After the Atrix/BIONIC power issues story spread like the ridiculous wildfire that it was this morning, Motorola has reached out to us to confirm that neither device suffers from “overheating issues.”  Both products will “ship as scheduled.”   And of course, we asked to hear what that schedule may be and heard what we already knew:  Q1 for Atrix and no date yet for the BIONIC.

While they are in crisis-control mode right now, we shouldn’t even care if the devices actually do have power issues at this point.  As we wrote earlier, these are the next major devices from Motorola that will take them through most of the year, and we’d all be foolish to think they would release them with any “unfixable” issues.  The devices will launch in the next couple of months, will be beastly, and we’ll all look back and laugh at the silly forum fodder.

More on the DROID BIONIC.

When we broke the news that Thunderbolt training had started today, we were also tipped to the possibility that the phone could handle voice and data while on 3G.  As you all know, Verizon CDMA network was incapable of producing this in the past, but apparently they figured out a way with this new 4G device.  Our buddies over at Phandroid received additional confirmation that this is indeed the case.  If you can’t see past their watermark, the statement is below:

There is functionality in the Thunderbolt that allows simultaneous voice and data while on the VZW 3G network, however, we cannot promise the experience will be one that is consistent with our brand.  As a result, do not reference this functionality as a benefit during your conversations with customers.

Apparently HTC has found the breakthrough of the last 5 years for Verizon and yet they want everyone to remain silent on the matter.

But why keep it a secret?

We can’t help but toss this out there…can anyone think of one major reason as to why Verizon wouldn’t want their sales staff out on the floor announcing that the Thunderbolt can do voice and data at the same time?  This is HUGE news if you think about it.  AT&T constructed an entire ad campaign about their network’s voice/data capabilities in comparison to Verizon’s.  And now they’ve figured it out, but want to keep it a secret?   I wonder if it has anything to do with that other phone that comes out on February 10th and the fact that it is unable to perform such a task.  Can you imagine all the i*hone users returning to VZW stores asking why that “DROID” phone can do something theirs can’t?  Epic.

So…who’s changed their mind and now wants a Thunderbolt?

Source:  Phandroid

Google just released the Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) platform highlights which includes a ton of pictures of their new baby.  We’ve broken down the highlights below, but be sure to check out the entire gallery they’ve supplied at the bottom as well.  

We had heard about power issues with the DROID BIONIC essentially on the day we returned from CES, but brushed them off as the units we used were clearly no where near finalized.  In fact, we were told that we might not see the device in the first half of 2011 because of these issues, but again, pushed our worries aside hoping that Moto would take action.  And then this week, those rumors became more visible over at Howard Forums through a couple of “trusted” members.

Verizon started training their employees today (yesterday at some stores) on the HTC Thunderbolt and from the sounds of it, things are still on track for mid-February.  HTC reps still aren’t ready to confirm a date yet, but they were willing to mention next month as the current target.  They also got up in front of the VZW reps and demoed simultaneous data/voice on their 4G LTE network, which our guys can’t stop talking about.  And reps were allowed plenty of hands-on time with the device, which means we’re getting that much closer.  February is 5 days away.

Update:  Our guy says that somehow during the demo, data/voice was done simultaneously over 3G as well.  We were skeptical at first to believe it, but Phandroid received a similar tip that it may be some new type of radio.  If that’s the case, AT&T may be ridiculously screwed as that was one of their last arguments for keeping i*hone users.

Cheers Spaniard!

Last week, our sources tipped us to the proposed roadmap for the DROID brand for the first half of 2011 and it included the new version of the DROID X, which we’ve been told will simply be called the DROID X2.  A couple of days later, we were also told that the device would end up having a Tegra 2 dual-core clocked at 1GHz, could be out by May and will not a 4G LTE device.  Actually, that was the second time we had been told it would not be 4G.

And today, a report dropped out of HotHardware confirming all of this, well except for the 4G part.  According to their sources, the DROID X2 is currently floating around VZW or Moto headquarters as the “Daytona” and will indeed have a dual-core processor, new qHD screen, and the same battery as the original DX.  They aren’t willing to completely drop the 4G tag from it yet, but we’re pretty sure you can forget about those speeds on this phone.  The device will also have the same HDMI-out, micro-USB, and 8MP camera.

Time to start digging around for Motorola Daytona references.

Via:  Android and Me
Source:  HotHardware

In my 11 months here at Droid Life, it’s become apparent that most of our community use one of two different home replacement tools: LauncherPro or ADW Launcher. It’s gotten to the point that these tools are deemed essential to Android users because of the additions they bring to an otherwise boring Android home screen. That one row of buttons adds a lot of functionality and saves a lot of space; something that’s precious on a stock 4×4 grid.

Naturally, when a new home replacement comes along, it’s easy to dismiss it. How could it even come close to the “big two?” However, I urge you to read on: GO Launcher is no half-assed effort.