IntoMobile » Videos

The Unboxing: Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris

Will Park — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:32:15 +0000

We’ve already had a chance to play with the HTC Droid Eris from Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless, but there’s nothing like a retail package unboxing ceremony to really get up close and personal with a new handset. As the “ying” to the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid’s “yang,” the HTC Droid Eris offers Verizon customers a fully capable Android smartphone at half the price of Moto’s headlining Droid, and it deserves some of our undivided attention.

The HTC Droid Eris is a lot like the HTC Hero from Sprint. Just like the Hero, the Droid Eris packs a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen, 5-megapixel auto-focusing camera, 3G data, WiFi, GPS and a microSD card slot. It also runs the Sense UI, HTC’s custom Android homescreen skin, which gives the Droid Eris a bunch of extra HTC widgets to play with – and it doesn’t hurt that Sense UI looks way prettier than the vanilla Android homescreen.

Surprisingly, the HTC Droid Eris isn’t much thinner than the Motorola Droid, which sports a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. That’s not to say that the Droid Eris is a brick, it actually sits really comfortably in the hand. Still, the Eris could stand to lose a couple millimeters around its waist.

The Droid Eris’s 5-megapixel camera is faster and less laggy than the Motorola Droid. It also supports touch-focusing, which gives it a another small but significant leg-up on the Droid. The 3.2-inch display is smaller than would be ideal, but it’s plenty big for day-to-day use. Above all, there’s no sliding mechanism on the Droid Eris, so build quality is top-notch – no jiggling or creaking here.

The Droid Eris is available from Verizon Wireless for $99.99 with new 2-year contract. Or, you might be able to find a better deal here.

Unfortunately, the Eris runs Android 1.5 OS. The Motorola Droid features Android 2.0 OS, which has the Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps Navigation app pre-installed. Android 1.5 isn’t bad, especially with HTC’s Sense UI riding on top, but it’s no Android 2.0.

Anyway, acquaint yourself with the Droid Eris below!

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New HTC Commercials Feature a Familiar Tune…

James Falconer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:06:18 +0000

Chances are you’ve noticed one of HTC’s latest commercials on the boob-tube. I first took in one during the Yankee’s punishment of the Phillies a little while back. You can check one of the spots out above. Now, the background music you hear… you recognize it, right? For the life of me I couldn’t figure out what song it came from… I was scratching my head over and over, trying to figure out where I’ve heard that beat before…

Then it came to me this morning.

The song? ‘Sinnerman‘ by Nina Simone. I think the song was featured in the movie ‘The Thomas Crown Affair‘.

Had to share this with you folks. Was bothering me Check out the scene in the movie I’m talking about right here (fast forward to around 2:14). Great scene.

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Video: Hands-on with Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris

Will Park — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:52:55 +0000

If you’ve had your eye on the Android-powered HTC Hero and its customized Sense UI, but just couldn’t bear to leave Verizon (NYSE: VZ)’s warm embrace for Sprint (NYSE: S)’s network, you’re in luck! Verizon went official this morning with the Hero-esque HTC Droid Eris. The Eris is a lot like the Hero, just for the Verizon Wireless network. And, at just $99, the Droid Eris is the more affordable alternative to both the upcoming Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid and the Sprint HTC Hero. The Eris even sports the same Sense UI that we’ve come to love on the HTC Hero.

The Motorola Droid might be hogging all the hype this week, but the Eris deserves some time in the limelight. So, without further ado, here’s a hands-on look at HTC Droid Eris for Verizon Wireless.

