Droid Life

motorola/verizon document leaked? 2.1 update next week?

Kellen — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 11:15:00 +0000

the following document should be taken for what it is: a random internet pdf that looks like a quickly tossed together powerpoint slide that just about anyone with a cheap photo editing program could have made. with that said, a handful of people have confirmed that this looks fairly similar to previously leaked documents from verizon. you be the judge... no date, a half-dozen fonts, random pictures and a couple of company logos in no way legitimizes this document. is it a leaked spec sheet that will be handed out to verizon salespeople for the coming week or is this from some guy in a basement with way too much time on his hands? obviously we're getting closer to our 2.1 update with the release of google maps 3.4 yesterday and then the news blip from pc magazine on google releasing "android 2.1 - update 1" to all android manufactuers. thoughts? update 10:32am (2/6): i took a quick look over the document last night to see if there were any blatant errors and somehow missed the onboard memory of "250mb" when we all know it has 256mb. cheers @techdave1992 for the catch. fake? more than likely. update 11:30am (2/6): since we love rumors, we'll make sure you all saw this comment - "It's supposed to drop Feb. 10. I was at a Verizon event and was told this by a motorola rep."

google to add multi-touch to more android phones

Kellen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:33:00 +0000

on a day filled with multi-touch goodness, we get more multi-touch goodness news! google is about to release android 2.1 to pretty much every android manufacturer on the planet with the option for multi-touch included.

pc magazine almost snuck this one by us...

Soon, Google will unleash a new Android platform release called "Android 2.1 – Update 1," which will include the updates for all Android manufacturers, the company said.

Once Google makes it available, it would be possible for any Android devices that have a touch screen with multitouch capability to offer pinch-to-zoom gestures in the Web browser, maps and gallery applications. That could potentially include every Android phone now available in the U.S. But notice the fine print: Google is releasing this to manufacturers, not directly to users. It will be up to Motorola, Samsung, HTC and the wireless carriers to boil the new software down for their individual phones.

starting to get restless droid users? at least positive news like this just keeps flowing into our inboxes by the hour these days. who knows what monday will bring!

motorola milestone hits best buy on february 18th

Kellen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:09:00 +0000

the date has been set. no more speculation needed. in just a couple of weeks our pals up north can join the party that is droid! time to head to best buy now and drop a little deposit...

Pre-order the Motorola Milestone in-store today. Simply put a $50 deposit down in-store and on February 18th you will be the first to own the Smartphone without limits.

any guesses on which android os this will launch with? it better not be 2.1 unless our droids have already been upgraded.

g1 im app ported to motorola droid

Kellen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:03:00 +0000

used to have a t-mobile g1 and miss your instant messenger application? problem solved. it can now be installed onto your motorola droid giving you access to your aol, msn and yahoo im accounts. for whatever reason, google talk was left out making this not amazingly attractive unless you are a major user of those other 3 services.

steps for installation:

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: IM.apk (alt link)
4. tap on the downloaded application once it has finished.
5. install it and tap "open" when installation has completed.

let us know if you run into any issues!

(via alldroid)

multi-touch google maps 3.4 available in market!

Kellen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:11:00 +0000

motorola droid users, prepare yourself to no longer feel like the stepchild of the android community. google maps 3.4 with pinch-to-zoom has been released in the market!

(that's a QR code by the way. scan with Barcode Scanner.)

while the listing in the market doesn't reference "pinch-to-zoom" it definitely has it. also has the new labs goodies and updated navigation.

if they are giving us multi-touch, you've got to really start believing that the 2.1 update is right around teh corner. rejoice motorola droid users! (insert beer emoticon)

multi-touch 3d gallery

the new gallery with pinch-to-zoom has not been released yet so make sure to download the ported version we posted the other day.

seesmic receives major update

Kellen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:56:00 +0000

there was really just one thing holding seesmic back from becoming the best twitter application available for android (in our opinion). and guess what? they've fixed that issue along with many others in this latest update.

the "one thing" we are talking about is the addition of multiple accounts...

Multi Accounts
The necessity to add multiple accounts to mobile devices has become one of the most significant elements of Seesmic Android. You can now add multiple Twitter accounts in the application, and cross-post messages at the same time. This means that you can easily navigate through multiple Twitter communication channels and stay in touch with all your followers simultaneously. Moreover, the notifications you will be receiving will announce you of the online activity of your default Twitter user.

here are the other updates/fixes...

Adding an Extra Large text size option
Your profile information (avatar, number of following and followers,...) will now be updated automatically
Changing your Twitter account password will now be handled by the application
Composer now auto-corrects and auto-capitalize your words and sentences
Notifications are now cleared when the application is accessed from Launcher
Easily changing default account from the application’s Settings
Can remove a Twitter account simply by pressing on it

download...

(via seesmic blog)

2.1 multi-touch google maps ported to droid

Kellen — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:04:00 +0000

you are most likely just reaching the peak of your excitement from the multi-touch gallery we posted last night right? well don't let those highs drop as you can now download a fully functioning google maps with multi-touch enabled. i love this device.

check the video with the new maps in action...

instructions for installation...

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: maps3.4.0.apk (alt link)
4. tap on the downloaded application once it has finished.
5. install it and tap "open" when installation has completed.

the rest of the android 2.1 apps you need:

1. new eclair gallery with multi-touch
2. google maps with multi-touch
3. genie news and weather 2.1
4. launcher 2.1
5. music app 2.1
6. clock app 2.1
7. flan gallery 2.1

(cheers xda-dev)

motorola devour has flash - what about droid?

Kellen — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:58:00 +0000

i can't believe i missed this yesterday while writing the announcement post for the motorola devour. i was on the motorola site pulling correct specs since the specs floating around the rest of the blogs were all wrong. no idea how i overlooked this. long day i guess...

(click for big boy version)

anyway, as engadget points out today, the motorola devour comes standard with a full html browser including flash lite.

Motorola's official spec sheet for the Devour reveals that there'll be a Flash Lite runtime on board -- presumably version 3.1, which offers support for a variety of video codecs and Flash 9 content -- and more importantly, it'll work in the browser.

any other droid users starting to feel really worthless? that's like your little brother inheriting grandma's millions. that's like scottie pippen getting recognized as the greatest chicago bull ever. that's like...whatever.

(via engadget)

2.1 genie weather widget - clear version

Kellen — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:15:00 +0000

please welcome the clear version of the genie news and weather widget to the lineup of nexus one/android 2.1 apps to our ever-growing list. this runs exactly the same as the old version, but is slightly tweaked to appear clear on your desktop. i recommend that you have a dark background when using this. screencap of my desktop shows why... steps for installation: 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: GenieWidget-transparent.apk (alt link) 4. once downloaded go into astro file manager and "downloads" folder. 5. tap on "Genie_Widget-transparent". 6. tap "open app manager" 7. tap install. the rest of the android 2.1 apps you need: 1. nexus one / sense ui launcher 2. new eclair gallery with multi-touch 3. genie news and weather 2.1 4. launcher 2.1 5. music app 2.1 6. clock app 2.1 7. flan gallery 2.1

multi-touch coming to droid? motorola and google weigh in

Kellen — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:44:00 +0000

motorola and google have both confirmed that multi-touch will be available on the motorola droid, but that doesn't necessarily mean we are guaranteed to have it with the next update. what does that mean? it's all up to verizon my friends.

motorola's answer...

While designing DROID, and all Motorola mobile devices, Motorola work very closely with carriers and partners to deliver differentiated consumer experiences, depending on the region, carrier preferences and consumer needs. DROID features double tap zoom, a new way to zoom in on content. For example, when viewing web pages, simply tap twice on the content you want to view and DROID automatically zooms in and fits the content to the width of the display. You can also zoom in and out with on screen zoom controls.

and google with pretty much the same response...

The Android 2.0 framework includes support for multi-touch. As with other Android platform technologies, such as the text-to-speech engine, operators and handset makers can choose to implement this technology. Regarding the specific pinch-to-zoom functionality included in this new update, once we make this software update (2.1-update1) available to operators and handset makers, they can update their Android-powered devices accordingly.

so is that good news or bad news? well good news that we essentially already knew. bad news in the sense that verizon takes forever to do anything and will probably be arguing over multi-touch in some large conference room for the next 6 months all the while delaying our 2.1 update. yay!

(via android central)

flan (eclair) gallery 2.1 with multi-touch or pinch-to-zoom ported to droid

Kellen — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:32:00 +0000

i know we are all annoyed that the nexus one just received an update which included multi-touch in all of its major apps, but let's look at the positives here: all of these apps with multi-touch will now be ported over to our motorola droids!

the first one up is the flan or eclair gallery from 2.1 and the multi-touch or pinch-to-zoom works great...

steps for installation:

1. uninstall other 2.1 flan gallery if you have it.
2. go into settings -> applications and check the "unknown sources" box.
3. visit this post from your phone's browser.
4. tap and download this file onto your phone: Gallery3DMT.apk (alt link)
5. tap on the downloaded application once it has finished.
6. install it and tap "open" when installation has completed.

(huge props again to the magicians at alldroid.org for this beauty.)

the rest of the android 2.1 apps you need:

1. nexus one / sense ui launcher
2. new eclair gallery with multi-touch
3. genie news and weather 2.1
4. launcher 2.1
5. music app 2.1
6. clock app 2.1
7. flan gallery 2.1

waiting for nexus one ota update? manually install it now

Kellen — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0000

for those of you lacking any patience whatsoever, who want to update your nexus one today rather than waiting until you get your notification sometime before friday, you are in luck.

1. download this file to your sd card.
2. rename to “update.zip” without the quotes
3. to reboot into the bootloader, turn off the phone. then power on while holding down the trackball.
4. navigate to the option ‘recovery’.
5. when the android w/ caution logo pops up, hold down the power+volume up
6. select ‘apply sdcard:update.zip’

i should have added a step 7 which says "i hate you for having 2.1." enjoy yourself while we wait for the next 3 months with our 2.0.1.

