Posts Tagged ‘Droid X’

It looks like Droid X users may have to wait for another month to update to Android 2.2, aka Froyo.  According to “Matt,” a Motorola employee on Motorola’s Droid X support forum, the Android 2.2 update is scheduled for deployment by “early September.”  This timeframe does jive with other reports that the Android 2.2 update would be available by the end of Summer.

Matt posted this info in response to Microsoft Exchange 2003 notification problems posted on Motorola’s Droid X forums.  You can check out the whole thread here.

It’s nice to finally get a Android 2.2 update timeframe from an actual Motorola employee.  Especially after all the rumors than an OTA update for the Droid X was being rolled out last week.

Here’s some good news for Incredible, Droid and Droid X users:  WareGround.com is reporting that a “Verizon tipster” has confirmed that these three smartphones will be bumped up to Froyo, aka Android 2.2, starting on August 6th, with all devices expected to be updated by August 15th.  Who knows how reliable WareGround’s “Verizon tipster” is, but this evening Engadget reported that at least one Droid X user received an over-the-air update to Froyo.

We’re not particularly fond of the waiting-for-OTA-update-game, but it appears that this will be the case for many Android smartphone owners over the next two to three weeks.  Be honest, how many times have you checked “Systems updates” so far?

Rooting an Android device can be an intimidating proposition for some users.  But thanks to AllDroid.org member Sil3ntKi113, the rooting process just got a whole lot easier.  In a forum post yesterday, Sil3ntKi113 offered up a GUI rooting program for the Droid X that makes rooting the device as easy as pushing a single button, above.  Want to unroot your X?  That just takes a single button press as well.

And to think that just a couple weeks ago we were afraid we wouldn’t be able to root our Droid X at all.  Pick up the rooting app here.

Today Verizon acknowledged that a “small number” of Droid X units are suffering from screen flickering or banding issues.  According to the carrier, Motorola has already solved this problem and will continue to ship phones.  If you do have a defective unit, you can take it back to Verizon or contact Motorola’s customer support.

The company estimates that this issue affects about 0.1% of Droid X users – so it’s not a widespread problem by any means.  Still, it’s nice to see Verizon get out and nip this issue in the bud…although we do have to admit, a terse email from the company’s CEO would have been much more entertaining.

Source:  Engadget

Just minutes after the Motorola Droid X was officially released by Verizon, we heard some disheartening news about the device’s anti-modding security features.

According to the Android Police and My Droid World Chief of Staff and founder p3droid, the Droid X features an eFuse chip that will permanently brick the phone if the device’s bootloader is tampered with.  That means no custom ROMs and no modifying the phone’s bootloader and kernel in any noticeable way.

To be fair, although Android Police and p3droid claim that the phone will be permanently bricked, this is not completely accurate.  You can apparently repair the phone, but only by taking the device to Motorola itself.

Motorola issued vague comments on the Droid X’s security features, saying:

“Securing the software on our handsets, thereby preventing a non-Motorola ROM image from being loaded, has been our common practice for many years. This practice is driven by a number of different business factors. When we do deviate from our normal practice, such as we did with the DROID, there is a specific business reason for doing so. We understand this can result in some confusion, and apologize for any frustration.”

However, the company did not comment specifically on “permanently bricking” devices, and if true this would be a huge slap in the face to the Android community.  Openness, after all, is central to the Android platform – a platform that Motorola has championed, and a platform that has helped to bring Motorola back to prominence in the mobile phone market.

More importantly, the openness of Android is often a key factor that drives purchases of Android devices.  While Motorola has the right to lock down their devices, they shouldn’t market the Droid X as a typical Android 2.1 phone if the device is not in fact open.

As you can see above, Motorola advertises the use of the “Android Platform” and “Android 2.1” on the Droid X.  If the company is indeed implementing security features that limit the openness of Android, this should be clearly stated in the company’s marketing materials.

Hopefully Motorola will clarify the purpose of the eFuse chip, and respond to reports from p3droid and the Android Police.  We want to give the company the benefit of the doubt here, but if p3droid’s assumptions are correct, Motorola has clearly been deceptive in their marketing of the Droid X and prospective buyers of the device should respond accordingly.

Yup, the Droid X is officially here.  You can order the phone right now on Verizon’s website for $200 with a two year contract, $270 with a one year contract, or $570 month to month.

Better yet, head over to WireFly, where you can grab the device for $180, with a two year contract.

