AT&T is dying for you to try out its newly branded 4G network, and you’ll finally be able to with a new phone.
AT&T announced its HTC Inspire 4G on Tuesday, the first smartphone able to access the company’s HSPA+ 4G network. The phone will be available beginning Feb. 13, retailing for $100 with a two-year contract. Read More…
Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on February 2, 2011
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LAS VEGAS — After HTC’s EVO Shift debuted at CES this week, I was able to spend a little time playing around with it. From what I’ve seen so far, it’s a solid contender for those who don’t want to carry around an oversized chunk of hardware.
Unlike its giant predecessor the EVO, the EVO Shift’s capacitive touch screen measures in at 3.6 inches with 480-by-800-pixel resolution. Compare that to the EVO’s 4.3 inch screen size, and the Shift might seem small. But you don’t want to carry a phone that borders on tablet-sized status around in your pants, do you?
I’m personally satisfied with a mid-range screen like that of the EVO Shift, and the image clarity on the menu screens was impressive enough to win over any size queen.
The back facing 5-megapixel camera is straightforward, lit with an LED flash. The photos I took were nothing to write home about, but then again the Shift isn’t packing the 8-megapixel cameras that a number of other recent smartphones have been. And it’s not supposed to, either. A phone like the Shift isn’t aimed at the nerds that need the latest and greatest pocket powerhouse that tops every hardware category across the board.
If you’re used to the keyboard on the Blackberry but want to move to the Android OS (Froyo in particular), the Shift has a slide-out QWERTY to accompany the touch screen. The keys are only slightly raised with flat tops, which might be annoying to those used to boards with a more nub-like keytop. But after a few minutes, texting with the buttons felt intuitive.
Browser speed seemed spotty, though the congested network inside of CES made it difficult to tell just how fast the Shift will perform when it hits Sprint’s 4G network. And that won’t be long from now: The Shift becomes widely available on the last day of CES, January 9th.
All in all, for a lightweight $150 price tag (after mail-in rebate and 2-year contract, mind you), the EVO Shift is a solid contender for its price range.
See Also:
Photos: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
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Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on January 6, 2011
My HTC Evo, a traveling journalist’s workhorse, got me busted in open court.
It was the first day of the Xbox modding trial in Los Angeles last week, which I was covering for Wired.com. The reason wasn’t that the phone’s ringer sounded in federal court — I’ve been in too many courtrooms to make that mistake.
Blame it on my Evo’s Wi-Fi hotspot, which prompted U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez to suddenly halt proceedings in the first-of-it’s kind hacking trial.
From the bench, in the afternoon on Day No. 1 of the trial, the judge asked me to rise and state my name. After seeing my hotspot (with the perhaps-suspicious ID of “gethacked”) show up on his computer at the bench, the judge demanded to know whether I was transmitting a signal.
I pleaded guilty.
He ordered me to turn it off, but allowed me to use my MacBook Pro offline for “note taking” purposes, which came in handy the following day when Judge Gutierrez went on a 30-minute tirade bagging on the prosecution’s case, which ultimately was dismissed.
Normally, one must ask permission to use a computer from the gallery. I gambled. The payout was that I learned about one of the Evo’s few flaws: Its blazing-fast, 4G Wi-Fi hotspot cannot be made invisible. Despite that flaw, and after months using an unrooted Evo, my jailbroken iPhone seems so yesterday.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m still a member of the “Cult of Mac.” My Apple fanboyishness includes an iPad, a 13-inch Macbook Pro, a 27-inch iMac, and I’m a heavy iTunes software user.
But consider:
In my Los Angeles hotel room, the Evo became my media hub last week.
I had a great Wi-Fi signal, thanks to the Evo, to which I attached my MacBook Pro and iPad. There was a crystal-clear Bluetooth connection to my cyborg-like phone earpiece and, again, the call quality was superb. And when I wasn’t on a call, the phone’s speaker was blaring Eminem.
James Merithew, Wired.com’s photo editor, laughed at the mug shot I took of defendant Matthew Crippen using my Evo. (Technically, it’s illegal to take photos in a federal courthouse, so I snapped a few shots in a hurry after hustling Crippen over to a poorly lighted corner.) But with a little touching up, the photo was presentable enough for publication. Take that, Mr. Merithew!