(via android forums)

motorola devour becomes official - motoblur and verizon baby

Kellen — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:12:00 +0000

if seeing the packaging and blurry images didn't get you all excited about the new motorola devour on verizon, then maybe today's announcement will. that's right, the devour is officially official.

specs...

Android 1.6.
3.1-inch touchscreen at 320×480.
Dimensions: 4.55×2.4×0.61 inches.
Weight: 5.89 ounces
Talk time: Up to 389 minutes
Standby time: Up to 443 hours
Horizontal slider keyboard.
3-megapixel camera.
EVDO Rev. A.
WiFi b/g
aGPS
Audio formats: AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, MP3
Video formats: MPEG-4, h.263,
Bluetooth with A2DP
3.5mm headphone jack
HTML 5-compatible Webkit browser.
MicroSD card up to 32GB (8GB pre-installed).
Speakerphone.
VCAST music with Rhapsody.

excited yet? these new pictures definitely make this phone a lot more appealing than those nasty originals. motoblur also has some nice features, but i'm still finding it odd that they would be shipping and selling new android phones running anything less than 2.1. who really cares though right? we still have our droid!

DroidDoes: Twitter - Comparing Android Twitter Apps

Kellen — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:54:00 +0000

Just wanted to show off some of the more popular twitter clients, so in this video I'll take a look at Twidroid (Free), Twidget Lite, Seesmic, and TweetCaster (plus a cameo from HTC Peep?)

PS: Ignore the crying at the end, my son lost his pacifier and I couldn't reach him to give it back.

nexus one ota update starts today - 2/2/10

Kellen — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:23:00 +0000

this may not be the motorola droid update and this may just sound like great news for nexus one owners, but as a motorola droid owner you better be ready for yours any day. this also means you better be ready for some multi-touch. yes you just read that correctly. the rumor mill has produced some doozies over the last month with many suggesting that the motorola droid update to android 2.1 would not happen until the nexus one was updated. well here you go. and you better be right. the first major ota update for the nexus one will include the following...

Starting today, Nexus One users will begin to receive an over-the-air software update on their phones. This update provides some great new features, and fixes a few problems that some users might have experienced, including: Google Goggles: this mobile application will now be available directly on your device by launching it from your All Apps menu. Just use your Nexus One camera to start searching the web Google Maps: the Maps application with be updated to a new version, Google Maps 3.4, which will include:

Starred items synchronized with maps.google.com - access your favorite places from your phone or computer

Search suggestions from your personal maps.google.com history - makes it easy to search for places you've searched for before

Night mode in Google Maps Navigation - automatically changes your screen at night for easier viewing and driving

Pinch-to-zoom functionality: devices will now include a new pinch-to-zoom mechanism in the phone's Browser, Gallery and Maps applications 3G connectivity: we will provide a general fix to help improve 3G connectivity on some Nexus One phones

i love how google won't refer to it as "multi-touch." apple vs. google is fantastic. engadget with early video footage. all looks well...

wordpress application for android available

Kellen — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:58:00 +0000

not that we are running on wordpress, but many of you bloggers out there are. you should be pretty damn excited to hear that wordpress is finally available for android!

the early reviews coming in couldn't be better and to tell you the truth, i'm not that surprised. download it now.

features include:

configure and manage multiple blogs
comment moderation including the ability to reply to comments
create and edit posts including categories, tags and photos
create and edit pages
get notified of new comments in the android notification bar

(via android and me)

motorola droid voice search is down - 2/2/10

Kellen — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:31:00 +0000

apparently, every single motorola droid in the u.s. is effected by some evil voice search demon. to be serious for a second, this is actually true. as of this morning around 7:30AM, voice search on motorola droid devices has stopped working.

if you open the app and say a voice command, you get nothing. no recognition, no response, no results.

the issue has been brought to the highest levels at verizon as far as we know, but there is no timetable on a fix.

stay tuned! we'll keep this post rolling as we have new info. and if your droid returns to correct functionality, please let us know!

update 8:33am (2/2):

voice search is now recognizing voice commands but stalling during processing. "cancel" is required to get out of the app.

update 9:26am (2/2):

still down. verizon rep confirms it is a "program issue." whatever the hell that means. we also have users reporting now that they have never lost the voice search service.

if you leave a comment with your location and whether or not your voice search is working, that would be fantastic.

update 10:09am (2/2):

some users reporting that their voice search has been fixed. i'm in oregon and still definitely dead.

update 10:25am (2/2):

and voice search is officially back. bam.

update 4:19pm (2/2):

jumped the gun on everyone having their service back. getting reports through comments now that nebraska and california are still without voice search.

update 4:23pm (2/2):

just tested mine and voice search is now force closing.

update 7:49pm (2/2):

force closes continue and reports are coming in from all over the u.s. it looked initially like a west coast issue, but that theory has now been squashed. once we have an update reporting some sort of change, we'll be back.

stay patient everyone. let's just hope they are testing before the 2.1 release. (fingers crossed!)

android figurines/dolls/toys/geek things. awesome.

Kellen — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:14:00 +0000

we're not usually one for toys and especially not ones that are replicas of the logo of the operating system on our phone, but these little android guys are pretty cool.

nice work from dyzplastic and andrew bell. and i'll take a box!

(via android guys)

htc droid eris source code released - sense ui for droid next?

Kellen — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:51:00 +0000

we've had many readers ask about htc's sense ui and when it will be ported over to the motorola droid. now, i may not have the exact answer to that, but with the release of the droid eris source code today, it could be sooner than we had imagined.

of course an update on the droid eris to 2.0 would probably speed this up even more. stay tuned...

video: motorola milestone - differences from droid?

Kellen — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:20:00 +0000

it looks like the crew at mobile syrup has also received a pre-released version of the motorola milestone and launched a preview video of it. now i have to admit that i haven't really checked into milestone differences and similarities as compared to the droid, but after looking at this video briefly, there are some pretty obvious ones.

fast forward to the 1:35 mark...

you should notice right away that the milestone's version of android 2.0 has some different icons and features from our droid.

the google search bar is missing the voice search icon
it is replaced with a "voice dialer" shortcut.
alarm clock, gallery and music icons are different.
there is an "audio effects" app.
a camcorder shortcut.
moto phone portal comes pre-installed

now, the reviewer does say that this isn't the final version of the os, but i'm still surprised to see so many differences on a device that is running android 2.0.

any other major differences you know of? how about you milestone users?

get ready canada! motorola milestone headed to telus "soon"

Kellen — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:16:00 +0000

mobile syrup, the canadian mobile site, found an ad this weekend from best buy which gives a ton of hope to our friends up north who have been waiting for their motorola milestone/droid to arrive. it should be just around the corner now. march possibly? (i say march because the best buy ad is likely their february preview)

telus has also updated their website to show a "coming soon" section which includes the milestone. early reports say that phone pricing through telus could start out at $199 for the phone with a 3 year contract and $549 outright. (3 years?!?! wow.)

from telus...

from best buy...

motorola devour appears to be real. yuck.

Kellen — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:27:00 +0000

uh oh, the ugliest android device on the planet looks to be coming to a verizon dealer near you. we have no info on an actual release date, but a box showed up in the inbox of the android central folks this morning proving to everyone that the blurry, nasty, silvery, yuckiness of a picture from a month back was the real deal. yikes.

oh yeah, this one...

(via android central and boy genius report)

firefox releases mobile version to nokia maemo - android next?

Kellen — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:10:00 +0000

for those of us anxiously awaiting the arrival of firefox (or fennec if you're gangster) to our motorola droid, the timetable for its release may have just been shortened. mozilla released its first mobile version on nokia's n900 and n810 this past friday which will leave the rest of us to believe that android is up next. both systems are linux-based so maybe those february rumors are on the verge of actually coming true?

an interesting tidbit we caught in this cnet article shows something to be concerned with...

Mozilla's accomplishment with a mobile version of Firefox is a mixed one, and not only because Maemo is a platform relatively few people have heard of. Nokia's open-source, Linux-based Maemo operating system supports mobile Firefox on just two devices--the N900 and the N810, an Internet tablet. To make matters more limited, just two days ago Mozilla unveiled a third release candidate with a last-minute decision to pull wholesale support for Adobe's Flash plug-in from the build, citing unhappiness with the overall standard of quality. As an aside, this is apparently a sore spot for Adobe, who became miffed with Apple for excluding Flash in its new iPad device about the same time that Mozilla made its comment about degraded performance when visiting Flash sites.

no flash support? either mozilla has officially lost it or they have just given us reason to believe that adobe is actually at fault for the delays of flash 10.1's release.

what does everyone think? excited about firefox? could care less since we have dolphin?

android app review: dolphin browser 2.0

Kellen — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:35:00 +0000

this review may seem about 2 months late as the dolphin browser has been out for quite some time, but we hated the original version of it so much that we refused to really promote. however, the crew over at dolphin has recently released the 2.0 version of their multi-touch browser and they have made it worth your time again to check out.

they've fixed the inaccuracies of the old multi-touch, made gestures more responsive and even added preview-styled page flipping. sooooooo much nicer. check it...

android app review: buzz deck

Kellen — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:07:00 +0000

who doesn't love a good saturday application review? today we're looking at a reader-style application called buzz deck which does more than just bring your current news.

only in its beta stage, buzz deck has a ton of potential and is the application i use constantly to get current news all in one place. check it...

all nexus one 2.1 apps ported to droid in action

Kellen — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:05:00 +0000

on a slow friday in the motorola droid world we were handed this awesome video. it comes from reader @johnpariah who took the time to install all of the android 2.1 apps we've been raving about and then provided evidence of their awesomeness. he also took a look at beautiful widgets which is a paid app worth your $2... on a side note, during the video he comments on us porting all of these apps over ourselves which i need to correct him on. while i'd love to take all the credit in the world, my conscience can't allow that. just look at this blog as an outlet for all things motorola droid so that you don't need to spend countless hours sifting through the trenches trying to find the latest and greatest updates. we're essentially your average user, but one that loves us some droid hacks and news!

contest winners! 2 google voice invites sent!

