TAG | Droid Eris
There have been a number of reports, rumors, speculations and general talk of Android 2.1 and older generation Android smart phones. The question on everyone’s mind is, “Will my Android get version 2.1?” I have received more than one email about the recent news concerning Android 2.1 and older phones. I didn’t jump on the story, because there wasn’t a confirmation of the updates and I decided instead to give the readers a chance to see what is official and what is rumor/speculation. With the introduction of Android 2.0 and then 2.1 a number of features were introduced that helped push the limit of the smart phone’s power and capabilities. Some of those features, such as live wallpaper and the 3D gallery and app drawer/interface can be vary taxing on the phone’s processor and memory. Can the current gen smart phones keep up? Continue Reading…
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Breaking: HTC Desire for Verizon NOT Confirmed, is NOT Verizon’s Nexus One
4 Comments | Posted by Ryan Trevisol at 9:29 am
Sometimes one picture can get taken out of context. Then the whole gadget news world runs with the wrong story. Take this picture for example. It’s dark, it has what looks like an optical trackpad at the bottom, it looks like the HTC Bravo/Desire, therefore it must be the Bravo/Desire for Verizon! One person reports it that way, then another, until you get this mess. I’ll admit I believed the buzz about it, and reported that we had photographic proof that the Desire was coming to Verizon. When challenged, I stuck to my guns, because at first glance it really looked like the Desire.
The problem? That photo of the “Desire” is actually a Droid Eris. But it’s also actually an HTC “Desire”. Before it’s official release, the Droid Eris was known internally as the Desire. The handset we now know as the Desire is totally different than Desire/Droid Eris. As one of our readers pointed out, and finally beat through my head, that chrome glint at the bottom is just the bezel around the trackball on the Droid Eris, and when you lighten the picture, it’s obvious. This is one instance where the groupthink and herd mentality of gadget news got carried away with something that’s simply not true. Check out the evidence after the jump. Continue Reading…
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HTC Hero shows Android 2.1 Sense UI Enhancements
0 Comments | Posted by Benjamin at 10:22 am
HTC has built a custom user interface (UI) to place on top of the stock Android OS that adds a number of additional features and experiences for the consumer. The Sense UI isn’t unique to Android, they do the same thing with Windows mobile platforms. Currently, the HTC Hero, both GSM and CDMA, as well as the Droid Eris have Sense UI running on top of Android 1.5, and HTC has given word that they are indeed working on updating those phones to Android 2.1 and they will still carry Sense UI. It wasn’t known, until recently, what kind of changes to the Sense UI users could expect. Well, there is a nice YouTube video showing some of the changes and it involves some multitouch and looks very promising. Continue Reading…
HTC has just released the Droid Eris source code on their developer website, where they have also recently placed the CDMA Hero source code as well as previously releasing the Dream, Magic and other kernel sources. As you can see, they are building up quite a nice collection of kernel source code. The latest, for Verizon’s Droid Eris, should be similar to the CDMA Hero, being that they have similar hardware and both run HTC’s Sense UI. However, at first glance, the Eris code is much larger. Devs at XDA have already started to tear it down and found it has the same 2.6.27 Linux kernel as the source code for the CDMA Hero. Why is this important? To utilize Android 2.1, the kernel needs to be updated to 2.6.29 at least. Continue Reading…
No, this isn’t the Android 2.0 or Android 2.1 update you were looking for. Sorry for those of you on the edge of your seat. The update is apparently just a minor bug fix and whatnot. It’s labeled: Droid Eris ROM:1.16.605.1//Radio:2.32.40.11.09. Yeah, that’s not very exciting is it? Continue Reading…
Well, I’m not sure where to post this. Really, it’s not surprising and the details are very slim at best. According to BGR:
We’ve received word that the HTC DROID Eris on Verizon Wireless will definitely be getting an OS upgrade sometime in Q1. We haven’t been told exactly what OS version it will be (Android 1.6, 2.0, 2.1), just that Google Maps Navigation will be included.
Wow, that’s amazing. Can you read my sarcasm. I would be more surprised if the Eris didn’t get an upgrade than if it did. No details on exactly what level Android will be going to, and Q1 is a pretty big window, especially in the Android OS world where months can mean the difference of a whole 0.1 change or more.
via BGR
Reports are coming in that the Droid sales over the weekend at Verizon wireless were good, but not sellout good. Maybe it was because the stores seemed to have plenty of stock, ranging from 300 Droids (New York and LA stores) to 25 for some of the smaller ones. There was an estimated 200K available over the launch weekend, and much of that is gone. However, there were some sellouts. The docking stations seemed to sell hotter than anticipated as they are currently unobtainable. No worries, you can make one from cardboard and save some money at the same time.
via cnet.
This past weekend I took the opportunity to swing by a couple stores, Sprint and Verizon, to check out their latest Android offerings. I checked out the Droid, Droid Eris, Hero and Moment. Read on for the results of my travels. Continue Reading…
Today is the day you can walk into Verizon wireless and pick up the Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid Eris. The first will run you $199 after MiR, and the later $99 after MiR. Don’t forget to let us know your thoughts on the purchasing experience and the phones themselves. You can leave comments below and let everyone else share in your joy.
Verizon announced today that beginning Nov 6th, you can purchase an HTC built Droid Eris for $99 on a two year contract. As expected, it comes with the Sense UI made famous by the Heroes. This makes the Verizon offering in that phone category $99 (after $100 MiR) while the Sprint version runs you $180. I smell a little competition here. Come on Sprint, let’s see what you’ve got for us. No word on the Android version exactly, but I’m willing to go on the record and say it is Android 1.5 for now. Here are some specs directly from the press release.
The unique HTC Sense experience found on DROID ERIS by HTC is supported by an array of the latest mobile features, including:
- 3.2 inch capacitive touch screen and trackball interface
- 5.0 megapixel auto focus camera
- Expandable memory with pre-installed 8 GB microSD™ card (up to 16 GB supported)
- Supports USB mass storage
- Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi and 3.5 mm headset connectivity
- Integrated GPS and a digital compass with a sensor that enables the phone to know what direction it is facing
- Smart dialer for simplified dialing by name, number or initials
- Full HTML browser with Flash Lite capabilities
- Seamless compatibility with Google™ services like Google Maps™, Gmail™, Google Search™ and more
We are really starting to see a well rounded offering of phones on at least three of the top four major carriers in the US. It’s looking to be a great holiday for Android.