Here’s a quick spec-sheet rundown on the HTC Droid Eris:

3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen (320×480)
5-megapixel camera (with autofocus)
Android 1.5 OS
3G data
WiFi
GPS
3.5mm headphone jack

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Video: We take T-Mobile’s BlackBerry Bold 9700 for a spin

Will Park — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:25:16 +0000

The T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) (NYSE: DT) BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) (NSDQ: RIMM) Bold 9700 isn’t quite launched just yet, but we’ve already gotten friendly with RIM’s newest hardware. The Bold 9700 looks and feels a lot like the original BlackBerry Bold 9000, with some significant under-the-hood upgrades. Cosmetically, the biggest difference is the missing trackball; in it’s place is a new optical trackpad. It’s a subtle design update that makes a lot of sense – the Bold 9000 was a big hit for RIM, of course they’re going to stick with a recipe that everyone loves.

The Bold 9700 is fitted with the same class-leading QWERTY keyboard that debuted on the Bold 9000. It’s slimmer than the original Bold, but packs an upgraded 3.2-megapixel camera and double the application memory (256MB) – all the while shipping on a fully-charged battery for days on end. The entire backside of the Bold 9700 is covered in a rubberized “soft touch” finish that highlights the faux-leather backing.

What about the new trackpad? Is it just as easy to use as the iconic BlackBerry trackball? Is it responsive and accurate enough to satisfy die-hard BlackBerry fans? In a word, “yes.” The optical trackpad samples your finger input hundreds of times a second, translating the direction and speed of your finger into smooth cursor movements. It works well. In fact, it might just be better than the trackball.

To beat the issue to death (again), the Bold 9700’s browser isn’t the best. The browser is said to be improved, but it still lags. It’ll get the job done, but you need to be patient with it. Check out the hands-on video below to see for yourself. It might help to distract yourself away from the browser and just focus on the Bold 9700’s improved camera and rock solid push email features.

Basically, if you liked the Bold 9000, you can’t really ask for any better than the Bold 9700. The official launch window is “sometime before November 27,” but all signs are pointing to a Nov. 18 launch for $199.99 with new 2-year contract.

Enjoy our hands-on video and photo gallery!

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Samsung Behold II Custom TouchWiz UI Caught on Camera

James Falconer — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:08:47 +0000

My bud David over at TMoNews has managed to get his hands (from a trusted ninja) on a video look at the Samsung Behold II’s TouchWiz interface. The custom UI ‘Cube’ is certainly a different take on the traditional Android UI. Check it out.

Last I heard the Samsung Behold II will be announced at T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) on November 12th… with availability coming November 18th. Pricing is said to be around the $249.99 mark on a 2-year contract. Would you spend that much for a spinning cube, WiFi, 16GB of storage, and a 5MP camera with auto-focus and flash? Check out the video above if you haven’t already, and leave your thoughts in the comments.

What do you think? Awesomely awesome? Or colossal FAIL?

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Video: Leaked Motorola DROID Commercial Drops Bombs

Simon Sage — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:03:10 +0000

Imagine, if you will, a squadron of stealth bombers on a grim mission to bomb their homeland with sexy, sexy, smartphones. That is the extremely awesome premise of Verizon (NYSE: VZ)’s upcoming Motorola (NYSE: MOT) droid commercial, seen here. Enjoy!

[via BGR]

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Business Card Reader for iPhone is way better than the alternative

Will Park — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:30:30 +0000

Collecting business cards can be a good thing – expanding your professional network usually is. It can also suck. If you ever have the chance to wade through a stack of business cards and add those contacts by hand, give it a try, you’ll see what we mean. For those of you that share our pain, check out SHAPE Services’ Business Card Reader for iPhone. With a simple snap of your iPhone 3GS’s auto-focus camera, Business Card Reader injects contact information directly into your iPhone’s address book. It’s not free, but at $5.99, it’ll easily pay for itself after your next new business card.

The new app basically scans your business cards and analyzes the text using character recognition technology. But, the really nifty thing is the way Business Card Reader integrates with LinkedIn and your iPhone. It’ll automatically distinguish between home and mobile phone numbers, office address, website URL, job title, company and, of course, the first and last name. Once scanned, you’ll have the option of automatically adding a new contact, merging the data with an existing contact, or look up the information on LinkedIn.

