Motorola DROID users will soon be able to get their hands on Android 2.1. This, according to Motorola’s Facebook page. Details of the update are still fuzzy at best, but the good ‘ol team over at Engadget have jotted down their thoughts on what may be coming in 2.1 for the DROID:
The update is based on Android 2.1. Build currently in the works is 2.1 version 1.
News and weather widgets intro’d on the Nexus One will be included
No active wallpapers or home screen updates
Keep in mind this is all speculation… There’s only one thing for certain here: The DROID update is being tested by the good folks at Verizon (NYSE: VZ), and we’ll see it real soon (provided the testing goes smooth as butter). I’ll keep my ear to the ground for more details as they become available.
Note: Canadian ‘DROID’ seekers… Still nothing new on the TELUS Motorola Milestone yet. I still suspect we’ll see it by the end of the month… I’ll be sure to let you know once I hear anything official.
ZTE will finally get a spot in the major U.S. carrier’s portfolio, as Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is preparing to launch the Chinese company’s first handset – ZTE F350. We don’t have all the details about the device, but it seems like a basic phone with features that include Bluetooth, voice commands and a camera. No word on the mobile OS it runs, if any.
It’s also worth pointing out that Verizon is already offering another ZTE product – the AD3700 USB modem, but this would be the first ZTE phone in their offering.
Unfortunately, we’ve no idea when will Verizon officially launch the F350, but something tells me we’ll hear more from ZTE in the coming weeks and months…
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) had announced the Motorola devour last week (after a long string of prereleasesneakpeeks) as a cheaper alternative to the droid. Rumour has it that Verizon’s Indirect Channel will be offering the devour to business customers starting February 25, and coming to the market at large on March 15 at the outer limit.
It’s entirely possible that the devour’s modest 3.1” 320 x 240 touch display and 3 megapixel camera don’t sell you on the phone immediately, but the motoblur social networking layer on top of Android, presumably low price point, and Megan Fox’s above endorsement from Super Bowl should be enough to at least pique some interest. The optical trackpad is also a nice addition that you won’t find on the droid.
Between the droid, Zeppelin, Backflip, cliq, and motoroi Motorola (NYSE: MOT) has been aggressively pumping out the Android handsets over the last couple of months, and if their Q3 and Q4 2009 results are any indication, it seems like Google (NSDQ: GOOG)’s mobile OS is the way to go for Moto to pull themselves out of the slump.
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) wants its share of the Android-Snapdragon market and HTC is delivering the goods. The device is called HTC Incredible and it looks pretty much like Google (NSDQ: GOOG)’s Nexus One. Specs are similar as well, and include Android 2.1, Snapdragon, 3.5-3.7 – inch WVGA (AMOLED?) touchscreen, camera with dual-LED flash, optical mouse (unlike Google’s phone), and so on. However, unlike the Nexus One, the Incredible relies on HTC’s Sense UI, which I find to be more usable than Android’s default UI. I’m guessing Verizon will use MWC to officially announce its “Incredible” phone, though I may be wrong. We’ll see… And now the photos.
The Nexus One has been multi-touching itself with all kinds of pinch zoom functionality for days now, while Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid users have been left wanting a quick and convenient way to zoom in and out of web pages and Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps. Today, thanks to an otherwise unassuming update to the Android Google Maps app, Droids across the nation can now pinch-zoom their hearts out.
The Google Maps 3.4.0 update is now available in the Android Market. Fire up your Droid, head over to the Android Market, and update your Google Maps app. It’s that simple. Well, it’s not as simple as the over-the-air update for the Nexus One, but at least you can control when you get the update this way. You’ll be up and multi-touching your Droid like it’s going out of style in no time flat.
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) has released a new list of Android apps for the week. I assume the idea is to point out that not only iPhone can have apps… whatever. Here’s what they recommend for this week:
NFL Super Bowl Showdown Theme – the official NFL theme costs $3.99. Guess that license costs a fortune.
Vancouver 2010: Official Mobile Game – $5.99 game which sees you competing in five different sport events, including snowboard cross.
