Motorola Stingray Android Tablet Rumors – All You Need To Know

There have been an occasional murmur or two about the new Motorola Droid Tablet, as it was called, earlier. Now from what we know, this device could be called the Motorola Stingray. To be fair, this could as well be the codename inside the company and Motorola could come up with an entirely different name when it launches. But from documents that have been recently leaked, Motorola Stingray appears to be the name of the device modeled MOTOMZ600; which is the original model number for Motorola’s Android tablet.

There are a few rumors regarding the device’s tech specs as well. First of all, Motorola Stingray is expected to sport a 10-inches display and could come equipped with NVIDIA Tegra 2 and enabled with Verizon FIOS. Now regarding the version of Android OS that will make it to this device, there seems to be no consensus. Android 3.0 could make its way to the new Motorola Stingray though that is not confirmed as yet. The device might also include a front and rear facing camera.

Motorola Droid 2 Signal Dropping Frequently – Reports

MobileCrunch is reporting that several users who have got hold of  the just-released Motorola Droid 2 are experiencing rapid fluctuations in their antenna signal with some units dropping from full signal strength to zero all while staying at the same place. The issue is going to be keenly taken note of coming soon after Apple’s much publicized Antennagate issue. Now, it is not clear whether the problem with Motorola Droid 2 is as widespread as the iPhone 4 issue was. So one thing, we need to take this news with a bit of skeptcism (Apple fanboys would love to get this news as much publicity as possible, wouldn’t they?!). Also, it is not clear if this is just a software problem – signal bar display does not always portray the actual signal strength – or a hardware problem since the report notes that the testers “did not hold the handset the wrong way“.

Nevertheless, we will have to keep a tab on this news and see how many users actually start experiencing this issue. Are you one of the early Droid-2ers? How is the signal strength on your new machine? Write to us in the comments.

Motorola Droid 2 Features And Price Confirmed

Ok, so we are finally here. Verizon’s latest Droid phone – the Motorola Droid 2 is finally available for sale online. The device is expected to go on sale in stores starting tomorrow. So if you are one of those eagerly looking to review the features and price before you head to the stores, here is what you will need.

Motorola Droid 2 is an Android OS 2.2 phone that is powered by 1GHz OMAP 3600 processor. With respect to memory, you will get a full 8GB of flash memory along with 512MB for RAM. This apart, the phone will also come with a 5-megapixel camera, a 3.7-inches capacitive touchscreen display, a sliding QWERTY keyboard, a pre-installed 8GB microSD card and a 3.5 mm headset jack. The device is powered by an 1400 mAh battery.

So go ahead and purchase your new Droid phone at $199.99 along with a 2-year Verizon contract.

Easy Root App For Android Available Once Again

Remember Easy Root? The simple one-click rooting application was launched on the Android marketplace last week and let users of Motorola Droid, Droid-X and Milestone root their Android phones. However, soon after, Google suspended the application. While the reason behind Google’s move is not clear as yet, it is being speculated that this is either because Google does not want a rooting application on their marketplace or because the app violates the Android EULA.

Eitherways, you should be happy to know that the Easy Root app is back. Not in the marketplace though. Unstable Apps – the developer behind the Easy Root application has announced that the application can now be purchased directly via Paypal at a price of $0.99.

If you are one looking to root your Motorola Android phone, you may hop over to the Unstable Apps website and make your payment. The app’s APK is available for download here.

Is your phone rooted? Why not write down your experience and queries in the comments below?

Motorola Droid 2 Price At Best Buy Revealed

Motorola and Verizon have been unusually mum about the new Motorola Droid 2. However, according to a post on the Engadget, Best Buy may have just offered some deeper insights into the upcoming Android unit. From what is rumored, the new Motorola Droid 2 should be available on Best Buy (and perhaps elsewhere as well) at a price of $199 – that’s with a two year contract with Verizon. The user may also choose to go for an unsubsidized unit without a contract at a price of $599.

Interestingly, the announcement comes at a time when the original Motorola Droid has been declared “out of stock” on the Verizon website. Is it an indication of a Droid 2 launch? This is not too surprising considering that the rumored device is so close to launch.

Droid-X vs. Droid 2 – Which one are you going for?

Easy Root App For Motorola Droid/Droid-X/Milestone Removed From Android Marketplace

“Easy Root” – an easy one-click solution for users looking to root Android 2.2 on their Motorola Droid, Droid-X and Milestone has reportedly been removed from the Android Marketplace. While I have not been able to try the app out myself, the app presumably offers an easy way for non-techie users of these Android handsets to be able to root their Motorola phones. Unlike most other rooting applications, Easy Root does not require users to connect their handsets to a computer. Instead, they were required to download the $1 app from the Marketplace and tap ‘Root Me‘ to get started.

