News

• 850,000 Android phones activated daily: Google

  Andy Rubin, Google's senior vice-president of mobile and digital content, posted on the official Google Mobility blog that Android device activations now average around 850,000 each day. Additionally, Rubin said that there are more than 300 million Android devices active around the world and that there are now more than 450,000 applications available on the Android Market, roughly triple the applications that were available in February 2011.

• Droid 4 smartphone hitting shelves Feb. 10 for $200

  The fourth iteration of Motorola's signature Droid smartphone is hitting the shelves for Verizon customers this Friday.

• Motorola launching new RAZR smartphone?

  Motorola has released a teaser video for a new smartphone it will announce on 18 October, seemingly hinting that it will be a new version of the iconic RAZR mobile phone.

• Android wars: Sony, LG challenge Motorola for Verizon users' hearts, cash

  Summer is just around the corner, which means it's time for device manufacturers to release their high-profile Android devices all at the same time to pre-empt the iPhone 5 hype machine.

• Motorola Android users to get 2.2 'Froyo' update

  Australian users of the Motorola Milestone smartphone will receive an upgrade to Android version 2.2 "Froyo" from next year the company announced today.

• Palm CEO: We could have been bigger than Droid

  If Palm's WebOS products had gone on sale at Verizon before Motorola's Droid, Palm's fortunes today would be very different, the company's CEO said Thursday during its third-quarter earnings call."

• Top-rated cell phones also rank high in radiation emissions

  An environmental activist group has issued its latest list of popular cell phones that emit comparatively high levels of RF radiation, though all are within federal limits. 

• Motorola's Android tablet: a peek at the possibilities

  Leaked pictures and specifications of a Motorola tablet running Google Android have been doing the rounds online this weekend. The mysterious 3G device has a large display and will run a full suite of Google applications.

• Droid multitouch enhanced by add-on

  The Motorola Droid might be partially responsible for a huge jump in consumer awareness and popularity of the Android operating system, but there is still one thing the Droid does — but doesn't do very well: support multitouch.

• Google dashboard shows Android fragmentation

  Google is providing developers with a dashboard that is aimed at helping them decide which versions of the software to support and that shows the fragmentation of the Android platform.

• Motorola to sell Droid-style phone in China this month

  Motorola will start selling a smartphone similar to the Droid in China this month, but the phone will use China's homegrown 3G standard and a China Mobile operating system.

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  Verizon updates Droid software; Users hope it fixes echo problem

  An over-the-air software update to the Droid smartphone started yesterday, but it wasn't clear whether the 14 enhancements address a voice echo problem that hundreds of users complained about in online forums.

• Apple says no to the Droid's red glow

  Don't expect the "glowing red eye" of Motorola's Droid smartphone to show up on your iPhone anytime soon. Apple has rejected an application called "iDroid," that would have save displayed the Droid's red eye on an iPhone and linked to information about the flagship Android phone.

• Droid sales are fine, but seem familiar

  Sales of Verizon Wireless and Motorola's Droid on opening weekend came nowhere near the iPhone's debut numbers, but thanks to some recent history, we know that comparing anything to Apple's smartphone just isn't fair.

• Droid battery life requires new charging habits

  The Droid invasion landed on Friday and so far the iPhone comparisons haven't stopped. Customers showed up for midnight launches to be first to get the new Android 2.0 device, and Verizon stores haven't had any issue burning through their inventory of the new phone. There is at least one other iPhone comparison that bears noticing, though--battery life.