An Android Phone to Devour

Hungry for a Google Android smartphone? Here’s one you can sink your teeth into, although not literally. It is possible to break those touch screens if you bite hard enough.

So, what are we talking about here? Why, the Motorola DEVOUR Silver of course. The DEVOUR is an Android 1.6 smartphone with a physical slide-out full QWERTY keyboard and a 3.1 inch color touch screen. It all wrapped up in a very professional looking silver color shell.

The DEVOUR features MOTOBLUR, a service that syncs and delivers your messages, status updates and contracts to the DEVOUR’s multiple customizable homescreens. No need to login or open apps. The updated data is available at your fingertips.

As a smartphone, the DEVOUR is web-enabled with 3G access where available on the Verizon Wireless EVDO Rev A network. It’s even updatable over the air with Motorola software updates. Plus, there are thousands of apps and hundreds of widgets available on the Android market to customize this smartphone to your personal needs. Your favorite Google apps come pre-loaded. That includes Google Maps, GTalk, Gmail, YouTube, Latitude and others.

The Motorola DEVOUR is a great choice as a business phone, but it’s also a multimedia phone. That starts with a 3.0 Megapixel digital camera that doubles as a camcorder and takes photos good enough to print as well as share. Sharing is made easy with multimedia messaging or via social media websites. Don’t forget that slide out keyboard... you can send text as well as pictures faster than ever with the DEVOUR.

The DEVOUR is a Google Android phone, but is it also a Verizon Wireless smartphone. That give you access to Verizon’s V CAST music with Rhapsody. You’ll have unlimited access to millions of songs for one flat monthly rate. Of course, you can also load your own music into the DEVOUR’s MP3 player and take your personal song collection with you. Just plug-in your standard 3.5mm stereo headset and you’re ready to listen. You can also use a Bluetooth stereo headset or other A2DP Bluetooth enabled device to stream your music wirelessly.

Have you been wanting an Android phone that works for both business and pleasure? Perhaps this is the one to tempt your taste buds. Learn more and order your Motorola DEVOUR Silver with Verizon Wireless service at a deep online discount, with free shipping via FedEX.

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DROID vs DROID

You’ve heard plenty about the famous DROID phone, so named because it runs the Google Android operating system. But did you know that there were TWO of them? Yes, not only are there 2 DROIDs, but they are manufactured by two different companies to different specifications. So, which DROID is the DROID you have in mind?

The first DROID is build by Motorola for use on the Verizon Wireless network. It’s a touchscreen QWERTY smartphone running the Android 2.0 operating system. It’s so innovating, that it won Time.com’s “Top Gadget of 2009” award.

This DROID is the top of the line model, with a 5.0 Megapixel digital camera that doubles as a camcorder. It offers geo-tagging, auto-stabilization, a camera flash and on-board picture editing tools. You can take print your pictures or shared them online or via multimedia messaging.

Intended as a direct competitor to Apple’s iPhone, the Motorola DROID is two phones in one. Closed, it has something of an iPhone appearance, also sported by a wide number of touchscreen phones today. The large 3.7 inch color touchscreen display gives you complete command of thousands of apps that you can download from the Android Market.

Slide out the full QWERTY keyboard and you have a messaging machine that should please the fastest texting aficionado. Connectivity is 3G wireless where available on the Verizon Wireless network plus WiFi for use at home, work or in cafe and other WiFi hotspots. Surf the Web, email, SMS text, IM or multimedia text those you want to stay in contact with.

The alternate DROID phone is the DROID ERIS build by HTC, also for the Verizon Wireless network. This one runs the Google Android 1.5 operating system, sports a 3.2 inch color touchscreen display and offers a virtual keyboard rather that the slide-out set of buttons. In this respect, it is more like the iPhone than the Motorola DROID.

You still get the 5.0 Megapixel digital camera that is integrated with GPS services. The DROID ERIS also connects to both the 3G Verizon Wireless cellular network and WiFi hotspots.

