Portable Electronics Ltd // Technology you can carry.

The team behind mobile security firm Lookout have been looking at hundreds of thousands of Android and iPhone apps as part of their new App Genome project.  This new initiative was created explicitly to keep mobile users safe from malicious apps.  Have they found anything worthwhile to report?  You betcha. Try this one on:  There is an "app" called Wallpaper,  All Categories that steals your data and reports to a server in China.

Looking at the listing in the Android Market, one can see that between 50,000 and 250,000 people have downloaded this app.  However, VentureBeat is reporting that the number ranges from 1.1 million to 4.6 million downloads.  Either way, that's an awful lot of people out there inadvertently sharing sensitive material. What exactly is being reported to the server? According to Lookout, a user's SIM card number, subscriber identification, text messages, and (potentially) voicemail passwords.

It's not known whether the developers intentionally sought out this information or if it was simple oversight.  You may recall a recent incident with Citibank's iPhone app which was storing customer account data on the handset.  In that case, the developer quickly plugged the hole and released an updated version of the app.  Still, it's hard to imagine the wallpaper situation being accidental.  Lookout hesitates to brand it as malicious until the developers intent is known.

So what do you do as an Android user?  First, uninstall anything you have from jackeey, wallpaper.  At the time this article was drafted there were 72 titles in the Android Market.  After you remove the app(s), head to m.myLookout.com and grab a free copy of the mobile security app.

Maybe Google policing the Android Market isn't so bad after all...

Source: CNET, VentureBeat

NOTE: App Genome Project Uncovers Wallpaper App That Steals Your Data originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

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BriefMobile has some interesting information regarding the Samsung Galaxy S. First, it appears that the American varieties of the GS can output High Definition video via a special Micro-USB-to-HDMI cable. This is a specially engineered cable that will be available only via Samsung (at least initially).

Secondly, BriefMobile reports that a leaked Froyo-based ROM has been released by Samsung Firmwares for the Galaxy S. This is not for the American versions (Vibrant, Captivate, etc.), only for the Galaxy S i9000. It is an official Samsung release, although it appears to be a developer's build. So, if you've got an i9000, attempt at your own risk.

NOTE: Galaxy S Does Froyo and Micro-USB to HDMI originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

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Cincinnati Bell has launched another Android handset,  the Samsung Behold II. One thing makes this version of the Behold II stand out against the T-Mobile version, Its not running Samsung's Touchwiz UI or sporting the "Cube" menu. Android 1.6 and 3.2" display make this slider a good mid-range option for those with the carrier. Regularly priced at $399.99 with no contract and only $129 with a 2yr contract after instant savings and rebates.

What is really interesting is that this device seems to be sporting a modified version of a custom ROM developed by BH_MAN / Eugene373. According to the ROM developer he was contacted by Cincinnati Bell and declined to help them as he was not familiar with the company. He has reached out to Cincinnati Bell after seeing the released device and is awaiting a response.

Features:

• Android OS 1.6
• 3.2" 320x480px AMOLED Touchscreen
• 5.0 mega-pixel camera
• Up to 16Gb External Storage via MicroSDHC Card
• Weighs 4.20 ounces with 1500 mAh lithium ion battery
• Access to Google's Android Market with over 50,000 Apps
• 802.11b/g WiFi
• Integrated A-GPS
• Stereo Bluetooth 2.1

NOTE: Samsung Behold II launches on Cincinnati Bell minus Touchwiz and Cube originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

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First it was Optus lowering the price of the Xperia X10, now Virgin are to follow suit. From August 1st the X10 will be available on the $49 'Smart Cap' for $0.

The cap includes $270 cap credit, unlimited texts to any national network, unlimited calls to other Virgin mobiles & a massive 2GB of data.

