Posts tagged motorola

No Jacket Required Motorola Droid X Aggresively advertising attenagate

In a creative piece that would be just about equivocal to Exxon running an ad saying “Hey we didn’t spill the oil this time” Motorola ran a full page ad to promote the Motorola Droid X (exclusively carried on Verizon) touting “No Jacket Required”. This great piece of advertising collateral speaks directly to the Iphone 4 and it’s “Antennagate” problems.
What’s even more impressive about this ad is that Motorola talks specifically about the features that prevent the Droid X from having the Antennagate issues.
I wanted to go ahead and check the Antennagate issue for myself so here is my video of the Droid X exploring Antenna Gate, please note the lighting and sound arent that great. I did this video quickly and on my Nexus 1

So there you have it no Antenna Gate with the Motorola Droid X on Verizon Wireless.. They’re right “No Jacket Required” <-- wasn't that a phil collins record?

Droid X Does Extremely Simple Root Method

from Android Phone Fans by Quentyn Kennemer

Droid X Does Extremely Simple Root Method: ”

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The Droid X has been rooted – we learned that a few days ago. The process – while simple to ADB and command line users – was still pretty involved. The guys at AllDroid have come up with a very simple process to remedy any worries anyone might have with pulling the trigger on unlocking the device.

droid-x-root-unroot

A simple program asks you to plug your phone in and click “Root Me :) ” or “Unroot Me :( ” depending on what you want to do. Let the process finish up and you’re on your way. It’s said that more features will be added over time – including the ability to sideload apps, remove Verizon and Motorola’s bloatware, and backing up your device information – but for now it’s still a fantastic little utility that you should download if you were intimidated by the root method that came before it. (Note: a windows-based PC is required to use this.)

[via Droid-Life]

The original Android phone, the T-Mobile G1, enters retirement

The Motorola Droid is still selling, and has had a long and best-selling life. The Nexus One we eulogized just a few days ago. But what about the original Android phone, the T-Mobile G1? Well, that was just removed from T-Mobile’s website, after nearly two years in service.

WebWatcher-Get 40% OffIt was introduced way back in September of 2008 to much fanfare. Despite the fact that it was clunky, as was Android at the time, for quite a while it was the only Android phone, and as Android improved so did the devices it ran on.

The G1 ushered in the era of the Android phone, and now we have such markedly improved hardware as the Evo 4G, the Droid X, the Samsung Galaxy S, and still more coming down the pipe in various form factors. An, and then there’s Froyo …

At any rate, we have to bid adieu to the G1. It was fun while it lasted, and the device lasted long enough to even see custom (not official) 2.1 ROMs for rooted vesions. Farewell, old friend.

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Droid X: Google’s Ticket to Smartphone Success

eWEEK Editor's Pick - Ziff Davis Enterprise

Droid X: Google’s Ticket to Smartphone Success
By Don Reisinger
July 27, 2010

The huge success of Motorola’s Droid X proves that Android is here to stay and that Google could potentially overtake Apple as the supreme mobile provider of smartphone software.
READ MORE…

G1 And Android’s Future

It all began with the G1, the very first commercially available Android. And today, we learn that there is a $150 Android based tablet and $99 netbook from Augen to be sold at Kmart. Of course, in between, there have been quite a few dozen more Android devices that have radically changed the mobile landscape.

I have a G1 as some of you may well know. And currently, I’m in the market for an upgrade. Two years ago in September, I got the G1 and I’m already eligible for an upgrade. What will I pick as my next mobile device you may ask.

Here likes the brilliance of the Android strategy devised by Google. There are tens of models to choose from that span all four of the major wireless providers. If I go with Sprint and its WiMax network, I can select the HTC EVO. Verizon. Droids of course. ATT and T-Mobile, I can go with the Galaxy S from Samsung.

That brought us to the present. And the future?

Netbooks and tablets in the footsteps of Augen? Probably not. I’m sure HTC and Motorola will have compelling offers.

