Photo of the year: CrackBerry Kevin versus the giant Motorola Android robot
Having taken this picture at the Las Vegas Convention Center, I can assure you that the robot didn’t flinch. And Kevin’s knee healed after a few months. [via]
Photo of the year: CrackBerry Kevin versus the giant Motorola Android robot posted originally by Android Central
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Android Central Podcast Episode 33
Whole mess ‘o phones at CTIA
- Verizon announces the Droid Pro (updated with specs)
- Hands-on with the Motorola Droid Pro [video]; Update: More video, more features
- Verizon announces the Motorola Citrus (updated with key features)
- Motorola Citrus Hands-On [Video]
- Sprint announces the Samsung Transform, Sanyo Zio and LG Optimus S
- LG Optimus S Hands On
- Samsung Transform Hands On & Sprint iD Walkthrough [Video]
- Sanyo Zio Hands On, Updated with Video
- AT&T unleashes a trio of Androids: The Motorola Bravo, Flipside and Flipout
- Motorola Bravo Hands On [Video]
- Motorola Flipout and Flipside Hands On [Video]
- T-Mobile announces the LG Optimus T (with Google)
- LG Optimus T on T-Mobile Hands On
- Motorola Defy Hands On [Video]
- T-Mobile officially announces Wifi calling on the new myTouch and Defy Android phones
Hardware news
- T-Mobile announces the new myTouch — 1GHz Snapdragon with front facing camera
- Verizon announces its LTE markets — 38 metro areas by the end of the year
- Samsung Mesmerize heading for US Cellular, Showcase for Cellular South
- Hands on with the T-Mobile G2
- T-Mobile G2 rooting, rootkits and other things that may or may not be true
- Logitech with Google TV – Preorder for $300
- More leaked shots of the Verizon Merge/Lexikon [video]
- Cricket adds another Android to the family
- Motorola announces the Spice
Software news
- Google takes the guesswork out of buying foreign apps
- Google reportedly close to implementing PayPal for Android Market purchases
- Google acquires BlindType in a pure win for the accuracy-challenged
- Titanium Backup Pro now available on the Market
- Firefox for Android hits Beta status
- Full version of Angry Birds hits next week
- Skype for Android breaks free of Verizon exclusivity, now available for all
- Hacked Skype app allows 3G calling
- Fring launches fringOut calling just as Skype opens up to Android
- Vlingo InCar — a complete hands free solution for Android
Operating system news
- T-Mobile Vibrant update finally pushing, Samsung says
- Epic 4G bugfix update pushing out again
- Froyo leaked for the Samsung Captivate
- Froyo now on a third of Android devices
Community
- Christopher’s voicemail
- Matt’s voicemail
- Robert’s voicemail
- Pat’s voicemail
- Robert’s voicemail
Posted originally at Android Central
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Desire HD Hands On
The Desire HD. File this one under "things we’d love to see in the United States," which is another way of saying "We’d like to see AT&T offer some seriously high-end Android smartphones not called Samsung Captivate." You probably heard of the Desire HD as the "EVO 4G for Europe" and while that’s not far from the truth, the addition of the Sense 2.0 Cloud features as well as the subtle updates throughout Sense (like a most-recently-used list of apps in the notification dropdown) add up to a new package that surpasses the EVO 4G experience by a slim margin.
Also surpassing the EVO 4G by a slim margin: the overall design and feel of the Sense HD. It feels just a bit more solid and the subtle touches on the back of the phone show that HTC often does a better job presenting a unique package before they make deals with carriers.
In any case, while the FCC has approved the Desire HD for US shores, the lack of US-compatible 3G makes it hard to justify the import. US Citizens have to settle for looking forward to this kind of hardware and software design in the future – assuming of course that if the Sprint ID, carrier-based skin strategy for Android doesn’t take over.
Grab a few more photos after the break!
Posted originally at Android Central
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Motorola Bravo Hands On [Video]
Of the set of new phones Motorola announced for AT&T, the Motorola Bravo is probably the best. The Bravo’s specs are basically the new de-facto standard for mid-range Android phones: Android 2.1 device running the MotoBlur interface tied to an 800MHz processor with 512MB of RAM with a 3.7" screen and Motorola’s favorite ‘don’t-call-it-non-standard-cause-it’s-on-the-droid’ resolution of 480×854. The camera is sadly only 3 megapixels, however.
At $129.99 after contract (and ‘before the holidays’), that’s the kind of phone we pretty much expect. It’s a solid phone with some nice curves, but truth be told we’d probably still rather have a Samsung Captivate - at least it has a dedicated search button on the bottom, a supremely curious omission on the Bravo given that it has no physical keyboard on which to place said search button – as on its Flipside and Flipout siblings.
Maybe the ovoid shape has you smitten, however. If so, be sure to see the photos and demo video spotlighting some MotoBlur features after the break!
Posted originally at Android Central
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Sanyo Zio Hands On, Updated with Video
You can call the Sanyo Zio low-end, you can call it a remarkably good phone for $99, you can call it retro what with the trackball …just don’t call it Zay-Oh or Zee-Oh. It’s pronounced Zai-Oh, most Sprint reps pronounce it Zee-Oh, but we’ve also heard Zai-Oh on occasion. Obviously we’ll be all over this very very important vowel issue in the coming days and months.
The Zio is light (almost too light) with a nice curve around the back and a matted finish surrounding that 3.2 megapixel camera. It’s sporting Sprint’s ID interface – which if you didn’t hear is essentially Sprint’s own custom Android skin that easily switches between branded experiences of your choice – from ESPN to Disney to your own small business if they’re feeling ambitious.
More photos after the break – Update: check out the quick video demo after the break, which features the Lo2yo Latino Sprint ID screen. Update 2: video fixed. Mac Haters: feel free to mock iMovie.