A wordy headline, to be sure, but a pleasing one nonetheless. We came across HTC's Chinese web portal listing the Desire as coming with Android 2.2 (with Sense!) and simply had to ping the official source for confirmation. It turns out the info up there is no mistake: all HTC Android handsets shipping to China -- which includes the Wildfire and Tianyi -- will do so with Froyo preloaded, cutting down on your upgrade angst at least until the Gingerbread man comes a'knocking. HTC has also reiterated that a 2.2 update for its phones already on the market will be delivered "very soon," so if all goes well, we should be looking at a Froyo-dominated August in the land of High Tech Computers.

[Thanks, Christian]

HTC will ship all Android phones in China with Froyo on board, fuels fire for immediate update closer to home originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  HTC China  | Email this | CommentsVlad Savov128411225645438150650033151592878392124710684614866446561839069253511853509052710853009961654816373714475085632473727612141453071816240357180166188487104564550302154337612724994359096677714058451384650239531887001878231905400190087817159123017606815983464010810205546664329626836914479795649333427839019089351791616656391809517775164775200718120468709065437730

Logitech is gearing up to release the first Google TV companion box, the Revue, and their first teaser commercial has just gone live on YouTube. The 30 second spot poses the question, “What does TV do when no one’s watching?” and proceeds to show a TV set walk into a pool. I’m not sure if the TV is supposed to be committing suicide, but a Logitech blog posts discusses how the TV is losing attention as it competes with PCs and sends them a message of hope. “Hold on, TV. Revue is coming.”

Check out the video after the break and let us know what you think of Logitech’s latest ad. We expect to more details to be released next month when Google makes some TV related announcements.

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Update: A kindly developer who remembers the details of the previous version of the agreement has corrected us on several points. See below.

As we reported on Saturday, Android developers have been notified of an updated version of  the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement. We based our report on a post on the Android Developers Blog that highlighted changes in a couple of sections of the agreement, and that implied carrier billing might become more widely available as a way of paying for apps. Soon after, we began hearing from developers that other sections of the agreement seem to have been changed as well. From what we can tell, several sections have changed in ways that will affect not only developers but also users.

The new agreement was provided to developers without changes highlighted, so we reached out to the folks who maintain the Android Developers Blog to try to sort out what exactly had changed. They did want to help, but weren't up on the legal intricacies of the agreement, and passed our inquiry on to the legal and p.r. teams at Google, who, unfortunately, have not provided us with any information.

But after looking at the new agreement, we're fairly sure that there are some other changes beyond those related to new billing methods:

• Section 3.4, Special Refund Requirements, states that no refunds will be available for apps that can be previewed before buying, such as ringtones or wallpapers, and that all other apps will be refundable for 48 hours after purchase. Several changes here. The current refund period is 24 hours, and applies to all apps. Additionally, there currently is no way to preview ringtones. This perhaps points to new functionality coming to the Market. Update: This section has always stated a 48 hour refund period, despite the actual 24 hour refund period. This is confirmed by the Android team's Reto Meier. It's unclear if the part about no refunds for previewable apps is new or not.
• Section 4.5, Non-Compete, states that apps with the primary purpose of distributing other apps outside of the Market are not allowed. This was mentioned in one of the emails we received as possibly new, but we're not sure if it was there before or not. Update: This section has always been part of the agreement.
• Section 4.9, Product Ratings, discusses not only ratings of individual apps but also scores for developers that "will be determined at Google's sole discretion," using not only user ratings but also uninstall rates and refund rates. Again, we're not sure this section changed, but ratings for developers are certainly not a feature of the current Market.
• Section 13, Indemnification, is the section discussed on the Android Developers Blog. "Authorized carriers" are now an indemnified carrier. Together with the post's mention that the Android team is working on "new payment options," we believe this means that carrier billing for apps, currently limited to T-Mobile U.S. customers, will be rolled out more widely.

The changes to refund policies, along with the implication that users will be able to preview ringtones, seem to be the biggest news here. Some that contacted us worried that a longer refund period would facilitate more piracy, but hopefully Google's new licensing system for apps will help lay those concerns to rest. Update: It seems more likely than not that the only changes are to section 13, as was originally stated on the Android Developers Blog.

