Motorola DROID 3 Update rolling out now

Well, Motorola and Verizon have finally started the 2.3 Gingerbread update rollout for the DROID 3. It was first announced earlier this month and after initially rolling out to a few testers it was pulled to make a few last minute changes. Now just a few weeks later everything is a go and the update should be hitting phones today.

The update today should bring the DROID 3 to build 5.6.890 and includes Google Talk with video chat along with a number of bug fixes that should help with things like battery life and overall stability. Many devices don’t get OTA updates this quick after being released so it’s a good sign to see Motorola working so quickly on these types of things. Here’s the official update info from Verizon.

It clearly states a few important bug fixes such as audio clarity for phone calls and navigation, as well as a fix for the annoying continuous alerts from visual voicemail some users were having. The biggest two features I see is Google Voice with video chat support, and users can now stream video with the NFL Mobile application on the DROID 3. Below in the gallery you can see the update doc in full size for all the details.
Go ahead and wait for the update, or as usual you can check manually by going to menu > settings > about phone > system updates and give it a try yourself if you’d rather not wait. Enjoy your freshly baked Gingerbread and let us know if you have further issues after the update.

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Best Buy cutting HTC Flyer price to $300 on October 6th

Rumors are flying that HTC’s first Android tablet will be seeing a significant price reduction soon. According to Phone Arena, Best Buy will be slashing the price of the wifi-only HTC Flyer to $300, a $200 reduction off the current retail price, next Thursday. If true, that could make the 7-incher a lot more attractive as the Android tablet market races to the bottom.

Reasons for the reduction are varied. First of all, the Flyer is definitely too expensive next to the $500 iPad and $400 Asus Transformer, both of which have a larger screen with a higher resolution. While the Flyer’s Gingerbread OS is a lot more capable that that of the Nook Color, mainstream consumers will have a hard time seeing the difference, capacitive stylus notwithstanding.
But the more immediate issue is probably the Amazon Kindle Fire, due in mid-November at a doorbusting price of just $199. Combine that with lowered expectations after the HP Touchpad $99 firesale and the Blackberry Playbook’s $299 price for a similar 16GB model, and it’s awfully hard to make a case for the Flyer’s comparatively high price tag. HTC is taking a lot of heat for its expensive tablets lately: the $700 on-contract price for the AT&T Jetsream drew scoffs from press and consumers alike.
Take this news with a grain of salt, as it comes from an anonymous tipster. A lowered price for the Flyer would certainly make it a lot more attractive, especially when the forthcoming Honeycomb update arrives. There’s no word yet on any similar price drops for the similar EVO View 4G, or whether or not the pricey stylus will also be reduced.

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Amazon Kindle Fire Q and A with PR Rep

While taking a close look at the Kindle Fire this week in New York City at the big Amazon event, we got several different perspectives on the brand new cloud-heavy elementally-named tablet. What you’re going to find is that, like all presentations of products at events such as these, there is a bit more detail in wings that, while the group presenting the device doesn’t mean to hide, simply isn’t as relevant to the general public, and is therefor not revealed unless someone specifically asks. That’s where Vince (behind the camera in this case) comes in.














The video you see below is our Android Community hands-on (or eyes-on if you prefer) video of the Kindle Fire in which we’re given a basic rundown of the features that are public already, followed by some Q and A. Past the standard look, the PR rep we’re speaking with opens a 3rd party magazine app and the questions begin.
Kindle Fire hands-on video



Android Community: Do you have to swipe or can you just [tap]?
Amazon PR: This one’s an app so it requires swiping.
AC: What about zooming in and out?
PR: I don’t know if they support it – we support multitouch zooming, but it doesn’t look like they support it here [in this app].
AC: Can you side-load PDFs?
PR: Yeah sure, but we don’t think people are going to do that as much because under the docks tab you have an email address for each Kindle Fire so you can just email [content] for free and it’ll just magically appear on the shelf.
At this point some of the questions come from other publications, so we’ll just switch to Q and A, watch the video to see who asks what if you need to know.
Q: Do you have an email client on there?
A: We do have an email client we’re not showing today, but it will come out of the box with an email client.
Q: And what about if you want to do some word processing, what’s the best way to go about doing something like that?
A: App store. Hopefully we’ll have multiple selections by the time we ship, in the app store, that’s the plan.
Q: Is it just going to be Amazon App Store or will there be stock Android App Store [Android Marketplace] as well?
A: Today it’s just he Amazon App Store – we’ll certainly talk to Google – if they’re interested – we’ll certainly talk to them.
Q: You’re doing browsing, can’t you [access] the Android Market that way?
A: Well no, because Google requires that you authenticate the device with their DRM and we don’t have their DRM on the device at this point.
Q: From a hardware perspective, what ports are available? Is it just charging?
A: Yes just USB, that’s for connecting to your PC or also we have a charger, fast charger, and then on the bottom you have a headphone jack for headphones and then a power/sleep button.
Q: And then battery – how long? Usage-wise – video?
A: You should get – in sort of a run-down test – you should get three films. If you want to play them without Wi-fi on you should get up to seven hours.
We’re pretty bummed that this device doesn’t appear at the moment to have any capabilities for outputting video to bigger screens, in particular. As far as using the tablet for media, unless Amazon is seeing some sort of quick trend away from such functionality, transmitting to bigger screens is a must for your humble narrator and crew. WIll this hurt sales? We’re can’t quite yet be sure!