Interestingly though, it is Google and not the developer who has pulled the app from the marketplace. The reasoning is not exactly clear since rooting is now legal and hence Google – a company that extolls open source – should have no problem with letting a rooting application on their marketplace.

There are speculations though that the app may have been removed because it used Google’s open source for profit-making motives. A user on the Google support thread notes,

“I was told that the reason it was suspended is because it used googles source code and made a profit using the source code only which i actually think is against the EULA.”

While I cannot vouch for the credibility of the statements, that definitely appears to be a valid reason though. Will the developer relaunch this app as a free download? Possible. Let’s wait and watch.

PS : If you have a Droid X, then check out these two links for alternate rooting solutions.

How To Manually Update Motorola Droid To Android 2.2 [Updated]

Update: Apparently, the Android 2.2 manual update does not work on Motorola Milestone phones. So, please try the following only on your Motorola Droid handsets.

Motorola Droid  users have started receiving over the air updates of the new Android 2.2 OS to their mobile phones. But if you are somehow not been able to update using the OTA link or would prefer to manually update your Droid to Android 2.2, the following steps may help.

Please do note that this will not work if you have rooted your Droid.

1. Click here to download the update file to your computer.

2. Rename the file to UPDATE.ZIP (If the .zip extension is not present, then rename the file simply as UPDATE. The extension should be automatically taken care of)

3. Move the file to the root of your SDCard

4. Switch off your phone

5. Boot your phone into recovery mode by holding power button and X simultaneously

6. You will now see a triangle with an exclamation point displayed. At this point, release both the buttons

7. Press the Volume-Up button and Camera button simultaneously

8. Use your D-Pad to select the “apply update.zip” option. Press the gold button on the D-Pad to continue

9. The update file will now be run. Once this is done, use the D-Pad to reboot your Motorola Droid

10. The phone will now reboot with the new Android OS

The manual update process is complete. Enjoy Froyo on your Motorola Droid.

Download Source Code For Motorola Droid X & Samsung Captivate

Open source FTW! Motorola and Samsung have made the Android source codes used on their handsets – the Motorola Droid X and Samsung Captivate now available for public consumption. If you are a developer, you can now have an amazing weekend scouring through the several dozen batches of files from these two downloads.

But beware of the file sizes though. The source code for Motorola Droid X measures a good 280MB while that for Samsung Captivate measures 160MB in size. Thankfully, neither of these downloads require you to fill up lengthy developer sign ups. So, you can just click away for the download.

From what I’ve heard, the Motorola Droid X download appears to be currently missing some key pieces of information that is essential for developing rooting softwares. Nevertheless, a simple one-click solution is already available, in case you didn’t know.

Ok, so here are the download links. Click away
Motorola Droid X Source Code
Samsung Captivate Source Code

Motorola Rambler Technical Specifications And Price Review

Are you that kind of a person who sends dozens of text messages every day? If so, you should check out this new Motorola handset that is soon becoming available on Boost Mobile. The Motorola Rambler is a clamshell device that supports a physical QWERTY keyboard that is ideal for the heavy texters. Other features on the device include a 1.3-Megapixel camera, video recording capability, GPS, wireless internet, stereo bluetooth capability and integration with IM clients like Yahoo, AOL and MSN.

Motorola Rambler is coming to the online stores on August 11 and will sell at a price of $99.99 presumably with a standard 2 year contract. With respect to data plans, there are a couple of Boost Mobile offers to choose from. Head over to the Boost Mobile website to check them out and also to find out more about the new Rambler from Motorola.

Sprint Motorola i1 Price And Contract Subsidy Announced

It’s been a long time since I wrote about the 3.1-inches Android handset from Motorola – the i1. Last time, I wrote about it, the device was just being announced on SoutherLINC Wireless at a price of $199.99 with a two year contract and otherwise at $274.99 without contract.

Now, we have heard that the device is being launched on Sprint as well. Well, quite evidently, the features have not changed. It’s still the Android 1.5 handset that comes packed with a 16GB microSD card and several other standard features. However, the recently announced prices are a bit different. Now, Sprint users can pick one device from the website at a price of $349.99 without contract. With a two year contract though, you can manage to secure a device at $150 after an instant rebate.

Want to check out the device before ordering? No problem. Wait until August 8 when the device will hit the Sprint stores.