NOTE: (UPDATED) Sorting Out Changes to the Android Developer Agreement originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

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If you want to witness one of the most epic fail Android launches this year, look no further than the Dell Streak. The phone excited us when it was first revealed back in October 2009, but here we sit nearly eight months later and there is still no sign of an official release date or price.

We expected the Dell Streak to go on sale today, but the launch has been delayed. Dell now expects the Streak to go on sale “later this summer”. The phone’s pre-sale page had promised a release by the end of July, but the text has been updated to “soon”.

Things got more confusing when Dell temporarily posted the pricing for the Streak and then removed their blog post. When the post was live, it announced the Dell Streak would be available for $299 with new two-year AT&T contract or $549 without.

The blog post Dell removed.

AT&T currently has a promo page for the Dell Aero on their site, but there is no mention of the Streak anywhere. At this time we are unsure if AT&T will offer their full support for the device or just allow it to exist much like their response to Google’s Nexus One.

Speaking of the Nexus One, Google already admitted that the direct distribution method failed when they closed their online store earlier this year. Dell has more experience at direct sales, but no Android phone has sold well unless it was tied with a carrier.

Finally, the biggest thing holding the Streak back is its quirky UI running on Android 1.6. I’m still having a hard time believing Dell would launch this new device with a firmware that was released last year, but it looks unavoidable. We thought maybe Dell had delayed the phone to upgrade the operating system, but a company spokesman confirmed to PCMag.com that the Streak “will in fact still launch with Android 1.6?.

I really wanted to like the Dell Streak and if it came out last summer I might have purchased one. At this point, the phone has been surpassed in performance by new models from Motorola and Samsung and the outdated software really is an eye sore.

Now we wait to see what Dell does next, but with every day that passes – more sales are lost.

Dude, are you getting a Dell?

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Danish company Lumigon has announced that they'll be launching their first Android handset this October. The handset, known as the T1, will be launching on October 20th, with pre-orders beginning on September 20th. The T1 will sport a 480 x 320 resolution 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen, a Freescale 1Ghz i.MX51 processor, a 5MP camera with flash and some 720p video output goodness thrown in. WiFi, A-GPS, accelerometer, and Bluetooth are also included.

Want to know the best part? It boots Android 2.1. No word on whether or not Lumigon will update it to Froyo (or something else) in the future. Pricing and carrier availability have not yet been announced, but we'll keep you in the know. Anyone planning to buy this handset?

Source: GizModo

NOTE: Lumigon to Launch Android Handset In Time For Halloween originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

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The guys over at XDA Developers have finally managed to get a leaked version of Froyo on the Sense-packing Droid Incredible. Sounds amazing, right? Well, no one has reported any major problems with it as of yet, so it appears to be fully-working. A big thanks goes out to Scuccia, the developer on XDA who developed this great ROM, for all his hard work and dedication. Without committed devs like him, we wouldn't have any ROMs to flash or MetaMorph files to apply.

So what are you waiting for? Jump on over to XDA and try this leaked ROM for yourself! Let us know in the comments how much you love (or hate) it. Can't wait to hear from you folks!

And one more thing, always flash with caution and follow directions to a T. We don't want to hear about any bricks out there! Happy flashing!

Source: Androinica

NOTE: Droid Incredible Gets Froyo + Sense, Unofficially originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

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It seems as though all anyone is talking about these days is Froyo.  Currently the only phone to have received the Android 2.2 update is the Nexus One, but if Mark Moons (HTC Benelux Director) is to be believed, HTC will start rolling out the new update to the HTC Desire starting tomorrow.  The fact that HTC is working on a Froyo build for the HTC Desire comes as no surprise to anyone, but you can probably agree with us that the timeframe for the new OTA system update is a little jaw dropping.

As you might remember, HTC took nearly 5 months to roll out their Android 2.1 update to the HTC Hero.  HTC did state that the Android 2.2 build would be hitting HTC devices by year’s end, but most of us expected a release date towards the end of September. We’re waiting to hear back from our contacts at HTC, hoping that they can officially confirm Mark Moons’ tweet.  Anyone else a little shocked that the rollout is coming so soon?

