Verizon Updates Online Inventory – Motorola Droid X Officially On Sale

The Motorola Droid X is now officially available on Verizon's website. So order yours and go to bed. Or at least go to bed so you can wake up early and get one in the morning at the store. And, if you are unable to make it into a Verizon store over the next few days? Then order your Droid X online. Not only will you bypass the $100 mail-in-rebate, but you’ll likely have your device by Friday after the free 2-day shipping which accompanies most phone orders.

With rumors of sporadic inventory, this might be a good option if you don’t need the device immediately on launch day. You can pick up this bad boy for $199...

 

Keep in mind because of the new Motorola bootloader lock, this device does not have root access. You can also download the user guide for Droid X here. And check out the below or go to Verizon's YouTube Channel

Motorola Locks Bootloader On Droid X To Keep Hackers Out

There's been a lot of hype about the new Motorola Droid X coming to Verizon. According to a blog post on MotoDev - just like the Motorola Milestone, it appears the upcoming Droid X and Droid 2 will have a digitally signed bootloader that will prevent users from flashing custom ROMs.

Motorola explained their position during the Milestone controversy:

 

The encrypted bootloader will be a major hurdle to overcome for the modders and hackers. In the mean time if you want to hack your Android phone and mod it ’til it won’t boot anymore, you might be better off going with other HTC models or even Samsung at this point which have all been rooted already.

Stay tuned for more news and updates from the hacking and development community by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feeds.

Best Buy Now Taking Droid X Pre-Orders

After the official announcement for the Motorola Droid X coming to Verizon on July 15th, it was only a matter of time before pre-order sale information came about. Best Buy is now taking pre-orders for the much anticipated Android phone starting today. There is no money required up front and you will be guaranteed to pick up your new phone on that Thursday without having to deal with any pesky mail-in rebates. Are any of you planning on pre-ordering? Let us know your thoughts and comments on the device by dropping us a line below.

Motorola Droid X Officially Announced for Verizon - July 15th for $200

Earlier today Verizon and Motorola teamed up and announced the next Android phone coming up on Verizon's mobile phone line-up, the Droid X. The 4.3-inch 854 x 480 handset features Android 2. with an all-new UI skin, a TI OMAP3630 processor (which runs at 1GHz), an HDMI out, an 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash and 720P video capture, with 8GB of onboard storage with expansion of up to 32GB (it comes with a 16GB card in the box) all put together in a 9.9mm thick package. On the software end, it comes with an integrated mobile hotspot (which supports up to 5 devices connected over WiFI), DLNA support, a multitouch keyboard with Swype built in. Although the phone doesn't launch with Android 2.2 (Froyo), there is said to be a software update which will release later in the summer as an upgrade along with Flash 10.1 support. The phone will be available on July 15th for $199.99 on contract after rebate, while the mobile hotspot service will run $20 extra a month with a 2GB cap and 5 cent per MB overage. The data consumed on the phone itself is unlimited though. Much like AT&T, all current Verizon customers with upgrade 2010s will be eligible for the Droid X as soon as it is available. You can find the full press release below:

JULY 2010: DROID X BY MOTOROLA LANDS ON THE NATION'S LARGEST & MOST RELIABLE 3G NETWORK

DROID X Delivers More Browsing, More Connectivity, Personal HD Video and Enterprise Features – All on a 4.3" Widescreen

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – Verizon Wireless, the company with the nation's largest and most reliable wireless 3G network, and Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), a pioneer in the mobile industry, today unveiled DROID X by Motorola. DROID X does more with ultra high-speed Web browsing; a fast 1GHz processor; 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities; loads of memory; intuitive social messaging; Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 ready; and access to Android Market™, which has more than 65,000 applications, along with a host of unique Verizon Wireless applications such as NFL Mobile, Skype mobile™, V CAST Video, EA Need for Speed Shift™ and more.

"Nine months ago, we made a commitment to our customers to bring the openness of Android to the Verizon Wireless network," said John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. "Since then, we have introduced the top-selling Android phone in the marketplace today – the DROID by Motorola. DROID X takes that commitment to another level with exclusive content, faster processing speeds, and, of course, the reliability of our network."