Of course, the app is bound to make some mistakes. After testing five business cards, we had to specify one company name and break up a couple long first names into their respective first and last names. You’re also going to want to use this app on an iPhone 3GS. The auto-focus camera makes all the difference. The app isn’t perfect, but it’s way (way) better than the alternative.

Wanna see the app in action? Check out our demo video!

BC Reader [iTunes link]

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Penguin Break for the iPhone and iPod Touch

James Falconer — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:50:42 +0000

Craving a new puzzle game on your iPhone? One that you may want to check out is called ‘Penguin Break’. Like other puzzle games of this genre, the object of the game is to clear the board. You do so by tapping on penguins to throw snowballs, and each time you hit a penguin it will disappear, along with other adjacent penguins of the same color. You can create chain reactions for big bonuses (think ‘Bejeweled’)… and there are multiple power ups to be found within the game. Play in ‘Frenzy’ mode which puts you against the clock, or play a more classic style game in ‘Escape’ mode where you try and keep the penguins from reaching the top of the field of play.

For more details check out the demo video above, or pick it up for $0.99 in the App Store (iTunes link).

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Put Down your BlackBerry and Preview Phone Calls, Emails and More on your PC with Elertify

James Falconer — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:51:34 +0000

BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) users have to check out this interesting new app from the folks at VirtualViews. Called ‘Elertify’, this new app allows you to preview incoming email, messages, phone calls and more right on your PC. My description won’t do it justice, so listen to Drew from VirtualViews describe and show-off the app in the video above.

‘This app was designed for people who use their PC a lot. It lets you preview incoming email, text messages and phone calls on your PC so that you don’t have to be checking your BlackBerry every 15 seconds… you can turn on the voice synthesizer and actually hear who’s calling…’

Once connected it looks like Elertify works wonderfully. Alerts pop up in the bottom right corner of your monitor, and you can dismiss the alerts by simply clicking on them.

Elertify is on sale for $4.99 until November 15th. And, a free 7 day trial is available. Cool.

[Via: BBCool]

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Working iPhone Costumes Among The Best This Year

James Falconer — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:07:22 +0000

What would it take to put together 2 ‘working’ iPhone costumes? Apparently $2,000, a couple of 42″ plasma TV’s, a couple of iPhones, and a lot of work. Nothing else needed to be said here. Check out the video below.

I hope everyone had a very happy (and safe) Halloween this year!

[Via: MobileSyrup]

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Video: Sony Ericsson X10 (Rachel) Appears in Teaser

Simon Sage — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:06:44 +0000

Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) has been getting the gears turning for the launch of their first Android handset code-named Rachel with their What’s Next? website earlier this week, which has since been updated with this teaser video. This is the first official nod to the X10 device, though we’ve seen lots of hands-on pictures (mostly from when it was called the X3), and even a video of SE’s impressive custom user interface. Rumoured specs include a beefy 8 megapixel camera, 4″ WVGA touchscreen, 1 Ghz processor, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G, 3.5mm headphone jack and the recently-released Android 2.0. January is our best guess for launch so far, but an official announcement will be happening November 3 (next Monday).

[via GSMArena]

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Video: Motorola Droid gets unboxed, handled, loved

Will Park — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:42:21 +0000

The Motorola Droid is as hot as it gets in the smartphone space right now. It’s the first Android phone for Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless and it’s the first (that we’ve played with) to sport the newly announced Android 2.0 OS. It’s not just the slim-and-trim Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid’s impressive 3.7-inch touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash and slide-out QWERTY keyboard that make it a force to be reckoned with – the Android 2.0 OS blesses the Droid with integrated turn-by-turn GPS navigation with voice guidance and street view through the new Google Maps Navigation application.