UPDATE: Right before we hit the publish button, we hear back from HTC.  It looks like Mark’s Twitter announcement came a little early, but we could see the Android 2.2 rollout “possibly as early as tomorrow, but some things still need to be checked before we can confirm a specific day.”  The fact that HTC is on track to roll out the update so soon should silence quite a few people who have been complaining about HTC Sense and the additional time it takes to develop the custom UI on top of the new Android build.

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Samsung doesn’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to upgrading their Android smartphones with the latest version of the operating system. Customers who purchased the T-Mobile Behold II are stuck with Android 1.6, Sprint users with the Moment will not see updates past Android 2.1, and many people with the international version of the first Galaxy never saw any updates and were stranded with Android 1.5.

The Korean handset maker is looking to turn that around with their new Galaxy S lineup of phones and Android 2.2 will be their first test. Samsung made it clear during their recent Galaxy S launch party that Android 2.2 was a priority and they were working hard with their carrier partners to get the updates out in a timely manner.

So how long will it take Samsung to release their Android 2.2 updates?

Current rumors and speculation suggest that will happen in September, but several test builds of the Android 2.2 firmware have leaked out and it could happen sooner.

Members of the open source development community have already flashed these test builds on their Galaxy S phones and it sounds like most of the new features in Android 2.2 have been implemented and the final firmware is nearing completion.

Even if Samsung does hit the September target for Android 2.2 updates, it is likely to be behind their closest competitors. HTC and Motorola already have Android 2.2 builds in the hands of testers and we expect to see some over the air updates in the next couple of weeks.

Samsung still hopes to pass HTC in smartphone market share and I believe the Galaxy S could be the device to push them over the top. However, they still need to execute this software update and prove they will stand by their phones and continue to support them after release. Other handset makers have experience growing pains during these massive Android rollouts, so hopefully Samsung has been taking notes.

I have a feeling Samsung is awake now and finally taking Android serious, but I’m curious to see what our readers (and disgruntled Behold II owners) have to say. Do you think Samsung can pull off a successful rollout of Android 2.2 in a timely manner?

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When you’re selling somewhere in the ballpark of 160,000 smartphones a day, then a subscription service for just about anything starts looking like a good idea. And apparently Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO, is beginning to think the same way (not that he hasn’t been, mind you). Speaking with The Wall Street Journal, Schmidt outlined very briefly what a news subscription service for Android might look like.

His focus was the money part. When asked if Android would actually be a good money maker in this regard, he suggested that Android could potentially see $10 billion a year generated from an idea like this. All he would need to do is allow for paid access to newspapers and other periodicals. And it wouldn’t even take a large subscription payment, as there are plenty of Android-based devices out there that could take advantage of something like this.

And, let’s face it: with Apple offering up their own reader-based competition, the fact that it’s missing its own news subscription service at the moment would be a great momentum-builder for Google. Unfortunately, not many figureheads in the print publishing industry really like Google. For example, Rupert Murdoch? Not a fan of Google, or the fact that the search engine allows for folks to read parts of stories that would normally be hidden behind a paywall. So, for Schmidt and company to get something like this off the ground, there would have to be a pretty big piece of fruit hanging off the end of that line.

What do you think? Considering how often you use your smartphone/superphone on a normal, day-to-day basis, would you be willing to pay for a news subscription service? Especially if it were integrated into Android in one way or another?

[via The Wall Street Journal]

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Logitech is running a contest called the "Host with the Most" that will put its Google TV-stuffed Revue set-top box in the hands of users ahead of its official launch.Josh Lowensohn CNET News11707686189835841622

If you were to ask any avid user of Android what one of the glaring problems of the platform is, most likely you would hear either about fragmentation, or the fact that the app Market has some significant hurdles to overcome.  We have long talked about the fact that to attract new developers to create better and faster apps for the Android masses, Google would have to take some significant steps.  When developers call the Android environment the "Wild West" of developing, it is not a good thing.

