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besson3c
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Oct 19, 2009, 02:12 PM
 
Any comments on this new phone? This looks like the first well-equipped and well-positioned Android based phone? I'm sure it won't be as cool as the iPhone, but it seems like there is a fair amount of potential to take a chip out of Apple's dominance, starting with those who are not AT&T customers, and others who simply want a decent iPhone alternative.

It will be interesting to see how the market of third party apps takes off and how they are delivered and installed onto those phones.
     
Judge_Fire
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Oct 19, 2009, 02:31 PM
 
     
jokell82
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Oct 19, 2009, 02:52 PM
 
If I was on Verizon still I'd be all over this phone. But Verizon went far too long without a decent phone that wasn't a Blackberry, so I ditched them years ago.

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olePigeon
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Oct 19, 2009, 02:56 PM
 
It's authored by Sean Connery and Kurtwood Smith.
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chabig
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Oct 19, 2009, 03:16 PM
 
It's just the latest in a long string of iPhone wannabees. It'll turn out to be as popular as the Pre, no doubt.
     
jokell82
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Oct 19, 2009, 03:37 PM
 
Originally Posted by chabig View Post
It's just the latest in a long string of iPhone wannabees. It'll turn out to be as popular as the Pre, no doubt.
The phone itself may only reach that level, but the important thing about it is the platform. It's the first Android based phone that looks compelling to me, and it seems from the news online to be that way for a lot of people.

Having decent competition can only make the iPhone better.

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chabig
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Oct 19, 2009, 03:51 PM
 
Originally Posted by jokell82 View Post
It's the first Android based phone that looks compelling to me, and it seems from the news online to be that way for a lot of people.
What do you know about it that makes it compelling. All you've seen is an ad. And don't forget that everyone said the same thing about the Pre. Let people get their hands on them and we'll see which is better. Oh yeah, don't forget the apps, the syncing, and the iPod. It's more than the handset itself that makes the iPhone so compelling.

Originally Posted by jokell82 View Post
Having decent competition can only make the iPhone better.
That's lame. Apple drive for product greatness drives them, not market. It's always been that way. Apple would consistently improve the iPhone even without competition. That's how you sell new products every year.
     
besson3c  (op)
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Oct 19, 2009, 03:56 PM
 
Originally Posted by chabig View Post
That's lame. Apple drive for product greatness drives them, not market. It's always been that way. Apple would consistently improve the iPhone even without competition. That's how you sell new products every year.

Why does Apple strive for product greatness, a sense of altruism? No, it's to sell in great volumes. You can't "change the world" if you can't sell your products. Anything that threatens Apple's sales makes them work harder, lower their prices, work to match and beat their competitors on features, etc.

I have a feeling that there is room for at least a second strong smart phone. The iPhone is great, but it is designed to be a just-add-water turn-key sort of product that is accessible to the masses. In designing a product like this you have to constrain and restrain to provide a consistent and crystal clear user experience, thus the iPhone is not particularly hacker friendly. There may be a large enough market of people that want to go outside of the comfortable little Apple bubble to make this market viable, and for the time being there are all of the non-AT&T customers to go after too.
     
Dork.
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Oct 19, 2009, 03:57 PM
 
This is not the Droid(tm) you are looking for....


(BTW, I signed up for information from Verizon about the Droid, because I really am interested. And at the bottom of the E-mail is a notice that the term DROID is a trademark of LucasFilm, and it was being used under license. WTF?)
     
chabig
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Oct 19, 2009, 03:58 PM
 
It sounds to me like you admit the market for the Droid will be very small. I agree.
     
osiris
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Oct 19, 2009, 04:01 PM
 
I welcome the competition - Apple needs this to keep in check (at least in my vivid imagination).

The iPhone is amazing, though there are a few things that aggravate me to no end and without apology on Apple's part. My contract is up in March, so I will be looking at other devices and carriers. But I'll probably just get the 3GS.
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lpkmckenna
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Oct 19, 2009, 04:02 PM
 
The Droid commercial was good, if you knew what they were talking about.

