MotorolaDroidPro
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Refresh Roundup: week of March 12th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Refresh Roundup: week of October 24, 2011
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout attips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy! Official Android updates Guess which phone's finally getting Gingerbread: the HTC Thunderbolt. Yes, we're being serious. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in, and thanks Eddie for the image!] Gingerbread is now rolling out to the Motorola Droid Pro and Droid 2 Global. [PhoneScoop] The HTC EVO Design 4G wasn't out for very long before it was ready for a maintenance release. It's called version 1.19.651.0, and no change log was found right away. More HTC stuff: the EVO 3D also offers a small bug fix in the form of a security update under the name of version 2.08.651.3. [AndroidCentral] The LG Revolution on Verizon's also officially gaining Android 2.3. [Pocketnow] In the UK, HTC Desire S owners are now finding themselves beneficiaries of the Android 2.3.5 firmware update as well as Sense 3.0. [AndroidCentral] How about a couple for the little guys? CSpire, formerly known as Cellular South, is pushing Gingerbread to its Samsung Galaxy S and Motorola Milestone X. [AndroidCentral(1) and (2)] Sony Ericsson announced this week that Android 2.3.4 is rolling out to the 2011 Xperia lineup around the world. Additional enhancements include 16x video zoom, WiFi DLNA, screen capture capability, ability to attach USB peripherals to Sony Ericsson LiveDock and more. Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery The Samsung Stratosphere on Verizon has been successfully rooted. [AndroidCommunity] HTC devices receiving the official Gingerbread kernel source from HTCDev this week: The Evo Shift 4G, the Thunderbolt and Droid Incredible. [AndroidCentral] When it rains, it pours -- the Thunderbolt, on top of receiving Gingerbread and its accompanying kernel source, has also found itself on the receiving end of an Ice Cream Sandwich SDK port. As can be expected, it's still in prealpha stages and has a few bugs to work out. [AndroidCommunity] If you're a CM7 user, there's now a file available that will turn your lock screen into one that resembles Ice Cream Sandwich's style. [Droid-Life] Other platforms Microsoft's pushing a firmware upgrade to the LG Optimus 7 Windows Phone which seems to grace the device with WiFi tethering and the ability to locate hidden WiFi networks. [WMPowerUser] It's not a BlackBerry firmware update, but many people still have a soft spot for BBM and will be interested to know that RIM is putting out version 6.0.1 with a few enhancements. Head to the source to check it out. [MobileTechReview] Refreshes we covered this week Windows Phone Mango now being delivered to 100 percent of compatible devices Windows Phone Apollo coming 'middle of next year,' says Nokia VP Nokia N8 gets Symbian Anna service pack update Symbian Anna update rolls out to compatible Nokia smartphones in the US Motorola Xoom will get updated with Ice Cream Sandwich Ice Cream Sandwich supports USB game controllers and HDMI RIM confirms PlayBook OS 2.0 delayed until February, still no BBM in sight Sprint issues OTA fix for HTC Android handset vulnerability
Motorola XT316 passes second round at FCC, this time endowed with AT&T 3G
It feels like we've been down this road before, but this time we may be lead to a different destination. Motorola's XT316 went through its paces at the FCC a couple months ago with Chinese 3G bands, which indicated there was seemingly no hope of the Android device seeing the light of day in the US of A. This time around, the smaller version of the Droid Pro's been given the federal go-ahead with AT&T-compatible 3G bands. Everything else appears to be the same, right down to the identical drawing of the handset's dimensions. Does this mean the XT316 will be in stock at your local store anytime soon? We can't say with certainty, but at least the government won't be standing in your way.
Gingerbread update begins rolling out to Motorola Droid Pro
We'd had some indication that both the Motorola Droid 2 and Droid Pro would be getting upgraded to Gingerbread in the near future, but we can't say we expected the Droid Pro to be the first of the pair to make the jump. As evidenced by the screenshot above, however, that's now happened, with at least some lucky owners of the portrait QWERTY device receiving the OTA update -- complete with an updated version of Blur, of course. Unfortunately, it's not quite clear how widespread the rollout is just yet, but it seems you can rest assured that it's not just a matter of time before it hits your device. Let us know in comments if you've already received it. [Thanks, K]
Droid Pro dropped to $50 on contract by Best Buy Mobile (update: $20 at Amazon)
If free Android phones on every US carrier weren't enough to entice you into a Best Buy Mobile store this month, maybe a deeply discounted Droid Pro will be. Motorola's Android 2.2 handset, which launched at $179.99 with the usual two-year Verizon tie-in, is now available for purchase for exactly $130 less at Best Buy's mobile outlets -- both the online and brick-and-mortar varieties will let you walk away with one for $49.99 and a 24-month commitment. We don't know where all these crazy deals are coming from, but we ain't complaining. [Thanks, Tony] Update: Amazon.com is undercutting Best Buy with a $19.99 price for those opening new Verizon accounts when buying the Droid Pro.