Unfortunately, the closest you’ll be able to get to a Motorola Droid at this point is Best Buy’s pre-order. Us? Well, we’ve had the pleasure of playing with the Droid for a few days now. The Droid’s massive display is as good as it gets. The vanilla Android UI responds without any lag. Despite the huge display and full keyboard, the Droid is as comfortable in the hand and pocket as the similarly-sized iPhone 3G/3GS. And, with a respectable 5-megapixel camera and Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps Navigation adding icing to an already impressive handset, we have to say the Droid is living up to the hype.

So, how does it fare as a competitor to the HTC Hero and a possible candidate to unseat the iPhone as the de facto leader in the smartphone space? Check out our unboxing/hands-on video to see for yourself!

Here’s a quick rundown of the Motorola Droid’s spec sheet:

3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen at WVGA (854 x 480) resolution
Full HTML5 browser that supports Flash and will be upgradeable to Flash 10 once it becomes available
5 megapixel camera with dual LED flash; video capture at 720 x 480 resultion, 24 frames per second
16GB microSD card included
3.5 mm headphone jack
WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS
1400 mAh battery
Google’s new Google Maps Navigation application (more on that here)
60 mm x 115.8 mm x 13.7 mm; 169 grams

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Video: BlackBerry Essex Brings Wi-Fi and Trackpad to Tour

Simon Sage — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:59:43 +0000

The first proper look at the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Essex has surfaced, promising to one-up the original Tour with added Wi-Fi, optical trackpad, and OS 5.0. Likely to be called the Tour2 9650, this BlackBerry doesn’t otherwise differ much from the current versions on Verizon (NYSE: VZ) or Sprint (NYSE: S). I’m glad we’re finally seeing the Tour2 show up for real, I was starting to get worried Essex was the Curve2… Phew. On that note, why didn’t RIM just put out the Tour with these features in the first place? The touch trackpad would have made a much bigger splash with this device rather than the 8520. Check out our review of the original Tour 9630 to get a general idea of how this sequel will handle, and if you’re hoping to pick one up, rumour has it the 9650 will be available before the holidays.

Video after the jump! Video was taken down, but we got some stills.

[via CrackBerry]

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HTC HD2 caught multi-touching itself on camera

Will Park — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:32:44 +0000

Bet you didn’t know the HTC HD2 supported multi-touch in its Internet Explorer Mobile web browser. Well, consider yourself officially put on notice. The HD2 you see in this here video shows the gorgeously slim, yet incredibly well endowed, getting all multi-touchy with pinch-and-stretch zooming on its 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen!

The multi-touch feature seems to be slightly laggy in the video. It’s not clear if the lag issues will be fixed as HTC puts its finishing touches on the HD2 prior to launch. Still, even with buggy multi-touch, the HD2 is high on our wishlist. We had a chance to put hands on the HD2 earlier this month, and we can say that the HD2 is worth putting up with Windows Mobile 6.5 and a slightly quirky multi-touch browsing feature. With a little luck, we’ll see the HTC HD2 going live on T-Mobile USA shortly after its November 11 launch in Europe.

[Via: WMPowerUser]

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Verizon Delivers Motorola Droid Ahead of Schedule… Sort of.

James Falconer — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:49:14 +0000

Not long ago the folks over at MobileCrunch received a package from Verizon (NYSE: VZ). The package featured the creepy/spooky red eye that the Motorola Droid is fast becoming known for. Could the Moto Droid be in the box? You’d certainly think so, right?

I’m not going to play spoiler here, so check out the video above to see what was found inside. Before you watch it, what do YOU think will be in the box? Leave your guess in the comments, and then hit play on the video. Do it! Do it now!

A huge high five to the folks at Verizon for this one.

Important note: One other fact we can pull from the video? The Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid should arrive on Verizon November 9th in November.

[Update]
That would be November 2009, not Nov. 9.

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‘Chuck Norris: Bring on the Pain’ Coming Soon to the App Store

James Falconer — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:23:39 +0000

Get ready to rumble, because a new Chuck Norris ‘Bring on the Pain’ game is coming to the iPhone real soon! In true Norris style, the game promo features the following tagline:

‘You may think you’re playing a Chuck Norris game, but Chuck Norris can’t be played’.

