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Let's not beat around the bush here: the DROID X2 is hardly the star of Motorola and Verizon's DROID production, what with its PenTile display and CDMA-only radio. But then again, it's not a complete train wreck; and besides, who doesn't love a free phone? Oops, did I say free? I meant you actually get $50 back in the form of a gift card due to a promotion Amazon is currently running. Not bad, huh?
Remember that sleek 4.5-inch Motorola looker we encountered last month? It's back, but no longer will it be known as the DROID HD or the DROID Spyder; according to the latest rumor (courtesy of This is my Next), the device is none other than the DROID RAZR. Yes, that's the name of the phone that in 2004 saved Motorola from bankruptcy (before it plunged into the profitless dregs of mobile society a second time, that is).
The Motorola XOOM was a truly unique device: it marked the beginning of the Android tablet era, stole a portion (admittedly a very small one) of the iPad 2's pre-announcement hype, and... weighed about as much as a tank driven by Chris Christie.
Unity3D has paved the road for some seriously stunning mobile games, and as smartphones and tablets continue to become more powerful, 3D shooters and other graphics-intensive apps will finally begin to reach their full potential.
It's now been exactly a year (minus one day) since I published my very first editorial for Android Police, Let Android Be Android. A lot has changed since - dual-core CPUs are now table stakes for a high-end smartphone; Android has evolved from an exclusively mobile OS to a software powerhouse for phones and tablets alike; and we've been given several seminars on stretching the truth about the speed of a wireless network (yep, that would be the "4G" drama).
The Android dev community has a well-deserved reputation for releasing new versions of ROMs at breakneck speeds, and they're not slowing down with the newest kid on the block, the Motorola DROID BIONIC. In fact, @cvpcs has already ported CyanogenMod 7 to the device, and though he isn't ready to release it just yet, he has put out a video to whet our appetites:
The newest version of Sprint's weekly "playbook" has been sent around to employees, and as usual, we have a copy. Sadly, this week's edition doesn't exactly inspire confidence for the future of the nation's third-largest carrier - in fact, one of Sprint's primary benefits, the Premier program, will be disappearing down the drain shortly. It's not all bad news, though, so let's dig in and see what's up and coming in the world of Sprint.
The @DroidLanding Twitter account has awoken once more, this time with news of an ongoing DROID Bionic scavenger hunt:
HTC has an above-average track record with software updates, but they appear to have misstepped with the most recent PRL version for the EVO 3D. For some unfathomable reason, said PRL (version number 50580) seems to be blocking Sprint's 3G network for a lot of users; as a result, they are left with no choice but to rely on the considerably slower 1xRTT technology (2G) for data.
If the insanely high-res screens of the Galaxy Note and Galaxy Tab 7.7 have you drooling, you're certainly not alone. But if you live in the US, it's all too likely that you will never have the opportunity to see either of the devices in person.
It's now been more than seven months since we first caught wind of the Serval project, which promised to allow Android users to make phone calls when conventional cell networks aren't available or simply don't work. Recently, however, the team's initial stab at network-free communication - an Android app called "Serval Mesh" - has landed in the Market.
Nope, Verizon still hasn't changed its mind about skipping the Galaxy S II, but if BGR's latest exclusive proves to be true, Android fans on Big Red needn't be disappointed. Indeed, the carrier is said to be launching the Samsung DROID Prime - likely a rebranded version of the long-rumored Nexus Prime - as early as this October.
Samsung's NYC event may have been rescheduled for August 30th, but that doesn't mean you'll have to wait till Tuesday to see the US versions of the Galaxy S II. We've already gotten a sneak peek at the visages of AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint's editions of the phone, and now (once again courtesy of Pocketnow) another press shot has been leaked:
We've been fascinated with the Parrot ASTEROID ever since we first saw it at CES, but as the company has missed its Q2 deadline and let out nary a peep about the Android-powered car unit in the last seven months, we were starting to get concerned about our chances of seeing it hit the market.
Update: At the request of Swype, we have removed the links to this ported version of Swype for the Nexus S 4G because of licensing concerns regarding the Sprint branding. Also, because this same update will be rolled out on Swype Beta for all devices this week. Check out the announcement, here.
The wait has been long for those eager to find out more about Ice Cream Sandwich (i.e. everyone in the Android community), but it appears that the date is finally drawing near, as more and more details are starting to leak out. Last week we got our first look at the next version of Android, and today Electronic Times published some details on the first device that will run it - the Nexus Prime.
Keeping with its tradition of addressing software issues in a timely fashion, HTC just started pushing out a minor bug-fixing update for the EVO 3D. The update (version number 2.08.651.2) began its rollout this morning and should be available to all EVO 3D owners by 8/23.
The original DROID blew everyone away. It saved Motorola from almost certain bankruptcy, breathed new life into Verizon's smartphone catalog, and made Android a desirable mobile operating system rather than a cheap alternative to iOS. In short, it ushered in a new age of Android devices.
Sound the trumpets and ring the bells - Samsung's much-anticipated Galaxy S II will be arriving in the US next month! How do we know? During the announcement of the South Korean Galaxy Tab 10.1, Shin Jong-kyun, president of mobile business and digital imaging for Samsung, said:
Regardless of what carrier you're currently shackled to, you have to admit that Verizon's LTE rollout is very impressive. Already the 4G service is available in more markets than Sprint's - despite being publicly available for about half the time.