Android

Android Mobile Phone Review: Motorola Droid 2

Just a short time ago Motorola appeared to be on the ropes. That all changed when Motorola found Android. Less than a year ago Motorola released and sold millions of their first Android device, the Droid on the Verizon network. Since then, they have brought out the Cliq, Cliq XT, The Flip and the Droid X. Today I am reviewing the sequel to the Droid, the Droid 2. Hardware The Droid 2 has similar looks to the original Droid. It is a little less blocky, but it’s almost identical to the original Droid in size, weight and thickness. The front…

Editorials

Android: It’s Not Just for Geeks Anymore

If you want proof that Android has matured into a solid platform, don’t look to a geek like me. I’m happy to fiddle, experiment and tweak away, but tinkering doesn’t sell phones. If it’s not easy to use with great features then all the high end specs in the world won’t matter. Want proof? Just look at the experience of my fiancée, Sarah, a new Android convert. Like I said, I like to fiddle. The first weekend I had my Droid I spent my time poking around the settings, playing with wallpapers and software, and learning every possible combination of…

Editorials

An Open Letter to Dell Regarding Their Undercooked Streak

Dear Dell, Can I ask you a question? Seriously, I promise it’ll just be between you and me. Here’s what I want to know and, please be honest with me… What were you thinking? Seriously Dell, what were you thinking releasing your reentry into the smartphone/tablet market with Android 1.6? How can you take high-end hardware, put old firmware on it and expect people to actually like this device? I mean, you put Android FRIGGIN’ 1.6 on the thing when phones are being released with Android 2.2. 1.6???? That’s just crazy! I love my iPhone, but I really want to…

Editorials

I Love Froyo Except for a Few Bugs!

I’ve had the Froyo update for my Motorola Droid for a few days now, and overall I’m impressed. There have been some minor UI tweaks, and the speed seems slightly improved, though I think some of this might be in my head. Still, I think it brings the Android experience up to a slightly more refined level, and that’s definitely a good thing. However, there are a few bugs and oddities I’m noticing as I use it. I’m not sure if this is Droid-specific, general Froyo bugs, or some combination of weirdness from my phone and the various apps. None…

News

The Augen Tablet Does Even More Damage to Android’s Brand

This has been a sore spot with me for some time. We keep hearing about these potentially wonderful Android tablets, and what ends up appearing is something underpowered, with a poor resolution screen and underwhelming built-in software. Augen’s tablet was the darling of the internet world for a few weeks, since it was cheap, being sold at KMart, and promised Google Marketplace! Of course, like all things that sound too good to be true, the Augen tablet didn’t live up to the hype. It was slow, the resistive screen was unimpressive, and Google Marketplace didn’t work. Augen kept promising it…

Reviews

Android Device Review: the AT&T HTC Aria Mobile Phone

With all of the current buzz over Android phones with ~4″ screens like the Incredible, Xperia X10, Galaxy, Desire, and EVO 4G, it’s easy to forget that sometimes less can be more; sometimes less is actually more desirable. Take the HTC Aria for instance. Measuring a diminutive 4.1″ long x 2.3″ wide x 0.46″ thick and weighing 3.8 ounces with battery installed, the Aria is the perfect size to tuck into a smaller pocket or the smallest of evening bags. Its matte black plastic backside is covered in that wonderfully grippy material which rejects fingerprints and offers a bit a traction…

How to Do It Yourself!

Are You A Droid User Feeling Stung By No WiFi Tether Coming With Froyo (2.2)? Easy Root Has You Covered!

I have had the original Motorola Droid since last November just after it launched, and I have been extremely happy with the device and the Android operating system. Aside from the mediocre keyboard (which I’ve gotten used to over time) I have had an absolutely fantastic experience with the Droid – it is my constant companion, and I greatly appreciate how it has improved in many ways during the time since purchase thanks to app updates and operating system upgrades. Back in May I grabbed a Palm Pre Plus on eBay. I was going on a business trip and bringing…

News

Just In Case You Missed It: Sprint & HTC Bring Froyo to the EVO 4G

If you’ve got a Sprint HTC EVO 4G, then today you have yet another reason to feel vastly superior to all other Android Device users … Today HTC marked yet another “first” in its long history of bringing innovation to the mobile arena. Ahead of the pack, Sprint has started to make available the latest version of the Android platform, version 2.2, otherwise known as Froyo, for HTC EVO 4G. Not only is HTC EVO 4G the first Froyo device with HTC’s Sense user experience, it’s also the first mass-market Froyo handset period. In addition to bringing a number of…

Editorials

Droid X Gets the Lockdown: Does it Matter?

There’s been a bunch of stuff going around the web about the Droid X and the fact that it likely will not be able to run custom ROMS and may even be hard to root. I’ll try to describe, in layman’s terms, what this may mean to a prospective Droid X buyer. What is this root and custom rom thing? First, having root is like having the Administrator user password on a Windows machine or the root password on a Mac OS X machine or Linux machine. It essentially gives you the right to modify anything on the phone. You…

Editorials

Fact Checking, Public Relations, and the Droid X Versus the iPhone

(image courtesy Newsrealblog) At Gear Diary, we receive a fair bit of unsolicited email pitching ideas. The originators of this email sent us such a boneheaded set of statements that I don’t feel it would be fair or right to post their names. However, I will post the five points they attempted to helpfully share, and why they are wrong…and let this be a lesson to any other public relations types out there-fact checking is your friend! The “helpful” email was trying to convince us why a Droid X was a worse choice than an iPhone: Five Reasons Not to…

News

Huawei S7: A Non-Crappy Android Tablet?

