Engadget Mobile Gallery

HTC Hero / Eris mega faceoff on video

by Paul Miller posted Nov 6th 2009 at 5:45PM

Now that we've got the DROID ERIS in the mix, we're up to our ears in HTC Hero-derivative devices. We decided to sit the whole crew (GSM, Sprint and Verizon editions) down for a little modeling session, and we're finding ourselves reticent to pick a favorite. There are really plusses and minuses to each of them, but any way you lean it's a pretty good handset with some perhaps overly bulky software, a wonderful pricepoint (on Verizon, anyway) and probably a limited time in the sun with upcoming Android 2.0 devices, faster processors and wild new screens rolling on in. Check the video out after the break and you can make up your own mind.

Continue reading HTC Hero / Eris mega faceoff on video

Google breaks from tradition, posts DROID ad on home page

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 6th 2009 at 3:57PM

Google's home page: a benchmark for simplicity in web design. Like clockwork, you can expect a text box, a pair of buttons, a logo (usually stylized these days), and not much else -- and if there's one thing you definitely won't see, it's an ad. So wait, what's this? Google is breaking from its time-honored tradition in a very big way today to pimp the launch of Motorola's DROID with an ad right below the search box, just like it did for the G1 last year. Not surprisingly, we've checked with our non-US editors and it seems that only Yanks are seeing this. We're conflicted about the whole thing -- we can understand that Google's stoked about Android 2.0 and the best Android-powered device to date, but this isn't really isn't as big of a deal as the first Android launch, so isn't it just a bit blasphemous? And even if it isn't, shouldn't everyone at least get on the same page about the capitalization of "DROID?"

LG to announce Snapdragon-boasting Android phone, Korea-bound in 2010

by Laura June posted Nov 6th 2009 at 11:58AM

It's looking like LG will be offering an Android phone boasting Qualcomm's hot Snapdragon chip -- which has recently squeezed its way into handsets such as the Xperia X10 and Acer's Liquid. The new LG mobile phone is expected for the Korean market in the second quarter of 2010. While the device is still unnamed and specs are still a mystery, LG is promising that the device will be "more mature" than the GW620 Eve, an Android device announced earlier this week for Rogers in Canada. There's no solid word on what availability of the device will be like, though LG says its considering possibilities outside of Korea.

[Via Slashgear]

PSA: Sears charging $50 less for new DROID activations than Verizon

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 6th 2009 at 11:14AM

If you walk into a Verizon store today and pick up a DROID, you'll be out $300 (before tax) out of pocket, then you'll twiddle your thumbs for a few weeks while you wait for some mysterious PO box in Texas to send you your $100 rebate on a debit card. Wouldn't you rather just pay $200 upfront? Or better yet, $150? Sears -- which, we have to admit, we didn't know sold phones -- is charging just $150 without a rebate for the DROID today, a full $50 less than Big Red proper with rebate. We don't know how good these guys are with customer service (Simplexity is running the store on Sears' behalf, it seems), but truth be told, we can deal with a little incompetency for $50.

[Via I4U]

DROID mania sweeps the nation, so to speak

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 6th 2009 at 9:19AM

It appears that last night's midnight opening in Manhattan went off like gangbusters, but the situation across the country is a little more subdued this morning with seemingly short lines and easy access to DROIDs at every location we've visited. We won't put out a number, but we can confirm that several Engadget editors have taken the plunge today -- and if riffraff like us can waltz into the store and get them, you should certainly be able to. Good luck being assimilated out there today, and be sure to post pictures of your experience in comments (up above we've got San Francisco's first buyer courtesy of Ross Miller, and after the break, you can live it up with the good folks of Albany as they were paid a visit by Tim Stevens).

Continue reading DROID mania sweeps the nation, so to speak

Dell Mini 3iX shows up at FCC, with WiFi and 3G in tow

by Vladislav Savov posted Nov 6th 2009 at 5:40AM

Having already witnessed the case and UI of Dell's incoming Android invader, we can now pretty much complete the picture with the latest info from the FCC. Reassuringly, WiFi and 3G -- the two big modifications from the China-bound Mini 3i -- both make it onto US soil, leaving us with only the timeless questions of when and how much. The Chinese version of the phone runs a 360 x 640 resolution on a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, which makes for a nice base to get all that wireless communication (Bluetooth included) flowing. We can expect the Mini 3iX to find its way onto AT&T's awesome networks some time in 2010, joining a growing army of Android devices vying for your cash, love and understanding.