Hardware is one thing but it is all up to Google to offer compelling innovations going forward. And believe me, I’ve been watching what RIM and Microsoft are doing and a resurgence or two is coming. No one stays at the top for long. Since 2007, the iPhone has changed the mobile market and few thought Apple could have done what they did with the iOS ecosystem.

However, Android looks like it is gaining a lot of momentum for the moment. And it all started with the G1.

Seriously, more than 20 percent of Android buyers would buy again: Yankee Group

Android users don’t dislike their devices quite as much as previous (and inaccurate) reports indicated, apparently. On Monday, the Yankee Group made sure to correct CNN Money’s interpretation of its data.

In fact, the earlier CNN Money story said that while 77 percent of iPhone owners said they would buy another iPhone, only 20 percent of Android customers said the same about another Android phone. That seemed strange to us.

Zuma's RevengeThe correction, via the source of the material, the Yankee Group, is that “32 percent of Google-branded phone owners intend to buy another Android phone.” Meanwhile, “36 percent of Google-branded Android phone owners say they plan to buy an iPhone.” Whoops.

Of course, Google-branded phone pretty much limits the data to the Google-branded and failed HTC Nexus One experiment. That is a pretty small sampling compared to the overall set of Android phones, and considering the satisfaction around other devices, like the hit Motorola Droid, probably misleading.

This is a more telling statement:

Yankee Group still believes that Android will become the next breakout mobile phone platform, making it the third most popular platform behind iPhone and RIM’s Blackberry in installed base for at least the next five years.

We’d actually say that Android has already reached that point, given the 160,000 device activations a day Google confirmed recently.

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Sense UI to live on in Android 3.0, Windows Phone: HTC

We are struggling to pick the correct word for this statement, “HTC Sense … afflicts? corrupts? graces? the UI of many devices.” No matter. The point is that despite what we thought, as well, it’s reportedly going to be on Windows Phone 7 devices, too.

HTC Sense layers on top of a smartphone platform, whether it’s Android or Windows Mobile. Some love it, and some hate it. When Microsoft announced Windows Phone earlier, it said it would exert more control over devices, and not allow custom “skinning” of the OS, such as Sense.

Still, HTC told Forbes that it believes it’s still going to manage to layer Sense on top of Windows Phone 7. Drew Bamford, who heads HTC’s user experience design team, told Forbes:

“Microsoft has taken firmer control of the core experience [in Windows Phone 7], but we can still innovate,” says Bamford. The future version of Sense, he adds, won’t look the way it does on current Windows Mobile (6.5) phones, where it basically replaces all the core applications and is fully integrated into the phone.

Nevertheless, HTC is optimistic about the Windows Phone 7 launch, according to Bamford. “We won’t be able to replace as much of the core Windows Phone experience, but we will augment it,” he says.

Such deep integration as is current with HTC Sense on Windows Mobile 6.5 is not going to be allowed in Windows Phone 7. Microsoft is going to be much more strict in terms of what it permits manufacturers, and third-party developers as well, to customize on Windows Phone devices.

Meanwhile, although Google has said that stock Android 3.0 will have a much more polished UI, meaning that the “need” for manufacturers to customers its UI will be reduced, HTC doesn’t see an end to Sense UI on that platform, either. Bamford said,

“Google may focus more on improving the user interface on the stock Android [software], but I don’t think they’ll preclude manufacturer customization.”

Sense and Motorola’s Motoblur, as well as Samsung’s TouchWiz have been criticized for adding items to the stock OS that folks don’t want or need. In the case of WM 6.5, Sense actually was pretty handy, making up for much of that old-school platform’s shortcomings. Android, however, doesn’t have the same limitations as WM does.

What do you readers thinK? Do you love, or hate Sense, Motoblur, and other such manufacturer customizations on top of the stock OS?