Droid Pro on sale a little early, shipping now
Verizon's been all kinds of leaky and loose with its Android lineup lately -- the Samsung Continuum was anything but a surprise, the Droid 2 Global is now on sale before even being officially announced, and now the Droid Pro is also on sale well ahead of its scheduled November 18th launch date. Whoops! If you'll recall, the Pro was only supposed to be up for pre-order now, but it's actually listed as "add to cart" on Verizon's site and tipsters have gotten overnight ship confirmations. Sure, we'll take early delivery of what should be one of Big Red's hottest phones -- but we can't help but wonder if Verizon's being this sloppy with device launches right now because it's focused on nailing the high-profile debut of something around January. [Thanks, Matt and anonymous]
Motorola Droid Pro official on Verizon: $179.99 after rebate, pre-sales begin November 9th
Exactly as suspected, the Droid Pro will start its Verizon retail adventure tomorrow, with pre-sales at selected VZW stores and the carrier's online outlet, to be followed by its proper shelf debut on November 18th. Price is set at $179.99 on a two-year contract, provided you're happy to take care of a $100 mail-in rebate. Moto will be hoping business types lap this offer up, as it has equipped the Droid Pro with an unusual (outside of RIM's realm) portrait QWERTY keyboard as well as a dual-mode CDMA/GSM wireless chip. A 3.1-inch display, 1GHz of processing power, and a 5 megapixel autofocus cam fill out the spec sheet. Jump past the break for the full press release.
Verizon pricing Droid Pro at $179, Samsung Continuum at $199?
Well, here's some good news -- we just received an internal Verizon pricelist confirming that the Droid Pro will sell for $179 when it hits on November 9th, a far sight lower than the $299 we'd originally heard. That's a pretty tempting price for Moto's Android-with-a-Blackberry-keyboard handset, although we're assuming that it'll be $279 with a $100 rebate at launch. We're also seeing that the dual-display Samsung Continuum Galaxy S phone will hit for the usual $199, while the Droid 2 indeed fell to $149 last week in order to make room for the now nearly-mythical Droid 2 Global, which will come in two colors for $199. We're also separately told that the HTC Merge won't arrive until after the 17th, so those reports of a launch on the 11th might be premature. Either way, it looks like Verizon's going to have a pretty loaded holiday lineup -- and it looks like we've got some serious reviewing to do.
Motorola Droid Pro tipped for November 9 pre-sales through Verizon, November 18 launch
What would we ever do without informative tipsters, eh? Android Central has received an internal Verizon document identifying Motorola's Droid Pro as an iconic device and setting out details for its upcoming launch. November 9 is the date pinpointed for the commencement of pre-sales, which seem to be different from pre-orders insofar as they'll actually ship out to buyers starting November 10, meaning quite a few will have their portrait QWERTY handset in their pocket before the proper November 18 release date. Bear in mind that this is still unofficial information for now, though given that Moto itself promised the Droid Pro for the first week of November, it'd be weird if this wasn't the schedule for the handset's release. Speaking of weird... "iconic device," seriously Verizon?
Motorola Droid Pro, first hands-on! (update: video!)
Motorola's BlackBerry? The freshly-announced Moto Droid Pro's keyboard feels like it, to be sure, and after trying it out, we believed the Motorola rep who told us they tested comparable speeds of 37WPM in several focus groups. But that's definitely Android under the hood, paired with a nice, responsive capacitive touchscreen and a 1GHz processor that sped through the UI. Check it out in our gallery below while we go find out more! Update: We just had a nice long chat with a Motorola representative, and found out what's under the Droid Pro's hood -- it's a 1GHz OMAP 3620, to be precise, with an MDM6600 chipset, 512MB of RAM, 2GB of onboard storage ROM and 8GB internal storage, plus 802.11n 2.4GHz WIFI, Bluetooth 2.1 and tri-band UMTS. There's a dual LED flash alongside that auto-focus camera, and a programmable key on the side that asks you what you want it to do the first time you press it. There's 3G mobile hotspot support for up to five devices, and an optional 1860mAh extended battery and case, plus a desktop charger dock like those for the Droid and Droid 2 but that holds the handset vertically. It also just so happens that the Droid Pro has the push functionality of Blur even though it isn't weighed down by the full Blur UI, and supports SD card remote wipes (and full device encryption in Q1 2011), has spellcheck integrated into the OS and a "multi-headed" VPN client. Had enough yet? We've got a series of screenshots below pulled directly from the device. Update 2: Video of the Droid Pro and Motorola Citrus after the break! Update 3: According to Motorola's Developer page (at the link below) the Droid Pro's also got PowerVR SGX 530 graphics inside, just like the Droid 2, among other devices. Speaking of Droid 2, we've got some a couple comparison shots in the gallery below, as well as pics with and without that 1860mAh extended battery. %Gallery-104333% %Gallery-104344% Myriam Joire contributed to this report.
