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Google’s Android Update Alliance not living up to expectations
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Google, Software
At the Google I/O conference in May, many Android phone vendors and U.S. wireless carriers made a long-awaited promise: From then on, any new Android phone would receive timely OS updates for at least 18 months following launch, as part of the then newly christened Google Update Alliance.
The back story: If you own an Android phone, you may have watched with frustration as a new version of the OS hit the market. It's almost never clear if your phone will ever get that upgrade—unlike with iOS or Windows Phones, which always get all upgrades (providing they meet the right hardware requirements). With Android, it seems to depend on the phone vendor, the specific model, the wireless carrier, the Android version itself, and whether Google sent the carrier an inflatable plastic food product as a token of its appreciation that week. Worse—and much to our chagrin—sometimes vendors make promises to customers before the sale that they don't keep once you own the phone.
Many factors contribute to this. But custom versions of Android are the key culprit, either thanks to vendor-specific enhancements (like HTC Sense, Motorola MotoBlur, and Samsung's TouchWiz, though LG, Pantech, Casio, and other vendors do it too), or carrier-specific enhancements of a more dubious nature (such as unnecessary preloaded bloatware and changes to default apps). These changes require many programming hours not just to make in the first place, but to also support and upgrade down the road—resources the carrier would rather throw at making new phones to sell you.
So the Google Update Alliance was a breath of fresh air. It sounded like everyone would finally come together, streamline their OS update timelines, and stop jerking around their customers. The thing is, while the Google Update Alliance ended up being one of the biggest stories to come out of Google I/O, we've heard almost nothing about it since then. You can bet we weren't just going to forget about it and pretend it never happened—especially after the release of Google Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), which is a huge leap in UI design and overall performance.
Click to continue reading Google’s Android Update Alliance not living up to expectations
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Black Friday 2011: Best Buy
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cameras, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals, Household, Movies, PC / Laptop, Portable Audio / Video, Video Games
Details of Best Buy's Black Friday 2011 sales have just been released, and we've got a list of all the highlights you can expect to see after the break. Doors will open right at midnight on October 25th, and tickets for the doorbusters will be handed out as early as 10:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day. Click through for a look at the goods.
Click to continue reading Black Friday 2011: Best Buy
Motorola Droid RAZR unboxing gallery
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Features, Galleries, Handhelds
Motorola has ressurrected the RAZR from the dead, slapped the Droid branding on it, and has come up with a 7.1mm thin powerhouse. Appropriately called the Droid RAZR, the smartphone has a Gorilla Glass covered 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display and a body made of Kevlar, making it lightweight, water-resistant, and durable. On the inside you've got a dual-core 1.2GHz TI OMAP4430 chip, 8 megapixel camera that records 1080p video, 1 GB RAM, and 16 GB flash storage onboard (and another 16 GB on the included microSD card.) It runs on Verizon's 4G LTE network. so you know, it's fast. We'll be getting a review up soon, but in the meantime, be sure to peep our Droid RAZR unboxing gallery first!
Gallery: Motorola Droid RAZR unboxing gallery
Bleeding Edge TV 399: Motorola Droid Bionic review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Podcasts, Product Reviews, Videocasts, Videos
We give you a look at the Motorola Droid Bionic in this episode. The Droid Bionic is a 4G LTE smartphone on the Verizon Wireless network, sporting a dual-core processor, 8 megapixel camera, and 1080p recording. The front camera even allows you to take part in Google Hangout sessions. ZumoCast allows you to stream content from your PC directly to the device. The Droid Bionic has a 4.3-inch qHD display. We explain the features and give you a look at the device in this episode.
Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.
Motorola Droid RAZR: 4G LTE, 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED screen, $299 this November
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Google, Handhelds
Today Motorola announced the return of their most popular brand ever when they unveiled the Droid RAZR smartphone. The RAZR isn't just another Android handset, and you know they Motorola wouldn't just slap that name on any average device. This one has a Gorilla Glass covered 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display (this has not been seen on any other mobile phone to date,) and a body made of Kevlar, making it lightweight, water-resistant, and durable. On the inside you've got a dual-core 1.2GHz TI OMAP4430 chip, 8 megapixel camera that records 1080p video, 1 GB RAM, and 16 GB flash storage onboard (and another 16 GB on the included microSD card.) It also runs on Verizon's 4G LTE network.