Posted originally at Android Central
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Samsung Transform Hands On & Sprint iD Walkthrough [Video]
The top of Sprint’s three CTIA Sprint ID phones is most definitely the Samsung Transform. For us it’s sort of the spiritual successor to the Samsung Moment, but don’t let that association mar your feelings for the Transform.
What you’ve got here is a large 3.5" HVGA display attached to a horizontal slider form factor that naturally looks a bit like the Epic 4G but with a slightly squarer look. We’re still not fond of Samsung’s penchant for putting the microUSB port on the top of the phone, but other than that niggle the hardware is not a source of complaints from us. The slider mechanism is springy and maybe a little overfirm and the materials are simple plastics that may not ooze luxury but will hold up to wear and tear. The keyboard is similarly utilitarian: well spaced buttons, decent action, and even arrow keys to make up for the lack of a touchpad.
We aren’t as offended by Sprint ID as we worried we might be – it’s essentially stock Android 2.1 with the ability to switch between profiles – some of which may be corporate-sponsored, sure, but it turns out that some corporations can actually provide some useful content. The good news with Sprint ID is that you can customize up each ID as much as you like – so what it really boils down to is a system for switching between up to 5 different homescreen profiles sitting on Android 2.1. Sprint says 2.2 is coming and that they don’t expect it to take as long to update as, say, HTC does because Sprint ID is so close to vanilla Android it shouldn’t be hard to fix up.
The 800MHz processor gives us a laggy bit here and there, especially when trying to grab a quick snap from the 3.2 MP camera on the back.
Video and plenty more photos after the break!
Posted originally at Android Central
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LG Optimus T on T-Mobile Hands On
The LG Optimus T is coming to T-Mobile for the holidays to provide featurephone users reason to upgrade. We have something very similar to Sprint’s LG Optimus S here, though with T-Mobile you get a slightly different button layout and LG’s take on the Android homescreen instead of Sprint’s iD. The 3.2" HVGA capacitive screen does its job and things seem responsive enough to keep you from grinding your teeth, no doubt because it’s running Android 2.2 under that thin LG skin.
We like the matted finish and color options – black and burgundy, but we wouldn’t have minded if they saw fit to include a dedicated camera button for the 3.2-megapixel sensor round back. WiFi calling is definitely onboard but we couldn’t get it to work on the demo unit despite hooking it up to a couple of viable WiFi networks – which is more likely a sign that our unit wasn’t set up properly than a knock on T-Mo’s WiFi calling feature.
More photos after the break.
Posted originally at Android Central
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Motorola Flipout and Flipside Hands On [Video]
You can think of the Motorola Flipout and Motorola Flipside as companion devices for AT&T – both are aimed squarely at upgrading featurephone users into Android-land by wooing them with QWERTY keyboards and MotoBlur.
Of the two, the horizontal-sliding Flipside specs are obviously the more powerful: a 720MHz processor with 512mb of ROM, a 320×480 screen, and a touchpad that’s not embarrassed to be gigantic to make moving your cursor around that much easier. We’ve no gripes about the keyboard or, well about the Flipside in general. It’s a capable low-to-mid range MotoBlur device and if that’s the thing for you or yours, we don’t judge.
The Flipout, meanwhile, tries to win on charm. It’s a cute little square with a colored back that comes with two colors in the box (Red and Green to you, Rose and Saffron to AT&T). The screen itself flips up rotationally to reveal a super-tall portrait keyboard with a nigh-useless 5-way dpad in the lower lefthand corner. Naturally, as this size, the Flipout’s specs are on the low-end. Of most concern is the 320×240 screen which not only raises concerns with app compatibility but just plain didn’t look well-thought-out to us. Android may have 320×240 in their spec, but it needs work to …work at this size and Moto didn’t even put in enough to anti-alias the text on the menus. Finally, this phone’s main draw – the keyboard – feels awkward and unfriendly.
We’ll leave the ‘flip’ puns as an exercise to the reader, instead just telling you, as usual, that you can find more photos and a demo video of both devices after the break!
Posted originally at Android Central
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Motorola Defy Hands On [Video]
The Motorola Defy is a semi-ruggedized Android smartphone that is the latest in a long line of Oprah-giveaways. What you’ve got is a 3.1" touchscreen behind scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass attached to a form factor that’s water and dust-resistant – down to the oversized rubber covers for the USB and headphone ports.
We dig the white-on-black looks and the exposed screws around the edges. We don’t quite dig that it’s sporting Android 2.1 instead of 2.2, but for a phone in this range it’s not a deal-breaker. It’s got a 5-megapixel camera to snap photos of your Australian adventures and DLNA to display those photos on your television. You’ll access it all through the MotoBlur skin, which didn’t appear to slow the device down too much, but even so – T-Mobile G2 this ain’t.
More photos and a demo video (which, yes, veers a little towards the pitchy) after the break!
Posted originally at Android Central
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Motorola Citrus Hands-On [Video]
Take a gander at the Motorola Citrus, Verizon and Moto’s plan for the aspirational, new-to-smartphones user. It has a small, almost cute form-factor that more than a few people have likened to the Palm Pre without the slide-out keyboard. We think we could do without the big old ‘Backtrack’ touchpad on the back, but to each his own. We also found it curious that the physical Send and End keys do little more than make and end calls, the End key doesn’t even take you to the home screen.
Software-wise, as you’d expect, it’s running Motoblur and (sadly) 2.1 and, yes, Bing. Performance is also as you’d expect: slightly better than the current crop of mid-level Blur phones, but not a speedster. That’s ok, though, while you wait you can pat yourself on the back for buying a phone made form 25% recycled plastic.
More photos and a demo video after the break!
Posted originally at Android Central
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