RSSMotorola and Verizon unveil the Droid, Google Maps navigation
By Tim Conneally | Published October 28, 2009, 12:00 PM
After a long period of rumors, leaks and teaser marketing campaigns, Verizon and Motorola have officially announced Droid, Verizon's first Android smartphone, and the first Android device running Eclair. It will be available on Friday, November 6, for $199 with a two year contract and mail-in rebate.
Motorola's Contribution:
In addition to pricing and availability, the complete list of specs that was leaked a bit early (and subsequently yanked) has been published by Motorola. It can now officially be said that Droid is nearly identical in size to the iPhone 3G S, with a screen 0.2" larger, and a body only 0.02" thicker despite having a full QWERTY keyboard.
The slim Droid has a 3.7" (480x854) WVGA capacitive touchscreen, and includes a 16 GB memory card which can be replaced by microSD cards up to 32 GB. Today's announcement unfortunately does not include processor speed (listed as 550 MHz in leaks) or clarify whether it includes a discrete graphics chip as many had speculated.
What it does include is EV-DO rev. A 3G, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR, a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with dual LED Flash and digital image stabilization and DVD-quality video recording, aGPS and standalone GPS, a 3-axis accelerometer, and 6.4 hours of talk time or 11.25 days of standby.
Google's Contribution:
With yesterday's launch of Eclair in the Android SDK, we got to see a number of the new APIs made available to developers in addition to some interface and support improvements that Droid will offer, such as HTML5 and Flash 10.
But we kept seeing "navigation by Google Maps" in early Droid announcements, with little information as to what this represented. Today we've found out that Droid will launch with free navigation from the new Google Maps for Android 2.0 beta. It combines "plain English" voice command, turn-by-turn directions and its unique Street View perspective which is unlike any other GPS device currently available.
Verizon's Conribution
In addition to providing the 3G Network infrastructure that Google CEO Eric Schmidt is so fond of, Verizon is equipping the Droid with Verizon Visual Voice Mail. When T-Mobile launched the G1, visual voicemail was not an option until third parties such as YouMail and Phonefusion made apps providing the functionality. It was not until considerably later that T-Mobile Visual Voicemail was an option presented to Android early adopters.
Droid will be available exclusively at Verizon Wireless stores and through Verizon's Web store on Friday, November 6.
How to Choose a 2010 Prom Dress
You are so excited. You thought this big event would never get here. Here it is only months away and now you have to choose the Prom Dresses that will make you look beautiful and feel confident. There are so many different styles and colors available in Prom Dresses. This is the reason you need to start shopping months before the big event.
Take the time to find out what style best suits you and your body shape. Find out what is popular this year. Trends change drastically every year and you want to be the new girl.
Before Shopping for 2007 Prom Dresses
It is always a good idea to look through up-to-date magazines such as Seventeen, Prom Magazine, and even bridal magazines. You would be surprised at the different fashions you will see and the great ideas from the models in these magazines. If a dress really catches your eye, tear out the page and take it with you when you go shopping for your prom dresses.
Another timesaving step is to take your measurements before you go shopping. Jot down your height and weight. This will give you more time to look. This information will come in handy when you decide to go online and shop.
Knowing how much you have in your budget and which price range best suits you will also save you time.
Shopping for Your Gown
Once you have jotted down your measurements and have set your budget, it's time for the fun part. SHOPPING!!!! Go to every dress shop that you can find in your area or you may have to shop out of town. Visiting different shops will give you an idea of what styles are available this year.
Try on several different Prom Dresses at each shop to help you determine what style and color suits you. If your budget is low, check out the outlet stores and thrift shops in your area. You may be surprised at the dresses carried by these shops. Bridal shops are also a great place to shop for your Prom Dresses.
When choosing your prom dress, you want the dress that best suits your figure. Always buy a dress that fits you now. Do not buy a size smaller and hope that on prom night you can fit into the dress. When shopping for your prom dresses, it is best to shop at stores where the employees can help you and give you advice if needed.