Click Here For The Wall Street Journal

Sense UI to live on in Android 3.0, Windows Phone: HTC

We are struggling to pick the correct word for this statement, “HTC Sense … afflicts? corrupts? graces? the UI of many devices.” No matter. The point is that despite what we thought, as well, it’s reportedly going to be on Windows Phone 7 devices, too.

HTC Sense layers on top of a smartphone platform, whether it’s Android or Windows Mobile. Some love it, and some hate it. When Microsoft announced Windows Phone earlier, it said it would exert more control over devices, and not allow custom “skinning” of the OS, such as Sense.

Still, HTC told Forbes that it believes it’s still going to manage to layer Sense on top of Windows Phone 7. Drew Bamford, who heads HTC’s user experience design team, told Forbes:

“Microsoft has taken firmer control of the core experience [in Windows Phone 7], but we can still innovate,” says Bamford. The future version of Sense, he adds, won’t look the way it does on current Windows Mobile (6.5) phones, where it basically replaces all the core applications and is fully integrated into the phone.

Nevertheless, HTC is optimistic about the Windows Phone 7 launch, according to Bamford. “We won’t be able to replace as much of the core Windows Phone experience, but we will augment it,” he says.

Such deep integration as is current with HTC Sense on Windows Mobile 6.5 is not going to be allowed in Windows Phone 7. Microsoft is going to be much more strict in terms of what it permits manufacturers, and third-party developers as well, to customize on Windows Phone devices.

Meanwhile, although Google has said that stock Android 3.0 will have a much more polished UI, meaning that the “need” for manufacturers to customers its UI will be reduced, HTC doesn’t see an end to Sense UI on that platform, either. Bamford said,

“Google may focus more on improving the user interface on the stock Android [software], but I don’t think they’ll preclude manufacturer customization.”

Sense and Motorola’s Motoblur, as well as Samsung’s TouchWiz have been criticized for adding items to the stock OS that folks don’t want or need. In the case of WM 6.5, Sense actually was pretty handy, making up for much of that old-school platform’s shortcomings. Android, however, doesn’t have the same limitations as WM does.

What do you readers thinK? Do you love, or hate Sense, Motoblur, and other such manufacturer customizations on top of the stock OS?

Click Here For The Wall Street Journal

Top 5 Android Phones Available Today

1) HTC EVO 4G
The speedy HTC EVO 4G packs in some powerful specs and a variety of multimedia features into a stylish, minimalist design, but not everybody will get to enjoy one of its best features–4G connectivity.
2) HTC Droid Incredible
The HTC Incredible is one of the most impressive Android phones available with a gorgeous display, slick user interface, and lightning-fast processor.
3) Google Nexus One
The Google Nexus One impresses with a stunning AMOLED display, speedy performance, and cool tweaks to the Android OS; but some network issues prevent it from being a superphone.
4) Motorola Droid
The first Android 2.0 phone impresses with a strong suite of Web features and a stunning 3.7-inch display, but some users might have trouble with the shallow keyboard.

Apple’s latest ‘death grip’ video targets Motorola’s Droid X

Apple’s made the phones of other manufacturers its targets as it continues to defend itself against the “death grip” issue on its iPhone 4. Its latest target: the recently released Droid X.

Apple has a “feature page” on its site regarding the iPhone 4’s antenna; the video was posted both there and on YouTube. Apple’s video purports to show that holding the Droid X signal bars dropping from 3 to zero.

Despite all the claims by Apple, manufacturers and others have noted that a) Apple is the only manufacturer with an external antenna system, b) other antennas are located in such a way as to make a “death grip” require contortions, and c) the “death grip” on the iPhone really requires just a finger to bridge the gap between two antennas in its external antenna system.

We were also unable to reproduce Apple’s demo using a “natural” grip on the Droid X, using two separate devices in the same location.

We expect Motorola to fire back about this. The Droid X sold out and became backordered quickly after its July 15th release, despite assurances by Verizon that they had plenty of stock.

Click Here For The Wall Street Journal