Excellent. ‘Chuck Norris: Bring on the Pain’ is said to arrive in the App Store within the next 2 weeks for $0.99. I may just have to buy it!

A quirky fact about Chuck Norris? Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) pays Chuck $0.99 every time he listens to a song. It’s true. Honest.

[Via: MobileCrunch]

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Video: BlackBerry Bold 9700 Promo Goodness

James Falconer — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:37:33 +0000

Not too much to say here, but if the video below doesn’t get your mouth salivating for the new Bold 9700, I don’t know what will. Check it out now, and for full details on the Bold 9700 hit up Simon’s detailed post from earlier this morning.

BlackBerry Bold 9700 (Onyx) Now Official

Note: You can also take a few moments and browse the new Bold 9700 section on RIM’s website. Enjoy.

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New Windows Mobile ad takes aim at ridiculous iPhone apps

Will Park — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:28:06 +0000

Now that they have their own Windows Mobile application store, dubbed Windows Marketplace for Mobile, it looks like Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is taking an “open season” stance on Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and their iPhone apps. A new promotional video from the Windows Mobile team has a couple engineers demonstrating handful of apps that Microsoft rejected from the Windows Marketplace. The video is funny because it’s not too hard to imagine some of the fake apps actually making onto the AppStore. There’s never any mention of the iPhone or the AppStore, but it’s clear what Microsoft is implying here.

Now, Microsoft might be thinking they got Apple good with this ad. But, we’re not so sure. The Microsoft clan is pretty fond of poking fun of Apple, but we think it usually works to Apple’s advantage. Case in point, every post related to this Windows Mobile ad is more than likely going to make mention of the iPhone, Apple and/or the AppStore. Some will probably even mention how the AppStore has gazillions of apps and the iPhone is super popular. That’s all publicity for apple and the iPhone.

Rather than poking fun at the competition, Ballmer and Co. might do better focusing on bringing their wares up to speed. Windows Mobile 6.5 is starting to look like it was released before it was fully polished and Windows Mobile 7 is about a year off (which is like “forever” in the mobile world). All the while, the iPhone, Android and webOS are picking up steam.

But, that’s not to say the video spoof isn’t totally on point or hilarious. Give it a look!

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Rock Band iPhone Teaser Trailer Bringing Fun To BORED-room Meetings

Daniel Perez — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:27:14 +0000

Now that the dust has settled from the initial announcement that Rock Band is headed to the iPhone, it’s time for EA Mobile to keep this hype train going. What better way than to offer a teaser trailer.

As is customary with almost all “teaser trailers”, you’ll see very little gameplay footage here. For the most part, you’ll be watching a video of four people who are stuck in a boardroom fantasizing about performing in front of an audience in some club. I’m curious as to what kind of office allows a woman to dress the way she does in the video and for a black gentleman to be sitting in on a meeting while holding drumsticks.

If you really want to get a good idea of how Rock Band iPhone plays, check back after the break for our hands-on demo video.

Rock Band for iPhone sneak peek from IntoMobile on Vimeo.

Rock Band iPhone is scheduled for release this month on the iPhone App Store.

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Giant ‘Eclair’ Arrives on Google Campus

James Falconer — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:15:56 +0000

A quickie here for the Android users/fans in the house. Looks like the team at the Google (NSDQ: GOOG) just had a new ‘Eclair’ delivered to their campus. As you can see in the videos after the jump (3 quick videos), the Eclair has joined ‘Cupcake’, ‘Robot’ and ‘Donut’ on the scene. At any rate, now that the official ‘Eclair’ has arrived, I think we can look forward to Android 2.0 coming down the pipes soon. 1.6 is good and all, but won’t 2.0 be sweeter? Sweet like an Eclair?

Check out the videos after the jump (it’ll only take you a minute). That eclair looks delicious.

[Via: TechCrunch]

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