Gadget Reviews

While we were busy looking into external speaker problems on the Droid, it would seem Moto was itself hard at work remedying a separate issue with the device. A number of users on support forums have complained of the Droid’s camera failing to focus and giving them “red corners” when attempting to take pictures, but now — suddenly and without warning — their ailment has gone away as if touched by the hand of an omnipotent being (or, alternatively, a silent firmware update). This particular autofocus issue was mentioned in Verizon’s 5-page treatise on known issues with the Droid, though the planned resolution was an official update by December 11. The fix seems to have been delivered early, as green corners are sprouting up all around, but this silent update conduit sounds a bit nefarious, no?

Update: Sure enough, we can confirm from testing one of our own Droids that the issue has been resolved. The endless quest for the green focus box is over, and you can now finally begin scanning all your discount cards into Key Ring.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read – Android Forums
Read – Howard Forums

Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola Droid camera autofocus fixed in secrecy? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While it’s busy trying to rebuild market share on the backs of Android-powered devices in North America and Europe, Motorola’s already got a bustling business in China, so it makes sense that they’d want to contribute some Google juice over there as well. That dovetails nicely with China Mobile’s Android-based Open Mobile System — which runs those so-called OPhones — and Motorola has yet to bring an OPhone to market, so that’s where this little beast appears poised to come into play. The MT710 is said to feature an 854 x 480 display clocking in at 3.7 inches and 3G support (using China Mobile’s up-and-coming TD-SCDMA network), but beyond that, little is known; rumor has it that Motorola will intro a total of seven Android models in China over the next year, though, and this is clearly one of them. Shave three or four millimeters off the Droid’s girth with this puppy, and count us in.

[Via PMP Today]

Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola’s MT710 OPhone for China makes us dream of Droids without keyboards originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you were thinking of tearing apart your own Droid, let us direct you first to this quote straight from the folks at phoneWreck: “no easy task.” It seems that even finding some of the screws involved in holding the mess together was a problem, but at the end of the day, good old-fashioned human ingenuity prevailed over… well, other human ingenuity, and the phone fell asunder into the 16 pieces you see here. As you might imagine, there’s a bit of industrial magic involved in fitting a full QWERTY slide into a package this tight — but just as Moto was up to the challenge of putting it together, some dude with a little time on his hands was up to the challenge of asploding it. Needless to say, we won’t be doing this to ours.

Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola Droid torn down despite desperate cries of ‘no disassemble’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember those BASF commercials, the: “We make a lot of the products you buy better” ones? That’s kind of the story at MOTO Development Group. We’ve seen the company working on e-ink internals, also having a hand in the creation of the Zune 2.0 and the Livescribe Pulse. MOTO’s going it alone for its latest product, though, a MID reference design called the Android Media Platform (AMP) that runs Android 2.0 and is available now to developers. Yes, the DROID isn’t the only 2.0 player releasing today. AMP will ultimately be available in three sizes: 10-, 5-, and 3.5-inches; the mid-sized model is the one shipping now. That touchscreen can be OLED or LCD, oomph is provided by a Texas Instruments OMAP3430 CPU, accelerometers and GPS are integrated as is 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, and optional 3G wireless, all powered by a 3,000mAh battery. There’s no word on price, but we’re guessing that’s somewhat negotiable depending on your intended application and, naturally, the volume, volume, volume of your order.

[Via OLED-Info.com]

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video, Tablet PCs, Wireless

MOTO releases AMP MID, the OLED Android 2.0 handheld you didn’t even know existed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile and Motorola weren’t too forthcoming with a US launch date for the CLIQ, given only a ballpark estimate of “holiday.” However, this supposed carrier roadmap pinpoints a November release for the social-equipped Android handset. No clue how long ago this slide was made or how valid the information is — note the placeholder image and non-capitalized title — but we can’t imagine T-Mo would wait too close to Christmas to unleash it on the willing masses. Mum’s still the word on price, but that previous $0.00 figure is probably too good to be true.

