We’ve been hearing rumors of a Motorola Droid X 2 for a few days now from The Mobi Zone, complete with specs and pictures (above). Supposedly, it’s the successor to the Droid X, with a similar appearance, Android 2.2 with MOTOBLUR, and the same 8 megapixel camera. Some of the leaked specs — 4.3-inch qHD (960 x 540) display, 1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM — didn’t sit well with us, since these closely match the upcoming LTE-equipped Droid Bionic. We did some digging around and one of our trusted sources confirmed that the Droid X 2 aka Droid X “squared” is indeed coming to Verizon in Q2 2011 without LTE. However, it appears to be a refreshed Droid X, with the same 4.3-inch WVGA (854 x 480) display, a 1.2GHz single-core CPU, and 768MB of RAM. It’s not quite the powerhouse it was originally made out to be, but it now seems to be a better fit in the Droid family.

Posted under Droid X News

If you are a fellow Android lover you have been waiting patiently for the announcement of the next iteration of Google’s Android OS, Gingerbread. We have seen the Gingerbread man make his way to the Googleplex as well as listened to endless chatter on Twitter and the like; now it’s time for the real deal.

According to IntoMobile, Google’s Andy Rubin is scheduled to appear at the D: Dive Into Mobile Conference on December 6th, and because of that and the fact that he himself said that Gingerbread details would be made available in the coming weeks, the date looks promising for the announcement. It has been a good six months since the last version of Android so it looks like it is the time for Google to show off the goods.

Everyone has been speculating that Gingerbread will bring vast improvements to the UI of Android and with that an easier to use OS. Personally, I try not to get too excited about iterative updates. Considering that this is a “point” upgrade (2.2 to 2.3) I highly doubt we are going to see a completely overhauled UI. It would make more sense that Honeycomb would bring this to the table as a 3.0 product, but there is also the idea that Honeycomb will be for tablets as Gingerbread for phones.

Regardless, we will see what Google has up their sleeve soon enough. Besides, if you aren’t a Nexus One owner you won’t see an official upgrade to to Gingerbread for a matter of months if at all.

Posted under Droid X Gingerbread

Are you looking for a truly impressive racing platformer for the Android?  If you are then look no further than the Asphalt 5 Android app.  In this racing app you will have the opportunity to race in a variety of different cars including Lamborghinis, Fords, and Kawasakis.  This game will take you through some breathtaking environments and you will race against some of the most competitive AI to date.  For an ever changing racing experience you can also play in the multiplayer mode online.

Asphalt 5 in Game Play

The objective of Asphalt 5 is simple: win races and earn money to soup up your ride. Of course, you’ll face a variety of obstacles including oncoming traffic, innocent bystanders, and police in addition to weather conditions such as snow and rain. This can all be experienced through 3 different camera angles: close, far and bumper. Bumper provides a driver’s seat view which can be quite intense with every bump and crash. The game takes you through 12 different locations including Aspen, St. Tropez, Athens and Las Vegas. The well-designed tracks offer different terrains and environmental conditions, and most importantly, a shortcut. These shortcuts, which can be seen on the mini-map, are a good addition allowing players the option of sticking to the beaten track or risking it by taking a shorter yet tighter path. In some cases, these shortcuts are the only way to succeed especially in the time-sensitive races.

Asphalt 5 has three game modes: Single Race, Career and Local/Online Multiplayer. For many, Single Race will be the first taste of Asphalt 5 which provides a quick multi-lap race through the track of your choosing. While Single Race provides a good setting to practice driving skills, winning doesn’t unlock new tracks or earn money. Online multiplayer provides a number of options which includes competing against up to six players in a single race. In general, the online experience is smooth with minimal performance issues, and joining or hosting a race is relatively easy.

Pros

• Awesome 3D accelerometer racing game… one of the best thus far!
• Multi-player online racing
• Very fun, challenging and addictive
• Amazing graphics and sound
• Competitive AI drivers
• Large game data stored to SD card and not internal memory

Cons

• Game play is not smooth laggy and jerks at times
• Shouldn’t be played on lower-end or less powerful Android phones

Conclusion:

As far as graphics on a racing game, Asphalt 5 can’t be beat.  The cars look incredibly realistic and the environments are just as stunning.  This is one of those Android games that has finally lived up to its potential in that area.  The main concern with this game is the lack of smooth gameplay.  When there is too much going on in the screen the gameplay gets laggy and jerky, even on the higher end Android phones.  This is a little disappointing and can effect your overall performance in the race.  If it weren’t for this little glitch, this game would be one of the best gaming apps on the Android.

