Original Droid owners, prepare yourselves for an update!  No it’s not Gingerbread, but it is Android version FRG83D (updated) which likely just means 2.2.1 like we’ve seen on the Nexus One.  From the sheet above you can see that the update looks pretty minor and is mostly a bug fixer with added 2010 Exchange support, but does include a “new Gmail user interface” which sounds interesting enough.

So when should you all expect to see it on your handsets?  

DoubleTwist just dropped a bomb of an update on everyone called AirSync which allows you to take your entire photo, video and music collection from your computer and sync it wirelessly to your Android device.  We’ve been extremely critical of DoubleTwist in the past, but we’re hoping that this update will help redeem them in our books as their service attempts to be useful.

Update:  I misread and jumped the gun.  It’s only syncing, NOT streaming…and we’re back to being unimpressed.

Verizon notified media this morning that they will hold a press event tomorrow to discuss the rollout and launching of their 4G LTE service before the end of 2010.  We were tipped to a December 6th go live date originally, but now have further confirmation from additional sources that it’ll be either on the 5th or the 6th.  And as you’ll see from the document above, 4G LTE modems will start going on-sale in stores on the 5th. Now if only that page could have also displayed the Incredible HD, life would have been really good.

Cheers money!

We’ve already featured a couple of Droid X appearances in OnStar commercials and print ads, but somehow missed this one.  The commercial is called “Show Off” and features a guy using his DX and OnStar app to remotely check out his car before giving it up to his lady friend who is off to have a “girl’s weekend.”  

A new “task switching” app just hit the market and it’s from the developer that helped with the new UI we now see on xScope 6.  The app is called Clutch and allows you to quickly switch between recent tasks or apps without the hassle of having to long press on your “Home” button.  As you’ll see in the screenshot on the right, there is a little Android head popping out of the right side and is the icon for Clutch.  In order to pull up a menu of your most recently accessed apps or tasks, all you have to do is tap on him.  But that’s not all.  If you don’t want to deal with a menu, you can simply press the Android head and swipe up or down to jump between them.

It’s definitely in beta and there are plenty of tweaks to be made, but you can  grab it in the market now for $.99 and see an app grow into something amazing.

December 19th will mark the 1 year anniversary of the passing of the daughter of one of our Droid community members.  While I won’t even attempt to put into words how great of a loss this must be, I at least wanted to share something that a few amazing members of this community have done to help support the family through such trying times.

Liquidzgrl (of Liquid Frozen Yogurt ROM) answered the call and created the boot animation that you are seeing above in memory of this lost child.  Many members of the Android community have chosen to use this new boot animation over the next couple of weeks in honor of Sadie and her grieving parents.

If you are interested in showing support on your phone, you can find the file and instructions at this forum thread.

And if you have words of support for both Andrew and his wife, please feel free to leave them down below.

There have been a variety of Android market updates on the developer side of things over the past few weeks as we patiently await the arrival of Gingerbread, and one of them in particular went live today.  App developers can now rate their applications as either Mature, Teen, Pre-teen or All with the help of these guidelines.

Here are some examples of how apps should be rated:

Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs

Apps that include references to drugs, alcohol or tobacco products or their use should be rated “Teen” or above. Apps that focus on the consumption or sale of drugs, alcohol or tobacco should be rated “Mature”. Illegal activity or content that is targeted at minors is not allowed in Android Market.

Gambling

Apps with gambling themes or that include simulated gambling should be rated “Teen” or above. Real gambling is not allowed in Android Market.

Hate

Hate speech is not allowed in Android Market. If your app includes inflammatory content that may be offensive to many users, please rate it “Teen” or above.

Market improvements like this were needed so badly.  Thanks Android team!

Cheers Greg!