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Motorola Droid 2 Release Date – R2D2 Version Announced

August 10, 2010 By NotLost Leave a Comment

The fact that the Motorola Droid 2 hadn’t actually been officially been announced was getting to the point of ridiculous.  Heck, I wrote about the Droid 2 over a month ago!

But today Verizon officially announced the only thing we didn’t actually know – the release date (all the specs are here).   You can start preordering tomorrow (August 11th) and you should be able to find one in Verizon stores starting August 12th.

Other than that, the only piece of news was that in September, they’ll be releasing an R2D2 version of the Droid 2 which will come with Star Wars content and a color scheme designed to look like the iconic Droid from the Star Wars films.  As soon as a picture of the Droid’s new R2D2 paint scheme surfaces, I’ll post one for you.

Motorola Droid 2

Filed Under: Android Tagged With: android 2.2, droid 2, froyo, motorola, r2d2, verizon

Motorola Droid Gets Android 2.2 Froyo (HTC EVO 4G Too)

August 4, 2010 By NotLost Leave a Comment

It’s official, the Android 2.2 Froyo update for the Motorola Droid is rolling out. If you don’t have yours yet, don’t fear, the upgrade is expected to be completed by Friday.

If you’re impatient (I was) you can download the official update and do it yourself. It’s actually pretty easy and even if something did go wrong, you could go to the Verizon store and they’d fix it as this is the real Verizon and Motorola approved update so it’s covered under warranty.  Just remember this update is for non-rooted users (if you don’t know what that means, then you’re a non-rooted user).

Now that a significant number of people finally have Android 2.2 Froyo on their phones (Motorola Droid, HTC EVO 4G, Nexus One) I figured this would be a good time to review all the Froyo goodness that has come to your trusty old Droid and to talk about what didn’t make it to the phone.

The Froyo update has largely been hailed as the version of Android that finally feels complete and puts it on par with Apple’s iOS 4.  A lot has been done behind the scenes and while you can’t see a lot of what has changed, the biggest thing you’ll notice is how much faster and responsive your phone is.  Google claims a 2-5 times speed increase and if you’ve been using your Droid for any length of time, you’ll notice how much faster the phone responds.

Other new features:

  • USB Tethering – There have been applications on the market that have allowed you to tether your phone via USB for a while now, but now it’s built in (Wireless tethering didn’t make it – more on that later).  To access, click settings, Wireless & Network Settings, Tethering, and if your USB cable is plugged in, check the box.
  • You’ll notice a new application launcher and that phone and browser access are now available on all your app screens.
  • 270 degree rotation.  To see it in action, start watching any Youtube video… now turn the phone upside down.
  • 5 screens for your apps, up from the 3 that were previously available.
  • Voice dialing for Bluetooth headsets!
  • Adobe FLASH 10.1!  Finally something you can hold over the heads of all your iPhone carrying friends – you have all of the Internet available to you on your phone and can watch all the videos and play all the flash based games you like.   (Note:  My updated didn’t have flash support built in and getting it working took a little searching so let me save you the time – here’s the Adobe Flash 10.1 app for the Droid since the Android Market and Adobe’s site didn’t have it last I looked).
  • Chrome to Phone – I did a post on this a few weeks ago, but wanted to bring it up again.  You’ll need to install the app for your phone and install the extension on Chrome, but once you do this, anytime you’re working on your computer, you can just click the little phone icon and send the link (including directions from Google Maps) directly to your phone.
  • Improved video quality
  • New camera interface – the notable enhancement here is that the zoom is easier to use
  • Easier to keep you apps updated.  If you’re like me and have 100+ apps, it can be kind of tedious when you have 7-10 apps that all need to be updated when you have to do it one by one.  Now in Android 2.2 you can just press the “update all” button and Android will take care of the rest.
  • Apps can now be stored on the SD card and you can move current apps (that support it) to the SD Card.

Wi-Fi Hotspot / Tethering

Of all the features I was most excited about getting with the new update, this was it and sadly wifi tethering didn’t make its way to the Droid with Verizon saying the Droid lacks the necessary hardware to function as a wifi hotspot.   That may be true, sort of (it actually has the proper hardware but the hardware is running the wrong firmware to do it properly), but rooted users have found a way to make wifi tethering a reality with a bit of an ad-hoc solution, but if you’re willing to root your phone (Cyanogenmod and Bugless Beast are two popular ones in the rooting community), you can get wifi tethering.   Disclaimer:  Rooted your Droid voids the warranty on your phone and there is a chance you could brick your phone in the process – we take no responsibility should you decide to try this.

