GADGET REVIEWS Just another GADGET NEWS

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After all the ruckus at CES 2011 over Motorola’s Honeycomb-dedicated XOOM tablet died down, I got a chance to get my hands on the latest in the company’s Droid series of smartphones, the Bionic.

Like its Droid X predecessor, the Bionic is definitely not small. The 4.3 inch screen is one of the largest on the smartphone market right now, and if you’re wearing tight jeans and hoofing it around the Vegas strip all day like I’ve been doing, a fat-bodied Bionic in your pocket might bring on a bit of chafing.

But the screen’s aesthetic appeal makes up for any inconvenience its size may bring. Shooting pictures with the back facing 8 megapixel camera was made easier with the extra screen surface area for planning and viewing shots.

Whereas Apple’s iPhones are all about the smooth-backed covers, the Bionic goes the way of rubberized grip-style case. The phone’s backside has ample tooth to it, another line of defense against clumsy phone droppers like myself. But the gripping doesn’t make the Bionic feel bulky or weighted down. It’s a nice touch, even if it may add to the aforementioned pocket-chafing.

We weren’t allowed to pop open the hood to see the phone’s 1-GHz dual-core processor insides, but by the looks of flipping through the Android 2.2 menu screens, the Bionic’s guts seemed to be doing their job well. No visible stuttering was to be seen in the few apps I ran, and load time was minimal. It was, however, a brand new phone with its 16 GB of on-board storage still relatively empty. I’d like to see how it runs after an app-hungry tween had their hands on it.

All in all, I dug what I saw of the Bionic. It may be a bit large for my taste, but for the crowd that’s into the big and powerful (and prefers a Motorola handset over that of a Samsung offering) the Bionic is surely worth a second look.

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See Also:

• Video: Hands-On With Motorola’s Droid
• Verizon Denies Tethering, Hot Spot Features to Droid Customers
• Motorola Introduces Droid 2 Phone
• Motorola Upgrades the Droid With Droid X
• The R2-D2 Droid Phone You’re Looking For

Photos: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

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Late yesterday, Verizon and Motorola announced a new Android smartphone with a front-facing QWERTY keyboard, sleek black business-casual look and a 3.1″ multitouch multimedia screen. The Droid Pro is expected to attract a big chunk of Verizon’s existing Android and Blackberry high-end and business users when released in the coming weeks.

My first, beloved smartphone was a first-generation Blackberry Bold; for me, Motorola’s Droid Pro is clearly the handsomest Android phone I have ever seen. (Yes, I like it more than the R2-D2 Droid.) The major differences between the new Droid Pro and my old Blackberry Bold are Android apps and a touchscreen. As long as the Droid Pro’s keyboard is a champ like the Bold’s, the touchscreen isn’t too teeny and its yet-unannounced pricing isn’t too obscene, we can say that it’s improved in every way.

The Droid Pro’s specs are also impressive: Android 2.2., a 1GHz processor with 2GB of storage, Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and support for both Exchange and Google email and calendar programs. It can act as a 3G mobile hotspot (although Verizon has disabled that functionality for current Droid users) or stream media from a server over a Wi-Fi network using the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standard. Its 5MP camera can shoot still images and video, so you might even have something on your phone worth streaming back.

When the Droid Pro’s finally released, upgraders should make sure they don’t throw their old phones away: Verizon Wireless today announced a new trade-in/recycling program that will appraise your old phone, refurbish or recycle it and offer you a Verizon Gift Card. Even non-Verizon phones can be traded in, so network-switchers can take advantage of it too.

Price and release date for the Droid Pro have yet to be announced; when released, it will be available through Verizon Wireless’s online and retail outlets. You can fully expect that Verizon’s people will be happy to sell you one.

Image from Motorola.

Source:wired.com

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Geeks and Star Wars fans can soon get a souped-up limited edition of the Droid 2 phone. Verizon Wireless will introduce a R2-D2 Droid phone in a custom box resembling carbonite, a fictional compound in the Star Wars universe. The phone will include features such as themed widgets, media dock and a new app.

