Archive for category Droid News
Preorder The Samsung Droid Charge: The New 4G LTE Droid On Verizon
Posted by admin in Best Samsung Droid Charge Deals, Samsung Droid Charge on April 25, 2011
The 4G Samsung Droid Charge
Preorder The Samsung Droid Charge, Get Free Shipping
UPDATE: Amazon Wireless is taking preorders for the Droid Charge. Follow the link to view options and pricing. Free two day shipping included.
The Samsung Droid Charge is also available for preorder through online wireless retailer Wirefly. Order your Droid Charge today and get free shipping via FedEx.
Samsung Droid Charge Launch Set For April 28th
Samsung Mobile & Verizon Wireless will launch the Droid Charge on April 28th, 2011.
The Samsung Droid Charge is the second 4G LTE smartphone for Verizon’s new 4G LTE network.
Samsung has engineered a wicked device that is a strong competitor to the uber-successful HTC Thunderbolt. The Droid Charge is based on Samsung’s Galaxy S series, a strong, successful platform to build from (see the Samsung Fascinate). The Droid Charge looks a lot like a Galaxy S phone, though there has been changes: the navigation touchscreen buttons on the Galaxy S series are replaced with clicky buttons on the Droid Charge; HDMI and MicroSD slots are added to the sides of the Droid Charge; the Droid Charge has a shield-like shape compared to the candybar Galaxy S phones (note: phones in following picture are not displayed to scale).
With its 4.3” Super AMOLED Plus display, the Droid Charge will be a bit larger than the Galaxy S phones. I prefer smartphones with screens no larger than 4” for their smaller form factor, but I think the largeness of the 4.3” display will be made up for by the stunning clarity of Samsung’s new Super AMOLED Plus display. This new display is bright, conservative with power, high resolution, and has easy viewing from varying angles. The Droid Charge’s state of the art display makes the Droid Charge the phone to have for heavy multimedia users. Incidentally, as a happy Galaxy S owner, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the Droid Charge’s improved display. View the display for yourself in the following hands-on video created in January during CES 2011.
The Samsung Droid Charge’s touchscreen display looks awesome during the demo of “Let’s Golf 2″. The display’s clarity and brightness is truly remarkable. On most other smartphones, displays are likely to be whitewashed at sharp viewing angles because of backlit LCD displays. With the Droid Charge, the display looks basically the same no matter what angle it’s viewed from. The Super AMOLED displays are also power-saving compared to other types, which is beneficial to battery charge. For me, Samsung’s Super AMOLED displays are tied with the iPhone 4’s Retina Display for being the best smartphone displays currently on the market. When compared to the iPhone 4′s display, the Droid Charge’s Super AMOLED Plus display may outperform based on most criteria aside from resolution (hardly lagging, though noticable).
There was one Skype glitch early in the video. Samsung has had a lot of time to fix these types of bugs, so expect a solid Droid Charge experience when trying the phone later this week.
Samsung Droid Charge Specs
• 4G LTE data speeds
• Android 2.2, upgradable to Android 2.3
• 1GHz Hummingbird CPU
• 512 MB RAM
• 2 GB internal storage; upgradable with 32 GB microSD card
• Rear-facing 8MP camera
• 1.3MP front-facing camera
• 802.11 Wi-Fi b/g/n
• 4.3” Super AMOLED Plus display
• Bluetooth 3.0
• aGPS
• Samsung’s TouchWiz UI
• Mobile hotspot connection for up to 10 devices (feature available free of charge until May 15th)
• Unlimited data plans until mid-summer. Will unlimited data plans carry over for Verizon customers who are currently paying for unlimited data when Verizon switches to data capped pricing this summer?
The Droid Charge is going to be a strong phone, especially for users demanding a cutting edge multimedia experience from their smartphones. Compared to the Thunderbolt, there are only minor differences in hardware, aside from the displays. I expect consumers will prefer the Droid Charge’s Super AMOLED Plus display in side by side comparisons with HTC Thunderbolt, and that this will strongly affect purchase decisions.
