The soak test for the DROIDX2 and its Gingerbread (Android 2.3) update started at the end of last week, so seeing the official documents for it on Verizon’s site today should mean that it passed.  It’s also looking like the DX2 will receive the same version of Blur that can be found on the DROID3.  This would be the newest version that comes with fancy 3D animations and additional tweaks to make it much more appealing to even Android addicts like myself.  You can click on both the image up top and the one below to see the full changelog.  It’s definitely packing in a ton of bug fixes along with those UI enhancements.

*Note – I just checked my DX2 for an update and nothing was there.  Could be a day or two away still.

Page 2 after the break.  

We just received word that Motorola XOOM 3G owners could will see an email from either Moto or Verizon today with details about their 4G LTE upgrade.  According to our source, the email will inform them that the upgrade will not happen until September (pictured below).

The LTE upgrade has passed through the FCC already, so we were under the impression that it would be soon.  Maybe Moto needs more time to coordinate the mail-in process? And remember, this was supposed to happen originally in May.  

Oh snap, more carrier drama? I wouldn’t say this is as big as 2-Pac and Biggie, but it definitely holds some weight (rap puns, anybody?). RadioShack has announced today that in April, T-Mobile had breached their contract with the tech retailer. They didn’t go into specifics about the breach, but did state that they will be dropped as a partner. To take T-Mo’s place is Verizon, and they will begin selling pre-paid and post-paid services in stores starting in September.

RadioShack will now hold accounts for Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon. You think T-Mobile is going to be hurting after this just a little bit? Well it looks like RadioShack is in a very comfy position after this announcement, with their shares going up 19 percent. Verizon will also benefit with from yet another source to sell their tiered data, and blurred out Motorola phones. Everybody wins?

Maybe we should start hitting up RadioShack employees and start asking about the Bionic?

Via: WSJ

Cheers ReDroid!

Mozilla has officially started on their newest venture called Boot to Gecko, a “complete, standalone operating system for the open Web.” They’re diving into the project with all the best intentions, looking for uniformity in application development and to streamline the complete experience provided to users. No more “fragmentation” across different devices. What works on your laptop, would work seamlessly on your mobile phone, tablet, etc.

They will be using the Gecko engine which shall now be completely open source, and all work moving forward shall be updated in real-time for further development. Looks like no double standard will be coming from the workers at Mozilla who will in fact be using Google’s Android kernels, and boot drivers to initially power a device running the mobile OS. Mozilla has said that they want to take as little from Android as possible though. So this is not an OS based on Android, but merely Android is helping get this project off the ground, so in later days, it can stand on it’s own.

When we got our hands on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 at Google I/O, the first thing we noticed almost immediately was that its display was far superior to that of the Motorola XOOM.  It was bright, vibrant, and left us constantly wanting more.  Those claims of ours (which mean nothing by the way) have now been backed by one of the most recognized display aficionados of our time, Dr. Raymond Soneira.

You may remember one of his first tablet comparisons (XOOM, iPad2, Iconia, and Transformer) that included some choice words for Motorola’s offering?  Well, he’s back to round out his report which at the time, was missing the Galaxy Tab 10.1 (since it had not been released yet).  The results peg Samsung’s newest tablet as the top display in all the land – yes, even topping the iPad2…

…As things stand, based on all of the display tests, the iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 are reasonably close in performance in most categories, so it’s almost a tie, but the Galaxy Tab is ahead more often than the iPad 2, so the Galaxy Tab is the Winner, by a nose… But should Samsung or Android add a color picture control to the Galaxy Tab with a software update as we describe below, then the Galaxy Tab would be the decisive Winner, by a lot.

So if you are still contemplating a tablet purchase, this should definitely be at the top of your list alongside the Asus Transformer.  Both are considered by most to be the top Android offerings, but this news of the Tab 10.1′s impressive display should have you leaning a certain direction.  The 4G LTE version of Verizon launches this week and WiFi versions are already available at a variety of retailers.

To read the full report, you’ll want to head over to DisplayMate.

Update 2:  We aren’t sure what to think anymore, hah.  Let’s just hope we see something tomorrow or Thursday from Verizon, like say, an announcement.

Update:  So I just received another screenshot that had to do with pre-orders starting on 7/31, but the misspellings in it have me questioning it even more now.  The word received was spelled “recived” and “recieve” leading me to believe these aren’t real.  Like we said below though, you were supposed to question them just as we were – let’s all move on now.  You can check out the screenshot here if you are interested in seeing it.  And hey, if these are real, then I apologize to the corporate wireless PR department who clearly can’t spell.

We have seen this date (August 4) pop up more than any other surrounding the DROID Bionic, so are we ready to accept it yet?  Well, we aren’t sure still.  According to indirect retailers for Verizon, the device could be arriving in display form on 7/29 (this Friday) with actual stock of the phone showing up on 8/1 before Thursday’s launch.  Maybe we’ll have display units to fill up this “Coming Soon!” spot?

It should be noted that indirect retailers some times receive information that is subject to change, so before we get too excited, lets hold off and see if these dummy units or stock actually show up this weekend.  After all, look at Sam’s Club who was all over this 8/4 date at one point and is now not expecting to see it until September.  We also almost would have expected a pre-order period of some sort for a device this big and this isn’t necessarily leaving room for one.  Unless of course the phone gets announced tomorrow and the pre-order goes live Thursday night?

And of course there will be questions surrounding the validity of this document.  Let me just say that you should feel free to question it.  As someone who sees a lot of VZW info, I’ve not seen any “indirect” documents that look like this, so there isn’t much to compare it to.  It should say it’s instead of its and the registered trademark is something I’ve never seen used with a DROID device – you decide.

Lots of question marks and coulds in there.  Just passing on info to help feed your Bionic addiction.

Yep, hypebeast.

Cheers ___!

Industry analyst Paul Mueller is making waves this morning with his prediction that Verizon will be the first carrier in the U.S. to receive the Samsung Galaxy S II.  Either Mueller or the source site has referred to it as the Samsung Function, a name that popped up on an accessory site long ago and is one that we have never fully bought into, and says it could be here by August 12.

“I’m not sure about the exact date, but I’ve been told that August 12 is a possibility. It will arrive first on Verizon and then the rest of the carriers within a month. Samsung will market this directly against the iPhone 5,” says Mr. Mueller.

So, what do we think?  Well, we were told by Sammie president JK Shin that they had plans to ship the device to the U.S. in August and we also just saw what we believe is the AT&T version of the Galaxy S2, so Mueller has at least that going for him.  We’re not a fan of the August 12 date since that’s a Friday, but the 11th or 12th is probably what he meant – or at least in that week.  To put that into perspective, we’re just two weeks away from that time frame.

We still have no idea if Verizon will release it as a 4G LTE device, but it just seems so unlikely with the DROID Bionic still not in stores.  The Bionic was supposed to be the device of the year for Verizon and will surely launch with a massive marketing campaign.  Would they jeopardize all of that money and effort just to release a 4G version of the Galaxy S II only weeks before?  Would be pretty surprising.

Be sure to read our full review of the Samsung Galaxy S II.

Via:  Examiner