Sanjay Jha, co-chief executive officer of Motorola and chief executive officer of Motorola Mobile Devices and Home business added, "Motorola designed DROID X to push the extreme limits of Android innovation, and enable you to do even more with your mobile device. We are breaking down barriers so that you can experience the Web the way it was meant to be and create, share and view content like never before, either in your hand or in your home. Enterprise users will also find DROID X appealing with features including push e-mail and live widgets for e-mail and calendar updates."

DROID X gives customers a 4.3-inch high-resolution screen for viewing the latest movies and video from BLOCKBUSTER On Demand® presented by V CAST Video, the newest addition to the Verizon Wireless V CAST application, which also includes access to favorite TV shows. The DROID X video capabilities let customers capture spontaneous fun, combining a dual-flash, 8-megapixel camera, HD camcorder, as well as DLNA and HDMI connectivity to download, stream and share personal HD content.

DROID X customers will also receive Android 2.2 and Adobe Flash Player 10.1 with an over-the-air update in the latter half of the summer. With the update, the Flash Player will allow mobile users to experience hundreds of sites with rich applications and content inside the browser, including games, animations, rich Internet applications (RIAs), data presentations and visualizations, ecommerce, music, video, audio and more.

"It has been an exciting time for Android momentum and global consumer adoption since the announcement of DROID by Motorola nine months ago," said Andy Rubin, vice president of engineering for Google. "There are 160,000 new Android-powered devices activated daily and Android Market has grown to over 65,000 applications. Plus later this summer, Verizon Wireless and Motorola will update all the DROID by Motorola phones to the latest 2.2 software. For customers, this means great new features and improved browser performance. For developers, this will provide new tools such as cloud-to-device messaging and enhanced enterprise functionality."

"We are excited about full Flash support coming to the DROID X and other devices from Motorola," said Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive officer of Adobe. "Flash Player 10.1, which is one of Adobe's most anticipated releases ever, has been redesigned from the ground up to deliver the kind of highly engaging experiences that consumers now expect from their mobile devices."

Once updated to Android 2.2, business customers will find DROID X offers the features that turn the device into a workhorse with support for both Exchange and Gmail™ for business. Corporate users can enjoy push delivery of e-mail; live widgets that stream messages to the home screen; filter widgets to differentiate work and home e-mail; corporate directory and Global look-up along with a unified calendar for Enterprise and sync with Google Calendar™. Security protocols allow remote password control and wipe via Exchange server.

Pricing and Availability
DROID X by Motorola will be available at www.verizonwireless.com and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores beginning July 15 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Customers will receive the mail-in rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted. In addition to subscribing to a Nationwide Talk plan or a Nationwide Talk & Text plan, customers will also need to subscribe to an Email and Web for Smartphone plan. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access. Email and Web for Smartphone plans start at $29.99 for unlimited monthly access.

Customers can add the optional 3G Mobile Hotspot service to their DROID X for $20 per month. The 3G Mobile Hotspot allows customers to turn the phone into a wireless modem for up to five compatible Wi-Fi devices. In addition, current Verizon Wireless customers who have contracts ending by December 31, 2010, can upgrade to any smartphone, including DROID X, without penalty.

[How To] Gain Root Access to HTC Incredible

We recently reported how the XDA-developers recently released a crack to gain root access to the Incredible. The crack was meant for power-users and wasn't exactly an easy method for the average user to follow. Luckily a user named MejDam from MyDroidWorld created a package of files and a video to help even the completely clueless out on how to gain root access to their HTC Incredible.

Starting with a complete stock phone at the start of the video he goes over everything step by step including installing htcsync, android-sdk, how to copy files to the sd card, how to gain the root access, how to get the superuser.apk working, and even the previously mentioned WiFi-Tether (which was previously mentioned for Evo 4G but works here as well) all under 10 minutes. To get your HTC Incredible set up all you need to do is to download the package here and then follow the 10 minute video instructions which you can find below:

Stay tuned for more jailbreak info by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feeds.

HTC Incredible Gets Root Access – Power Users Can Rejoice

HTC's finest handset on Verizon "Incredible" was quite tough to crack, but our good friends over at XDA-Developers have finally been able to crack the Incredible and gain root access.

The hack is pretty cumbersome at the moment, but there should be a much easier workaround for root on the Incredible in the coming week. The important thing though, is that it's happened, and we're now probably only a few days removed from a user-friendly patch that lets us truly do whatever we might want with this "Incredible" phone.