If Droid is great, it's great for everyone. Competition rocks. But how much will it cost? Right now, we don't know anything except removable battery, 5MP camera, and Android 2.0.
     
olePigeon
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Oct 19, 2009, 04:02 PM
 
Originally Posted by Dork. View Post
(BTW, I signed up for information from Verizon about the Droid, because I really am interested. And at the bottom of the E-mail is a notice that the term DROID is a trademark of LucasFilm, and it was being used under license. WTF?)
I can see how you might get C3PO and a cell phone confused.
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jokell82
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Oct 19, 2009, 04:04 PM
 
Originally Posted by chabig View Post
What do you know about it that makes it compelling. All you've seen is an ad. And don't forget that everyone said the same thing about the Pre. Let people get their hands on them and we'll see which is better. Oh yeah, don't forget the apps, the syncing, and the iPod. It's more than the handset itself that makes the iPhone so compelling.
Actually I haven't even seen the ad. Just have seen writeups online about the hardware (supposed to be top notch) and Android OS 2.0 (also supposed to be top notch).

Originally Posted by chabig View Post
That's lame. Apple drive for product greatness drives them, not market. It's always been that way. Apple would consistently improve the iPhone even without competition. That's how you sell new products every year.
A response is unnecessary here. This is just idiotic.

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Laminar
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Oct 19, 2009, 04:29 PM
 
Originally Posted by olePigeon View Post
I can see how you might get C3PO and a cell phone confused.
Hm...maybe that's why every time I tried to make a call all I heard was a British voice bitching about something or the other...
     
olePigeon
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Oct 19, 2009, 04:36 PM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
Hm...maybe that's why every time I tried to make a call all I heard was a British voice bitching about something or the other...
You sure it's not the wife?
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mduell
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Oct 19, 2009, 05:29 PM
 
I'm looking forward to Android maturing into a competitive platform, and hardware like this (despite my aversion to sliders) is progress.
     
Chongo
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Oct 19, 2009, 06:04 PM
 
Pics of the Motorola Droid.
Motorola Droid : Boy Genius Report

The Wikipedia article says it has Wi Fi, but I bet Verizon have it disabled

Verizon hasn't been apple friendly for quite some time.

I work for Freescale and surprised they went with a TI chip.
45/47
     
turtle777
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Oct 19, 2009, 06:34 PM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
Why does Apple strive for product greatness, a sense of altruism? No, it's to sell in great volumes. You can't "change the world" if you can't sell your products. Anything that threatens Apple's sales makes them work harder, lower their prices, work to match and beat their competitors on features, etc.
Wrong. You are saying Steve does it for the money? SO WRONG.

He's doing it to show them who's boss.

-t
     
CharlesS
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Oct 19, 2009, 08:22 PM
 
One thing which no one seems to care about anymore, but is certainly worth mentioning anyway, is that since this thing is made by Motorola, it’s going to get much, much better reception than the iPhone. Say what you want about Moto, but they’ve always put really good radios and antennas into their phones.

This phone actually has the potential to be really nice. I hope Moto ends up making a GSM version at some point.

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slugslugslug
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Oct 19, 2009, 08:38 PM
 
^Apparently Moto bucked their great-signal trend with the CLIQ (not that I can remember where I read that, but somebody was definitely surprised by it, given Moto’s history).
     
CharlesS
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Oct 19, 2009, 09:08 PM
 
Well, that’s discouraging. According to the reviews I just looked up though, the CLIQ seems to just be a piece of junk in general, whereas the Droid seems to be pretty well reviewed, so hopefully all this means is that the CLIQ was rushed to market or something and the Droid will be more up to Moto’s usual standards once the GSM version comes out (and it looks like there will be one, according to stuff I found via Google). If I could have an Android phone with the signal strength of my RAZR2 V8, that would be fantastic.

