android

Motorola Droid live review

Editors' note: That's it for our live review! Over the next few days we will continue to test the Droid, including the GPS and battery life, and add in final results. For now, here is our full review of the Motorola Droid for Verizon Wireless.

Hooray! We finally have the Motorola Droid in our hands. Though it's much too early to offer a full critique, we can report that Verizon's first Google Android device is a looker. The display is gorgeous, Android 2.0 looks spiffy, and the handset appears to be lightning fast. Though we'll refrain from using the dreaded "iPhone killer" expression, comparisons between the two devices are obvious, particularly in light of Verizon's snarky ad campaign.

We're starting now and will continue posting our analysis this afternoon until we have a full rated review. So join Kent German and Bonnie Cha as we dive into the Droid.

12:30 p.m., PT Design At first glance you might not think that the Motorola Droid's design amounts to much. Its build isn't unique and the sharp angles result in a somewhat boxy look. But this is a smartphone that holds a lot of surprises, the biggest being the positively gorgeous WVGA display. At 3.7 inches it surpasses even the iPhone and is firmly in the bounds of what we consider to be an acceptable size for a touch-screen display. Color support is generous (16 million hues) and the resolutions (440x854 pixels) is some of the richest we've seen. We aren't kidding when we say that this display is bright and brilliant with vibrant colors and sharp graphics. It also lends itself well to the welcome Android 2.0 interface updates (more on that later).

Of course, with a large display the Droid is rather big (4.56 inches by 2.36 inches by 0.54 inch), but that's a small price to pay for the top-notch display. You'll notice that the Droid is a heavy (5.96 ounces) compared with other smartphones, but the trim design keeps it portable. We also welcome the solid feel in the hand, even if the slider mechanism is a little quirky. The actual sliding motion is quite stiff, but the front face doesn't really lock into place on either end. Indeed, we noticed that even a gentle nudge can start to close the Droid. No, it's not a big deal, but it's something to consider.

1:15 p.m. The capacitive display's touch interface is quick and responsive and we love the added multitouch capability that lets you zoom in on Web pages with a double tap. As with previous Android phones, there's vibrating feedback only for certain functions (like a "long press"), though you can turn off the haptic feedback completely. When we selected items and scrolled through long lists, there was no lag time in performing the command (more on that later as well). You also can customize the display's brightness, backlighting time, and animations. The accelerometer will adjust the display's orientation as you rotate the Droid in your hands, but you can turn this feature off.

Outside of the upgrades from Android 2.0 and the Droid-specific tweaks, the basic interface will be familiar to Android users. You only get three home screens--we prefer the five we got on the Motorola Cliq--but you can customize each pane with widgets. And, of course, the central pane has the Google search bar. The main menu is accessible via the pull tab at the bottom of the display. The menu's design is mostly unchanged. You can move icons around and add shortcuts and folders. The Droid does not offer the MotoBlur interface, but there is a new integrated Facebook widget for viewing status updates and posting your own. We'll describe that in more detail in the Features section.

Below the Droid's display are four touch controls: Back, Home, Search, and Menu. They perform the same functions as on other Android phones, with the search and menu keys being the most useful. The former activates Google search with just one press, and the latter opens relevant menu commands for various handset modes and features. Though the touch controls are responsive, they're not very big. And at the end of the day, we'd prefer actual physical buttons. We know this all comes down to a personal preference, but that is ours.… Read more

Verizon, Motorola unveil the Droid

NEW YORK--Verizon Wireless customers will soon be able to get their hands on the much anticipated Google Android phone called the Droid.

The companies officially unveiled the device at an event here. Like most smartphones of its class, the phone will cost $199 with a two-year contract. And it will be available to consumers starting November 6. Customers can pre-register for the device now. John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless, said at the event that the device could be pre-ordered, but Verizon's public relations team said he mispoke, and users can simply put their name on a list to get more information about the device.

The device offers voice-activated search that allows users to speak a query and the Google-powered search engine will deliver Web results or results from the device such as contacts, music, and photos. The voice search also works with the new turn-by-turn directions for Google Maps. It allows users to view geographic information, such as My Maps, Wikipedia entries, and transit lines on the map.

Stratton said he had used the navigation service just yesterday on a trip to Arkansas. He said he simply spoke "gas station" into the phone and it quickly found nearby gas stations. When he clicked on one of them, it activated the turn-by-turn directions and he was given spoken directions right from the phone.

While the new Droid is loaded with lots of cool Android apps and has access to the more than 10,000 applications available in the Android Market, it does not have many of Verizon's branded services. For example, Verizon's VCast music service is missing in this version. But Stratton said that will be added eventually. And the phone does not have Verizon's VZ Navigator, since it comes bundled with the Google Android navigation.

The good news is that some of the services, such as navigation that Verizon charges for on devices running VZNavigator, will be free to users of the Droid.

In terms of the specifications, they are exactly what had been expected thanks to multiple leaks about the product.… Read more

Google Maps Navigation takes a mobile turn

You can almost hear the portable navigation industry swearing already.

