droidStory

Read this if you’ve been eying a Droid Eris!

BerryScoop reports that the HTC Eris will be replaced by the new HTC Incredible as early as April 1st. The new phone has already been spotted in the Verizon inventory system.

The Incredible is expected to be a close cousin to the Nexus One, sporting a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, AMOLED display, 5MP auto-focus camera with flash, and running Android 2.1 + Sense UI.

In essence, the Incredible will be Verizon’s branded version of the Nexus One, sold through their retail stores. Contrary to some rumors, the actual Nexus One will continue to be sold directly by Google and should become available for Verizon around the same time.

The trade-offs between the two phones will come down to choosing:  A carrier subsidized HTC Incredible with a mobile contract and less frequent software updates over an unlocked Nexus One without in-store support and higher up-front cost.

If the current sales performance numbers of the Nexus One are any indication, I think the traditional retail sales model will continue to outsell the online-only Nexus One, and the Incredible could become the next Android hit for Verizon.

via pocketnow and berryscoop

At the height of the Mobile Map War, a small French company called Sensorly just launched an Android app that maps out wireless and Wi-Fi network coverage. This comes in handy to look-up ahead of time, whether or not a certain area has 3G coverage.

The way the app works is that your own phone reports its network experience, combined with location information (GPS and/or cell tower) back to Sensorly’s servers. The more people participate the more detailed maps get built.

Frankly, I’ve been wondering for a while why the wireless providers are not using this kind of technology to map out their problem spots.

It is not clear how many data samples are required and what statistical algorithms are being used for building a map. Also, problem phones like the Nexus One could potentially skew results by reporting insufficient 3G coverage for areas that in fact are working with other phones.

The app itself is a basic map viewer with a color coded overlay, with each color and shade representing a specific network and signal strength level.

The Android version currently maps only GSM and some Wi-Fi networks – sorry Droid users, but CDMA (Verizon and Sprint) maps are planned to be rolled-out in the coming weeks.

The company also plans to release versions for the iPhone and Windows Mobile.

The following maps are now available for free:

Engadget reports that the next OTA Update for the Motorola Droid is being tested by Verizon. This version would relieve some of the Nexus One envy for Droid owners. The main feature of the update is of course multi-touch. You can already get a preview of multi-touch on your Droid by installing the latest version of Google Maps. The OTA Update will further expand this feature to the browser and media gallery.

Unfortunately, active wallpapers are Not included. No word on a targeted release date.

Flash – the missing piece of web content is coming soon to your superphone.
Watch demos of early versions of the Adobe Flash Player 10.1 on both the Motorola Droid and Google Nexus One. The Android Flash Player is expected to be released within a few months – I can’t wait…

Now that the Nexus One is officially released sporting the latest version of Android 2.1 aka Eclair, many Droid owners are wondering when this update will be available to them.  Engadget had a post in December showing the video of the newest Android OS already running on Droid.

Sanjay Jha, the Motorola CEO was present at the Google launch event yesterday. His response was rather ambiguous to the question whether Droid will be getting the update, saying:  He “thinks” this will happen.

This seems strange considering that he was sitting right next to HTC’s CEO Peter Chou, who announced that other existing HTC handsets will be getting the upgrade.

One would think that Motorola ought to make a stronger statement, especially at the launch of a competing product that is destined to steal some of Droid’s thunder.

Of course, CES is starting tomorrow and Motorola (will) may have some Android announcements of their own…

The web has been abuzz since last Friday when the long rumored Google phone surfaced as hundreds of Google employees received a new HTC Android phone, called the Nexus One (a reference to the movie Blade Runner and Philip Dick’s novel).

Google VP Mario Queiroz, announced the phone as a dogfooding diet for the holidays on the Google Mobile Blog:

At Google, we are constantly experimenting with new products and technologies, and often ask employees to test these products for quick feedback and suggestions for improvements in a process we call dogfooding (from “eating your own dogfood”). Well this holiday season, we are taking dogfooding to a new level.

We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe. This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it.

Unfortunately, because dogfooding is a process exclusively for Google employees, we cannot share specific product details. We hope to share more after our dogfood diet.

Google staffers have been discouraged to discuss technical specs, but the phone seems to closely resemble the much rumored and anticipated HTC Dragon/Passion.

This “field test” of the Nexus One blows the doors wide open to much speculation and 2010 will be an exciting year for Android for sure. Here are some of the latest rumors:

• Google is planning to sell this phone unlocked online and via retail channel, possibly Best Buy.
• This is a GSM phone and should run on either AT&T or T-Mobile – however there is some question about what GSM frequencies are supported.
• Runs Android 2.1
• Expected to launch in early 2010, as early as January.

One of the big open questions is: Where is Big Red and does this squash the Passion on Verizon?

Photo credit: Cory O’Brien