If you do decide to give try do let us know how it goes in the comments.

[How To] Install Android 2.2 On Your Motorola Droid

If you are a Droid owner and were previously getting mad against the world for not having Android 2.2 for your device, there's a reason to smile! MyDroidWorld has leaked a Froyo ROM complete with root and SuperUser permissions for your beloved device. Everything but Wi-Fi is included in the ROM and the only reason Wi-Fi was apparently removed was to "protect the original source" of the ROM. Just keep in mind that it isn't official and it's completely on you if things go wrong. Check out the instructions below:

Downloads:

Download the following files, extract them, and then place them in the appropriate folder.

The ROM is already rooted with new SuperUser installed.

Clockwork Recovery Nandroid:

Download 1

mirror #1

mirror #2

Install Instructions Clockwork Recovery:
1) Download file
2) Extract folder named 2010-06-05.06.15.32
3) Place folder 2010-06-05.06.15.32 in the /sdcard/clockwork/backup folder on your sdcard
4) Restart phone in recovery
5) Go to nandroid, select restore, select the above folder and press the camera button.

SP Recovery Nandroid:

Download 1

mirror #1

mirror #2

Install Instructions SP Recovery:
1) Download file
2) Extract folder named froyo-BS-20100605-0547
3) Place BS-20100605-0547 in the /sdcard/nandroid folder on your sdcard
4) Restart phone in recovery
5) Go to Backup/Restore, select advanced restore, select the above folder and press the camera button.

DROID ERIS 2.1 Update Coming Soon

We recently posted about the HTC DROID ERIS 2.1 leak. Verizon has officially begun the HTC DROID ERIS, 2.1 OTA software update. Considering this is a gradual rollout, only about 1,000 people will get an on-device notification prompting them to begin the update first. If you’re not fortunate enough to be one of those people, 9,000 more users will get the nod tomorrow. Verizon is expected to push the update to all of the DROID ERIS users by the 16th of May, depending on how the testing with the first batch goes.

Check out the changelog below:

Enhancements:

• Pinch-to-zoom is now available when using the Gallery and Google Maps.
• New support for voice-to-text entry.
• New Leap thumbnail view lets you pinch to jump between the seven panels on your home screen.
• Additional calendar views and easier access to contacts make navigating even quicker.
• Google Maps with Navigation provides free, traffic-enhanced, turn-by-turn navigation.
• With the Enhanced Android Market, you’ll enjoy a better browsing experience as well as even more applications, including Verizon Wireless content featuring self-service applications.
• Ability to log onto and access multiple Google accounts at once.
• Support for 19 Microsoft Exchange Server policies makes your phone more secure and business friendly.
• Desk Clock intelligently dims your screen and displays the current time while charging.
• Location-based cinematic full screen weather keeps you on top of changing conditions.

Improvements:

• Free Yahoo! Mail is now supported—simply sign in with your Yahoo! email address and password.
• Longer battery life due to power savings.
• Improved YouTube video playback.
• Better Bluetooth support, including contact transfer.
• Automatic settings for POP3 verizon.net email accounts.
• Added support for stand-alone Wi-Fi when device is in airplane mode.
• Improved handset audio when disconnecting a wired headset.
• Faster power-up time.
• Improved swipe-unlock functionality.
• Added support for Microsoft Office 2007 documents.

Nokia N8 Details Emerge [Images + Video]

Nokia announced its latest smartphone, the multimedia-heavy N8, featuring new and improved Symbian 3 OS, and a 12-megapixel Carl Zeiss optics camera with Xenon flash and HD video recording amongst other features. Nokia N8 is the first phone to feature the latest iteration of the Symbian OS, and will have to prove that Nokia's software is a worthy competitor to Apple's iPhone and Google's Android OS.

Nokia N8 will be available in the third quarter of 2010, and will cost just under $500 for an unlocked carrier-independent model (no official wireless phone companies to offer Nokia's N8 have been announced yet), and would be able to work on AT&T and T-Mobile's US networks.

The Nokia N8 can take photos with its 12-megapixel camera (with flash) and shoots HD videos (720p). It also has a secondary video camera on the front for video calling. You can view your recordings on the phone's 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen or connect it to your home cinema system via the built-in HDMI port.