Case in point.  This week, Zodttd, a developer who is known for developing game emulators on Apple devices released a Play Station 1 emu for Android, an exciting development for the community.  As soon as the word got out that the app was in the market, there was a flood of about 6000 people who went to purchase and download the app.  The only thing was, the Android Market would not let about 5,400 of the purchasers, this writer included, download the app at all.  The Market would let you buy the app, then it would hang up permanently on the "authorizing" purchase dialog.

When this happened, Zodttd got flooded with pleading emails from customers begging for help, some polite, a lot angry and some simply wanting their money back.  The problem for the dev was that he was in a virtual no-man's land.  On his end, he had received no money to refund, but his customers were holding receipts in their hands.  He could not get help from Google right away, because there is no phone number to call for help.  In fact, there is no support department for this at all!  You can see the progression of the issue from start to finish through this post log at Google.

So, the perfect storm happened.  A dev who had decided to enter the arena of Android development creates a pretty nice app for the community, tries to get it sold in the Market, and gets jammed by a glitch in the system that makes it look like he has received a bunch of money, but actually hasn't.  On top of that, he can get no immediate help to fix the problem, and is left to try to email Google as a whole rather than a support individual who could remedy the problem quickly.

Being one of the customers that was following the progress of this issue, I was dumbfounded by how long it took to get a resolution from Google, and as a result, how many sales the dev lost.  It really put on display the glaring issues the Market has.

Google should be working to make the Android development environment and sales structure something that is a joy for devs to work with, not vice versa.  Unless this happens, it is going to be a long, slow, uphill battle for the Market to gain serious steam, and to see the quality of apps that we are hoping for.  Come on Google, it is time to throw some serious work into this area.

NOTE: Android Market Woes Spill Over to Developer originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

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Pretty much, the title says it all. When Google’s Phone Store went down, there was confirmation from the house that built Android that the Nexus One, in effect, wouldn’t be going down with it. In fact, the handset would still be sold courtesy of wireless carriers around the globe, like Vodafone. But, thanks to a new document, it looks like T-Mobile (you know, the wireless carrier in the States that supports the Nexus One) won’t be included in that list.

The document is of the leaked internal sorts. And, it clearly states that the Nexus One will still be supported by T-Mobile, like in the ways of billing and customer support, but that’s where the line gets drawn. Google marketed and sold the Nexus One — not T-Mobile, and they don’t have any plans to start now. That’s, for all intents and purposes, some of the worst pieces of news we’ve heard in a long time. Hopefully you already got yours.

[via Tmo News]

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We already know that Samsung plans on launching some of their Galaxy-based devices with Android 2.2. No, not here in the States, but more like across the world. What that means, though, is that Froyo is alive and well, and Samsung is obviously testing it on their devices. Sure enough, here you get to see a Galaxy S with a new (brand new), and incomplete build of 2.2.

As you can see from the video, it doesn’t have all the features that we would come to expect. However, it still exists. And, if you’re running an international version of the Galaxy S (not the Captivate or Vibrant, which are available here in the States), then you can actually go download it and check it out for yourself. Again, it’s an early test build, but at least it’s better than nothing. Check out the video below for the gruesome details.

Click here to view the embedded video.

[via HDBlog YouTube; thanks, iNicc0lo!]

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This is getting ridiculous. Just last night we had a couple different articles detailing, in some way or another, a Droid X here and there running Android 2.2, or Froyo. And, sure enough, here’s another one. The only difference with this one, is there’s a good chance that this one’s a test build running on a test unit. Not a big difference, but it’s still different.

As the story goes, someone purchased a Droid X on eBay. When they got it, and started playing around with it, they noticed something was off. Digging through the settings (not that you have to go very far), they noticed that their shiny new toy was actually running Android 2.2, and not the version everyone else is. Well, you can imagine he’s pretty pleased. As for the rest of us? While we still wait for our official update (next week?), we get a whole bunch of pictures. So, go ahead and check them out below in the gallery. Anyone else thinking this is definitely right around the corner for all of us?