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Google/Motorola Mobility deal to be further looked into by DOJ

The AT&T and T-Mobile merger has been getting quite a bit of attention lately, with just about everyone thinking that this is a bad move. Meanwhile another major acquisition, Google and Motorola Mobility, has been rather quiet and keeping to the background, at least until now where the DOJ (Department of Justice) has decided to take a closer look at the $12.5 billion deal.
Google has in the past been closely scrutinized, which is expected considering the power and reach that the company has managed to amass over the years, and it looks like this deal will be no different. This request for more information by the DOJ will basically result in the deal not being able to close for an additional several months, which could pose a problem for both companies. What comes to mind is Motorola Mobility’s lawsuit with Apple, where Apple has requested for a stay until the merger between Google and Motorola Mobility has been completed, and if the merger has been dragged out it could end up being to Apple’s advantage.
It has been speculated that perhaps one of the reasons why the DOJ is taking a closer look at this deal is due to Android being the leading smartphone platform at the moment. Controlling a little over 40% of the smartphone platform market share, and despite Google claiming Android to be open-source, this acquisition could limit competition, especially in the future should Google decide to close its Android doors to other manufacturers.

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Dell Takes another Stab at Android Smartphones with the Streak Pro 101DL for Japan

After early attempts to strike a name for themselves in both the Android smartphone and tablet arenas, Dell has more recently kept rather quiet on both fronts. Their 10-inch Honeycomb slate, the Streak 10 Pro, didn’t see an extremely wide release as the Dell name has slowly fallen out of most Android discussions. The company looks to make a return in a big way with the announcement of the new Dell Streak Pro 101DL the first full-fledged smartphone entry into the Streak lineup and no slacker in the specs department.
The Streak Pro 101DL is headed for Japan’s SoftBank and features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen at qHD resolution, a 1.5GHz dual-core MSM8260 processor, and an 8MP camera. Other specs include Dell’s Stage 2.0 interface on top of Android 2.3, a 1.3MP front-facing camera, and support for Bluetooth 2.1 and 802.11b/g/n.
Japan is slated to get the phone first but Dell does have global sales plans for the new Steak Pro 101DL. It could give Dell just the boost they need to become a relevant Android contributor once again.
[via TechCrunch]

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China’s HTC Sensation Variant First to Use ST-Ericsson NovaThor SoC

At first glance, the HTC Sensation Z710t doesn’t differ much from the phone first introduced last spring, but underneath the familiar exterior lurks the new ST Ericsson NovaThor SoC. The handset is headed for China Mobile and couples the 1GHz Nova A9500 dual-core application processor with the Thor M6718 mobile for connectivity to the carriers TD-SCDMA network. The pairing is designed for speed on all fronts.
Otherwise, the Sensation remains largely the same with a 4.3-inch qHD display and 8MP camera. Pricing an release date for the handset are currently not available.

Powerful New ST-Ericsson Platform makes Debut in HTC Sensation Z710t
China Mobile’s latest TD smartphone based on state-of-the-art NovaThor™ platform
Geneva, September 26, 2011 – China Mobile and HTC have launched the first smartphone to be based on ST-Ericsson’s powerful new NovaThor platform. The Sensation Z710t offers consumers immersive 3D graphics, fast web browsing, high-definition multimedia and the ability to run several advanced Android applications simultaneously with exceptional performance and battery life.
Underneath the hood of the HTC Sensation Z710t are ST-Ericsson’s Nova™ A9500 dual-core application processor, running at 1GHz, and ST-Ericsson’s Thor™ M6718 modem, which can connect to China Mobile’s extensive TD-SCDMA network, enabling consumers to get online at broadband speeds across much of China. The HTC Sensation Z710t also sports an eight megapixel camera and a 4.3 inch display.
“ST-Ericsson’s new NovaThor platform has enabled us to develop a world-class Android smartphone for China Mobile’s TD network,” said Matthew Costello, Chief Operating Officer of HTC. “Consumers are going to be captivated by the fast and responsive multimedia experience delivered by the HTC Sensation Z710t.”
“The launch of this exceptional HTC smartphone highlights both the capabilities of our NovaThor platform family and our wholehearted support for China Mobile’s drive to bring world-leading smartphones onto its TD network,” said Pascal Langlois, senior vice president, chief sales and marketing officer of ST-Ericsson. “Consumers and Android application developers alike will relish the raw power and 3D graphical capabilities of the HTC Sensation Z710t.”

