Archive for November, 2009
It comes as no surprise to us that the Motorola DROID has been seeing some really successful sales numbers since its release. As a matter of fact, it is getting mighty close to its target of finding one million hands by the end of the fourth quarter. Actual sales figures are reported to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 700,000 to 800,000 devices sold, which is nearing Verizon and Motorola’s goal and already well over analyst predictions. If Verizon sees a big holiday push, that number can easily crawl over the one million mark. It doesn’t hurt to have a $100 million ad campaign — it’s definitely paying off, but what we want to know is how many of you contributed to those sales numbers and if you’re happy with your decision so far. Share your experience in the comments!
Related Posts:
While others are filing this under “certainty” we are still going to have to classify this one as a “class 1 rumor.” Gizmodo is reporting that it has a trusted source, of sound mind and body, proclaiming that Google’s Android operating system will be running on Google developed/branded hardware in the immanent future. The article goes on to say, not only will Google be making its own hardware but it will also be running a version of Android that the world has yet to see. Gasp. The article is pretty light on facts and fairly high on speculation so we’ll let you guys decide how high this one ranks on the certainty meter. While we don’t see a reason that Google would want to royally piss off their hardware partners, we also don’t see them letting much get in their way of world domination.
Related Posts:
The Motorola Droid/Milestone is the only Android Phone currently running Android 2.0. We hear that HTC is hard at work preparing an update for their line of handsets that will catapult their Android Phones passed Android 1.6 and right back up to date with Android 2.0. But after the following screenshots of a supposed “Android 2.1″ leaked on BeGeek.fr, people are wondering if HTC is moving all the way to Flan in one single bound:
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t see anything “new” in these screenshots. It simply shows HTC Sense and one of the screenshots shows Hardware Model HTC Hero with Firmware version 2.1. Now I could be wrong… but I’m pretty sure this could be easily spoofed by someone who cooked up their own custom ROM.
Or maybe this is for the launch of the Predator/Passion/Dragon? Hmmmm… what ever happened to that thing anyways?
[Thanks to all who sent this in!]
Related Posts:
You may have read a review of the Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet written by Phandroid contributor John Ashton Edgar. While overall he seemed to enjoy it his biggest issue with the device was its lack of Google App integration and the replacement of Android Market with AppsLib.
It runs an Archos version of Android. This is significant for several reasons. There is no Google integration. None, nada, zip, zero, nunca. The only integration you get is going into your Google account in the very nice webkit browser. I didn’t have any issues because the browser is nice with nearly 5″ of screen, but if you are a fan of the Google Android OS apps like Gmail, Gtalk, or Calendar, be warned. This also represents one of my largest issues with the Archos 5. They have their own app market, AppsLib.
Issues be gone! The folks at ArchosFans.com have figured out a way for owners of the Archos 5 to get Android Market and all of the Google Apps like Maps, Talk Calendar and more onto the the device!
Our friends at JKonTheRun did a nice step-by-step guide to getting the job done – keep in mind this is for Windows:
- Download and extract this to your computer ( or search market4archos.zip ) ( Mirrors anyone? )
- Download these files to your computer
- Put Archos 5 to ADB mode ( settings/device storage & USB/USB mode -> ADB )
- Connect usb and choose drivers to use and point to drivers folder on files you downloaded on step 2 to your computer ( if it fails, go to device manager – click Archos – Update drivers – Browse computer for driver – Let me pick – Have disk – Browse to drivers you downloaded )
- On Windows -> copy folder named system from the step 1 to same folder as you have adb.exe
- Run adb.exe on command prompt
- Type adb push system /data/test/system [ press enter ] ( cd to the folder you have the adb.exe first.. like “cd downloads” )
- reboot your Archos 5
- ENJOY!
Updates to the steps suggest you need this version of the hack to get Google Maps working and you need to have 1.4.08 or 1.4.09 firmware for success. Give it a whirl and let us know how it turns out for you!
Related Posts:
Android 2.0 has multi-touch support including pinch & zoom for 3rd party applications but, for one reason or another (probably legal in nature), Google/Verizon did NOT include this capability on its core applications for the Motorola Droid. Google Maps, Webkit Browser, Picture Galleries and other features don’t allow you to use the feature… BUT… 3rd party developers can incorporate the feature for use in their own applications.
That is what makes Dolphin Browser so intriguing. It has been on Android Market for awhile now but they just recently added multi-touch support. So, download Dolphin Browser and use THAT for your mobile web browsing needs and it’ll be your Robin to the Droid’s batman:
It has a bunch of other features and they call it a “social browser” but multi-touch is what will make most people try it for the first time… at least for now.
Are you a long time Dolphin Browser user? How have you liked it? Just get for multi-touch on the Droid? Let us know too! And keep in mind… pinch/zoom will ONLY work on the Motorola Droid for now as it is currently the only Android 2.0 device available (at the time of publication).