[via Droid-Life]

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If you haven’t heard, “the next generation of DOES” is finally here. The new Motorola DROID X went on sale nearly ten days ago, ushering in a new area of DROID dominance on Big Red. Though the DROID X has some incredible features, it definitely has its work cut out for it to prove to the world that it can compete with other elite Android smartphones.

Design

Looking at the DROID X for the first time, we’re pretty sure that no one will be able to confuse it with any of the new Samsung Galaxy S phones or even the similarly sized HTC EVO 4G. The DROID X has an extremely plain, rugged design that not even a loving mother would be able to call pretty. The front of the phone features the large 4.3 inch WVGA (480 x 854) display with four physical buttons (menu, home, back, and search) and voice mic right below it. Above the screen is the speaker, ambient light and proximity sensor. Along the right side you’ll find the volume toggle and red camera button and along the left are the micro HDMI and USB connections. The top of the DROID X houses the power button, 3.5mm headphone jack, and noise cancellation mic. Flipping the handset over reveals the battery panel, speakerphone speaker, a third microphone for video recording, and the 8MP camera (capable of 720p video recording) and dual LED flash.

Those of you who have been following Android for a while might be familiar with the “chin” concept that HTC has used on their phones. While the DRODI X doesn’t really have a chin, it does feature a prominent protrusion on the back of the phone where the camera is located. We’re not exactly sure why Motorola chose to add this extra bulge, but we are inclined to conclude that they did so in order to fit in the necessary optics for the camera.

On the inside of the phone, the DROID X features a 1GHz TI OMAP3630 processor with a dedicated GPU.  While 1GHz processors aren’t anything new, this is the first one we have seen from Texas Instruments on the OMAP3 platform.  To give you an idea of how it stacks up against the 1GHz Snapdragon processor on the Nexus One, Linpack tests show that the DROID X  yields 8 MFLOPS, about double of what the Nexus One can pull of running Android 2.1.  For a more detailed look at how the DROID X’s performance stacks up against the competition, you’ll definitely want to check out our benchmark comparison post from last week.

Software

Like most of the new phones hitting the streets these days, the Motorola DROID X is running on Android 2.1. There’s been talk about an update to Android 2.2 sometime this summer, but we don’t really expect the update to hit the phone until the last week of the quarter. While many of you may be familiar with Android 2.1, the DROID X is the first phone from Motorola to feature their enhanced version of MotoBLUR. We’re pretty sure that Motorola and Verizon are probably not too happy that we’re calling the custom UI by that name, but the fact remains that it accomplished the same social media integration we have seen from MotoBLUR in the past, but has a new refined look.

The cheesy blue and green contacts and phone icons next to the app drawer have been replaced with simple white icons. All the widgets have been given a facelift and most now have the ability to be re-sized right from the home screen. HTC Sense does give users the ability to choose various sizes for the dozens of widgets that they offer, but on the DROID X, users can simply re-size the widgets when they are moved. The best part about the widget resizing is that if you re-size one and it goes over another widget or application icon, the UI simply moves things about (sometime to another screen) in order to accommodate your change.

Like other manufacturers, Motorola has pre-loaded the new SWYPE keyboard onto the DROID X. But rather than loading SWYPE and calling it a day, Motorola has also developed their own new multi-touch keyboard, a first for Android. The new keyboard allows the phone to recognize multiple inputs at once, which reducing errors for those who type fast on the touch screen. A few unscientific tests showed that the multi-touch keyboard is quite a bit more accurate than Android’s standard keyboard, which allows users to type significantly faster. My wife actually stated that she would give up SWYPE on her Nexus One if I would find a way to port the DROID X’s multi-touch keyboard to her phone.

Like most of Motorola’s other phones that feature MotoBLUR, most of the stock Android apps on the DROID X have been modified. The customizations are not too horrendous, but those who prefer stock Android will most likely want to pick up the phone and smash it on a rock. MotoBLUR did add some nice enhancements to Android when it was introduced last year on Android 1.5. Unfortunately, the custom applications actually seem to dumb down or even remove some of the functionality of Android 2.1.