Voted 4.6 out of 5 stars by Android app users and can currently be downloaded for $6.99 off of the Android app store.

Download & Install:

1. Open Android Market and searching for Asphalt 5 byGameloft.

2. Using Barcode Scanner to scan this QR Code:

Asphalt 5 game QR code

3. Market link:

market://search?q=pname:com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftAsphalt5free.asphalt5

Posted under Droid X Games

Posted under Droid X Gingerbread

Google doesn’t seem to rest when it comes to continually updating their mobile version of Maps for Android. Another new update is out bringing Maps to version 4.6 and refining the way you find nearby places and friends. It brings real-time latitude updates, new search filters, and updated laces reviews. (Apk file is available at the bottom of the bottom of this article)

You will find that Place pages in the mobile app have been updated to reflect recent design changes to the dektop version of the service. Reviews are now organized between web reviews such as those from Yelp and Zagat and reviews posted by others using Google Maps.

You will also find new filters for search results. What used to only be sorted by distance and rating can now be filtered by what’s open, which neighborhood and establishment is located in, and also by related searches.

And for those using Maps 4.6 on and Android 2.2 device the experimental “real-time updating” option can be be enabled for Latitude users, providing quicker updating of location information.

Most people should be prompted to install the update on their handset, but you can always go to the Android Market to locate the latest version as well.

Posted under Droid X Apps, Google

In the Android Market, you can download the official Tetris game for Android from EA Mobile for about $3. But what if you can’t get enough of the game? Now you can turn your wallpaper into a nonstop game of Tetris with a simple live wallpaper by XDA user jug6ernaut. While you can’t interact with the wallpaper, you can watch the memorizing shapes magically fall into place and be impressed by how smart the…er…wallpaper is. Just run the APK file cited below and you’ll see a new option show up in your wallpaper menu.

Posted under Droid X Wallpapers

Motorola has posted its first year-over-year sales growth in four years, according to third quarter results, led largely by healthy sales of Android handsets. Company co-CEO Sanjay Jha pointed to the Droid X as a particularly good seller. Moto reportedly saw profits of $109 million on $5.8 billion in sales, the latter of which represents a six percent increase over Q3 2009; the company hasn’t achieved those sort of results since the fourth quarter of 2006.

The smartphone transition had initially been a difficult one for Motorola, which was able to come up with consistent hits like the RAZR when feature phones ruled the world, but found itself fighting for relevancy as products from HTC, Apple, and Samsung overshadowed its initial offerings. While devices like the Motorola Q developed a decent-sized following, the company found itself lacking a popular platform to build around as Windows Mobile started to drop off in popularity. Android has turned out to be something of a savior for the company’s mobile division, although Moto engineers also deserve credit for developing desirable hardware.

The company currently sells Droid-branded handsets through Verizon, as well as other Android models through VZW, AT&T, and T-Mobile. A blockbuster handset supposedly codenamed the Motorola Olympus is said to be coming to AT&T in the first quarter of next year, bringing with it a Tegra 2 processor from nVIDIA and alleged high-definition display.

Posted under Motorola

Google Maps app

Get Google Maps with Navigation (Beta), Places, and Latitude

Google Maps features:
* Navigation: Free, voice-guided GPS navigation system using Google Maps and GPS
* Places: Search for nearby places and see place hours, reviews, etc.
* Latitude: See friends on the map
* Voice Search
* Directions
* Traffic
* Street View

Google Maps screens

Latest version: 4.5.1 (for all Android versions)

QR code:

Google Maps QR code

Posted under Droid X Apps

Posted under Google

The Android Market is not the only place where you can get applications for your Android phone.  As long as you are prepared to accept the increased risks then you can install applications from anywhere.  Android applications have the extension .apk and to allow their installation all I had to do on my HTC Hero was

• From the home screen press the Menu button and then tap on Settings.
• Tap on Applications.
• Tap on Unknown sources (allow install of non-Market applications) and follow the prompts.

This information is widely available on the web and there are  several other ways of doing it.  The only reason I am posting it here is as a reminder to self but it’ll be a bonus if it’s useful to anyone else.

Posted under Droid X Hacks