What do you think of the new 2.2 update? Anything I left out that you think should be mentioned?  Let me know in the comments.

Filed Under: Android Tagged With: adobe flash 10.1, Android, android 2.2, droid, froyo, motorola droid, tethering

Motorola Droid X vs HTC Evo 4G

July 15, 2010 By NotLost Leave a Comment

With the official release of the Droid X on Verizon today, I thought it’d be a good time to do a comparison on the Droid X vs the HTC Evo 4G.   Both are top of the line, flagship smartphones running Android OS (2.1 currently, but both expect 2.2 Froyo updates soon) on their respective carriers but let’s jump into the nitty gritty specs to see if we can find a winner between the two.

Processor

Both phones sport blazing fast 1GHZ processors, though not the same one.  The Droid X has a new TI OMAP 1GHZ processor while the HTC Evo 4G has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHZ processor.  The new TI processor is the faster of the two, though both pack plenty of processing power.

Display

Both of these phones discriminate against those with small hands as both feature 4.3″ displays.  The Droid X has an every so slight advantage in resolution  with 854 x 480 display while the Evo 4g has an 800 x 480 resolution though in practice you won’t notice a difference (the Droid X does have more natural looking colors on its display though).

Memory

It’s a draw here as well with both phones having 512MB of RAM.

Storage

The Droid X comes with an impressive 24GB of storage (8GB built in, 16GB Micro SD card included) while the HTC Evo 4G has a mere 8GB.  If you have a lot of music or videos you’d like to watch on that big display, then the Droid X is the clear winner here.

Carrier

As has become the norm for premium smartphones, each phone is carrier exclusive.  The Droid X is a Verizon Wireless exclusive phone and the HTC Evo 4G is a Sprint Exclusive.  In my experience both carriers are quite good and I can’t say I’ve had problems with either.    The one advantage that you’ll get with Sprint is 4G coverage though it’s only available in a handful of major cities at this point.  However, if you live in one of those areas, Sprint is probably a no brainer at this point.  If Verizon ever gets the iPhone, I’ll probably start recommending people get Sprint since there will be considerably more strain on Verizon’s data network.

Camera

HTC Evo 4G Vs Motorola Droid X - Android Powered Smartphones

Both phones sport 8MP dual LED flash cameras.  However, the EVO 4G has a 1.3 MP front facing camera for video conferencing (using QIK).  We’ll give the edge to the EVO 4G on this one.

And the winner is…

If you can find one (and there have been plenty of shortages much to the dismay of Sprint), the HTC Evo 4G gets a slight edge over the Droid X but unless you really want video conferencing and live in an area with 4G coverage, you’ll probably be quite pleased with a Droid X as well.

Filed Under: Android Tagged With: 1ghz, Android, droid x, droid x vs htc evo 4g, froyo, htc evo 4g, motorola, sprint, verizon

Chrome To Phone – Awesome New Android App Make You Feel Like A Secret Agent

July 5, 2010 By NotLost 1 Comment

New Android App Turns You Into Jack Bauer (err -- your phone at least, sort of).

You know how in 24 Jack is always getting stuff sent to his phone?

Now you can do the same thing.  If you’ve ever been doing something on your computer and wanted to send it to your phone (this seems to happen to me daily), now you can with Chrome to Phone.

If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard of this app before, it’s because it only works on Android 2.2 -- which is still only available (as of this writing) on the Nexus One or to those of you who have rooted your Android phone and installed the custom ROM (if you’re going to do it, I’d recommend Bugless Beast, Titanium, or Chevy).

I see myself using this app mostly for maps and for sending files to my phone (like non Android Market Apps), but it comes in handy for a whole lot of things, especially long, complicated links I don’t want to painstakingly type in via my Droid keyboard.

If you have Android 2.2, just go install this extension for Chrome and then install the Chrome to Phone Android App on your phone and you’re all set.

For those who wonder how all this magic works, it uses Gmail synching to do it.

Learn all about it with this video:

Filed Under: Android Tagged With: Android, android 2.2, chrome extension, chrome to phone, froyo, gmail, Google, Google Maps, send directions to your droid, send files to your droid

Motorola Droid 2 Review

June 28, 2010 By NotLost 1 Comment

While the Droid X has been billed by some as the successor to the original Motorola Droid, the real successor is the Droid 2 which is expected to be released this summer.