Nokia's N8 also features Wi-Fi (b, g, and the speedy n standard), in addition to Bluetooth 2.1. You also get GPS and A-GPS positioning systems, with Nokia's free and complete navigation solution, Ovi Maps. The N8 comes with 16GB of on-board storage (expandable via microSD cards up to 32GB) and also features an FM receiver and transmitter (which will eliminate the need for cables to listen to music from the phone in your car).

Nokia's real gamble though, is the operating system that's delivered to the device. The Symbian OS has been widely criticized for being sluggish, and lagging behind competitors like the iPhone or Google's Android OS.

But with the N8, Nokia is putting out its first phone featuring the revamped Symbian 3 OS, which includes several new features, such as multi-touch, flick scrolling, and pinch-to-zoom. Symbian 3 OS also adds several other features found on competing smartphone platforms, like multiple home screens and home screen widgets (similar to Android) for Facebook and Twitter, just to name a few.

Late last week Russia-based Mobile-Review got their hands on one, and by the looks of it (via Google translation), they were not particularly impressed with Symbian 3.

Let's see how Nokia's new and improved Symbian 3 OS and the the new Nokia N8 unfolds when it comes to the US, you can check for updates by following us on Twitter or subscribing to our RSS Feed.

[image gallery]

HTC Droid Incredible Arrives Early

It looks like some Verizon customers  are very lucky, the Droid Incredible isn't supposed to arrive until April 29, but for some customers waiting for launch date is not necessary. Due to a glitch in Verizon's system  some of the cell phones are being shipped early. Unfortunately this glitch has been rectified, what is interesting is that the phones are being shipped in  boxes that reads HTC Incredible with the word "Droid" missing. That has led to some speculation that the whole thing was a  fake. In response, one of the lucky recipients of the phone posted a video of  the phone booting up for all to see. Check out the video below:

HTC Legend Vs HTC Desire Vs Google Nexus One

 

With the market flooded with Android cell phones how do you decided which one is best for you, I am sure most of you are huge Android platform fans. There is so much that can be done with that locked OS. This open-source helps to breed new modifications as anyone and everyone who can rip the coding apart to find bugs and create new enhancements.

We have been keeping our eyes on the newest devices out there and reading a lot of everyone's comments and informations on these devices. Android cell phone is the next big thing. In our usual perusing of the web for mobile news, we found this hands-on comparison of three of the top devices out in the market running this great OS. Now while it would have been nice to see Droid thrown in there for good measure, this is definitely worth the read. Afterwards, I'd like to get user responses from those who own any of these devices and see if the author's review is spot on.

The days when the T-Mobile G1 was the bad boy in the Android world has happily come and gone. Now, the Android OS is being used to create some truly industry leading handsets and HTC is behind some of the best. But yet again which one would you spend your hard earned money on? Here is a review on the three great devices.

The HTC Legend:

The HTC Legend, successor to the company's widely-loved Hero, was made official at Mobile World Congress 2010. A little smaller than the Hero, the Legend has a 3.2-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with multitouch support, dualband UMTS/HSPA (900/1800) and a frame milled from a single block of aluminum. In fact the Legend is an example of HTC's Hidden Power design ethos, a concept whereby good looks are delivered through slick functionality; in this case, the aluminum is not only the shell but the chassis, meaning HTC can make their devices a whole lot smaller.

The HTC Desire:

HTC Desire delivers intense brilliance, sharp contrast, and true colors on the expansive 3.7-inch AMOLED display. The 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor makes the phone incredibly responsive as you multitask from app to app without skipping a beat, while the instinctive HTC Sense experience lets you wield the power of the HTC Desire with the greatest of ease. The HTC Desire excels at helping you stay in touch with the different circles of friends or colleagues in your life. The new People widget lets you bring any group you create on your phone right to the surface for easy access to calling, messaging, emailing or simply checking up on social networking updates.

Google Nexus One:

The Nexus One is packed with its own tricks. Its version of Android is essentially the same improved edition as the one that appeared on the Motorola Droid back in November. But it has a few new features, including an experimental dictation capability. You just press a microphone icon on the keyboard and start talking, and the words appear. In my tests, this worked only adequately at best, and very poorly at worst, but Google insists it will learn and improve.

