I don’t know where the hell Kellex got these at, but Droid-Life.com has snagged 2 PRIMO shots of the brand spanking new iPhone / Evo 4G Killer – the Motrola Droid Xtreme (aka Shadow), and I must say, HOLY CRAP BATMAN! I WANT!
Seriously, we also got a handful of ADDITIONAL Specs added to the growing list of confirmed / unconfirmed features. This is shaping up to be a BEAST of a phone.
that sound has become a gadget meme ever since the first “iDon’t: Droid Does” commercials hit TV in late October. Let’s do it again.
“DRROOIIIDDDD”
I’ve been following the development of the Android operating system since the early rumblings of it began to hit the interwebs in mid 2007. When it was first unveiled in November of that same year, I was stoked. Stoked for many reasons:
1) i love Google. Simple as that, Google has made the internet more or less idiot proof. There search works, unlike other search engines that claim to make “the decision making process easier.” (i’ll give you a hint. It rhymnes with Ping and is made my Microsoft). I use Google Docs, Gmail, and have used just about every other service Google has offered from time to time. One of my two main browsers are Google Chrome, I use Google Wave, I’ve used Google Voice-and the list grows and grows and grows.
2) Smartphones have seemingly become so…whats the word? Boring. Blackberry has been Blackberry has been Blackberry since the DAWN OF TIME it seems. They’ve done nothing to make their products innovative and new. While I LOVED my Blackberry Storm, I knew it was time for a change…
3) OPEN DEVELOPMENT. I was tired of paying for apps from my carrier, or from some company produced app full of propaganda and censorship. I was pumped when I heard that anyone could develop freely for Android-and not really be bounds by any stupid App Store rules that other companies install on their Markets.
those are just the top three-plus, i’m a nerd. it was hot, new and exciting.
So the months passed, and T-Mobile had launched the G1-the first US Android device. then they launched the MyTouch3G (aka G2). Rumblings of Sprint getting in on the party began, and which has been seen by the HTC Hero and Samsung Moment. TMo’s stock went up with recent devices like the Nexus One (for what its worth) and the MyTouchSlide.
But where was big red in all of this?
In October 2009-Google and Verizon announced a partnership for<del datetime=”2010-05-14T19:44:28+00:00″><span style=”text-decoration:line-through;”> global domination</span> <span style=”color:#000000;”>the release of new Android powered devices on Verizon Wireless. Once the manufacturs were announced, the world went nuts. HTC and Motorola.</span></del>
While I’m not a FAN of HTC devices, per se-they’re the undisputed King of Android phones. They’ve been pumping them out for every carrier, and are even responsible for the “Google Phone”-the Nexus One.
>Motorola? They didn’t have the best track record up until that point. I’ll even admit, when I first heard OFFICIAL news that Verizon was getting some Android loving, I jumped for joy, until I was told the lead device would be a Motorola. WHY GOD WHY couldn’t we get the Touch Pro 2 running Android and not Windows Fail? I mean Sure, everyone and their mother owned a RAZR at one point or another, but since then-they seemed to be nothing but fail. I was afraid.
then the comercials came
The first shot was fired at Apple, AT&T, and the iPhone. Verizon had entered the viral marketing realm-that has worked so well for Hollywood in the past few years (read: Cloverfield, The Dark Knight). People pulled up droiddoes.com on their computers, and saw the countdown.
Then..the reveal. The times square takeover.
Droid…had Arrived.
November 6th came and went-and a new revolution in mobile smartphones was born.
Verizon Wireless + Google = the empire the future of android.
Motorola released the “Droid”, while HTC released the “Droid Eris”. VZW has paid George Lucas millions of dollars to use the name “Droid” (for what reason I’m still not really sure, seems like a waste to me)-but it paid off. “Droid” has become one of the most recognizable brands in the smartphone world.
Fast forward. It’s now May 2010, and the Droid has been out for a little over 6 months. I’m one of the THOUSANDS, MILLIONS who have had their Droid since day one-and I cannot look back. While Blackberry is moving to OS 6-and it looks to be an improvement. While I do wonder, and pray that HP does something amazing with WebOS, and while the Apple nerd in me will always pine for an iPhone on a network that actually WORKS, I simply cannot go back.
While I love Apple products, and secretly lust over the iPhone HD eventually hitting Verizon-I’m not sure if I can switch over.
Why?
You buy a Blackberry Tour, and six months later its replaced by the Bold.
