droid

Apple fanboy's twisted zap at Droid TV spot

Art knows no boundaries. Neither does the level of emotion inspired by an assault on the culture of Apple.

Just last week, Verizon's Droid attempted to offer a hearty dose of spittle to the iPhone, so one upset Apple aficionado has decided that the Good Empire must strike back.

He has created a YouTube rebuttal that, he believes, offers some perspective.

He says: "iDon't need scare tactics." He says: "iDon't need to imitate." And he declares that the force is with him because "iDon't need a Droid...unless it's R2D2.&… 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

The 404 454: Where this is not really an Asian podcast

Kenley Bradstreet and Mark Licea join the show today because Justin Yu is still battling with SARS. We wish him a speedy recovery, but in the mean time, we welcome the presence of two beautiful people. Plus, it's just fun to watch Kenley rock out to today's Audio Draft pick.

On today's show, we recant what we said about Sony yesterday. The company managed to botch up a feature that would have leveled the playing field with the Xbox 360. For those of you who didn't listen, Sony and Netflix announced the arrival of streaming on the console. Sounds great? Not so fast. Apparently, you'll need to plug in a BD-Live disc every time you want to watch Netflix. We know it's only temporary, but come on! It's accessible from the dashboard on the Xbox 360, and you don't need no stinkin' disc.

It's Jeff's pick today for the Audio Draft, and while traditionally we usually pick smaller bands or unknown acts, Jeff has decided to go the other way and picked Rancid. They've been around for a while, and released a couple of albums. According to Mr. Bakalar, their latest is turning heads. We play "The Bravest Kids" and "L.A. River" from their latest album. Stay tuned for the last Audio Draft pick of the month on Friday from Wilson! It won't be country music this time.

To round out the show, we talk talk a little bit about Droid from Verizon, the company's first Google Android phone. Wilson still thinks the phone is a pretty ugly design, but that it may change the market around considering it's the first non-BlackBerry-Storm smartphone on the network. Still, Apple seems to be the one still innovating in the smart phone market.

In other news today, Kenley tells us that it's the 15th anniversary of the birth of Internet advertising. That's right on October 27th, 1994, Hot Wired ran the world's first banner ad, and surprisingly, it was pretty effective! Mark gets excited about the Tekken 6, while Wilson can't really tell the difference between Tekken 5 or Tekken 6. Jeff adds snidely, "Tekken 4." Think it's hot that Kenley likes to watch guys play videogames? Well send her a message as usual through voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET (2638).

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CNET TV Apple Byte: 27-inch iMac First Look

Join CNET TV's Brian Tong for a look at the latest in Apple news. This week, the Apple Byte team previews the new 27-inch iMac and the Apple Byte celebrates its one year anniversary. Also in this week's episode: What happened to Blu-ray? And, does Verizon have an iPhone competitor in Droid?… Read more

BOL 1091: The French disconnection

So the French have passed a three strikes law that will disconnect your Internet if accused three times of piracy. At least there's some judicial review. Also, John McCain moves against Net Neutrality and Windows 7 seems to truly be good news for Microsoft.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1091

Microsoft: Strong Windows demand helps earnings http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10381774-56.html http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=200910230938dowjonesdjonline000584

Windows 7 student upgrade installer not working for many http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/23/windows-7-student-upgrade-installer-not-working-for-many/… Read more

Motorola Droid specs get posted then pulled

Oops! It looks like a mistake on Motorola's part is giving Google Android and smartphone fans plenty to talk about on this fine Friday morning.

On Thursday night, Boy Genius Report was sent a tip that Motorola had posted an official product page for the upcoming Droid smartphone for Verizon Wireless. The site has since been pulled but not before screen grabs were taken of the feature list and spec sheet.

Some things we already knew about, such as the Android 2.0, 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. According to the page, however, the Droid will offer a … Read more

Will Verizon really open its Droid?

Verizon's recent iPhone attack ad featuring its upcoming Droid smartphone has the tech world buzzing, and iPhone fans are taking notice. The iPhone Blog even posted a point-by-point reply to the commercial's claims. While most of its arguments center on minutia (see the bit about the keyboard) the iPhone Blog makes one very good point concerning open development.

"Really, Verizon, with your history, you want to play that card?" Rene Ritchie wrote. "Android is an about face for you, not a two-face. We'll wait and see on this one." Indeed, we will have … Read more

DoubleTwist: Like iTunes for your cell phone

Yesterday, I blogged about how the forthcoming Droid won't be an iPhone killer because it lacks the simple sync interface provided by the iTunes desktop application. I neglected to mention an excellent application called DoubleTwist, which offers the easy sync experience of iTunes for a much wider variety of devices, including all the Android phones currently on the market, most BlackBerrys, Sony's PlayStation Portable, and a huge range of other non-Apple products--as well as the iPod and iPhone, if you're so inclined.

Created in part by Jon Lech Johansen (aka DVD Jon), who's best known for … Read more

Also in Android news

It's been a big day for Google Android news, but Verizon's upcoming Droid phone (and the accompanying TV commercial) are only part of the story. T-Mobile put its Cliq handset on preorder and juicy tidbits leaked out from other sources.

We told you last week that a GSM version of the Motorola Sholes cleared the FCC, but we failed to notice that a CDMA handset also got the government's nod (the FCC ID is IHDP56KC5 instead of IHDP56KC2). The consensus in the tech world is that this device is the Droid. Unfortunately, specs are few and there … Read more

Droid lacks Apple's secret weapon: iTunes

Apple outstripped Wall Street's expectations for the quarter ended September 30, and while the blowout quarter was mostly thanks to higher-than-expected Mac sales, the company also sold a record 7.4 million iPhones. But a lot of commentators think that the iPhone is finally going to meet its match with Droid.

Announced this weekend by Verizon in a cheeky TV commercial, the Droid is a Motorola phone running Google's Android 2.0 operating system. The advertisement notes that the Droid will do things that the iPhone won't, like take pictures in the dark and run simultaneous apps (… Read more