The only thing the Evo didn’t do for me was dispense beer.
Trust me, I had that angle covered.
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Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on December 11, 2010
Despite the announcement of its first Android tablet last month, Samsung has been coy about the most awaited information of the device: pricing.
Now a leak suggests the Galaxy Tab will be priced at $400 with a two-year contract on Sprint and $600 without a contract. The device could be available starting November 14 in the U.S., according to The Boy Genius Report site.
Samsung has said that the Galaxy Tab will be available on all the four major wireless service providers AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. The tablets include 3G and WiFi connectivity.
The pricing, if correct, will put the Galaxy Tab in an interesting position against the Apple iPad. A 16 GB version of the iPad costs $500 but a 3G data plan from AT&T is available on month-to-month and without a long-term contract.
The Galaxy Tab will be the first major Android tablet to hit the market. The device runs Android 2.2 Froyo operating system and has a 7-inch LCD display with a 1024 x 600 resolution. At 0.8 pounds, the device weighs just about half as much as the iPad. It also supports Adobes Flash Player 10.1 so it can display web pages that run Flash something the iPad cant.
Samsung has said most apps in the Android Market will work on the Galaxy Tab. But already big news publishers such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today are reportedly planning Android apps optimized for the Galaxy Tab.
Photo: Samsung Galaxy Tab
Source:wired.com
Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on October 8, 2010
Samsung is milking the launch of its 7-inch tablet called the Galaxy Tab by trickling out a little bit of news about it every other week. After announcing the Galaxy Tab’s launch in Europe earlier this month, Samsung held a press conference Thursday to say the device will be available in the U.S in the next few weeks.
The Galaxy Tab will be available on all the four major wireless service providers — AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. There’s still no word on pricing or exact shipping date for the Galaxy Tab. The devices, which support 3G and WiFi, will arrive in time for the holiday shopping season, says Samsung. A Wi-Fi only version of the tablet will be available in the future.
The Galaxy Tab runs Android 2.2 Froyo operating system and has a LCD display with a 1024 x 600 resolution. At 0.8 pounds, the device weighs just about half as much as the iPad. It also supports Adobes Flash Player 10.1 so it can display web pages that run Flash something the iPad cant. The Galaxy Tab will run many Android Market apps in full screen and those that are not scalable will be framed and centered on the screen at 800 x 400 resolution.
Another feature that U.S. customers of Galaxy Tab will get is the Media Hub, a mobile widget that will allow users to download and rent movies.
The Galaxy Tab will come with three accessories: a $100 keyboard dock, a $50 desktop dock, which will double as a charger, and a $100 car and GPS dock.
Photo: Samsung
Source:wired.com
Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on September 16, 2010
Samsung’s bet on Android seems to have paid off big for the company. Samsung has shipped more than one million Galaxy S phones in the U.S. since the devices were launched in mid-July.
The news makes the Galaxy S devices one of the hottest Android phones available today, though the smartphones haven’t reached iPhone-like popularity yet. Apple sold 1.7 million iPhone 4 devices in just the first three days of sales in June.
So far, Samsung has two models of the Galaxy S phones, Samsung Vibrant and SamsungCapitvate, available on T-Mobile and AT&T respectively. But two more Galaxy S devices are expected to debut soon–Samsung Epic 4G on Sprint and Samsung Fascinate on Verizon Wireless.
Common to all these devices are features such as AMOLED display, a 1GHz processor called ‘Hummingbird’ and entertainment apps. Samsung says all Galaxy S devices will be upgraded to Android 2.2 Froyo operating system.
It will be interesting to see if the Galaxy S phones can topple Motorola Droid and the HTC Evo as the best-selling Android phones.Motorola recently launched Droid 2 on Verizon Wireless and the Evo has reigned on Sprint as the first 4G phone.
Samsung’s Epic 4G, which is scheduled to be available on Sprint starting August 31, could finally give the Evo some real competition.
Meanwhile, Samsung is gearing up to launch a 7-inch tablet in September called the ‘Galaxy Tab’. The tablet will run Android 2.2 Froyo OS, include video-calling capability and full web browsingwhich likely means support for Flash, according to a teaser video that Samsung posted last week.
