There’s no secret that all smartphones are battery hogs, but sometimes you just don’t have access to a much needed charger in time to rejuvenate your handset before it begins to flash notifications about an imminent demise. Thankfully the Nexus One has a removable battery that allows owners to swap it in the event that one completely dissipates. Up until now, Nexus One owners had to literally rely on the stock battery that came with the handset because there were few batteries, unless you don’t mind ones from third parties, made for it. If you prefer to stick with the original manufacturer for all your accessory needs, you’ll be glad to know that an official spare battery is now available for sale through Google’s phone ordering site. If you really require this savior, the battery will cost you a mere $25 – which we’d say might come in handy in those long trips where charging locales are few and rare.
source: Google via Berry Scoop

Judgment Day maybe soon upon us as one smartphone has profoundly taken the liberty to control other devices we rely on a daily basis. It’s not we’ll be seeing a T-1000 come out of nowhere and scale an assault on mankind, but the Motorola DROID is taking baby steps in achieving dominant control of its less advanced brothers. This mod was devised by Mike Kershaw from Kismet and Mike Baker of OpenWRT and shared with the world by Chris Paget, a new DROID owner and chief hacker for reverse engineering firm H4RDW4RE. Paget was able to perform a reverse engineering project that disclosed a way to make a Motorola DROID host USB-enabled devices – meaning that the DROID is able to control other devices such as printers, video camera, TV Tuners, and a myriad of other peripherals. Using a charging cable that plugs into a car’s cigarette lighter, a microUSB cable, and a USB extender cable, Paget was able to devise a micro-dongle and connector cable to get it to work with other peripherals. Thus allowing the DROID to communicate and control USB devices that understand the Linux lingo. Maybe those DROID commercials may have already foretold our future – it’s scary to think that the rise of the machines maybe upon us.
source: tombom via The Register

We know some DROID owners and this week, they have been walking on eggshells, checking that sharp 3.7 inch 480 x 854 resolution screen every few minutes, waiting for the OTA upgrade that will take their handset to Android 2.1. As we already reported, this is not a simple matter of porting over the Nexus One OS. Possibly because of the difference in processors (N-One sports a 1GHz Snapdragon while the DROID is powered by a 600MHz, OMAP 3430 chip), certain things that the Nexus One has will not be headed to the DROID. By why say the glass is half empty? Let’s concentrate on what WILL be on the upgrade.

Included in the DROID upgrade to Android 2.1 will be the voice recognition to speak words that will end up in a text box. In other words, instead of being able to speak what you just want to have Google look-up, you can fill out any box that requires text or numbers by speaking the word, name or number. The 3D Gallery for pictures is included as is Google Goggles. The latter has been available as an app in Android Market. Oh yes, pinch-to-zoom will now be available in the browser and the gallery. Those who have been breathing these past days probably already are aware that pinch-to-zoom has been supported on the DROID when using the updated version of  Google Maps. Version 4 was just released on the Android Market yesterday. There will be an enhanced music app, an improved virtual keyboard and enhancements to battery life which is something all DROID owners are happy to hear. The news and weather widgets seen on the Nexus One will also be part of the upgrade. Yahoo mail users will now be able to more easily set-up the DROID to receive their mail. What is not part of the update appears to be the animated home page as made famous by the Nexus One, and the 3D app drawer which likewise has been seen on the N-One. Overall, it sounds like DROID owners should have no gripe once their phone becomes just the second Android 2.1 device. And once upgraded to 2.1, Adobe says that it can then add Flash support to the device. Perhaps you can have your cake and eat it too.
source: Motorola via Engadget, AndroidandMe

When we last reported on what was being called the myTouch 3G 1.2, T-Mobile had admitted that the handset was coming. With today’s date of February 10th having been passed along as a possible launch date for the refreshed version of the phone, T-Mobile could be ready to put it on sale now. On the carrier’s web site, the device is listed as “Coming Soon” and is called the T-Mobile myTouch 3G with 3.5 mm Jack. The new version is available in black or white and while no pricing has been disclosed, the now discontinued original myTouch 3G was going for $149.99 with a 2 year contract.

The main difference between the original myTouch 3G and the refreshed version is the 3.5mm audio jack on the new model along with an increase to 288MB in RAM, up from 192MB. The new model offers the Swype keyboard out of the box. An 8GM microSD card is pre-installed. As a further note, Tmo News is reporting that an OTA upgrade was sent out to the original myTouch 3G models at midnight just to improve call performance. While the new myTouch with 3.5mm Jack is shipped with Android 1.6, it is assumed that an upgrade to Android 2.1 will take place within a couple of months. The Fender Limited Edition has already been confirmed by the operator to be receiving 2.1. Since the refreshed version is basically the same as the Fender model, an upgrade there seems like a great bet.