Bright, bold colors seem to be the trend at this time. These colors tend to be eye-catching and bring color to your face. Beads and jewels draw attention by catching the light on your gown.
Keep in mind your undergarments that you will need to purchase such as a strapless bra or corset. You may want to purchase these Prom Dresses before you shop for your dress so you will have them available when you try on gowns.
Remember, keep your options open. If you have shopped 'til you dropped and still have not found that dream dress for your 2007 prom, you can go to a tailor shop and have them design a dress just for you or surf online at your own convenience.
Score: -2
|http://www.promdressonsales.com/
http://www.weddingdressart.com/
http://www.dresses4dancing.com/
http://www.dressupinyou.com/
http://www.hidresses.com/
http://www.digdress.com/
http://www.promdress2go.com/
http://www.promdress2u.com/
I don't find the use of the motion sensor in the iPhone to be counter-immersive (and yes, the adjective exists, as of the second you posted the article, that's the way languages remain dynamic 8D), althouogh some executions of it are a bit silly (like shaking the unit while playing Tap Defense to activate Earthquake Towers, very immersive but it disrupts gameplay as you have to reestablish
Score: -3
|The problem here is Google, it is bad enough them trying to find out which site you visit on a computer, a O/S produced by Google is to be honest scary. Too big now and too much in your face, i tend to avoid Google if I can.
Score: 0
|I think Ill wait to get the HTC Android phone they are getting in like 6 months because Ive had a very bad freezing up issue with my Moto V750 that came out last August and most likely wont get another Moto phone cuz of the freeze up issue.
Score: -5
|I had a car once - I had a crash in it. I'm never going to drive another car - ever!!!111one - lamer.
Score: 1
|Well...I breathed in last August and smelled something bad. I'm gonna wait until I can breathe Omega Centauri air to breathe again, this Earth air is just crap.
Score: 1
|@ veeoh and PLeX:
LOL... almost had coffee up the nose on those. =)
Score: 0
|It is good to see another party pushing some innovation in this space. Fitting a keyboard into a device this thin is certainly a nice feature. I'm looking forward to hearing how well it works/feels.
I've got some time left on my iPhone contract (and am still in love with how easy it is to work with - on most things), so I've got time to see how durable these prove to be, and what responses Apple comes up with.
Score: 1
|I personally am interested in seeing how it handles heat. That small, with the possibility of a discreet GPU in there, with much of the space taken up by a keypad....I'd imagine this little beast will likely melt itself.
Here's hoping they QA'd it heavily, because I do want one.
Score: 0
|There was a GPS application with voice turn by turn directions for Windows Mobile smartphones that used satellite imagery from Google Maps. Unfortunately the satellite imagery couldn't be downloaded fast enough to keep up with my driving speed. It didn't matter if I was driving 35-40mph in the city or 55-60mph on the freeway. This was on an HTC Fuze phone. Also, if Google is using their own maps then their GPS software won't be nearly as accurate as GPS software/hardware that uses Navteq maps which are the most accurate of any company in the world for GPS units.
Score: 1
|I had the same problem with Google Maps on my Fuze. They really need to have it cache your whole route when you start navigating somewhere.
I've used Bing for Windows Mobile too and it has a lot of the same features. I find it a bit easier to look up the location I want (it has voice input).
My wife has a GPS that has Navteq data and while the maps match reality, the unit is pretty dumb sometimes about what route to take (not to mention the interface is very frustrating). So there's more to the GPS game than data. I'm pretty tempted by this phone to replace it.
Score: 0
|At least, people can't complain about the ridiculous Motorola user interface, the way they did with the RAZR. I'm hoping that this spurs Apple and Palm to create better operating systems. Judging from the Chrome development staff that said that the version numbers had no meaning, I wonder if the various versions are all considered beta test versions.
Verizon has quite a variety of phones but almost all of them are tied to their VCast business. I wonder how this one will differ or not.
Score: 0
|