So why would you pick one model of DROID over the other? It’s personal preference, mostly. If you like the more industrial look or want a physical keyboard, Motorola DROID is your choice. It also runs the more advanced Android 2.0 operating system and can handle larger memory cards. If you like the more rounded look, are happy with an on-screen keyboard, prefer the HTC Sense display presentation, and like the separate phone control buttons, you may prefer the HTC DROID ERIS. In fact, these phones are more alike than different, so carefully read the specs and look at the pictures for each phone to help make your decision.

You should also know that, as of this writing, the DROID ERIS is available free after instant online discount and the DROID is available at a deep discount of just $49.99. Those deals are always changing, so check out the complete selection of smartphone special offers and learn more about the HTC DROID and Motorola DROID ERIS for Verizon Wireless now.

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DROID is the Woid

Motorola and Verizon have put their heads together to take on the juggernaut that is the Apple iPhone. The result is the much heralded DROID that promises smarter than smart operation thanks to it’s Google Android 2.0 operating system. But let’s have a look and see what you get when you pack a DROID.

One big difference between the iPhone and every other smart phone, save the BlackBerry Storm, is a physical keyboard. If you’ve spent years developing texting thumbs, then moving to a virtual on-screen keyboard is understandably uncomfortable. Some people gotta have their little pushbuttons. Others just prefer a physical QWERTY keyboard. The DROID doesn’t disappoint. Slide out the hidden keyboard and text so fast you cause sonic booms.

Those who believe that the Microsoft Windows operating system rules the universe and always will, may not have noticed that there are other players looking to unseat the king of Redmond. Apple is quietly selling premium price and quality iMacs in a recessionary economy. The iPhone is going strong and now making a move into other countries, like China. Meanwhile, Google is stretching its tentacles far beyond search. The Android operating system has only crept into the mobile marketplace, but it’s growing. The new DROID will be a big boost to that initiative. Especially since it’s coupled to Verizon Wireless with their excellent nationwide coverage.

With the DROID comes a tight integration between phone and Google’s online empire. That includes thousands of apps downloadable from the Android Market. Apple has quite a head start in the apps marketplace, but DROID has the potential to make downloadable apps a key advantage of this phone. There’s an onboard eCompass along with the expected GPS to enable Google Maps, geo-location web search, geo-tagging and other location based applications.

You can expect a desktop-like experience surfing the Web from your DROID. That’s thanks to the HTML Web browser and Verizon’s 3G data connection called EVDO Rev A. For even faster performance, you can connect to public, personal or corporate WiFi hotspots running 802.11b or g. That’s pretty much all of them now.

What’s a smartphone today without advanced multimedia support? The DROID sports a 5.0 Megapixel digital camera with geo-tagging, flash auto-stabilization, zoom and editing tools. Do you really need to buy a separate digital camera anymore? For most purposes, I’ll bet not. This high resolution camera takes pix good enough to print, as well as share with friends via multimedia messaging or post to photo sites. The 3.7” light responsive color display that doubles as a touch sensitive control screen offers a great platform for viewing video. It has a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels so your images and videos will have a sharp appearance.

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Google's Plan To Chew Up Microsoft

A recent story in the Wall Street Journal offers a clue as to where Google is headed next. It's coming for you, Microsoft.

Actually, Google's ultimate ambition might be far more expansive that even an unseating of Microsoft as undisputed owner of the PC operating system space. The secret dream may be a complete domination of all devices with embedded computers. That's pretty much everything there is electronic, isn't it?

The news that suggests Google is moving beyond controlling the information search environment and looking to run the whole machine is that PC makers, including Hewlett-Packard, are testing Google's Android operating system for use in netbook products. Up until now, Android has been seen as an operating system for mobile phones. Something that runs a cellphone can't possibly pose a threat to the massive and entrenched PC operating systems, can it?

Perhaps it can. If it does, it will happen in a similar way to how Microsoft unseated the computing giants IBM, DEC, Data General, Control Data and others to become the big name in business computing, and wiped the slate clean of all competitors, save Apple, in personal computing. What Bill Gates did that was both prescient and game altering was to become the PC operating system provider to IBM at a time when PCs didn't seem much of a threat to the status quo. Only in hindsight can we say, "they should have seen it coming."