In a lot of ways this phone is just a slight upgrade over the first Droid.

It features a dual LED flash 5MP camera.

It has a faster 1 GHz processor (TI OMAP).

It has 16GB of memory (same as before) and can be upgraded to 40GB.

It also has 512 MB of RAM which is a welcome addition as the original could get bogged down rather easily if you like to run a lot of apps at once.

The keyboard no longer has the thumbpad and now features slightly raised keys which makes typing via the keyboard easier and faster – a big improvement over the old keyboard though I’ve found as have many others that the physical keyboard isn’t nearly as necessary as you might think – I rarely use mine now and I’m one of those people who initially refused to buy a smarthphone without a physical keyboard.

This phone is expected to ship with Android 2.2 Froyo which brings a whole lot of awesomeness to the table.

The screen size remains the same at 3.7″.

Is it worth the upgrade if you already have a Motorola Droid – I don’t so.  It’s an incremental step forward, but not a giant leap.  If you’re going to upgrade, get a Droid X unless the size of the phone makes it difficult for you to hold in your hand.  If you don’t have a smartphone yet, then by all means get it as you’ll probably love this phone.

Motorola Droid 2 - Photo Courtesy DroidLife

Filed Under: Android Tagged With: android 2.2, droid 2, droid 2 review, froyo, keyboard, motorola, motorola droid 2 review, physical keyboard, ti omap

Apple iOS 4 vs Google Android 2.2 – Best Smartphone Operating System

June 17, 2010 By NotLost Leave a Comment

Android vs iOS – Which is the Best Smartphone OS?

A lot has been made about the new iPhone 4 and I’ve already talked about the specs of their new phone vs other top of the line Android phones so in this comparision, we’re going to take the core operating systems as they’re critical to the user experience.

For the purpose of this review we’ll specifically cover Apple iOS 4.0 and Google Android 2.2 “Froyo” even though very few have actually had their hands on both although that’ll change soon with over the air 2.2 updates coming soon for many Android phone users and the new iOS 4.0 coming standard on the iPhone 4 and being pushed as an update for current iPhone users soon.

Now I know that there are plenty of other smartphone operating systems like Symbian, Blackberry OS, WebOS, and Windows Phone 7, but at the moment the race to create the best mobile phone OS is a two horse race and Google and Apple are far ahead of the competition – even the extremely well funded Windows Phone 7.

Keep in mind that in some cases I’ll be comparing software that runs on each OS and not just the OS itself, but as far as I’m concerned, the software running on each platform is really part of the OS experience.

Ease of Use

Which operating system is more intuitive and easier to use?  To me both of them are easy, but then again I love gadget.  On the other hand, my grandmother couldn’t use either one (I have a Motorola Droid, my brother has an iPhone – we did test this out on a real grandmother).    The casual user will probably find both to be rather intuitive although I think there is a slightly higher learning curve with Android.

I certainly appreciate that I’m able to heavily customize the look and feel Android OS (although it can require rooting the phone), but I don’t think that matters much to the average, casual user.

iOS I think does provide a slightly better user experience, especially to non-tech people, but to be honest, you’re not going to suffer with a difficult to use OS if you pick Android.

Openness

There’s no denying it – iOS is only available on the iPhone and iPad – period.  On the other hand, Android is available on over 100 different phones..  The Android Operating system is open source while iOS is owned and controlled by Apple.    There are pros and cons to each so I’ll let you decide which you prefer, if you have any preference (some don’t care, which is just fine).

Battery

While phone makers tout bigger batteries and low power mobile processors – battery life is still largely dependent on how well the operating system uses power.   iOS 4.0 is probably going to be the winner here although I haven’t seen the real world performance yet so comparing the theoretical battery length to real world data available for Android phones isn’t a fair fight as the real world results are almost always lower than what the manufacturer claims for battery life.

Multitasking

iOS 4.0 finally brings multi-tasking to the iPhone.  Now you can listen to Pandora in the background and send a text at the same time – hooray!  Android has been able to multi-task for a while.  If you have a high end and current model of either an iPhone or Android phone, multi-tasking is probably a draw.  However, all Android phones can do this – older iPhones won’t be getting multi-tasking.