Kellen — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:15:00 +0000

our first contest is officially finished! it was a simple one, but definitely a successful one in our minds. for such a new and unheard of blog, we had just the right amount of entries and want to thank everyone who entered into the mayhem. yay!

with that said, time for the winners of our 2 google voice invites! (drum roll.......)

@john_j_velez and @derekmas10!

congrats you two. i hope you enjoy the awesomeness that is google voice. to the rest of you, make sure to get on the google voice list so you can experience its greatness sooner rather than later.

and stay tuned as always for future contests which will hopefully include tangible products! (hah)

nexus one having major issues - yay motorola droid users!

Kellen — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:54:00 +0000

let's take a moment and thank verizon and motorola for giving us a device that has really had zero major issues since its launch 3 months ago. many were frustrated to hear that google's nexus one would launch only a month or so after our motorola droid yet have the latest and greatest android operating system. look who's laughing now?

nexus one users completely lost data coverage for almost 12 straight hours starting last night about 3AM, finding this message when entering their browser...

"To connect to the internet with the device you are using, you'll need a webConnect data plan. Please call Customer Care at 1-800-937-8997 to make sure you have the correct webConnect data plan "

not only do we have most of the applications from android 2.1, but we also have one hell of a stable phone and operating system. after hearing about a new nexus one issue almost daily, i think i'm going to be ok with 2.0.1 for a while longer until all these gigantic issues are taken care of.

cheers motorola droid users. cheers.

(photo engadget)

last chance contest reminder! 2 google voice invites!

Kellen — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:04:00 +0000

just a quick reminder to those of you who have not yet entered to win free google voice invites! the contest started last week and ends tomororw! the instructions are about as simple as it gets really... 1. follow us on twitter. 2. tweet the following message:

@droid_life is giving away 2 #google voice invites! - just RT this and follow @droid_life to win!

3. make sure to subscribe to our feed for exclusive contest notifications. 4. tomorrow, the 29th, we will direct message two winners via twitter. 5. the winners will then be announced on the blog! that's it people!

motorola's moto phone portal app - download here

Kellen — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:08:00 +0000

yessir, the mysterious moto phone portal is still around. discovered back in october 2009, the news of this program leaked out and people were initially excited, and then for some reason quickly forgot about it. it's still alive my friends!

wonder what the moto phone portal is? this is basically your best friend if you are one of the motorola droid users unable to sync your device via usb cable to your computer. and for the rest of us, this just makes life easier!

moto phone portal allows you to connect wirelessly to a pc (any pc) and do a ton of amazing things. via wi-fi, it doesn't get any easier than this really.

here is the list of features...

backup and restore contacts
check call logs and sms
send sms via browser
set ringtones
play music to your phone
manage photos
manage bookmarks
manage browsing history
transfer files from phone to pc wirelessly

installation instructions:

1. go into settings -> applications and check the "unknown sources" box.
1a. if you do not already have astro file manager, download now in the market.
2. visit this post from your phone's browser.
3. tap and download this file onto your phone: MotoPhonePortal.zip
4. tap on the downloaded application once it has finished.
5. tap on "PersonalPortal029" and then "Open App Manager" when prompted.
5. tap "install" and then "open" when finished.
6. it will then provide instructions for syncing to pc.

*note* - to use the file manager, you have to connect via internet explorer. (yes it sucks, but firefox doesn't support this feature right now.)

motorola building a google-only phone?

Kellen — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:56:00 +0000

motorola working with google to add a new "direct to customer" device?

after seeing the subpar sales numbers from the nexus one, it seems a little odd that motorola or any major player would jump to be the next in line, but with google, you can't really go wrong can you? their ceo, sanjay jha took to the mic to get the rumor mill in full swing...

On a conference call with analysts Thursday, co-CEO Sanjay Jha outlined the company's plans to introduce 20 smartphones this year including "one direct to consumer device with Google." The move would be similar to Google's Nexus One phone made by HTC, which boosts Google's effort to bypass telcos and to reach consumers.

so who's got leaked pictures? can i get a wrist strap with that?

video: 50 android games 1 video

Kellen — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:20:00 +0000

gaming on a motorola droid is the one thing i haven't had a chance to really get into other than robo defense, but after watching this video of 50 games on a droid, i may now be ready to start wasting away hours upon hours...

(via engadget and @xfenixknightx)

tweetcaster now available in android market!

Kellen — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:57:00 +0000

only a day after reviewing tweetcaster in its beta form, handmark has announced that they are officially going live with their twitter app in the market tomorrow! as you'll see from our review, this app will rival seesmic and twidroid for the top spot in the twitter android market. after receiving a ton of feedback from users with the beta version, they were able to fix some of the major problems in a hurry...

The key improvements based on the beta testing feedback included: 1. Notifications fully implemented with notification options: vibrate, LED and audio. 2. Force-close issues 3. GPS issue that drained batter 4. UI related issues

now, you'll notice i said that it will be available tomorrow, but as readers of this blog, i've got a surprise for you! you can download the free version of this puppy right now and also upgrade for free. now go ahead, download, tweet and tell us what you think!

current list of nexus one 2.1 apps ported to android 2.0.1

Kellen — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:55:00 +0000

to keep everyone up-to-date on android 2.1 apps available for your motorola droid, we thought it was time for a summary post... 1. nexus one / sense ui 2.1 launcher - very similar to the original 2.1 launcher we posted but has the look of htc's sense ui. it also feels a little more stable and has some of the bugs fixed from previous version. if you ever get stuck, make sure to hit the "home" button to free up the phone again. 2. flan(eclair) gallery 2.1 - an incredible upgrade from the gallery on our 2.0.1 devices. "flick" features are everywhere, sharing is nicer, and even has slideshow capabilities when working with multimedia dock. 3. genie news and weather 2.1 - customizable news in a reader style format plus weather. 3 widget options available with certain versions working nicely with the new 2.1 clock app. 4. launcher 2.1 - the app we all were hoping worked flawlessly, but unfortunately doesn't completely deliver. gives you 5 screens, a new launcher, quick buttons and card style shortcuts. too bad for landscape bugs and intermittent crashes. 5. music app 2.1 - needs to be installed on your 2.0.1 device. this music upgrade, although not groundbreaking, adds some minor features which makes music playing so much nicer. 6. clock app 2.1 - a fun app which can replace your current docking app and also act as a stand-alone for those without docks. works great with flan gallery and genie weather. 7. flan(eclair) gallery 2.1 w/ multi-touch - same as the previous gallery but includes multi-touch or pinch-to-zoom. also has much quicker load times for photos. any other nexus one apps you want or have heard of? any bugs with this current selection? any tips to show off?

nexus one 2.1 clock app ported to android 2.0.1

Kellen — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:59:00 +0000

who needs android 2.1 when we have all the apps from it already? (ok that was a pretty ridiculous statement!) in all seriousness, it's been nice to have most of the major apps from the nexus one and android 2.1 on our 2.0.1 phones well before we've actually received the mysterious and official update from motorola or verizon. (which is still in limbo by the way!) 2.1 clock app: the newest application to have been ported over is the clock app which can also function with your multimedia docking station. (for those of us with docking stations!) very fun app with a couple of changes that once again, makes it worth installing for everyone. check out the video...(instructions to follow) quick tips before installing: -install the genie news and weather widget from 2.1 -install the flan gallery from 2.1 -if you do not have these installed, there is a chance it won't function correctly. steps for installation: 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: DeskClock.apk (alt link) 4. tap on the downloaded application once it has finished. 5. install it and tap "open" when finished. 6. you can also drop in your docking station and choose "clock." additional tips: -if you want weather to show up as fahrenheit you need this version of the genie weather widget. -unfortunately, this version sucks as a widget and force closes, but will pull up the correct weather if installed.

motorola droid overclocked to 1.1ghz

Kellen — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:39:00 +0000

those crazy kids over at alldroid.org...

that's just ridiculous. and no, i'm not going to put up a tutorial on how to overclock your motorola droid to 1.1ghz. if anyone does it though, please let me know how it goes!

video: app review of tweetcaster twitter app

Kellen — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

a big thanks to the folks at handmark for sending us the beta version of tweetcaster. this is a great little twitter application that will be hugely popular once it is released to the public. the beta testing stage is nearing its conclusion, some tweaks are in store, and then the rest of you should all be able to enjoy this wonderful little guy by next week!

here is our quick video review...

the video doesn't point this out, but the crew at handmark has informed me that there will be paid and free versions. paid version running at $4.99 and has identical features to the free version just sans ads. stay tuned for confirmed release date.

as always, if you've got questions, comments or concerns feel free to let us know!

contest reminder! google voice invite giveaway!

Kellen — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 10:06:00 +0000

just a quick reminder to those of you who have not yet entered to win free google voice invites!

the contest started last week and ends this friday. the instructions are about as simple as it gets really...

1. follow us on twitter.
2. tweet the following message:

@droid_life is giving away 2 #google voice invites! - just RT this and follow @droid_life to win!

3. make sure to subscribe to our feed for exclusive contest notifications.
4. this friday, january 29th, we will direct message two winners via twitter.
5. the winners will then be announced on the blog!

that's it people!

update: motorola still commenting on droid 2.1 update

Kellen — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:28:00 +0000

we still have zero confirmation from either verizon or motorola on the android 2.1 update date for your droid, but at least one of them is sort of commenting and attempting to keep us in the loop...

stay with us for more updates!

