Verizon today officially unvelied the new Droid 2, an update to the original Droid which it’s going to retire after supplies run out.
The updated Droid has a 1GHz processor, double the RAM and a larger keyboard. It also has updated rounded edges and a blue color scheme. The keyboard update was much awaited as the original was off-center to make room for a d-pad (which nobody used). The new one replaces the dpad with directional arrows and the keyboard is larger and centered, very nice.
The new Blackberry 9800 Torch has made its review rounds and basically everyone has the same opinion: it’s a nice phone for 2008, but not 2010. With the phone competing against the likes of the iPhone 4 and Droid X, you just can’t make a phone that’s 0.6″ thick with a 3.2″ 480×360 screen and expect people to buy it. Maybe if the price was $49 or something, but for $200 I think I’ll keep my Droid X.
One good improvement is the new Blackberry OS 6 which is actually a step in the right direction, but not a very big step. It nicely integrates social networking into the interface, which is aimed at getting more normal consumers to buy the phone instead of just business users. Checkout the Blackberry site for a full feature list:
The processor is 624MHz and according to the reviews felt sluggish and underpowered. It even led some bloggers to question whether Blackberry will go the way of Palm with their “Pre”. If you don’t remember the story Palm released a much hyped “iPhone killer” that didn’t sell well and then their company was sold 11 months later. I wonder where Blackberry will be in 11 months?
Google’s Android has overtaken Apple Inc.’s iPhone in smartphone sales for the first time ever, according to one market research firm. New smartphone subscribers choosing Android handsets accounted for 27% of U.S. smartphone sales in the first half of the year, while buyers choosing the iPhone accounted for 23%.
The report is the latest indication that Google’s smartphone software, which powers handsets made by device makers such as Motorola and HTC, continues to gain momentum in the mobile market.
Research In Motion’s BlackBerry handset continues to top the category with 33%, but its share has been slipping as consumers seem to prefer the larger number of apps and superior browsing experience on Android and Apple phones.
The Android 2.2 update we’ve all been waiting for is coming this Friday, for the original Droid that is. There is still no word on the exact date the update will be available for the new Droid X and Incredible. What new features will Android 2.2 bring? Here’s the big ones:
