droid

One Droid X killer feature the iPhone 4 lacks

The iPhone 4 is racking up the superlatives and sales numbers, but the Motorola Droid X is coming, packing one killer feature the iPhone lacks.

Let me begin with a caveat: The Droid X is still untested in the field, so we won't know until after July 15 whether it harbors any serious user issues. That said, it already has me drooling over its impressive feature set and design.

Though the 4.3-inch display (in the case of already-small smartphone displays, bigger is better), the Flash 10.1 support, DLNA streaming, and the Texas Instruments 1GHz ARM processor are … Read more

Ask Maggie: On cell phone safety and avoiding data charges

It's time to Ask Maggie again.

This week has been a busy one with the launch of the new Apple iPhone 4 and Motorola's new Android-based Droid X. With new smartphones hitting the market, many consumers are deciding whether they should buy something new now or wait to see what comes out later this year. Readers this week also asked about service plans, wireless operator upgrade plans, and getting the most bang for your buck--and even about cell phone safety.

Readers responded well to last week's call for questions. Unfortunately, I couldn't get to everyone's … Read more

Best Buy taking preorders for Droid X

At the time we reviewed the Motorola Droid X, Verizon Wireless said it had no plans to take preorders for the smartphone, and though the carrier still doesn't, Best Buy does.

Starting Friday, you can go into one of Best Buy's retail stores and reserve a Droid X for pickup on July 15, when the phone officially goes on sale. As usual, Best Buy won't require you to send in a $100 mail-in rebate to get the $199.99 price, but you will have to put down a $50 deposit to hold the phone, and, of course, … Read more

Week in review: iPhone 4's reception

Apple's latest phone hit stores Thursday to lines of people--some of whom waited six hours to buy one.

But almost as soon as the device arrived on the doorsteps of customers who placed early preorders came scattered reports of reception problems, discolored spots on the screen, easily scratched exteriors, and issues with third-party accessory connections.

Being popular and being perfect are definitely two different things.

•  Long lines mark phone's arrival •  Apple acknowledges antenna issue in iPhone 4 •  iPhone 4 owners reporting yellow, discolored screens •  Full review: iPhone 4 •  Getting a look inside the iPhone 4 … Read more

Rumor: Android 2.2 comes to Droid in July, Droid X in August

According to a leaked Verizon memo, the Droid appears poised to see Android 2.2 sometime next month. This would be Motorola's first handset to see the update, even ahead of the just-announced Droid X.

The image, obtained by DroidForums also goes on to pinpoint a timeframe for the Droid X. If true, look for the update to drop four to six weeks after the July 15 debut of the device. As you might recall, during the Droid X event on Wednesday, Motorola said the update would be released during the "last part of summer" so this … Read more

Inside the Motorola Droid X

The Motorola Droid X, which debuted this week to mostly a chorus of accolades, gets its zip from silicon provided by Texas Instruments.

Inside the rival to the Apple iPhone 4 is a new TI OMAP 3630 chip, a big upgrade from the 3430 silicon used in the current Motorola Droid. TI got almost a two-fold speed spike from the new OMAP 3630 chip via design modifications and by moving to an advanced 45-nanometer manufacturing process, according to Brian Carlson, OMAP product line manager at Texas Instruments.

"We increased both the graphics and processor performance by over 80 percent," Carlson said in a phone interview, adding that the new process along with chip design tweaks allowed TI to also lower power consumption between 30 percent and 50 percent, depending on what the user is doing.

"The first thing you'll notice is that the Droid X is much snappier, much faster. Web browsing is one of the key areas. Running a (graphics intensive) Web page, comparing the Droid to the Droid X, it goes from about eight seconds down to below five seconds," he said.

Carlson also explained that other factors come into play beyond reaching the 1GHz milestone. "It's not just about the gigahertz. It's about your memory subsystem. Our memory bandwidth and how we feed these (processing) engines make an incredible… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1256: iPhone 4 debuts to a chorus of nerds (podcast)

Turns out the newborn iPhones 4 might have a touch of the old jaundice -- it's ok, it's pretty common, just try to lay them in direct sunlight for a few hours. (No, don't try that. Just call Apple.) Top story today, though: a victory for the Internet! That victory? YouTube wins against Viacom! (Viacom plans to appeal.) Also, Rafe was totally right about that antenna thing, he would like to you to know, and when it comes to Twitter and Facebook, well: it's war.

Subscribe:  iTunes (MP3) |  iTunes (320x180) |  iTunes (640x360) |  RSS (MP3) |  RSS (320x180) |  RSS (640x360)… Read more

Swype looks beyond Droid X to the iPhone

The newly announced Motorola Droid X will feature a familiar virtual keyboard. But the smartphone will also come with Swype, a technology that lets people drag their finger from letter to letter to type out a message.

According to Swype, it makes for a "very accurate" text-input system that offers "very rapid text entry."

But with the Droid X firmly in the Swype camp, the company is looking beyond Motorola to license its technology. And it has its sights set on Apple's iPhone.

In an interview with Reuters, Swype CEO Mike McSherry said one of … Read more

Droid X vs. iPhone 4

Happy iPhone day! We have coverage of the hysteria and it is just as we expected: hysterical! See for yourself.

On a separate note, you may have noticed the absence of an afternoon edition of Loaded. Let me explain. I love doing the show twice a day but producing the show that often turns out to be a little too ambitious for our New York crew, particularly as I am getting ready to take maternity leave. The twice-a-day schedule is not dead forever. We hope to wait to pick it up again when I return in the fall.

As for … Read more