(via androidspin)

nexus one 2.1 music app ported to android 2.0.1

Kellen — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

bringing you another android 2.1 application! the latest release to hit our android 2.0.1 devices is the nexus one music app which is a nice upgrade to the current droid music program and easily worth checking out.

this music app isn't ground breaking like the launcher or flan gallery were, but it's definitely better than the current music app on your motorola droid device. it adds a slightly different setup while making functionality and ease of use so much nicer.

new stuff:

4 tabs (artists, albums, songs, playlists) across top of app for smoother transitions.
background image of album while playing
current song bar always displayed in bottom of app

steps for installation:

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: MusicInstallable.apk (alt link)
4. tap on the downloaded application once it has finished.
5. install it and tap "open" when finished.
6. tap "artists" tab, check defaults box, and select Music (com.android.musik).
7. repeat steps for all 4 tabs in music app.
8. done!

video of this new 2.1 app coming soon!

the rest of the android 2.1 apps you need:

1. nexus one / sense ui launcher
2. new eclair gallery with multi-touch
3. genie news and weather 2.1
4. launcher 2.1
5. music app 2.1
6. clock app 2.1
7. flan gallery 2.1

wavesecure vs. mobile defense vs. lookout

Kellen — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:04:00 +0000

there have been many questions surrounding the abundance of security applications out there for your android device and we decided it was time to finally compare the big three: wavesecure, mobile defense and lookout. (all are currently free.)

to start off this review, check out this chart we threw together comparing the different options involved in each application...

after looking at that chart, your initial reaction would probably be to want to go out and grab wavesecure immediately. and sure, it's a great app, but the one thing you'll notice missing, is the scheduling aspect. i find that scheduling is my best friend when it comes to backup applications. on your home pc, would you ever run a backup or anti-virus scan if you had to do it manually or do you just set those bad boys up to run in the background?

lookout on the other hand, which is the application i currently have installed on my droid runs scheduling but is definitely missing some key features including backups of call logs, videos, and texts messages. i love that it runs my backup at night while i'm asleep, but i'm not sure how much longer i can go without being able to backup the dozens of videos, thousands of texts, and call logs from my phone.

and mobile defense, as you may have guessed, is miles behind the other two. the app installs on your phone and immediately goes into hiding and is only accessible from their website. you can connect to your device from their site which is nice, but the options just aren't there yet. they have notices on their website confirming updates in the future which will allow backups and wipes, but right now, doesn't have either as a feature.

my verdict? all of the applications do a fantastic job at the security aspect of their functionality which is locating your device if it is ever lost or stolen. so it really comes down to those few key additional features then. do you like scheduling or do you want to be able to backup your videos, texts and call logs? i'm sticking with lookout for now, but if they refuse to add an option for video, text and call log backup, our relationship may end much sooner than they know.

additional info:

wavesecure:
mobile defense: https://www.mobiledefense.com
lookout: https://www.mylookout.com

your questions?

q: do wavesecure and mobile defense use international sms?
a: both have confirmed changes made to their systems so that international sms texts are no longer charged to u.s. customers. (not sure what that means for the rest of the world just yet.)

q: do anti-virus programs for android really work?
a: a great question. since android is a linux-based os, most believe that it is not susceptible to viruses and that anti-virus software can in the long run, cause problems to your phone. i use lookout, but i have disabled my anti-virus protection.

video: android 2.1 launcher on motorola droid

Kellen — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

just the other day, we provided the instructions and apk file to install the android 2.1 launcher onto your motorola droid device and some people showed some concern. so as we like to do on droid life when people get a little tentative, we make videos! here is a quick walk-through of what this new 2.1 launcher looks like, how it functions and most importantly, performs while put through a little stress... still have questions or concerns? hit me up in the comments or via email. and once again, a huge "thanks!" is in order for the alldroid.org crew that ported this new launcher. our current list of nexus one 2.1 apps: 1. flan gallery 2.1 2. genie news and weather 2.1 3. launcher 2.1 4. music app 2.1 5. clock app 2.1

android 3.0! htc supersonic! huh?

Kellen — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:46:00 +0000

if you aren't a current reader of boy genius report, then you may have missed this gem of a post that went up this morning. it looks like one of their readers or "tipsters" sent off a screenshot which will undoubtedly shock the mobile world...

htc supersonic? android 3.0? t-mobile? what...the...?

if you haven't heard of the rumored htc supersonic, check out this post from engadget. here are some of the bullets from the article...

Feels a lot like you'd expect an Android-powered HD2 to feel thanks to a 4.3-inch non-AMOLED display and a svelte shell. (For reference, the HD2 is 11mm thick, but we don't have exact dimensions here.)
Runs Android 2.1 with HTC's Sense UI.
Our tipster saw it in white; production devices could be available in different colors, of course, but white seems like it'd be an intriguing choice for a phone of the HD2's size and shape.

scan over that for a second and tell me your opinions. fake? real? drooling right now?

motorola milestone receiving 2.0.1 update now

Kellen — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:08:00 +0000

still no word on when droid users will receive their 2.1 update, but for milestone users, you can now throw your party! motorola europe has confirmed via facebook, that the android 2.0.1 update started rolling out to its european users as early as 1/18...

Motorola Europe - To all our Android fans, we’d like to share that the staggered release of the 2.0.1 update has started with France and Italy today, 18 January. Germany and the UK will follow shortly – as soon as we have the confirmed date, we’ll post it here. Please see the discussion for more details: . If you nee...d additional help, here’s a link to service centres per country: http://motorola.com/support, thanks

maybe that's the reasoning behind a delayed update to our beloved droid's? motorola can only focus on one baby at a time.

install launcher.apk from android 2.1 onto 2.0.1

Kellen — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:37:00 +0000

how does having the launcher from android 2.1 on your android 2.0.1 device sound? (yay!) since we won't be seeing the update to android 2.1 anytime soon according to verizon and motorola, we thought the least we could do is give you the launcher from it.

steps for installing: 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: launcher2.apk (alt link) 4. tap on the downloaded application once it has finished. 5. install it and hit "done" when finished. 6. tap your "home" button (yes the house). 7. when prompted select "launcher" and check the box to make it your default. 8. done update 1/24: here is our video tutorial of the 2.1 launcher in action! after you've installed and set it as your default launcher, you'll notice that it wiped out all of the application shortcuts and widgets from your 3 screens. this is sort of an inconvenience, but setting those back up is not difficult. oh, and you'll now have 5 screens to play with instead of cramming such few things into 3. cheers. if you need further info, check out this post at alldroid.org. (thank you alldroid.org!)

verizon/motorola both claim OTA update fabricated

Kellen — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:56:00 +0000

wait what? yeah, not surprised there are we? after the motorola tweet from this morning confirming that they were not releasing an OTA update, engadget mobile threw some weight around and hammered their verizon connections...

First, Motorola's official MotoMobile Twitter account hit the world with the knowledge, then we followed up directly with Verizon to confirm, and we're being told from all sides that the new Droid firmware is a total fabrication.

"firmware is a total fabrication." i'm having a hard time believing that the thousands of people that have confirmed a 61MB file over the last week onto their motorola droid devices were all a part of some big conspiracy. to continue to follow our constantly updating coverage of this mysterious droid 2.1 update, check out our rolling post. can you just feel the anger in the air yet?

motorola crushes OTA update news

Kellen — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:51:00 +0000

for those of you not following along with our motorola droid OTA update to android 2.1 running post, then you may have missed this news we dropped from motorola via twitter... take that statement however you want. they aren't saying that they don't have one ready, but they are definitely not confirming any sort of date. maybe monday?

motorola droid to android 2.1 update post

Kellen — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:17:00 +0000

this will serve as our running post for updates as we come closer to the 1/22 deadline which we've all been led to believe is the update day for our motorola droid devices. as you have info, news or if you phone is actually seeing changes, leave us a comment with your details and we'll add them to this post!

let's do our best to keep everyone up-to-date and informed...

update 9:19PM (1/21):

users reporting slowness in the android market with full 3g coverage.

I just tried to DL an app from the store and it downloaded EXTREMELY slowly with full 3G, sign that they are preping update OTA?

not sure this means anything and i just download an app and had 2 updates on wi-fi and noticed no slowness.

update 9:37PM (1/21):

random commenter on slashgear reporting complete update to his eris...

Looks like my Eris was already updated…I am not sure if I like this though and all of my customizations were wiped out -_-

this guy would be the only one one the planet and as the ghost adventure crew would say, debunked?

update 9:51PM (1/21):

in a semi-related note, i found this post from earlier today on the droid eris update that was promised as well.

While at the Verizon store yesterday, I was told by two of their technicians that the Eris upgrade to 2.1 will be released on Jan. 20.

well obviously that was a day or two ago and no one with an eris has seen an update. i'm wondering if they meant 1/22?

update 10:28PM (1/21):

rebooted my phone and check for updates...nothing happened.

many users are also reporting on slowness with apps, internet disconnects, and weird overall behavior with their android devices.

since i'm on the west coast, i'll likely be up for a while updating away. so stay tuned!

update 10:43PM (1/21):

a moderator (miami) over at droidforums.net claims to have insider info with news on the 2.1 release...

Well the wait is almost over for us Droid users. This is the official 2.1 issues thread. I have received some inside information that we may see an official 2.1 release as early as Monday. I still don't have all the details on the how, but for now I will assume a staggerd release will happen. As always please try to keep it on topic!

i hope he is correct with the staggered release so that at least a few users will start to see updates within the next few hours.

update 7:04AM (1/22):

just checked my phone and posts around the blogging world...no updates confirmed at this time.

update 9:13AM (1/22):

bad news starting to pile up. the latest via motorola's twitter account...

for those of you remaining skeptical and accusing everyone of making up the ota update date of 1/22, let us remind you that the 1/22 date all started back in november on an official verizon release.

there are also rumors sizzling for a monday release with a slow rollout of the update starting this weekend. it's still early on 1/22, so everyone just relax!

update 11:07AM:

motorola representative via chat had the following response when asked about the update...