Photo: Samsung Vibrant (Stefan Armijo/Wired.com)
Source:wired.com
Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on August 30, 2010
Virgin Mobile’s truly unlimited MiFi data plan is official. Leaked by Virgin itself through Facebook a few days ago, the new Broadband2Go plan gives you as much internet as you can use for just $40 per month. Best of all, this is done without a contract, meaning you can stop any time your like, or just take a pause for your vacations.
First, the major caveats. Virgin Mobile piggy-backs on Sprint’s network, which means that you can only use this if you have Sprint coverage. Second, because Sprint uses CDMA technology for its network, you can’t just pop in a SIM if ever you take the Virgin MiFi abroad.
Aside from that, though, this looks like an amazing deal. You can share the 3G data connection with up to five devices via Wi-Fi, which means netbooks, notebooks, cellphones and iPads. Hell, you could even use this as your main home connection.
You’ll need to buy the MiFi itself, for $150 (there is also an $80 USB dongle available for laptop users), but you’d be paying that indirectly anyway if you signed up for a contract. The new plan isn’t yet live on the Broadband2Go page (linked below), so I haven’t had a chance to dig into the small print, but barring any weird definitions of “unlimited” by Virgin, this could be as big a turning point in mobile internet as the original, short-lived unlimited iPad plans from AT&T.
Broadband2Go [Virgin. Thanks, Kevin!]
Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.
Source:wired.com
Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on August 25, 2010
If you’re a Sprint Nextel customer and your reception is poor, the carrier may give you a free coverage-boosting femtocell.
Sprint-Nextel has begun a program of offering a free Airave Access Point to qualifying customers, according to a story on Fierce Wireless. The new femtocell, made by Airvana, provides cellular coverage over a small area and supports 3G (EV-DO) data speeds, unlike Sprint’s previous Samsung-built femtocell, which only supported the slower CDMA 1x data service.
Femtocells are like miniature cellphone towers, providing a signal boost over a range of about 100 feet or less. About the size of a cable modem, they use a landline internet connection to connect with the carrier (and the internet), and broadcast a cellular signal that subscribers of that company’s wireless service can use to connect. AT&T recently began offering a femtocell called the 3G MicroCell, which costs $150 plus $20 per month. It does remedy coverage problems, as our review of the 3G MicroCell showed, but places the financial burden on the customer.
Sprint, by contrast, is willing to foot the bill for qualifying customers, although the company requires that you send the femtocell back if you end your contract with Sprint.
Customers that don’t qualify for a free femtocell can still buy the Airave for $100 plus $5 per month.
Fierce Wireless, via Ars Technica
UPDATED: Samsung, not Airvana, built the first-generation Sprint Airave femtocell. Airvana is the manufacturer of the second-generation, 3G-capable Airave.
Photo: First-generation Samsung-built Sprint Airave femtocell. Photo by nino63004/Flickr
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Source:wired.com
Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on August 23, 2010
After Google’s Nexus One, HTC’s Evo 4G phone is the first device to get upgraded to the latest Android 2.2 Froyo version of the operating system. But some users are not happy about it.
The Froyo update has broken the syncing of multiple Gmail accounts on the device. The results is that only the primary Gmail account is updated automatically. Second and third Gmail accounts have to be manually refreshed to pull in new e-mails, say Evo users on forums such as Android Central and Google’s Android support board.
“My two Gmail accounts have always worked great on 2.1. Moving to 2.2 my primary Gmail pushes instantly. My secondary Gmail account doesn’t sync at all. I have to manually sync to get it to work,” says ‘tommy m‘, an Evo user who first posted about the issue on the Android Central forum.
The problem also means that users don’t see new e-mail notifications from secondary accounts.
HTC hasn’t responded to a request for comment yet.
HTC and Sprint, the exclusive carrier for the Evo, started pushing out Froyo to customers on August 3. The update offers features such as voice dialing over Bluetooth, the ability to store apps on the external memory card and browser improvements including a faster JavaScript engine and Flash support.
The problems with syncing of multiple Gmail accounts flared up right after the Evo moved to Android 2.2. Some Froyo users have been offering homebrewed solutions on message boards including deleting the accounts and adding them again with a change to the mail setting of ‘notify once.’ But the solution hasn’t worked reliably for all users.
