The Gadgeteer » Android related

Tiger Woods for Android Review

Bryan Sherman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:05:28 +0000

One of the powerful things about the Android, in my opinion, is the fact that you are not held captive by one way of getting applications for your phone. The Android Market is very convenient, but you can also go other routes to purchase and install applications.

One of the other sources is Handmark. They have been around for a while, and I recall purchasing from them back in my Palm days. If you go to their website, you can set what your phone is, and searches will then only display those applications that work with your phone.

They were nice enough to send along Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 for me to review. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related, Reviews

Tagged: game

Tiger Woods for Android Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 19, 2009 at 4:05 pm.

HTC Droid Eris Review

Bryan Sherman — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:52:30 +0000

This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series HTC Droid Eris

The Droid Eris is the first Android phone with the Sense UI I have been able to play with. I was suspicious about the add-on (see previous post) but was pleasantly surprised. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related, Reviews

Tagged: Android, eris, HTC, verizon

HTC Droid Eris Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 16, 2009 at 6:52 am.

Droid Eris: The Sense UI

Bryan Sherman — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:49:33 +0000

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series HTC Droid Eris

One of the key differences with the Doid Eris is the UI that HTC has developed for their Android phones. The Sense UI provides a smoother interface to the stock Android interface. I am seeing this trend in a lot of phones. Motorola has the Blur, Samsung the Cube, and I am sure there will be more to follow.

Here I want to focus on what the Sense UI brings to the party. I’ll break it down to:

UI Enhancements
Widgets
Core Extensions
Extra Applications

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related

Tagged: Android, eris, HTC, Sense UI

Droid Eris: The Sense UI originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 14, 2009 at 12:49 am.

Waterfield wants to protect your Motorola Droid

Julie — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:00:18 +0000

I am always heralding the virtues of Waterfield’s bags and pouches. Today they have announced a protective suede jacket for the Motorola … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related

Tagged: Sleeve

Waterfield wants to protect your Motorola Droid originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 10, 2009 at 5:00 am.

The Motorola Droid on Verizon Review

Bryan Sherman — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:36:18 +0000

This entry is part 7 of 7 in the series Motorola Droid for Verizon

Finally, the review. I have spent just over a week with this app phone, and I have really enjoyed it. I am a current G1 user, so I came to the phone already familiar with the Android OS. It was interesting to talk with a number of folks who are new to Android to get their impressions.

This is going to be a little obsessive and detailed, so settle in. If somehow it is not enough, you can always review the previous posts in this series. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related

Tagged: Android, droid, Motorola

The Motorola Droid on Verizon Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 8, 2009 at 10:36 am.

Droid Eris vs. Droid

Bryan Sherman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:32:52 +0000

This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series HTC Droid Eris

Tomorrow marks the launch of Verizon’s first two Android phones. I have spent over a week with the Droid, but have only had the Eris for a couple of days. Since Verizon decided to call their first Android phone the Droid, and add that name to all successive Android phones, I will be referring to the Motorola Droid as simply Droid, and the Droid Eris as simply Eris.

I am still wrapping up the full review of the Droid, and want to spend a little more time with the Eris before finishing that review, so I will not have both reviews in time for tomorrow’s launch. Now I doubt you all are on the edge of your seat waiting for my final reviews, but if you are anything like me, you like all the data you can get. So with the caveat that I have not spent much time with the Eris, I want to give you information on which of these two excellent phones are best for you. I will not be declaring a best, because that is just silly, it depends on your specific wants and desires.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related

Tagged: benchmarks, droid, eris, verison

Droid Eris vs. Droid originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 6, 2009 at 1:32 am.

Android: Living on a Cloud

Bryan Sherman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:00:28 +0000

This entry is part 6 of 7 in the series Motorola Droid for Verizon

This is the last post about the Motorola Droid before I post my final review. I want to spend some time in the post to discuss the Android OS and it’s relationship to the cloud.

