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Verizon’s Droid X Sold Out, More in a Week

William — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:30:11 +0000

Despite Verizon’s insistence that they should have plenty of phones in stock to meet demand, the Droid X has officially sold out, and users will now have to wait until July 23 if they want to get their hands on the latest Android smartphone. Verizon recently struggled to get the also-Android-based HTC Incredible into user hands due to a shortage in OLED display components.

“We have been successful at keeping up with early demand but at present inventory in some parts of the country inventory is either low or out,” acknowledges Verizon. “Since we have weekly shipments planned, customers can still order phones and can expect them to be shipped on or before July 23.”

But what about that news that the Droid X contained embedded systems that would brick the phone if it was tinkered with? Motorola responded to those concerns today:

The Droid X and a majority of Android consumer devices on the market today have a secured bootloader. In reference specifically to eFuse, the technology is not loaded with the purpose of preventing a consumer device from functioning, but rather ensuring for the user that the device only runs on updated and tested versions of software. If a device attempts to boot with unapproved software, it will go into recovery mode, and can re-boot once approved software is re-installed.

In short, the IBM-developed eFuse system will shut down a Droid X with an unapproved bootloader though it won’t actually damage the phone. Users simply need to re-install “approved software” to get the device up and running again. That’s certainly not-quite the type of openness many users would like to see, but it’s not Droid X Armageddon for modders, either.

Link to the original article…

As Expected Verizon Launches New PR Assault, New logo and New Slogan

William — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:22:02 +0000

As some insiders leaked last week, Verizon yesterday unveiled their new ad campaign from the ad agency (McGarryBowen) that’s been powering their new Droid ads. With the ad campaign comes a new Verizon logo: “Verizon, Rule The Air!” Verizon’s new rebranding comes with a new promise by Verizon that they’ll stop hammering users with bizarre fees, work tirelessly on billing their users accurately, and make it their life’s mission to bring consumers low wireless data prices in line with real-world costs.

Just kidding.

Nothing substantive (pricing, phone lineup, billing) is changing. It’s simply a new ad campaign (though a very nice, CGI heavy one) utilizing a new ad agency and a lot of new slogans (like “the real communications giant is you”). Of course the real goal is to draw attention to the arrival of some fairly sexy new Android-based phones including the Droid X and try to deflate some of the hype surrounding the iPhone 4.

Rumors of an iPhone on Verizon’s network appear to once again be fluff and nonsense, Verizon seems dedicated to the Android platform, and unlike AT&T so far isn’t crippling handsets. One issue they face is that supply constraints (of 3.7-inch AMOLED screens specifically) have resulted in users who ordered the HTC Droid Incredible facing delays in actually getting the device.

Verizon users now tell us that those who have Incredibles back-ordered are being told they can switch their order to the Motorola Droid X and likely get a Droid in their pocket sooner (July 15 for the X, vs. July 28 or later for many Incredible backorders).

Link to the original article…

Verizon Lets You Use Your Phone As FiOS Remote Control – Your Motorola Droid or HTC Imagio can now control your IPTV set top

William — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:45:01 +0000

Verizon has announced on their blog that the telco is letting owners of select Android-based Verizon Wireless phones use the devices to control their FiOS TV service. According to big red, users of the Motorola Droid or HTC Imagio can download the new application that will mimic all the usual controls for Verizon’s HD set-top-box. Verizon says they’ll ultimately expand the lineup of phones that can be used as remotes, but they’re not specifying which ones just yet. It also only works for high definition set tops.

Reaction among users who’ve tried the service in our forums is positive so far, aside from complaints of a few initialization snags. Judging from comments, this works over Wi-Fi – not over 3G (just what users need, getting charged per megabyte for channel surfing). That of course lets you to use the service from anywhere in the house, allowing you to drive your loved ones crazy as an added bonus.

The application actually appears to do more than your remote ever did. The “My Photos” allows users to “flick” a single picture at your set top so it can be viewed on the TV screen. Users can also set the application up to mute or pause your program when the phone rings, then resume when your call ends.

As the phone companies try to differentiate themselves from cable, integrating smartphone functionality is an obvious next step. AT&T allows general U-Verse TV DVR control via smartphones, but it has long been rumored they’re working on a mobile place-shifting solution that ties your iPhone to U-Verse TV service. This is a particular niche that’s only just starting to take off, but will get truly interesting when users are able to watch home DVR content from anywhere via smartphone.

Link to the original article…

Moto Sold About 100,000 Droids Over The Weekend

William — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:59:31 +0000

Verizon’s “iPhone killer,” the Motorola Droid, went on sale last Friday, and Motorola says they sold about 100,000 of the devices according to Bloomberg. Verizon meanwhile had about 200,000 in stock and burned through most of that, according to the company. Those numbers don’t come close to iPhone sales, “but anybody that was expecting that had their expectations too high, says one analyst, who recommends buying Motorola stock. Another analyst, who advises selling Moto shares, tells Bloomberg they have a “nagging suspicion that Android is being overestimated by technology enthusiasts.”

Link to the original article…

Verizon: Droid Tethering Will Cost $30 Extra

William — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:06:09 +0000

Verizon’s confirming reports from earlier this week that those who buy the new Motorola Droid this Friday will eventually have the ability to tether the phone and use it as a netbook and laptop modem. While Verizon’s still not getting specific on the launch date of the functionality (“sometime in 2010″), they are getting specific on the price. According to comments made to Network World, tethering the Droid will cost you an extra $30 on top of the users pay for broadband already. That a month will still be capped at 5GB of usage a month. As we noted yesterday, Verizon’s also boosting the early termination fee for smartphones from $175 to $350 starting November 15.

Link to the original article…

Verizon Promises Droid Won’t Strain Network – Though they’re preparing for more backhaul for LTE launch…

William — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:14:30 +0000

Unlike some of the capacity issues that troubled AT&T with the huge influx of iPhone customers, Verizon is insisting the company won’t struggle under the load when they launch the new Motorola Droid this Friday. That’s easy to say, given Droid’s sales likely won’t dent iPhone volume — but Verizon has an interesting conversation with Telephony Online on getting ready for the influx of additional data users. According to Verizon, they didn’t add backhaul capacity for Friday’s Droid launch — because they didn’t need to. At least not yet:

In most markets, Verizon Wireless has EV-DO running on three sectors per cell site and in many congested areas, it has deployed multiple EV-DO carriers. CDMA downlink channels are only 1.25 MHz wide, compared to the 5 MHz used by AT&T s HSPA network, but they support similar maximum capacities (3.1 Mb/s for Rev. A compared to 3.6 Mb/s for HSPA). AT&T s 3G evolution path will widen that gap over the next two as it upgrades its base stations to 7.2 Mb/s HSPA, but for now VZW has an efficiency advantage, allowing it support much more capacity over the same spectrum.

In a different report, Verizon says they’ll certainly be adding new fiber backhaul in a number of markets when they launch faster LTE service in 25-30 new markets next year. Verizon says they’ll be deploying fiber Ethernet to 90% of the cell sites in its territory by the end of 2013. Pound for pound, Verizon’s wireless investment CAPEX has been more robust than AT&T’s for some time — and the proof should be in the pudding.

Link to the original article…