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
Source:wired.com
Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on August 10, 2010
HTC’s Evo 4G phone will beat Motorola Droid to become the first device after Google’s Nexus One to get an upgrade to Android 2.2 Froyo, the latest version of the Android operating system.
Sprint will begin pushing out the upgrade to Evo users starting Tuesday, August 3. All Evo users will have Android 2.2 by the middle of the month, says the wireless carrier.
The upgrade will offer features such as voice dialing over Bluetooth, the ability to store apps on the external memory card and browser improvements including a faster JavaScript engine and Flash support.
Sprint launched the Evo in June with version 2.1 of the Android OS. The phone has become a best seller for Sprint and HTC.
Sprint’s move is also likely to put pressure on Motorola and Verizon to get the Droid to Android 2.2 as soon as possible. Earlier reports have suggested that the Droid’s 2.2 upgrade is expected “late summer.”
For Evo users, the upgrade will be pushed over-the-air to the device and automatically installed. Those who cant’ wait, will have the option to manually download it. Customers can access the update through their phone under the Settings Menu > System Updates > HTC Software Update.
Sprint says the change to the firmware will not wipe personal data such as contacts, apps, settings and photos but users should back up their device.
Photo: (Mike Saechang/Flickr)
Source:wired.com
Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on July 30, 2010
It looks like Sprint is hell-bent on bringing at least some kind of iPhone to its network. An FCC filing shows a MiFi like device which not only creates a personal Wi-Fi hotspot but also acts as a cradle for the iPod Touch. It effectively turns the iPod into an iPhone, only without the actual phone part, nor the cameras, nor the GPS. But you sort of see the point.
The “Peel”, as it looks to be called, is an interesting idea, and isn’t outside the scope of Sprint’s iAmbition: remember the free iPad case which would also hold Sprint’s own 4G wireless router? This one would run on the slower but more pervasive 3G network, and use its own battery. It would also do away with the issue of tethering, as you could connect several devices to the hotspot.
If it escapes the FCC’s clutches, we’d expect to see this soon enough. And who knows? Maybe you could also wrap it around the iPhone thus avoiding both pesky dropped calls and AT&T’s flaky data network. Win win!
FCC Reveals ZTE Peel On Sprint, For Apples Perhaps [Phone Scoop via Cult of Mac's John Brownlee]
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Source:wired.com
Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on July 29, 2010
Android-based smartphones are falling victim to something that has plagued PC users for years: bloatware.
Android phones are being pre-loaded with trial software and apps that can’t be deleted off the device by the user. These apps touting mobile TV, football games, location-based search and games are the new face of bloatware, also known as crapware or craplets in the PC world. The term is shorthand for non-essential software or media files bundled with a device in a bid to boost revenue and ostensibly give consumers a chance to try new services.
Samsung’s Vibrant phone that launched last week on T-Mobile is a good example. The device includes apps such as Mobi TV, GoGo Flight internet and Electronic Arts’ The Sims 3 game. Both Mobi TV and GoGo are applications that require users to pay a fee beyond the trial period. Motorola’s Backflip phone, introduced on AT&T a few months ago, includes Where, a location-based service app, and YPMobile, a Yellow Pages app. Even the HTC Evo is packed with programs such as Sprint’s Nascar app, Sprint Football and Sprint TV, among others.
“It’s different from phone to phone and operator to operator,” says Keith Nowak, spokesman for HTC. “But in general, the apps are put there to meet the operator’s business and revenue needs.”
Nowak’s comment is a surprising admission in an industry that otherwise prefers to call the idea of pre-loading trial apps and other non-essential software as a deal designed to help the consumer.
Handset makers have always added skins and custom widgets to Android phones, some of which can affect performance and battery life. But these widgets are usually basic apps such as calendar, e-mail or integrated social-networking feeds. Now phone makers are going a step further to load apps from other companies in a way that prevents users from deleting it completely off their phone without rooting the device — the Android version of jailbreaking a phone in order to gain complete control over it.
The preloaded apps “highlight the key features and performance” of the Vibrant, says a Samsung representative.They are there are to showcase the phone’s processor and display, a T-Mobile spokesperson told Wired.com.
But not all Android users are buying it. Some have taken to online forums to vent or find out ways to remove the pre-loaded apps from their phones. In May, The Consumerist published an e-mail from a Verizon subscriber complaining about non-essential software loaded on his device.