Based on some of the comments I received, I think it would be helpful to explain some of the philosophy behind the OS that makes it a little different than other Smartphones. I think it is helpful to understand this to make sense of the capabilities and limitations of this phone.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related

Tagged: Android, Cloud, verizon

Android: Living on a Cloud originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 5, 2009 at 8:00 am.

Day 7: The Droid Camera and Video

Bryan Sherman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:00:44 +0000

This entry is part 5 of 7 in the series Motorola Droid for Verizon

from Motorola site

I found out last Thursday I would have another week with the phone, so my urgency dropped a little bit about posting, and I took a three-day weekend. I don’t have much more to cover with the phone before I wrap up with the review but will still have a few more posts. Today it is about the camera in the phone. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related

Tagged: Android, Camera, droid, verizon

Day 7: The Droid Camera and Video originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 3, 2009 at 8:00 am.

Day 3: Android Basics on Verizon’s Droid

Bryan Sherman — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:28:26 +0000

This entry is part 4 of 7 in the series Motorola Droid for Verizon

I attended the Verizon Wireless Gadget Happy Hour last night. This is the event that the local Verizon reps distributed the Droid’s for. Besides returning the Droid, my other requirement for having the device to play with, was to bring it to this event. I was there to share my experience, and the phone, with interested parties in a very informal event.

I had my questions, as well. One that was answered was that the unlimited e-mail and web plan for the Droid will be $29.99. This is different from the figures you can see on their site right now, and will make the comparison at Bill Shrink look much better when updated.

It was also fun to show off the Droid to fellow attendees. I learned a lot from them as well. A big one is that there is not a lot of understanding of Android in general. Most of my posts so far have focused on what’s new, I want to take some time in this post to give you a brief overview of some core Android features and concepts. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related

Tagged: Android, droid, verizon

Day 3: Android Basics on Verizon’s Droid originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 30, 2009 at 7:28 pm.

Day 2: Navigating with Verizon’s Droid

Bryan Sherman — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:00:04 +0000

This entry is part 3 of 7 in the series Motorola Droid for Verizon

Source: Motorola

One of the big news items surrounding Eclair and the Droid is the vastly improved navigation. I tried this out yesterday with some simple trips. Since this is something you will most likely use in a car, I was also interested in the Car Home icon. This is a nice streamlined menu that appears to be designed to access features while in the car.

The navigation provides turn by turn directions with a synthesized voice. All in all it is not a bad synthesizer. You can also use voice search to look for destinations.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related, GPS
Tagged: Android, navigation
Day 2: Navigating with Verizon’s Droid originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 29, 2009 at 9:00 am.

Day 1: Verizon’s Droid and Account Maintenance

Bryan Sherman — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:00:02 +0000

This entry is part 2 of 7 in the series Motorola Droid for Verizon

After spending a day with the new Droid phone I have to say I am very impressed. Turns out I was one of 4 fortunate folks in Cincinnati who get to try this new phone out in preparation for a Gadget Happy Hour tomorrow night. They have asked us to Twitter with the Hash tag #droiddoescincy, so you can see the tweets under that hashtag. Verizon is also making a larger push with the hashtag #droiddoes (though that seems to get sidelined by others periodically).

I am going to continue with some more first impressions here on this site. I promise to put together a final review more in the tradition of The Gadgeteer when I am done playing. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related

Tagged: droid, verizon

Day 1: Verizon’s Droid and Account Maintenance originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 28, 2009 at 9:00 pm.

First Look: Verizon’s Droid

Bryan Sherman — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:34:14 +0000

This entry is part 1 of 7 in the series Motorola Droid for Verizon

OK, I have got to say it, this is the Droid I didn’t know I was looking for. I was very excited to get the opportunity to look at Verizon’s new Droid phone. It is the first Android 2.0 device, and is made by Motorola. I hope to post more about this later, but wanted to give you my first impressions. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related, Featured Items

Tagged: Android, droid, verizon

First Look: Verizon’s Droid originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 28, 2009 at 12:34 pm.