Google is announcing plans Wednesday to release a new Android application called Google Maps Navigation. When combined with a GPS-equipped mobile phone running Android 2.0, it provides turn-by-turn directions powered by Google Maps and a slick user interface that combines features such as voice recognition and Google Street View. Google Maps Navigation, like seemingly everything that emerges from Google, will be free.

"Mobile platforms--Android and others--are so powerful now that you can build client apps that can do magical things connected to the cloud," said Google CEO Eric Schmidt in a briefing for reporters at Google's headquarters on Tuesday.

Companies in the cell phone navigation industry have seen this day coming for quite some time. Right now, the beta application only works on phones that will use the Android 2.0 software, which is scheduled to be available very soon with the expected arrival of Motorola's Droid phone on Verizon's network.

Google's Vic Gundotra appeared to demonstrate the application on the Droid: he wouldn't confirm it, but it was a shiny black Android 2.0 phone running on Verizon's network and bearing Motorola's stamp, so we're probably not going too far out on a limb here. (Update, 7:24 a.m. PDT: Says Google's Wednesday morning press release: "The first phone to have Google Maps Navigation and Android 2.0 is the Droid from Verizon.")

However, Google is working with Apple on bringing it to the iPhone, and it's not ruling out licensing the software to makers of portable navigation devices used in cars throughout the world, said Gundotra, vice president of engineering at Google for mobile and developers. The process involving Apple is slightly different from the usual App Store submission process, because Maps is a built-in iPhone application, he said.

The application works like any navigation system that you may have used, but it combines Google Search and Google Maps functions that are normally only available on the desktop and brings them to the smartphone. Perhaps the most interesting and useful feature comes from Google Street View, allowing Google to provide a Street View image at every turn that the application suggests during your journey.… Read more

App store or app sore?

Apple has an app store, of course. So does Microsoft. Google has two, one for Android and now one for Wave. In fact, it's hard to find anyone who doesn't have an app store these days.

We're swimming in app stores. Or drowning.

I'm serious. At the Symbian conference in London on Tuesday, I attended a panel that was overrun with app stores. Nokia, Symbian, GetJar, Sony Ericsson, Handmark, and Handango were all promoting their respective app stores, each talking about how great theirs is.

They're probably right. They probably are all great. But how … Read more

Droid Eris: Verizon's other Android phone?

We're learning a lot about Verizon's Motorola Droid (with more to come soon), but what do we know about the Droid Eris?

Also called the HTC Desire, the Eris (and the Moto Droid) will be a part of a series of Google Android devices for Verizon Wireless. According to Gdgt, preliminary specs include a 5-megapixel camera, a microSD card slot, EV-DO, a 3.2-inch display, and (thanks to the Boy Genius Report) a 528MHz processor. Official photos are nonexistent at this point, but the Eris should have a HTC Hero-like a trackball for navigation.

Verizon hasn't announced … Read more

Google releases Android 2.0 SDK

As Verizon Wireless prepares to unveil its new Motorola Droid smartphone tomorrow, Google today released the SDK for the much-anticipated 2.0 update to the operating system. Code-named Eclair, Android 2.0 offers a number of feature improvements and interface tweaks. As expected, we will get multitouch support (yay!), but Google has some surprises up its sleeve. Here are the highlights that users should see.

Syncing for multiple e-mail accounts, including Exchange accounts and contacts. According to the small print, however, "handset manufacturers can choose whether to include Exchange support in their devices." Ick. Developers can create sync … Read more

SE Xperia X3 to be official on November 3?

We've read about the upcoming Android-based Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 too many times to count. There was a video of its interface, images published by Expansys, even leaked specifications. Well, those speculations may soon come to an end if the latest teaser from the Japanese-Swedish company is anything to go by. If you visit www.sonyericsson.com/whatsnext, the November 3 date is prominently displayed with a few lines of text under it.

Sometimes there's a thin line between extraordinary and the magical. Did we cross it?

With a bold statement like that, it'd better be something … Read more

Qualcomm gets into open source, pigs begin to fly

Apparently, Qualcomm didn't get the memo. Open-source developers as a group tend to be hostile to patents, believing that they're detrimental to technology innovation.

But Qualcomm, a company devoted more than most to acquiring and prosecuting patents, announced Monday the launch of a wholly owned subsidiary called the Qualcomm Innovation Center (QuIC) to focus on open-source development for mobile.

The patent king seeks to become the open-source king?

Maybe. Maybe not. The mission of QuIC signals an intent to blend the best of mobile open source with the best of Qualcomm's proprietary technology:

Open source and community-driven … Read more

A Moment for Samsung

In case you haven't noticed, the Google Android dam has broken. For almost a year HTC was the only manufacturer to offer handsets with the operating system, but in the past month, Motorola and Samsung almost fell over each other to offer Android smartphones of their own. Moto gave us the satisfying Cliq and Samsung countered with the Moment.

The Moment offers everything you'd expect from an Android phone while adding Sprint-specific media services. Other features are plentiful, and the sturdy design and comfortable physical keyboard offer a nice contrast to Sprint's other Android phone, the HTC … Read more