Motorola's also tried to make the phone as thin as they could, touting that it's just 7.1mm thin, but that doesn't take into account the thicker bottom area. Who's counting, right? One other nice feature is the addition of something Moto's calling SmartActions. It's meant to preserve and optimize battery life by doing things like turning off Bluetooth when you get home, or clocking down the processor while you're on a phone call.
You'll be able to squeeze out 12.5 hours of talk time when this bad boy hits Verizon this November 6th, and it'll cost you $299 for the priviledge. Pre-orders start October 27th.
Motorola Droid Bionic unboxing gallery
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Features, Galleries, Handhelds
After much delay, the Motorola Droid Bionic has finally launched, and we've got one in at Gear Live HQ to review. While we play with the 4.3-inch display toting, 4G LTE packing, 1080p video shooting, Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread smartphone, we've got a gallery of photos that we've taken to show it off. Go ahead and peep the images in our Droid Bionic unboxing gallery, and be on the lookout for our review soon!
[Camera: Chris Aarons]
Gallery: Motorola Droid Bionic unboxing gallery
Motorola Droid Bionic now available
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Google, Handhelds
Motorola's long-awaited Droid Bionic smartphone is finally here.
The device, Verizon's first dual-core, LTE phone, is available now at Verizon stores and online at verizonwireless.com. It doesn't come cheap, though: the Bionic will set you back $299.99 with a two-year contract.
For a limited time, those who purchase the Lapdock accessory, which essentially turns your smartphone into a 11.6-inch laptop, will get a $100 mail-in rebate when subscribing to the $50, 5GB data plan or higher. That Lapdock, however, is also $300.
Click to continue reading Motorola Droid Bionic now available
Video: Motorola begins teasing the Droid Bionic
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Google, Handhelds, Videos
The Droid Bionic is a woman! Motorola on Wednesday released the teaser video, "Rule All Machines," for its upcoming Droid Bionic smartphone.
And like in previous ads, the video personifies the device rather than show any part of the actual phone (see below); the latest Droid incarnation is a black leather-clad assassin with a bit of a Black Widow-meets-Droid logo edge.
No, no details yet on an actual launch date or price. The Droid Bionic is arguably Motorola's most highly anticipated product this year, perhaps because it has been delayed since, well, January. The Bionic was hit with one delay after another, forcing Verizon to release a statement explaining that it was undergoing some design revisions. No price has been announced, but an alleged advertisement pegged the phone at $300.
Click to continue reading Video: Motorola begins teasing the Droid Bionic
FCC filing shows Droid Bionic won’t be a global phone
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Handhelds, Rumors
A draft of the Motorola Droid Bionic's user manual surfaced on the Federal Communications Commission's website, confirming most of the specs that were pulled from Motorola's website last week.
On paper at least, the dual-core smartphone built for Verizon's super-fast LTE network looks like a beast. The filing confirms that it will sport a 4.3-inch qHD display, a GHz TI OMAP 4430 dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, a microSD card slot, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a VGA front-facing camera. It'll have an HDMI 1.4 output for mirroring the phone's display on a larger screen and support wireless charging. Furthermore, the Bionic will run Android 2.3.4 "Gingerbread."
Click to continue reading FCC filing shows Droid Bionic won’t be a global phone
Deal of the Day: Droid Incredible 2 for $1.99 - 99% discount!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Hot Deals
Our Deal of the Day today with focuses on an unbeatable 99% discount on the Droid Incredible 2. Seriously, this things retails for $199, and you can get it for $1.99 with two-year contract. It's got a 4-inch WVGA 800x480 touchscreen display, and ships with Android 2.2. It's got an 8 megapixel camera, front camera, and a 1 GHz SnapDragon processor. Shipping is even free:
HTC Droid Incredible 2 for $1.99
Don’t forget, if you’re looking for other deals, be sure to check out our Newegg Promo Code thread. Oh, and if you're on Twitter, be sure to follow @TechPromos for the latest deals, or you can Like TechPromos on Facebook.
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