored specs while sprinkling in some commentary.

Aug

T-Mobile G2 Launching September 29?

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in G2 (Vision), HTC, News, T-Mobile

Sure, we already know exactly what the G2 looks like, but unfortunately, we still have no idea what the specs will be or when the device is launching.

Well, with this latest round of rumors, you can cross the latter item off the list of mysteries related to the world's first HSPA+ phone, for TmoNews has just been told by one of their "trusty ninjas" that T-Mobile's got a September 29 launch date in store.

It's important to note that even TmoNews admits that this release date is far from official and that it is apt to change, although it certainly isn't unlikely given the fact that T-Mobile has announced practically nothing about the device other than that it will be their first HSPA+ capable phone.