Hasta La Gadget!

Motorola’s Droid phone has been a big hit for the company — and if you are wondering what’s next, say hello to Shadow, the codename for the successor to the Droid.

The Shadow phone may be another device exclusive to Verizon and will be packed with features that could put it among the best in the market.

The phone will have a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It will sport a 8-megapixel camera that can shoot 720p video, have a 4.3-inch display, an HDMI port and 16 GB of internal storage, says Gizmodo. That sounds a lot like the HTC EVO 4G phone on Sprint, minus the blazing-fast 4G data connection.

Shadow is also likely to run Android FroYo or Android 2.2, the latest version of the operating system that allows tethering and the ability to turn the phone into a wireless hotspot. There’s no word though on whether Adobe’s Flash Player 10.1 will run on the Shadow.

And in keeping the precedent set by Apple of losing prototype phones, the latest Shadow prototype was reportedly found left behind in a corporate Verizon gym. The phone was remotely locked, says the guy who found it. But at least this time around, it looks like no one paid money to get a peek at the device.

See Also:

• Wired Review: Motorola Droid
• Motorola Droid Set for Android Upgrade
• Lego, Motorola Droid Combine to Solve the Rubik’s Cube
• HTC EVO 4G $200, on Sale June 4
• Sprint, HTC Unveil First 4G Android Phone

Photo: Motorola Shadow/Gizmodo

Plenty of Verizon customers would toss their Nokia, BlackBerry or HTC phones in exchange for an iPhone — if Apple ever delivers the coveted handset to their network.

Seventeen percent of Verizon’s customers would upgrade to an iPhone given the opportunity, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty wrote in a research note, based on responses to the firm’s U.S. consumer iPhone survey.

“There is substantial pent up iPhone demand within the Verizon installed base as 16.8 percent of Verizon subscribers said they are ‘very likely’ to purchase an iPhone if offered on the Verizon Network,” Huberty wrote, adding that this number is higher than the number of AT&T subscribers — 14.6 percent — extremely interested in the current iPhone.

Ever since the iPhone debuted on AT&T in 2007, analysts and journalists have questioned when (not if) Apple will share the iPhone with Verizon. Speculation over the impact of a Verizon iPhone has gained momentum ever since The Wall Street Journal reported a rumor that Apple was producing a CDMA iPhone this fall. CDMA is the standard used by Verizon.

In response to the rumor, AT&T’s CEO Ralph da la Vega said during an investor conference that his company was not fazed by the possibility of a Verizon iPhone. He explained that family plans and corporate plans constitute a large part of AT&T’s customer base, and it’s difficult to migrate multiple devices to a different carrier.

Via Digital Daily

See Also:

• AT&T Sees No Threat in a Verizon iPhone
• Analyst Predicts Verizon iPhone Announcement Next Week
• WSJ: Apple to Produce Verizon iPhone in September
• Verizon to Apple: We Want the iPhone
• Verizon iPhone ‘Unlikely’ in 2010, Says Analyst

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Is this a white iPhone? The photos come from Chinese-language site Apple Pro, and have lit up speculation across rumor sites that Apple will have a white-faced version of its expected new iPhone 4G when launched next month.

It makes some sense: the current iPhone comes with a choice of black or white backs, so why not offer a choice of faceplates, too? Apple may well do this, but I don’t think these photos have much to do with a real iPhone. They are either prototypes or – more likely – good old Chinese knock-offs.

The biggest giveaway is the presence of screw holes in the base of the metal frame. Those were found in the Gizmodophone, but are not seen in the more recent, and better finished, iPhone 4G shown off by Vietnamese site Tinhte. Also, what’s going on with the extra slot above the phone earpiece?

Is it real? Who knows. At least, though, there are some mysteries left for Apple to reveal at the expected iPhone 4G launch event on June 22nd 7th at the WWDC.

iPhone 4G with his face black and white brothers [Apple Pro via Apple Insider]

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft and Apple have been trying to get into your living room for years, with a variety of television-oriented products.

Now Google thinks it can succeed where other computer companies have seen only middling success. The company announced a new set-top box platform here Thursday: Google TV will marry television and the web, so users can search and view both TV and web videos with a single click.

Google TV, which is based on Google’s Android operating system, will have access to Flickr, gaming sites such as Club Penguin, and music sites such as Pandora and Rhapsody. It will combine that with a streaming media interface similar to that offered by companies like Boxee and Roku.

“There are three big limitations with the streaming media devices that exist today,” said Rishi Chandra, senior product manager at Google, speaking at the company’s developer conference, Google I/O. “They try to dumb down the web for TV. They are all closed. Many of these devices have to choose between TV and the web.”

Google has formed partnerships with Sony, Logitech and Intel to create hardware that will run this “smart TV” Android platform.

The Google TV software will be available on TVs, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes through Best Buy in fall this year. It will be independent of the cable service providers. All devices running the Google TV software will have Wi-Fi and ethernet connectivity, a keyboard and a “pointing device” or a mouse.

Google has also partnered with Dish Network to integrate Google TV into Dish’ digital video recorders (DVRs).

Google TV can also be controlled using an Android phone as a remote, says Chandra, and the mobile version of the Android market — Google’s marketplace for Android-compatible apps — will be accessible on Google TV.