[Via Unwired View]

Acer Liquid handled, evaluated, 'not too shabby'

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Nov 5th 2009 at 7:38PM

Looks like quite a few folks have got their hands on the Acer Liquid as of late, and lucky for us they've been rather loose-lipped with their thoughts on the subject. As suspected, the handset is running a 1GHz Snapdragon that's been under-clocked to 768MHz. And it looks like Acer didn't go crazy with the User Experience either, pretty much staying true to its Google Android 1.6 roots, albeit with a number of additions, including: social networking integration (Facebook and Flickr contacts and photo sharing), nemoPlayer for multimedia files, DataViz for Microsoft Exchange support, and the Spinlets music streaming service. In addition, Acer has redesigned some of the widgets, including the clock and the task manager, which now includes a preview of open apps. All-in-all, it seems to be a pretty solid Android handset with a few useful additions -- but as always, the verdict is out until we get our hands on one. In the meantime, hit up the read links below for a generous helping of screenshots, hands-on pics, and impressions.

[Via JK On The Run]

Read - PREVIEW: Acer Liquid Android 1.6 WVGA Touchscreen Smartphone
Read - Acer A1, Screenshot and Interface

iPhone vs DROID multitouch keyboard showdown (video)

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 5th 2009 at 6:31PM

I just dashed off this quick video for my Twitter followers to demonstrate that the DROID doesn't have a multitouch soft keyboard, and pretty much instantly realized that I should probably share it with everyone else, since we've been getting a lot of questions about it. Long story short, while Android 2.0 and the DROID's hardware support multitouch, the device itself doesn't do multitouch out-of-the-box, and the soft keyboard suffers mightily for it. Why it's missing is certainly open for debate, but for now just know that no amount of hoping, wishing, or booze is going to make the stock keyboard register more than one press at a time. Don't despair, though -- while I'm not a fan, Chris Ziegler absolutely flies on this same keyboard on his DROID. Videos after the break.

Continue reading iPhone vs DROID multitouch keyboard showdown (video)

Saygus VPhone V1 hits the FCC, headed for Verizon next?

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 5th 2009 at 1:26PM

We had some indication that Verizon would have a third Android device ready by early 2010 in addition to the DROID and ERIS -- one that may be boosted by the carrier's Open Development program -- and it looks like the FCC may have now given us our first real look at it. While it's obviously still unconfirmed as of yet, this Saygus VPhone V1 phone that recently sailed through the agency certainly seems to fit the bill, and the company has even gone so far as to not so subtly feature an article about a Verizon's mysterious third Android device on its own website. As you can see, however, the phone itself doesn't exactly do too much to stand out from the current crop of Android sliders, but it should hold its own when it comes to specs. That includes a 3.5-inch 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen, a 624MHz Marvell PXA310 processor, a 5-megapixel camera, a second, front-facing camera for video calls, built-in GPS, WiFi, a microSD card slot and even an FM radio, among other standard fare. Still no indication of that rumored WiFi tethering out of the box, unfortunately, but we're guessing this one could win quite a few fans if that pans out -- and, of course, if it's actually the real thing.

[Via SlashGear]

DROID ERIS hands-on and unboxing!

by Paul Miller posted Nov 5th 2009 at 10:03AM

Hey look, it's a Hero! We've got the brand new DROID ERIS for Verizon in hand, and it's not hard to see which particular family of phones it hails from. Still, Verizon has its own twist on the form factor, almost scoring a compromise between the "shiny" Sprint Hero and the more angular, matte GSM Hero. Confusingly, the capacitive touch buttons along the bottom of the ERIS' screen are a haphazard twist on the DROID's arrangement (though it's really Motorola that's the non-standard one here), but the phones don't look completely unrelated. In all the rounded, black matte body of the ERIS sort of "fades away" and you're just left with a nice, bright LCD -- it's not making a statement, which is sort of the statement. There's also an iPhone-style face proximity sensor for turning off the display during calls, and HTC has multitouch pinch-to-zoom on here, something Motorola hasn't seemed to manage. Sure it can't stack up to the DROID for aggressiveness or sheer specs, but it's got it's own sort of budget-friendly charm that's not overshadowed by the DROID's bombastic ways, and two out of three Engadget editors agree that the HTC keyboard beats the pants off the stock Android keyboard.

