Android Phones

[Scott Hammel]

Sequel to the Sprint EVO just announced moments ago (officially). The Sprint EVO 3D. Looks like it's got dual 5MP cameras on back to shoot 3D. Dual core 1.2ghz processor and 2.3 Gingerbread out of the box. Looks like a Summer release and yes, exclusive to Sprint.

Read about it here!

Also, not sure if anyone heard about this but a few days ago AT&T announced it's buying out T-Mobile. Should take at least a year for the transaction to get passed by all the watchdogs so all the TMob's out there better lock in to a good plan by then!

 

[Jim Hunt]

Amazon has launched their own app store. They are giving away a paid app free everyday. It is Angry Birds Rio today.

http://www.amazon.com/

 

[Scott Hammel]

Attention all Thunderbolt owners, I learned a little trick today that might help ya save some serious battery life. Open the Blockbuster app which will then prompt you to download an update. Download the update and then open the app again. Hit the menu button on the phone and hit settings. Go down to where it says 'disable movie updates?' Hit that to disable the updates. Turns out this bloatware piece of crap app runs in the background constantly if you don't disable this function! I cannot wait to get root and get rid of all the bloatware...sheesh.

 

[Tim Stoecklein]

Should see my Thunderbolt land at my door tomorrow, but I've already got a list of these tips/hints written down for its arrival. If you all haven't found it already, be sure to check out the Droid Life blog - http://www.droid-life.com - for Scott's tip, how to root, and much more. Those guys are usually in the know as soon as it happens...sometimes before.

 

[Benjamin Smith]

I finally modded my Spring Samsung Epic 4G last night. It's now running @ 1.3 GHz over clocked and all sprint bloatware is gone. Wow I thought this phone was super fast before, it is blazing now. This ROM also removed all of sprints bandwidth filters/governors. I also now have free wired/wireless tether as well.

 

[Randall Cooper]

Also, not sure if anyone heard about this but a few days ago AT&T announced it's buying out T-Mobile. Should take at least a year for the transaction to get passed by all the watchdogs so all the TMob's out there better lock in to a good plan by then!

I ditched T-Mobile yesterday and went with Sprint(glad that announcement was made within the 14 day trial period, I've dealt with At&t before and dont ever want to again). Turns out it was a better move anyways. My fiance and I both got the Samsung Epic 4G. So far so good. We ported over our numbers so we get $125 per line back for porting. I also found out I get a 20% discount on the monthly bill through my job. I think it was a good move overall and couldnt be happier with the phone choice!

 

[Scott Hammel]

Just a heads up to anyone waiting around for the Moto Bionic...it ain't happenin' apparently. I've read from many sources that the Tegra 2 processor wasn't playing nice with the LTE radio which was causing test units to overheat and melt. So they've scrapped the project completely. I've also read that they are now focusing all of their attention on the Targa which is supposedly coming by late Summer. Man, wonder how much money they lost on this?

 

[Jeff Snyder]

I just picked up an HTC Thunderbolt and switched to Verizon after 6 years with AT&T. Near my house in the OKC area, I had unreliable AT&T coverage, and AT&T is no longer the dominant player in the Plains when it comes to data coverage. Since the OKC area has Verizon 4G LTE, I figured I'd give it a shot. Overall, I love the Thunderbolt, though it stinks HTC didn't put a larger battery in the phone. The apps, smoothness of the UI, etc., are great. My last three phones were WM phones, but I didn't want to give more money to that ecosystem since I've been unimpressed by the apps available for WM phones (I know Windows Phone 7 is a different system, but it was time to move on). The Thunderbolt is faster and much more capable than my old Samsung Jack. In terms of wireless speeds, I was getting approximately 18 mbps down and 21 mbps up in Stillwater last night, similar to what I'm getting in the OKC area. Ridiculous. Imagine the quality of the streaming video I can do when I'm in 4G areas If I can get Netflix streams in HD (which definitely look better than SD DVDs) with my 6 mbps down home DSL, then I'm ready to knock the socks off a 21 mpbs upload chase stream [Note: 4G coverage is limited to a select number of metro areas, so I'm not really serious about streaming like that]

Oh, I should mention that I did think about waiting for the dual-core phones. However, Verizon, effective today, no longer offers 1-year contracts. In light of this, I opted to pay a bit more yesterday to get a 1-yr, which will then let me get another carrier-subsidized phone next year should the newer multicore phones kick butt.

 

[Scott Hammel]

I just picked up an HTC Thunderbolt and switched to Verizon after 6 years with AT&T. Near my house in the OKC area, I had unreliable AT&T coverage, and AT&T is no longer the dominant player in the Plains when it comes to data coverage. Since the OKC area has Verizon 4G LTE, I figured I'd give it a shot. Overall, I love the Thunderbolt, though it stinks HTC didn't put a larger battery in the phone. The apps, smoothness of the UI, etc., are great. My last three phones were WM phones, but I didn't want to give more money to that ecosystem since I've been unimpressed by the apps available for WM phones (I know Windows Phone 7 is a different system, but it was time to move on). The Thunderbolt is faster and much more capable than my old Samsung Jack. In terms of wireless speeds, I was getting approximately 18 mbps down and 21 mbps up in Stillwater last night, similar to what I'm getting in the OKC area. Ridiculous. Imagine the quality of the streaming video I can do when I'm in 4G areas If I can get Netflix streams in HD (which definitely look better than SD DVDs) with my 6 mbps down home DSL, then I'm ready to knock the socks off a 21 mpbs upload chase stream [Note: 4G coverage is limited to a select number of metro areas, so I'm not really serious about streaming like that]

Oh, I should mention that I did think about waiting for the dual-core phones. However, Verizon, effective today, no longer offers 1-year contracts. In light of this, I opted to pay a bit more yesterday to get a 1-yr, which will then let me get another carrier-subsidized phone next year should the newer multicore phones kick butt.

Yeah I'm loving my Bolt too. Definitely glad I didn't wait around for the Bionic. They have released 2 new batteries for the phone. One is a big boy, that's for sure. It's a 2750 mAh but definitely changes the shape of the phone!

Then there's this one. 1600 mAh which helps a little and doesn't require a new battery cover!