smartphones

A leaked screen capture from Verizon's internal system indicates that the days are numbered for the Droid and Devour.

Both phones are listed as limited, with no remaining shipments from the vendor, Motorola. It is not known what the inventory levels are for either device or when they might be completely gone. This is not to say the phones won't be supported with future updates, just that they're nearing the end of their life cycle. Motorola has at least pledged Android 2.2 for the Droid, while the 2.1 update for the Devour is under evaluation. … Read more

Editors' note: This post was last updated on July 16, 7:22 a.m. PT.

If you weren't one of the lucky few to score a free Motorola Droid X, the good news is that you can get one of your own: the Android superphone is now on sale.

Available at Verizon and Best Buy locations, as well as online, the Droid X goes for $199.99 with a two-year contract and offers a massive 4.3-inch capacitive touch screen, Android 2.1 (upgradeable to Android 2.2 later this summer), an 8-megapixel camera with HD video capture, and … Read more

Though demand is still high for HTC's Evo 4G, the rumor mill is already abuzz about HTC's next big Android phone.

According to a few recent leaks, the Taiwanese handset maker is working on a follow up to the HTC Desire dubbed the Desire HD.  The phone is said to run Android 2.2 and have a 4.3-inch touch screen, an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording HD video, 4GB internal memory, as well as the increasingly popular 1GHz Snapdragon processor.

Also according to the leaks, the phone will support XviD video playback, SRS surround sound, and … Read more

It's time for another Natali Del Conte Thursday episode of The 404 Podcast, but we're keeping the complaints to a minimum in deference to our guest co-host today; that is, after Wilson tells us about a 3D movie that tickled his gag reflex. Yes, we learn that Wilson officially honked after watching only three minutes of "African Adventure: Safari in Okavango" in 3D. He shares this experience with children and teenagers who might also be more susceptible to epileptic seizures and migraines as a result of watching 3D TV.

While we're on the topic of … Read more

Believe it or not, we have news to discuss this week that doesn't concern the iPhone 4. Android is back front and center with the Samsung Captivate and Vibrant, the first two Galaxy S models to go on sale. Bonnie gives us the scoop on both models and reports on the hot New York weather. Also in the podcast, Nicole tackles Android from the budget angle; Kent lists silly cell phone names; and, yes, we even talk about the latest controversy with Apple's handset.

Editors' note: As we shot our First Look video prior to today's announcement, we give the Vibrant's original release date at the end of the clip.

We suspected this might happen, and now it's official: T-Mobile has moved up the release date of the Samsung Vibrant from July 21 to July 15, with the same price tag of $199.99 with a two-year contract.

Oh and would you look at that? We just happen to have a full review of the Samsung Vibrant right here, so check it out to see if you should be headed to … Read more

Ah, there's nothing like a good platform war to stir up the emotions. We've seen plenty of battles over the years. Old stalwarts like Windows versus Mac and Xbox 360 versus PS3 always manage to light up the message boards. And I still miss all the personal attacks I got from HD DVD versus Blu-ray wars. But nothing seems to get people more worked up these days than Android versus iPhone.

Take a recent post I did on the 20 most-wanted features I'd like to see in the next-generation iPhone, which may be called the iPhone 5. The comments section immediately degenerated into a battle between iPhone versus Android backers. Here are some samples from the melee.

Android camp:

zizzybaloobah: "You can waste your time wishing for a phone w/these features, or get an Android phone that already has them."

javawebdeveloper: "@Bonesbautista, @slickuser No, you are giving the typical iPhone fanboy response: You are so convinced that the iPhone is the best thing since sliced bread that you cannot accept that a competing device has features that the iPhone does not have, so you denigrate them as being unimportant, hazardous, or only 'for geeks'. If they are implemented in iPhone 5, then they will magically transform into Apple innovations."

Ebraheem: "Anyone thinking that ports are a synonym for holes really shouldn't be talking about security. iOS has 65535 ports, Android has 65535 ports, Windows has 65535 ports, and pretty much anything that has a TCP/IP stack has 65535 ports! Typical non-geek mentality, thinking you understand technical details when you don't."

Sourdust: "So the author [David Carnoy] basically wishes the iPhone were more like an Android phone. As other have written, just buy an Android and be done with it. It seems the real wish here is for Android phones to run the iPhone OS. But that would have been a much shorter article (one sentence) and might not have been published."

Apple camp:

bonesbautista: "Typical response from Android fanboys. Too much kludge with stock Android, too many complaints of poor RF with most of the HTC smart phones. The new iOS is missing a Today screen and better notifications. Android? Meh."

slickuser: "Typical geek (Android) mentality! By the time iPhone 5 is out, Flash would be on a lifeline."

MaLvaDo39: "Why do you want an Android? Just another fake iPhone...follow the leader is all Google and Microsoft could ever do."

NeonRazor4: "Since you seem so eager to write about missing features, why not write an article about the features you want from the Motorola Droid 2 or the Blackberry Storm 3? Why do you feel such a need to nitpick the iPhone? Sure it's missing a few features, but there are many other phones that are missing some features we wish it had. Yet, they don't get the same amount of vicious scrutiny as the iPhone does..."

Chandyyyyyy: "Alrighty. So I'm not a geek or a nerd, but I understand the argument and what each person is saying if that helps you understand where I am coming from. I have an iPhone along with thousands of other consumers. I'm not a fanboy. But I couldn't care less about which phone is better. I'm very happy with my iPhone, and I see many more iPhones than droids htc or whatever. What the iPhone has that other phones do not is an iPod. That's no better than any other mp3 player, but it's the top brand of mp3 player. It's convenient and easy to use, even older folks have one."

As you can see from these comments, some lines are being drawn and some stereotypes are being formed. Here's how I envision the two sides see each other based on some of the vitriol going around. (Yes, these are sexist descriptions, but 85 percent of our readers are male. If you're part of our female audience, feel free to comment with your views on all of this). … Read more

Developers interested in creating apps for Microsoft's upcoming Windows Phone 7 platform can now play with the newest beta of the development tools.

Graduating from community technology preview status in March to near-final status on Monday, the Windows Phone Developer Tools offer several new features designed to intrigue developers thinking of building games and other apps for the platform.

Microsoft has now integrated its Expression Blend 4 development tool directly into the Windows Phone 7 environment. Using Expression Blend, developers will be able to build graphical interfaces for their mobile apps using a drag-and-drop approach. Expression Blend 4 joins … Read more

I can't tell you how many people I've talked to this summer who have told me that they had finally made their decision to get a new smartphone only to have their plans thwarted when they got to the store and their well-researched choice was unavailable.

This is exactly what happened to my former college roommate, Stephanie Rahill. After months of research and several conversations with me, her husband came out of the Verizon Wireless store three weeks ago and told her that she would have to wait nearly a month for her new HTC Droid Incredible smartphone.… Read more