The phone also has handsome new visual features, including "live wallpaper," with waving grass or pulsing colored lines; and a new zooming effect when you want to view icons that aren't on your main screens. In addition, you can now view miniatures of your five main screens to help you navigate to the one you want. The Nexus One also has all the key software features introduced in the Droid, including free turn-by-turn voice-prompted navigation.

HTC Evo 4G, Nexus One, and Droid - Android Evolution

HTC Evo 4G

Google Nexus One

Motorola Droid

Android OS	2.1 with Sense UI	2.1	2.01
Carrier	Sprint	All2	Verizon Wireless
Network technology	1x / EV-DO Rev. A / WiMAX	Various (including 3G)	1x / EV-DO Rev. A
Processor	1GHz Snapdragon	1GHz Snapdragon	550MHz TI OMAP 3430
RAM	512MB	512MB	256MB
Screen size	4.3-inch	3.7-inch	3.7-inch
Resolution	800 x 480	800 x 480	854 x 480
Touch	Capacitive multitouch	Capacitive multitouch	Capacitive multitouch
Physical keyboard	--	--	Slide-out landscape QWERTY
Internal storage	1GB	512MB	512MB
Expandable storage	microSD	microSD	microSD
Rear camera	8MP w/ LED flash	5MP w/ LED flash	5MP w/ LED flash
Video recording	1280 x 720	720 x 480	720 x 480
Front camera	1.3MP	--	--
Battery	1500mAh	1400mAh	1400mAh
WiFi	802.11b/g	802.11b/g	802.11b/g
HDMI out	Yes	--	--
Kickstand	Yes	--	--

Android phones are making a name for themselves and are gaining popularity at a very quick pace. There are many Android based handsets in the market now but the frontrunners that have been the talk of the town are the Motorola Droid, Google Nexus One, and HTC Evo. Giving Apple a run for it's money, the Android OS seems like it'll be one of the main competitors to the revolutionizing iPhone OS. The Android Marketplace shows that apps are increasing much quicker then expected for the new mobile OS.

Nexus One

Google’s current “flagship” Android device received an enormous amount of attention in the time leading up to its release. It has a bright 3.7″ AMOLED capacitive 800×480 display, a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, 512MB of RAM, world-wide 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, and a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash among other things, into a tight and slim 11.5mm package. The Nexus One runs on Android 2.1, which has yet to be rolled out some of the other android powered phones. Recent news has it that the Nexus One is headed to Sprint and Verizon is already available to AT&T and T-Mobile users.

Motorola Droid

The Droid was one of the first Android OS using phones released in the market and at the time proved that Motorola could compete in the new age of smart phones. With a 3.7'' screen, 256MB Ram, a sleek slide-out QWERTY keyboard, it was easily one of Verizon's top phones but has recently been knocked down off its throne by the Nexus One which simply has more to offer.

HTC Evo 4G

The Evo 4G one-ups almost every other handset in the Android platform with a feature set that includes a 4.3 inch touchscreen, 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, dual 3G/4G WiMAX connectivity, forward-facing 1.3 megapixel camera, rear-facing 8 megapixel camera with auto-focus and 720p HD video recording, HDMI out, built-in mobile hotspot functionality, custom web browser with Flash support, YouTube HQ support, and Android 2.1 with Sense UI. It was announced officially by Sprint at CTIA 2010 and starting this summer, the HTC Evo 4G will be available from all Sprint channels and third party retailers including Walmart, Best Buy, and Radio Shack.

Final Thoughts

While the Droid started the Android OS and gave it the good name it started with, the Nexus One took it to the next level. Furthermore, Sprint's announcement at CTIA 2010 about the HTC Evo has had a very strong impact on the wireless industry and it turned Sprint from being a company with a middle of the line phone line-up and average ratings to having a substantial lead in the industry along with the 4G technology they plan on introducing in the coming months. While other networks have announced their plans for the future of wireless technology, Sprint is leading the way with HTC Evo as it's main product set to release in the summer. The phone has one of the best specs announced to this day for smart phones and is running the Android, which will cause the Android OS to gain even more popularity. Expect to see an even higher percentage of Android OS users and along with it, more Android apps in the Android Marketplace.