As a happy Galaxy S user myself, I’m definitely looking forward to giving the Droid Charge a test run after its April 28th launch.
What do you think of the Droid Charge? Have you preordered the Droid Charge? Why or why not? Are you waiting for another 4G phone to land on Verizon’s network? Will the Droid Charge supplant the HTC Thunderbolt as Verizon’s best 4G phone?
Report: 300,000 Android Devices Being Activated Daily; Increase In Tablet Activations To Follow?
Posted by admin in Droid News on February 25, 2011
Motorola Droid, Samsung Galaxy S Create Massive Spikes In Activations
According to this article, around 300,000 Android devices are activated daily across the globe. Consumers in the US, Europe, and East Asia account for most activations. Now that Google’s Android OS has led other mobile OS developers in market share for months now, it’s obvious that, at 300,000+ activations daily across the globe, the other developers have a lot of catching up to do.
Watch this video for a geographical representation of Android activations from early 2009 to the present:
Activations clearly spike upon the releases of the Motorola Droid (October-November 2009) and the Samsung Galaxy S phones (June 2010). This is no surprise, as the Motorola Droid set off Android’s popularity in the US marketplace, and Samsung’s Galaxy S series was a well-designed platform tailored to the capabilities of wireless carriers across the globe.
The video also demonstrates the power of a few well-implemented ideas: 1) Google’s idea to create an open OS for use by all cell phone manufacturers; 2) Motorola’s success in designing the Motorola Droid to be a phone capable of competing against the iPhone, rather than a phone that simply emulated the iPhone; 3) Verizon’s success in marketing its Droid line as a viable alternative to customers in the US.
The evolution of Android has been fun to observe. 2011 promises a new wave of Android devices in direct competition with Apple’s iPad—so will there be a similar video for Android tablet activations a year from now?
Motorola Droid X2 Coming Soon, With Faster Processor and Improved Touchscreen?
Posted by admin in Motorola Droid X2 on February 18, 2011
Upgraded Droid X--Droid X2--Coming Soon?
Leaks Speculate On Upgraded Droid X
Is Motorola working on a replacement to the Droid X?
According to various leaks, Motorola is developing the next iteration of the Droid X phone. This upgraded Droid X, currently dubbed the Droid X2 (or Droid squared?), should be released sometime toward the end of Q2 2011–perhaps this coming June?
A Droid X2 launch sometime in June definitely makes sense. The Droid X was released July of 2010, and the speed of innovation in wireless technology is so rapid that phones even 6 to 12 months old–like the Droid X–are considered obsolete. That’s not to say the Droid X currently being sold is a poorly performing phone. In fact, the current Droid X is probably the fastest, most able 3G phone on Verizon’s network you can get at this time, plus it’s sold for free by online wireless retailers like Amazon and Wirefly.
But as we depend on our phones more and more, manufacturers must adapt or be left behind. So the updated Droid X will likely come with a faster processor, more RAM, and perhaps a higher resolution touchscreen. Some speculators expect the Droid X2 to have the highly anticipated 1 GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor, whereas others expect a more cost-friendly 1.2 GHz single-core processor.
Perhaps the Droid X2 could even be made a global phone, as was done with the Droid 2?
And it definitely looks like the Droid X2 will be a 3G phone–no 4G capabilities included.
This same process happened with the Motorola Droid to Droid 2 upgrade: Motorola will develop hardware upgrades for a phone to keep pace with current technology and user demands, without losing the cachet of a phone’s brand and success. This allows Motorola to maintain its position in the high-end 3G smartphone market on Verizon’s network with the Droid X2, and at the same time provides Motorola the luxury of devoting a modicum of resources to maintaining this position so that it can devote more time and money to the emerging 4G market.
So what do you think? Do you find the Droid X lacking in performance? Are you interested in an upgrade to the Droid X2? What would it take to pique your interest?
And don’t forget to sign up to BuyDroidPhone’s e-mail newsletter for future news and updates regarding the Motorola Droid X2.
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