SportyPal – a free app designed to help users improve their performance in running, cycling, blading, walking, skiing and other workouts. It does that by tracking your position (GPS) and movement (accelerometer). This information is later used for review purposes to check workout achievements.
Twidroid for Twitter – free Twitter client that supports video and photo posting.
And again, Verizon reminds us that you can grab the MOTO Droid for $199.99 with a contract.
While not quite up to the kind of sales numbers that the iPhone and Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid have been enjoying, Google’s Nexus One has managed to find 80,000 new homes in January. Following up on a report that Google sold 20,000 Nexus One Android phones in the first week of sales, it seems Google has been selling their first smartphone at a steady rate of 20k per week. The sales figures – which come from Flurry Analytics by way of the WSJ – aren’t anything to write home about, and definitely won’t give Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) or Motorola reason to lose sleep at night, but they do hint at an interesting potential future for the Nexus One – that of the undercover blockbuster hit.
Again, 80,000 units sold during a launch month is not impressive for the a smartphone of the Nexus One’s pedigree. But, keep in mind that sales have been steady and decently strong – again, not compared to the iPhone, but 80,000 is not a small number in and of itself. Also, keep in mind that the Nexus One is only fully functional on T-Mobile’s 3G network. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) will be launching the Nexus One in the spring, which will open up the Nexus One to a whole new market. It’s also rumored to hit AT&T (NYSE: T).
When the Nexus One goes live on Verizon, the phone could very well go from undercover status to a true-blue blockbuster success. What do you think, dear reader? Will the Nexus One come into its own once it hits Verizon? Will sales continue to lag (relatively) throughout the year? Keep in mind that Android 2.1 OS will be rolled out to other Android phones by that time.
A clever tester has spotted the installation file for the Visual Voicemail app for the upcoming (but unannounced) BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) 9650 Tour, also known as the Essex. If you’re quick, you can nab it now before it gets taken down, though unless you’re some leet haxxzor who can look around in the code and find something useful, odds are you won’t be able to do much with it.
The BlackBerry 9650 will essentially be an updated Tour, including a trackpad and Wi-Fi, and though it hasn’t been officially announced, it’s only pseudo-secret. Sprint (NYSE: S)’s CEO acknowledged it openly, and picturesofthedevice have been making the rounds for some time now. BlackBerry’s official Facebook page even said the new Tour was coming soon. As far as specifications are concerned, we can expect that they’ll largely be identical to the existing Tour: 3.2 megapixel camera, 256 MB of memory, GPS, HVGA display, and the usual BlackBerry amenities.
It’s a good thing that the Tour is getting updated with a trackpad, because the old one had a terrible record with trackball failures, and the lack of Wi-Fi put a real crimper on my enjoyment of the original phone. We don’t have any fresh information on an actual launch date, but it seems like things are reaching a critical mass, at both RIM and the carriers (Sprint and Verizon (NYSE: VZ)).
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is somewhat strangely pitching its version of the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre – Plus, as a perfect device for today’s moms. The main idea is that the device is “smart enough to keep up with mom” and is in the context of the upcoming holiday a “perfect Valentine’s gift.” Silly me, I thought webOS is for everyone. Go figure…
Anyway, we have two Verizon’s mom-targeting Pre Plus commercials to show you. Enjoy!
As it turns out, yesterday’s promo kit leak was the last in a longlineofhints leading up to today’s launch of the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) devour (A.K.A. Calgary) on Verizon (NYSE: VZ). Yet another Motorola Android slider, the devour is what you might call a more modest version of the droid: 3.1” 320 x 240 touch display, 3 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G, and an optical trackpad. What sets the devour apart from the droid, however, is Motorola’s custom user interface and service, and is the first (of likely many) to bring motoblur to Verizon. It’s easy to boil motoblur down to a collection of social networking home screen widgets, but it also includes remote backup managed through a desktop browser, native address book syncing with twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, and a unified inbox, including updates from all of those networks. If you passed on the droid and are looking for something cheaper, but still reasonably sexy, the Motorola devour will be publicly available in Verizon stores this March.
The Nexus One 
While not quite up to the kind of sales numbers that the iPhone and Motorola (
