Tuesday, 17 August 2010

Android Community

Android Community

Motorola Droid and HTC Droid Incredible Back in Stock at Verizon’s Site, Maybe

Posted: 17 Aug 2010 10:56 AM PDT

There’s a reason we’ve included “maybe” up there in the title. We’ve gotten a few emails from folks telling us that those rumors floating around, that the original Motorola Droid had managed to find its way back into stock on Verizon’s website are actually true. Furthermore, we’ve also heard that the Droid Incredible, manufactured by HTC and plagued by AMOLED touchscreen shortages, has actually reached “in-stock” status, too. Well, a quick visit to Verizon’s site doesn’t necessarily say the same thing.

First, the original Motorola Droid. We can’t find it on the site. We’ve done a search, and we’ve tried to go through the normal listing of devices. We can find the Motorola Droid X and Motorola Droid 2 just fine, but the original Droid is nowhere to be found. It would have been much more confusing to see that the device had, indeed, managed to find an extra life somewhere out there, but we don’t imagine Verizon’s going to be bringing it back any time soon. Even if it does have Android 2.2. (Have you received your OTA yet?) That’s not saying they can’t, or won’t. We’re just saying it’d be pretty interesting — and exciting.

As for the Droid Incredible, which has been marred with a pretty much constant shortage of AMOLED touchscreen displays since its launch, seems to be right on track to be considered “back in stock.” Interestingly enough, we can say that yesterday, late at night, Verizon’s site did indeed say that the Incredible would ship by August 16th. But, now that we’re on the 17th, as of this writing the site now says August 18th. So yes, that’s pretty much negligible, but it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s plenty of devices waiting in the wings, set to launch to all of those hungry Droid Incredible fans. It also doesn’t mean retail stores will begin getting them in stock, either. That number could always get pushed back again. So, as of right now, we’ll list both these devices as a “maybe,” until we get some other data confirming one way or another.

[via Android Central; via Verizon]

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Motorola Jordan for T-Mobile Launching in November?

Posted: 17 Aug 2010 10:44 AM PDT

The Motorola Jordan is a name we’ve seen before, but new details are starting to find their way into the mainstream. Thanks to an unnamed source speaking with Boy Genius Report, it looks like the still unannounced device is getting ready for a November launch, and it’s coming with a few “rugged” features. According to the source, it sounds like the Jordan might be the T-Mobile response to Sprint’s Motorola i1.

The Jordan name is just a codename for the moment, and there’s no telling whether or not T-Mobile or Motorola will stick to the title when the phone does finally get announced, or launched. What makes the Jordan stand out isn’t so much the name, or that it’s waterproof. No, we’ve seen waterproof phones before. The Jordan stands out because, apparently, it can be completely submerged up to 10 meters (or about 33 feet), and still function. So, dropping it in your toilet won’t be much of an issue, nor will your swimming pool. The device is also IP67 certified, which means it’s also dust “resistant,” too. Anyone in the market for a new rugged phone?

[via Boy Genius Report]

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Android users may get PayPal option for buying apps

Posted: 17 Aug 2010 04:56 AM PDT

Right now when Android users want to buy a new app, they have to pay using Google Checkout. A new option may be coming soon according people close to negotiations. These sources told Bloomberg that Google and PayPal were in talks for Android purchases.

This could be a big deal for Android users and for PayPal; there are 87 million registered users of PayPal. That is many more than the number of folks that use Google checkout.

The rub here is that talks between the two firms are no guarantee that a deal will be made. It would be surprising for Google to pass up the chance to use PayPal with so many users having access to it. No official comments have been made by either party.

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Meizu M9 to Feature 1GHz Processor and Display Similar to the iPhone 4’s

Posted: 16 Aug 2010 03:11 PM PDT

There’s no question that Meizu, the Chinese-based company, likes to emulate Apple’s iPhone. They do it in such a way, though, that legal action has never been taken against the company. This is helped with the inclusion of Android as the Operating System of choice, along with the company’s utilization of an original User Interface. But, that’s not stopping the physical aspects of the device pulling down ideas from the Cupertino-based company.

The M9, which is set to ship some time in October solely in China (to start, hopefully), features a display that will have a resolution of 960×640. That is remarkably similar, if not exactly like the iPhone 4’s display. The screen’s size, though, will be 3.54-inches, which differs the two devices, even if it is a difference that no one would notice in real world usage. Other similar features include the 1GHz processor, along with the 512MB of RAM tucked away under the hood.

The M9 will feature Android 2.2, apparently, but you’ll barely notice it, as the company goes to great lengths to change the layout of their devices. As we mentioned above, it’s supposed to come out in October of this year, but Meizu is pretty legendary for their missed deadlines, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens. As you can see from the images herein, the UI is certainly Meizu’s, even if there are similarities to others out there. But, with that processor and display, if the M9 does indeed hit the market, it could easily be considered one of the best Android devices out there.