“It’s a throwback to the days of the feature phones,” says Charles Golvin, an analyst with Forrester Research. “Handset makers and carriers would bundle messaging and music clients with feature phones hoping to provide some differentiation. They are now trying that with smartphones.”
As far the inability to delete these pre-loaded apps, Golvin says, “I suspect that a lot of operators think consumers won’t notice or get to a point where they would want to get rid of them.”
Computer makers started the trend of pre-loading software apps, such as anti-virus software, search toolbars, games and internet-access services from companies like AOL. It seemed innocent enough at first: Consumers would get to try new software when they bought their machines, software makers would get a chance to reach new users and PC makers would make some money on the side through deals inked with the software companies to promote their products on the devices.
But soon, many consumers found that these pre-loaded applications made their PCs run slower by increasing startup and shutdown times for their machines and hogging memory. Many of the pre-loaded programs turned out to be trial versions and required users to pay a monthly fee to keep them going. That resulted in a backlash from consumers. Even the Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg railed against bloatware in a 2007 column. PC manufacturers have now significantly reduced the practice of adding bloatware on the devices.
Now, the practice is making a comeback on smartphones.
But bloatware isn’t a feature in all smartphones. AT&T has resisted from piling extraneous software onto Apple’s iPhone. Motorola’s Droid phone ships with just the core applications. Google and T-Mobile resisted the bloatware impulse with the Nexus One.
So, why does bloatware suddenly seem to be multiplying on some Android devices? Android’s popularity means every few weeks a new device running the operating system hits the market. Wireless carriers and handset makers see the new devices as an opportunity to generate additional revenue.
“Ultimately revenue from data plans will reach the same level of saturation as voice services. So carriers see some of these services as an additional revenue stream,” says Golvin.
Nowak says HTC would prefer to have pre-loaded independent apps in one folder or just in the app store but it’s not a decision for the handset manufacturer alone to make. “We have to work with our operator partners,” says Nowak. “We would prefer to give consumers a choice or put the pre-loaded in a separate store as it is with some Verizon phones.”
If they’re lucky, consumers may not have to worry about this much. Golvin says he doubts pre-loaded apps on smartphones will ever reach a similar level of annoyance as they did on PCs.
“The real shortcoming and downfall of the bloatware on PCs was it consumed system resources,” says Golvin. “With phones, operators and handset makers understand how precious those resources are.”
For now, the bloatware on phone is more about taking up storage space than processing resources. Golvin says he doubts companies like AT&T and Verizon that are locked in a fierce battle for subscribers will go over the line with pre-loaded apps.
“We are in a saturated market,” he says. “You can’t be cavalier about losing your customers.”
Photo: Stefan Armijo/Wired.com
Source:wired.com
Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on July 22, 2010
Google’s open source Android operating system ranks fourth in terms of market share among smartphone platforms in the U.S. but is growing at a faster pace than its rivals.
About 13 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers used an Android phone in the quarter that ended May, up 4 percent from the previous quarter, according to comScore’s Mobilens service.
Research In Motion’s BlackBerry remained the number one smartphone platform with 41.7 percent share among consumers.
Apple ranked number two with 24.4 percent share and Microsoft third with 13.2 percent, while Palm rounded out the top five with 4.8 percent.
Android’s growth should come as no surprise to mobile enthusiasts. More than 20 Android phones are available in the U.S. currently. Handset makers such as LG and Samsung that have been slower than rivals Motorola and HTC in adopting Android are now planning to launch new Android devices.
Earlier this week, LG said it will have two Android smartphones and an Android-based tablet available by the end of the year. Samsung has already announced that its first 4G Android phone on Sprint will be available this summer.
This focus on Android has taken its toll on other mobile operating systems. Almost all platforms, with the exception of Android, lost some market share in the quarter. BlackBerry market share was down 0.4 percent, while Apple lost about 1 percent. The data does not include the iPhone 4, which launched in June.
Android’s growth doesn’t mean other smartphone systems are losing ground, says comScore. The number of people who own a smartphone in the U.S. grew 8.1 percent last quarter to 9.1 million people, which indicates that the overall pie is growing.
Photo: (bump/Flickr)
Source:wired.com
Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on July 8, 2010
The HTC Evo has competition. Samsung has introduced its first 4G handset, called the Samsung Epic, on Sprint’s network. The Epic will be the second 4G smartphone on Sprint, following the Evo 4G’s debut earlier this month.