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mduell
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Oct 19, 2009, 09:17 PM
 
Originally Posted by Chongo View Post
The Wikipedia article says it has Wi Fi, but I bet Verizon have it disabled
Verizon (and Sprint) announced after the BB Tour that all future phones would have wifi.
     
sdilley14
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Oct 19, 2009, 11:37 PM
 
I hope this isn't the final version of the phone. The gold is ugly and gaudy. I would consider getting this if it didnt look so...blah. There is no native ATT coverage where I'm at, so getting an iPhone really isn't an option for me. Blah, maybe I'll wait for the Storm 2...I hear its supposed to be significantly better than the current Storm.
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besson3c  (op)
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Oct 19, 2009, 11:41 PM
 
sdilley: how important is the looks of a gadget in your purchase decision making?
     
sdilley14
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Oct 20, 2009, 12:51 AM
 
Hahah, nearly as important as looks when I'm choosing a woman.

But seriously, if I'm going to look at the thing and handle it off and on all day every day, I want something that's going to look appealing to me. Sure, its not as important as function or performance, but its right up there.

I'm much more concerned about the looks of my phone rather than, say, my GPS unit, which I only use and need to look at a couple times a month at most.
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The Godfather
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Oct 20, 2009, 01:46 AM
 
Originally Posted by Chongo View Post
Pics of the Motorola Droid.
Motorola Droid : Boy Genius Report

The Wikipedia article says it has Wi Fi, but I bet Verizon have it disabled

Verizon hasn't been apple friendly for quite some time.

I work for Freescale and surprised they went with a TI chip.
TI has had 3D acceleration embedded in its low power ARM for 1-2+ years. I haven't heard of a Freescale CPU that includes that. Isn't Freescale focused in telephony grade processors?
     
Chongo
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Oct 20, 2009, 02:08 AM
 
Originally Posted by The Godfather View Post
TI has had 3D acceleration embedded in its low power ARM for 1-2+ years. I haven't heard of a Freescale CPU that includes that. Isn't Freescale focused in telephony grade processors?
No. We are in a wide variety of products. As far as handset CPUs, since the spin off we can sell to other handset manufacturers, not just Motorola. When we were part of Motorola, we could sell CPUs to Motorola only.
45/47
     
The Godfather
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Oct 20, 2009, 08:19 AM
 
Originally Posted by Chongo View Post
No. We are in a wide variety of products. As far as handset CPUs, since the spin off we can sell to other handset manufacturers, not just Motorola. When we were part of Motorola, we could sell CPUs to Motorola only.
I use Freescale PowerPC (PowerQuicc) in my designs. I've looked at the whole CPU lineup and they all offer many integrated features like PCI, networking and SATA, but none of them have video generators.
     
TheoCryst
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Oct 20, 2009, 08:02 PM
 
Originally Posted by Chongo View Post
No. We are in a wide variety of products. As far as handset CPUs, since the spin off we can sell to other handset manufacturers, not just Motorola. When we were part of Motorola, we could sell CPUs to Motorola only.
You work for TI? Are you at the Tucson office? Do you know a new guy named Kyle, by any chance?

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The Godfather
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Oct 21, 2009, 12:28 AM
 
Originally Posted by TheoCryst View Post
You work for TI? Are you at the Tucson office? Do you know a new guy named Kyle, by any chance?
He said he is in Freescale. Of course he knows a guy named Kyle. I do too.
     
lpkmckenna
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Oct 21, 2009, 12:34 AM
 
Tell Kyle that Kevin from Canada says hi!
     
Chuckit
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Oct 21, 2009, 02:58 AM
 
Just wondering: Why does my mobile company get all the craptastic Android phones?