Related Posts:
We gave you a glimpse of Apple’s Black Friday deals a bit early this year, and now, Piper Jaffray Apple-lover analyst Gene Munster has chimed in with some numbers to let us know exactly how the iVendor did. The world’s favorite iPod maker saw online sales increase by a staggering 39% this Black Friday — compare with this years average of 11% growth in online sales — which was driven by a mere 2% boost in web traffic. That is just about where the good news ends however, as G-Mizzle states that Apple Stores were selling, “8.3 Macs per hour, down from 13 Macs per hour last year” on Black Friday. Now, Munster uses an extremely scientific formula, one the consists of visiting three Apple Stores and counting how many Mac’s they are selling per hour, and while this formula is in all likelihood potentially flawed, it does show a decline in year-over-year sales as the economy continues to slump — note that the increase in Apple Store locations was not taken into account by this “formula.” Even with this decree Munster still thinks Apple will hit its Wall Street predicted December number. Thanks Gene, all of your insights are, as always, extremely helpful.
Related Posts:
This is rather hilarious. The makers of iPhone applications like Beer Pong and Spin The Bottle (Swavv) have added another title to their collection – iDroid. Unfortunately it will sit in their collection and ONLY their collection as Apple rejected it from the App Store.
It isn’t surprising considering that the only thing the application does is display the glowing red Droid eye that, when you tap it, displays a list of selling points that prove its better than the iPhone itself. Essentially it is an advertisement for an opposing piece of hardware.
But what harm would it have done to accept iDroid? People using it already own the iPhone and chances are they already know about the Motorola Droid. The only thing this does is provide an example of why Android Market’s open nature is better than the App Store where you can only have what Apple wants you to have.
Thanks Apple… but I already have a mom and dad.
[Via TechCrunch]
Related Posts:
The momentum on Google Phone rumors is picking up and if Gizmodo’s tipster is right, they’ll be an avalanche of prototypes descending upon the company’s Mountain View headquarters in the coming weeks:
Over the next few weeks, Google Phones (most probably in early, prototype form) will flood the Mountain View campus. They’ll don large LCDs while running a new version of Android—either Flan or the version of Android beyond it—which our source spotted running on Google’s handset as well as a laptop. (Whatever the software was, it most certainly wasn’t Chrome OS, we were assured.)
But maybe the most intriguing bit is what someone said to our source offhandedly, that the current Android, the we all know and love, is not the “real” Android. So what makes for a “real” version of Android?
Our best guess is an Android OS with Google Voice at its heart.
Yummy. I hope that the Google Phone launches with a version of Android one past Flan. That way it could be a double G phone: Google Phone with Granola…
…or something similar. Any guesses?
Related Posts:
T-Mobile is the “Android dealer” in the US, selling no less than four Android handsets, with the Samsung Behold II model being the latest in its stable. Said device comes with a very nice media player, a great display, but can it compete against Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris? Click the image below for a video comparison of the two handsets:
Droid Eris was launched by Verizon on the same day it introduced Motorola Droid and in case you didn’t know, Eris is a touchscren phone without a physical QWERTY keyboard. However, this phone offers pretty much everything you need on an Android device, HTC Sense included and customization options, plus multitouch support.
Watch the CNET prizefight to decide which of them is better for you.
[via CNET]
Permalink | Comments | Author )
Tags: CNET prize fight, HTC Droid Eris, Samsung Behold II, video comparison
Related Posts:
Nokia N900 is among the hottest pieces of gear this holiday season and it comes with tons of interesting feats, including TV-out, that gets demoed n the video below. Extra goodies after the break:
By connecting a TV out cable to the 3.5mm audio jack of the handset, you’ll get the Maemo 5 UI on a big screen or maybe you want to use a projector for such purposes (also compatible). The device packs a 3.5 inch touchscreen display, in case you want to settle with the tiny screen, instead of going big.
What’s impressive about this display is its 800 x 480 pixel resolution and if you’re curious there are 32GB of internal memory available for you to store videos and music, plus an extra 16GB via microSD. All the complex processes take place thanks to an ARM Cortex A8 CPU @ 600 MHz, plus 256MB RAM and a PowerVR SGX graphical solution.
[via maemoworld]
Permalink | Comments | Author )
Tags: Maemo 5 UI, Nokia N900, specs, TV out, video demo
Related Posts:
- August 2010 (73)
- July 2010 (50)
- June 2010 (27)
- May 2010 (79)
- April 2010 (1)
- March 2010 (2)
- February 2010 (2)
- December 2009 (340)
- November 2009 (597)
- October 2009 (248)
- September 2009 (37)
- August 2009 (7)
- July 2009 (1)
- June 2009 (5)
- May 2009 (3)
- April 2009 (5)
- March 2009 (10)
- January 2009 (1)
- December 2008 (6)
- October 2008 (3)
- September 2008 (4)
- August 2008 (4)
- July 2008 (2)