“It’s a blockbuster announcement,” says Ken Dulaney, an analyst with research firm Gartner. “Google is bringing its brand and openness to a space where Apple and Microsoft haven’t done much with.”

Google also announced at the conference the release of the latest version of Android OS, Android 2.2, aka ‘FroYo’. It will support Adobe’s Flash Player 10.1, so the mobile operating system’s users can access all those Flash video and animation-heavy sites that are inaccessible to the users of other smartphones. FroYo will also have tethering and hotspot capabilities, enabling phones to share their broadband data connections with other devices, such as your laptop — assuming your carrier permits that use.

“We have big dreams for Android,” Vic Gundotra, vice president of engineering of Google told attendees at the conference.

Three years after Google introduced Android as an open source mobile operating system, it has become one of the fastest-growing mobile platforms. A host of Android-based phones grabbed 28 percent of the smartphone market in the United States, trailing Research In Motion’s BlackBerry devices (36 percent) and ahead of Apple’s iPhone OS (21 percent) in the first quarter of the year, according to research firm The NPD Group.

More than 60 devices run Android today, says Google, including handsets from major phone makers such as Motorola and HTC. Now, more than 100,000 Android phones are activated every day, says Google. And more than 50,000 applications are available on the Android Market now.

Interest in Google’s sold-out developer conference has been so high this year that tickets were auctioned on eBay and Craigslist.

Google’s move into TV platforms comes at a time when its rivals such as Microsoft, Apple and Yahoo have faltered. Apple’s Steve Jobs has famously declared its Apple TV as a “hobby,” while Yahoo’s Connected TV project that brings widgets and apps to TV sets hasn’t gathered steam.

Google could succeed because the company is making the Google TV platform open source and building a broad coalition of partners, similar to what it has done with Android, says Dulaney.

“Apple basically says I will do it all myself and it will be tightly controlled,” says Dulaney. “It provides one dimension in usability but also slows the pace of adoption. There’s also a huge marketplace outside of Apple that wants to participate and feels left out of anything Google does.”

Google TV though is likely to hurt Microsoft the most. Microsoft’s digital media player is shipped with every copy of Windows operating system, but it hasn’t been able to capture consumers’ attention, says Dulaney.

Also at the conference, Google stated that FroYo will have a just-in-time compiler to speed up apps, making them two to five times faster with the same hardware. It will also be Microsoft Exchange–friendly so it will have better security policies for business users and a better way to manage corporate devices running Android.

Android will also offer wireless internet-based downloading of music albums.

Google will also offer AdSense for mobile apps with different ad formats. These formats include expandable ads that will offer more details of the product, and a click-to-call feature next to the ad.

“If Google didn’t act, we face a draconian future. One man, one company, one device would control our future,” Gundotra told attendees at the conference, making a clear swipe at Apple — without mentioning Apple by name. “If you believe in openness and choice, welcome to Android.”

See Also:

• Android Comes of Age at Google Developer Conference
• DIYers Hack Windows Mobile Phones to Run Android
• Want Porn? Buy an Android Phone, Steve Jobs Says
• Android Fragmentation Declines, But Older Versions Still Rule
  
• Android 2.2 ‘Froyo’ Features USB, Wi-Fi Tethering

Photo: Google

AT&T says it’s unfazed by persistent rumors of a Verizon iPhone debuting this year.

The telecom company’s CEO Ralph de la Vega said this morning during the JP Morgan investors conference that discounted plans would retain customers.

70 percent of AT&T’s subscribers are on family plans, and it would be difficult to transition multiple devices, he explained. Additionally, 40 percent of subscribers are part of corporate plans, and employers are unlikely to switch company-owned devices for a new carrier. (There is some overlap between the two types of plans.) The CEO added that “churn” rates (i.e., a measure of customers leaving) for AT&T are staying at record-low rates, so he expects that iPhone customers will remain loyal.

Verizon iPhone rumors gained heat in March when The Wall Street Journal published a story citing sources who claimed Apple was preparing to produce a CDMA-compatible iPhone in September. CDMA is the standard used on Verizon phones.

Many tech observers have wondered whether a Verizon iPhone would compel a large number of AT&T customers to switch to the rival carrier. AT&T has been the exclusive carrier for the iPhone since its release in 2007, and the touchscreen handset has been a major source of revenue for the carrier. Incidentally, many dissatisfied iPhone customers have complained about the performance of AT&T’s 3G network since the release of the iPhone 3G in 2008.

Though AT&T is likely talking tough to impress investors, I’d lean toward agreeing that a hypothetical Verizon iPhone probably wouldn’t pose great threats to AT&T for the reasons cited by de la Vega. Some peeved customers will probably switch over, while others cling on to see if the network improves as a result of people leaving. The parties who should feel nervous about a Verizon iPhone are those already offering smartphones through Verizon: HTC and Google.

Via Business Insider

See Also:

• Analyst Predicts Verizon iPhone Announcement Next Week
• WSJ: Apple to Produce Verizon iPhone in September
• Verizon to Apple: We Want the iPhone
• Verizon Attacks the iPhone, Hints at Upcoming Droid

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com