[via MeizuMe; thanks, David]

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Philips GoGear Connect On Sale Across the Pond

Posted: 16 Aug 2010 02:58 PM PDT

If you’ve been waiting for an Android-powered Personal Media Player (PMP), but don’t have the patience for Samsung to bring you their Galaxy Player, then maybe the GoGear Connect from Philips would be a better choice. (Which we first saw back in February.) That is, if you find yourself in Europe, and not in the United States. It looks like Philips has managed to bring the Android 2.1-powered PMP to digital retail shelves across the pond, if this new screenshot from Argos is any indicator.

Featuring a 3.2-inch touchscreen display, FM radio tuner, microSD card slot, 16GB of internal storage, and a battery life that should last you about 25 hours with music playback, and 5 hours of video. The PMP will also feature GPS. Unfortunately, even if it does sound interesting enough to give a second glance, the price makes us want to take a step back. Listed at €264.99, or about $340, it’s not an inexpensive player, that’s for sure. Unfortunately, Philips hasn’t given any word that the PMP will be sold around these parts, so we’re not going to hold our breath for this one. Any day now, Samsung. Thanks.

[via Ubergizmo]

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Motorola Droid 2 World Edition, Droid Pro, and Stingray Tablet for Verizon Coming Soon?

Posted: 16 Aug 2010 02:06 PM PDT

Internal screenshots come and go, but they’re certainly a great way to find out which devices are making their way in and out of Verizon’s inventory at any given time. Thanks to a tipster sending in some digital screens of Verizon’s inventory, we’ve got a bit more details about the plenty-rumored upcoming Droid devices. Unfortunately, no pictures of the handsets, or anything we can actually sink our teeth into, but some info is better than nothing, right?

The Motorola Droid Pro, which ranks in the upper-class with a 4-inch touchscreen display, will also feature a 1.3GHz processor under the hood, if it does turn out that this device is, in fact, coming to retail later this year. According to this new leak, it will also have world-phone capabilities, too. Speaking of world-phones, apparently the Droid 2 is going World Edition. In fact, it’s getting a bit of an aesthetic face-lift, too, as it will get two new color options: black and white. The Droid 2 World Edition is actually supposed to come out very soon, so we’re looking forward to seeing the leaked shots of that.

As for the Droid tablet, apparently it’s model number is MZ600. Coincidentally enough, as you can see from the image above, that model number has already been tied to a codename: STINGRAY. There’s actually still some speculation about whether or not the tablet is a real device — rumors suggest it has a 7-inch display, while others think it will be smaller, and be more like a MID, rather than a tablet. Either way, the tipster says that Verizon has 170,000 of the MZ600 (Stingray) on order. Would you buy a tablet, or handset, if it were named Stingray?

[via SlashGear]

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Adobe Flash Player 10.1 Finalized for Nexus One

Posted: 16 Aug 2010 01:46 PM PDT

Adobe, at the Flash Summit in San Francisco today, officially announced that Flash Player 10.1 for the Nexus One has lost that whole Beta tag, and is now officially, official. What’s even better, though, is that if you have a Nexus One, you can find your wait into the Android Market, seek out Flash Player 10.1 with just a quick search query, and get to downloading right now. That is, if you haven’t already.

The file is just under 5MB, so it shouldn’t take you too long to get your Flash browsing day underway. Otherwise, there’s nothing else much to announce here. After all, the fact that the Beta tag has been removed and we can now officially say that 10.1 is “ready” for prime time is a big enough announcement in of itself. What else do you want?

[via Engadget]

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Adobe AIR Making its Way to Android by Fourth Quarter 2010

Posted: 16 Aug 2010 11:16 AM PDT

While Flash hasn’t necessarily been missing from the Android platform, it hasn’t been present in its fullest form until recently. With the launch of Adobe’s Flash Player 10.1 on Android 2.2-equipped devices like the Nexus One and Motorola Droid 2, plenty of folks are eagerly awaiting Adobe’s AIR platform as well. Today, at Adobe’s Flash Summit in San Francisco, they gave a brief “expected” date for AIR to land on Android.

For Android, Adobe AIR will be made available some time in the fourth quarter of 2010. No exact dates, unfortunately, but at least it’s better than nothing. The more troubling thing, comes in the fact that Adobe isn’t talking about how AIR will be distributed, when the time comes. Whether it’s OTA for devices, or if you’ll be able to get your hands on it via the Marketplace is still unknown. We can also pretty much expect this only on “advanced” devices, like the Droid 2 or Nexus One. Basically, we figure the processor should be able to run the platform with ease.

[via Android Central]

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