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Droid X2

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When Motorola announced a few months back that it was not going to update most of its 2011 Android devices to Jelly Bean, owners were understandably upset. Moto attempted to calm the masses by offering a $100 trade-in credit. Now the details have been finalized and the program is looking much less appealing than everyone had hoped.

Motorola has just made two sites for the developer editions of its newest phones live, and you can actually pre-order one right now. The RAZR M Developer Edition will cost you $550, which seems about right given the specifications. It will ship around September 13th, and comes in any color you like, so long as it's black.

Motorola Confirms Via Twitter That Older Devices Will Not Receive Bootloader Unlock Tools

Motorola Confirms Via Twitter That Older Devices Will Not Receive Bootloader Unlock Tools

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Bad news, owners of older Motorola devices. According to a tweet from Motorola's official Twitter account, if you own an aging Moto phone—including the Droid 3, Bionic, and Droid X2—you will not be receiving a bootloader unlock tool. While newer products like the Photon Q, as well as developer-centric devices like the RAZR Developer Edition and the not-quite-Nexus Xoom are supported, Moto has no plans to add any of its older lineup to the supported list.

Droid X2 owners should be keeping an eye out for a new OTA set to roll out "soon," bringing the device's build up to 1.3.418.MB870. The OTA is pretty light, coming in at around 35MB, and bringing a small handful of enhancements and fixes to the X2, which debuted almost one year ago. Included in the update are Verizon's Video and VZ Navigator 3D City, Google's security patch, Wireless Alerting System compatibility, and a few other small improvements.

Yesterday, we took a look at Riptide GP for Tegra devices with the addition of controller support. To celebrate the update and all the fun that adding a controller to your Tegra tablet can bring, we've once again teamed up with NVIDIA to bring our most massive giveaway yet: The Riptide Gaming Power Pack.

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?

Update: If @VZWSupport is to be believed (and after yesterday's Galaxy S II fiasco, I have my doubts), then the update should be rolling out beginning today, reaching all DX2 owners by the end of the week.

I know, I know. The last one was under $50, and preferably free. But in our attempt to keep you updated with the latest and greatest deals on the latest and greatest devices, we had to make sacrifices. Fortunately, that means there are also no repeat appearances from last month's post, though you should still check it out - a lot of those handsets (aside from the DROID 2) are still viable choices.

The technology that allowed custom ROMs like CyanogenMod on the Droid X/2 and Atrix - 2nd-Init - has now been ported to the Droid X2 by XDA forum member edgan. According to the source thread, it was a direct port from the Atrix, as the code was not modified whatsoever, only re-compiled.

Netflix this evening appears to have quietly unleashed the Android app on 16 more previously unsupported devices, all without updating the application at all.

I'm not sure why anyone would want the DROID X2 (our own Aaron Gingrich didn't exactly love it, either - and that's putting it nicely.) But, some people do seem to like the X2 - probably most owners upgrading from the original X. Why? Because it looks and feels exactly the same. So, if you want this Motorola monster, now's a decent time to get it - as it's just $100 with a new Verizon account on Wirefly or AmazonWireless.

Horrific battery life on Android phones is nothing new, and neither is the mind-blowing shattering frailty of said handsets. We've seen - and reviewed - solutions to both of these issues, but for those who want a convenient, all-in-one product, nothing beats XPAL's "PowerSkins."

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.

The Motorola Droid X2 has only been out for a day now - and still can't be purchased via Verizon brick-and-mortars yet- but we've already managed to land one for review. I haven't had much time with it, but I do have some unboxing and hands-on pictures to go along with the initial impressions.

Well, that's the easy part done. The DROID X2 has been rooted, huzzah! The device was found to be vulnerable to one of the known root exploits out there (Gingerbreak) - apparently Moto couldn't be bothered to patch up the hole (the fix has been backported to 2.2 from AOSP, according to our own Justin Case.) This hasn't been fully confirmed yet, but it seems plausible, given that all previous Motorola Froyo builds have been susceptible to this exploit.

If you've been waiting in anticipation to make the Droid X2 your next Android purchase, but just can't convince yourself to wait a few days, then we have good news. You can score VZW's first dual-core phone in-store at Best Buy right now. We called a Best Buy to confirm - and the X2 is a go.

The refreshed version of the original and very popular Motorola Droid X - the dual-core Droid X2 with a hi-res qHD screen - is up online at VerizonWireless.com for $199.99 on a 2-year contract a whole week earlier than you will be seeing it in brick and mortar stores. With free overnight shipping, you can rock Verizon's newest and, ironically, first dual-core Android phone by tomorrow (Bionic who?).

Official word just came out of VZW's camp that the Droid X2 will indeed be hitting the streets on the previously rumored launch date of May 26. The arrival of the X2 puts the total number of new VZW phones to hit on that same day at three (what's up with phones dropping in threes these days?) alongside the LG Revolution and Sony Xperia PLAY, so anyone looking to pick up a new handset will have somewhat of a choice to make.

Continuing in the grand tradition of letting its less-than-flagship phones remain relatively free of fanfare leading up to release, Verizon (and Motorola) have let slip that the DROID X2 is probably coming soon, with the addition of an accessory page for the device on Verizon's website.

It looks like Motorola's follow-up to the Droid X will be hitting its planned release date - sometime later in May - after all. According to Droid-Life's sources, the Droid X2 (or Droid X², if you feel like stylin') will be released on May 26, with all the following luscious hardware in tow:

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