Finally, T-Mobile’s web site is showing that the Fender Limited Edition model of the myTouch 3G is out of stock. Heavy promotion by T-Mobile, using Fender guitar legend Eric Clapton has helped push demand for the unit. It is not known whether or not T-Mobile will re-stock the phone considering that it was supposed to be a Limited Edition after all.
source: T-Mobile, TmoNews via AndroidandMe

*UPDATE*
It is now official as T-Mobile has launched the Refreshed version of the myTouch 3G. Besides the previously mentioned changes, there will also be some apps loaded on the phone out of the box such as Barcode Scanner, Visual Voicemail, myAccount and Music Player. the phone will be known simply as the T-Mobile myTouch 3G and will cost $149.99 with a 2 year contract.

source: T-Mobile

Android users can start looking forward to games and apps with better graphics, more complexity and with better battery life. This all became possible when the Myriad Group announced the high performance Dalvik Turbo virtual machine which replaces the standard Dalvik engine that currently powers apps on Android. The Dalvik Turbo increases the execution speed of Android apps by up to 3 times which will allow OEMs and operators to offer more complex apps while saving battery life. Newly created games will be compatible with existing Android software and still boast of advanced graphics and complex models using all the advantages that the Android OS provides. And despite all of this, the memory requirements do not need to be changed.

Myriad’s CEO, Simon Wilkinson, said, “The Android ecosystem continues to gain momentum with a regular flow of new devices being launched by operators and OEMs globally. By bringing together Myriad’s heritage in virtual machines and Linux platforms we have been able to significantly improve the performance of Android handsets, leading to a greatly enhanced user experience with richer applications and games and improved responsiveness.” For Android users, this is certainly exciting news and gives them something to really look forward to. So let the game and app developers get to work on fulfilling the promises of Android.
source: MyriadGroup via UnwiredView

Whoa! Slow down there. Better reread that headline. That’s launch with an “a”, not lunch with a “u”. Besides, Sony Ericsson is planning on sending the Xperia X10 on some overseas missions to gather intelligence before it gets launched in the U.S. For example, by the end of this current quarter, the X10 is expected to be released in Holland for 599 EUROS or the equivalent of $817 U.S. Dollars. And while the handset will be launched with Android 1.6, the Sony Ericsson Product Blog says that the device is upgradeable, and in a long interview on Dutch site Tweakers, the joint venture’s Harold deKort answered about 80 questions on the X10 included giving out some hints of a possible upgrade. When asked about an upgrade to 2.0 or 2.1, he says, “The upgrade to a higher version will be combined with adding new functionality of the Xperia X10. Such as we see a new upgrade release of the X10 and the planning of a new release, we currently have no further information.” Ok, at least he didn’t shoot it down totally. deKort confirmed that the Xperia X10 will be launched as a unitouch device and that it might stay that way. So you pinch-to-zoom fanatics better look elsewhere.
source: Tweakers , SonyEricssonProduct LaunchBlog via Engadget

Steve Jobs might be the largest shareholder of Walt Disney Co. (Steve became Disney’s largest stockholder in the Pixar acquisition), but that didn’t stop a map application from being made for Android flavored phones like the Motorola DROID in the video. The app is made for “guests” at the Disney park, is available from upinpoint.com, and gives you a map of the WDW park. At your fingertips will be the location of restrooms (that is always welcome), a breakdown of attractions (is there a FastPass available?, height restrictions, etc.) and you can even make a priority list of which rides/attractions you want to see first and check off the places you have been. Lack of a zoom feature needs to be rectified, and there is no real time feature that gives you wait times at each ride. You can track your position on the maps with the GPS on your handset. A menu is available for each restaurant showing each item’s price. If you’re planning a trip to the Magic Kingdom, the $4.00 that the app costs could be well worth the expense. There are also similar apps available for the iPhone/iPod Touch and for other Disney parks like Disneyland in California.
source: upinpoint via AndroidsTalk

With the Nexus One’s release already behind us, one key accessory is finally being made available for purchase – aptly named the Nexus One Desktop Dock. Google is now offering the desktop dock for their sole smartphone – which can be purchased separately or bundled with the phone for $45. You essentially place the handset into the dock where it triggers the Clock application to start up which then provides you access to music, alarms, and the weather. The unique part about it is found on the rear where you’ll find a 3.5mm port that connects to your stereo system using the included 3.5mm-to-RCA cable. It’s pretty neat and can be used close to your bed as your own alarm clock – especially when it can be dimmed at night to make it easier on the eyes. Just make sure to not slam your hand on it when the alarm wakes you up in the morning.
source: Google via Engadget

The guys at AllDroid have done it again. This time, they have overclocked the DROID to a top speed of 1.1GHz. At that rate, the device was faster than a stock model of the Nexus One which comes with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor under the hood. The testing set the DROID’s processor to speeds of 800MHz, 900MHz, 1GHz and 1.1GHz. The DROID was deemed to be most stable at 800MHz-900MHz. 1GHz was tested for just 5 minutes and 1.1 GHz was unstable. The DROID comes out of the box with a TI OMAP 600MHz chip underclocked to 550MHz.
source: AllDroid

The speech to text technology on the Nexus One comes in handy and for the most part, works as advertised. One of the problems it does have is actually not related to technology but good ole’ old-fashioned human censorship. What words should or should not be included? Should there be any censorship at all? Censored words are covered up by the use of the “tic-tac-toe” or “hash marks”.

Google says, “We filter potentially offensive or inappropriate results because we want to avoid situations whereby we might misrecognize a spoken query and return profanity when, in fact, the user said something completely innocent.” But what happens when a word is used in an innocent way but the censorship engine thinks it is a bad word? Check out this video of the Nexus One review on Attack of The Show and watch what happens when an innocent word gets the #### hash marked out of it.
source: CNET, G4AttackofTheShow via EngadgetMobile