Valeria: Please note that at this moment we cannot confirm when an upgrade will be available. However the phone is ready to receive software upgrades, therefore upgrades are being planned, but we don't have a release schedule, or confirmation up to which Android version it's going to upgrade.

update 11:34AM:

response from verizon customer service that i just received...

Thank you for contacting Verizon Wireless. My name is Jared, and I apologize for the confusion regarding the software update to the 2.1. I have not heard, nor can I find anything, about the upgrade happening today. When the update happens it should be automatically pushed to the device.

boo.

update 1:59PM (1/22):

engadget mobile has some interesting quotes from their verizon connections on the update we are waiting impatiently for...

First, Motorola's official MotoMobile Twitter account hit the world with the knowledge, then we followed up directly with Verizon to confirm, and we're being told from all sides that the new Droid firmware is a total fabrication.

maybe it's time for an official statement from these companies? the interwebs are officially irritated.

second guessing the motorola droid 2.1 update?

Kellen — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:07:00 +0000

earlier today, we reported on speaking with a verizon rep who confirmed that they were also expecting motorola droid devices to be updated to android 2.1 tomorrow. well, now that it's 9:00PM here in portland, and after speaking with a dozen or so reps, i've got to say that i'm starting to question the validity of our original source. i'm sorry to get hopes up or down with this post, but it's hard to believe that if android 2.1 were really coming to our droid devices tomorrow, that we wouldn't have heard something by now. nothing has been leaked, no major sites are reporting on it, and everyone seems to just be waiting in an eerie silence for something to happen. if you remember, during the 2.0.1 update, there was a slow rollout a few days before the confirmed date that verizon had set. this week, we've been seeing an OTA update appearing on droid's sporadically and similarly to that original fix. that 1/22 date was really only meant to fix minor bugs that the december date wasn't ready for. and aren't most users with this OTA update reporting nothing new except being able to download facebook via the market? seems like a lot of "behind the scenes" bug fixing to me. so will tomorrow prove to be a complete clunker? possibly. either way, i'll still be keeping hopes up for a magical present in the morning...

motorola launches android app store called shop4apps

Kellen — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:17:00 +0000

while google is battling with china over android freedom, motorola is teaming up with them by launching a new android app store called shop4apps. it looks like a new market for developers to submit, market and distribute their apps into one of the largest mobile empires on the planet.

fortunately for US users, we likely won't have access to this store which means we also won't have to keep track of new apps in 2 different markets. should be quite the battle in china though.

shop4apps directions...

How to Submit Your App to SHOP4APPS

To submit your Android apps early for distribution in SHOP4APPS, launching soon in China, please follow these simple steps.

   1. Log into MOTODEV and apply for MOTODEV's App Accelerator Program.
   2. Your App Accelerator Program application will be reviewed and you will be notified of your acceptance within 1-5 days.
   3. Once you have been granted access to the App Accelerator Program, you may submit your application to SHOP4APPS from the "Distribution" section of your App Accelerator Program Benefits page.

We look forward to working with you to develop and distribute great Android apps for Motorola handsets!

what really matters to me with this announcement though, is seeing the continued support from motorola on the android front. yay!

android 2.1 update for motorola droid confirmed for tomorrow

Kellen — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:39:00 +0000

spoke with a verizon rep just a few minutes ago that confirmed what many have been saying for weeks. they are, as most of us, under the impression that the android os 2.1 update will start rolling out to motorola droids on friday, 1/22. (yes, tomorrow.) while that comes as great news, there is also some sour news in the mix. when asked if flash 10 would be included in that update, they said they were still not expecting flash support until mid-2010. damn! and if this rep is wrong on the timing of the update, i'll give everyone the store number so we can set it on fire. update 1/28: to tide us all over while we wait impatiently, check out our list of android 2.1 applications that have been ported over to our motorola droid devices.

amazon offering motorola droid for $109.99

Kellen — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:22:00 +0000

suck on that news iphone.

oh, and if you just need to upgrade to a droid, it's only $159.99. not bad, not bad.

in related wireless upgrading news...

if you aren't currently ordering your phones through amazon.com let me just tell you right now, that you need to change your phone buying practice. they offer the cheapest prices on the newest phones and i completely trust them. (not that my voice means all that much) but seriously, you should check them out if you are starting new service or even upgrading your current phone.

in fact, before i got my droid, i had purchased a blackberry tour from them when it was brand new as my upgrade date was active. at the time, the tour was selling at verizon stores for $149 i believe and i snagged it for $75. and on top of that, amazon didn't notify verizon that i had used my upgrade after the purchase. yes you just read that right. and 2 months later, the lovely little motorola droid was released, and here we are today!

purchasing new phones via internet wireless services is definitely something you should start considering. although, be wary of wirefly. (we'll save that story for another day)

(via androinica)

got droid questions? need app reviews? anything?

Kellen — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:12:00 +0000

well, i've been doing this little experimental blog for just over 2 months now, and i've got to say, it's been a blast. what's even more surprising, is how many of you keep coming back for more! cheers to that!

and since i'm really starting to roll with this thing, i want to get you all more involved! with that said, it's time to open up this blog for some of those burning questions that have been sizzling on the tip of your tongue.

you have questions about your phone? on apps? need something reviewed? need some basic tips or tutorials? want more videos? free stuff? contests? more news? want to write for droid life?

this is your chance to let me know what you'd like more of, less of and anything in between! give it to me straight!

and once again, thanks for allowing this little blog of mine to keep on growing!

motorola milestone has been rooted - instructions included

Kellen — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:32:00 +0000

not really surprised to hear this news are we?

if interested in rooting your motorola milestone, you can check out the video below or the massive amounts of user instructions and comments over at droid forums.net. there are already a number of success stories from around the world including the UK and Brazil of milestone users completing the task.

**REMEMBER! DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. WE ARE NOT LIABLE IF YOU BRICK YOUR PHONE LIKE A FOOL OR IF ANYTHING BAD HAPPENS TO YOU. CHEERS!**

video tutorial:

a brief instruction set:

Just take the file in the post, name it update.zip, and throw it on the SD card in the root directory.

Turn off your 'stone.

Hold down both the camera button and the power button THROUGH the Motorola "M" icon, until you see the exclamation point / triangle icon. Let both keys go. I tried the Droid method : power button and X button, and it didn't work for me.

Now, this was finicky on my phone: Hold down the "volume up" button, then press and hold the camera button (while still holding the vol up). If it works, within a few seconds you should get a text screen telling you to use the d-pad for navigation, and offering you a couple of choices. Select "install update.zip from SD card", and press the d-pad center button. Wait until it tells you that it is finished.

Reboot the phone.

Check the apps drawer for the superuser whitelist application. If you have that, the root worked.

You will still be on 2.0 after the root.

let me know how it goes!

droid does verizon fios - control account from your phone!

Kellen — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:12:00 +0000

for those of you living in the "burbs" and have access to the supposedly amazing verizon fios internet and tv, you will be excited to learn that the new fios app is available in the android market for free.

the fios app gives you access to your home dvr, shows current tv listings to set recording times, and even allows you to update parental controls.

since i don't have fios, i can't go off on some tangent or video review, but i will say that the early comments regarding the app are pretty intriguing.

and for those of you with fios, go download this app and tell me what you think!

(via android guys)

motorola goes all android in 2010

Kellen — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:34:00 +0000

for motorola droid users, we keep getting good news on a daily basis it seems. damian koh of cnet spoke with a vp at motorola, spiros nikolakopoulos to discuss their 2010 outlook. you've gotta like the sound of these quotes if you are a motorola user...

On the number of Motorola devices we expect to see in 2010.
There will be between 20 and 30 smartphones globally and, at this moment, all of them will run Android. Naturally, not all will be available everywhere as it depends on the company's partnership with the various telco operators in each country. For non-smartphone models, they will run either Brew or the Motorola's own operating system.

On Android engineering teams.
A third of the engineering team is based in the US, while another third in China and the final third in Korea. The team works solely on everything Android, including the integration of the software with the device. Nikolakopoulos didn't say how big the team is, though.

for a company as large as motorola to go all-out-android, you should be very happy to be a droid user. the support should continue on at the highest of levels. weee!

(via android central)

some motorola droid's receiving new ota update

Kellen — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:51:00 +0000

as i was browsing a few of the motorola droid forums last night, i noticed a few posts with people wondering what the update they had just received was. of course, most of us flipped, hoping it was the android 2.1 update! it appears that it wasn't. the few people that have come forth with the update are not experiencing anything different with their phones.

the update coming to some phones was reportedly about 61MB which is pretty significant in size. here is the system info after installing:

Model Number: Droid
Firmware Version: 2.0.1
Baseband Version: C_01.3E.01P
Kernel Version: 2.6.29-omap1-g0dd7e0b
android-build@apa26 #511
Build Number: ESD56

i find this semi-weird as it's the same build as is on my phone which was updated back in december.

many are speculating that this was just to fix certain handsets that have been unable to update their facebook applications. users with this new update can now download the facebook update from the market without having installation issues.

now, i don't know about you, but 61MB seems a little big for such a minor fix. was this just a preparation sort of update for 2.1? maybe a patch just waiting for the 2.1 update? maybe.

update 4:05: the crew at droidforums.net has been given some details through their sources...

Our sources have indicated Android 2.1 has passed all internal testing on the Droid and a target is to have all Droids updated before the end of the month. This patch had added some minor fixes and preps the phone for a smooth Android 2.1 RELEASE. To be clear, the forthcoming immediate update is not 2.1, but a precursor to smooth the transition to 2.1 which will follow within the next couple of weeks. Stay Tuned, more details to come!

the rumor mill has our android 2.1 update set for 1/22 or 3 days from now. we'll keep you posted as we have more.

google voice invite giveaway!