Keyboard

Even Google has admitted that the software keyboard on Android could use some work – I’m not going to disagree.  iOS has a much better software keyboard than any Google Android phone.  However, you can download the Swype keyboard app for Android which is really, really cool and is the absolute fastest way to type on a smartphone (the current guiness world record for sending a text the fastest was set using this program) – it’s not currently available for the iPhone (not sure if it ever will be).

Search

As a company that really sets the bar for search, you’d expect Android to slap the iPhone’s ass and call it Sally when it comes to searching… and you’d be right.  Search on Android phones is far better and voice search is quite good.  The iPhone has some catching up to do here.

Browser

Up until the latest update of the Android operating system, this was a draw as both are based on Webkit (Safari and Chrome both use the technology for their desktop versions as well).

Now, however, with the ability to display the Internet in all it’s glory – Adobe Flash and all – Android Browser is now the clear winner in mobile phone browsers while Safari will remain behind until Apple either supports flash or the entire Internet works with HTML 5 (don’t hold your breath, it’s gonna takes years – many, many years).

Ads

For many this is a reason to grown – mobile ads.   As a marketer (that’s my day job and how I pay the bills), being able to do advertising to users of each operating system is really important as it’s the next advertising frontier and it allows many apps you love and get for free to stay that way – free.

Apple has launched its new iAds system while on Android primarily has AdMob (now owned by Google).  From an openness standpoint, Admob is much, much better as iAds is proprietary to Apple.

As an advertising, I don’t like the direction Apple is going, but from a consumer standpoint it remains to be seen which is better.

Apps

At some point in the nuclear arms race to have the most apps, you reach a point of diminishing returns just as you did in the real mccoy where both sides had more than enough bombs to obliterate the other many times over.   That seems to be the point we’ve reached in with the Android Market and the Apple App Store.

Both have some really cool apps you can’t get on the other and while the App Store has over 200,000 apps compared to the 75,000 or so Android has, how many different to-do lists, alarm clocks, and calculator do you really need?

Games

In this case, iOS really has Android beat.  Gaming on an iPhone is far superior – there are more games available and the experience is far better – Android really hasn’t matured as a mobile gaming platform yet.

Navigation

Again, this is really a comparison of software and not core OS functionality.   For navigation it really depends on what you want.  With Android you get free Google Maps Navigation – with the iPhone you get many more navigation options, including a couple free options.  The free iPhone GPS navigation apps really don’t hold a candle to Google Maps Navigation, but the paid apps like Navigon MobileNavigator and TomTom for the iPhone are still better than what you can get for Android… unless you get the Garminfone.

Confused yet?   Let me clear it up for you.   For the absolute best GPS navigation on a phone, get an iPhone and buy the MobileNavigator OR a Garminfone but remember the Garminfone is really underpowered compared to other Smartphones and runs and outdated version of Android… 1.6.

If you want really good navigation and don’t want to pay extra, get any Android 1.6 or later phone (which is pretty much every current Android phone on the market now and includes all the best ones like the Droid, Droid X, Droid Shadow, HTC EVO 4G, Nexus One, and Droid Incredible)

Tethering

Both operating systems have tethering capabilities, but considering that Android 2.2 allows you to turn your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot (for free, just be careful of data usage) and on the iPhone, you still have to physically tether it and pay an extra monthly fee to AT&T AND you can’t tether an iPhone to an iPad, I’m going to give Android the nod for better smartphone tethering.

Choice

With the iPhone, your choices are black and white – pick the color you want.  With Android and the now dozens of phones available, you get more choice in your use experience.  Do you want a model with a dedicated keyboard, no problem – prefer a huge screen, check – need one that is navigation focusedApple iOS 4 vs Google Android Froyo - Best Smartphone OS Showdown, they’ve got your covered.   While the amount of choices offered is certainly a double edged sword as Google can’t as tightly control the user experience as Apple, having the option of any phone carrier and a lot of different phones is a nice problem to have as far as I’m concerned.

For example, I wanted a dedicated keyboard on my phone so I got one even though I mostly use the on screen one.

Conclusion

My intension here isn’t to declare a winner like so many others.  It really comes down to preference and BOTH are great operating systems and in many ways they’re too close to call and each has areas where it is clearly superior.

Filed Under: Android, iPhone Tagged With: android 2.2, apple, froyo, Google, ios 4, iphone 4, multi-tasking, os, smartphone operating system