The Epic 4G will have a 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen and a slide-out keyboard. Inside, the device packs a 1GHz ‘Hummingbird’ processor from Samsung, and two cameras: a five megapixel camera to shoot movies and photos and a front-facing VGA camera (0.3 megapixels) for video chat. The phone will run Google’s Android 2.1 operating system.
Samsung’s 4G phone is up against some strong rivals. The HTC Evo 4G has become the best-selling device on Sprint’s network. Meanwhile, Apple launched its latest iPhone, the iPhone 4, last week. Though the iPhone 4 runs on AT&T’s 3G overloaded network, the device has some features such as video chat and a luminous, high-resolution display that is drawing in customers. Apple sold 1.7 million iPhone 4s in the three days since the device’s launch.
The Epic is part of a new family of Android smartphones called Galaxy S from Samsung. The Galaxy S phones feature 4-inch screens, run Android and integrate social networking feeds from Twitter and Facebook, plus e-mail messages, calendars and contacts, into a single screen.
Sprint did not reveal pricing or availability for the Epic 4G.
When it comes to 4G services, Sprint is ahead of other wireless service providers in the U.S. Sprint’s 4G network is currently available in 36 cities. Sprint claims its 4G service can deliver up to 10 times higher speeds than existing 3G networks. Major areas such as San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. will get 4G connectivity later this year, says Sprint.
Verizon is testing its 4G ‘LTE’ network this year and expects to start rolling it out next year. AT&T is likely to start trials of its 4G service next year.
Not surprisingly, Sprint is pressing its advantage with 4G handsets.
Samsung’s Epic is largely comparable to the HTC Evo in its hardware, but it lags behind in a few areas. The Evo has a 8-megapixel camera, compared to the Epic’s 5-megapixel. The Evo can provide wireless access for up to eight devices as part of its hotspot capability, while the Epic an support only up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously.
But Samsung hopes to offer content that will put the Epic ahead. For instance, over the next few months, Epic users will have access to the Samsung Media Hub, a video store with movies and TV available for purchase or rental, says Samsung. A 4G network should help make downloads much faster, says the company.
The phone will also have a service called ‘AllShare’ to wirelessly exchange music, pictures and video with other devices. For business users, the phone supports push email, integrated calendar and Exchange ActiveSync.
Samsung and Sprint say the Epic will be upgraded to the latest flavor of Android, Android 2.2 ‘Froyo.’
As for other cellphone service providers, Samsung isn’t neglecting them. In the next few weeks, Samsung plans to offer Fascinate, a 3G phone running Android 2.1 OS on Verizon and Vibrant, an Android smartphone on T-Mobile’s network.
Top Photo: Samsung Epic 4G/Samsung
Source:wired.com
Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on June 29, 2010
Motorola’s Droid X is not out in retail stores yet but one phone enthusiast had taken a screwdriver to the device already.
Max Lee tore down the Droid X to expose its innards and show what’s inside the smartphone. It took Lee about 10 hours to figure out how to take the back cover off but he says it was well-worth the effort.
“You can easily disassemble and assemble the Droid X once you figure it out,” he says. “This should be good for consumers to replace parts if they happen to drop the phone.”
And you can see in the video, overall it’s a pretty easy process for those who may be inclined to do it. Just one tip from Lee: “It’s good to grow your fingernails before you do this. Makes it easy to take the things out.”
It’s also fascinating to watch the camera module pop off and all the components come apart like they are just pieces in an elaborate electronic jigsaw puzzle.
The $200 Droid X (after a $100 rebate and with a two-year Verizon contract) will be available starting July 15 on Verizon Wireless network. The phone has a 1 GHz processor, a 4.3-inch touchscreen and a 8-megapixel camera.
Lee says once he took the phone apart, he found the bottom of the Droid X “has a lot of room to play.”
“Motorola could have made the phone a bit shorter but there would be something sticking out,” he says. “They probably did that for the overall design of the phone.”
Check out Lee’s teardown of the Droid X through step-by-step photos on his blog.
Photo: Droidx.net
Source:wired.com
Posted under Gadget Reviews
This post was written by Journalist on June 25, 2010