Kellen — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:13:00 +0000

welcome to our first mini-contest here at droid life!

many of you have probably heard of the awesomeness that is google voice. and you have also probably heard that you have to sign up and wait for who knows how long to get an invite from google in order to finally use the service. (trust me, it takes a while.) well guess what readers of droid life? we already received our invite, have been using google voice for a month now and have a couple of invites to give away! the application is completely amazing and is pretty much changing the way we think about voicemail, email and text messaging. this is your chance to bypass google's long waiting list and get your invite right away! join in on a contest that is about as simple as it gets. here are the rules for entry... 1. follow us on twitter. 2. tweet the following message:

@droid_life is giving away 2 #google voice invites! - just RT this and follow @droid_life to win!

3. make sure to subscribe to our feed for exclusive contest notifications. 4. next friday, january 29th, we will direct message two winners via twitter. 5. the winners will then be announced on the blog! and that's it! could it be any simpler than that? let the tweeting begin! (and feel free to tweet this out as much as you'd like.) questions about the contest? go ahead and leave a comment. for more info on google voice, check this out.

froyo is the android 2.1 name? tasty naming convention for sure

Kellen — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:44:00 +0000

it's sounding more and more like the android 2.1 os will not be called "flan" after all. google and android have been crafty with their naming convention for new builds of their operating system and the newest appears to follow along their previous releases in a sweet sort of way. how does "froyo" sound for the 2.1 operating system? froyo meaning frozen yogurt of course.

here is the list of android os's and their nicknames to help add or clarify some confusion...

android 1.5 - cupcake
android 1.6 - donut
android 2.0 or 2.0.1 - eclair
android 2.1 - froyo

good times!

install genie weather widget from android 2.1

Kellen — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 01:27:00 +0000

we definitely missed the boat with this application. the genie news and weather widget from android 2.1 and the nexus one has been ported over to all android phones running 1.6 and higher and we just found out about it! in fact, this happened back in december...sorry! one of our fantastic new readers pointed it out and we must say, this application is worth a look. you may have seen pictures and videos of this application running on nexus one devices and were probably wondering when it was available to the rest of the world? good news! it's here! not only does it pull up your weather automatically from the weather channel, but it gives you a reader style version of any news you could want. steps for installing: 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: 4. tap on the downloaded application once it has finished. 5. install it. 6. go back to one of your 3 homescreens which has space on it. 7. add a widget. you should now see "news and weather" listed. let me know if you have any questions!

motorola shadow or google nexus two?

Kellen — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:19:00 +0000

many people were wondering why motorola ceo sanjay jha was at the google launch of the nexus one. well, pictures of a new phone looking strikingly similar to the motorola droid have appeared that may answer any questions that we've had. these motorola shadow pictures were released and many are now speculating that this phone could be the new nexus two. that sure as hell didn't take long did it?

so what do you think? definitely looks like the droid, but that white keyboard is definitely sexy. i'm also hoping that they remove that lanyard slot...protruding plastic pieces are not high on our list of device must-haves.

isuppli deems motorola droid more valuable than iphone and nexus one

Kellen — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:29:00 +0000

the isuppli team did another "teardown" of a top smartphone and came out with some interesting results. this time they took on the motorola droid finding it the most valuable of all the smartphones including the nexus one and iphone.

Motorola Inc.’s Droid smart phone carries a $187.75 Bill of Materials (BOM) and manufacturing cost, according to a dissection conducted by iSuppli Corp.’s Teardown Analysis Service.

The Droid contains $179.11 worth of electronic components and costs $8.64 to manufacture, as presented in the attached table. This total comprises only component and manufacturing costs for the Droid and does not take into consideration other expenses such as software and royalties.

now, you could look at that as the more expensive option compared to the iphone and nexus one, but purchasing the phone is what makes it the most valuable. with a price point equivalent to the iphone, and a higher bill of materials, it comes out ahead. see how we did that?

video: review lookout security for android

Kellen — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:15:00 +0000

continuing on in our video review series of android applications, we stumble onto a fantastic security application called lookout. if you are not aware of lookout, it has gained fame over the last week after being used to return a stolen phone back to its rightful owner. we had a request to review this app and can't thank the reader enough for asking. what a great app! not only does it backup your contacts and photos, but it also scans your phone for viruses. and the best part is obviously the fact that it can help you locate your phone should you lose it or have it stolen. check it!

multi-touch coming to future motorola devices?

Kellen — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:14:00 +0000

the ceo of motorola, sanjay jha, in a recent interview with laptop magazine, said he expects to have multi-touch in the majority of future motorola phones because of user feedback...

I think you will see us deliver multitouch in the majority of our devices going forward. There’s a complex set of factors, not all of them technical. But I think you’ll see us being proactive on multitouch because the user feedback on multitouch is very good.

just bring us multi-touch already. and enough with people saying "dolphin has it!" because i could care less. i want the capability everywhere in the phone, not just in the browser.

he also provided his interesting opinion on the oddly-timed launch of the nexus one vs. the droid...

The consumer satisfaction rate on the Motorola Droid has been really good. And if you look at the return rate, and I won’t go into the numbers, it has been very, very good. It talks to our ability to ramp volume production with quality. Increasingly it’s not about the hardware but the experience we deliver, and I really have to thank our partnership with Google there. We really delivered a good experience on that device. People have this sense that there is no information that they can’t get. The turn-by-turn navigation is incredible. It’s a tool that enables users to solve some of the problems that in some sense they didn’t even think that they had. The feedback has been very positive.

and if you haven't heard, the nexus one has reportedly only sold about 20,000 units since its launch. eek.

motorola confirms droid update to android 2.1

Kellen — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:33:00 +0000

just 4 hours ago, the motorola droid twitter account gave us all some very welcoming news. they have officially confirmed the android 2.1 update coming to your motorola droid. no set timetable, but at least we can start dreaming about things to come.

video: review seesmic twitter on android

Kellen — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:15:00 +0000

the first of our many application reviews! seesmic is the newest twitter application that is worth your time and its release provided the perfect opportunity to start off our application review series. without getting into written details, we'll just say that you should go download it in the market for free and follow along in the video...

android 2.1 sdk released

Kellen — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:32:00 +0000

for you programmers out there, be happy to hear that the android 2.1 software development kit (sdk) is now available.

from google...

Today, we are releasing the SDK component for Android 2.1, so that developers can take advantage of the new features introduced in Android 2.1. Please read the Android 2.1 release notes for more details. You can download the Android 2.1 component through the SDK Manager.

In addition to the new SDK, a new USB driver that supports Nexus One is also available today through the SDK Manager. The USB driver page contains more information.

does this mean that the update for motorola droid's to android 2.1 is on the horizon? it better.

security flaw on motorola droid 2.0.1

Kellen — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:03:00 +0000

update: video proof from us over at droiddog.com!

for those of you using the lock pattern on your motorola droid running android 2.0.1, understand that it is not completely safe.

if your phone is locked and you receive a call, you can hit the "back" button and jump right into your phone without ever unlocking it. (yikes!) if you hit the "home" button it will lock, but the "back" button has left the phone wide open.

to test it, try this:

1. set the lock pattern on your phone
2. call your phone with someone else's phone
3. answer the call
4. press the "back" button while on the call
5. bam!

and i've tried this myself and can assure you that this works. let's hope there is a patch soon to fix this issue.

best free motorola droid applications - vol. 2

Kellen — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:37:00 +0000

when we first started this little motorola droid blog, we popped off our original list of the best droid applications. and since that list, we've learned and experienced a ton more with this phone and thought it was time to update the list or at least give you some new options. here is our second list of the best android applications... 1. seesmic - this might only be in version 1.1, but it quickly replaced twidroid on our phone. it looks better, has every option you could need, and performs much smoother than any other twitter app for android. and yep, it's free. 2. google voice -you'll need to apply for an account, but once you get it you'll be loving life. it transcribes your voicemails, records calls if you want, and sends you notifications or emails when you have new ones. google really is always changing the way the world works. 3. swype - we wrote about swype, told you how to install it, and have been using it ever since. what a great replacement to the android keyboard, right? it takes a day to get used to, but once you figure it out, it's amazingly fast. 4. flan gallery - we also gave you instructions on how to install this fantastic gallery application. you need to get this right now if you don't already have it. this is the gallery app from the nexus one and android 2.1 which will amaze you. 5. dolphin browser - hating google for leaving out multi-touch on your browser? download dolphin from the market for free and you've got it. plus, it runs like firefox which is lovely. here is another tutorial we did showing the awesomeness that is dolphin. 6. layar - heard of the iphone's "augmented reality?" layar brings it to android. this app takes your location, uses your camera, and points out cool stuff near you including restaurants, golf courses, bars, and just about anything else you are looking for. it takes some time to get used to, but it's sooooooo worth it. 7. yelp - yelp exists in layar, but in case that is too advanced for you, go ahead and just get this one. it's not as advanced and up-to-date as the iphone version, but it's come a long way. i love me some yelp. 8. kayak - kayak has been the greatest vacation search engine for some time and the app is no disappointment. grab it for free in the market. 9. ringdroid - want to make your own free ringtones? it doesn't get any easier than this. you can make them in seconds using your own music plus you can set them as alarms, ringtones, or notifications. love it. 10. robo defense - i'm not really a phone gaming kind of guy, but this game is so damn addicting. check out the free version and if you go crazy on it, it's worth purchasing. what else are you using that i haven't mentioned yet?

motorola milestone users! android 2.0.1 is on the way!

