Android 2.3, get your Android 2.3! A Gingerbread ROM for the Droid Incredible that’s been cooking on xda-developers for a couple of weeks is finally looking ready for mass consumption. It hit version 4 overnight, fixing a few niggling issues and enabling the 8 megapixel camera, which leaves only its video recording and GPS functions on the to-do list. Otherwise, it’s looking like a very slick implementation of Google’s latest OS, and it’s particularly pleasing to see how its responsiveness has improved between builds. Hit the source link for more info, though don’t expect to find out why HTC, Verizon et al can’t do things this quickly themselves.
With Gingerbread freely distributed to the open-source masses, it probably won’t surprise you to hear there already a custom ROM for Google’s darling Nexus One. But what if we told you Android 2.3 is now available for the HTC HD2 as well? That’s right, the Windows Mobile 6.5 powerhouse can now snap off a sugary piece of the same Android code, and from what we hear in the XDA-developers forums, it works pretty decently, too. Like the Samsung Galaxy S we saw getting the green tie treatment this morning, the HTC HD2 and Nexus One don’t exactly have stable, fully functional builds, but as long as you know what you’re doing and don’t need petty luxuries like cameras, GPS receivers and official Google apps, you’ll probably be just fine. Find files and a modicum of instruction at our source links below.
Update: While these cookies are half-baked, unconfirmed and potentially dangerous to those not well versed in the art of Android hackery, we’re hearing that the HTC EVO 4G, original Motorola Droid and HTC Desire are now sporting early Gingerbread ROMs too. It seems the source code is relatively easy to compile for other phones, so with any luck there’ll be a compatible build for your device soon.
With the original Droid 2 going for $149.99 and the newer, faster Droid 2 Global going for $50 more, the R2-D2 edition — despite its awesomeness — seemed a little out of place for a whopping $249.99, putting it out of reach of all but the most die-hard (and independently wealthy) Star Wars fanatics. Well, we wouldn’t exactly call it a fire sale, but Big Red’s cutting us a break now by trimming the price down to a more reasonable $199.99 — in other words, you’ve got to choose between a speedier processor and international roaming capability… or sponsorship by an astromech droid. We know which we’d choose.
We know how you love to see things ripped out of their packages, so let me show you a LG Optimus U Hands-On and Unboxing for your pleasure. It’s a nice inexpensive (basically free) Android phone that comes in blue! Take a quick peek at the new-to-Android ComiXology App, see as PlayStation releases an app for both Android and iOS, and get mysterious with a strange Droid de-shelving at Best Buy. Discover Why TIME Got It Right with Philip. Check out our full fledged review of the brand-spankin-new Nexus S by Ewdison, grab a quick Google Maps 5 for Android Hands-On from Ewdison again, and take a double look at the continuation of our Week With the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector with today’s subject: Everyday Use with yours truly. Then if you’ve got a mind for winning a free Cr-48 Chrome OS laptop take a walk over to Android Community or kick it right here on SlashGear. Win win win!
The only way to open this editorial is to admit something I’ve been rather shy about on the pages of Engadget: I’ve been an avid BlackBerry fan and user for about six years now. I mean a real addict — the kind who wakes up each morning looking for a blinking red LED, the kind who’s refused to give up push email and BlackBerry Messenger in favor of more powerful, polished, and progressive mobile operating systems like iOS, Android, and webOS. In fact, when my Verizon contract was up last year I opted to get a Curve 8530 instead of the Motorola Droid or Palm Pre — to say nothing of making the leap over to AT&T for the iPhone.
There were lots of reasons I didn’t want to give up my BlackBerry, but five days ago I lost that very Curve in a San Francisco cab. Then coincidentally, a day later I saw RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis speak at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference, where he almost embarrassingly avoided every question about the company’s immediate smartphone strategy. I had always known that RIM was behind the curve (always a great pun!), but I also always had hope that the company would catch up with modern smartphones of today. Sadly, watching Mike dodge questions on the D stage took that hope away from me — it’s crystal clear that RIM won’t have a solution to compete with those powerful smartphones anytime soon. So, what happens to a BlackBerry diehard like myself? Where do I go from here?
Good news, original Droid owners: Verizon still hasn’t forgotten about you, delivering a mild update today that includes a handful of enhancements and fixes. Notably, you’ll be getting updated Twitter and Gmail apps in ROM plus updated Amazon and News / Weather widgets and a bunch of improvements to the phone’s built-in Exchange ActiveSync support. Sure, it’s not Gingerbread — but c’mon, now, were you really expecting Verizon to announce craziness like that today? Look for the over-the-air update shortly if you haven’t received it already.
If free Android phones on every US carrier weren’t enough to entice you into a Best Buy Mobile store this month, maybe a deeply discounted Droid Pro will be. Motorola’s Android 2.2 handset, which launched at $179.99 with the usual two-year Verizon tie-in, is now available for purchase for exactly $130 less at Best Buy’s mobile outlets — both the online and brick-and-mortar varieties will let you walk away with one for $49.99 and a 24-month commitment. We don’t know where all these crazy deals are coming from, but we ain’t complaining.
[Thanks, Tony]
Update: Amazon.com is undercutting Best Buy with a $19.99 price for those opening new Verizon accounts when buying the Droid Pro.
No matter how many we see, we never cease to be amazed by some of the KIRFs out there. Take this Droid X, for instance, which doesn’t even bother with a name like “Motorolo Foid X,” and even goes so far as to include some legitimate-looking Verizon branding to back up its nearly spot-on appearance. The real kicker, however, is that the KIRFers behind the device have decided to ditch Android in favor of Windows Mobile 6.5 for reasons unknown to us. Don’t believe us? Check it out in action in the video after the break, and look for the device itself to set you back around $244.
Oh my goodness! Crazy speeds and companies blowing up and phones being thrown around like candy! All the signs of a great day here at the R3 Media Network! First, SlashPhone breaks some news about Motorola being divided into two different divisions starting at the beginning of 2011. Then Google Reader sends an app to Android (making it even MORE impossible to get away from the news!) Angry Birds gets a Seasons expansion for Android devices (probably in the chute for Apple’s App Store.) And finally, Vince has his hands on one of the incredibly small amount of LG VL600 Modems out in the world right now, and he wants to show you Verizon’s LTE “4G” network speeds first hand, and Ben wants to tell you all about why Verizon’s LTE and the other 4G networks are important. All this and… yes! More! Today on The Daily Slash!
SlashTRACKED
In Irvine California there is a man named David Norris, a man who owns a company that aims to “fingerprint” every computer, mobile phone, and TV set-top box in the world. With the “credit bureau for devices” Norris is building, each device will have a “reputation” based on that device’s online activities including, specifically, shopping habits and demographics. Fingerprinting has been used up until now as a replacement for “cookies” as a method of preventing illegal copying of computer software and to stop credit card fraud. At the moment, Norris’s company has id’ed over 200 million devices – by the end of the year, they expect to have cataloged one billion (one tenth of the world’s total.)
Man, Motorola’s not going to be pleased about this! The Droid X is justifiably one of Verizon’s marquee devices for this holiday season and takes pride of place on the carrier’s Cyber Monday offers page, but wait… why does its screen display the iPhone version of Google Maps? Oops!