Gallery: DROID ERIS hands-on and unboxing!

Verizon's DROID ERIS by HTC does Android and keeps it cheap

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 at 8:45AM

Verizon is making no secret about which Android device it wants to make waves this week -- that'd be the DROID from Motorola -- but there's another model that'll be available the same day with one-tenth the fanfare: HTC's DROID ERIS. Codenamed Desire ahead of launch, the phone is essentially Verizon's custom remix of the venerable Hero as found on Sprint and various GSM carriers around the world, featuring a 5 megapixel camera, 3.2-inch capacitive display, WiFi, 3.5mm headphone jack, and microSD expansion up to 16GB. Check it out in your local store hiding somewhere in the shadow of the DROID starting Friday for $99.99 on contract after a $100 mail-in rebate, which -- if you can forgo a physical keyboard, faster processor, and high-res display -- works out to a cool hundred less than Moto's entry.

HTC DROID Eris unboxed and examined: 'feels much better' than Sprint Hero

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 4th 2009 at 4:11PM

If recent leaks are any indication, we should be seeing plenty more HTC DROID Eris unboxings any day now, but right now it looks like the Boy Genius Report has scored one of the first courtesy of one its helpful "connects." Of course, there aren't exactly a ton of surprises with the packaging apart from a bright splash of color upon opening the box, but the unboxer does say that the phone itself is thinner and lighter than the Sprint HTC Hero, and generally "feels much better in the hand." Hit up the link below for a few more shots, and watch this space (well, not literally this space) for what's sure to be more Eris news to come.

Motorola DROID's built-in apps don't have multitouch support, third-party stuff is another story

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 4th 2009 at 5:05AM

Turns out that the DROID does support multitouch after all -- it's just not as baked as the MILESTONE's, and it's certainly not the kind you'll see out of the box. The DROID's European cousin features multitouch right in the phone's core software load (most notably pinch-and-zoom in the browser, which we've seen demoed on video) whereas the DROID itself still features multitouch capability in APIs but doesn't expose it through any built-in app. Translation: the apps you use every day -- Google Maps and the browser, chiefly -- get left out in the cold for some reason that neither Google nor Motorola (nor Verizon) have thus far been willing to adequately justify. Where you can experience the magic of pinch-and-zoom is in third-party apps written to take advantage of Android 2.0's new APIs (Phandroid demos it on a fresh version of Picsay, for instance), but at the end of the day, that's a consolation prize -- we still want a spin-free explanation of why this was all turned off for the base apps. Follow the break for video of Picsay's support for the good stuff in action.

[Image via mobile-review]

Continue reading Motorola DROID's built-in apps don't have multitouch support, third-party stuff is another story

DROID tethering? It's coming early 2010, says Verizon

by Ross Miller posted Nov 4th 2009 at 2:47AM

When the Motorola DROID debuts in Verizon Wireless stores bright and early this Friday, one nice little feature that won't be making an appearance yet is tethering, for computing with your laptop on-the-go when that Android 2.0 interface just won't cut it. We're pretty sure that missing functionality won't be lessening the early adopter crowds too much, but if you are so inclined, Gearlog's confirmed with VZW that its "Broadband Access Connect" tethering plan is indeed coming to the device, but not until sometime early 2010. Now, how about muscling Motorola and / or Google for some of that double-finger pointing our fine European friends get to indulge in?

LG GW620 Eve coming to Rogers, Android deftly avoids AT&T yet again

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 9:16PM

It looks like Canada's Rogers will be among the first carriers in the world to offer LG's first Android device, the GW620 Eve -- and for North Americans, this is particularly notable since it means there's a version of the device at retail that'll theoretically work on Bell, Telus, and AT&T in addition to Rogers proper. We have no indication that AT&T's about to actually pull the trigger on this thing (or on any Android device for that matter), though, so if you're into the 5 megapixel AF cam, full QWERTY slide, and 7.2Mbps HSDPA capability, we'd recommend putting your unlockin' pants on. For Rogers customers, we're not seeing a release date just yet, but it looks like you'll be paying a downright reasonable CAD $49.99 (about $47) on a three-year deal when it launches.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]