It’s almost too good to be true. After months and months of mediocre tablets with resistive touchscreens and underpowered processors running outdated versions of Android, Huawei is potentially stepping up and saving us all. Supposedly, the S7 will have a speedy 728mhz Snapdragon, Android 2.1 and (drumroll please) a CAPACITIVE TOUCHSCREEN!!! Finally, someone is releasing an Android tablet that will function as well as Android phones. Expansys will be selling them for around $345 in the USA, and while that’s steep compared to an iPad, it’s reasonable if you want a 7-inch Android tablet. Frankly, if you really want one,…

Reviews

Camangi Webstation Update: The Good, the Neutral and the Ugly

The Camangi Webstation has been updated again! I’m starting to think I might be one of five people still using this device, but it is steadily improving with each software release. I have been using the update for the last few days, so read on for my thoughts so far! The Good: The biggest change here is that (finally!) Camangi has given users the option of a plain homescreen. You can finally turn off the skin they were using with scrolling icons, which is great. I was using home replacements, which suck down valuable (and scarce) memory. Being able to…

News

HTC Android Devices Screenshotting Your Browsing?

Tonight I was reading an interesting article on The Boy Genius Report about a curious quirk with the HTC Sense UI on the DROID Incredible. As it turns out, to display those neat previews of websites in the UI the browser is taking screenshots of the site. Doesn’t sound so unsurprising does it? What is odd is the way that the phone is storing those screenshots for future reference. According to BGR, these screenshots are stored on the phone’s internal storage drive where they are easily viewed in any picture viewing application. What’s worse is they are NOT deleted if…

Editorials

Why Does AT&T’s Android Crippling Matter?

Android Central is reporting that the HTC Aria will be getting a bit of a lobotomy. You see, AT&T apparently hates the idea of sideloading apps. Sideloading means you can add apps that are not part of the regular Android marketplace through over the air download or via the USB cable on your computer. It’s for installing beta software, or software that’s only distributed through a developer’s site, and many of these are not as obscure as you’d think… Just to give you a few examples, I was away on a business trip last week. While I was there, I…

News

Android and the iPhone 4 Announcement (NSFW)

Well, it was only a matter of time after Steve Jobs made his infamous “If you want porn, buy an Android phone” comment…but there’s officially a youtube parody of the iPhone 4 announcement, which features dancing robots singing that the Android phone is for porn (like the Avenue Q song “The Internet is for Porn”.) It’s not suitable for work, but it is quite funny! And for your viewing pleasure, the Avenue Q song “The Internet is for Porn”: Via AndroidCentral

Editorials

Some Thoughts on the Sprint EVO 4G … From an iPhone User

I had the opportunity to spend the last evening at Sprint’s special EVO event in Manhattan. The event formally introduced Sprint’s new powerhouse smartphone the EVO 4G. I also had a chance to get a good close look at the phone, play with it for a little while, and see some of their marketing people do a number of different demonstrations with it. The short version of this post — I’m pretty impressed by everything that this Android powered device can do. Sprint’s Dan Hesse kicked off the evening by introducing the EVO 4G and… in the process… took a…

News

Google and Verizon to Bring out the Ultimate Android Tablet?

(Image courtesy Laptop Mag) Looks like Verizon’s love affair with Android isn’t ending so fast. Boy Genius Report says that Google is teaming up with Verizon to bring out an Android tablet. Personally, I think this is awesome news, and Google needs this tablet out ASAP. There are a few reasons why this has the potential to be a huge win for Google. For starters, it helps slow the dilution of the Android tablet market. If you think the phones are fractured, just look at the tablets. There’s a veritable army of current and rumored tablets, from Archos to MSI…

How to Do It Yourself!

The Advantage of Being a Pack Rat

I tend to hang onto odds and ends from gadgets. My justification is always “you never know when you might need a cable/case/obscure memory card format/box”. And 9 times out of 10, I forget about all that stuff until it’s time for spring cleaning. But sometimes it really comes in handy. I never threw out my Kindle 1 case even after I replaced it with a M-Edge one, since I figured it might be useful someday. Last week I was reading a few books on my Camangi Webstation, and it just highlighted how much I hated the simple slipcover that…

Editorials

What Is Google’s Tablet Strategy?

Apparently, Google is offering a sly wink to Archos 5 Internet Tablet owners who hack their devices to include the Android Marketplace; the newest firmware update opens up the marketplace to paid as well as free apps according to Liliputing. What’s interesting here is that it means either the Archos is presenting itself as an existing Android device, or Google is greenlighting the Archos specifically. Either way, it gives the A5 a huge leg up over the other Android tablets out there. Which leads to a question: Exactly what is Google’s plan in the tablet space? Whatever it is, they…

Reviews

HTC Desire with HTC Sense and Android 2.1 Review

While the Google Nexus One has been on the market for a few months now, its HTC-branded brother has only just started to make it out. I’ve been using the HTC Desire for the last week or so, and it has surprised me just how good it really is. HTC have been a bit presumptuous from the get-go, calling the phone the Desire. While it looks quite different from it’s Google branded sibling, the two phones are very similar underneath. Both share the same 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, 3.7” 800×480 AMOLED capacitive display, and run Android 2.1. There are a few…

Editorials

What’s Up With Certain Devices and the Android Market?

I have an issue that’s a bit perplexing: I have the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G and the Verizon HTC Droid Incredible. Both are Android devices, and both have the Android Market, albeit branded differently based on carrier as you can see in the above photo. I was looking up a free software title on the Incredible — one that is definitely available on the MyTouch 3G, but on the Incredible it was nowhere to be seen. This happened to me again when I did a search for another title, only this time I could see that there were other results that…

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