Fortunately, the DROID X features DLNA support, a feature that Google still has not implemented in stock Android. With DLNA support, the DROID X is able to stream music, pictures, and videos to other DLNA capable devices on the same Wi-Fi network. Users simply need to walk through the media sharing options in the Media Share app once they are connected to a Wi-Fi network. Streaming media to my PC and PS3 worked flawlessly when hooked up to my home network. The DROID X can also access media on other devices through DLNA. Opening the DLNA and clicking the “Play Media” button allows you to browser through share media files on other devices on your Wi-Fi network.

While the DROID X does feature a micro HDMI connection which allows you to directly connect your phone to your fancy LCD or PLASMA TV, the functionality is limited. Currently, HDMI output is limited to video and picture files and you’ll have to pony up some extra cash for the cable as well. In our opinion, the DLNA connectivity almost makes the HDMI connection obsolete.

Camera

If the design or software build have not impressed you yet, we would like to take a few minutes to give you our thoughts on the camera. Like most other top of the line Android phones, the DROID X features an 8MP camera with dual LED flash and the ability to record 720p HD video. Neither of these two features are anything new, but Motorola has definitely invested the time and money into this handset to make it stand apart from the competition.

Image quality on the DROID X is superb. Phones like the DROID Incredible and EVO 4G take some pretty nice pictures, but the DROID X seems to capture the correct color tones while producing some incredibly sharp images. Motorola has included the typical camera effects (black and white, negative, sepia, and such) but they went out of their way to add special picture modes for self portraits, panoramic images, and multi-shots.

• Self portrait: uses facial recognition to make sure the image is centered
• Panorama assist: select which direction you are going to pan to and simply take the first picture. Pan left, right, up, or down and the phone will been and take the next shot
• Multi-shot: camera switches to 1MP resolution, but is able to take six sequential images in less than two seconds. Great feature for capturing action shots.

Currently, the DROID X, EVO 4G and the Galaxy S family of phones are the only two Android phones to officially support 720p video recording. While the EVO does an OK job for being a phone, the video quality produced by the DROID X is far superior. The X also includes some pretty neat features like slow motion and fast motion video recording, essentially increasing or reducing the frame-rate of the recording you make to achieve the effect.

Knowing that users would be taking advantage of the DROID X’s video recording capabilities, Motorola has added an extra microphone to the back side of the handset.  Users can select various audio options to use the mic that’s facing their subject or the one on the front for dictation.  It may not sound that impressive, but if you compare audio quality from two different handsets, you’ll definitely notice a difference.

Battery Life

The Motorola DROID X is definitely a feature rich handset. More features equals more use from handset owner. More use equals faster battery drain. With that in mind, Motorola has chosen to equip the DROID X with a massive 1540mAh lithium-ion battery. With heavy use, the X can typically make it at least 12 hours between charges. While this may not seem like much, it should be enough to get you through a whole day’s worth of work. We did find that the DROID X does fair extremely well during low use. During our time with the phone we were actually able to use the handset intermittently for three days before the battery completely died on us.

As with most other Android phones, we would definitely suggest picking up an extra charger for the office or for the car just to make sure you have enough power at the end of the day.

Conclusion With a vast array of Android phones hitting the market these days, it’s becoming more difficult to find the perfect Android phone.  The DROID X’s large 4.3 inch display, 8MP camera with 720p video recording, and 1GHz processor with dedicated GPU puts the phone in direct competition with the HTC EVO 4G.  While the DROID X does perform a bit better than the EVO in 3D gaming and image/video capture, the EVO comes equipped with a front facing camera, a kickstand (which we are very fond of), and the ability to use Sprint’s 4G network. The X is definitely the most powerful option on Verizon’s network, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best option.  Quite a few people will simply shy away from the DROID X due to the massive 4.3 inch screen and opt for the similarly featured HTC DROID Incredible. It’s a tough choice to make, but we’re pretty sure you’ve already made up your mind by now.  Is the DROID X the phone for you?

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