Update: Boy Genius has clarified that the source who gave him this chart is claiming it to be an outdated roadmap, and that a newer, not yet seen one shows it for October. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola CLIQ’s November launch revealed in T-Mobile roadmap leak? (Update: new info points to October) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The wait’s killing us for a proper hands-on with this thing, but we just had a chance to very briefly touch — yes, touch — the CLIQ as we wandered the show (and ran into tnkgrl in the process). Here’s what we can tell you:

• Despite the MSM7201a core, the UI is definitely faster than any factory ROM we’ve used before on any Android device. A good test of this is to quickly swipe open the app drawer — the action’s smooth on the CLIQ, whereas most Magic ROMs would stutter.
• The screen is glass capacitive, and it feels that way. There’s no “give” like you’ve got on a G1 or Magic, for example.
• Expanding on the glass screen, the device feels absolutely fantastic overall. Through Motorola’s thick and thin, you’ve got to admit that the company has a reputation for building ridiculously rock-solid phones, and we’re pleased to say that the trend is continuing with the CLIQ. Pictures don’t do it justice — the white model looks particularly cheap at a glance — but in the hand, it feels like it’s fashioned from a solid block of metal.
• The camera button has a focus detent, which makes it a heck of a lot easier to properly harness the power of your 5 megapixel autofocus optics. The jury’s still out on photo quality, but it seems promising and focusing is relatively quick (though our disappointment in QVGA 24fps video still runs pretty deep).
• This probably blew Google’s mind, but MOTOBLUR has five home screen panels along with a small indicator similar to the iPhone’s to show you which one you’re currently on. Who knew that someone might want more than three? [Yes, we know HTC's bringing additional panels to the table in Sense as well -- thing is, stock Android doesn't, which a majority of Android phones in circulation still run. It'd be nice to see Google take something like this into the trunk in Donut or Eclair. -Ed.]
• The keyboard feels great. Truly stellar, actually — and we don’t think there’s much room for complaints about layout, unless you’re really into the dedicated horizontal number row.

We’ll have more thoughts this evening once we’ve spent more quality time… you know, “clicking” with the CLIQ. Sorry.

Update: More screenshots of CLIQ and MOTOBLUR UI, including the back panel designs and some comparison shots. Interesting to note that the keyboard aspect of the device is just slightly thinner than the iPhone 3GS.

Update 2: Now with more video!

Continue reading Motorola CLIQ: first hands-on impressions (update: with video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Motorola CLIQ: first hands-on impressions (update: with video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ll caution you — this could all just be one big misunderstanding (or a case of the fat fingered admin), but Motorola’s newly launched CLIQ is currently listed for $0.00 on contract over at T-Mobile (and $399.99 with no strings attached). Available in both Winter White and Midnight Titanium, the outfit’s first-ever Android phone can’t actually be added to one’s cart (trust us, we tried… repeatedly), but if these figures are right, we can surely say that the barrier to entry on higher-end smartphones will soon be demolished. Giddy yet?

Update: Aw, seems like someone on the other end already caught wind of the slip-up and yanked it. So, can we take that as confirmation?

Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola CLIQ listed for free on contract at T-Mobile, $400 straight-up originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CLIQs are pretty hard to come by in the wake of Motorola’s big announcement today, but we flagged down an all-too-nice rep who showed off the phone’s major talking points. Though it’s got the same old Qualcomm MSM7201a beating in its chest that we’ve found in countless other Android and WinMo phones — not anything thoroughly modern like Snapdragon — we’re feeling cautiously optimistic that MOTOBLUR is snappier in day-to-day use than HTC’s competing Sense. The built-in widgets Motorola is supplying look top-notch with a ton of spit and polish (seemingly without sacrificing speed or usability), so all told, we think Moto’s been really cranking this year baking this platform to a golden crisp. Follow the break for the epic demo, and pay special attention to the white model when the rep pulls it out — the back was supposed to be stylized Morse code that reads “I love Friday nights,” but apparently they ran out of space, so it’s now just random dots on a cover. At least it still looks cool, though, and that’s the important thing.

Continue reading Video: Motorola CLIQ gets demoed in detail

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Video: Motorola CLIQ gets demoed in detail originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lookie here! Those who thought Motorola was messing around with the revitalization of itself best take notice, as the company’s CLIQ — which was literally just announced moments ago — has already surfaced on T-Mobile USA’s website. At least initially, T-Mob will be the exclusive carrier for the phone in America, and it’ll be shipping in both black and white. Sadly, there’s no clues yet as to when it’ll launch and how much it’ll set you back, but feel free to hit that read link if you’re interested in subscribing to updates.

[Thanks, Micah]

Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola CLIQ finds a home on T-Mobile’s website originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It was all too brief, but we managed to grab a few snapshots of the Motorola CLIQ less than an arm’s length away and shoot some shakycam footage before the PR rep re-cloaked it and promised more at a later event — what a tease. Video after the break.

Continue reading Video: Motorola CLIQ quick hands-on

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Video: Motorola CLIQ quick hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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