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Motorola Droid Prototype Floating Around On Ebay?

Jack Loftus — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:00:00 +0000

eBay, the auction site that’s been no stranger to rare gadgets in the past, could have an interesting new denizen under its roof if this Motorola Droid prototype turns out to be the real deal.

The seller bills the phone as “limited edition,” which means this is, purportedly, one of only five such prototypes produced. The anonymity and volatility of the Internet means I trust this guy about as much as I do a baby with a razor blade, but nevertheless there are some other key differences present that indicate this phone is slightly different than the standard Droid.

For instance the keys are silver instead of gold; the bezel is chrome, not black; and the LED lighting on the buttons is “enhanced.” The phone is fully operational and awaiting activation. Trust this guy? Bidding starts at $US485. [eBay via Engadget]

Specs Leak On The Motorola Motus?

Mark Wilson — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:44:40 +0000

Usually there’s at least a week of lag time between a photo leak and a spec leak, but BGR seems to have acquired full specs on the just-outed Motorola Motus.

* Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
* Tri-band 7.2Mbps HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100MHz)
* 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash
* 256MB RAM
* aGPS
* Wi-Fi
* 3.1″ capacitive 480×320 display
* Bluetooth 2.0
* Weight: 133g
* 1400mAh battery
* microSD slot
* Qualcomm MSM 7201A CPU
* MOTOBLUR

Yep, it does look a whole lot like an AT&T 3G–friendly CLIQ. [BGR]

Motorola Motus Android Phone Caught On Shaky Cam?

Danny Allen — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:27:01 +0000

The Motus is rumoured to be a mid-range Android slider due early next year, and if this supposed spy shot is anything to go by, it’ll look sorta like the CLIQ — but with a flatter, harder to use keyboard.

[BGR]

The Real Reason The Droid’s Camera Fixed Itself

Adam Frucci — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:41:27 +0000

When the Droid was shipped, it was plagued with a lousy autofocus bug. But then, it magically seemed to fix itself. Did Verizon secretly update all the phones from afar? Nope. The explanation is much weirder than that.

There’s a rounding-error bug in the camera driver’s autofocus routine (which uses a timestamp) that causes autofocus to behave poorly on a 24.5-day cycle. That is, it’ll work for 24.5 days, then have poor performance for 24.5 days, then work again.

The 17th is the start of a new “works correctly” cycle, so the devices will be fine for a while. A permanent fix is in the works.

But of course! I understand perfectly why a camera would be dependent on the date. Chances are good that this will have a legit fix before 24.5 days are up, but man, what a weird bug. [Engadget via GadgetLab]

Motorola Droid Experiencing Software-Related Speaker Issues

Jack Loftus — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:30:00 +0000

Droid sales are blowing up, but so too may be Droid speakers, as reports are starting to pour in from users who’ve experienced the sound cutting out at inopportune times. Island of Misfit Toys, here we come!

Luckily, the bug appears to be software related. Time for a patch.

Who amongst the swelling Droid ranks has experienced this annoying issue? [Droid Support Forums via Engadget]

Droid (Sales) Blowing Up

Chris Jacob — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:05:00 +0000

Don’t worry, it’s not the batteries that are exploding. But if third-party data is any indication, sales might be. Location network developer uLocate, creators of WHERE, saw about 25,000 active accounts using its software.

Traditionally, uLocate is installed on about 10 per cent of launch units. Multiply it out and you’ve got a healthy estimated 250,000 Droids out there. Not iPhone level, sure, but not a bad first week considering the Palm Pre sold 300,000 in one month. [BGR via Electronista]

Droid Gets Sacrificed In The Name Of Your Cruel Visual Pleasure

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:25:00 +0000

You saw it up close in all its black-and-gold Tim Burton’s Batmanesque glory in our review. Now it’s time to see all its naughty bits out. Enjoy, the Motorola Droid slicing and dicing photo fest. [iFixIt]

Droid Does Higher Res Video Streaming With New Qik App

Matt Buchanan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:46:58 +0000

Droid records video at an impressive 720×480 resolution — it’s certainly more impressive than its photo prowess anyway — and streaming service Qik’s the first to take advantage of that higher resolution, allowing full res streams later tonight with a beta release. [MobileCrunch]

Droid Opening Weekend: 100,000 Sold

Matt Buchanan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:58:34 +0000

Not a bad opening weekend for Droid with estimates that Verizon and Moto pushed out 100,000 of ‘em. To compare, that’s about how many Pres were sold on opening weekend, give or take. [Bloomberg]

Why Firmware Updates For Verizon’s Droids Would Be Good News

Danny Allen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:28:52 +0000

Verizon’s Moto Droid and HTC Droid Eris phones have only just landed in people’s hands, but what look to be leaked Verizon documents suggest the carrier is tracking a long list of bugs for a potential December 11 over-the-air fix.

The apparent internal bulletins were leaked to Android fan site, Phandroid, and total five pages for the Motorola, and seven for the HTC. They look legit, and if they are, the info is useful for a number of reasons. If you’re thinking about buying a Droid, it’s good to see some of the problems you may face.

But even better, the meticulous list seems to show that Verizon/Motorola/HTC actually care about supporting their devices post launch. [Phandroid: Motorola Droid | HTC Droid Eris]