I'd like a smartphone, but I really like T-Mobile and Catherine Zeta-Jones insists that I stick with them. So I keep my pretty PEBL.
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slugslugslug
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Oct 21, 2009, 08:18 AM
 
You could buy an unlocked Nokia smartphone for some ungodly price.
     
jokell82
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Oct 28, 2009, 12:34 PM
 
Official announcement of the Droid:
More pics and facts about the new DROID by Motorola

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ort888
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Oct 28, 2009, 12:54 PM
 
Official Google Blog: Announcing Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0

Droid will have this too, which is rather sweet... of course, the iPhone is getting it as well, it's just a question of when.

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Dork.
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Oct 28, 2009, 01:14 PM
 
Any word on pricing for the service plans yet?
     
CharlesS
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Oct 28, 2009, 01:56 PM
 
Originally Posted by ort888 View Post
Official Google Blog: Announcing Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0

Droid will have this too, which is rather sweet... of course, the iPhone is getting it as well, it's just a question of when.
The iPhone will probably never get that, since Apple has bought a competing map provider and presumably will be replacing their use of Google Maps with the service they acquired.

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ort888
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Oct 28, 2009, 01:58 PM
 
No, google has announced that it is coming to the iPhone. Unless Apple decides to be douches about it or something.

Google Maps Navigation takes a mobile turn | Relevant Results - CNET News

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osiris
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Oct 28, 2009, 02:04 PM
 
I'm liking this Droid thing more and more. The fact that it's not AT&T makes it particularly appealing.
hmmm, my contracts are expiring soon...
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nonhuman
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Oct 28, 2009, 02:08 PM
 
If it didn't have a keyboard I might consider it.
     
besson3c  (op)
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Oct 28, 2009, 02:18 PM
 
Originally Posted by ort888 View Post
Official Google Blog: Announcing Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0

Droid will have this too, which is rather sweet... of course, the iPhone is getting it as well, it's just a question of when.

This looks pretty cool!
     
CharlesS
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Oct 28, 2009, 02:22 PM
 
Originally Posted by ort888 View Post
No, google has announced that it is coming to the iPhone. Unless Apple decides to be douches about it or something.
Rumor has it that Apple are indeed about to do just that.

Apple purchased Placebase in July to replace Google Maps? - Computerworld Blogs

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besson3c  (op)
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Oct 28, 2009, 02:26 PM
 
It smells like one of those tit for tat competitor vs. competitor battles at the expense of the consumer. Yum!
     
jokell82
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Oct 28, 2009, 02:54 PM
 
Originally Posted by CharlesS View Post
Rumor has it that Apple are indeed about to do just that.

Apple purchased Placebase in July to replace Google Maps? - Computerworld Blogs
They may replace the default mapping software, yes. But that doesn't mean Google can't create their own app on the store (which is what they have said they were doing with this software).

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Chuckit
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Oct 28, 2009, 03:21 PM
 
Originally Posted by jokell82 View Post
They may replace the default mapping software, yes. But that doesn't mean Google can't create their own app on the store (which is what they have said they were doing with this software).
That doesn't mean Apple has to allow it on there.
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The Final Dakar
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Oct 28, 2009, 03:31 PM
 
I imagine the FCC investigation might slow Apple down on denying it, though. Notice how googlevoice went from 'denied' to 'still in review'.
     
CharlesS
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Oct 28, 2009, 03:33 PM
 
Originally Posted by Chuckit View Post
That doesn't mean Apple has to allow it on there.
And if it duplicates built-in functionality, they usually don’t.

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GSixZero
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Oct 28, 2009, 03:35 PM
 
Curious: Is anyone who here who really loves their iPhone thinking about getting Andriod due to app store bullsh*t?

ImpulseResponse
     
nonhuman
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Oct 28, 2009, 04:10 PM
 
Originally Posted by GSixZero View Post
Curious: Is anyone who here who really loves their iPhone thinking about getting Andriod due to app store bullsh*t?
I love my iPhone, and am thinking about switching to Android. But it's not because I think Apple is doing anything wrong with the app store; I don't.
     
 
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