The phone will be available online starting September 30. At $250 after a $100 mail-in rebate and with a new two-year contract, the R2-D2 Droid will be more expensive than the regular Droid. The Droid 2 costs $200 with a rebate and a new contract.

The back of the R2-D2 Droid phone has a graphic pattern designed to look like the Astromech Droid from the Star Wars saga. The phone will come pre-loaded with special notification sounds, ringtones and wallpapers.

Other Verizon customers with Android devices running Android 2.1 OS or higher won’t entirely be left out. They will be able to download an app from the Android Market called ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’ The app lets users browse and download Star Wars related content such as trivia and games. ‘

Verizon introduced the second generation Droid phone in August with a faster 1 GHz processor and Android 2.2 Froyo operating system.

Photos: Verizon Wireless

Source:wired.com

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A ride to the stratosphere and back has now become a rite of passage for smartphones.

Space enthusiasts are attaching devices such as the Motorola Droid, G1, HTC Evo, and Nexus One — not to mention an array of digital cameras — to weather balloons or rockets, then sending them high into the stratosphere and beyond.

With integrated GPS systems, cameras and fast processors, smartphones are computing devices available to all. Thats why space enthusiasts are turning to them to do things that would have otherwise required custom components or a number of specialized devices.

What you are seeing is a grassroots initiative to reach for the stars, says Bobby Russell, founder of Quest for Stars, a non-profit organization that works with high school students to promote science and technology.

Driving the interest of hobbyists are the latest crop of smartphones and even digital cameras because the devices are cheap and fairly rugged.

Now, its all there off-the-shelf for the taking, says Russell. So why reinvent the wheel?

Photo: A Google G1 phone gets ready to head into the atmosphere, surrounded by members of the Noisebridge hacker space. Photo courtesy: Mikolaj Horbyn, Andrew Gerrand, Christie Dudley.

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Have you tried to launch a gadget into space? Submit a link to a photo and website where we can learn more about it. If we get enough great submissions, we’ll publish a gallery of your submissions! Your photo needs to be on Flickr, Picasa or another website. Give us the URL of the image file (.jpg, .gif or .png), not the web page containing it.

Show space gadgets that are: hot | new | top-rated or submit your photo

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Source:wired.com

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HTC’s Droid Eris phone is getting a second lease on life as a tour guide in a Disney amusement park. Disney has taken the smartphone, added a frame around it to turn it into a device running an app that shows wait times for rides, offers discounts and indicates show times at the park.

The repurposed Eris also gives out tips and tricks and coupons for use in the park.

HTC launched the Droid Eris in November as a $100 smartphone (with a two-year contract) on Verizon Wireless. The Droid Eris had a 3.2-inch display, a 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi and GPS capability. It also used HTCs Sense custom skin for Android. In June, Verizon said it has retired the Droid Eris.

Meanwhile, last year Disney also launched its Mobile Magic app for mostly feature phones and non-Android smartphones. The app gives users detailed information about the different Disney theme parks in the U.S. Now with the Android version of the app running on the Eris, Disney hopes to connect with those users who are already at the park.

Check out the video to see the Mobile Magic app on the Droid Eris

Ultimately, the Eris phone running the app may be offered as a free or “low cost add-on” for visitors on the trip, says the MickeyUpdates site.

Photo: Mickeyupdates.com

[via Engadget]

Source:wired.com

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Motorola’s Droid is the most popular phone among Android users, followed by HTC Hero, while Google’s Nexus One ranks tenth on the list, according to a monthly metrics report from mobile advertising firm AdMob. AdMob has ranked the top ten Android smartphones by market share.

The data is based on 12.7 million Android phones in the AdMob network in May. It’s also why the HTC Evo, released in the first week of June, is missing from the mix.

About 21 percent Android users have the Droid, while 16 percent users own the HTC Hero. Just 2 percent of Android phone users have Google’s Nexus One phone, says AdMob.

