My wife is due for an upgrade and thinks she may want to go Android. We are on Verizon. She more or less demands a physical keyboard. Is there a phone on the horizon that looks like it may support Ice Cream Sandwich with a physical keyboard, on Verizon? Do we think there may be an older model that they will likely push the update to?
MAYBE (and it's a really OMFGHUGE "maybe") the Stratosphere will get an ICS upgrade. This is only conjecture due to Google saying that anything shipped with GB will get it.
Take that with a grain of salt roughly the size of what's under Detroit, however.
Droid 3 just came out recently, should support ICS (don't know if they plan on pushing the release to it or not though). My g/f just got this last week. She likes it. I will say, it's freaking HUGE.
EDIT: Quick google search shows that Droid 3 is alleged to get ICS by early 2012.
The Droid 3 looks like something she may like. It's bizarre she is really good on the iPod touch virtual keyboard, but one of her specific requests is a full keyboard (she is a power texter), so, what Mrs. want's Mrs. gets.
For lack of a better term, I've decided to "settle" for the Nexus. Spent a lot of time thinking about it, and I can always sell it when something better comes along. Also having 1900MHz and 1700MHz support would allow me to utilize both my personal and work SIMs on the same device, which would dramatically reduce gadget clutter in my life... not to mention eliminating two BlackBerries, which is always worth doing.
Lets just hope the Nexus comes out on Nov 10 like the rumors / pictures show.
Because Verizon is saying "Later this year". Even though Nov 10th is only about 2 - 1/2 weeks away. And knowing Verizon, they will release this phone late November / early December, just because.
Somewhat-good news for anyone that likes the Motorola Droid Razr....
Apparently Moto realized that people are Raging over the locked boot loaders.
They are gonna be letting people unlock the international version, and even giving instructions.
The problem. Because Motorola is so far up Verizon's behind... Verizon Razrs will not be getting unlock codes.
Android Community seems to think that this would make it easy for someone to reverse engineer the unlock to work on non-international Razrs.
I still refuse to buy another Motorola, until them or Verizon stop this crap. Which probably won't happen.
Among so many other things, it's articles written like this that keep me running back to Icrontic and threads like this one. This thread is full of people making serious attempts at articulating and presenting valid ideas that are not based on opinions or feelings. Thank you Icrontic ... and in return some of my favorite parts of the cnet article written one of cnet's seasoned 6+ year pros.
"In fact, it is expected to be announcing the first Nokia Windows Phone devices later this week in London. (In fact, I'm in London this week to cover the news, so stay tuned for more information on these new devices.)"
In fact, I am in fact tired.
"I also think the Samsung Galaxy S II phones that were just released this fall will also get the Ice Cream Sandwich update."
I also think it is also time for me to go to bed.
"And there are loads of other enhancements too that improve the camera and make Web surfing easier."
And many cells inside my body tell me to get sleep too.
"I asked a Google representative if he could offer any ideas regarding which devices might be supported or if there were any hard and fast hardware requirements that would exclude certain devices. He said there are not specific hardware requirements for Ice Cream Sandwich, but he said it's unlikely that Android devices that are a couple of years old would get the update."
I asked Icrontic if it was bed time and he said it was bed time, but before I go to bed time I need to brush my teeth hard and fast, and Icrontic said that's ok.
I've looked around and no one has put a glass screen on that is anywhere near the strength of Gorilla. Not just scratches... it doesn't break. The only realistic way to break it is too break it from the edges...
I personally don't need (the personal assurance of the) Gorilla Glassâ„¢ (brand)
Of all the phones I've had, only two have sustained any screen damage whatsoever. The first was an LG TM-510 that got crushed, the second was my HTC Touch (Vogue) which had the plastic resistive WinMo 6.0 touchscreen.
All of my glass-screen phones remained unscratched through hip-height and above cement drops and skids across pavement.
Edit: The main reason the SGS and SGS-II fare so much better in drop tests than the iPhone 4(S) is because they only have one rigid face surface, where the iPhone has two. The plastic backing and aluminum chassis absorb enough of the impact that the screen doesn't catch it all. By making the back of the iPhone just as rigid as the front, all of the force from an impact is shared equally between the glass panes.
Sorry,
I really feel like these drop tests prove nothing.
Its all about the exact way the phone hits the cement.
I dropped my original Blackberry Storm, off of the top section of some bleachers at a high school football game. I had it in my lap and forgot. Stood up and it fell down, and slipped right through the floor boards. at least a 20ft drop.
Went down and picked it up. Screen was 100% fine. The corners were badly scratched and dented and the battery cover popped off, but everything worked.
Two months later, I was driving with my phone in my lap. Forgot again. When I got home, I stood up and got out of my truck. The phone fell MAYBE 3 feet to the cement, and the screen cracked.
