Motorola recently posted a rather humorous video teaser for an upcoming tablet product on YouTube. Their video isn’t too original with its play on the tablet pun as it runs through various “tablets”, from the Rosetta Stone to the 10 Commandments. There’s a brief and humorous sentence about each tablet, including the iPad “It’s like a giant iPhone but… it’s like a giant iPhone” and the Galaxy Tab “Android OS, but Android OS… for a phone”, then the video pans over to a veiled product with a Motorola logo beneath it. A bee flies out as the video comes to an end, complimenting the video’s description, “we’re buzzing with excitement to be the next chapter in tablet evolution”.
I’m going to say, with a decent amount of confidence, that this device is going to use Android 3.0 (aka Honeycomb).
The video is the first time I’ve seen some quality Android 3.0 action, and I’m very surprised how similar to Windows parts of the interface are. Have a look and let me know if you also think you could ask better questions than the moderators in your sleep.
Motorola recently posted a rather humorous video teaser for an upcoming tablet product on YouTube. Their video isn’t too original with its play on the tablet pun as it runs through various “tablets inch, from the Rosetta Stone to the 10 Commandments. There’s a brief and humorous sentence about each tablet, including the iPad “It’s like a giant iPhone but… it’s like a giant iPhone inch and the Galaxy Tab “Android OS, but Android OS… for a phone inch, then the video pans over to a veiled product with a Motorola logo beneath it. A bee flies out as the video comes to an end, complimenting the video’s description, “we’re buzzing with excitement to be the next chapter in tablet evolution inch.
I’m going to say, with a decent amount of confidence, that this device is going to use Android 3.0 (aka Honeycomb).
The video is the first time I’ve seen some quality Android 3.0 action, and I’m very surprised how similar to Windows parts of the interface are. Have a look and let me know if you also think you could ask better questions than the moderators in your sleep.
We’ve already given you a full Droid 2 review and seeing how the Droid 2 and Droid R2D2 are essentially the same phone, we won’t waste your time doing another. However, we did want to show off the phone’s unique styling and that’s where our handy Droid R2D2 gallery comes into play.
And while we’re here: I believe the Droid R2D2 has actually ever so slightly been tweaked from the Droid 2. There is a more noticeable ledge around the edge of the device which makes the hardware buttons much easier to find and press (something I complained about in my Droid 2 review).
As nearly every smartphone is expected to have a camera these days, there is an important lesson that people must heed. Cameras are more complex than a simple megapixel rating. It’s a common belief that when it comes to megapixels, bigger is better. But I’m here to tell you that you need to look deeper if you are basing your smartphone decision on which has the best camera. Megapixels have their use. A pixel dense picture is great if you want to crop it down and still retain good quality, but beyond that there is more to be considered.
Case-in-point, the Droid 2 [portal page] and the iPhone 4 [portal page]. Both phones have 5MP sensors. This means that they capture 5 million pixels in a given image. Both phones might capture the same number of pixels, but the quality and size of the sensor dictates how accurately each pixel is sampled and how much light it can capture. Another important factor is focus. Without a good focus algorithm (and no ability to manually focus), you’ll end up with a blurry shot no matter how many megapixels your camera can capture.
To demonstrate this, have a quick look at the two photos below. One is taken with the iPhone 4 and the other with the Droid 2. Both were taken under the same lighting conditions and were focused as accurately as possible (click for full size):
You may have to click for the full-sized images to see, but the image taken with the Droid 2 is blurry and has inaccurate colors.
This is a result of the Droid 2’s camera not being able to capture as much light as the iPhone 4, as well as the inability to focus as accurately. This is all despite the fact that both phones have the same megapixel rating.
But what can you do if you don’t have the phones to try before you buy? A bit of research may go a long way if a camera is important to you. I’d recommend checking Flickr’s camera page. Find your desired smartphone and then browse the photos to get an idea of the photos that the phone is capable of taking. And of course we’ll always do our best to give you camera comparisons and tips right here at Carrypad.
It seems like most of the tech world had come to an agreement that the Droid Pro would simply be the love child of the Droid 2 [product page] and Milestone 2, combining the US and EU bands to form an otherwise perfect replica that would function internationally as well as domestically (with business users in mind).
Instead, it looks like the Droid 2 had an affair with a BlackBerry, and the result is a Droid device which is squarely aimed at business folks (quad-band features included).
The Droid Pro uses a portrait form-factor and has a fixed QWERTY keyboard that is very reminiscent of some of the latest BlackBerrys. It runs Android 2.2 and is mostly on spec with the Droid 2. The only show stopper is the low-res 320×480 capacitive touchscreen.
If you’re a business user who needs world-phone calling, enterprise level security, and Exchange ActiveSync support (and doesn’t want a BlackBerry) the Droid Pro may be the best Android based business phone yet. It supports the following bands: [Voice] – CDMA 800/1900, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, W-CDMA 850/1900/2100. [Data] – EVDO Rev. A, GPRS/EDGE Class 12, HSDPA, HSUPA.
The Droid Pro is expected to be released on the Verizon network in the US sometime soon.
Here’s a quick hands-on with the Motorola Droid R2D2. The R2D2 edition is the same phone as the Droid 2 [product page][review] but it has interesting Star Wars branding and content included.
The phone is themed to look like the famous droid from the Star Wars saga and the phone features custom Star Wars themed unlock sliders, live wallpapers, a video, a widget, and an app. The box that it comes in is designed to look as though the phone has been encased in carbonite and the effect is rather convincing, though I think they could have bumped up the box presentation a bit, it’s just a regular old cardboard box with graphics on it (as you’d expect from any regular phone). Some of the stuff is really gimmicky, but I think a major Star Wars geeks might enjoy the phone, particularly for it’s looks. In fact, I know a friend who would absolutely love this thing! The phone launched yesterday in the US on Verizon.
Verizon has revamped its Droid line of Android Smartphones over the last few months. We already looked at the large Droid X [tracking page][review] and today we’re going to walk you through the latest of the three, the Droid 2.
Hardware
As usual, we’re going to start with a spec rundown and a hardware tour. Check out the Droid 2 tracking page for more detailed info and don’t forget about the Droid 2 gallery which includes shots that you won’t find in our review.
Specs
Android 2.2
TI OMAP 3 CPU @ 1GHz
512MB of RAM
8GB inbuilt storage (6.5GB user-accessible)
Included 8GB MicroSD card (slot accepts up to 32GB)
3.7 inch capacitive touchscreen @ 854×480
5MP camera (capable of up to 720×480 video recording)
Motorola recently posted a rather humorous video teaser for an upcoming tablet product on YouTube. Their video isn’t too original with its play on the tablet pun as it runs through various “tablets”, from the Rosetta Stone to the 10 Commandments. There’s a brief and humorous sentence about each tablet, including the iPad “It’s like a giant iPhone but… it’s like a giant iPhone” and the Galaxy Tab “Android OS, but Android OS… for a phone”, then the video pans over to a veiled product with a Motorola logo beneath it. A bee flies out as the video comes to an end, complimenting the video’s description, “we’re buzzing with excitement to be the next chapter in tablet evolution”.
I suppose I can’t actually claim to be guessing, as I’ve already seen the tablet shown off on video, thanks to Notebook.com’s heads up. During Andy Rubin’s interview at the 2010 D: All Things Digital conference, he whips the device out and takes it for a spin. We’ve got a larger version posted inline for your convenience.
