Hasta La Gadget!

Back in October of last year, Google and Verizon came together in order to provide an intense amount of corporate support for the FCC’s then-fledgling net neutrality push. Today, said push has turned into quite the monster, with a recent court ruling asserting that the FCC doesn’t actually have the authority to impose net neutrality. Since then, a cadre of telecommunications firms have banded together in one form or another to attempt a compromise (and slyly get what each of them really want), and today the Big G and Big Red have taken the stage together in order to publicize a well-thought out policy proposal for “an open internet.” Both firms seem to agree that web users “should choose what content, applications, or devices they use,” and they both want “enforceable prohibition against discriminatory practices” — and yeah, that definitely includes prioritization and blocking of internet traffic, including paid prioritization. In an odd twist, what seems to be happening here is that both Google and Verizon are actually in favor of more government oversight on the internet, but they want that oversight to be beneficial to consumers. In other words, more regulations from the feds to enforce fewer regulations imposed on you from your ISP. Get all that?

Where things really get interesting is when they touch on the wireless angle; essentially, they’re admitting that the very proposals they are putting forth for wireline shouldn’t apply to wireless just yet (aside from the whole “transparency” thing). It seems that the prevailing logic is that there’s simply not enough spectrum for this idyllic “play fair” scenario to truly work, so fewer restrictions would be necessary for the wireless internet space to blossom as the wireless side already has. Moreover, we get the impression that these guys feel the wireless space as a whole is simply too competitive right now to withstand any red tape.

The proposal also mentions that, if passed into law, the FCC would have the ability to fine “bad actors” (read: misbehaving ISPs) up to $2 million for breaking any of these “open internet” stipulations, and naturally, both outfits are highly in favor of the National Broadband Plan taking hold, moving forward and getting broadband to places that are currently using a strange mixture of used canisters and rope to check their inbox.

Google and Verizon publish joint policy proposal for ‘an open internet’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola is set to refresh its original Droid phone with the launch of the Droid 2 later this week. The new Droid 2 phone will sport a better keyboard, the latest Android 2.2 Froyo operating system and a faster 1-GHz processor.

Droid 2 will cost $200 with a two-year contract on Verizon Wireless or $600 without a contract, according to Best Buy.

Motorola hasn’t confirmed a release date for the Droid 2 but widespread rumors suggest the phone will be introduced on Aug. 12.

The original Droid phone is now listed as “out of stock” on Verizon’s website.

The Droid 2 refresh comes nearly ten months after Motorola and Verizon launched the original Droid phone. In October last year, the two companies introduced Droid, then one of the most advanced Android devices in the market. The Droid debuted with a 3.7-inch touchscreen display, a slide-out keyboard, a 5-megapixel camera and a 600-MHz processor. Since then, the device has become one of the best-selling Android phones.

In June this year, Motorola announced Droid X, a device that extended the Droid brand. The Droid X, however, didn’t come with a keyboard. With its 4.3-inch touchscreen, the Droid X also sports a bigger display and a faster processor compared to the original Droid.

Droid 2 will now catch up to some of those specs. One of the key criticisms with the original Droid phone was the device’s keyboard. Many users complained that the keys weren’t comfortable to use. Motorola seems to have heard that. In a newspaper ad touting the imminent arrival of the Droid 2, Motorola has highlighted the Droid 2’s “new, advanced keyboard.”

Droid 2 also hopes to be the first phone to ship with Android 2.2 Froyo and support Adobe’s Flash technology for mobile phones — a distinction that shouldn’t matter much now since other devices including HTC Evo and even the original Droid are getting over-the-air upgrades to Froyo.

Another point to consider is that the feature upgrades won’t put the Droid 2 at the front of the pack of Android phones. HTC’s Evo has an 8-megapixel camera, compared to Droid 2’s rumored 5 megapixels. The Evo also has a front-facing camera and HDMI out — two features that will likely be missing in Droid 2.

If that’s the case, it is unlikely Droid 2 can on top of the best-seller charts like its predecessor.

See Also:

• Is This the Motorola Droid 2?
• Motorola Droid Rules Android
• Why I’m Not Getting a Droid Today
• Droid X Debut Leaves Hardcore Android Fans Leery
• Hands On With the Motorola Droid X
• Verizon Denies Tethering, Hot Spot Features to Droid Customers

Photo: Motorola Droid (Gubatron/Flickr)

It’s not expected to land at Verizon until sometime in 2011, but it’s never too early to take a look at an unannounced Android slider with specs like this. Leaked by Androidswag, the device is purportedly hiding a 1.2GHz processor (would that be dual-core?) beneath that 4-inch display — the sweet spot for size and pocketability. The prototype pictured above was apparently sporting a Vodafone SIM card making this a pretty bodacious CDMA / GSM worldphone by the time it lands for retail. Of course, anything, or everything, could change by the time this pup is ready for launch and we’ll be here covering every step of its journey. Two more shots after the break including a size comparison with the EVO 4G — a few more at the source link below.

Continue reading HTC’s dual-mode CDMA / GSM Android slider with 1.2GHz CPU headed to Verizon in 2011?

HTC’s dual-mode CDMA / GSM Android slider with 1.2GHz CPU headed to Verizon in 2011? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 05:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Motorola support forum response about issues involving Exchange 2003 email problems on the Droid X has actually yielded something far more juicy: an updated window for the Froyo upgrade’s release. Promised since the phone’s initial launch, Moto’s now saying that the new build is “scheduled for deployment by early September,” so barring a miracle, we can probably toss out those dreams of getting it by late August — and we can certainly forget the rumors that it had already started going out. Clearly we’d like it sooner rather than later, but hey, if they’re hard at work squashing bugs as we speak, more power to ’em — we’re all for stable releases.

[Thanks, ARR]

Droid X update to Android 2.2 coming ‘by early September’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been a bumpy road for net neutrality in the US, and the latest word on the subject, of a partnership between Verizon and Google, could result in American internet freedom taking one step forward and two steps back. Last year, the two companies said together that they were all for net neutrality regardless of the source being a traditional or wireless ISP. Now, according to Bloomberg, they may have changed their tune somewhat, striking a deal that, up front, prevents Verizon from gimping traffic it doesn’t like on its DSL and FiOS networks.

That sounds good, but according to Politico the deal still allows Verizon to “prioritize certain traffic” — more or less defeating the whole purpose if true. More troublingly, Verizon is able to do whatever it wants when it comes to managing wireless broadband, through mobile hotspots or, indeed, the plethora of Android handsets it now offers. Mind you, neither company is coming forward to discuss these supposed plans (Google saying it has “nothing to announce at this point”) so this could all be much ado about nothing. We certainly hope it is, especially since we’re talking about two companies who last year pledged they wanted to “ensure the openness of the web around the world.”

Update: Phew… we think. Google’s Public Policy Twitter account just belted out a denial of these claims, straight-up saying that the New York Times “is wrong.” Here’s the full tweet, which certainly makes us feel a bit more at ease. For now. “@NYTimes is wrong. We’ve not had any convos with VZN about paying for carriage of our traffic. We remain committed to an open internet.”

Update 2: Verizon’s now also issued a statement and, like Google, it’s denying the claims in the original New York Times report. It’s as follows:

“The New York Times article regarding conversations between Google and Verizon is mistaken. It fundamentally misunderstands our purpose. As we said in our earlier FCC filing, our goal is an Internet policy framework that ensures openness and accountability, and incorporates specific FCC authority, while maintaining investment and innovation. To suggest this is a business arrangement between our companies is entirely incorrect.”

Google and Verizon sign net neutrality agreement, begin the end of net neutrality? (update: Google, Verizon deny claims) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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