This week will be a big week for Android phones.  On July 15th, the highly anticipated Motorola Droid X will be released by Verizon.  And just last week, we learned that AT&T will be making its own play on the Android front, with the July 18th release of the Samsung Captivate.

Both of these phones are quite impressive, and represent some of the leading designs on the Android market today.  Here’s how they stack up:

As you can see, the specs on both of these phones are pretty impressive.  We’re a bit disappointed with the lack of a flash on the Captivate, while the lack of Wireless-N on the Droid X is a downside.

We love the idea of 16GB of flash storage on the Captivate, while the 8GB of storage on the Droid X can only be used for apps.

It will also be great to see the Droid X’s 4.3” TFT LCD screen side by side with the Captivate’s 4” Super AMOLED display.

Apple may not be showing Adobe much love, but Adobe appears to be making lots of headway on Android.  Today, the company released a demo of Senior Technical Evangelist Ted Patrick showing off Flash 10.1 running on a Motorola Droid X, and overall the demo looks pretty good.

Patrick demoed a couple of games which ran smoothly, for the most part, in full screen mode.  Next, Patrick demoed a World Cup Flash app that provides score updates, game stats and more.  It seemed that the Droid X had a bit of difficulty with this app – scrolling was a bit choppy, even at slow speeds.

Flash 10.1 will be coming to Android 2.2, aka Froyo, so most users will need to wait until Froyo updates are available for their respective devices.  Even the Droid X, which will be released on July 15th, will be released with Android 2.1 – users will need to wait until August for a Froyo update.

Best Buy halted preorders for the Motorola Droid X on June 30th, after their expected stock had been depleted.  Well, it looks like Best Buy is coming back in for a second round of preorders, although these preorders will not get you a Droid X until post launch.

Here are a few FAQs from Best Buy’s forums:

Does Best Buy® have a confirmed launch day for the Droid X by Motorola?

Not at this time.  However, we will be launching at the same time as Verizon.

Does pre-ordering the Droid X by Motorola at Best Buy® guarantee me a phone on launch day?

No.  However, we do fulfill pre-orders in the order they were placed.

Did Best Buy® take pre-orders for the Droid X by Motorola?
Yes. We began accepting the first round of pre-orders for the Droid X by Motorola on Friday, June 25th, but we stopped taking them on Wednesday, June 30th.  We started a second round of pre-orders on Sunday, July 4th.

If I pre-ordered the Droid X by Motorola at Best Buy®, does that mean I am supposed to get it on launch day?
Ideally, yes.  But, this is not supposed to be guaranteed and is completely dependent on how many the store receives from the supplier.  Any inventory received will be used to fulfill outstanding pre-orders in the order they were placed.  For example, if the store has twenty pre-orders on launch day but only received fifteen phones, then the first fifteen pre-orders should receive their phone on launch day.

It looks like there’s a bunch of confusion over the number of available Droid X units, not to mention the device’s launch date.  HTC and Apple have experienced production delays with their new phones, so it’s no surprise that Motorola appears to be suffering from similar problems.  Hopefully, Verizon and Best Buy will get a better handle on this soon.

Yesterday, Bloomberg reporter Amy Thomson reported that Verizon Wireless will start to sell the Apple iPhone in January 2011.  It has long been rumored that AT&T’s exclusivity deal with Apple will be ending soon, and Thomson’s unnamed sources confirm that this will be the case come 2011.  According to Thomson’s report, Verizon plans to release the iPhone as it rolls out its 4th generation LTE network in the United States.

While rumors of a Verizon iPhone have not panned out in the past, the Bloomberg report does appear to be much more credible than previous rumors.  Thomson appears to have solid sources that have provided specific details, and Bloomberg’s backing of the story does lend credibility.

The Bloomberg report also comes just a couple of weeks before Verizon releases its strongest iPhone competitor yet, the Motorola Droid X.  The Droid X features a large 4.3” screen, 1GHz processor and the Android OS, a solid feature set that will attract smartphone early adopters.

We wouldn’t be surprised if Apple leaked the news of a Verizon iPhone prior to the Droid X release.  This would likely encourage at least some prospective Droid X buyers to take a wait-and-see approach rather than signing up for a new two year contract with the purchase of a Droid X.

All of this is speculation, of course, but it does seem like a strong play on Apple’s part, especially considering that Verizon’s $350 early termination fee will make it tough for Verizon customers with existing contracts to move to a new device before their contract expires.