You buy an iPhone 3G, and three momths later, AT&T pushes out the 3GS.
Why?
Android is FUTURE PROOF. Here’s why.
Evolution, Not Fragmentation
As of today, May 23rd 2010, there are FIVE version of Android on the market today. Android devices are available on EVERY major US Carrier, be it the G1, MyTouch3G, MyTouch Slide, or Nexus One on T-Mobile. Whether it be the Motorola Backflip or Dell Aero on AT&T, or the HTC EVO 4G, HTC Hero, or Samsung Moment on Sprint, or the Droid family on Verizon. Hell, second tier companies like US Cellular and Cricket are getting the Android love, as USC is expected to get the HTC Desire (aka Droid Incredible) and Cricket will be getting an Android device from Kyocera this summer. To quote professional wrestler Stevie Richards (@MichealManna), during his bWo days: “we’re takin’ over!”
Some people *cough*engadget*cough* have called this Fragmentation of the platform, something that could potentially KILL Android dead. Well, here’s the deal: there are at any given moment, THREE different versions of Windows out there running on any desktop PC (more if you wanna count the 27 versions of Windows 7). I have 3 computers in my house. An HP that is running Windows 7, my wife’s is running Windows Vista, and my Macbook. My computer at work, is running Windows XP still.
Is that Fragmentation? Is the that going to kill Microsoft dead? No. It won’t. I wish it would *gives Macbook one more hug* but seriously, it won’t. Google is the same financial and technological POWER HOUSE that Microsoft is-possibly even bigger since, yknow…people actually LIKE them. I’d prefer to see the quick growth of Android from 1.0 to 2.2 and beyond more of a rapid evolution, than fragmentation.
Plus, really the only device that seems to be left in the cold is the G1 (T-Mobile, HTC). Even low end devices like the HTC Droid Eris are getting updated to the newest operating versions-as the Eris just got pushed out to Android 2.1 in the last week. The HTC Incredible, as well as all 2009-2010 HTC Sense UI rocking devices should expect a little taste of FroYo over the next several months. This includes the Droid Eris, Hero, and Desire-as well as the stock Android rockin’ MyTouch3G
The Droid should be expecting the Android 2.2 push within the next MONTH and everything will continue to grow and evolve.
Choice and Options
Android has a bright future. It’s only been SIX months after the Droid came out, and Verizon is already pushing out FIVE different Android devices. The Motorola Droid (aka Big Daddy Droid), the HTC Droid Eris, the Motorola Devour, and the HTC Droid Incredible. Are all currently available at any fine Verizon Wireless location (okay, the Incredible is on back order, but still) The LG Ally will be launching on May 27th-which is running Android 2.1, the Motorola Shadow is due out next month, as well as a couple Samsung Android devices, and probably another HTC one.
These ARE the Droid’s You’re Looking For!
I’m going to use an Apple meme here, but give it my own personal spin, and just use VZW branded devices in this little example.
Android offers something for EVERYBODY.
Got the socially connected teenager who just HAS to keep instant contact with her 5000 Facebook friends? There’s a droid for that! (see what I did there?) The Motorola Devour, running Android 1.6 + MotoBLUR.
New to the smartphone world? Intimidated by these ads for the Droid and Droid Incredible?
or how about the infamous stealth bomber Droid ad? Intimidated by those? But you still want a full featured smartphone that can do everything your best friends iPhone can do-and STILL make calls? There’s a droid for that-in TWO flavors! The HTC Droid Eris rocks Android 2.1 with HTC’s Sense UI over it. A 3.2″ Touchscreen, and a 5 megapixal camera, Adobe Flash Lite support, and a built in 8GB MicroSD card.
We also have the brand new LG Ally, which ALSO packs Android 2.1-STOCK, with an OPTIONAL (read this HTC) Theme designed by LG, which really only really adds folders to the app draw, and four hard icons at the bottom. (aka: go stock and install Helix Launcher or Launcher Pro) It has a 3.2 Megapixel camera, as and a physical keyboard well as an included 4GB MicroSD card. It will launch on May 27th 2010 for 100 bucks after rebate on a contract.
Now, what about the POWER USER. What about the guy who wants to put his booses iPhone to shame? What about the guy who wants a monster of a smartphone, that can kick every other smartphone in the face? There’s a droid for that: Infact, there’s TWO Droid’s for that.