Kellen — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 19:00:00 +0000

for our european counterparts, and users of the motorola milestone, your fears can now disappear. your motorola milestone will soon be updated to android 2.0.1! through motorola's european facebook page, they leave us with this quote:

“Attention Android lovers. The 2.01 update is on its way for all Milestone users – watch this space for more info. The Android 2.1 upgrade for MILESTONE is also on its way and will be ready in the next 2 months. We can confirm that DEXT will get the Android 2.1 upgrade as well – once we have the timing for this, will let you know here…”

a huge thanks to @JimBrown007 for sending this tip over.

iphone beats motorola droid in touchscreen test

Kellen — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:58:00 +0000

we just checked out this video showing the performance of the touchscreens on an iphone, motorola droid and droid eris. the iphone dominated while our lovely little motorola droid seemed to struggle in the test. i'm not surprised by this at all. and part of me believes this is the reason that we don't have multi-touch enabled on this phone. the fact that the screen is not as accurate and responsive sucks, but in no way means this isn't one of the top phones on the planet. try multi-tasking mr. iphone.

motorola droid - multimedia docking station "unboxed"

Kellen — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:55:00 +0000

we finally purchased the multimedia docking station for our motorola droid and i'm actually very satisfied with it. it allows you to do everything on your phone still and will serve as an excellent alarm clock for me. in fact i purchased it so that i could use it at night as my clock, but it does so much more than just that. an unexpected feature was its use of the new flan gallery which we've been raving about for weeks now. at $30 through verizonwireless.com, i suggest taking a look at it...

video: flash 10.1 running on motorola droid

Kellen — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:38:00 +0000

and just as i clicked publish on that previous post with the announcement that flash and android 2.1 are coming soon to the motorola droid, we find this gem of a video showcasing flash 10 already running on a droid. and i just got excited.

android 2.1 coming to motorola droid soon

Kellen — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:29:00 +0000

according to zdnet's mattew miller, the major motorola android devices will soon have android 2.1. the funny thing is, the CEO of motorola will only go as far as saying he "thinks" they will get 2.1. interesting enough. now go throw a party. this is exciting news especially after seeing the video from adobe on their flash 10 player for the nexus on. if you haven't seen it, check it out below.

nexus one vs. motorola droid vs. iphone vs. palm pre

Kellen — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:17:00 +0000

check out this sheet which compares the 4 major phones on the market right now: nexus one, iphone, motorola droid, and palm pre.

sync flan gallery with picasa web galleries - motorola droid

Kellen — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:52:00 +0000

third installment of the flan gallery series! i seriously hope this is the last one... reader ted who has been all over this new app, pointed out the new sync feature this gallery enables once installed. you can now sync the gallery with your picasa web account and pull in all of your pictures. the best part might be that once sync'd, the photos aren't actually stored on your phone but are still available to do with as you please.

installing flan gallery on android 2.0.1 - motorola droid

Kellen — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:26:00 +0000

after posting our instructions on how to install the new flan gallery onto your android 2.0.1 device, we had a request as to do another video which shows you exactly how to actually do it. we took a different approach this time and showed you how to install 3rd party apps without using your usb cable and mounting to your computer. all phone baby! and make sure to check out the video we made for droiddog.com which highlights all of the features of this fantastic gallery app.

dear google, send us a nexus one!

Kellen — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:57:00 +0000

yes google, we would gladly take one of those fabulous nexus one phones off your hands for "testing," "reviewing," and "promoting!" as much as we love our motorola droid, the idea of a slimmer/lighter version of our phone, with a trackball, and android 2.1 has us drooling. obviously part of the reason we purchased the droid was for the keyboard and while your nexus one lacks that, i think we would probably live without it. so if you have an extra phone lying around, feel free to send one over for our oh-so-professional video reviews! love, kellex side notes! and to those of you wondering what the hell i'm blabbing about, check out the latest photos and reviews from engadget and nexusoneblog who both received nexus one phones over the last couple of days.

motorola droid app - install the flan gallery from 2.1

Kellen — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:49:00 +0000

i'm sure you've seen the fancy flan gallery app on all the nexus one videos right? well someone ported it to android 2.0.1 so that we can all enjoy its magic. what a fantastic gallery application this is my friends. this is exactly the way the gallery should have been on android 2.0. download instructions are below with a video coming shortly...

installation instructions:

1. Download gallery_flan.apk to your computer. (alt link)
2. Copy gallery.apk file to your sdcard.
3. On your phone go to Settings, then Applications and enable Unknown Sources.
4. On your phone, use a file manager such as Astro to browse to the gallery.apk file. Tap the file and install it.
5. You will now have two Gallery applications listed in your launcher -- the second one is the flan port. Tap it to launch the application.

video posted over at droiddog.com!

the rest of the android 2.1 apps you need:

1. nexus one / sense ui launcher
2. new eclair gallery with multi-touch
3. genie news and weather 2.1
4. launcher 2.1
5. music app 2.1
6. clock app 2.1
7. flan gallery 2.1

installing swype keyboard on motorola droid

Kellen — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:37:00 +0000

heard about the new swype keyboard for your motorola droid? here is how you can install it before it's actually released! and trust me, it's worth it... the directions: 1. download and install the astro file manager from the android marketplace 2. download this zip file. 3. unzip that file, which will give you a file called “[mfhs]Swype-SwypeReference-WVGA854-trial-release.0.35.3959.apk” 4. copy the apk file to your handset’s sd card 5. on your android handset, go to settings > applications > and check the box next to "unknown sources" 6. use astro to browse for the apk file on your sd card, install it. 7. go to settings > language and keyboard. enable the swype keyboard. 8. you should now be able to switch between the standard keyboard and the swype keyboard by tapping-and-holding on any text input field. 9. and your done.

motorola droid pictures - night and day the snow is falling

Kellen — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:02:00 +0000

we are getting dumped on with snow as i type this in portland and i wanted to share the pics that the droid took today. these are soooooooooo much better now with the camera fix from android update 2.0.1 aren't they? the snow storm provided a nice progression from light to dark and the droid seemed to handle it fine this time. enjoy!

how to set up bluetooth on your motorola droid

Kellen — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:21:00 +0000

happy holidays everyone! today's video is a simple tutorial on how to set up your bluetooth headset to your new motorola droid phone. seriously, nothing could be easier than setting up bluetooth to your droid. how can you not love this phone?

droid - in-call multi-tasking - suck it iphone?

Kellen — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:38:00 +0000

our newest video tutorial is a brief on how to multi-task while on a call with your motorola droid. iphone and at and t are all over verizon right now with their supposed limitations on sending data while on a call, and we're here to show you all the stuff you can still do. so maybe you can't send an actual email while on the phone, but you can do so many other things. your twitter refreshes, weather updates, movie times update and the list just goes on and on... check it out!

motorola droid hacked - android 2.1 with multi-touch

Kellen — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:46:00 +0000

we showed you the video earlier this week of android 2.1 from the nexus one phone ported over to a motorola droid. that video simply showed you the new boot screen, well now we have actual footage of the phone in action with multi-touch or "pinch-to-zoom" going on all over the place. the phone also has the flip feature in your picture gallery so you can flip between pictures easier than by using the arrows as we do on android 2.0.1. check it out!

motorola droid ported to android 2.1

Kellen — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:42:00 +0000

that didn't take long. just after the world hears of the nexus one phone coming out soon from google with android 2.1, a motorola droid shows up on youtube with android 2.1 already running. check out the video here... and a lot of pics over at engadget.

reviews: motorola droid hard plastic cases

Kellen — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:02:00 +0000

we've now purchased 3 different motorola droid hard plastic cases and have the definitive review. we got one from accessorygeeks.com, another from daydeal.com and our final one from verizonwireless.com and we'll tell you which one you need to buy through our latest video...

motorola droid camera update - android 2.0.1 - it's fast!

Kellen — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:18:00 +0000

since we received the android 2.0.1 update last night, we've been playing with our phones like crazy. in fact, we can't put the thing down now that so much has been fixed. one of the major fixes was the camera on this droid and we've got to say that the android team did a fantastic job. it refreshes really fast, it focuses, and overall is 100% better. check out the video of the refresh time...

manual android 2.0.1 installation is possible

Kellen — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:03:00 +0000

waiting impatiently for your android 2.0.1 OTA update from verizon for your motorola droid? you can jump head of the game and do this manual installation. just follow these instructions...

Here's what you'll need to do:

1) Download the file update.zip and place it in the main root directory on the DROID's microSD memory card.
-Do NOT place it in any sub-directory or rename the file to something else.
2) Power the phone off.
3) Slide open the phone so you can see the keyboard.
4) Press-and-hold the letter X on the keyboard and press the Power button until the device powers on.
5) Continue to hold the X button until the screen shows a triangle and exclamation mark.
6) Release the X button and then press the Volume UP *and* Camera buttons at the same time. Keep the phone open.
7) On the screen you will see several choices, use the d-pad to move down the list and select the "update.zip" file.
8) The update will begin and take a few minutes.
9) Once it is done, select the 1st option on the screen to Reboot the phone - NOT Factory Restore.
10) The phone will turn off and then restart, and the "DROID EYE" will show for about 2-5 minutes.
11) Once the Home Screen loads, everything will be intact, including programs and settings.
12) Turn phone back off, remove battery, wait 1 minute, replace battery and turn phone on.

let us know if you have any issues with the installation and we'll do our best to help troubleshoot.