Android 2.0 Officially Announced

Bryan Sherman — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:53:58 +0000

The Eclair is coming. Yes, they are continuing the naming trend (Cupcake, Donut and now Eclair). It is officially announced on the Android Developer site.

Some of the key changes:

Support for multiple e-mail and contact synchronization (sounds a little Web-OSy).
Quick Contact feature that looks to streamline selecting email/phone/sms.
Exchange support without an add-on application.
Updated camera features.
Multi-touch support with the keyboard.
And more…

Those are just he ones that caught my eye. Here is the official video introducing many of the features after the jump. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related

Tagged: Android, eclair

Android 2.0 Officially Announced originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 27, 2009 at 3:53 pm.

enTourage eDGe DualBook Reader / Netbook

Janet Cloninger — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:34:45 +0000

People who have an interest in reading ebooks but who want a multi-functional device may be interested in the enTourage eDGe device. The eDGe closes like a book, and it has a 9.7” (measured diagonally) e-Ink screen on the left and a 10.1” (diagonal) 1024 X 600 pixel color touchscreen on the left.

The eDGe ebook reader side allows you to read PDF and ePub files. It is not associated with any bookstore, however. You can take notes in the books using highlighting, dog-earing pages, or by handwriting directly in the books. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related, News, Spotlight Gadgets, eBook Readers and Gear

Tagged: eBook reader, Netbook

enTourage eDGe DualBook Reader / Netbook originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 26, 2009 at 7:34 am.

Cupcake to Donut – Android 1.6 is here

Anita Z — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:00:54 +0000

Cupcake is out and Donut is in. This past weekend many T-Mobile G1 and MyTouch G1 users received Android 1.6 (a.k.a Donut) that updated the previous version known as Cupcake. I got mine Sunday morning. I’ve been playing around with the new features, which include a new faster camera/video interface, Quick search box, battery usage indicator, updates to Google Maps, and a new look for Android Market. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related, Miscellaneous

Tagged: Android

Cupcake to Donut – Android 1.6 is here originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 7, 2009 at 9:00 am.

Motorola CLIQ with Android, MOTOBLUR coming to T-Mobile

Andy Jacobs — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:32:28 +0000

Motorola recently announced its first Google Android OS-based smartphone, the Motorola CLIQ. A 3G smartphone with full touchscreen and side-slide QWERTY keyboard, it is also the first device to feature MOTOBLUR, which syncs social networking and other media. The Motorola CLIQ will be available in Titanium and Winter White colors and is due to be available exclusively in the U.S. on T-Mobile starting later this fall. Pricing to be announced later. For more information, see the full press release after the jump.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related, Spotlight Gadgets

Tagged: Android, Motorola

Motorola CLIQ with Android, MOTOBLUR coming to T-Mobile originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 18, 2009 at 4:32 pm.

Sprint’s First Android Device – HTC Hero

Julie — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:45:57 +0000

Sprint customers will finally get a taste of Android on October 11, with the HTC Hero. The HTC Hero offers synchronization for built-in Google mobile services, including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, and YouTube as well as access to more than 8,000 applications built on the Android platform. This is the model that I’ve been interested in trying out since my review of the G1 back in January. Full press release after the jump. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related, Spotlight Gadgets

Tagged: Android, HTC

Sprint’s First Android Device – HTC Hero originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 3, 2009 at 2:45 pm.

Zii Egg and the Plaszma OS

Adam Scinto — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:45:51 +0000

visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related, Linux Based PDA related, Portable and Console Gaming

Tagged:

Zii Egg and the Plaszma OS originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 29, 2009 at 9:45 am.

Wrapsol Protection System Review

John Schettino — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:23:38 +0000

The Wrapsol protection system is a family of products that strive to wrap your various devices in a sheath of protecting film. They sent me a pile of systems, and I tried the Android G1, iPod Touch, and Sony PSP systems for this review. Essentially the system is the same for any supported device, but I figured doing it three times was sufficient to get a feel for the repeatability of my results. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related, Blackberry related, Gaming Gear

Tagged: Case, Screen Protector

Wrapsol Protection System Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 21, 2009 at 9:23 am.

