Hasta La Gadget!

This seems to happen with virtually every hotly-anticipated device Verizon ever offers, so we can’t say we’re too surprised to hear rumors that Motorola’s Droid X has already started showing up in customers’ hands. Usually, this happens through a combination of persistence, repeated calls to customers service, and finding just the right rep who doesn’t realize that he or she shouldn’t be selling a particular device yet — but in the case of the Droid X, Verizon’s been teasing the launch with its @DroidLanding Twitter account, saying “you might get yours before” the official July 15 release. In other words, we think we’re in the process of getting punked by some viral marketing… but hey, if you’re getting punked by something, it might as well be one of the baddest-ass Android phones around.

Droid X already knocking on buyers’ doors? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The original Droid made a powerful statement. Actually, make that statements, plural: for Motorola, it was the largest single affirmation that it was going all-in with Android (after having already released the far less memorable midrange CLIQ on T-Mobile) and that it could play in the very highest rungs of the smartphone elite. For Verizon, the Droid was the carrier’s very first Android device, period — announced to great fanfare in collaboration with Eric Schmidt and crew — serving as a pretty spectacular exit from the Windows Mobile / BlackBerry doldrums that the carrier’s smartphone lineup had historically suffered. By almost any measure, the phone went on to serve its purpose; it let customers (and potential customers) know that Verizon could release a “cool” phone, and they responded. The Droid’s an unqualified success. Today, Verizon’s involvement in Android has never been greater, and Motorola — by all appearances, anyway — seems to be on its way back from the brink.

Time stops for no phone, though, and we’re now halfway through 2010. Motorola’s success as a competitive phone manufacturer is ultimately going to depend not on its ability to produce a single hit, but to produce a never-ending string of hits, each better than the one before it. It’s a tall order — and that’s exactly where the Droid X comes into play. Featuring a 4.3-inch WVGA display, 8 megapixel camera with 720p video capture, a reworked user interface, and a significantly improved processor, this phone apes the first Droid in at least one critical aspect: its ability to immediately steal the spotlight from anything else in Verizon’s lineup. Specs don’t tell the whole story, though, so let’s dig in and see what this beast is all about.

Continue reading Motorola Droid X review

Motorola Droid X review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scoring the top four US carriers plus a top-tier regional with a single family of smartphones in one fell swoop is a major achievement for any manufacturer — a feat memorably pulled off by the HTC Touch Pro2 — so you can officially color us impressed now that Samsung has unveiled the Fascinate for Verizon plus an unnamed device for US Cellular, both variants of the Galaxy S (generic version pictured). As a refresher, this is the same phone family coming to Sprint as the Epic 4G, T-Mobile as the Vibrant, and AT&T as the Captivate, so these guys have a bit of an Android coup on their hands. Like the others (Epic 4G notably excepted), the Fascinate is a non-keyboard Android slate and features the usual 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 1GHz Hummingbird silicon, and 5 megapixel camera with 720p video recording; US Cellular’s phone looks to be roughly the same thing, though it seems they’ve yet to choose a retail name for it. Both will be available on an unannounced date for an unannounced price — but if the market is any indication, $199.99 on contract seems like a good bet. More on these models as we have it.

Verizon ropes in Samsung Fascinate, US Cellular gets a Galaxy S too originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So Droid Life — which has earned itself a solid record in the rumor game as of late — is reporting that Verizon Wireless will be dropping the “Wireless” portion of its name this weekend and announcing that it won’t be carrying the iPhone 4, instead concentrating on its high-end line of Android devices that it’s done an admirable job of building up lately. We can’t speak to the validity of the iPhone stuff, but we’re starting to believe the rest now that we’ve been independently tipped on a new branding campaign that’ll focus on the tagline “Rule the Air.” Interestingly, it would seem that changing the name to Verizon risks confusing the company with one of its two corporate parents — Verizon Communications — which leads us to wonder whether this is a sign that Vodafone could be getting close to relinquishing control of its sizable minority share after years of speculation. Regardless, it looks like the bright red theme ain’t going anywhere. More on this as it develops.

[Thanks, The Geek]

Update: We have it on good authority now that there will be no official name change from Verizon Wireless to Verizon — the only thing that’s changing is the use of new logos that lack the “Wireless” portion of the name.

Verizon Wireless changing to Verizon this Sunday, massive new branding campaign planned? (update: no name change) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 12:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Today’s the big day: Motorola’s getting back into the high-end Android game in a big way with the launch of the Droid X on Verizon, and we’re here for the official announcement. Read on for the juicy details in real time!

Continue reading Live from Verizon’s Motorola Droid X event!

Live from Verizon’s Motorola Droid X event! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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