Its all about exactly how the phone connects upon impact. Some get lucky, others don't.
Google, here is a little hint.
Step #1 - after deciding to not use gorilla glass, get marketing material out there with direct comparisons.
Step #2 - announce that the new phone will have a new and stronger or cheaper (but still strong) or better response (but still strong) or thinner/lighter (but still strong).
Step #3 - do not let any of this out until Step #1 and #2 are done. Having the news broken by Corning is not a good idea. People like to fly off the handle on things... Like me.
Sorry,
I really feel like these drop tests prove nothing.
Its all about the exact way the phone hits the cement.
I dropped my original Blackberry Storm, off of the top section of some bleachers at a high school football game. I had it in my lap and forgot. Stood up and it fell down, and slipped right through the floor boards. at least a 20ft drop.
Went down and picked it up. Screen was 100% fine. The corners were badly scratched and dented and the battery cover popped off, but everything worked.
Two months later, I was driving with my phone in my lap. Forgot again. When I got home, I stood up and got out of my truck. The phone fell MAYBE 3 feet to the cement, and the screen cracked.
Its all about exactly how the phone connects upon impact. Some get lucky, others don't.
If it was the same unit, there's a very good chance that the high fall created tension on the screen, which made it crack that much more easily with the low fall.
Either way, BBs are also built differently, and as such can sustain a lot more abuse before they lose functionality.
It's also true that point-of-impact plays a big role in whether a screen breaks or not, regardless of the glass.
All I have heard is that the best glass for mobile phone was the gorilla glass. Seeing an iPhone 4s get trashed when a gorilla glass phone was fine is worth a million words. If there are other products that fare similarly, get that info out there... I watch a Corning video, I know bad example, that compared glass vs. strengthened/tempered glass vs. gorilla glass. Three samples, a metal rod and people pressing down in the center of the little samples. The gorilla glass never broke and all the others did over and over and over.
Also worth mentioning: the SGS and SGS II have light, plastic bodies. Plastic has some measure of elastic deformation that it can take - i.e. it compresses and absorbs impact. The iPhone has a metal band in contact with two pieces of glass. Metal deforms elastically much less than plastic does, so it passes more force onto the glass.
It's conceivable that they could have the same glass and the iPhone would still fare worse than the SGS.
Also worth mentioning: the SGS and SGS II have light, plastic bodies. Plastic has some measure of elastic deformation that it can take - i.e. it compresses and absorbs impact. The iPhone has a metal band in contact with two pieces of glass. Metal deforms elastically much less than plastic does, so it passes more force onto the glass.
It's conceivable that they could have the same glass and the iPhone would still fare worse than the SGS.
Also also worth mentioning: even though they're not listed on the official Corning page, iFixit believes the iPhone 4 (and by extension, the 4S) to have a Gorilla Glass screen: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone-4-Teardown/3130/3
Granted, they are using a time lapse rig for the panning/sliding of the camera. But this is a damn good time lapse for a phone. Sure, it may not be up to par with good DSLR time lapses. But it beats any other mobile device that I have seen yet.
Well,
First it was an early October release. Then a late October release. Then November 10th. And now, apparently it will be launching in Europe on the 17th of Nov, and apparently we will have to hang in a little longer than that... (They always get the early love over sea's)
Lovely, Ive been done "hanging in there". This phone isn't going to release until almost December. And I will not be able to buy this phone in December, due to the holiday shopping for others, and school payments for my winter semester.
And yet, Verizon is pushing out YET ANOTHER Motorola phone (Droid Razr), before all the others that have been announced for months. (what a surprise there)
Comments
Thanks for the link. definitely Reassuring.
I really hope its not noticeable.
Thanks.
Take that with a grain of salt roughly the size of what's under Detroit, however.
EDIT: Quick google search shows that Droid 3 is alleged to get ICS by early 2012.
Because Verizon is saying "Later this year". Even though Nov 10th is only about 2 - 1/2 weeks away. And knowing Verizon, they will release this phone late November / early December, just because.
Apparently Moto realized that people are Raging over the locked boot loaders.
They are gonna be letting people unlock the international version, and even giving instructions.
The problem. Because Motorola is so far up Verizon's behind... Verizon Razrs will not be getting unlock codes.
http://androidcommunity.com/motorola-commits-to-ice-cream-sandwich-and-unlocked-bootladers-20111024/
Android Community seems to think that this would make it easy for someone to reverse engineer the unlock to work on non-international Razrs.
I still refuse to buy another Motorola, until them or Verizon stop this crap. Which probably won't happen.
"In fact, it is expected to be announcing the first Nokia Windows Phone devices later this week in London. (In fact, I'm in London this week to cover the news, so stay tuned for more information on these new devices.)"
In fact, I am in fact tired.