Getting around town with Android

Anita Z — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:32:32 +0000

I recently found myself with several hours to kill in a place I knew very little about. While meandering the streets of San Francisco I pulled out my Android G1 phone and put my GPS enabled applications to work. I found that there are some good applications out there to help you get acclimated to new surroundings without missing a beat. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related, GPS

Tagged: Android

Getting around town with Android originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 18, 2009 at 10:32 am.

HTC Sense user interface on the new HTC Hero looks yummy!

Julie — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:49:02 +0000

HTC has announced the HTC Hero smartphone today and a new user interface called HTC Sense to go along with it. The Hero is a quad band GSM Android phone that has the same basic shape of the visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related

Tagged: HTC, HTC Hero

HTC Sense user interface on the new HTC Hero looks yummy! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 24, 2009 at 12:49 pm.

Aldiko for Android Review

Bryan Sherman — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:00:22 +0000

Aldiko is a new e-book reader for Android. It is not the first reader for the Android, but it is the first one that has actually stayed on my G1. I asked the developer the origins of the name, and he indicated that it is derived loosely from the Swahili word for book andiko.

Aldiko comes with Sun Tzu’s Art of War and H. G. Well’s The Invisible Man pre-loaded. However, you can browse and load any of the books available on Feedbooks right from the application. The site contains thousands of public domain and creative commons works. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related, eBook Readers and Gear

Tagged: e-book, Reader

Aldiko for Android Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 4, 2009 at 3:00 am.

Locale for Android Review

Bryan Sherman — Fri, 29 May 2009 07:00:37 +0000

Locale was a Grand Prize Winner in the first Android Developer Challenge. It is a tool that allows you to perform a number of actions based on conditions you define in the application. It makes great use of the Android G1’s location abilities, but frankly the name is misleading, because it can do far more than just update based on location.

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related

Tagged: Android, Software

Locale for Android Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 29, 2009 at 3:00 am.

A Week with the Android G1 Smartphone

Julie — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 03:56:19 +0000

This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series A Week With The Android G1 Smartphone

Once I had completed my week with the Blackberry Storm, I asked everyone for some advice on which phone they thought I should choose for my next review. After a few days, the overwhelming choice was the Android G1 Smartphone otherwise known as the Google phone. I’m going to try it out for the next 7 days and let you know my experiences. … [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related

Tagged: Android, G1, Google, GSM

A Week with the Android G1 Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 23, 2009 at 9:56 pm.

The Gadgeteer » Android related

Tiger Woods for Android Review

HTC Droid Eris Review

Droid Eris: The Sense UI

Waterfield wants to protect your Motorola Droid

The Motorola Droid on Verizon Review

Droid Eris vs. Droid

Android: Living on a Cloud

Day 7: The Droid Camera and Video

Day 3: Android Basics on Verizon’s Droid

Day 2: Navigating with Verizon’s Droid

… [visit site to read more] Filed in categories: Android related, GPSTagged: Android, navigationDay 2: Navigating with Verizon’s Droid originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 29, 2009 at 9:00 am.

Day 1: Verizon’s Droid and Account Maintenance

First Look: Verizon’s Droid

Android 2.0 Officially Announced

enTourage eDGe DualBook Reader / Netbook

Cupcake to Donut – Android 1.6 is here

Motorola CLIQ with Android, MOTOBLUR coming to T-Mobile

Sprint’s First Android Device – HTC Hero

Zii Egg and the Plaszma OS

Wrapsol Protection System Review

Getting around town with Android

HTC Sense user interface on the new HTC Hero looks yummy!

Aldiko for Android Review

Locale for Android Review

A Week with the Android G1 Smartphone

… [visit site to read more]

Filed in categories: Android related, GPS
Tagged: Android, navigation
Day 2: Navigating with Verizon’s Droid originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 29, 2009 at 9:00 am.