(h/t to phonearena.com for the instructions.)

new motorola droid on sale for $119.99

Kellen — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:10:00 +0000

if you haven't picked up your motorola droid yet and are looking for the best deal on one, you have to check out Wirefly.com. i bought my droid brand new on its release week for $99.99 while everyone else was told to sell it for $199.99 which was after the $100 rebate. so everyone else paid $299.99 upfront and i paid just $99.99. ridiculous right? i'm telling you to go to Wirefly.com and grab yours. the price they are selling it at now is just $119.99 which is still cheaper than any on the planet. oh, and you get free shipping on it.

motorola droid update to android 2.0.1 video

Kellen — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:57:00 +0000

we told you the other day about the android 2.0.1 updates that were being rolled out by verizon and now we've finally received ours. there didn't appear to be any logic behind the rollout, but we got ours last night about 9pm. so here is the quick video showing you some of the new stuff including how smooth your phone will run plus the camera refresh and focus times. check it out...

motorola droid system update to 2.0.1 available!

Kellen — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:59:00 +0000

just to let everyone know that the update to android 2.0.1 is starting to roll out to motorola droid users! you can't do this update until you receive notification from verizon, but we should all have the update very soon. here is the system update page from verizon which you should check out before you receive your notification for updating. once we have our update we'll be posting a video of our findings! until then, check out the list of updates below...

motorola droid app - dolphin browser has multi-touch

Kellen — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:26:00 +0000

[FrontpageSlideshow fs_cats=1 fs_show_buttons=0 fs_main_width=700px fs_main_height=220px fs_orderby=date fs_rounded=0 fs_template=default]

still waiting for the android or motorola droid crew to release multi-touch for your browser? well the company that makes the dolphin browser has released its newest version which includes pinch-to-zoom and is available for free in the android market. quick tutorial here...

motorola droid mounting issue? quick tutorial / hack

Kellen — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:45:00 +0000

if you've been having continued trouble mounting your motorola droid to your windows xp or vista machine, then check out this quick tutorial. it seems to be helping quite a few people...

For me, I have to leave USB debugging turned on all the time. I have to plug in my
Droid (Motorola), bring down the notification bar, tap on the USB connection, click
mount, then see things not work. At this point, I go into Device Manager, uninstall
three things: 1) ADB Debugging device, Motorola A855 device, and the only connected
USB Mass Storage Device. Next I disconnect my Droid, reconnect it, then bring down
the notification bar, tap on the USB connection, click mount, and it works.

I have to go through the connect, uninstall devices (x3), reconnect, mount process
each time and this works without fail. Simply turning on/off USB debugging does
nothing for me.

Keep in mind, my computer sees the phone's SD card, it simply refuses to mount the
SD card without the uninstall/reconnect option I'v described above. When I
say "Sees the phone's SD card" I mean that the SD card shows as a drive (i.e. F:
drive) but refuses to let me open it even after clicking Mount under the
notification bar. Only after the uninstall/reconnection option I've described above
can I click Mount under the notification bar and see the drive (i.e. F: drive) and
see the drive become active (not grayed out) and see it's size and contents.

let me know if you have any questions!

slow running motorola droid?

Kellen — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:31:00 +0000

we keep hearing about people's issues with either a slow running droid or a battery draining droid. we wrote and gave a tutorial on an application called advanced task killer just a week ago to show many of you how to help save battery drain during the night. well we wanted to bring you another application which is also free that we've switched to over the last week. it's called advanced task manager (big difference eh?), is free, and seems to come with a ton more options than the free version of advanced task killer. not only does it show you the applications you have running in the background, but it gives you all the processes you have running and which items in your system directory that are taking up memory. pretty fantastic right? with the battery drain and slow phone news breaking all over the place, there have been a barrage of new app killing apps out there, but we suggest advanced task manager first, since it's free.

battery drain fix tutorial - motorola droid

Kellen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:51:00 +0000

we put together another quick video tutorial to help you with your battery drain issues. basically it comes down to the number of apps your phone is running when you aren't using it. if in standby mode and you have 15 apps running, you can said "bye bye" to your battery. we use an app called advanced task killer which is free through the market and is a must have...

first droid battery drain last night

Kellen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:24:00 +0000

went to bed with 2/3 of a battery and woke up this morning with a dead phone. at first i thought it was just a screen freeze up, but then after turning it back on realized i had 2% of my battery left.

as you can see from this forum post, battery drain has become quite the topic.

as a point of reference, i do not turn my phone off at night and just leave it in standby mode. still, dropping from 60-70% to a dead phone in about 6 hours with just syncing and background stuff working is quite a drain.

one quick tip: before going to bed, use the app "advanced task killer" and kill off any running apps before shutting those eyes for the night. this might eliminate all those unauthorized background tasks from killing your phone.

anyone else with battery drain issue? any fixes besides turning off my background tasks?

more droid pics from the game

Kellen — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:43:00 +0000

at first glance, these pics look pretty sharp. and then you blow them up or really focus in and you can see that the camera is still under-performing for a 5MP camera. oh well, still fun!

droid mounting in windows usb issue?

Kellen — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:02:00 +0000

i can get my droid to mount on my windows 7 machine without hesitation. however, when i try to mount it to my windows xp machine, it can't figure out what the hell to do.

apparently google and android developers have been using a fixed usb driver that seems to work. you can download it here:

http://dl.google.com/android/android_usb_windows.zip

some people have also suggested that you just use a different data cable than the one provided in the droid box. as far as i know, the data cables for new blackberry devices should work.

droid video - dancing blazer lady

Kellen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:56:00 +0000

with the first actual live video we took with the motorola droid's camera, we captured this from in the rose garden arena. some views of the crowd and then a focus on the jumbotron. it's not awful quality, but not superb. i will say that we've come a long way since 1MP flip phone cameras haven't we?

tonight's prep - photos in an arena

Kellen — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:13:00 +0000

in about 10 minutes i'll be off to check out the detroit pistons vs. the portland trail blazers here in oregon and plan on snapping a ton of pics. i'm definitely going to put this droid camera through the ringer tonight and hopefully it pulls down some nice caps. so stay tuned as i'll be uploading throughout the game similarly to a live feed. should be fun!

first bug! sound error

Kellen — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:12:00 +0000

ran into my first bug last night and i have no idea what it stemmed from. basically, after a day of playing with my new motorola droid, my sound went almost to silent. at first i thought it was my locale profiles going a little whacky, but an uninstall of that didn't fix the problem. i also played with the actual sound settings manually and nothing seemed to work.

basically, when i had someone try to call me, the ringtone was about as faint as you can get. and if i hung up on the person, the volume would then crank up to its normal level for a split second. too weird.

so what fixed it? a reboot. i call it a reboot because this is really a computer and sometimes, after a tough day of tweaks, you need a reboot and a fresh start.

anyone else experience a sound bug?

inside droid camera shots

Kellen — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:24:00 +0000

as you can tell from these inside pictures, the camera struggled again. i messed with different settings by taking it off of "auto" and you can see that the results vary. it's definitely a camera that needs tweaking and we'll just hope it gets a software upgrade soon enough. we'll also hope that it's not the camera that sucks.

moto droid camera remains questionable

Kellen — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:23:00 +0000

i stepped out just a few minutes ago to snap a few pictures to show many of you how inconsistent and questionable this motorola droid camera really is. obviously it's dusk and a tough time for any camera, but this thing can't take anything clear.

top 10 motorola droid apps

Kellen — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:29:00 +0000

wanted to give you just a quick rundown of my favorite 10 marketplace applications after having my motorola droid for a full week...

1. twidroid - this is a no brainer. if yer a tech saavy machine like i am and have multiple blogs, then you need to have twitter. so far this seems to be the best twitter app for the droid and is free. there is an upgraded version out there which costs money, but i have yet to see a reason to do so.

2. google places directory - without a workable yelp application available, we checked out google places directory and it seems to work great. it knows where you are, lists a ton of places around you and until yelp arrives, can't be beat.

3. meebo im - solid im application that works with all of your im logins. you can have everything from facebook to gtalk to yahoo to msn messenger all working at the same time. too easy.

4. locale - one of the coolest ideas to date. you can tell your phone to do certain tasks depending on where you are in the world. when i'm at home, i have my wifi come on automatically and when i'm at work i have my phone switch to silent. all without touching a button.

5. advanced task killer -new droid running slow? probably because of all those applications running in the background. a.t.k. will list them out and let you choose which ones should stay running.

6. sportstap - what else is there to use for sports updates? no one tops sportstap.

7. opentable - need a reservation at some fancy restaurant in your city? opentable is easily the best available.

8. easymoney - i put every single one of my bills in this bad boy and it reminds me to pay them all. how great is that? its a trial version for 30 days and i have yet to find out how much the full version goes for. i'll keep you updated.

9. weatherbug -works in the background to update you on crazy weather happenings and also adds the current temperature to your notifications bar. love it.

10. wi-fi on/off - if you aren't using locale, then you should have this app. without having to go into your settings, you just tap the icon for this app and it toggles your wifi.

any favorites that i missed?

using multi-touch with a motorola droid

Kellen — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:59:00 +0000

they said multi-touch or pinch-to-zoom wasn't available on the motorola droid and they lied. it is available but only in a little program called picsay...

installing a plastic case on your motorola droid

Kellen — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:05:00 +0000

just received a new white case from accessorygeeks.com and wanted to show you how it installs and looks...

my new white droid

Kellen — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:19:00 +0000

case courtesy of accessorygeeks.com...

Droid Life Starts Now...

Kellen — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:38:00 +0000

I finally picked up my new Motorola Droid on Thursday, November 12th and I've been absolutely addicted ever since. I've seen all of the iPhone 3GS comparison videos, read the reports, laughed at them all and couldn't care less what these supposed experts have vomited. This phone is one of the top 3 phones on the entire market right now and if you are stuck with Verizon, then you should have this phone. There is zero point in arguing the differences between a 3rd generation iPhone and a first generation Droid. All I care about is the absolute unique functionality and the fact that the coverage I get is never non-existent, which is something iPhone users will never be able to say while the Apple contract sticks with AT&T. So join along while I bring you my experiences with this fantastic new piece of technology. It'll definitely be fun... Edit: This post was edited to not look like complete amateur, 2009 garbage.