Motorola launched the Droid in November 2009 and made it available exclusively on Verizon Wireless. And despite the gaggle of Android phones launched every month, the Droid has been holding strong.

The only Android phone that could challenge the Droid’s position is the HTC Evo, which is available exclusively on Sprint. It will be interesting to see if the Evo can beat the Droid, though Sprint has a smaller marketing budget and fewer subscribers than Verizon.

Here’s a chart that shows the popularity of different Android smarpthones.

About 67 percent of Android users are in North America while China is the second largest market for Android with 13 percent of Android users coming from the country, says AdMob.

Combined HTC and Motorola have 83 percent share among Android devices. Since the Android OS debuted in 2008, the two companies have been on a roll, churning out phones faster than consumers can keep up with.

Last week, Motorola introduced its eleventh Android phone, the Droid X. It was also a big month for HTC, whose Evo phone is the first and only 4G device available currently.

Data: AdMob

Source:wired.com

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We’re back with episode #2 of the new, improved, videographic Gadget Lab podcast. In this episode, Brian X. Chen and Dylan F. Tweney discuss the top gadget news of the week: The launch of the iPhone 4, the rollout of Verizon’s and Motorola’s Droid X, and the public release of Android 2.2, aka “FroYo,” which sports a fully-functional version of Adobe’s Flash Player 10.1.

(It didn’t make it into this podcast, but don’t miss Brian’s video introduction to the iPhone 4.)

We also show off a handful of iPad and iPhone apps: the excellent photojournalism-centric Guardian Eyewitness, an impressive library of medical images called 3D4 Medical, and a photo shooting, editing and sharing app called Camera+.

Oh, and then there’s iKamasutra XL.

And we wrap things up with a plea to save the seahorses. (Seriously: Overfishing may be leading some of them to the brink of extinction.)

You can also get the Gadget Lab video podcast via iTunes, or if you don’t want to be distracted by our mugs, check out the Gadget Lab audio podcast.

Source:wired.com

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Eight months after Motorola debuted its first Droid phone, the company has refreshed the device to include a bigger screen, a focus on high-definition video and Flash compatibility.

Motorola’s new Droid X phone is the successor to its original Droid smartphone introduced last October. The $200 Droid X (after a $100 rebate and with a two-year contract) will run Google’s latest Android 2.2 Froyo operating system and will include Adobe Flash Player 10.1. DROID X customers will the 2.2 and Flash updates wirelessly over-the-air in the latter half of the summer.

“It is pretty spectacular,” John Stratton, chief marketing officer of Verizon told attendees at the device’s launch. “When you have a screen and form factor like this — very thin and lightweight — it screams video.”

The new Droid X will have a 4.3-inch touchscreen (854 x 480 pixels resolution) — about the same size as the HTC EVO 4G and much bigger physically than the 3.5-inch display on the iPhone 4, which is 960 x 640 pixels.

The phone includes a Texas Instruments OMAP processor with 1-GHz processing ability, 512 MB of RAM and 8 GB of internal memory that’s expandable to 40 GB using a storage card.

It also has a 8-megapixel camera, a step up from the 5-megapixel one in the earlier version. The camera can capture 720p video content and offers HD playback via HDMI. What’s missing is the dual camera that’s now a part of the iPhone and HTC Evo.

The Droid X announcement comes a day before the public debut of the iPhone 4, although Apple’s phone is already in the hands of some lucky customers as well as a few carefully chosen reviewers.

The Droid X will be the star in Motorola’s portfolio. So far Motorola has launched a number of Android phones, including the Cliq on T-Mobile, Backflip on AT&T and Devour on Verizon. But its first Droid phone remains a best-seller. Meanwhile, Apple is charging ahead with its latest iPhone, which is gathering generally positive reviews(though AT&T’s network has been criticized). Many Apple users have already started receiving their pre-ordered iPhone 4.