The Droid by Motorola. Big Daddy Droid, “A New Hope”. the phone that SAVED Motorola from implosion. It packs an 800mhz processor (underclocked to 550 for some stupid reason), Android 2.1, a 3.7″ Touchscreen, physical keyboard, 5MP Camera with Flash, HTML5 support in the web browser, Adobe Flash 10.1 (soon), an included 16gb MicroSD card. The list goes on.
May we also interest you in the Droid Incredible by HTC? It has a 3.7″ AMOLED Touchscreen, Android 2.1 with HTC’s Sense UI, 1ghz Snapdragon processor. 8GB of internal memory, and an 8 MP Camera with dual LED Flash.
Are any of these the droids you’re looking for? I’m sure one or two of them is. If not, don’t worry. The Motorola Shadow comes out in June, and I’m sure there will be new LG, Samsung, and HTC devices by the year end.
plus let’s not forget the eventual Droid2.
Android and Google has no where to go but forward from here. They ARE the future of smartphones, and Google WILL take OVER the Smartphone world.
As long as new updates are made available from Google-and pushed to most, if not all devices-than I can definitly see sticking with one Android device for the long haul. Like I said, Google has put minimum specs on devices-to ensure they’ll be able to handle the newest updates. They’ve future proofed their products.
We’ve seen new innovations in Android, the HTC EVO 4G is the next step in Evolution for Sprint. The Shadow / Droid2 will be the next step for Verizon. AT&T..well..they got the backflip right?! right?…okay so yeah they still fail.
I haven’t seen 2 Droids come into my store looking alike. It’s so easy to make this “My Device” or “My Droid”. Theres no physical limit to what it can do. if you root your device, that customization becomes EVEN GREATER. (but we’ll get on that later)
Android is the future of smartphones. As open development continues, as companies push the limits of what the operation system can do, as google continues to innovate, Android is currently the number 2 Smartphone platform behind RIM (damn you crackberry!) and infront of the iPhone (suck on that Jobs!) and now it’s time to take out the big guns.
the war is on!
when theres no limit to what droid gets. theres no limit-to what droid DOES.
Droid Does is a blog / video series by John “Pariah” Olesen, a technology guru who works as a Customer Service Tech. John has achieved minor celebrity with his YouTube Channel, and regularly contributes to Droid-Life.com, as well as his own personal blog, Pariah’s Voice. He can now be seen here at Team-Android. When not writing about gadgets and techs, John enjoys movies, pro wrestling and comic books. You can follow him on Twitter @johnpariah, for your daily dose of AWESOME
I WARN: Proceed at your own risk, this may damage your phone and/or make it unstable. This is for advanced users only and should only be attempted by those who understand the risks of the following changes
Why should you root your Android?
•You can install a full Linux distribution, like Debian.
•You can run applications that require root, like Screenshot and or any other application.
•You can install the latest Android build directly from the Android source tree.
•Customize your boot image.
•Create full backups of the state of your phone.
•Create custom ROMs.
•Install Applications to your SD Card to save space.
•Use your phone as a tether to connect your computer/laptop to the internet.
•Turn your phone into a wireless router that provides internet access.
Do it quick here…
Other Features:
1.Full control over your system
2.Ability to alter system files. You can replace many parts of the “Android Core” with this including:
Themes
Core apps (maps, calendar, clock etc)
Recovery image
Bootloader
Toolbox (linux binary that lets you execute simple linux commands like “ls”) can be replaced with Busybox (slightly better option)
Boot images
Add linux binaries
3.Run special apps that need more control over the system
SuperUser (lets you approve or deny the use of root access to any program)
Task Manager For Root (Lets you kill apps that you otherwise could not kill)
Tether apps (like the one found at [android-wifi-tether.googlecode.com])
4.Backup your system
You can make a folder on your sdcard and backup all of your .apk files to your sdcard (helps if an author decides to “upgrade” you to a version that requires you to pay to use the version you just had)
5.Relocate your (browser/maps/market) cache to your /sdcard
6.Relocate your installed applications to your /sdcard
7.Reboot your phone from the terminal app easily (su reboot )
What Do I Lose Having Root
8.The ability to accept OTA updates (well, you can but you would lose root, so its been made so they get denied)
—
will update.
I don’t know where the hell Kellex got these at, but Droid-Life.com has snagged 2 PRIMO shots of the brand spanking new iPhone / Evo 4G Killer – the Motrola Droid Xtreme (aka Shadow), and I must say, HOLY CRAP BATMAN! I WANT!
Cdemero's Blog 