The key is in the timing. Microsoft established itself at the inflection point where personal computers were poised to take over the corporate desktop from dumb terminals and become an affordable data processing solution for small and home businesses. Now that the standards of business and personal computing primarily revolve around Microsoft Windows, there's a massive barrier to entry for anyone who seeks to offer an alternative.

We are nearing such an inflection point again. You see the "clouds" gathering - literally. Computing is poised to move off the desktop and onto the Internet, with software as a service rather than a product. There's really no reason you need to do processing or storage locally. It's a matter of becoming convinced that the reliability, security, performance and price make the cloud computer a better alternative to the personal computer.

The netbook, more than the smartphone, represents a move to this new business model. Although, the day may not be far off when the line between computer and phone is so blurred you really can't tell the difference. For some early adopters, the Apple iPhone is well down that path. Netbooks seek to give you a cheap, lightweight, and small mobile computer without losing the power of the computer. They do that by moving functionality online so that they can shed things like CD drives, power sucking high performance processors, and massive hard drives.

The client-server model stopped the move to decentralized computing in major corporations years ago. Cloud services pretty much extend that model beyond the corporate walls by using the Internet as a LAN replacement. As business WAN bandwidth becomes cheaper, there's really no reason why netbooks, and perhaps the desktop equivalent of thin clients, can't become the new standard. Of course that can't happen overnight... or can it?

T-Mobile G1 Google Android Phone Gets Vocal

You've been thinking about a smartphone upgrade for your next cell phone, but which one? Can't decide if you want a touchscreen phone like the Apple iPhone, the BlackBerry Bold, or the Samsung Delve? Or perhaps you'd really rather have a hidden full QWERTY keyboard for those heavy texting times. How about a trackball for navigation like the BlackBerry Pearl? Then there's the matter of connectivity. You'd really like 3G, but you know it isn't always available. Sure would be nice to have WiFi capability to surf the Web fast when you need that broadband capability.

How can you decide what to buy when you want it all? Well, why not get it all with the HTC-built G1 for T-Mobile? Yes, this is the famous "Android Phone" that marked Google's entry into the mobile wireless field. It runs on the T-Mobile network for quad band cellphone service. Plus it has an excellent array of data capabilities. Within the T-Mobile G3 network footprint, the G1 uses HSDPA for up to 7.2 Mbps download speeds. Outside the range of those towers, it defaults to the T-Mobile EDGE network for up to 120 Kbps download speed. That's still good enough for email, text messaging and casual Web browsing. Want even faster speed? The G1 has built-in WiFi b/g capability for broadband performance up to 24 Mbps through you wireless router or at a WiFi hotspot.

But how about the user interface? Once again, the T-Mobile G1 has it all. With the phone closed in its normal configuration, you can use the 3.2 inch color touchscreen, just like you would on those other advanced smartphones. But slide out the hidden keyboard and you have a small computer form factor with a full QWERTY keyboard just below the large landscape mode display. There's even a little trackball off to the side in landscape mode or below the display in the portrait mode. Don't worry about how to switch modes. The G1's accelerometer knows how you are holding the phone and will adjust the display accordingly.

The Google Android operating system running on a 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A processor provides easy access to Google applications such as Google, Gmail, YouTube, Maps, Calendar and Google Talk. Now there's a software upgrade that will be pushed over the air to G1 users to add Google's Voice Search application. It gives text search results to voice queries and can tap into the A-GPS capability in the phone to help you find the nearest gas station, restaurant or other area of interest. That's coming in the next couple of weeks.

The G1 can easily be called a multimedia phone. It sports a 3.2 Megapixel auto-focus camera/camcorder, an MP3 player, expandable memory up to 8 GB, multimedia messaging, and support for streaming video and music.

Does this PDA smartphone look like just the one you've been wanting? If so, check the 3G coverage available in your area, learn more and order your T-Mobile G1 w/Google in Bronze or G1 Black with T-Mobile wireless service. You'll get a special discount price by ordering online plus free shipping. Order a shared minutes "family" plan and get TWO G1s on the same service.

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