Droid X is Motorola’s 11th Android smartphone. The phone will start shipping July 15 and will be available exclusively on Verizon’s network.

See below for a larger image.

Top photo: Droid X
Stefan Armijo/Wired.com

Photo: Verizon

Source:wired.com

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The new Motorola Droid X phone, with its slim profile and striking display, doesn’t set a new standard in industrial design. But what it lacks in style, it makes up for with features, including an emphasis on high-definition video recording and playback.

The $200 Droid X (after a $100 rebate and with a two-year Verizon contract) will run Googles latest Android 2.2 Froyo operating system and will include Adobe Flash Player 10.1, following an update “late summer.”

There’s one key difference between the Droid X and the original Droid: The Droid X doesn’t have a physical keyboard. Instead its 4.3-inch display makes it one of the biggest touchscreens available among smartphones today.

The Droid X’s screen is gorgeous and incredibly responsive to touch. The display has a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels compared to 800 x 480 pixels on the HTC Evo. Placed side-by-side, the Evo’s display seemed brighter and more vivid.

But the Droid X’s touchscreen is a treat. It’s extremely responsive without crossing over into the annoyingly sensitive territory.

Unlike the Evo, which has its four Android buttons (Home, Menu, Back and Search) sleekly integrated into the frame, the Droid X has four physical buttons at the bottom of the phone and it is jarring. The matte black finish of the phone gives it a dull appearance compared to the glossy shine of the Evo.

Source:wired.com

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In an open letter three months ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs challenged Adobe to ship its Flash software on any mobile device and prove it worked well.

Adobe, now, has an answer. The company has released Flash Player 10.1 to its mobile partners and the technology should be in the hands of Android phone users with the upcoming Android 2.2 ‘Froyo’ update to the operating system.

Flash Player 10.1 will be available as a “final production release” for smart phones and tablets, once users are able to upgrade to Android 2.2, says Adobe.

Among the devices that will get Froyo and Flash Player 10.1 are the Dell Streak, Google Nexus One, HTC Evo, HTC Desire, HTC Incredible, Motorola Droid, Motorola Milestone and Samsung Galaxy S. Google hasn’t said yet exactly when Android 2.2 will be available to users, though it is expected in the next few weeks.

Adobe says Flash Player 10.1 will also be available in devices using BlackBerry, webOS, future versions of Windows Phone, MeeGo and Symbian operating systems.

If major Android phones get Flash capability it will be a push back against Apple’s efforts to turn public opinion against Flash on mobile devices.

With the launch of the first iPhone in 2007, Apple declared war against mobile Flash. Apple is supporting HTML5 and its efforts have influenced the online video landscape significantly. Many major websites are starting to use HTML5, and video players such as Brightcove are serving up HTML5 videos for devices not compliant with Flash. Separately, Apple has worked with companies like YouTube to produce iPhone-compatible versions of their sites.

“We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it,” wrote Jobs in a note posted on the Apple website in April. “Adobe publicly said that Flash would ship on a smartphone in early 2009, then the second half of 2009, then the first half of 2010, and now they say the second half of 2010. We think it will eventually ship, but were glad we didnt hold our breath. Who knows how it will perform?”

But many developers are not convinced. Adobe’s Flash standard is still widely used on the internet, for everything from animated banner ads and splash screens to infographics, educational content and games. Much of that content has been unavailable on mobile devices: The previous version of Adobe’s mobile Flash player, Flash Lite, supported only basic Flash content, such as video.

Gadget Lab’s first look at a Flash Player 10.1 beta showed that Flash on the mobile phone can be fun, unlocking sites that otherwise would be inaccessible. But it’s not a flawless experience. On a Nexus One, Flash content — especially video — took time to load, which was frustrating. And it sucks bandwidth.

Still, for Adobe, it’s a big step toward making Flash a contender in mobile multimedia.

Photo: Flash Player 10.1 on a Nexus One phone (Keith Axline/Wired.com)

Source:wired.com

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