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Asustek and Acer join Tizen project, HTC said to be evaluating its decision

Just a day after news that the MeeGo operating system had met its demise and a new Samsung and Intel backed Linux OS called Tizen would rise to take its place, both Asustek and Acer have reportedly joined the project, with HTC “currently evaluating its decision”, reports Digitimes.
Tizen will be hosted by the Linux Foundation and will be jointly-created by Intel and Samsung, supporting multiple device categories including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks and in-car devices.
MeeGo, the predecessor to Tizen, was put on deathwatch the minute Nokia announced that it was to invest heavily in Microsoft’s Windows Phone ecosystem. The company did release one MeeGo-powered device, the Nokia N9 – which launched to favourable reviews – but the company distanced itself from development of the platform as it looked to solidify its smartphone presence with the backing of Microsoft.

The platform will focus on HTML5 and other web standards, opening APIs that will “cover various platform capabilities” including messaging, multimedia, camera, network, and social media.
Digitimes adds:

Application stores will also merge the current resources of Intel’s MeeGo and Samsung’s Bada. Tizen has already won support from Panasonic Mobile Communications, NTT DoCoMO and SK Telecom, and a software development kit (SDK) is scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2012.

Following Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility, many of the top smartphone vendors have begun evaluating their reliance on the Android platform to ensure they remain competitive should Google shift its approach with the operating system. Samsung has said it will continue development of its Bada platform, with HTC also declaring it has been looking into either buying or developing its own OS.

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Skype v2.5 adds video calls to Galaxy Tab 10.1, more

Skype has updated its Android app to add video calling to more  smartphones and tablets, with v2.5 adding support for 14 more models. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Google Nexus One and Motorola DROID 3 are notable models, though the ATRIX and LG Optimus 3D also make an appearance.

In addition to the new devices, Skype has also added the ability to switch between portrait and landscape orientations while within a call, as well as zooming by tapping the display. Bluetooth headset support has been improved, and the app as a whole should be more bug-free and faster.

• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
• HTC Nexus One
• HTC Shooter
• Sony Ericsson Xperia Live with Walkman
• Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
• LG Optimus Black
• LG Optimus 3D
• LG Optimus 2x
• Motorola Photon
• Motorola Droid 3
• Motorola Bionic
• Motorola Xoom
• Motorola Atrix
• Acer Iconia

On the downside, Skype has introduced advertising with this release, just as on the desktop versions for PC and Mac. You can bypass the adds if you have some Skype credit, however. Skype for Android v2.5 is a free download from the Android Market.

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HTC Explorer delivers Android on a budget

HTC has announced its latest Android smartphone, the HTC Explorer, targeted at entry-level users hoping to step up from their featurephone. Replacing the altogether underwhelming HTC Smart, only with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and HTC Sense 3.5 this time rather than BREW, the Explorer packs a 3.2-inch HVGA touchscreen, 600MHz processor and 512MB of RAM.

Connectivity includes 3G, WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0, while there’s a microUSB port and a microSD card slot to augment the minimal 483MB ROM. The 1,230 mAh battery is hidden behind a soft-touch, rubberized rear cover, initially available in black or blue though HTC tells us they’ll have alternative colors soon.
The camera is a mere 3-megapixel unit, further example of what HTC told us was a “focus on device expectations, not specifications” but what’s really more likely to be the result of building to a strict budget. Pre-pay users and cash-short students are the expected audience, with HTC adding a “data monitor” app which can keep track of how much data, SMS and calls you’ve used. Unfortunately – for the user, at least, not the carrier – the app won’t actually pop up and warn you when a limit is about to run out, you’re expected to check it manually, and there’s no homescreen widget at this stage.
Otherwise the only app of note in the updated Sense 3.5 is “Best Deals”, HTC’s interpretation of the local deals market. Unfortunately we weren’t able to test that in our pre-briefing with the Explorer.
The HTC Explorer is expected to go on sale in Europe and Asia from October 2011. Pricing will depend on market.
Update: Vodafone UK tells us they’ll be offering the Explorer, though still no word on how much.

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