"I also think the Samsung Galaxy S II phones that were just released this fall will also get the Ice Cream Sandwich update."
I also think it is also time for me to go to bed.
"And there are loads of other enhancements too that improve the camera and make Web surfing easier."
And many cells inside my body tell me to get sleep too.
"I asked a Google representative if he could offer any ideas regarding which devices might be supported or if there were any hard and fast hardware requirements that would exclude certain devices. He said there are not specific hardware requirements for Ice Cream Sandwich, but he said it's unlikely that Android devices that are a couple of years old would get the update."
I asked Icrontic if it was bed time and he said it was bed time, but before I go to bed time I need to brush my teeth hard and fast, and Icrontic said that's ok.
WHAT THE HELL????
Just because it's not a particular brand of hardened, coated glass doesn't mean it's not incredibly difficult to scratch.
A Puffs brand facial tissue is not a Kleenex brand facial tissue, but they both catch snot just as well.
I am DONE with this... too many corners cut, too many features have been cut. ALL PHONES need the best glass out there. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
I've looked around and no one has put a glass screen on that is anywhere near the strength of Gorilla. Not just scratches... it doesn't break. The only realistic way to break it is too break it from the edges...
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/elKxgsrJFhw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Me neither.
(It doesn't have Gorilla Glass).
Of all the phones I've had, only two have sustained any screen damage whatsoever. The first was an LG TM-510 that got crushed, the second was my HTC Touch (Vogue) which had the plastic resistive WinMo 6.0 touchscreen.
All of my glass-screen phones remained unscratched through hip-height and above cement drops and skids across pavement.
Edit: The main reason the SGS and SGS-II fare so much better in drop tests than the iPhone 4(S) is because they only have one rigid face surface, where the iPhone has two. The plastic backing and aluminum chassis absorb enough of the impact that the screen doesn't catch it all. By making the back of the iPhone just as rigid as the front, all of the force from an impact is shared equally between the glass panes.
I really feel like these drop tests prove nothing.
Its all about the exact way the phone hits the cement.
I dropped my original Blackberry Storm, off of the top section of some bleachers at a high school football game. I had it in my lap and forgot. Stood up and it fell down, and slipped right through the floor boards. at least a 20ft drop.
Went down and picked it up. Screen was 100% fine. The corners were badly scratched and dented and the battery cover popped off, but everything worked.
Two months later, I was driving with my phone in my lap. Forgot again. When I got home, I stood up and got out of my truck. The phone fell MAYBE 3 feet to the cement, and the screen cracked.
Its all about exactly how the phone connects upon impact. Some get lucky, others don't.
Step #1 - after deciding to not use gorilla glass, get marketing material out there with direct comparisons.
Step #2 - announce that the new phone will have a new and stronger or cheaper (but still strong) or better response (but still strong) or thinner/lighter (but still strong).
Step #3 - do not let any of this out until Step #1 and #2 are done. Having the news broken by Corning is not a good idea. People like to fly off the handle on things... Like me.
If it was the same unit, there's a very good chance that the high fall created tension on the screen, which made it crack that much more easily with the low fall.
Either way, BBs are also built differently, and as such can sustain a lot more abuse before they lose functionality.
It's also true that point-of-impact plays a big role in whether a screen breaks or not, regardless of the glass.
It's conceivable that they could have the same glass and the iPhone would still fare worse than the SGS.
Also also worth mentioning: even though they're not listed on the official Corning page, iFixit believes the iPhone 4 (and by extension, the 4S) to have a Gorilla Glass screen: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone-4-Teardown/3130/3
Based on this one piece of media......
I have gotten into photography quite a bit over the past two years. And I have always loved time lapses (who doesn't?)
We all heard that the Galaxy Nexus with ICS will have time lapse capability. But I wasn't expecting a phone to look this good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhlL-ys5iOA
Granted, they are using a time lapse rig for the panning/sliding of the camera. But this is a damn good time lapse for a phone. Sure, it may not be up to par with good DSLR time lapses. But it beats any other mobile device that I have seen yet.
This alone makes me want this phone.
Lol, I know, I know.
But the camera features just grab my attention. My
og droid camera is terrible. Very noisy, video quality is crap.
Seeing the camera totally redeemed the PenTile display that I hate.
First it was an early October release. Then a late October release. Then November 10th. And now, apparently it will be launching in Europe on the 17th of Nov, and apparently we will have to hang in a little longer than that... (They always get the early love over sea's)
Lovely, Ive been done "hanging in there". This phone isn't going to release until almost December. And I will not be able to buy this phone in December, due to the holiday shopping for others, and school payments for my winter semester.
And yet, Verizon is pushing out YET ANOTHER Motorola phone (Droid Razr), before all the others that have been announced for months. (what a surprise there)
Hmmmmmm.....