i know that many of you including myself, have been wishing for someone to finally bring us some version of htc’s sense ui on the motorola droid and that time is almost here.  the many developing geniuses that run the alldroid.org forums have come through once again like no one else can.  this time, developer thegeektern released screen caps and videos with a motorola droid running both sense ui and flash.

neither are available to download or use at this time, but it may be just a few days away. 

screenies…

shakiest most jittery video ever…

update 5:09pm:  a much nicer video…

to see a ton of other screen shots and another shaky video head over to alldroid.

as you’ve all probably noticed by now, we’ve updated the comment form on the site and gone with Disqus as they are one of the leaders in the world of commenting.  unfortunately, an issue was quickly pointed out for users who visit this site and comment the majority of the time through their phone.

if you comment as a “guest” from your droid you are prompted with a window, which for whatever reason, will not load on a mobile device.  there is a simple fix to this issue, but it requires you to set up a profile with Disqus.

here is the fix…

1.  sign up for an account with Disqus.
2.  once you have an account and remain logged in to it on your droid, you will no longer be prompted and comments will post automatically.

i know this is a pain in the rear and not necessarily something all of you want to do, but if you are a mobile browser commenting machine, this will make life super easy and allow you to continue to comment on droid life!

oh and if you see Octotron cruising around here with a droid life avatar, that’s just our new moderator mike who will be helping out and stirring up trouble.

thanks for being patient with us as we work to upgrade the site going forward.

there may be a ton of amazing alternative browsers on the market for android, but come on, aren’t we really all just waiting for firefox mobile?  the firefox posse teased everyone with the above photo via facebook yesterday.  sneaky sneaky.

as motorola droid owners, i’m not sure that we really need to care all that much about the launch of the nexus one on verizon, do we?  it looks like a great phone and all, but it just doesn’t seem to have the aura of the moto droid.  i know it’s a “google” phone, but it really just seems to lack that “something.” with that said, there will likely be people jumping ship as it’s released and for those of you going that route, you are in luck.

the site neowin.net is reporting that a google employee has confirmed the release towards the end of march…

The Nexus One, originally released on T-Mobile in January, has passed FCC inspection for use on Verizon’s CDMA network and according to a Google worker who wishes to remain anonymous it will be made available on March 23.

Verizon will introduce the Nexus One on the day the International CTIA wireless show begins in the US. It’s not yet clear whether Verizon plan to hold a press conference at CTIA regarding the launch. Pricing and tariffs are not yet known but our source said they would be “competitive.”

i guess our next poll should be whether or not people plan on switching.  yuck.

(via neowin)

the htc ime keyboard has been ported to the motorola droid for those of you looking for another keyboard option.  i’ve only been using it for about 10 minutes so i can necessarily give you a full review of my thoughts on it, but first impressions are very good.  voice-to-text is included and it even gives you a little vibration or confirmation while pressing keys.  the one drawback however is that this keyboard does not work in landscape mode.  if you are a landscape touchscreen typer, then you’ll be out of luck.  now, if you are like me and always pop the keyboard open for landscape, you are good!

update 2/26 3:07pm:  i just took her out for a spin and i’ve got to say that the voice-to-text works very well.  in fact, i’m impressed with how nicely it works.  typing on this keyboard is also very smooth and after whipping out an entire email with it, i doubt i’ll be going back to the stock droid keyboard any time soon.  there are still rumors of bugs and i’d love to hear them as you run across any.  enjoy!

2 apk’s are needed:  htc_ime.apk for the keyboard and clicker.apk for the settings.  install both.

keyboard downloads:  htc_ime.apk (alt link)
settings downloads:  clicker.apk (alt link)

instructions for those of you new to the game…

1.  go into settings -> applications and check the “unknown sources” box.
2.  visit this post from your phone’s browser.
3.  tap and download this file onto your phone:  htc_ime.apk (alt link)
4.  tap and download this file onto your phone:  clicker.apk (alt link)
5.  tap on each downloaded file once finished and install them.
6.  go into settings -> language & keyboard and check the “touch it” box.
7.  go into a text message, long press in the text box and choose “input method”.
8.  choose “touch input”.
9.  done.

(via alldroid)

welcome to part 3 of our 3 part series on how to root/unroot your motorola droid using droidmod 1.0! in this third part you’ll see fully functioning live wallpapers in action plus the steps it takes to return your phone back to its “stock” or default state.

thanks for following along on our first series ever! if you have questions or comments on any of the videos or the process in general, feel free to leave comments throughout each post. we’ll do our best to help you through this process should you choose to go take it on.

and if you missed any of the other videos:  part 1 and part 2.

at this time, i’d also like to ask the help of our readers who have used droidmod 1.0 and feel comfortable enough to answer a few questions that newcomers might have.  thanks everyone!

welcome to part 2 of our 3 part series on rooting/unrooting your motorola droid with droidmod 1.0! in this second part, we’ll walk you through the process of flashing your phone to install a custom version of android 2.0.1 which includes many of the android 2.1 apps we all love, like live wallpapers.

check out the rest of the series:  part 1 and part 3.